Que Sera, Sera

[Tachyon 0]

“Que Sera, Sera”

Stardate 0507.01

Ensign Tandaris Admiran

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All right. Sometimes, you just have to know where to draw the line. That line may come in many shapes and sizes. It may be extremely clear and ramrod straight, or blurry and a bit wavy. Regardless of its appearance, the line has to be drawn somewhere. The question, of course, is “Where does one draw the line?”

 

The answer is arguably at the point where you start strapping deck plating to a shuttle. Tandaris found the request a surprising one, even if it was effective. If there was one thing he was learning out here on Excalibur, however, it was this: You go with what works, even if the plan seems crazy. Even better, the perfect plan should also be extremely dangerous and perhaps even suicidal. If these conditions are satisfied, the plan will most like work (or you’ll die, but then you won’t have to worry about the outcome anyway).

 

It was unfortunate that Tandaris was not available to help prep the shuttle. In what was probably the most embarrassing moment of his life, he had fallen halfway between the two engineering levels and needed medical attention. According to the good Dr. Delgado, his injuries were not severe, and he indeed felt better after a few minutes. However, those few minutes were enough that the shuttle’s preparation time was over—it needed to be launched, and fast. Tandaris regretted not being able to help, and tried to make himself as useful as possible in the interim.

 

Considering the situation, however, Tandaris was quite happy not being on that shuttle. He had a feeling that after they left the ship, their mission would probably not be a fun one, and Tandaris did not envy them. They were, in effect, entering heavily occupied Romulan space while trying to avoid detection. It was crazy.

 

Speaking of which, Tandaris could not fathom why the Romulans were here in the first place. Although his knowledge of interstellar history was a bit hazy, as far as he could remember, the Romulans had not exactly been keen on territory grabs in recent years. And in the Gamma Quadrant . . . to him, their motives were definitely obscure. He could only hope that the diplomats and higher-ups were having better luck at unravelling the mystery of their Romulan friends, or else friends they might no longer be.