Turn of Events Part 1

[Shane 0]

Chief engineer Tayjer leaned back in the chair of his small office, rubbing his temples in an attempt to calm his throbbing head. The pain persisted, as though enjoying the annoyance that the headache gave him. He knew why he had it. Shane just didn’t want to admit it.

 

The young officer had been pushing himself too hard, involving himself into every little thing he could get his hands on. From the responsibilities of his position aboard the Reaent to the projects he was a part of, such as bartender “Beaker” that was being built and the umpteenth number of holo-novels he had started, Shane was running at full steam. All in an attempt to forget what was threatening to break him down from the inside. But it was futile.

 

It had been several months since the destruction of his home, the murder of his father’s employees and his parent’s sudden disappearance. Shane had felt utterly useless during that time, wanting to go search for his family, but having nowhere to start. His uncle and brothers on Earth had remained in close contact with him as Starfleet had begun an investigation only to end it with vague explanations as to the identity of the suspects. By the time the Tayjers had found cooperative private investigator the trail had long gone cold, leaving the remaining family with nothing to hope for.

 

Shane had hoped that the incident would grow easier to deal with over time. But he was wrong. Every time he stopped to take a breather, to rest, the gut-wrenching worries, the dread of never knowing would surface in his mind. He wouldn’t even think of sleeping until he was too exhausted to keep his eyes open, literally collapsing on his bed. At times he even wished that the bodies would be found to put an end to the whole ordeal and give him peace.

 

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Tayjer stood up from his desk and started to exit the room. A beep indicating a communications chime stopped him.

Tapping his comm, he replied, “Tayjer here.”

 

“Sir, this is Ensign Faite from Operations. A private message has come from in system, exact origin unlabeled.”

 

Puzzled, Shane frown. “Alright, patch it through.”

 

“Actually sir, it appears to be text only. Shall I send it to your office?”

 

“That’ll be fine. Tayjer out.” Curiosity overtaking him, Shane crossed the room back to his desk and tapped on the blinking message icon. His eyes widened as he read the text and he slowly sank back into his chair in astonishment.

 

The message read:

 

“Urgent.

Meet at main planet spaceport.

Come quickly, son.”