USS Greate Pier - The episodes - Season 1

Captain LT and Commander Eisinga are talking with each other. The holographic room they’re in, mainly constructed out of dark woods, is poorly lit despite the fact that the walls are adorned with oil lamps. The center of the room, however, is well lit. Three large lamps shine a bright white light on the full-sized snooker table below. Eisinga leans forward to take a shot. The pink and black are the only balls left on the table aside from the white cue ball. He takes the shot and the pink lands safely on the cushion so LT can’t pot it.

Eisinga: “I hate to spoil the mood with ship’s business, but what’s the latest? I heard you ordered a course change this morning…”

LT: “Yeah…”

Eisinga: “’Yeah’? That doesn’t sound like you’re happy with it…”

LT walks around the table to assess the situation.

LT: “I’m not… Feels like a loss…”

Eisinga: “A loss?”

He looks up at Eisinga on the other side of the table.

LT: “Oh, ehm… My personal battle with the admiral… We’ve been ordered to go to a planet called Kelrah-Eyn. You’ll remember that planet as the huge planet we scanned while we were in the negative null space pocket.”

Eisinga: “Oh, really? We’re going to take a look? That should be interesting. The biggest rocky planet on record by far…”

LT: “Well, actually, it’s more of an ambassadorial mission… The admiral told us to make as many friends as we could, but it seems he has managed to help us out with that…”

LT returns the favor and knocks the pink safe as well. Eisinga looks at the resulting table.

Eisinga: “Hmmm…”

LT: “As it seems, there’s even talk of them joining the Federation in the future…”

Eisinga: “Isn’t that a bit premature?”

LT: “That’s what I thought… But when I heard they might have information on the Inj I suddenly understood why…”

Eisinga: “Hmm, it seems the admiral is trying to be real close buddies with these people to get that information…”

Eisinga strikes the cue ball. While the balls are rolling, LT jokingly explains.

LT: “I unfortunately can’t disobey every order he gives… I could contact him and try, but…”

The pink ball comes to rest a few centimeters from the black. On the other side of the black, also just a few centimeters away, is the white cue ball. The three balls form a perfect line. Captain LT can’t possibly hit the pink without using a cushion. Eisinga completes the captain’s sentence…

Eisinga: “…but you are snookered?”

A faked annoyed look appears on LT’s face…

LT: “Yes, I can see that…”

Eisinga smiles… LT lets the cue ball bounce off the cushion and hits the pink. But unfortunately, the pink lands right over the pocket... This time the annoyed look is real.

LT: “Can you believe that?”

Eisinga: “Oh yes I can…”

Eisinga wastes no time and pots the pink, winning him the frame and the mini match.

Eisinga: “2 frames to 1, I win…”

LT: “Best of 5?...”

SCENE 2: Scanning

The double door to the astrometrics lab opens and a smiling Eisinga steps inside. He can’t find who he’s looking for apparently, so his smile disappears. He turns around and is about to leave.

Stuckman: “Looking for someone sir?”

Eisinga halts and turns around…

Eisinga: “Hmm, yes… Amini.”

Stuckman: “She reported in sick this morning… I’m filling in.”

The first syllable of the commander’s reply sounds short, bordering on unfriendly.

Eisinga: “Ah. In that case, I have new orders for you. As soon as we reach Kelrah-Eyn you can start non-intrusive scans of the planet and its moons. We have permission to get data on geology, the planet’s internal composition, the works…”

Stuckman: “I’ll be thorough sir.”

Eisinga leaves without any further reply.

SCENE 3: Minsharing

LT beams down to the surface of the huge planet together with Counselor Spalding. The beam down coordinates correspond with a central open air garden in the middle of the government facility. They are welcomed by a party of 11 people if formal dress.

Norsebs: “On behalf of all Kels, welcome to Kelrah-Eyn, Captain LT. I am First Citizen Clas Norsebs and these are citizens 2 to 11.”

LT: “Thank you, I’m pleased to be here. This is the ship’s counselor Commander Spalding.”

Spalding nods towards the welcoming party.

LT: “Let’s hope our talks will be productive for both of us.”

Norsebs: “I’m positive they will be. Shall we begin straight away?”

LT: “Of course…”

Norsebs: “This way please.”

Norsebs’ welcoming party walks towards a huge, open, wooden double door leading into the building. Norsebs and the 2 Greate Pier crew follow behind.

LT: “The Federation has mapped countless planets, but never one this huge… We’ve seen 1 or 2 gas giants of this size, but never a rocky planet…”

Norsebs: “It’s absolutely huge, indeed… That’s why we chose to live here.”

LT: “You chose to live here? Then this is a colony?”

Norsebs: “Not exactly… We moved here.”

LT: “Moved here? But you’ve got so incredibly many people on this planet…”

Norsebs: “I didn’t say we moved overnight, hahaha… It took us 110 years to get everyone here…”

Spalding: “Unbelievable. But why did you move? Was your old world threatened in any way?”

They walk into a conference room. Everyone sits down.

Norsebs: “No, not threatened. And not ‘world’, but ‘worlds’… We inhabited every planet and large moon in our native solar system.”

Spalding: “Every single one of them?”

Norsebs: “Yes, 16 bodies in total…”

LT: “That sounds…”

Norsebs completes the captain’s words while showing a little smile.

Norsebs: “Improbable? Well, not if you know we sort of are terraforming experts.”

Spalding: “But some of those worlds must be gas giants, how can you possibly colonize those?”

Norsebs: “Of course there is no surface we can walk or build on. But let me just say that it requires a lot of orbital construction… But gas planets aren’t all bad; the hydrogen and helium provide an excellent fuel to run anything you need…”

LT: “We have terraformed a bunch of planets since Mars back in 2155, but we’ve never dreamed of terraforming a gas giant…”

Norsebs: “Well, we had to expand, as our numbers were growing fast… It was quite an achievement, terraforming an entire solar system and it took us hundreds of years... But, as much as we loved our terraformed solar system, living on multiple planets created problems as well… The never-ending transport of goods between planets for one… Very expensive. Not everything can be found on every planet you know. And everybody had at least one family member or friend living somewhere else in the solar system… At one time there was even a very short war between 2 of the worlds, fortunately mainly fought out with words by the politicians back then… Soon after our technology allowed us to find this planet and it didn’t take long for us to decide we should terraform this formerly lifeless rock into the world we see today. As soon as the world was deemed habitable, we started moving everyone… Besides, we’re a close people… If that war proved anything, it proved we prefer to have everyone close together, not on different planets or moons anymore…”

LT: “Amazing… I’d love to take a look at your native solar system, as well as your apparently brilliant terraforming techniques… Fascinating…”

Damretsponner: “I’m afraid both are classified, captain.”

