Between Friends

[Cmdr JFarrington 0]

Between Friends

 

Too many things didn’t add up. Too many things made no sense. It was enough to make Jami think they were not in their home universe anymore, but she knew they were. Home, that is. The corridor was the right color, the tear in the carpet that she’d tripped over the last time they were on the real Maturin Station was there, everything down to the most minute detail pointed to home.

 

But Temporal/Alternate Universe Investigations? Alternate Universe Investigations my tush, she thought - hoping there were no Betazoids roaming the corridors. Since when had the alternate universe part come into play? It sounded like they’d tacked that on to make their investigation of the Manticore’s jumps legitimate. And another thing. For a bunch of investigators who were supposed to be covert operations, they sure had a way of blurting things out. In fact, the whole interrogation she’d just come from sounded more like a media interview than anything else. Hell, all they needed was the flashy director, the gaudy makeup, the....

 

“Penny for your thoughts.”

 

The soft eastern European accent brought Jami up short as she rounded the bend and a quick back-peddle brought the speaker into view. Leaning against the wall, a slightly bemused expression garnishing the twinkle in his eye, was VAdm Gren DeJariov, Starfleet’s Surgeon General and a close friend of Jami and Atragon. He was the last person she expected to see at Maturin Station, but within a few seconds she realized it made perfect sense.

 

“So, they finally decided to bring out the big guns,” she said with a grin, stepping his way. “Bad news travels fast.”

 

“Bad news? What bad news,” he said, pushing off from the wall to join her. “Seems to me that it’s good news knowing the Manticore is safe and sound. They had given up hope, you know, but given your track record I knew you’d show up sooner or later.”

 

“Track record? You mean Andromeda?” Her expression darkened as he motioned towards the lift and she fell in step with him. “At least the rest of the fleet didn’t greet us guns blazing this time.”

 

A few years ago, Manticore had been caught in an unstable worm hole and jerked unceremoniously 2.5 million light years away. Suspecting the worm hole was a trans-warp conduit generated by the Borg, probing Federation defenses in preparation for invasion, the fleet had met the Manticore on their trip back, assumed she had been commandeered by the enemy, and had almost destroyed it. Damage was extensive and several crewmembers were killed. It wasn’t exactly something she wanted to remember.

 

“So, why are you here?”

 

He paused. Resting his palm on the lift call button, he angled his eyes towards her, his tone confidential. “Have you had a serious talk with anyone... about the trip? About the effect it’s had on you? On the crew?”

 

“No.”

 

“Not even Atragon?” He raised a quizzical brow.

 

The lift doors slid open and Jami checked it for privacy, then stepped in and turned to face him, allowing the doors to close before answering. “No. He’s been... reclusive. Distant.”

 

Rocking slightly on the balls of his feet, he crossed his arms and his expression became thoughtful. “But you did answer the committee’s questions.”

 

“Of course. Yes and no questions...”

 

“...deserve yes and no answers. Avoidance?”

 

“The truth.” The lift settled to a stop, but the admiral kept the doors closed while Jami continued. “I answered the questions that pertained to me and to my position on the ship. Only first-hand information. No supposition. No conjecture. Nothing about what I thought happened or what I believed would result from our trips.”

 

Vice Admiral DeJariov nodded. “I’ve heard they are taking that tack now. Of course, I’ve had no first-hand experience with it - not having been through time or to an alternate universe - but it does seem a bit out of line.”

 

“A bit out of line? I’d say a little more than a bit, Gren. They even went to far as to ask me to fire off a list of every single interior and exterior communication we had during the entire trip. Hell, they have the records - they were looking at them - why do they need to ask me unless they’re trying to trip me up, make me look guilty of something? It’s blatant McCarthyism if you ask me.”

 

Jami studied him a minute. He hadn’t moved since the lift stopped, made no suggestion that they were to exit. He stood, watching her, meeting her gaze with the same patience and concern he had shown when Atragon lay dying.

 

Pressing a hand to her forehead, Jami’s anger finally surfaced and grew with every phrase. “They’re devious, you know, Gren. They’re like vultures, like... predators. Waiting for the slightest misstep, the smallest word or action that could be used against me. Damn it, Gren. I can’t imagine how the younger members of the crew are holding up. At least I have some experience. At least I know how far the investigators are allowed to go, what they can and cannot do. Hell, some of the crew are just kids. And if they’ve been subjected to what I just went through...?”

 

They stood several minutes in silence before VAdm DeJariov entered the command code for his office and the lift resumed its journey. As it moved, he stepped towards her, took her hands in his and fixed his eyes on hers.

 

“That is why I have come, Jami,” he said quietly. “That... is why I have come.”