Apprehension

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11306.17)

 

 

Challenger had made it back from their time travel mission to the 20th

century, 1969 to be exact, and now the ship was safely in drydock at

Earth's spaceyards. The crew had been debriefed, and orders were then

given for the crew to have 2 weeks of shore leave.

 

John sat at the main console in Engineering; he was supervising the

starbase maintenance workers and engineers while they did their

tasks aboard Challenger. The young lieutenant was then planning on

calling his brother Richard on Centaurus, and have him come pick John

up to stay with his family for his shore leave. At least, those were the

plans before John was contacted by Admiral Jason Baldwin, who

intimated to the young lieutenant that he, Baldwin, had some information

that Randall might find compelling.

 

Engineering Chief Lieutenant Commander Eddie Freeman appeared, he

had been spending some time in his cabin, and walked up to the main

console. As he passed by where John was sitting, he remarked, "Man, it's

good to not have that NASA goon following me around all day." John

grinned and said, "Yeah, bet it is. I'm glad you're here, chief; I need to

talk to the captain, here's what's going on." Suiting action to words, a

report appeared on the console monitor where Freeman was sitting.

 

The report contained the contact from Admiral Jason Baldwin to John

while Freeman had been in his cabin. As he accessed the information, the

engineering chief asked, "What's up?", then his eyes widened slightly as

he read the report. John said, "It's a.....personal matter. I'll fill you in later,

huh?" Freeman absently nodded as he read the report. "I'll hold the fort,

no worries," he said.

 

A few minutes went by while Freeman read the report, and John had some

reports from the starbase workers come up on his monitor. He signed off

on them after reading, then reached over and punched the 'comm button.

"Engineering to bridge," he said. "Captain Ja'Lale or Commander Rinax,

come in, please." There was no immediate answer, so he tried again a minute

later. A reply came from the ops officer. "Both the captain and the XO are off

the ship. I can forward your comm if you like?" Randall frowned and said, "No,

that's all right, I had something personal to discuss with the captain, but I

guess it'll have to wait. Randall out."

 

The acknowledgment came back from the bridge, and John sat where he was

for a few seconds, then looked across the console at Freeman. "Chief, see you

in your office for a sec?" he asked. Freeman looked up from his monitor, and

said, "Hmmm? Sure," and he got up to go to his office, John on his heels. The

two men entered the chief's office, and John keyed the door shut. Freeman

sat down behind his desk, and raised his eyebrows at his number two officer.

 

John said, "Chief, I have something personal to tell you, and I don't think you're

gonna like it." "Uh-oh," said Freeman. "What's up?" Randall took a deep breath,

and said, "Well, you know that Starfleet Intelligence, for want of a better term,

'recruited' me for a mission last year." "Yeah, creepy set, Intelligence," mused

the chief engineer. "Well, as you read in the report, about two hours ago, I was

contacted by the same admiral who contacted me last year," John said.

 

Freeman's eyes narrowed. "And he wants to 'recruit' you again, right?" "Well,

he didn't exactly say that," said the assistant chief engineer. "He said he had

some information that I would find, er, personally compelling." "Hm," said

Eddie. "Strings attached, I'm guessing?" Randall said, "He gave me a set of

coordinates, and told me to come whenever I could. So, I thought I'd better

tell someone this time, in light of what happened last year." "Hm," Freeman

said again. "Just a set of coordinates, and 'come when you can'; that's setting

off alarm bells all over the place."

 

"My thoughts exactly," agreed John. "I wish Commander Rinax had been on the

bridge; she might have given me a little insight. But, she wasn't, so I guess I'll see

what I'm getting into." "Yeah," replied Freeman. "You definitely need to tell one of

them; I've only dealt with Starfleet Intelligence once, and it was....ugly." "Yep,"

said John. "Maybe I'll try to contact her again before I go. Just wanted you to know."

Eddie nodded. "Thanks for giving me the heads-up. Good luck, and take a weapon

if you can. There's a hook in that bait; almost has to be." Randall nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I've got a, er, slightly illegal Mark II phaser, think I'll take it. See you later,

chief."

 

"See you," Freeman responded, and stood up from behind his desk. John left the

office, and went back to the main console. He toggled the 'comm, and said,

"Engineering to bridge, has Commander Rinax returned yet?" There was no answer,

so he tried again. When there was still no answer, he sighed deeply. "Apparently

everyone's left," he said to no one in particular. Just then, Commander Erica Rinax's

voice came over the 'comm. "Rinax here," it said. John rolled his eyes, and said, "Well,

Commander, you're a hard one to get hold of."

 

Rinax said, "We're basically down to a skeleton crew, sorry. What can I do for you?"

John said, "Commander, I need to see you face to face, please. I'm going to give you

a name, and when you hear it, I think you'll know in what capacity I need to see you.

The name is Admiral Jason Baldwin." There was a second or two of silence, then the

commander said, "I am on the bridge; please visit at your convenience." "I'll be

right up, sir," John said. "Randall out." He got up from the console, and headed

toward the doors. They whooshed open at his approach, and he went out into the

corridor, heading for the turbolift. He arrived, and stepped in. "Bridge," he said,

and the lift sped off.

 

He arrived at the bridge, and exited the 'lift; he stepped out onto the bridge, looked

around, and saw Rinax at her first officer's chair. He walked over to her. "Commander,"

he said, and Rinax looked up. "Ah," she said. "Would you like to go to the ready

room to discuss this?" "Yes, thank you, sir," John said, and the commander nodded,

and got up out of her chair. She led the way to the captain's ready room, and they

both entered.

 

Rinax sat down at the table in the ready room, and John marched to the head of the

table, standing almost at attention. "Commander, I'll get right to the point," he said.

"I have been contacted by Admiral Baldwin; he wants to meet me at these coords."

He handed Rinax a PADD, and the commander instantly glanced at it, and typed in

the coordinates in the console at the table. While she was busy, Randall continued,

"I have no idea what this is about, but felt I should tell someone this time." Rinax

looked up at him, and said, "Please, do relax," as she motioned to an empty chair.

 

John hesitantly sat down, and Rinax noted the 3-D image on the monitor of where

the coordinates were located. She then looked at John, and said, "When are you

supposed to be arriving?" Randall shrugged. "He says any time I'm free," he replied.

"So, it's a casual drop-in meeting?" inquired the executive officer. "As it was last

time," John answered. "I'm sure you've read my logs from that last time." Rinax

nodded absently. "Have you determined what your next course of action will be,

or are you waiting on a command decision?" she asked. "I just thought a senior

officer should know about this one in case I get 'recruited' again," replied the

lieutenant.

 

"Can you wait to meet with him until I have a discussion with the captain?" she

inquired, and John nodded. "If you want me to, absolutely," he agreed. "After all,

you are under our command, not his directly," she said a bit archly. "After the

last taa-de-taa, I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be going through proper

channels. The captain may have something to say about this, and want to set up

backup for you." John smiled. "The thought did cross my mind, sir," he said, and

stood up. "Anyway, I wanted you or the captain to know about this." "Can you

stay on the ship until I talk to the captain?" she asked, and Randall nodded.

"Very well, then," Rinax said. "I will contact the captain. Dismissed."

 

John came to attention briefly, then turned and left the ready room. He strode

across the bridge to the turbolift, and entered. "Deck 3," he said, and the 'lift

whisked him away.

 

 

 

 

END LOG