LT: “I understand, of course, haha…”

Norsebs: “This is the third citizen, gentlemen, Mr. Damretsponner…”

Spalding: “Can I ask you, Mr. Damress… ehm…”

Most people show a smile because of Spalding’s attempt to remember the name.

Damretsponner: “Damretsponner, but you can simple call me Third, if that’s easier…”

He stubbornly refuses to use the shorter designation.

Spalding: “Mr. Damretsponner, what I wanted to ask you… Why are those things classified? It wouldn’t form a tactical risk if you disclosed such information.”

LT: “Spalding, I’m sure they have their reasons. The Federation also doesn’t share every technology with races they have just met.”

Damretsponner: “It’s nothing personal, Mr. Spalding. But despite the fact we live here now, it’s still our home of course… We don’t wish anyone to take it from us.”

Norsebs: “We even have people guarding that solar system with ships and orbital defenses.”

LT: “No need to explain, first citizen… We’ve bothered you enough with our wonder at your achievements… There are other things we can talk about… If you have any questions about Earth of the Federation, please do ask… But one thing I’m interested in is the local food… Anything you can recommend?”

SCENE 4: Big balls

Stilson: “Sir, some statistics are coming in from astrometrics.”

Holcraft, in command in LT and Eisinga’s absence, requests the data from the big chair.

Holcraft: “Let’s have ‘em…”

Stilson: “The equatorial diameter is 486,145.6 km, about 742 and a half billion square kilometers of surface…”

Holcraft: “Wow, that’s a lot of room…”

Stilson: “That’s a good thing too sir… Because we’re reading quite a few lifesigns down there…”

Maresca: “Can’t be that much, how many billions? 30, 40?”

Stilson: “No, not billions… Trillions. 487.4 trillion to be exact… Well, give or take a few Earth populations…”

Holcraft repeats his colleague slowly and adds a question mark.

Holcraft: “487.4 trillion? I’m sorry, but I can’t even imagine that number…”

Maresca: “I bet you couldn’t keep up with your scans with the insane number of births that must take place every second…”

Stilson: “Only 41% of the surface is populated. The population is spread extremely even at a rate of about 1601 people per km².”

Holcraft: “Anything on the moons?”

Stilson: “Let me see… Yes, the planet has 16 natural satellites, 4 of which are actually larger than Earth… And the biggest one appears to have a moon of its own, about the size of Mars.”

Holcraft: “Hmm, nothing seems to come in small packages around here…”

SCENE 5: Fountain of words

Norsebs: “Well, I suggest we take a break and reconvene here in half an hour. You’re free to roam anywhere you like, captain, commander…”

LT: “Thank you first citizen. I’ll gladly take a look around…”

Norsebs: “Alright, meeting adjourned.”

Everyone gets up from their seats and leaves via the various exits.

Spalding: “If you don’t mind captain, I’m going to explore the gardens at the beam down point…”

LT: “By all means…”

Spalding walks off towards the gardens. The captain leaves via another door and finds himself in a wide, open air corridor. A few water fountains and large planters with a variety of colorful flowers adorn the place. In the distance, most of the government employees exit the corridor, except one. The captain’s eyes scan the entire area to soak up the wonderful architecture. His eyes eventually come across a woman who at that moment drops to her knees. Her arm grabs onto a bench as to not fall over completely. The captain rushes over to the lady and supports her other arm.

LT: “Let’s get you on the bench…”

He helps her take a seat. The captain remains crouched down.

LT: “Are you ok?”

The woman wipes some tears from her face but doesn’t immediately answer.

LT: “Just stay here, I’ll see if I can find a doctor.”

The captain stands up and prepares to go on his search.

Woman: “No, please. That’s not necessary. I’m ok…”

The captain halts.

LT: “You don’t collapse for no reason, ma’am…”

Woman: “No really, I’m alright. Please.”

LT: “Well, at least tell me what happened then… Did this happen before?”

Woman: “No. But it should have…”

LT: “I’m not sure I understand…”

Woman: “Oh I’m sorry; I’m Neeleamon, eighth citizen. And it’s not a medical condition. It’s just…”

She pauses while fresh tears start flowing again…

LT: “It’s ok… Just take a few deep breaths while I get you some water…”

The captain stands up and walks over to the closest water fountain. He takes a cup out of a dispenser, fills it with water and delivers it to the sobbing wreck of a woman. She impatiently drinks some water; it seems to calm her down a bit.

Neeleamon: “Thank you, captain.”

LT: “Just LT. But go on…”

Neeleamon: “Oh why should I bother you with it?...”

LT: “Well, for one I’m curious…”

Neeleamon actually manages to show a very little smile, but it soon fades quickly.

Neeleamon: “I should’ve listened to the counselor when she advised me to take some time off… It’s my husband… He died 2 months ago…”

LT: “I’m sorry…”

Neeleamon: “But I think it only sunk in just now…”

Another short silence.

Neeleamon: “Your Commander Spalding reminded me of my husband… He looks a lot like him. Rinjen was his name… We married over 40 years ago, next month would have been our 41^st anniversary.”

LT: “That’s quite some time… I’m sure they were happy years.”

Neeleamon: “Well, we married for a different reason then you might think… Back in those days female right were on the increase, but we weren’t quite regarded equal to men just yet…”

LT: “Hmm, that’s unfortunate. We’ve had similar discrimination in our history…”

Neeleamon: “We married because I wanted to run for mayor… But they only allowed women in high political places if you were the daughter or wife of a man already in a high position. Rinjen was a government advisor and a good friend who was sympathetic to my cause. So we married. ”

LT: “I see… But times changed after that…”

Neeleamon: “Yes, they did. But somehow, we stayed together… We had a big house and both did our own thing without bothering the other too much… We were both settled in and got used to it…”

A short silence fills the corridor.

Neeleamon: “Soon after we moved in together he started developing actual feelings for me. He even said he loved me… But I told him he was a very dear friend and I appreciated his company and such… but that I didn’t love him other than as a friend. He was very disappointed, but he never really told me. But I could tell; I could read it in his eyes… He said he understood, but he never made peace with it I think…”

LT: “Nothing more heartbreaking than unanswered love…”

Neeleamon: “I never said I loved him. But every single day since he died, I’m more certain that I did love him… We were together for political reasons and that’s exactly what I kept telling myself all those years… I never allowed myself to pursue a relationship with him other than the show we put on for the outside world. If I had left him after women’s rights were made equal to those of men 34 years ago, things would have been so much easier…”

LT: “And why didn’t you leave back then?”

