Reunions

Posted on Sun Aug 16th, 2015 @ 12:38pm by Lieutenant Commander Antos Lev & Lieutenant Isi Nighthawk & Commander Adara Gunnar & Lieutenant Commander Earl Crane

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Adara's Quarters / Mason's Diner / Lev's Quarters

Laughing, Adara kissed Isi as Cody stepped over and around them, eager for attention. "I should go away more often," she teased Isi. Cody chose that moment to lie down half on, half off her back, pinning her against Isi. "We see what he thinks of that idea."

“You’re right, he doesn’t like it. Trust me.” Isi kissed Adara gently and smiled. “Neither do I.” He reached around Adara to nudge the dog off her back. “So, besides telling me about the trip, what’s on for today?”

"Hmm... I need to meet with Lev. Something about a stone," she said, grunting as Cody chose her kidney as a great push-off point. "And contact Tor or Tobin, to see how they're doing. Oh, and Earl sent me a message. Julian is here, so we're going for coffee. Wanna join?"

“Sure. Wait...contact Tor or Tobin? Isn’t she next door?” Isi rolled to his side, settling Adara among the pillows. Cody took advantage of the move and slithered in between them.

"No, they stayed behind on Cha'ru. Sort of a spur of the moment decision for them. I'll need to make sure their things are packed and shipped to the Colony." As she spoke, she tried to avoid Cody as he licked her face. "Codes, go find a toy." The dog bounded up and dashed to the living room.

Isi propped up on his elbow and looked down at Adara, surprise on his face. “They stayed? Together? Really?”

She chuckled. "They did. Tobin's house isn't quite ready, but Tor's house is closer to being done. They're both staying in her house - I don't doubt that we'll have a couple of spare houses by the time we all arrive there. Yours is already being converted to guest housing."

“I see.” Concern was evident in Isi’s tone. “I mean, I’m glad but it’s a little surprising, given…..” He shrugged, unable to elaborate on his thoughts since they involved Tor’s counseling sessions. “I suppose we’ll see. I hope it works for them. On a personal note? I think he’s what she needs.”

"I know," she couldn't help but catch a little bit of his concern - his telepathy linked them. "The two of them... I think he can help her heal."

Cody came back, having found the stuffed frog Adara had hidden in her travel bag. It was one of his favorite toys. He jumped onto the bed and whined as he pushed his head against Adara.

“I think that’s our cue to get up and face the day...and the dog.” Isi laughed, then leaned in for a kiss. “How soon are we meeting Earl and Julian? Can we just get some breakfast there?”

"Yeah, let's head there." She kissed him then struggled past Cody to get up. At least the dog didn't follow her into the shower. "We're meeting at that little diner on the Promenade... Joe's? Moe's? Something like that," she told Isi.

“Sounds good.” Cody didn’t follow her into the shower but Isi did. “In the interests of saving time,” he said and laughed. “I’m ravenous.”

Their shower took just a little longer than usual.

* Mason's Diner *

"At least I had the 'm' right." Adara smiled as she and Isi entered the place and picked a booth.

“That’s about all.” Isi laughed as he slid into the booth beside her. The waiter stopped and he ordered coffee for them both. “So what’s on Earl’s mind? Or just catching up?”

"Far as I know, just catching up. I haven't seen Julian in what seems like ages." She spied the older Crane coming their way and waved. She and Isi stood again.

"Adara," Earl hugged and kissed her, then hugged Isi. "Julian, this is Isi Nighthawke."

Julian, too, leaned in to kiss Adara. His look said that he'd once been in love with her; she didn't catch that. "Mon ami," he said to her then greeted Isi. "Nice to meet you, Isi."

Isi hugged Earl, then shook Julian’s hand. “You too. Earl’s spoken so much about you, it’s great to finally meet you.” He smiled and waved to the waiter. “I just ordered coffee but he’s coming back.” He waited for Adara to sit, then sat down beside her once more.

