Dismissal

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11604.25)

 

John was taken to Dr. McCoy's office for more detailed scans of his body on the doctor's biobed. Joanna herself was not there; one of the nurses told John she was in the administrator's office in a staff meeting, but the meeting should be wrapping up shortly. Victoria, John's sister and the nurse in charge of his case, was there, and was supervising the scans. She nodded each time a nurse pointed out a result to her, and she smiled at her brother several times during the scans. John took that to mean everything was going well, and relaxed on the bed.

 

The scans wrapped up around a half hour later, and Victoria told John he could go back to his room. She walked with him as the orderlies escorted him down the hallways. Just as they got to John's room, however, a female in a Starfleet uniform could be seen knocking on Randall's door. As they came upon the figure, John recognized her; it was the executive officer of the Challenger, Commander Erica Rinax.

 

The chief engineer said, "Commander," and Rinax turned, a little startled, but recovered rapidly. "Hello, Lieutenant," she said. "I've come to get an update on your condition." John nodded and turned to his sister. "Vicki, this is the first officer of the Challenger, Commander Erica Rinax. Commander, this is my sister, Victoria. She's the nurse in charge of my case."

 

Rinax nodded to Victoria. "How do you do," she said. "John talks about his family with great affection. It's nice to meet you." Victoria nodded back to Rinax, but John had noticed his sister move very close to him, had taken him by the arm, and her grip was not gentle. "Commander," she said, and Randall knew her tone was cold. He looked at his sister, and her green eyes were riveted on the Challenger's executive officer. "Nice to meet you as well," she continued. "Johnny, let's get you in the room and seated."

 

John looked at her again, and realized Victoria was as angry as he had ever seen her. He knew she blamed Rinax, as well as the other officers aboard the Challenger, for what had happened to him. He merely nodded and allowed Victoria to escort him to the chair in the room, which he sat down in.

 

Rinax followed them into the room and stood in front of Randall's chair. "I would like an update on John's condition, Ms. Randall." Victoria nodded and filled the commander in on the latest. Rinax nodded in the appropriate places during the update, and when Victoria finished, she thanked her and turned back to John.

 

"Lieutenant, we need you back aboard the ship," she said. "The refits and updates have been completed, but I would like you and your team to examine them personally. Can you be ready to go in about 4 hours?" John looked at her and said, "That will depend whether my doctor says I can leave or not, Commander." Rinax clearly did not like that reply. "Then I need to see your doctor," she said, and turned to Victoria.

 

"Can we have his doctor paged or something, Ms. Randall?" she asked. "I'm on a tight schedule here." Victoria nodded and said, "I'll see what I can do," and left the room after glancing at her brother. John knew he was to stay seated, and did so. As Victoria left, Rinax moved closer to him. "Do you have to sit in the chair, John?" she asked deadpan, but her eyes danced for an instant. Randall smiled and moved over to sit on the edge of the bed. "Have a seat, Commander," he invited, but the executive officer shook her head as Victoria returned with Dr. Joanna McCoy in tow.

 

The doctor smiled at John, then turned to Rinax. "And who might you be?" she asked, and the first officer introduced herself. "I've come to get our chief engineer, Doctor," Rinax continued. "How soon can he leave?" McCoy shook her head. "I'm afraid Lieutenant Randall will be with us a little while longer," she replied, and the executive officer became visibly agitated at the reply.

 

"Why?" she asked sharply. "His sister just told me he was doing very well." McCoy nodded. "Indeed he is, Commander," she said calmly, which only seemed to infuriate Rinax further. "However, I'm still concerned about John's endurance; he still tires easily after an hour's workout. I am not inclined to release him in this condition."

 

"Doctor, I have orders from Starfleet Command that the Challenger is due to leave spacedock in 4 hours," Rinax replied coldly. "We need our chief engineer now." McCoy wasn't fazed in the least by the executive officer's tone. "The lieutenant has visitors on their way to see him," she shot back. "Two Starfleet admirals; Leonard McCoy, my father, and Jason Baldwin. They very much want to talk to the lieutenant about what happened aboard your ship."

 

Rinax had blinked at the mention of Admiral Leonard McCoy, but she stared coldly at Joanna again. "Doctor, I have my orders, in spite of certain....people...and....admirals," she finished. McCoy smiled. "Then I suggest you contact Starfleet Command for a clarification of those orders," she said. "The lieutenant stays put, and I can make that a medical order if you prefer."