Neeleamon: “I don’t know… I just never did. I mean, I now work for the government that forced me to marry if I wanted to pursue my political career… There was no reason to continue the charade any longer. Maybe it was because I had no friends or family other than Rinjen…”

LT: “Maybe it was a subconscious choice. Maybe you did have a reason to continue what was probably not a charade anymore…”

Neeleamon answers with a bit of silence followed by a complaint, almost sounding angry.

Neeleamon: “I was annoyed by some things he did… He’d always leave a mess in the kitchen, clothes everywhere…”

Before she can continue the tirade, LT gently breaks her sentence.

LT: “Well, that’s pretty normal. In any type of relationship for that matter… I know you’re trying to rationalize why you didn’t pursue a full relationship, but…”

The 8^th citizen interrupts back in a similar fashion, now apparently praises Rinjen.

Neeleamon: “He was the only man I really knew… And I didn’t know love or whatever before that…”

Neeleamon sighs…

Neeleamon: “I wish I could still tell him…”

LT: “Well, I’m not into religion or the afterlife or whatever, but the way I see it is that the thing that comes closest to telling him, is to remember him every day. And most of all don’t forget or deny your feelings for him, even though he’s not around anymore… But first, you need to grieve…”

Neeleamon: “Yes, I think I do… I’m going to take some time off…”

LT: “Good good…”

Neeleamon: “Haven’t had time off in 4 years I think…”

LT: “Then you deserve it too…”

They both smile…

LT: “I know nothing will bring him back, but between the tears, just remember him.”

SCENE 6: Curved corridor congregation

Eisinga walks through a corridor on the ship. His mind appears occupied and his expression almost looks troubled while he apparently stares right through the deck plates… Coming around the curve of the long corridor he suddenly notices someone walking his way. As the 2 get within speaking range, the commander initiates contact with a smile on his face.

Eisinga: “Amini!”

Amini shows a similar smile as she responds.

Amini: “Commander…”

Eisinga: “I heard you weren’t well earlier this morning?”

Amini: “No sir, I wasn’t feeling well at all. But the doctor gave me something to ease my upset stomach… I’m headed for astrometrics now…”

Eisinga: “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

Amini: “Oh yes sir, I’m feeling good enough…”

A worried Eisinga asks again.

Eisinga: “Really sure?”

Amini laughs a little before she answers.

Amini: “Yes, quite sure.”

Eisinga: “Alright. You’ll find that Stuckman is already executing some new orders.”

Amini: “Yes, I heard we’re in orbit around some planet?”

Eisinga: “Indeed, Kelrah-Eyn.”

Amini’s big eyes reveal her enthusiasm.

Amini: “Really?”

Eisinga: “I thought you might like it… I wanted to tell you earlier, but I found Stuckman in your place…”

Amini just stands there smiling. After a weird little silence, the commander muddles his way through his next words.

Eisinga: “Well, ehm… I eh… best leave you to it then…”

Amini: “Alright sir. Thank you…”

Continuing her smile, she walks off. The commander also continues his trek down the corridor, only interrupted by a quick look over his shoulder…

SCENE 7: Grabons

The captain and Neeleamon leave the confines of the open air corridor and the surrounding structures and walk into the city’s public area. They pass shops, restaurants and other public facilities. A few dozen other people share the street they walk in.

LT: “A little fresh air will do you good.”

Neeleamon: “It’s already doing good.”

LT: “Good good… And it’ll give me a chance to look around a little bit. We have some 10 minutes before we need to get back to the meeting…”

Neeleamon: “That gives us enough time for me to show you a few things…”

LT: “What’s up first?”

Neeleamon: “Well, I better show you. No amount of words could do it justice. It’s at the end of this street…”

LT: “Now you’ve made me curious…”

As if out of nowhere 5 men in uniform suddenly appear all around them.

Officer: “Hello captain. You are under arrest. Do not resist.”

LT: “Funny, I always resist when someone tells me not to.”

Three other officers approach LT and grab him.

Neeleamon: “On what charge is he being arrested?”

LT trusts in Neeleamon’s negotiation skills as a high ranked government official and does not resist too much.

Officer: “Get lost, lady”

Neeleamon: “I am the 8^th citizen, officer. You will identify yourself.”

No answer. Meanwhile LT starts to resist, as it’s apparent they don’t mean too well… The captain lands a few well aimed punches, but against 5 men he can’t do much.

Neeleamon: “This is unacceptable. I order you to…”

The officer who told her to get lost apparently has a short fuse and stops her whining with a punch to the face. She drops to the ground. Dazed and confused and with a nasty, bleeding wound she needs some time to get up while the men drag the still resisting captain off. When she finally makes it back onto her feet she can barely see them in the distance and starts follow them. Again as if out of nowhere someone clearly deliberately bumps into her and she’s back on the ground again…

Neeleamon: “What’s wrong with you?”

Guy: “Nothing, I’m uninjured, thank you…”

He quietly laughs a bit while he walks off again… Neeleamon struggles to get up again and grabs her wounded head with her left hand… She looks in the direction where they took the captain in, but can’t see them anymore. She turns around to see where the rude guy went, but he is also gone. She now grabs her head with both hands and falls to her knees again… Soon after she passes out… Passersby approach her to see what is going on…

SCENE 8: Three ain’t company

Commander Eisinga walks into astrometrics and approaches Amini and Stuckman. He looks at Amini when he asks his question.

Eisinga: “So, what have you been up to the past hour? I heard some of the fascinating statistics you sent to the bridge.”

Expecting Amini to answer, Eisinga is surprised to hear a reply from Stuckman.

Stuckman: “Well sir, we just started scans to determine the internal composition of the planet. So far is seems it’s relatively similar to Earth in that regard. A liquid core of mostly iron and a host of other elements not uncommon to our own planet.”

Eisinga: “I see, interesting…”

Eisinga turns back to Amini and is about to engage in further conversation…

Eisinga: “So, …”

…when Stuckman decides to give some more data…

Stuckman: “The geology scan is complete and there are some interesting findings among the results… Did you know that they actually flattened 2 enormous mountain ranges to make more room? Combined those mountain ranges were bigger than Europe and…”

The commander cuts his story short and directs his next question to Amini again.

Eisinga: “I’ll read the report, Stuckman… Thank you. How are you holding up, ensign?”

