A Covert Conversation

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11306.24)

 

John and Ensign Redhawk shimmered into existence in a large, empty

building. Looking around, the Starfleet lieutenant thought to himself,

'This must have been a warehouse once.' The security guard immediately

drew his phaser, and went on full alert. Randall stayed where he was,

his eyes scanning around, until he spotted a door in the east wall of

the abandoned building. He nudged the young guard, who looked at

him, and John nodded his head toward the door. The ensign nodded,

and led the way to the door.

 

Light shone through the crack at the bottom of the door, and the two men

looked at each other, then John nodded to the ensign security guard.

Redhawk reached out, took hold of the knob, and opened the door.

Surprisingly, the hinges appeared to be well-oiled; not a single skreek

was heard as the door opened. The two men went inside, and they

immediately looked to their left as a table came into their periphreal vision.

 

Seated at the table was Admiral Jason Baldwin; with him was a man John

had never seen before. The admiral quickly arose from the table. "Ah,

Lieutenant Randall," he said. "Good of you to come. Come have a seat,

please," and he gestured to an empty chair in front of the table where he

and the stranger were sitting. John nodded, and walked to the empty chair,

sitting down. Redhawk holstered his phaser, and took up a standing position

behind where Randall was seated.

 

Baldwin resumed his seat, and said, "John, here's someone I thought you

should meet. This is retired Commander Alex Taylor. He knew your father well."

At that, John's eyebrows raised, and Taylor stood, extending his hand. Randall

shook it, and they sat back down. The retired commander spoke in a deep bass

voice. "Hello, Lieutenant," he said. "Nice to finally meet you. You're definitely

Marcus' son; dammed if you don't look just like him," he finished, shaking his

head in amazement.

 

John was staring at the former Starfleet Intelligence operative. "You worked with

my father, sir?" he asked. Taylor was about six feet two, still in pretty good shape,

judging by his appearance; his hair was tinged with minute flecks of gray, but

the gray eyes were still alert and watchful. He nodded to John's question, and

the Challenger engineer thought it was a nod of sadness. When the retired

commander spoke, his voice was tinged with melancholy. "Yes, I did, Lieutenant,"

he said. "Your father was one of the good ones. It's a shame what happened to him."

 

John replied, "Please call me John, sir," and Taylor nodded. The lieutenant then

glanced over to Baldwin. "Is this why you summoned me, sir?" he asked, and the

admiral nodded. "After what happened to you last year on that mission, John, I

figured I owed you something," he said. "I want you to know right now; Starfleet

knows nothing about this. I trust no one here will spill the beans." He looked

around as he spoke, and everyone shook their head negatively. "No one will

know, sir," Randall said, then glanced back at the guard. "My companion is here

on orders."

 

Baldwin nodded. "As you told me," he agreed. "Ok, Alex, he's all yours. John, I've

heard the story already, so I'll step out, and let you two talk." He then looked at the

guard. "You come with me, ensign," he ordered, and Redhawk nodded, following

the admiral out a door located on the left wall of the room. Taylor watched them go,

then turned back to Randall. "John, I gather you are seeking details about your

father's......demise," he said. Randall inclined his head. "That's one way to put it,

sir," he agreed. "Please call me Alex, I'm retired now," replied Taylor, and the two

men smiled at one another.

 

The former operative took a deep breath, then continued. "John, what I'm about to

tell you is still highly classified by Starfleet. But, when Jason contacted me, and told

me about you, I agreed with him; you being Marcus' son, you have a right to know.

So, you never heard this from me, all right?" Randall nodded, and leaned his elbows

onto the table in anticipation. "I understand," he said. "Please go on."

 

Taylor then told John a remarkable, and deeply disturbing, story; how his father had

accepted a deep undercover mission to Romulus; Marcus Randall completed the

mission, but was then betrayed by a Romulan who had been posing as a Vulcan.

His father had escaped the trap set for him, and made it back to Federation space.

Unknown to Marcus Randall, however, more Romulans had been posing as Vulcans;

they tracked John's father to the Martian spacedocks; a firefight ensued, and Marcus

Randall was killed.

 

At that moment, John's communicator beeped, and he said, "Excuse me, Alex." He

irritatedly whipped out his communicator, and the voice of the Challenger's executive

officer, Commander Erica Rinax, came over the speaker. "Commander Rinax to

Lieutenant Randall, respond," it said. "Randall here, go ahead, Commander," replied

the assistant chief engineer, irritation in his voice. The voice of the executive officer

cooled noticeably as she said, "I have your location at 323 mark 4, and Redhawk's

location at 335 mark 3. Why are you so many meters apart?"