"Wonderful!" Earl grinned as the waiter came back with mugs and an urn of coffee. He took everyone's breakfast orders and departed. "So, 'Dara, how's the Colony coming along?"

She smiled. The Colony was her pride and joy and she told the three about her trip to Cha'ru. "Tobin stayed on when we left to oversee the remaining construction."

Julian asked, "Is the Colony fully staffed?"

“The core staff is there, enough to run the place at least, until everything’s fully done. I’m pulling double duty as CMO and counselor, however, and my nurse is still in transit.” Isi shrugged. “Some jump at the chance to be on the edge of the universe, others are wary of being so far out, you know?”

"Really? Double duty as medical and mental?" Earl chimed in, glancing from Isi to Adara and back. He noticed Adara narrowing her eyes at him and grinned. "Jules is between opportunities at the moment." That made Jules look at his dad, too. "You know he's...."

Adara laughed suddenly. "That's what this is about, isn't it, my dear Earl? You're fishing to have Jules stay nearby."

Earl pursed his lips and looked guilty. He shrugged at Julian.

"Isi," Adara put a hand on his thigh under the table, "What do you think? Want to split that double duty with a civilian?"

“It would be good to have some help.” Isi nodded. “The medical staff is always busy and having two of us would be a huge help.” He looked to Julian, his expression speculative. “If you don’t mind being at the ass-end of space.”

"Oh, no, it isn't really the ass end! It's just the beginning of the frontier!" Julian grinned, looking much like his dad. "It'll be exciting! Like the stories of Earth's American Wild West."

Wincing and hoping that wasn't what the Colony would be like, Adara nodded, "Then welcome to the Colony, Jules. Isi's house will be empty, so you can take it." At Earl's raised brow, she answered, "We're getting married, so having two houses doesn't make sense." Earl crowed with happiness and congratulated them; Jules had only a split second of glowering before joining in with his dad. Their breakfasts were delivered and conversation flowed freely until Adara noted that it was just about time for her to meet with Antos Lev. "I'll tell him about adding you to the Colony's roster, Jules," she said as they made their goodbyes and headed their separate directions.

* Temp. Quarters of Antos Lev *

The computer beeped and its polite voice informed Lev that Adara would be arriving any minute.

“Thanks,” he murmured out of habit, his gaze still on the padd he held in his hand. It was both interesting reading and cause for concern in his opinion, especially the report from Commander Winter. Her information included the perpetrator behind an attempt on her son’s life via some very interesting means. He’d sent a request to question the man and the Commander had agreed.

This sort of thing was taking him back to his work for the Fleet of the past few years and it interested him. He knew it would interest Adara too, and so he’d waited until she was home from the colony. The door chime interrupted his thoughts and he hurried over to open the doors.

“Welcome home,” he greeted Adara.

"Thanks," she said. "Wait till you see it, Lev. The place is beautiful! Tobin and Tor stayed behind."

“They did? Interesting.” Lev’s bright smile flashed for a moment. “Come on in, get comfortable and tell me the rest. Then I have a story for you.”

She did, settling in an armchair and sipping an iced tea as she relayed details of the trip and the Colony buildings. "...oh, and I just had breakfast with Earl Crane and his son, Julian. Julian is a civilian, but he's going to join us at the Colony and fill in as Isi needs as doctor and counselor."

“Excellent,” Lev answered. “I know Isi’s glad of that. Being so far out, I’ll feel a lot better if he has an extra pair of hands. I did get a message from Tammy yesterday. She is arriving in two days.” Lev reached for the coffee mug he’d left on the table before the sofa. “They are running a little behind and I feel sorry for whoever’s piloting her here.” He grinned.

"Tammy...." Adara's eyes went a little wide. "Oh boy, she's a loud one. Likely she'll be glad that Earl isn't going with us, though she might not appreciate that his son has his sense of humor." She grinned at Lev.

Lev began to laugh. “Oh, I’m counting on it. We have to get our amusement where we can don’t we?” His laughter subsided and he shook his head. “Are you in a big hurry? The story I have may take a bit and then you and I have someone to see.”