Amini: “I’ve had better days, but it’s compensated by this beautiful planet. It’s such an interesting world… Nothing like it on record and we’re right here taking down all the stats…”

The commander smiles…

Eisinga: “Be sure to be accurate ensign, this will end up in Starfleet Academy books without any doubt… They might just include your name.”

Amini also smiles hearing that.

Amini: “I hope so…”

An annoyed look from Stuckman goes unnoticed by either.

SCENE 9: A rebel without a cause to be nice

LT is inside a cage. One of the men closes the lock on the chain that keeps the door tightly closed. The other men move off to their camp about 20 meters away. LT makes casual conversation with the last man.

Rebel #1: “You may try, but your communicator will not work here.”

He points at a piece of machinery near the encampment.

LT: “Ah, a signal blocker… Of course…”

Rebel #1: “And it’s a scan blocker as well…”

LT: “Should you be telling me this information?”

Rebel #1: “The way I see it, that information is of no use to you in there. And besides, the government knows we have such technology already…”

LT: “All this technology, but simple steel bars to keep me in?”

Rebel #1: “Simple steel bars maybe, but apparently very effective. Energy is at a premium for us, so no force fields.”

The captain looks around in his cage. Nothing but a wooden bench.

LT: “Hmm, who’s your interior decorator? I need to have a talk with him…”

Rebel #1: “I think we allowed you quite some luxury. You have a bench big enough for 3 people all to yourself…”

LT replies with the necessary sarcasm.

LT: “I’m grateful… By the way, I see there are 3 more cages; expecting more guests?”

Rebel #1: “Listen, our leader will be along shortly, bug him with your questions. I’ve got important things to do, like hang around and do nothing for a while…”

He turns around to leave, but before he puts one foot in front of the other, he turns back around. He keeps rubbing his sore jaw…

Rebel #1: “By the way, you can scream all your want to by the way, no one for around for many kilometers...”

LT: “I’m not the screaming type…”

Rebel #1: “That would be a welcome change.”

LT smiles.

LT: “I am the punching type however…”

Rebel #1: “Yeah, I figured…”

The rebel walks off towards his friends…

SCENE 10: AWOL

Maresca: “Incoming transmission from the surface, lieutenant.”

Holcraft: “Alright, on screen.”

Holcraft stands up while the image of First Citizen Norsebs appears on the main viewer.

Holcraft: “This is Lieutenant Holcraft. What can I do for you sir?”

Norsebs: “I am First Citizen Norsebs, lieutenant. Nice to make your acquaintance.”

Holcraft: “Likewise sir.”

Norsebs: “We were just wondering why the captain hasn’t returned to the meeting yet. We were supposed to have continued our talks almost an hour ago now… Our 8^th citizen Neeleamon has also not returned. We thought the captain might have given her a tour of the ship perhaps?”

Holcraft: “Ops, please locate the captain.”

Ops officer: “The captain’s combadge is not registering onboard sir. Nor is there any transport log of him, or anyone else for that matter, beaming to the ship. I’m scanning the surface…”

Norsebs: “We scanned the surface ourselves, gentlemen. We did not pick up any human lifesigns…”

Ops officer: “My scans also reveal no human lifesigns on the surface sir…”

Holcraft: “Are you sure?”

Ops officer: “Yes sir.”

Holcraft: “Keep scanning both the ship and the surface.”

Norsebs: “Most unusual. We don’t know our 8^th citizen to just disappear like that or even be late. We put our complete trust in her and I’m sure a starship captain enjoys the same level of trust.”

Holcraft: “Yes sir. It seems we have a mystery on our hands…”

Norsebs: “I will have the police conduct a thorough investigation in the area.”

Holcraft: “And I will have security search every inch of this ship. If you need any help down there, please let me know.”

Norsebs nods once.

Norsebs: “We’ll be in contact.”

The screen switches off.

SCENE 11: Wave 103

The conversation between Eisinga and Amini continues.

Eisinga: “All 103 of them… That’s just the way it goes…”

Stuckman’s facial expression reveals he’s very annoyed with the conversation and laughter from the commander and the ensign…

Amini: “It happened to me a few times but I think I can never get used to it, hahaha…”

Eisinga: “Haha, maybe you shouldn’t, it makes it…”

The commander is interrupted by the com system.

Holcraft: “Holcraft to Eisinga.”

Eisinga: “Go ahead, lieutenant.”

Holcraft: “It seems the captain and also the 8^th citizen have not returned to the meeting sir. They’re missing.”

Eisinga: “You’ve scanned the ship and the surface I presume?”

Holcraft: “Yes sir. First Citizen Norsebs has ordered a police investigation and security crew are combing the ship as we speak.”

Eisinga sighs.

Eisinga: “I’m on my way…”

The commander rushes to the door and steps out of astrometrics. Before he enters the corridor he starts walking backwards to be able to give a short single motion wave to Amini accompanied by a smile that shines through his worried look. Amini returns both favors.

SCENE 12: Abridged scene

The leader of the rebels approaches the cage which holds the captain. LT remains very friendly…

LT: “Good day… Nice weather isn’t it?”

Leader: “And a good day to you, captain LT.”

LT: “I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage, Mr…?”

Leader: “My name is Tionol…”

LT: “Exceptionally nice to meet you, Tionol. Are you the leader of this band of outcasts?”

Tionol: “In fact I am. And outcasts isn’t much of an insult captain…”

LT: “Wasn’t meant as an insult, just an observation… It’s quite clear you’re not part of Kelran society.”

Tionol: “Quite true… And neither are you, so you’re probably wondering why you’re here, right?”

LT: “Can’t deny my curiosity has been tickled somewhat…”

Tionol: “You want the long, boring, political story or the abridged version?”

LT: “I’ll settle for the abridged one for now… You can tell me the complete history as a bed time story when I go beddy bye tonight.”

Tionol: “You’re a hostage. We’re going to negotiate with the government to exchange you for food, medicine, some other supplies and most of all: independence.”

LT: “Not that I’d prefer the alternative, but why didn’t you take Neeleamon then? She was with me when your goons dragged me off… She’s a high ranked government official; a good bargaining chip I’d say…”

Tionol: “No, not really. It would make it too personal for the remaining government officials. That won’t work in our advantage. Besides, we don’t abduct people who we need to arrange things for us…”

LT: “There must be a better way of getting what you want…”

Tionol: “Except for independence it works fine most of the time…”

LT: “’Most of the time’?”

