Make It Happen

[DrDMatthews 0]

Deb Matthews stared at herself in the mirror for several seconds. She slowly closed her eyes, counted to ten and then reopened them. Much to her disappointment, the image gazing back at her hadn't changed a bit. "Girl," she muttered softly, "this ship is turning you into an old woman."

 

Brigadier General Deborah Matthews never cared that much about her physical appearance. She considered herself a fairly attractive woman. She exercised regularly and watched her weight, which was becoming more of a challenge as the years passed. But during the last few months, Deb had been forced to admit that she was no longer young. And the reflection in her mirror was quick to hammer home that point.

 

She ran both hands through her short, auburn curls. Yep, there was definitely more gray in her hair than there had been a week ago. And the crows feet were becoming more noticeable as well. At least she still had the same fire in her eyes. They had always been one of her best attributes. Large and blue with long, dark lashes, Deb often let her eyes do the talking. And rarely did anyone have to question the meaning of one of her "looks."

 

The lights dimmed momentarily and Deb shook her head. "I'm not the only one growing old," she lamented to the image in her mirror.

 

The NFS Reaent was held together with chewing gum and bailing wire. They had pushed this ship so far, Matthews fully expected it to simply shut down one day and never come back online again. Her Chief Engineer, Warner Murray was an absolute genius to have kept things together as well as he had. But Deb couldn't shake the feeling they were on borrowed time. Reaent was in desperate need of an overhaul but the odds of such a thing happening were slim and none. And now they were on their way to yet another encounter at a place she had never heard of.

 

"People's Head," grumbled Deb as she briskly strode out of the lavatory. "What type of a name is that? And what do they have that interests the UFP?"

 

Moments later, Deb Matthews was in the turbolift on her way back to the Bridge. She kept thinking about Adina Jalil's report on People's Head. They were known to produce and export bioweaponry. Rumors had been flying for months about the internal conflicts within the UFP. Some of the so called "experts" claimed several members of the UFP were openly protesting Duren's policies and the conflict with the Romulans wasn't going all that well for them either. Could Duren have become so desperate he would resort to the use of bioweaponry? And who would be the target of such weapons? The New Federation? The Romulans? Or both?

 

Time would tell but only if the Reaent and its task force succeeded in their mission. It was up to Matthews and her crew to make that happen. She offered a silent prayer that her ship wouldn't decide now was the time to call it quits.