Covert Mission 3 - Log 2

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11411.06)

 

The next morning aboard the Avenger, John was sitting in his cabin going over the information in his packet. After an hour or so, his stomach growled softly, and he knew it was time to go grab a bite from the mess hall. He got up, and left his cabin, striding down the corridor toward the mess hall. He arrived, went through the door as it opened, and made his way to the ordering wall. He gave and received his order, and turned to find a seat. As he walked toward an empty table, a female voice cried, "Lieutenant!" John stopped and looked to his left. Lieutenant Sara Edwards was smiling at him, and crooked a finger at him. John gave an inward sigh, then walked over to the table where the navigator from the Bismarck sat eating.

 

Edwards beamed at him as he sat across from her. "Good morning, Lieutenant Randall," she said, a mischievious twinkle in her eye. "Good morning to you, Lieutenant Edwards," he replied as he began preparing his food. "I have a deal for you," she said, and John looked up from preparing his food. "I'll call you John if you call me Sara," she continued, her eyes coaxing him to accept her proposal. Randall shook his head as a smile popped onto his face. "You don't give up, do you?" he said resignedly, and the female officer giggled. "Just stop fighting me, John," she said. "It will go a lot easier."

 

John actually laughed out loud at that remark, and Edwards grinned happily. "Very well, Sara," he said. "And, if I didn't say it before, which I don't believe I did, nice to meet you." He held out a hand to her, and she took it happily. "I'm very pleased to meet you, John," she said, and her eyes were boring into his. There was an intensity there that the assistant chief engineer from the Challenger actually found slightly unnerving.

 

"Well, now that we've been formally introduced," he said, "would you please answer my question from yesterday?" "What was that, John?" she answered as she took a bite of food. "Is this your first undercover mission?" John asked, watching her intently. To his surprise, she was actually cringing a little at his scrutiny. Then, she squared her shoulders, and looked him full in the eyes. "Yes, it is," she said a little defiantly. "Why do you ask?"

 

John shrugged casually. "Just curious," he said, and took a bite of food himself. Edwards seemed stunned at his answer. "That's it?" she said. "Just curious? You're not gonna jump on me because it's my first time? Let me ask you: is this your first mission?" John looked at her, and shook his head. "No, it's not," he said, and Edwards' eyes widened. "It's not my first one." "How-how many have you been on?" she whispered, stunned by his answer. "Let's just say more than one," replied Randall, taking another bite of food.

 

Sara appeared to be having trouble processing the information she had been given. She finally looked up at him after a few moments. "You must think horribly of me," she said, and the tone of her voice was so wistful it made John look at her. To his surprise, her lower lip was quivering. "Why would I think that, Sara?" he asked. "Because of the way I've been acting," she said. "You probably think I'm just looking for a man to latch on to. You don't think I'm serious about this mission. You think I'm just an airheaded, empty female who------" "Now, hold it right there, Lieutenant," growled John, and Edwards' eyes widened again. "Let's get something straight right off the bat," he continued, and his eyes turned into chips of ice as he stared directly right at her. Sara knew she had angered him, and cringed away from him in her seat.

 

"I make up my own mind about people," he said. "And something I really, really hate is someone trying to tell me what feelings I have. I don't know you, so, at the moment, I really don't have any feelings about you one way or the other. I will tell you this, however: you keep this up, and I'm not going to have a very good impression of you. You just be yourself, and don't worry about my feelings. I'll make them clear when the time is right." He leaned back in his chair, and the ice slowly melted from his eyes. "You have a good day, Sara, and I'll see you later," he said, getting up from the table. He walked over to the recycling wall, and disposed of his tray. He then walked straight out of the room, and strode down the corridor to his cabin.

 

Lieutenant Sara Edwards watched him go, then buried her face in her hands. It was all going the wrong way. She had actually upset John, and that was the last thing she had wanted to do. She had been drawn to him from the moment he had walked into the conference room yesterday. He was a man unlike any she had met before. But, she was doing everything wrong around him. He clearly was a man who knew what he wanted, and what he expected out of other people. She made a resolution to herself right then; she was going to act differently around him. The carefree personality she had tried on him had backfired mightily, and she knew she had her work cut out for her if she was going to get to know him. She told herself to slow down and start over with John.

 

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Later that day, Sara went into the mess hall to grab a bite, and saw John sitting at a table by himself, a PADD in front of him. She grabbed her plate, and went over to him. "Is this seat taken?" she asked, and John looked up. He smiled slightly, and shook his head. "Have a seat, Sara," he said, and she was encouraged by the tone of his voice, which was actually friendly towards her.