Tionol: “Yeah, sure, sometimes there are ‘casualties of war’, you know? Then we don’t get what we want and neither does the government, if you catch my drift…”

LT: “I see…”

Tionol: “I sense you don’t particularly approve of our way of doing things captain… Let me just explain it by saying that the government doesn’t want much to do with us… And by ‘us’ I don’t mean this little temporary camp of 6 highly trained rebels, including myself, but all of the many 1000’s of people who don’t agree with the government’s ways…”

LT: “And how long have you been doing this?”

Tionol: “Since the government decided to leave our original solar system…”

LT: “And you haven’t gotten anything out of it except the food to sustain you?”

Tionol: “Make no mistake captain, our main goal will always be to get an independent status, but until that day comes, this at least is a lifestyle…”

LT: “If you don’t want to be here, why don’t you return to your original solar system?”

Tionol: “You might be the one in the cage, but WE are the real prisoners here… They’d never allow it… Besides, all habitable surfaces in that solar system are defended by soldiers who were left behind. And we just have a few of these shuttles…”

He points at the shuttle to the left of the camp site.

Tionol: “We wouldn’t get anywhere near our true home with these short ranged vessels.”

LT smiles.

LT: “Well, at least I can relate to you… I’m not where I’m supposed to be either…”

The rebel leader is amused and laughs…

SCENE 13: Governothing

Norsebs: “We won’t allow them to return. We can’t let our original solar system fall into the wrong hands…”

Eisinga: “And these rebels are ‘the wrong hands’? They are your people as well…”

Norsebs: “Our people are very, very close, commander… But, like in any society, there are always a few who oppose everything you do as a society… Besides, they don’t have warp capable ships. We would have to provide them and that’s just not acceptable.”

Eisinga: “Why not? You have a huge warp capable fleet just sitting locked up in storage from your big move to this planet… They’re old, outdated ships and you’re probably not going to use them anymore anyway… And why do you think these ‘Indy Rebels’ as you call them are involved in the first place?”

Norsebs: “Neeleamon, the 8^th citizen, has been located. She was brought to a hospital after she was brutally attacked by people who posed as police officers. The police are not aware of any such action, leading us to believe it was the rebels. It’s a common rebel tactic.”

Eisinga: “How are you going to proceed?”

Norsebs: “Well, I’m not sure we can do anything…”

Eisinga: “Excuse me?”

Norsebs: “Commander, these rebels are not officially recognized by the Kelran government.”

Eisinga: “You’ve got to be kidding me… They’re not your citizens, but you do impose the law on them? You forbid them to leave this planet while you don’t even want to accept the fact they are on this planet?”

Norsebs: “Well ehm…”

Eisinga: “They hurt your 8^th citizen! And you’re ‘not sure you can do anything’?”

Norsebs: “Of course we’re angry, commander… But also understand that they’re incredibly hard to find and…”

The commander interrupts.

Eisinga: “How hard can it be to find them? I know this is a humongous planet, but how can trillions of people have trouble finding, what, hundreds of rebels?”

Norsebs: “Over 10,000 by our estimates…”

Eisinga: “Should be a piece of cake. And even if it proves to be more difficult than I imagine it is, it should at least be attempted.”

Norsebs: “You could contact the police and give your input in the investigation…”

Eisinga becomes less pleased than he already was.

Eisinga: “You’re the government, you control everything and everyone... One word from you and the police, the army and even the regular citizens do your bidding…”

Norsebs: “That’s not the way things work around here, commander…”

Eisinga is even more furious now…

Eisinga: “Apparently things don’t work around here at all! I get the distinct impression you want to sweep the whole rebel problem under the carpet… Let me tell you one thing first citizen… I’m going to send a search party to the surface. And in the interest of your potential application to the Federation, I suggest you send a substantial search party of your own to work with ours.”

The commander slams the button on his chair and the transmission is terminated.

SCENE 14: A leg up

The captain continues his talk with the rebel leader.

Tionol: “So as you can understand we now need a new medic in our team…”

LT: “It seems you can’t trust anyone these days…”

The same rebel LT spoke with earlier approaches with food. A roasted animal not unlike a small piglet…

Rebel #1: ”Dinner is served…”

Tionol: “Ah, thank you… I’m starving.”

He receives the food from his fellow rebel and puts one end of the skewer in the sand. With his free hand he takes out a knife and impatiently cuts a piece off the animal and munches it down…

LT: “What is that?”

Tionol points at the animal.

Tionol: “This? This is a deskti… Easy to catch and they’re as abundant as the grains of sand underneath our feet… And good food, hahaha!”

LT: What’s your policy regarding feeding prisoners? I’m always interested in tasting meat from different worlds…”

Tionol: “Sorry, can’t do that. The government knows that as a policy we don’t feed our prisoners, so they’re more willing to listen. But that usually takes a few weeks when prisoners are really starting to starve, hahaha…”

LT: “Well, I won’t tell them if you won’t…”

The rebel stops chewing for a second or 2 and then starts to laugh…

Tionol: “Hahahaha! I like your style, captain…”

He cuts off one of the hind legs of the animal and hands it to LT.

SCENE 15: Beaming down to boiling point

Eisinga beams down with 4 other officers. He is greeted by Neeleamon.

Neeleamon: “You must be Commander Eisinga. I’m Neeleamon, 8^th citizen…”

Eisinga: “Pleased to meet you. Are you ok? I heard you were in the hospital…”

Neeleamon: “Yes, I came straight from the hospital to help in the search…”

Eisinga: “Any help is very welcome… Speaking of which, do you know if your government is sending a search party?”

Neeleamon: “Yes, I’ve heard they are on their way… 20 soldiers.”

Eisinga: “20?!”

Neeleamon: “Yes, I’m sorry… It’s a ridiculous number. I always seem to disagree with decisions the government ends up making regarding any rebel related issue, so I can understand your frustration, commander…”

Eisinga: “No worries, I won’t hold it against you personally… But I will most definitely have another unfriendly chat with the first citizen…”

Eisinga sighs… Meanwhile, more GP crew keep beaming down to the surface.

Eisinga: “Well, let’s start at the beginning shall we? Can you tell me what happened?”

Neeleamon: “The captain and I were taking a walk. We were right over there, across the street when 5 men came and took your captain in that direction.”

Neeleamon points in the direction he was taken.

Eisinga: “Anything else you can remember that might help?”

Neeleamon: “No, nothing else I’m afraid… First I was punched to the ground, when I got up someone deliberately bumped into me and I was back on the ground again… By the time I got up again, the rebels and the captain had disappeared from sight… Then I passed out. I’m already glad I remember what I just told you…”

Eisinga: “Well, I guess that’s about all we have to go on then… As soon as the whole team is here, we’ll proceed in that direction…”

Eisinga nods in the direction Neeleamon earlier pointed out.

