The cheese part 2

[Travis Kroells 0]

The Cheese Part 2...Kroells’s logs

 

Travis sat down in the booth preparing to confess his wrong doings once again.  He quickly the traditional “Forgive me father for I have sinned.”  The priest sat sigh lent for several seconds and finally responded.  

 

“What hast thou done to commit your sin?”  Travis looked towards the top of the booth preparing to say what most would believe to be insane.  He slowly lowered his head and positioned his mouth to the small area in which you could speak.

 

“My sin is not that of a present day act…it is something I have done which makes me worry for the future.”  The priest sat sigh lent for several seconds, almost in a way trying to think of a response to Travis’s statement.

 

“Well what has my son done to make such worry?”  The priest stated has he made a visible sigh on the other side.  Travis felt he was getting no where but might as well see if he can try to make him understand.

 

“It was onboard a ship during a recent training mission father.”

 

“Indeed…you are in Starfleet are you not?”

 

“Yes Father.”  The priest slowly shifted his weight preparing for the story that was about to be told.

 

“Very well then tell me your recent actions.”  Travis leaned back and opened his mouth preparing to speak.

 

“I was on a recent training mission father.  I was on a saber class ship doing rescue missions.”  Travis thought of the ship he was on…USS Alpha Syndrome, it had been badly damaged in a battle during the dominion war.  Like many ships in its case rather then being repaired Starfleet felt that they should just replace the same ship with a newer better class.  In the event of rescue situations made in the war, such as multiple hull breaches and numerous system failures Starfleet had in a fashion rebuilt several ships.  Not completely but just enough to simulate a badly damaged ship.  Along with the upgrades they refitted about 76% of the ship with holoemiters to allow for interaction with survivors and such.  Travis slowly dwelled upon the mission.  The mission was to rescue survivors of an unknown attack.  Travis had been sent in with a team of 15 to determine the cause of the simulated explosion and to rescue any “survivors”.  When the team Travis was leading entered engineering a random meteor generated by the storm hit the ship causing the “hull” to fall apart.  Travis’s team scrambled to grab who they could.  But their efforts weren’t good enough.  The simulation ended with a 73% loss of life, the worst retrieval rate of that particular mission in the entire academy.  Had this been a real mission over 57 people would have died that day.

 

The priest sat and listened to Travis’s story.  When he had finally finished he couldn’t help but be confused.  “My son I do not know how you sinned?  If your mission ended as you said either way they were but mere holograms, nothing more the photons and force fields.”

 

Travis sat in the booth thinking of a response.  “Yes father indeed they were only holograms but that is not the point.  What if the ship I serve on comes across a ship like the Alpha Syndrome?  What if I can’t save every one?”

 

The priest quietly chuckled in the darkness much to Travis’s confusion.  “Son have you ever wondered why a laboratory mouse runs a maze?”

 

Travis doubted the reason to his question but answered none the less.  “Well father there is most likely cheese or some other reward.”

 

The pastor smiled at his response.  “Yes.  Now think for a second.  What if the mouse knew the cheese wasn’t real?”

 

Travis quickly replied, “The mouse most likely wouldn’t try as hard.  What’s the point in going after something you know isn’t real?”

 

“Exactly my son.  Now what would you do if you knew the survivors weren’t real?  That if a few died no one would get hurt?”

 

Travis grinned after finally understanding the priest’s point.  He quickly turned to him, “Yes father I understand…thank you.”

 

The priest stood up still speaking in the booth.  “Your quite welcome my son.  You’re a smart one that’s for sure; you won’t run the maze unless you know there’s something worth while at the end.  Now go my son…and my God be with you”

 

Travis nodded thanked the priest and quickly left.  He had a feeling he was right.  When it came down to the wire Travis usually made it.  He left the synagogue walking into the sun that had just set to the west with a new look on life.

 

Travis set the last injured crew member on the floor preparing him for transport.  He looked around.  The team had grabbed every one from the Cairo’s auxiliary computer core.  He smiled remembering what the priest had said.  He noticed the first two groups of people dematerialize off of the ship.  As he began to disappear he quietly muttered, “This time the cheese was real.”

 

…End

[Travis Kroells 0]

err...im not cahtolic my character is so please forgive any mistakes i make along the way.  :D