Workshift Conversations (Kent/Pilot)

[Samantha_Kent 0]

Sam stumbled and leaned against the wall of the building they had been instructed to work on, dropping the materials she had been carrying, her fingers slipping with exhaustion. Her lack of sleep in the past forty-eight hours or so was starting to tell on her, but she refused to stop moving, fearing that any sign of slacking might bring the Axrekravians down hard on the whole team.

 

Malik, who was looking like a dirty mess from working on the building with her, looked over. "You okay, Sammy baby?" Pilot then waited for a response from his comrade.

 

Sam looked up from where she was leaned against the wall and laughed softly at the way Malik had addressed her, but was too tired even to make her usual protest to his "cute" names. "Yeah...fine...Just...a little tired is all."

 

Pilot looked back down at his work and started working as a guard went by, he could tell Sam was physically drained but he knew Pilot wasn't. After the guard had moved further away, he said, smiling, "Well, we will be able to rest soon enough."

 

Sam forced herself to continue working as the guard moved closer to them, and began gathering up the materials from the ground where she had dropped them. "Yeah..." she said, half-smiling in an attempt at confidence. "Gotta keep telling ourselves that."

 

"Well, Sammy baby," he said, looking towards her, "I know Arcadia is coming back. We are the new officers you can't have that on your permanent record, "First day on the job, Lost at Space Colony."

 

"Hey," Sam said, grinning through the tiredness and letting his conversation keep her awake. "Can't say we didn't start off with a bang, huh?"

 

"Heh, you are right about that." He continued his labor, sweating like a Andorian goat in the sun. "I wonder when they will get here, 'cause I am going to need a Super Duper Tuper sonic shower. Then I am going to relax for at least a month."

 

Sam chuckled, helping him to push up a strut in the wall of the building, but her expression quickly got grimmer. "It better be soon...I'm worried about our group, Malik...tempers are running hot..."

 

Malik finished placing and securing the strut. "I sense it, but it isn't as high as you would think, I think Doug is the only whose is running hot. If he doesn't cool down, I might have to subdue him until this nasty unwanted vacation is over."

 

Sam shook her head. "It's not just Doug...Brian almost walked out...Eagle was getting tense...I started snapping -- Mal, I don't yell at people. But they've got me snapping." She rubbed at the device on her neck and scowled. "If this keeps up, we'll fall apart, and we can't afford that."

 

Malik shook his head, "I won't let that happen. We are family, generally speaking, and we are simply waiting on Dad and Mom, so to speak, to return to pick us up from this dreadful daycare."

 

Sam really did laugh at that. "When you put it like that, makes everything seem all better, doesn't it?" She sighed. "Prophets...well, they better drive fast is all I can say. And we need to be thinking...we need to find some way out of here...there's got to be some hole in their defense we haven't found yet."

 

Pilot pondered, "Maybe that third judge..I am not really sure. But I wish all this crap would have never happened."

 

"I think we all do," Sam said, shoving another wall support into position and leaning on it tiredly for a second. "But I think we've run out of time for regret."

 

Securing that wall support and placing another one up, Malik said, "Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to go back and say, 'Yeah, I messed up.' You know?"

 

Sam grinned at him, a bit of her old energy poking through. "Plenty of time for that on Shore Leave when we're all busted out of here, huh?" She put her shoulder against the brace he was securing and helped to shove it into place.

 

Pilot grinned. "Yea, I suggest you, me, Kat, and Eagle go to Risa. We can have a jolly ol' good time. Maybe take a shuttle there then meet back up with the Arcadia at the nearest Starbase."

 

"Sounds like a plan," Sam said with a laugh. "Get a nice tan, see a show...eat till we're bursting..." She looked around at the cold flat plain that surrounded them and tried to imagine a Risian beach. "Brilliant..."

 

Malik smiled. "So Sam, does someone already have the honor of calling you honey?" Malik asked, scared at the response to his question or possible sweatting.