She sat down, and beamed at him. "How's it going?" she asked, taking a bite of her sandwich. John sighed, then smiled and shrugged. "Okay, I guess," he said resignedly. "I've always hated to study. I know it's important we learn this, but," he finished, and Sara smiled at him. "I know exactly what you mean, John," she said. "I don't mean to barge in if you were really making an effort here," she continued, and he held up his hand.

 

"Actually, I'm glad you came along when you did, Sara, you have good timing on this one," John said, and was rewarded with another of her blinding smiles. "I needed a break." "Then I'm glad I could help," she replied. "When you finish eating, would you like to go up to the observation deck with me?" he asked, and she smiled hugely. "I'd love to, John," she said softly, and he smiled. "Great," he said. "I'll look over some more of this while you eat. Take your time, don't rush." "All right," she agreed, and inwardly she was thrilled. 'This is more like it,' she thought to herself as she ate her sandwich, watching John study his PADD.

 

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The next four days on the ship went by fairly quickly, and on the morning of the fifth day, the mission personnel gathered in the conference room once again. John and Sara came in together, and they sat side by side at the table. The admirals came in about five minutes later, and proceeded to grill the mission members on their characters. When it was done, Hastings stood at the podium.

 

"I would like to say, well done, everyone," he said. "You have proven that you are serious about the task at hand. You will be transporting to another ship in a few moments, the USS Altair. Captain Creighton-Ward and her crew will be transporting you to the time jump coordinates. You will make the time jump aboard the Altair. It has a cloaking device which will be critical to the mission.

 

"The ship will remain cloaked for the duration of the mission. It should emerge from the time jump very near the Martian spacedock on May 17, 2161. The Altair will beam you aboard Port Lowell, which is on Mars. You will then join the crew of the NX starship Columbia. Operatives have already made the jump to 2161, and your personas will have been entered into the proper places in the Starfleet computers.

 

"If you play your parts correctly, the transition should be a smooth one," finished Hastings. "Questions?" There were none as he waited, so he then said, "Very well. Grab your gear, and report to the transporter room. Good luck to all of you. The Federation is depending upon you. Success to you all. Dismissed."

 

The mission members got up from the table, and proceeded to their respective cabins to get their gear. They then made their way to the transporter room of the Avenger. John and Sara arrived together, and went into the room. Sara stayed very close to him, and John knew she was nervous, probably even a little terrified. He knew he had been before his first covert mission. He leaned down, and whispered above her head, "Hey, take a deep breath, and relax a little." She followed his instructions, then whispered, "I'm really glad you're here now, John."

 

He squeezed her shoulder gently as the mission members ascended the dais of the transporter. The officer at the panel made the adjustments, then nodded to Baldwin. The admiral said, "Good luck again to all of you. Energize." The group shimmered out of existence, materializing on a different transporter dais in a markedly different transporter room. John recognized it instantly, having been on the Altair before. He looked down at Sara, who was nervously looking around. She instinctively looked up at him, and he winked at her. She almost instantly relaxed as she winked back at him.

 

"I've been on this ship before," John whispered to her. "This is definitely the Altair." "I'm so glad I'm with you, John," she whispered back as they descended from the dais. A blonde stepped forward as they stepped onto the floor, and John knew it was the captain from England, Creighton-Ward. "Hello to all of you," she said in her distinct British accent. "We have quarters for each of you. This way, please," and she led the group out of the transporter room.

 

John and Sara discovered their quarters would be next to each other. As the engineer from the Challenger prepared to enter his cabin, the British captain cocked her head. "You seem familiar to me," she said, and John smiled at her. "Yes, Captain," he said. "I was part of the crew from Challenger aboard your ship a couple of years ago." The captain nodded. "Yes, I remember now," she smiled. "Engineer Randall, the one who showed us how to incorporate the cloaking device into our engines to keep my ship hidden longer. I never got a chance to thank you for that, so," she finished, and they both laughed. "Glad I was able to figure it out, Captain," he replied.

 

"Good luck to you and your fellow teammates, Mr. Randall," the captain said, and John thanked her. Creighton-Ward walked toward the turbolift, and John turned to find Sara staring at him from her cabin door. She shook her head. "The captain knew you," she said. "A prior mission?" John nodded. "Not a covert one," he clarified. "That one involved the whole Challenger crew." Sara shook her head. "You're just full of surprises, Mr. Randall," she said, and John laughed. "Wait until you really get to know me," he teased, and it was her turn to laugh. "I look forward to that, John," she said, and disappeared into her cabin.

 

John stared after her for a moment, then went into his cabin. He deposited his duffel bag onto the sofa, and sat down beside it. 'Well, we're about to take off,' he thought, and wondered what the future held for him.

 

END LOG