 

John answered in a like voice. "Not my doing, Commander," he said. "My guard is

with Admiral Baldwin on his orders. We're just fine, there is no cause for concern."

"You two are to correctly obey orders," shot back Rinax, "and since I have to be

specific, you must remain with two meters of each other; non-negotiable. And it sounds

like I have to throw in that you must remain within eyesight of each other; no standing

on the other side of doors, and tricks like that." Randall rolled his eyes, and Taylor

mouthed a silent "wow", making John grin. But, when he answered, John's voice

was anything but jovial. "Then I suggest you speak with Admiral Baldwin on that

matter, sir," he said coldly. "He's in the next room with my guard. I'll tell him to contact

you. Randall out." He snapped the communicator closed, and looked at Taylor. "It's

my XO aboard Challenger," he explained. "She's one of those 'by the book' officers,

you know?"

 

Alex smiled in understanding. "I've been there, John," he said. "I'll just get a glass of

water while you get with the admiral." Randall nodded, and, rising from his seat, went

into the next room to be greeted with raised eyebrows by Baldwin. "Hello, Admiral,"

he said. "I have a situation to brief you on, sir." "And what would that be, Lieutenant?"

asked Baldwin. "Well, sir," said the Challenger engineer, "I told you how we were coming

down here, and now my XO is a little ticked off that my guard and I are seperated by a

few meters."

 

Baldwin narrowed his eyes, and his voice went cold. "I see," he said. "Would you like

me to speak with your XO?" John sighed, and the admiral raised his eyebrows again.

"You'll probably have to, sir," he said. "She's one of those 'by the book' officers, you

know?" Baldwin nodded grimly, his eyes flashing. "I know exactly what you mean,

Lieutenant," he said. "Don't worry about a thing; go back and talk with Alex some

more if you're not finished. I'll take care of it." Randall nodded, and turned to leave.

As he stepped back through the door, he heard Baldwin call irritatedly to an aide,

"Get me the Challenger," and the lieutenant grimly smiled to himself. He walked

back to the table, and sat down in his chair opposite the former Starfleet Intelligence

operative.

 

As they continued talking, Baldwin's voice could be heard in the next room; he was not

at all happy with the executive officer of the Challenger. The two men exchanged a grim

look, and continued talking. About an hour later, both men stood up, and Randall held

out his hand to Taylor, who shook it firmly. "Thank you for coming today, Alex," said

John. "My pleasure, John," replied the former operative. "It's actually been good for me

to tell you about your father, it takes a weight off my chest. I always felt I should have been

with him on that Romulan mission, but he wouldn't hear of it. Your father had an

independent soul, John; when he made his mind up, it was a done deal."

 

John smiled, and nodded. "Yes, sir, it was," he said. "And it didn't matter who tried to

stop him." Taylor grinned. "You're right about that," he agreed. "I once saw Marcus get

into it with an admiral when he was still a lieutenant commander, and Marcus didn't

give an inch to him. At the end of it, the admiral was actually trying to calm Marcus

down. It was too late by then, of course," and both men laughed.

 

Baldwin and Redhawk came back into the room, and the admiral grinned at John.

"You do not have a problem, Lieutenant," he said. "Thank you, sir," replied Randall.

Baldwin looked at Taylor. "All finished?" he asked, and the former operative nodded.

The admiral looked at John. "John, I would ask that you keep this under wraps for

now," he said, then held up his hand as the lieutenant started to speak. "However,"

continued Baldwin, "I have someone else for you to see. His name is Admiral Chuck

Hastings. He's at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco. When you tell him who

you are, he'll see you; there's no need to make an appointment. If you have to, tell

him I sent you."

 

John nodded. "I appreciate all your help, Admiral," he said. "It means a lot to me, sir."

The admiral nodded. "I can see that in your eyes, Lieutenant. If there's nothing else,

you and your guard are free to go." John nodded. "Thanks to both of you," he said,

and both men nodded. Randall turned, nodded to Redhawk, and they returned to the

area from which they had materialized. John took out his communicator, and said,

"Challenger; two to beam up." A few seconds later, the men disappeared in two columns

of twinkling lights.

 

 

END LOG