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Cptn Swain

Asher et Arden

Author's Note: This log occurs before Excalibur left for her current mission.

 

Though his stateroom was one of the few aboard the Excalibur equipped with a hot water shower, Asher Swain had found that a long sonic shower on its lowest setting, a subtle pulsing that thrummed just at the edge of his hearing range was incredibly more relaxing than soaking in a vat of his own skin cells. Besides, there was something still mildly exotic about sonic showers, given he’d never seen one until he went to the academy.

 

After a half hour or so, Asher shut off the sonic. He stepped out, skipped the towel and went straight for the Talarian silk pajama pants hanging from a hook. While not as soft or luxurious as Tholian Silk, the lilac colored pants did well enough at their intended function, and unlike the aforementioned silk of Tholian origin, didn’t creep Asher out. For whatever reason, silk made from giant hook spiders’ webs bothered him a lot less than that spun from the Tholians themselves.

 

Stopping at the vanity, he rubbed at his freshly shaven face and ran a hand through his hair. One thing he would say for a real shower, though, he always thought his hair looked better when real water was involved. Asher grabbed a simple black band and pulled his hair back before heading into the living room.

 

While he waited for tea to steep, he picked up a PADD with the latest newsfeeds from the Alpha Quadrant. The first story caused his heart to sink.

 

Rioting on Cardassia Prime

Unrest erupted on Cardassia Prime and quickly spread through the capitol to outlying cities late last night. According to local news outlets and the official Cardassian Information Network, protests turned violent as armed civilians began clashing with Cardassian Civil Police trying to corral the throngs of people turning out to protest new policies designed to curb the growing black market. Looting and fires have broken out across the planet and the unrest is quickly spreading. Prime Minister Mahkal Sraen of the ruling Eagat Inaau party has called for quick action by leftist Castellan Alem Racet, who faces re-election in the coming year, to quell the violence before it spins out of control. Officials the Federation have urged peaceful resolution and patience, but have issued a travel advisory for the entire region.

 

 

The report went on, but he didn’t read any further. Riots. That was the absolute last thing anyone needed. All the more reason, he considered, for their upcoming mission.

 

“Something wrong?”

 

Asher had almost forgotten he wasn’t alone. “I suppose that depends,” he said turning towards his bedroom. “On your point of view.”

 

Emerging from the bedroom was the lanky, slender figure of Commander Arden Cormoran. “Oh?”

 

“Rioting has broken out on Cardassia,” Asher said with a frown.

 

Arden came more fully into the living room and settled on the couch, pulling up a blanket around him. “Well that is troubling news,” he said. “Though I suppose it could be worse.”

 

Smiling, Arden pulled Asher down to the couch into his embrace. “At least I am not assigned there anymore.”

 

“True,” Asher swain letting Arden pull him down. “I have to admit I was more than a little surprised to see you.”

 

“I was waiting to tell you in person,” Arden said, playing with a stand of Asher’s hair, “but you were on assignment when I called the first time, and then off to Deep Space 9, I figured I’d just wait and surprise you. Though, I have to say I am little hurt you didn’t ask for me as your own XO.”

 

Asher turned and gave Arden a sour look. “First, you know I wouldn’t … couldn’t do that. Second, its not like I was exactly given a choice. Besides, you’d already been assigned from the sound of it.”

 

Leaning forward, Arden kissed Asher on the forehead. “Have you always been so serious? I was joking Asher. I know you’d never let me be your XO. You like me too much.”

 

“Like” Asher said feigning annoyance, “is an awfully strong word.”

 

“Oh,” Arden said. “I see how it is. It would be a shame if your maintenance requests got lost.”

 

Grinning, Asher leaned back into Arden. “You wouldn’t have me to deal with, but Miranda and I wouldn’t cross her.”

 

Arden smirked. “I am looking forward to meeting her,” he said. “What are you planning on making for dinner anyway?”

 

“I hadn’t really thought about it yet, to be honest.”

 

“You can’t just replicate something you know.”

 

Asher frowned and got up to collect his tea. “And why not,” he said taking a drink.

 

Rolling his eyes, Arden shook his head. “Because I was looking forward to some your actual cooking.”

 

Asher took a drink of the tea and sighed. He had grown up on a low-tech world, founded by individuals who eschewed modern technology in favor of a more ‘simplistic’ way of life. One of the side-effects was that he’d learned to actually cook, something that fewer and fewer humans apparently knew how to do on their own.

 

“Alright, alright,” Asher said finally. “I’ll think of something.”

 

Arden grinned, widely. “Good.”

 

“So tell me more about her.”

 

“Miranda?”

 

“Yes,” Arden said, lazily stretching out on the couch as Asher sipped patiently at his tea.

 

“She’s very …” Asher paused for a moment to consider Miranda Hawthorne. They had barely even had a chance to talk since she’d arrived aboard, and to be honest, the longest conversation they’d had outside of ‘work’ was when they’d met at Quark’s back on Deep Space Nine.

 

After a moment he continued. “She’s very efficient,” he said neutrally. “To be honest I haven’t had much time to get to know her. She spent most of the first part of the trip settling in and getting to know her department.

 

“I suppose it wouldn’t have been so bad if she were just having to learn that, but she has to learn the ship too, and well you know me...”

 

Arden snorted. “You hate command, I don’t know why you ever let them talk to you into it the first place Asher.”

 

Asher took another drink of tea and shrugged. There wasn’t much use in arguing with Arden about anything, but especially not when he was right.

 

“Well I hope she works out for you,” Arden said softly. “Not that I have to worry about it, but you’d drive me crazy.”