SCENE 16: Fresh meat

Tionol: “There must have been 2 dozen people there, but none of them dared lay a finger on me after I floored that guy, hahahaha!”

While the captain listens to this embellished claim, he also hears the screams of a young woman being brought into the camp by 2 of the rebels… They force her into the shuttle despite the fact the woman violently resists… The captain observes this scene, but Tionol doesn’t turn around as if he doesn’t care and continues eating.

LT: “So you just walked right out of there, huh?”

The 2 rebels exit the shuttle again and one of them whistles loudly. Tionol raises his hand in acknowledgement.

Tionol: “Yes I did…”

The rebel gets up, cleans his knife on his clothes and puts it away…

Tionol: “Please excuse me, captain. More meat.”

He walks off into the direction of the shuttle. Out of range of Tionol’s hearing, LT makes a remark…

LT: “You may like my style, but I don’t like yours…”

The captain notices another chain, just like the one used to lock his cage, bundled up close to the next cage, some 3 meters away. But there is no way he can reach the chain from inside his cage…

SCENE 17: Elusive prey

The search team, including the soldiers generously supplied by the government, is at the edge of the city…

Eisinga: “Well, all trails lead out of the city…”

Neeleamon: “That doesn’t make things better… Ahead of us is empty wasteland that spans more than half the globe. This is the current edge of our civilization…”

Eisinga sighs…

Neeleamon: “I know…”

Eisinga: “We can’t possibly cover every square centimeter of this planet… The Greate Pier’s sensors are continually scanning the entire surface, but I have no doubt they’re using some cloaking or sensor blocking technology of some kind… We might just have the edge by searching for them on foot…”

Neeleamon: “Let’s hope so, commander…”

Eisinga: “Eisinga to search party… Spread out as much as you can… Report anything out of the ordinary…”

The men and women walk off into the distance with tricorders in hand.

SCENE 18: Preparations

Night has fallen and from his cage Captain LT can only see 3 rebels and the side of the shuttle, made visible by the flickering light of the fire. The captain is reasonably sure the men can’t see him from there… Screams from the woman in the shuttle draw the attention away from their other prisoner.

He grabs the long bench and moves to the far left corner of his cage. The captive captain turns it on its side and sticks the 2 legs of one side of the bench out the cage, turns it 90 degrees and pushes the rest of the bench through the bars. He goes about it as quietly as he can. He turns the bench again to get the other 2 legs out and once the entire thing is outside of the cage, he sits down on his knees and positions the bench perpendicular to the side of the cage on its legs… In one quick motion he lifts the bench up a little and pushes it forward so the legs on the far side are behind the chain on the ground… He now slowly but surely maneuvers the far side of the bench the full 90 degrees towards the front left corner of the cage, dragging the chain with it. Once the bench is parallel to the cage the captain first puts the bench on its side again and pulls it back into the cage. He then gently lifts the chain up link by link. To his surprise, an open padlock is dangling from the end. LT then puts all that metal in the far left corner, takes his shirt off and covers the chain with it, just in case. He now turns his attention back to the bench. He puts it back where the rebels put it and marks the position of each leg on the ground. After a quick check to see what the rebels are doing, he puts the bench upside down, sits on it and kicks at one of the legs. It takes a few more kicks to sever it. He uses this new tool to drill a 5 centimeter deep hole on one of the marked locations on the ground. The soil is relatively loose, so it isn’t hard… He repeats the process for all other 3 leg positions. Once the last shallow hole has been drilled, LT places the leg in one of them and tamps the soil around it so it stays upright. The other 3 legs are removed from the bench and are securely put in a hole as well… The captain puts the remaining board on top of the 4 legs to check if it works out.

LT: “Good, good…”

He removes the sturdy plank again and brings it over to the far left corner where the hidden chain and lock are. The edges of the cage are made from 4 cm thick, square steel and the round bars are 2 cm in diameter. He carefully places the chain in a double loop around the square edge and the second bar and connects the ends with the padlock. The captain proceeds by putting the board through the loops of the chain. He wraps his shirt around the chains to muffle as much of the chain’s rattling noises as possible. Everything is set. He stands up and moves to the front of the cage to see what the scum is doing… Screams are still heard from the shuttle and the rebels around the campfire are talking and laughing loudly. All is safe, but the captain needs to hurry. Though the reasons for the screams are unpleasant at best, it’s going to help him escape if all goes well…

The captain picks up the board and slowly lifts it and the chains looped around it up to the middle of the bar. He starts to twist the board around to make the chain twist around itself. He soon reaches the point where the chains won’t easily twist any further. LT takes a deep breath and proceeds to try to turn the board further to bend the bar with all the power he has. Slowly but surely the bar bends, just millimeters every attempt. After each attempt, the captain catches his breath while wiping the sweat pearls from his forehead. At one point the bar doesn’t seem to want to budge any further... But the captain tries one last time. He puts all his strength into turning the board. Suddenly, it all goes south. The padlock, apparently the weakest link of the chain, gives out and breaks. The board and chain fall down to the ground, obviously generating a lot of unwanted noise… The rebels are immediately alarmed.

Rebel #1: ”Hey! What the hell are you doing?”

All the rebels pick up their flashlights and hastily walk over to the cage. They find Captain LT leaning against the side of the cage. By standing there, he obscures the bent bar. The rebels’ flashlights aim at the captain, the bench, which miraculously seems to be right there where it should be and LT’s shirt, covering the chain.

Rebel #1: ”Aren’t you cold?”

LT: “Nah, humans don’t get cold so easily…”

Rebel #1: ”Stop messing with the chains, you’re not getting out unless humans have exceptional strength as well…”

LT: “I guess I could try bending de bars with my bare hands next…”

The rebels laugh, including the grumpy one the captain is speaking with… He addresses his fellow rebels.

Rebel #1: ”They usually don’t have such a sense of humor about being held captive…”

LT: “I guess I’m just lucky I’m not a woman…”

The smiles disappear from their rebel faces.

Rebel #1: ”You just hope I don’t get lonely enough for me to expand my horizon…”

The captain laughs and the men walk back to the camp… He breathes a huge sigh of relieve once they’re gone.

SCENE 19: Running out of luck and daylight

Eisinga: “Ok, thank you lieutenant…”

Eisinga taps his badge to end communication and turns to Neeleamon.