 

Sam eyed him sidelong, surprised at this question. "Yes," she said, a bit bluntly, feeling awkward, and turned away from him, kicking at one of the supports to be sure it was steady.

 

Malik looked at her. "Wrong time for that question, eh my good friend?" He is now afraid of being beamed; in a bad way.

 

Sam shrugged. "Perhaps..." She turned back around to him. "I'm sorry...I didn't realize you..." She stood awkwardly for half a second, then shrugged again. "You're my friend...for what that's worth."

 

Pilot places his hand on her shoulder. "Its cool...if you need to talk, I may be a security officer but I can listen too." Malik smiles showing he has a warm heart and can listen or help a friend in need.

 

Sam returned the smile, relaxing somewhat since he didn't seem to be taking offense. "Good. I appreciate it...I have a feeling we'll both need that before this is all over."

 

Pilot nodded. "You are probably right my friend, you're probably right." Pilot looked at the guard in the distance. "P'TaQs." Pilot went back to working.

 

She looked up towards the sky, wondering if Arcadia might be coming towards them even now, or if, as Brian had said a few hours before, that only their own effort would free them from this place. "P'TaQs is right..." she said dryly, resuming her own work as well. "The word was never better applied."

 

Pilot looked over at her. "You know what I realized. The Federation, probably won't sign a treaty with these people. They have enslaved several of the Fleet's officers with their sucky judicial system. If anything, they are probably eager to blow this mother to space dust. If we don't sign and the Romulans get a good treaty going with them and we go to war with the Romulans. This planet is first." Pilot whispered into her ear, "If a shuttle can destroy a battleship, just think of what a fleet of starships can do." Pilot edges back from her. "Are you using a new shampoo?" Malik smiles jokingly.

 

Sam rolled her eyes at the last question. "Prophets...if you know a place where I can take a shower -- with ANY kind of shampoo -- you'd best let me know RIGHT now, Pilot..." She paused, then shook her head. "As for the political questions...the Federation sent us here because it was important that we make contact. We didn't make that contact...in fact we fouled it up royally...but I don't know if the Federation will stop trying." She cocked an eyebrow curiously. "I wonder just how they ARE reacting to what we've done here back on Earth..." she said vaguely, her mind going over the various ramifications of their situation. "They can't be happy..."

 

Pilot shook his head, "I can imagine. I wonder what my parents are thinking right now since I was apart of this mission." He went over the scernario he would enjoy which was, "Get my son out of there now! How can you let them get captured like that?! I want to speak with the CO of that ship immediately!"

 

Sam scowled. "My father's probably going out of his mind wondering what happened to me. I usually contact him at least once a week...it's been a month. Poor man..." She leaned against the wall they were constructing, then slid to sit on the ground, temporarily out of sight of the guards patrolling the area. "How long have we been out here, Mal?"

 

Malik looks at the sun's position. "2-3 hours maybe or less." Malik looked at Sam. "You okay there?" Pilot had a concerned look upon his face.

 

Sam leaned her head back against the wall. "I..." She was about to say "I'm fine," but she knew it was a lie. "I don't know..." she said truthfully. "I need to sleep but I can't do it here...I'll be fine until we get back to the barracks."

 

"If we get back to the barracks..." she added under her breath, realizing that none of them really had any guarantee of what their captors planned to do with them.

 

Malik kneeled down to her as if he was working, and placed an encouraging hand onto her shoulder "We'll be fine, as long as I am able to breathe and move I will assist my fellow security officers in protecting the safety of our officers. I will make a report with Starfleet Security and our chief on what happened here. We are still citizens and officers of the Federation." Malik also added, "Regardless of what these Axkrevians say."

 

Sam chuckled and reached up to grab his shoulder, trying to show the same support he was giving her. "Thanks, Mal," she said softly. There was a pause, then she released his shoulder and wrestled her way to her feet. I'd better get back to work before they catch me slacking and make the whole team suffer for it," she said, looking around.

 

Malik nods and gives her assistance. "Let's get back to work." Pilot started back working with Sam.

Edited May 21, 2008 by Samantha_Kent