 

“I do my best.”

 

“Now what about my new boss,” Arden said. “I’ve barely met him and I’ve been here, what three weeks now?”

 

“Captain Calypsos?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I’ve only met him a few times myself. He seems nice enough. Never heard anything bad about him. I mean, hell, he’s been out here almost two years now and hasn’t had a major incident.”

 

Arden nodded. He’d been apprehensive about the assignment to Camelot. While he was certainly happy to be close to Asher again, the place had a bit of a reputation, and while being a military liaison officer on Cardassia Prime wasn’t exactly the most glam job, it certainly hadn’t proved the be the career killer this Quadrant had been.

 

“Well that Corris fellow seems to be on top of things,” Arden added. “As do the rest of the crew, at least the Starfleet ones anyway.”

 

“You don’t trust the Klingons or the Romulans?”

 

Arden curled his lips and looked away for a moment. “Not yet,” he said lowly. “I know you don’t understand, but you haven’t had to wonder if they were going to be there when you needed them like I have the last few years. Its not that I don’t trust them individually, I mean, I do, sort of...”

 

He looked up to see Asher looking at him skeptically over his tea cup. “I don’t know them yet, but their governments? That I do know, and what you can always count on the Romulans to do, is be unpredictable.”

 

“But what about the Klingons,” Asher pushed. “They’ve never not been there for us when we really needed them, and they’ve been very reliable out here, from what I’ve heard.”

 

“I am less worried about them, to be honest. I just don’t like the idea of a joint crew, you know that.”

 

Asher sighed and finished his tea. The old mistrusts of years of on and off warfare between the Federation and the Romulans were still fresh for many people, and Asher knew that it took more than a few years of playing nice for people like Arden to move on.

 

“I think I’ll make something with fish from Avalon,” Asher said shifting the conversation. “I am sure Augustus won’t mind running down there and getting me something.”

 

“Augustus,” Arden said, a tinge of something strange in his voice, “You mean Petty Officer Quintus.”

 

“Is that,” Asher said making his way back to the couch and rustling Arden’s short, auburn hair. “Jealousy?”

 

As if it were beneath him, which is wasn’t, Arden swatted Asher’s hand away and pulled the covers up around himself again. “Jealous? Of a twenty-something enlisted officer? You don’t ever mix business and pleasure.

 

“Or at least you didn’t used to.”

 

Asher rolled his eyes and went over to his bookshelf to look for something. “You’re so dramatic.”

 

“I’m not the one with handwritten notes from my Yeoman that smell of jasmine, thanking me for everything.”

 

“So you are jealous,” Asher said laughing. “Its not like that.”

 

“Oh,” Arden said, more accusatory than he intended. “So what is it like?”

 

“I managed to pull a few strings and got him access to the holosuites on DS9,” Asher said finding the book he was looking for, a heavy, leather wrapped tome. “And helped him arrange to see his boyfriend.”

 

“I never took you as a romantic.”

 

Asher snorted and laid the book down. “He’s a sweet boy, besides, you should be glad he likes me.”

 

“Oh,” Arden said cloyingly, “Why is that?”

 

“His father is a very important person, well at least for your career interests.”

 

“Oh? I don’t believe I know anyone named Quintus.”

 

“His father is Akena Le-Gran, you know former secretary of state, hero of the...”

 

Arden was starring. “I didn’t know he had son.”

 

Rustling Arden’s hair again and pulling himself away from the couch, Asher headed into the bedroom to find something to wear other than a towel. “I didn’t either, apparently Le-Gran and Corizon were old friends.”

 

“Then why the hell is his son an enlisted man? I mean surely...”

 

“Well the story I heard,” Asher said, knowingly indulging Arden’s taste for gossip, “is that Le-Gran and the boy’s mother -- Julia or something, who I suppose was also some sort of Admiral -- never really got along all that well, anyway Augustus mostly grew up with her. Apparently he ran off and enlisted to annoy her. Well Le-Gran caught wind of it, and had Corizon take him on as his Yeoman. This of course apparently only annoyed his mother more, because her and Corizon also went back a good ways.”

 

“My my,” Arden said, almost schoolgirl in his tone. “Corizon really did get around.”

 

“Did you ever met him?”

 

“Once or twice,” Arden said thoughtfully. “He was at a few security conferences I attended right after the war. I might have met him before that, but I don’t really remember. He was a nice enough fellow. Calm, quiet. ”

 

Asher nodded. “Well I would have prefered if he hadn’t left such a mess here. I mean Augustus is fine and all, but good lord, do you have any idea how screwed up this entire quadrant is?”

 

“Yes,” Arden said. “You should have seen the packet of reports I got when I was assigned to Camelot. Do you know just how many different powder kegs they’re sitting on? It wasn’t just Corizon that was doing whatever the hell he wanted out here. Don’t get me wrong, he certainly was the main attraction of this three ring circus, but my god.”

 

Returning from his bedroom wearing a simple grey tunic and slacks, Asher made his way to the chevron shaped desk across from the sitting area. “The irony,” he said, “is that they assigned that salty bear of an Admiral to ride herd on this fiasco in waiting, and it seems to me, he’s just as knee deep in it as Corizon was... not that I said that.”

 

It was unlike Asher to qualify his remarks in such a way, and Arden sat up on the couch. “I know you said you two had a disagreement...”

 

Asher waived hand. “It’s nothing,” he said typing. “Forget I said anything. Just a touchy subject.”

 

Making a note to come back to that after a few drinks, Arden let it go and settled back into the couch. “So how long will you be gone on your next mission?”

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