Eisinga: “No luck… It’s not the piece of cake I said it would be…”

Neeleamon: “Well, without wanting to state the obvious, it’s a big planet… And they probably used a shuttle to transport far away from civilization…”

Eisinga: “Well, it’s nearly dark… Searching on foot will be impossible soon… I’ll send some shuttles of our own to take over. Even if the shuttles sensors are blocked or whatever at least we’re searching…”

SCENE 20: Unleashed

Two of the rebels have retired to their tents. The grumpy one is still sitting near the fire, drinking. The time has come. LT puts his right leg through the newly created space between the bars. His arms and head are next. The challenge is to get his bounteous belly and pelvic area through the opening. The captain struggles for a long, long while but finally manages to squeeze through. He pats his tummy.

LT: “Maybe the doctor was right…”

He catches his breath for a second and then sneaks towards the camp, staying out of sight. He slowly closes in on the lone guard. LT notices that the last wake rebel apparently jabbed a knife into the ground near his right knee, but he can’t take the knife without getting noticed. Two meters behind the half drunk man, he halts. LT quietly gathers some sand and picks it up with both hands. He stands up and throws it into the air to the left of the rebel. It immediately draws his attention and looks to the left. Without any delay, the captain rushes forward and grabs the knife. When the rebel turns his head to the right it’s already too late. The captain slits his throat before he can scream or get up. He looks around to see if anyone is around. Nothing. The body is dragged all the way to the cage. LT quickly swaps clothes with the dead man and throws the body into the cage. He positions the corpse so his back is to the camp.

LT: “Now you can hang around and do nothing for a while longer…”

The captain is about to return to the camp when he hears voices. It’s the 2 rebels that were apparently out on patrol… They walk into the camp and find no one there…

Rebel #2: “Hey, why is no one on guard? Did they all go to sleep? Idiots…”

Rebel #3: “Let’s check the prisoner…”

Rebel #2: “Sure…”

They walk towards the cage… Still several meters from the cage, one of them shines his flashlight towards the cage. He doesn’t notice anything out of the ordinary at that point.

Rebel #2: “We’re gonna have a talk with Tionol in the morning… The camp just can’t be left unguarded.”

The captain approaches the duo from behind and slits the throat of the one closest to him. His flashlight falls to the ground next to his dead body. His friend hears his buddy fall and turns around.

Rebel #2: “I told you before, you drink too…”

Before he can complete the sentence that would never have reached his buddy anyway, he finds a knife sticking in his chest. He refuses to die immediately or fall over, so the captain gives him a hand. He plants his knuckles in his face. The rebel yields and falls over backwards. The captain removes the knife and cleans it on the clothes of his latest victim. After dragging the first body back to the camp he carefully inspects the tents by listening for snores… The 2 last tents seem to harbor criminals, so the captain opens the first tent and stuffs the body in it. After having fetched the second dead man, he throws him in the same tent…

LT: “Sweet dreams you two…”

…and zips the tent up. LT walks over to the far side of the last tent and takes out his knife again. With one smooth motion he cuts open the side of the tent, puts his hand over the mouth of the waking rebel and plants his knife with all his might in his chest. The rebel’s body contorts and he shakes his head violently, releasing the grip of the captain’s hand. Screams now escape his mouth… The captain yanks the knife from his victim’s chest and cuts yet another throat. But it’s too late. The rebel’s snoring partner in the next tent apparently heard the screams and comes crawling out of his tent… This wasn’t part of the plan and the captain has already been seen…

Rebel #4: “What’s going on? Can’t you guys keep quiet?”

The captain can’t run and outside of the encampment there’s nowhere to hide. LT has to improvise quickly and rely on his disguise to buy him some time… His voice sounds nothing like the one of the man whose clothes he’s wearing, so he decides to whisper… The captain points in a random direction out of the camp and whispers to the last rebel, who just got his phaser-like gun from his belt.

LT: “Look…”

Rebel #4: “What?... I don’t see anything…”

The captain slowly walks backwards towards his enemy, but keeps pointing and looking into nothingness and whispers:

LT: “There!”

The rebel is getting slightly suspicious of the captain and steps closer to see who it is…

Rebel #4: “Wait a minute… You…”

The captain jumps at the last rebel in the camp, but it doesn’t work out that well… The phaser is discharged and grazes the captain’s chest on the left. An exclamation of pain is produced by LT’s vocal cords, but not loud enough to alert anyone in the shuttle… In the process, he loses his knife. The captain manages to bat the phaser from the clutches of the enemy and it’s now a hand-to-hand combat situation. They exchange many punches while rolling around on the floor… After about a minute of knuckle battle the captain gets the stubborn radical in a choke hold. The man violently struggles for his life, but the captain has a very tight grip on him and waits for the life to leave his enemy… A short while later the body goes limp and LT lets go.

LT: “Where’s Musashi when you need him anyway?”

He picks up three things; the knife, which he puts it in his belt, the phaser, apparently the only one in the camp and a salt shaker from near the fire…

LT pushes a button next to the door of the shuttle and it opens. With his phaser pointed ahead, the captain enters the vessel. To his right there is a double bed, fully occupied. A scared, tied up woman looks at him. LT brings his finger to his lips to instruct the woman to be silent. She nods. Tionol lies next to her on the far side of the bed, vast asleep on his back. The captain walks around the bed and puts the phaser away. He pops the cap from the salt shaker and pours the entire content on the closed eyes of the rebel leader. He quickly grabs his knife… but nothing happens… Tionol keeps on snoring. The captain gives Tionol a few kicks in an uncharacteristically gentle way, to wake him up. The rebel leader moans a bit while he regains consciousness. He opens his eyes and of course immediately feels the effect of the salt… He jumps up and screams loudly and tries to get the salt out of his eyes… Tionol moves around like a headless chicken and his screams could wake the dead outside of the shuttle. After a few seconds, LT grabs the confused man by the throat.

LT: “It’s nice to hear you scream for a change…”

The rebel gets a knife in his belly. LT thrusts the blade upwards to do some more damage. The hand still holding his throat pushes Tionol away and the body slides off of the blade. After staring at the body for a second or 2 like an angry caveman, he proceeds to cut the woman loose.

Woman: “Thanks…”

LT: “My pleasure… Sorry I couldn’t get here any earlier… Are you ok?”

Woman: “As good as I can be right now…”

LT: “I’ll take you to safety, but first let me get rid of this excess baggage.”

The captain throws the dead body over this shoulder, not caring about the blood pouring onto his stolen outfit and walks towards the door… As he steps outside, the head of the dead rebel hits the side of the door quite hard…

LT: “Sorry about that buddy…”

…and he throws the body on the fire like he does it every day and walks back. Moments later the shuttle takes off and flies towards the Greate Pier.