"I have time," she said, shaking her head. "What's this story?"

Lev passed her a padd containing all the reports. “While you were gone, things got interesting,” he replied. “It started with an assignment given to an ensign in science - to translate a stone slab believed to be of Iconian origin. As it turned out, it is Iconian. It told the story of a device that, as she phrased it in the translation, was able to undo time. This artifact is supposedly hidden away somewhere in the region near the colony. According to the stone, it was guarded by a group whose sole purpose was to keep it from being discovered. That’s the short version.”

While he spoke, she skimmed the text on the padd and got caught on one phrase. "Julian Crane was killed? In the past?" She looked at him with a touch of horror in her look. "But...? I just.... Was this stone found on Cha'ru? Did this Ensign figure out that the artifact is on Cha'ru? And what's the long version?"

Lev nodded slowly. “Commander Winter and Earl had to go back and fix things, and yes, they prevented Julian’s death in the past. I don’t know where the stone was found, but some coordinates were present in the translation and according to Lt. Riley Sukotav, who traced them and adjusted for the long span of time, it’s still in that general area.” Lev sighed and got up to refill his coffee and Adara’s tea. “The long version starts with Julian and continues with this lieutenant.”

"This Lieutenant Sukotav, then, is going to Cha'ru with us?" She liked that idea: a small mystery for them to work on and explore the area at the same time. "If the ensign's interpretation of the stone's carvings is correct, how do we know the makers of it weren't just making stuff up?"

“That’s where the plot thickens, Adara.” Lev returned and passed her a fresh glass of tea before taking a seat. “This ensign is named Six of Ten.” He paused to let that sink in a moment. “She spent her life in this quadrant. She recently resigned and turned the project over to Sukatov, who was promptly snatched from his quarters via a spatial rift. He was found on Archadia with no memory whatsoever of how he got there.”

She could see the logical connection there. However: "Nalas and I received Station reports showing that there have been several spatial rifts on the Station - some have taken people and they've been found on Archadia, just like Sukotav. That could be mere coincidence."

Lev nodded. “But it made me wonder. Those people were all found within hours. Sukotav was missing for about a day and a half. My suspicious mind thinks the rest were a diversion and I don’t like where all this is pointing. What’s odd is that Julian has now been recruited to move to the colony. Coincidence?”

"But recruiting him was random - there's no way anyone could have foreseen that Earl would bring him around and suggest that he could be a second pair of hands for Isi." She slowed down and followed the logic of the situation. "But if this stone is correct and there's a device that 'undoes time', then they'd likely have time travel abilities. Which means that Julian and Sukotav will be on the team that finds this device. And anyone else on that team will be in danger." She made eye contact with Lev. "Who else would we assign to such a team? Ourselves. Our Marines. Lt. Tyler. For this particular situation, thankfully our Science officer is a hologram. The worst that can happen there is his projector gets dropped."

Lev nodded once more. “As you say, if they can undo time, they certainly can look back and see what happened and take steps to protect the secret. Perhaps we might want to see this ensign who did the original translation as well.”

"Wait... Isn't this the Ensign who quit the Fleet to be a crime boss' girlfriend? Should we really be traipsing through...," she stopped herself: this was a Fleet Station her officers could go where they pleased. "Okay, let's track her down and question her. We should talk to Sukotav as well, make sure he knows he'll be working from the Colony."

“Yes, this is that ensign.” Lev set his empty mug aside. “I’ve sent word to Sukotav’s assistant chief, as the CSO is off station, requesting Sukotav’s assistance as needed. We can arrange to see him and Six of Ten once we finish with today’s guest. I am scheduled to question the man who attempted to kill Julian and I knew you’d want to be there.”

"Yes! When do you have that scheduled?"

“As soon as we get there.” Lev stood and smiled. “Shall we?"

"Let's go," she said.

**************
Commander Adara Gunnar
Lt. Isi Nighthawk
Lt.Commander Earl D. Crane
Julian Crane, M.D.
Lt. Commander Antos Lev