End Of an Era

Posted on Fri Apr 10th, 2015 @ 10:53am by James Holbridge & Major David Lorenz & Marine Captain Quentin Harrison

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Admiral Hawke's office

".....in three, two, one.....and now!" Jim said gleefully, checking the wall clock as Quentin Harrison stormed into the room. "Right on time, punctual as a Swiss watch, and dumber than a bag of hammers! You owe me a drink at The Nexus Club."

"That's real fookin' clever, coming from a fookin' amadan I'm about to pound into the bloody deck plates!" Quentin growled in a low voice, balling his right hand. His eyes were murderous and there was no longer a cell screen or locked door holding him back.

Lorenz, who had watched and listened to the entire drama held up his hand. "Okay, enough! Quentin, you need to calm the hell down before you get tossed into the brig for life." David looked at Jim. "You need to shut the fuck up before the big guy pancakes your nose!"

"Believe me, his wife hates that honker o' his!" Quentin quipped, then held up his other hand as Holbridge charged. David Lorenz shoved Quentin away, then clocked Jim with a hard right cross, staggering the man. "Stand down, Jim!"

"You taking this asshole's part?" Jim demanded, rubbing his jaw and glaring at the two men

"Hell, no! I f I was I would have broke that fucking jaw of yours! I want to try and salvage this thing we have! Quentin, you are a lecherous dickhead who wants to screw anything with a vagina and a pulse. Jim, your wife loves you and proved it many times over. Get over it! We are here in this office because of Site 6 and the woman we found and lost again, and that is partly my fault."

Both angry men looked at David. "What do ye say?" Quentin asked, blinking twice.

"Years ago when I was a butter-bar louie, I knew a Captain Ricky Wegener; the same guy who runs this interstellar outhouse. He was in command of the Oppenheimer, Starfleet's greatest experimental ship at the time. I was the MARDET CO, didn't know horseshit from peanut butter about command in the Fleet. The captain took me under his wing and showed me tricks that he had learned over the course of his El Aurian life. I royally screwed the pooch on a hostage rescue and he covered my ass, I botched a snatch-and-grab, he covered for me and showed me how to do it right. He put up with a lot of shit from this Betazoid who's telepathy is broken.

David paused. "We got the call to take Serenity to the Delta Quadrant. Banning and some other old coots, including Ronin, was there too. Anyhoo, the chief gearhead rigged a slipstream drive that got us there and back, and my unit provided perimeter security while the others and I placed Serenity in the ice chamber. She was already an ice cube with a somnetic inducer that would be powered for a thousand years. Apparently Jackson left a beacon there and when it activated....well, you all know the rest."

"You did your job, Dave," Jim said simply. "Like always, above and beyond; 100 over 100."

David shook his head. "It wasn't enough. Part of my problem with my telepathy is the drugs they gave me to induce memory loss. The serum reacted with my brain chemistry and my telepathy went full-on. It took me eighteen months to recover after the surgery to quiet my mind. I haven't been back home since.; it's like being a leper on Betazed now. I lost a lot because of that mission, and I am about to lose more.

Dave turned to Jim. "You have been my best friend for the longest time. You and I pulled some shit that should have got us court-martialed a dozen times over, yet we're in charge of a private security company that guards diplomatic Amazons, Talaxian con men, and half-wit Federation citizens stupid enough to come here. I am done with that. I want out."

Jim swallowed. "You're serious? after all the blood and sweat we have shed together building and keeping ourselves alive and in latinum, you just wanna walk away?"

"While I can, yes. We've had a great run, Jimmy, but you don't need me anymore. You don't need Q-Ball either. You are gonna lose the mining operation, but you have your PMC. Run with it, have fun, hire some guys who wanna make their mark."

Jim turned to face Quentin. "Is this how you feel, too?"

"Aye!" was the stony reply. "Davey speaks for us both, though he's a tad more eloquent than I at the moment."

Jim turned to face the window, which showed the base and the crisscrossing little craft running errands. "Damn, I feel old. We been together nearly ten years, and this is how it ends. Never seen this one coming."

"It was bound to happen, Jim." Dave replied. "The only difference is we will be in prison for the rest of our lives instead of going our separate ways."

"And I'm gonna make sure ye both get boyfriends who like to..." Quentin began, only to be silenced by a shake of the head from Dave. "The grunt's right, this has been brewin' for awhile."

Jim turned to face his friends. "If this is it, will you guys join me at my house for a good-bye toast later, as I don't think Admiral Hawke is gonna crucify us, he coulda done that in the joint."

"No, After this, I am leaving. My family sent transport for me. It docks in six minutes." Dave said quietly. "My mother retired and my brother has assumed the title of governor-general of Dormeil Prime, the bloated asshole! I am to be captain of His Nibs' guard force. I'd rather have a threesome with a pissed-off Nausicaan and a Horta!"

"Take me with, laddie," Quentin said quietly. "Jimmy-boy already fired me. I have references."

"Done." Dave smiled.

"Computer, three O'Bannon's reserve, neat!" Jim ordered. the three glasses of liquor materialized, and he handed one to each man then keeping one for himself. He cleared his throat. "Anyone have a toast?"

Dave nodded.

"It's been a long road
Getting from there to here
It's been a long time
But my time is finally near
And I can feel the change in the wind right now
Nothing's in my way
And they're not gonna hold me down no more
No, they're not gonna hold me down

'Cause I've got faith of the heart
I'm going where my heart will take me
I've got faith to believe
I can do anything
I've got strength of the soul
And no one's gonna bend or break me
I can reach any star
I've got faith
I've got faith, faith of the heart."

"Who wrote that?" asked Jim.

"Some guy named Watson, for some dumbass TV show about space exploration." Dave answered, then turned serious. "You two have been my friends, and wherever I go you guys will be there with me."

Quentin simply said "Aye, laddie," and all three men drank.

________________________________

James Holbridge
Moe

David Lorenz
Larry

Quentin Harrison
Curly