SCENE 21: Musical chairs

The captain walks onto the bridge from the turbo lift, bruised and covered in blood. Holcraft immediately jumps on his feet.

Holcraft: “Captain on the bridge.”

LT: “You can sit back down, Holcraft. The bridge is still yours. And hello everyone…”

All the bridge personnel’s eyes follow LT as he walks across the bridge and enters his ready room. Holcraft sits back down. Moments later Commander Eisinga walks out of the same turbo lift. Holcraft is up on his feet again in no time.

Holcraft: “Commander…”

Eisinga: “You can sit back down, Holcraft. Just passing through town.”

The commander proceeds into the captain’s ready room, while Holcraft sits down yet again…

Stilson: “I don’t think they want their bridge back, lieutenant…”

Holcraft: “Hey, you don’t hear me complaining… Have you any idea how comfortable this chair is?...”

SCENE 22: Bloody chairs

In the ready room the 2 highest ranked officers catch up. LT quotes himself.

LT: “’But between the tears, just remember him’. Spoken like a true softy…”

Eisinga: “Well, it seems you helped her with those words…”

LT: “Maybe, but I’m not a damn softy…”

Eisinga: “But you can’t deny it feels good that you helped her… And no, you’re not a softy; I think you’ve proven that today… You can just relate to her because you also miss someone…”

LT: “You’re right and also under orders to shut up about it.”

Eisinga: “No need for orders, speaks for itself.”

LT: “I don’t need to keep up any personal image, but as a captain I have to. And it’s a pretty weird day today, Eldert… I helped a woman cope with the death of her man and I took the lives of 6 other men…”

Eisinga: “At least one of them was a rapist… And the others apparently condoned rape; they deserve no better…”

LT: “Well that and the fact that I needed to kill all of them to free the woman… I couldn’t tie them up or gag them with anything and I couldn’t risk just letting them sleep. It was 6 against me and a tied up woman…”

The captain pauses for a short moment.

LT: “And you just don’t take away a Frisian’s freedom…”

Eisinga: “Very true…”

Holcraft’s voice is heard over the com system.

Holcraft: “Holcraft to the captain’s ready room. Sorry to disturb you gentlemen, but the Kelran government wishes to speak to Commander Eisinga.”

LT: “Alright, take the bridge commander.”

The 2 men get up and step onto the bridge. The commander relieves Lieutenant Holcraft and sits down in the preheated chair. LT takes place in Eisinga’s usual chair.

Eisinga: “First citizen.”

Norsebs: “Good to see you back on your ship captain.”

Having heard Eisinga’s story about the Kelran government’s minimal deeds concerning the search, the captain merely nods.

Norsebs: “Commander, I’d like to debrief you on the search mission. So if you can find the time to visit us down here, we would…”

Eisinga isn’t planning on being friendly, regardless of the captain’s safe return, and interrupts the world leader.

Eisinga: “You’ve got to be kidding me again. I led the search efforts with 300 men and women under my wing while you just sent 20 men and you want to debrief me?”

Norsebs: “What?! Captain, keep your first officer in check. This is outrageous.”

LT: “If you think my words would be any milder after what happened to me on your planet, you are sadly mistaking. Besides, I don’t have to keep him in check. Commander Eisinga is in command at the moment and I’ve ventilated enough aggression for one day… So, don’t get me started.”

Eisinga: “You described your people as a ‘very, very close’. They were bad people, but 6 people are dead. And one of your citizens was raped, first citizen. A rape and 6 deaths that wouldn’t have happened if everyone was as close as you claimed… But those rebels weren’t recognized as citizens of course, so you don’t care… Kidnapping and raping scum you conveniently do not recognize when it suits you, while you do supply them with everything they need to survive. ‘Very, very close’... Apparently not. Get your stuff sorted out…”

Norsebs: “You probably know you’re not getting any information on the Inj now, don’t you?”

Eisinga’s anger reaches a new record, but keeps his voice relatively down. Although his face looks like he’s about to explode.

Eisinga: “I didn’t ask for any…”

He slams the button to end the communication. He stands up and walks into a random direction towards the open space in front of the main viewer. Shortly thereafter the captain joins him.

Eisinga: “Thanks for letting me handle that, though it was bad for diplomatic relations.”

LT: “Most people, like Neeleamon and probably most of Kelrah-Eyn’s citizens, don’t deserve to be treated any less than any Federation citizen, but I wouldn’t mind never seeing this planet ever again.”

Eisinga: “I second that…”

LT: “Walk it off, take a cold shower, pound a punch bag to dust; go do whatever cools you down. The report can wait…”

Eisinga: “Alright, I will… If you report to sickbay immediately and get some clean clothes… And I hope you didn’t mess up my chair…”

The captain slaps Eisinga on the shoulder and laughs. Even Eisinga shows a smile.

LT: “I’m going already…”

SCENE 23: Lack of chairs

Amini just started her morning shift again. She’s drinking coffee while fiddling with the buttons on one of the many consoles. The commander walks in.

Amini: “Commander, good morning…”

Eisinga: “Good morning…”

Amini can see the commander isn’t feeling too happy…

Amini: “Everything alright, commander? You seem a little…”

Eisinga: “Angry? You could say that…”

Amini: “I just heard the captain is safely back on board…”

Eisinga: “Yes, fortunately… Fortunate for the first citizen… Bastard…”

The commander switches off Amini’s console and sits on it, as there are no chairs other than the one Amini is using... Eisinga sighs deeply…

Eisinga: “I hope you’ve got all the scans you wanted, we’re leaving orbit pretty soon…”

Amini: “We have everything we need I guess…”

Eisinga: “I’ve been up for 25 straight hours, but I couldn’t go to sleep now… I need to cool down a little first…”

Amini: “This first citizen fellow really got to you, didn’t he? Just wait, I know just the thing…”

She stands up and walks over to the replicator, not far away.

Amini: “Bart introduced me to this drink. It calms you down and it’s yummy too… One Bolian tonic water.”

The replicator makes the drink appear as if by magic. The ensign hands it to the commander.

Eisinga: “Thanks… I’m sure it’ll work…”

He takes a sip… and then a gulp. Amini walks over to the right of the chair pushing a few buttons on another console.

Eisinga: “Hey, not bad at all…”

The ensign doesn’t look at the commander when she speaks.

Amini: “And if that doesn’t work, you can always lower the temperature a bit. It worked the last time.”

The commander nearly chokes in his drink. After spitting out half his drink in the process, he performs a classic Picard facepalm and starts laughing a second later. Amini smiles and keeps pretending to work.