 

Rinax stared at McCoy for a few seconds, then turned to John. "Lieutenant, the ship breaks orbit in 4 hours," she said. "I sincerely hope you make it." John nodded. "Thanks for checking on me, Commander," he replied, and Rinax nodded. She stared at McCoy for another few seconds, then turned and left the room.

 

Joanna turned to John. "She was in an awfully big hurry to get you back aboard Challenger, John. Is she always like that?" Randall nodded resignedly. "She's a very competent officer, Doctor," he said. "She just tends to be a little too much of a stickler for procedures and orders." McCoy smiled at him. "I guess you're used to it by now," she said, and John laughed. "Yep, pretty much," he said, and they all laughed.

 

Joanna's PADD beeped, and she took it from her pocket, scanning the text. "Oh, my father and Admiral Baldwin just landed," she said. "I'll have to go greet them and bring them here. You stay put, Lieutenant, I'll be back shortly. And John, don't you worry about getting to the Challenger within the commander's time frame. My father's personal yacht, which is the only ship he will ride in unless he's forced by Starfleet to do otherwise, can do warp 9.9. You'll make it in time." John smiled. "Thanks, Doc," he said, and Joanna smiled, leaving the room.

 

Victoria came over to sit by her brother. "I don't like that woman, Johnny," she said, and Randall immediately clasped her in a hug. "You worry too much, sister mine," he replied, and Victoria returned his embrace tightly. Around 10 minutes later, the door opened, and in walked Joanna along with Jason Baldwin, whom John recognized instantly, and then his eyes widened as Admiral Leonard McCoy walked into the room.

 

The Starfleet legend was beginning to show signs of his age, his face more wrinkled that John had seen on the holos of the former chief surgeon of the Enterprise, but the blue eyes were still active and alert as he smiled at the Challenger's chief engineer. "Don't get up, son," he drawled, holding up a weatherbeaten hand. "You just stay there for a moment. Joanna here tells me that your first officer came here to collect you, but she wasn't comfortable releasing you just yet."

 

"That's correct, sir," replied Randall, and McCoy rolled his eyes. "Drop the 'sir' stuff, son, I get enough of that at Command," he said. "They want to bow and scrape to me like I'm some sort of important person or something." "Daddy!" exclaimed Joanna, shocked. "You ARE an important person whether you like it or not!" McCoy quickly kissed her on the forehead. "That's enough out of you, squirt," he said fondly, and Joanna gasped, slapping him on the shoulder.

 

McCoy grinned at John. "Lieutenant, I'll make a deal with you. If you promise to stick to a schedule that I will make for you, and you execute it in your ship's gym, I will release you, and Admiral Baldwin and I will have a meeting with you as we take you to the Utopia Planetia shipyards. Deal?" John nodded quickly. "Deal, sir," he said, and McCoy nodded, turning to his daughter. "Get his release arranged, sweetie," he said, and Joanna nodded. McCoy then said, "We'll go on to the shuttle, Lieutenant, and give you and your folks a little time together." "Thank you, sir," John said, and the admirals and Joanna exited the room.

 

John turned to Victoria, who already had tears in her eyes. "I guess this is goodbye, sweetie," he said softly, and Victoria hugged him fiercely, sobbing into his shoulder. Randall dropped his face into the nape of his sister's neck, fighting back tears himself. He knew it would probably be a long while before he saw his sister again, and it was killing him to leave her.

 

Victoria looked up at him with tear-stained eyes a few minutes later, and a pain shot through John's heart as he saw her eyes. "You promised me you'd be more careful," she whispered. "I'm holding you to that, John Marcus Randall. I don't ever want to see you again in the condition you were when you arrived here." John nodded. "I promise, Vicki," he replied just as softly, and she hugged him again. "I will miss you, brother dear," she sobbed into his shoulder, and John squeezed her, not trusting himself to speak.

 

A few moments later, a nurse arrived with orders for his release, and Victoria walked with her brother to the front desk of the hospital. John was officially released, and Victoria accompanied her brother to the spaceport where John's mother and brother, Denise and Rick, were waiting. The family shared a long group hug, then John detached himself and walked toward a craft where McCoy and Baldwin were standing in front of. He turned for one final wave to his family, then the Starfleet officers boarded the craft, and John's family watched them lift off from the spaceport, going to warp a few seconds later.

 

END LOG