"Patience."

[FredM 0]

ORIGIN: Task Force BSA QP0 Flagship Tjan

DATE: 11294 09 Yraunaj

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The journey up from the surface of the planet was shorter than expected. Storms which had been present during their decent had moved on, now battering the southern coast and what could be considered an ocean....ice sheets not withstanding. For his part, Werin was happy to leave the complex. Buried as deep as it was, he was never comfortable when visiting such installations. They were always the same, with every corridor looking like the last and every room appearing as if it had come off an assembly line. Of course, then this facility had the added benefit of their invited guests.

 

As the transport craft carrying the Admiral landed, he rubbed the bridge of his nose while standing to move towards the hatch. Stepping off, the customary Andorian First Guard detachment was waiting...all at attention, weapons at their sides. It was one of the things the aging figure could never get used to, one the perks of his job he still marveled at even today. At the end of the four armed figures on either side stood a figure who towed over the rest. Werin immediately started walking down the line and approached the man, who started following his superior as if an order had been given when in fact none had been spoken.

 

After several minutes of walking corridors, the two entered the main shaft that serviced the massive vessel. Werin entered in the appropriate destination into the control panel, which prompted the device to start moving. "Prepare to have the Terrans returned to the Challenger," he said softly. The taller man nodded slightly, "I take it the situation is secure?" The Admiral nodded slightly, "Also, order the fleet to stand down to condition two and prepare for warp jump out of the system." This caused the other Andorian to turn and face his superior, his antenna raised, "You do realize that rumor will spread? There are over two thousand aboard this ship alone, not even counting the others."

 

One would think it was on cue, but the doors opened as if responding to the taller man's statement. Werin started walking, "Rumors always spread. The one that existed before will exist again. Nothing here today will change that." The reply was a quick one, "Saying the pinkskins can be trusted." That was, indeed, the question for the day.

 

Ten minutes later, the boarding party sent to the Challenger departed....leaving the ship abandoned and repaired. While sensors were ordered to monitor the small vessel until her crew returned, the decision to repair the gnat of the Terrans was one that would never be explained in reports nor answered in memoirs. Almost eighty years later, a reporter would ask the Andorian who was the lead engineer in charge of the repairs why he thought the order had been given. "There is a saying of your world," he had replied, "The fates have given mankind a patient soul." The reporter was puzzled, until the Andorian smiled and said, "That date, an Andorian Admiral gave mankind patience."