CM2: A Dish Best Served Cold

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11402.28)

 

 

The next morning after the meeting, John and the team assembled in the living room

of their house on Vulcan. The plan was to return to the ambassador's home for an update

on the perceived matter brought to Shrvan's attention by Hastings. Sometime during that

meeting, John would informally accuse Shrak of deliberately withholding information from

the ambassador. He would then suggest a mind meld between Shrvan and Shrak. It was

thought the Romulan would refuse, and then whatever was to happen would probably take

place.

 

The men piled into their groundcars, and zoomed away. They came to a stop at the

residence of the governor, disembarked, and were immediately shown inside. They were

taken to the same antechamber where yesterday's meeting had taken place. A few moments

later, the ambassador and his aides came into the chamber. John noticed as soon as he entered

that each of the "aides" immediately looked at him, and none of the expressions were friendly;

Shrak's least of all. He nudged Taylor, who was standing next to him, and the commander

gave an imperceptible nod.

 

"Admiral Hastings, thank you for returning," said Shrvan. "We have looked into the matter

you brought up yesterday, and there are indeed discrepancies in some of the residual logs."

He then turned to Shrak. "Shrak, you have looked into the matter further?" The Romulan

impersonator nodded. "I have," he said. "The Federation admiral is correct, though I am curious

about one thing, Admiral," and he looked directly at Hastings. "How is it that you came by this

information?"

 

Before Hastings could reply, John stepped forward. "Perhaps you could explain why you

did not know about this matter beforehand, Shrak." The lieutenant's tone was cold, and Shrak

immediately narrowed his eyes at Randall. Shrvan, however, was looking at his aide. "A valid

question, Shrak," he said, and Shrak's head quickly snapped around. "Why did you not know,

as this is supposed to be included in your duties." Shrak was momentarily at a loss to answer,

and John swiftly stepped in again.

 

"Perhaps you should find out yourself, Ambassador," he said, and every eye in the room

immediately focused on the engineer. "What are you suggesting, Lieutenant Randall?" asked

Shrvan. John shrugged slightly, but his eyes were chips of ice as he stared at Shrak. "Perhaps

this would be a good time for a mind meld, Mr. Ambassador," he said, and the room was deathly

silent.

 

The ambassador raised his eyebrows. "A valid suggestion, Lieutenant," he said, and Shrak

suddenly paled visibly beneath his green-skinned exterior. "No!" he shouted, then instantly looked

contrite as the ambassador stared at him. Everyone in the room knew a true Vulcan would never

have raised his voice as Shrak had just done, and the Romulan knew the game was up. The meddling Federation men had done the unthinkable; they had actually foiled the plot against the ambassador. Shrak instantly went for the disruptor hanging on his belt, and the other "Vulcans" in the room did the same.

 

"Mr. Ambassador, take cover!" shouted Taylor, as the Federation men drew their phasers. The

Vulcan tried to do just that, but as he tried to dive behind his chair, he was caught by a blast from a

disruptor, and was vaporized. A fierce fight ensued between the Starfleet men and the Romulans.

John kept dodging and diving, his only focus was Shrak. The Romulan was dodging blasts himself,

and Randall had no illusions that the Romulan was ignoring him. The two maneuvered for position

to try to get a shot at one another, and a few moments later, Randall tried to dive to his left, felt an

intense stinging sensation in his right leg, and he knew he'd been hit. Instead of feeling pain, a new

surge of anger went through him, and he readied his phaser, setting it to 'kill.'

 

He waited for the Romulan to make his move as phaser and disruptor bolts filled the air. There

were grunts of pain as someone took a hit, then a flash filled the air as one of the Romulans was

vaporized. Shrak then lunged to his left, rolled over, and fired a bolt toward Randall's position. The

engineer, however, had rolled to his right, and bounced to his feet, ignoring the stab of pain that

went through his right leg. He had Shrak dead in his sights, and the Romulan's face filled with terror

as he knew the Federation man was about to shoot him.

