Fools Rush In

[DJ McKinny 0]

Many thanks to Ambassador Drankum for his contributions to this log.

 

 

An old Earth expression suddenly came to mind....something about fools rushing in where wise men fear to tread.

 

It was quite sight....one she'd never expected to witness much less be a party to. They were in the control center....the heart of Skyharbor Aegis....although the engineers could easily argue that point. There were about eighteen of them and they'd only been there a couple of minutes...but that was all it took.

 

DJ had a lot of questions. She'd hoped to find answers to them when she followed Jorahl out of Sickbay. In that regard, her quest had been somewhat successful. She finally understood why Drankum had been unceremoniously removed from the CT and confined to his quarters. But that only led to more questions and they would have to wait for awhile.

 

"There is nothing to begin, only end. You are hereby under arrest for mutiny, you and your friends."

 

It took a second for the words to register. Did the Ambassador just accuse Commander Chirakis of mutiny? Not only Chirakis but Mr. Porter and Mr. Dabi as well.

 

DJ had no doubt she heard him correctly. Why else would he and his entourage have their weapons drawn and pointed directly at those three. For a moment, she felt a bit odd. She didn't have a weapon. The only thing she brought with her was a standard issue medkit and she wasn't quite sure why she'd bothered bringing it.

 

She'd known Drankum a long time...not well but she'd been in his presence enough to consider him an "acquaintance." She was also fairly certain he had something to do with her reassignment to Aegis. She'd never been able to prove it but deep down, she knew he was behind her sudden transfer. The odd thing was, in spite of all the station had gone through during the years, she had never seen him really angry. Annoyed, yes.....upset, yes.....loud and obnoxious, oh yes. But never genuinely angry...until now. He was positively livid.

 

The Ambassador's face turned bright pink while his ample ears bloomed in a deep red. For a moment, DJ was afraid the elderly Ferengi would suffer a stroke. She was tempted to whip open the medkit and start scanning him. But something stopped her. It was probably that venomous glare of his.

 

"So you have two choices. Either go to the brig and get your bankrupt pips off my control center or be dragged there."

 

"Wait a minute," thought DJ, not daring to speak. "He can't be serious about throwing her in the brig."

 

But he was. The animosity in his voice left no doubt in anyone's mind that he was as serious as a heart attack. To her credit, Commander Chirakis remained calm. It was as though she'd expected something like this to happen. Dabi maintained a passive demeanor but DJ was certain he was breathing fire internally. Porter seemed a bit flustered. He simply didn't understand even after Chirakis explained the situation.

 

And her explanation was dead on. Drankum was in command of the station when he ordered the fighters to withdraw. It was Chirakis who belayed the order and had the Ambassador removed from the control center. She insisted he undergo a psychological evaluation. That could mean only one thing. She thought Drankum was crazy or in cahoots with the enemy.

 

But was he? Apparently not. The enemy ship destroyed itself and they took the fighters with them. Had Chirakis obeyed Drankum's order, the alien vessel would still have self-destructed but the pilots in those fighters would be alive to fly another day.

 

So Drankum had a right to be piqued. That said, DJ was painfully aware of how easy it was to distrust the Ferengi. He seemed to go out of his way to annoy people. She wasn't sure how well he interacted with his staff but she felt confident his relationship with his immediate subordinates left a lot to be desired. Chirakis came from intel. It was only natural for her to be suspicious. Add to the mix Drankum's personality and you have a recipe for disaster.

 

That's what they now had on their hands.....a disaster. But there might still be time to soothe the wounded egos and bring about a more positive resolution than a courts martial. Without even realizing what she was doing, DJ stepped between the Ambassador and Chirakis not allowing herself to think about what might happen if Drankum suddenly pulled the trigger on his disruptor. He certainly looked like he wanted to.

 

"With all due respect, Mr. Ambassador," she said, her quiet tone belying the storm raging within her. "May I suggest the Commander requires a complete physical and psychological exam."

 

Drankum looked directly at her, his eyes piercing into her psyche. Then he blinked and she began to hope he might go along with her idea.

 

"Yes, yes," grumbled the Ferengi, lowering his weapon. "I think that would look good on the balance sheet."

 

DJ smiled slightly as she watched the barrel of his disruptor drop toward the floor. It was then she figured out she had been holding her breath but she tried not to show that she'd been that scared. "Thank you," she replied quietly with a superficial nod.

 

She quickly turned her attention to Chirakis. "Commander, if you'll follow me." DJ wanted to get them both off the CT as quickly as possible. There were too many weapons drawn and an "accident" would only complicate the situation even more. Besides, she didn't want to give Drankum time to change his mind.

 

DJ walked purposefully toward the lift. She didn't look back but she knew the Commander was following her. She also knew at least four others were coming along. She entered the lift and turned around as the others stepped inside. Chirakis remained composed which came as no surprise but she was dismayed by their escorts. They stood around the Commander with their weapons drawn, as though she might suddenly disappear into thin air.

 

"Gentlemen," said DJ, her tone as authoritative as possible. "A little discretion, if you don't mind. Please holster your weapons before the doors open." The escorts looked at each other and then slowly put their weapons away just as the lift doors swished open. DJ pushed ahead of them and led the way into Sickbay.