Business As Usual

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11601.13)

 

John materialized in the transporter room of the Challenger after beaming over from the Avenger. He stepped down from the dais, nodded to the transporter officer, and exited the room. He went out into the corridor and walked to the turbolift. When the car arrived, he stepped in and said, "Deck 3." The lift sped off.

 

The lift arrived, and he stepped out into the corridor. He made his way along it, nodding to various crewmembers along the way until he reached his cabin. He went through the doors and walked over to stand in front of the sofa. He slammed his duffel bag to the floor, and sat down heavily on the sofa.

 

He ran his hands through his hair, and leaned back against the sofa, his hands still on his head. The memories of the first (and final) meeting with the person who had betrayed his father would not leave his mind. He pictured her again giving him a hug, then snatching his phaser from its holster, twisting the setting to "kill", then turning the phaser on herself.

 

John smiled savagely, however, as the firefight with the Romulans ran through his mind. He had enjoyed every bit of the fight, he'd be a fool to not admit that to himself. It had felt good blowing away some of those green skinned bastards, and he wasn't ashamed to admit to himself.

 

His smile softened, then, as the memory of the last meeting with the Avenger's security chief, Lieutenant Amanda Richards, played in his mind. She had wished him well, then, much to his surprise, had actually kissed him. They had set up a code between them so they could share messages anonymously, and promised each other they would stay in touch.

 

Thinking of that, John arose from the sofa, stripped off his clothes, and went into the head to take a shower. 20 minutes later, he stepped out and toweled himself dry. He went into the bedroom and put on a fresh uniform. He came back and headed for the computer terminal. He sat down and composed an e-mail to Amanda, then sent it as the Avenger was still docked at Starbase 179, as the Challenger was.

 

He received a reply not two minutes later, and smiled as he read it. He then thought he should check in with engineering where his friend Lieutenant (j.g.) Jeff Michaels was in command. He was reaching for the comm button when it suddenly crackled into life. "Rinax to Randall," came the voice of the executive officer. John punched the comm. "Randall here," he answered. "Are you aboard the ship somewhere, Lieutenant?" asked the XO, and John smiled briefly. "I am in my cabin just getting ready to report for duty," he said.

 

"I need you on the bridge, Lieutenant," Rinax said, and John raised his eyebrows. "I've been doing a little poking around in engineering and some of the Jefferies tubes, and I'm a little concerned over some procedures undertaken by the starbase repair crews." John moaned mentally, then answered, "Understood, Commander, I'll be right there. Randall out."

 

He closed his eyes tight for a moment and thought, 'Here we go again.' He then punched the comm. "Randall to Michaels," he said, and his friend answered almost immediately. "Michaels here." "Jeff, I need you to hold the fort, I've been summoned to the bridge by the XO," said John. "No sweat, pal, we're green across the board here, and I think we just left the base," replied Michaels.

 

"All right then, I'll be there ASAP," said Randall. "You need to talk after a while, buddy?" asked his friend, and John knew Jeff was concerned about him. "Yeah, we'll get together later," he said. "Randall out." He sat back a moment, then sent an e-mail to the science station on the bridge, asking the chief science officer, and his friend, Lieutenant Anastasia Poldara, if she would be free to talk later. He then arose from the terminal and exited his cabin, heading for the turbolift.

 

He rode the lift to the bridge, and stepped out. He made his way down the ramp and came over to where the captain and commander sat. Rinax nodded to him. "Good to have you back, Lieutenant," she said, and Ja'Lale echoed her sentiment. "Good to be back, Commander, Captain," replied John. He then looked at Rinax. "You wanted to see me?" Rinax nodded, and turned to the captain. "Will you join us, sir?" she asked, and the captain nodded. He gave the conn to Poldara, who came over from her post at the science station. Her eyes met John's briefly, then she sat in the captain's chair.

 

Randall gave a mental shrug and followed the captain and the exec into the conference room just off the bridge. They all sat down, and Rinax told both officers what she had discovered. The captain ordered John to trace and repair whatever seemed to be wrong or out of place, and Rinax handed him a PADD with what all she had found. John said he'd get a team on it, and the meeting broke up.

 

John left the room and walked across the top tier of the bridge to the lift. He stepped in and said, "Deck 12." As the doors began to close, he saw Ana glance over at him as she got up from the captain's chair, but he could read nothing in her dark eyes. The doors slid shut, and the lift whisked him away. He arrived a few moments later and stepped out into the corridor. He walked the short distance to engineering and entered the department. He acknowledged the greetings from his crew, who seemed glad to see him, and made his way to the main console where Michaels was tracking something on his monitor.

 

"Hey, Jeff," John said, and his friend looked up, smiling. "Welcome back, Chief," replied Michaels. Jeff then filled him in on the current situation, and Randall nodded. He then told Michaels of his meeting with the captain and commander, and told him to assemble a repair team. Michaels did so, and John gave them instructions on what needed to be done. He gave Michaels the PADD furnished by Rinax, and the team left engineering.

 

John stayed in engineering and Michaels gave him updates periodically on the team's progress. Nearly 10 hours later, Jeff gave John the final update and announced the team seemed to have finished the job. Randall gave them a 'job well done' and told them to go get some rest. He stayed in engineering himself another three hours until his friend Steve Davis (j.g. LT.) came to relieve him as the night crew came on.

 

John gave Steve a short list of duties to perform, then logged out for the night. He made his way out of engineering to the turbolift, and rode it to the deck containing his cabin. He entered the cabin and went over to the computer terminal. There was no reply from Ana to his e-mail of earlier, so he shrugged and went into the bedroom. He took off his uniform and climbed into bed, giving the computer his wake-up time. The computer acknowledged, and John went to sleep.

 

END LOG