An Unexpected Revelation

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11512.21)

 

*Note: If anyone posts a log continuing the dinner at SB 179, this log will take place during and afterwards.

 

The Challenger docked at starbase 179 after the exercise with the cloaking device. The ship promptly received a hail from the captain of the starbase, a person named Miller. The captain invited the crew of the Challenger to beam aboard the base for a dinner that had been prepared in the ship's honor.

 

Captain Ja'Lale, via communications officer Dvokr chim Hok, informed the crew about the dinner. John, overseeing the crew in engineering, heard the announcement over the ship's comm. He was sitting at the main console awaiting the maintenance team from the starbase to help make repairs in engineering.

 

Jeff Michaels, one of John's best friends, came up to him. "Hey pal, you gonna escort the lady lieutenant to the dinner?" He smiled impishly at Randall, making reference to the fact that the chief science officer, Anastasia Poldara, had been in engineering earlier in the day, and she and John had had a conversation.

 

John tilted his head, and scowled at his friend. "Oh, man, don't start that again," he said in mock anger, and Michaels laughed, dodging a punch from his friend. "Just kidding, pal," he said, and John grinned at him. Michaels went to the other side of the console, then raised his eyebrows as he saw Randall punch the comm.

 

"Randall to Ja'Lale," said the chief engineer. "Engines are at station keeping, sir; warp engines have been shut down, and are awaiting maintenance from the starbase team." "Acknowledged, Lieutenant," came back the voice of the Challenger's captain. "Inform your crew that a dinner has been prepared for us aboard the starbase. Casual dress is acceptable." "Aye, sir," replied John. "I will inform them." "That goes for you, too, Lieutenant," said Ja'Lale, and Randall half smiled, half frowned. "Understood, sir," he said. "Randall out."

 

What John didn't know was that, a little earlier, Admiral Jason Baldwin of Starfleet Intelligence had contacted the Challenger. Calling Captain Ja'Lale and Commander Rinax, the first officer of the ship, into the captain's ready room, Baldwin informed them that a mole had been found in Starfleet who had been feeding secret (not to mention classified) information to the Romulans that appeared to go back over two decades. Baldwin also told the officers that an operation had been set up to apprehend the individual responsible by Starfleet Intelligence.The individual had fled into Romulan space, and SI was going after them.

 

He then informed them that a retired commodore, Martha Braxton, was responsible for the criminal act. Ja'Lale had heard of Braxton, and told the admiral so. Baldwin then informed them that Braxton had probably been responsible for blowing the cover of Marcus Randall, one of SI's top operatives. Randall had been killed by the Romulans in a firefight close to the Martian spacedocks. He was also the father of chief engineer John Randall.

 

Baldwin told Ja'Lale he had made a promise to John concerning his father, and intended to keep it. He wanted John to accompany the SI operation. Ja'Lale reluctantly agreed, since the admiral would probably pull rank on him/it if he/it didn't agree, and Baldwin simply smiled. He told Ja'Lale to inform John ASAP, and he would be waiting. Baldwin signed off, and the captain and commander looked at each other, Rinax immediately voicing her concerns over the admiral's information. The two officers then beamed aboard the starbase for the dinner, deciding to inform Randall afterwards.

 

John, unaware of any of this, sat at the main console in engineering. Michaels came by, and happened to glance over toward him. "Hey pal, don't tell me you're not going," he said, and Randall shrugged. "I have to stay here until the maintenance team gets here, you know that," the chief engineer replied, and his friend nodded. "See you there, then," said Michaels, and John waved to him. The crew all filed out, and a man wearing a uniform with the insignia of the starbase entered.

 

"I'm looking for Chief John Randall," he said, and the engineer responded immediately. "I've been sent to relieve you, sir," said the man, and John's eyes narrowed. "Who sent you?" he asked, and the man handed him a PADD. "Here are the names, sir," he said, and John took the PADD, his eyes scanning a list of names. Then, he saw one that brought him up out of his chair: Admiral Jason Baldwin.

 

'What the hell is he doing here?' thought Randall, and handed the PADD back to the man. "Very well, you have the conn," he stated, and stalked off toward the doors of engineering. He went through them, and then took the turbolift to his cabin. He entered and went straight to the computer terminal, activating the comm. "This is Challenger chief engineer John Randall calling for Admiral Jason Baldwin," he said in a transmission to the starbase, and a reply came back almost immediately.

 

"This is Starbase 179 communications," it said. "Admiral Baldwin is not available at this time. You are required to report to your commanding officer aboard the base. Starbase 179 out." Randall scowled at the transmission, then got up and changed uniforms. He then left his cabin and rode the turbolift to the transporter room. He ascended the dais and nodded to the transport chief. "Energize," he snapped, and he shimmered out of existence.

 

 

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John materialized in the transporter room of the starbase, and stepped down from the dais. He left the room and paused in the corridor, acclimating himself to the base. His intention was locating Baldwin, he had absolutely no interest in the dinner. After a half hour of searching, however, he came to the conclusion that the admiral was not on the base.

 

John began to get into a foul mood, and he made his way to the room which had been readied for the dinner for the Challenger crew. Most of the crew were already there, and others were still arriving. John went straight to the bar and ordered himself a drink. He kept it light as he only ordered water, which drew raised eyebrows from the bartender, who then hurriedly complied with John's request when he saw the face of the chief engineer.

 

John stood at the bar sipping his water. To his right, a table had been set up for the Challenger crew. He was offered a seat several times, but shook his head. He saw the bridge officers all sitting in a clump together, which included Anastasia Poldara, who was nodding her head as Commander Rinax was saying something to her.

