Fan Mail From A Flounder

[Ambassador Moose 0]

Stardate 10109.27

 

"Computer, where is Dana Quest?"

 

"Dana Quest is in her quarters. Deck 3, Room 0331. Would you like directions?"

 

Ens. Sam Bailey refused the computer's offer of assistance and proceeded to the residential deck. He was not happy about his assignment; rumor had it that the acting Chief of Security was taking no prisoners this day. She had already refused to answer several comm messages from him, and in fact had blocked all incoming messages from his comm id. He had no choice but to pay her a personal visit. He approached the door to Dana's quarters as if he expected it to be booby-trapped. Cautiously, he rang the bell.

 

"Who is it!" barked the sharp voice behind the door.

 

"Ensign Bailey, ma'am... sir. Ma'am... " He silently cursed the day he met Yeoman Bleeth. "From Communications, ma'am," he added as if that would explain everything.

 

The door slid open hissing like a snake. "What part of 'Leave me alone' did you not understand the last time we spoke?' Dana looked awful. Her skin was a pale white color and her eyes were puffy and bloated.

 

Bailey felt bad for being so persistent when the Cdr. was obviously not feeling well. "I am so sorry ma'am ... sir. But I am charged to deliver the mail, come rain or sleet or dark of night, or..."

 

"We're in an artificial environment, Bailey. There is no dark of night."

 

He noticed that she stepped away from the door. Did that mean it was OK for him to come in? "Yes, ma'am." He replied. "Sorry ma'am."

 

"Are you going to come in or are you going to broadcast my urgent message in the hallway?"

 

He stepped carefully into the room, the door snapping shut as he entered.

 

"Tell me again why you're here?" Dana asked.

 

"Do you remember Captain Moose, ma'am? He's an Ambassador now, on Paktar... in the Beta Quadrant."

 

"I went with him on his first trip to Paktar, thank you. I know who he is!" Moose... When he left the Arcadia, Dana had vowed never to have anything to do with him again. Why now of all times, she wondered? Of course, why not now? Next Tuesday would be as bad as today where Moose was concerned. There was no good time for a train wreck. Things couldn't get any worse. "Why couldn't you just download the message into my personal queue?"

 

"It's not in a standard format," said Bailey. "I had to piece it together from a sub-space beta wave carrier. I think it originated in Romulan space. It must have encountered solar radiation along the way because certain packets are missing and others are horribly corrupted. I pieced it together as best I could, but you'll need manual intervention to play it. That's why I'm here, ma'am... sir."

 

What was he doing in Romulan space? The journey to Paktar was going to bypass it. She hoped for his sake that he didn't need her to bail him out of some jam. She couldn't have cared less. Still, it was unusual. "Play it, Sam."

 

The face that appeared on her screen was unmistakably her former Captain, even through the static. Dana shuddered as half-forgotten anger leapt instantly to the surface.

 

"Dana, I don't have much time. I'm calling about David."

 

The image suddenly froze. So did her heart. He couldn't have found out about Kelly's will, could he? She was wrong; things could get very, very worse. "Why did the image freeze? Keep it going!" she ordered.

 

"I warned you I was missing packets," said Bailey with a previously undisplayed backbone. "Just a second." He skillfully manipulated the controls and the image skipped forward."

 

"... Not at school. He stowed aboard the Crème Brule. When the..." skdfiauttiui@(&$(&(*%*^$#$sdjksfskag ... "still in a coma, and we're not sure when he'll recover. Dana, he's traveling without his guardian. Coalition law will declare him a ward of the state. I will not be able to protect him from ..." skdfiau ui@(&$(&(*%*^ $#$sdjksfsk ag ... "send an immediate transmission to the Central Government on Paktar naming me David's legal guardian. The only alternative is to...”

 

The image froze again. The only sound in the room louder than Dana's breathing was Ensign Bailey's frantic tapping of the keys. "I have one more short segment," he told her.

 

Moose's image shifted. It was obvious that several seconds were lost. "Dana, you must trust me. This is the only way. Not only is David at risk, but so is the entire Federation Delegation to Paktar. Our fate is in your ha..."

 

"Where is the rest?" She demanded.

 

"I'm sorry, ma'am ... sir. That's all there is. I hope you understand why I felt this was so important for you to see."

 

"Of course," said Dana weakly, her mind was only half in the room. "You are dismissed Ensign."

 

Dana was stunned. Trust him... trust him??? She couldn't trust Moose when he was here. How could she trust him half a galaxy away? And what was that nonsense about David. He was safely at boarding school, wasn't he? When was the last time she had heard from him, anyway?

 

Slowly, as the answer to her last question came to her, the room began to spin. Dana moved unsteadily to her comm station, and slumped into the chair. "Computer, I need a priority 2 message sent to Earth...." Grayson Prep Academy, Mendocino, California.......address to the Head Master."

 

LtCdrDanaQuest

Amb Moose