 

John growled at the Romulan, "This is for my father, you green-skinned bastard," and he pulled

the trigger. The Romulan's body was caught up in an incandescent glow, then winked out of existence. The Challenger engineer then slumped to the floor, unconscious.

 

 

****************************************************

 

 

When John came to, he was lying in a bio bed in a sickbay on a ship. He thought at first he was

back on the Challenger, but as a doctor's face came into view, he realized he was still aboard the Avenger. The doctor said, "Welcome back, Lieutenant Randall; how are we feeling?" John took a quick inventory of his bodily sensations, and said, mildly surprised, "Not bad, Doctor. Surprisingly good, as a matter of fact." The doctor nodded. "You took a glancing blow from a disruptor bolt, Lieutenant; there was not much damage at all. You have been unconscious for about twelve hours, as I administered a local antisthetic as soon as you were beamed aboard."

 

John nodded. "I appreciate all you've done, Doctor." The doctor said, "I was to inform Admiral Baldwin as soon as you woke up. I will do that now. Do not get out of bed, Mr. Randall." "Aye, sir," said John, and the doctor went to a console to get on the comm. Randall lay back in his bed, and closed his eyes. 'It's over now, Mom,' he thought. 'I got him, and Dad is avenged.' A few moments later, the sickbay door hissed, and the face of Admiral Jason Baldwin filled John's view. "Lieutenant, good to see you awake," he said, and the Challenger engineer smiled. "It's good to be here, sir," he said.

 

Baldwin said, "The doctor tells me your wound wasn't that bad, and I was relieved beyond words at

that information. If I had returned you to the Challenger in the same shape as last time, your captain probably would have torn my head off." John grinned. "I doubt he would have been pleased, sir; I agree with that," he said, and the admiral grinned back at him.

 

"Well, you have time to recuperate, Lieutenant," he said. "Your ship is currently on its way to Qo'noS, and we're about six days away. The Avenger will take you there." At the mention of the Klingon homeworld, Randall's eyes had widened. "I'm sure you'll be informed when you arrive, John," Baldwin continued. "In the meantime, you are ordered to do nothing but rest. I want you in top shape when you return to your ship." John nodded. "Sir, are we close enough to Centaurus for me to send a subspace message?" he asked. The admiral thought a second, then nodded. "I believe so, Lieutenant," he said. "I would like to contact my mother, sir," John said. Baldwin narrowed his eyes. "Remember, this was a classified mission, Lieutenant," he said, and John nodded.

 

"I know that, sir," he said. "It doesn't have to be a visual or a live linkup. I simply want her to know that I am well, and I have resolved a great personal burden. She'll know what I'm talking about, sir." The admiral nodded. "I see," he said. "Yes, that will be satisfactory, Lieutenant. I will have a PADD sent to you, and you can dictate your message. We will then send it out." John nodded. "Thank you, sir," he said. Baldwin straightened. "Thank you for your help on this mission, Mr. Randall. Hopefully, it will be a while before, or if, we call upon you again. And, from myself, well done." "Thank you, Admiral," said John, and Baldwin turned, heading for the door. Randall then closed his eyes, a warm glow of satisfaction enveloping him. This moment was one he had long dreamed of, and he was going to savor it to the fullest.

 

Six days later, the Avenger came within hailing distance of the Challenger, and told the starship their engineer was waiting to be beamed aboard. Baldwin then contacted the Klingon homeworld, and reassured Chancellor Azetbur that this was a routine transfer of personnel. She was mollified, and accepted the Starfleet admiral's assurance. John stood on the transporter pad of the Avenger, waiting to return to his ship. He was, for the most part, fully healed; he was still wearing a sparkling bandage on his leg underneath his uniform, but was walking without a limp. He told himself that, as fulfilling as the mission had been, it would be good to return home to Challenger.

 

 

END LOG