 

The dinner was served, and everyone (every being) began to eat. John stood and watched it all, his mood slowly growing uglier. He was not aware of it, but his eyes had turned ice-blue, and his jaw was set in a hard line. During the meal, Anastasia surveyed the room, finally looking toward the bar, and stiffened slightly as she saw John standing there. She could tell immediately something was wrong with her friend, and she watched him from the corner of her eye as she ate.

 

John's communicator suddenly beeped toward the end of the meal, and he flipped it open. "Randall here," he answered, and the voice of Admiral Jason Baldwin came to him. "Lieutenant Randall, good to talk to you again," it said, and John's eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you doing here, sir?" he said in a hard, but respectful, tone of voice. "Lieutenant, your captain will be giving you some news shortly," replied Baldwin. "I will give you a hint; it concerns your father."

 

John's entire body went rigid at that remark, and from her seat, Anastasia's eyes widened in concern. She knew something was very wrong, and now stared openly at Randall. "This better be good, Admiral," growled the chief engineer. Baldwin replied, "I am aboard the Avenger, John. We'll talk shortly. Baldwin out." John flipped the communicator shut, his face now hard with anger. Commander Rinax had happened to notice Anastasia staring at John, and turned her head. Her eyes widened as well, and she gave a nudge to the captain. He/it looked at her, and Rinax tossed her head in the direction of Randall.

 

The captain turned, and saw the posture of his chief engineer. He/it grunted, and arose from the chair. He/it made his/its way over to John, who saw him/it coming, and regarded he/it with ice-blue eyes. "Lieutenant, have you eaten?" inquired the captain calmly, and John just stared at him. "What's wrong?" the captain asked, and Randall gave a savage smile. "I think you have something to tell me, sir," he growled, and Ja'Lale knew instantly who John had been talking to on his communicator.

 

"Let's go find a more private place, Lieutenant," the captain said, and John nodded. The two officers made their way toward the doors, and Anastasia watched in apprehension as they exited the room. The captain led John to a nearby empty room, and turned to face him. "Lieutenant, we were contacted by Admiral Jason Baldwin as we were docking," the captain began. "He informed us that a mole had been found in Starfleet who has been supplying the Romulans with classified information, and it may span over two decades."

 

John's eyes widened, and they temporarily lost their ice-blue cohesion. "That's incredible, sir," he said. "Do they know who it was?" Ja'Lale nodded. "The individual has fled into Romulan space, and Starfleet Intelligence is mounting a mission to retrieve the person," he/it said. John nodded. "Enter Baldwin," he said, and the captain nodded. Then it hit Randall, and his eyes began regaining the ice-blue look. "Captain, Baldwin hinted that this involves my father," he said, and Ja'Lale sighed.

 

"I wish he hadn't told you that, John," the captain said. "But, you're right, it does. Baldwin thinks this individual may have blown your father's cover when he was an operative." John's face went hard with anger, but he struggled to keep his composure out of respect for his captain. "The admiral wants to involve you in the operation," continued Ja'Lale. "You already know how I feel about this, but at the same time, I know there's nothing I can do to prevent you from staying out of it. The admiral was ready to pull rank on me if I had objected, so I didn't bother. I will simply say this: You watch yourself on this mission, and you come back to Challenger in one piece. I have already told the admiral this. You are hereby relieved of duty, Lieutenant, and this is to be kept classified."

 

Ja'Lale then stepped forward, and looked John square in the eyes. "This is becoming a habit that is taking place entirely too often for me," he/it said. "I will be having a discussion with the admiral about this, you can bet on that. I need you aboard my ship, Lieutenant; you are my chief engineer, and I don't like it when you are away. You come back in one piece, and that's an order, Lieutenant."

 

John nodded, his respect for his captain doubling at that moment. "Understood and acknowledged, sir," he said, and Ja'Lale nodded. The captain stared at him a second longer, then abruptly turned and left the room. John stood there for a few seconds, his mind assimilating what he had just been told, then he left the room as well. He made his way back to the dinner area, and went up to Jeff Michaels. He pulled his friend away from the crowd, and spoke to him briefly. Michaels' eyes widened as John talked, then he simply nodded when Randall finished. "Be careful, pal," he said, and the two friends shook hands, then clasped each other in a brief hug.

 

John left Michaels and was making his way toward the doors when he was suddenly taken by the arm. He turned and looked into the concerned gaze of Anastasia Poldara. Her eyes were staring intently up at him as she said, "What's going on? Where are you going? Why are you so angry?" John looked around, then led her into a relatively secluded corner. He made her promise to keep what he told her to herself, she agreed, then he told her about the mission.

 

When he finished, Ana's expression shifted from one of concern to apprehension. "You're actually going to do this," she said. John nodded. "I have to, for my father," he answered. "You have to what, get yourself killed?" Ana struggled to keep her voice down, aware that this was not polite dinner conversation. "Are you sure this is what you want? To risk your own life for revenge?" John met her gaze squarely. "Debts to pay," he said onimously. It was enough for him.

 

As he turned to leave, Ana caught his arm. "I think you're making a mistake," she said. "But, for what it's worth, good luck. I hope that when you come back, you can finally put this behind you, and stick around for a while. Or else we will have problems," and there was definite emphasis on that word. She squeezed his arm--whether as a gesture of comfort or rebuke it was hard to tell--and looked him squarely in the eyes, then turned on her heel and left, not looking back.

 

John watched her go, knowing what that had cost her, then made his way to the doors, and went through them. He made his way to the transporter room, and ascended the dais. He instructed the operator he wanted to be beamed aboard the Avenger. The officer nodded, bent to his console, then straightened and nodded. "Energize," John said, and he shimmered out of existence.

 

END LOG