Why Me?

Posted on Tue Dec 18th, 2012 @ 7:48am by Lieutenant Riley Sukotav

Mission: The Struggle Within
Location: USS Callender Shuttlecraft/SB900

USS Callender Shuttlecraft

"We'll be reaching Starbase 900 in about fifteen minutes, sir. Just entering the wormhole now."

Ensign Riley Sukotav nodded his acknowledgment to the pilot at his side. The news was a welcome relief, and the temptation arose to tell the pilot to step on it and get them there in five. Leaning his head back against the co-pilot's seat, he let out a soft sigh. He'd taken refuge up here two hours ago, not long after they had departed the ship that had ferried them part way to the wormhole area in the Beta Quadrant, then sent them on the rest of the way in the shuttle. In this case, 'they' meant Riley and one Harrali, Ensign, Language specialist. And Orion. Lovely didn't even come close to describing her, and therein lay the problem.

Riley, like the beautiful green ensign, was multi-lingual. His career so far had definitely benefited from his ability to speak to anyone, anywhere, and say just the right thing, saving more than one tense situation on alien worlds. Such a talent had earned him a nickname among his colleagues - Silver Tongue. It was both homage to his abilities, and teasing for his one big failure, a failure that had become evident five minutes into their trip to SB900. And it was all Harrali's fault, though it began innocently enough. The scene replayed in Riley's thoughts, once more stirring a wave of embarrassment.

* * *

Two Hours Earlier

The trip to the Beta Quadrant side had been largely uneventful. He'd had time to catch up on his reading and time to just do...well...nothing. Everything had gone according to plan until he arrived in the shuttle bay to depart the ship and go the rest of the way to the Solarian Wormhole. That's when he first encountered her. Ensign Harrali. Since she had been on leave, she was not in uniform, but dressed instead in a form fitting dress of deep purple. Riley did not need any help from his imagination to notice her trim, curved figure, or the long glossy dark hair. She'd smiled, and spoke in his native language, a friendly greeting. And that's where the trouble began.

Despite his intent to return her greeting, when he'd opened his mouth, little more than a stutter had come out. Harrali looked somewhat surprised, but waited patiently. Riley tried once more, with no success.

"A Caitian have your tongue?"Amusement was evident in her wide smile and twinkling eyes.

That didn't help his situation at all. He ran his hand over his face with an inward groan. This wasn't going well. He had no idea who she was, other than her name, but they'd be stuck together on a shuttle for two hours with only each other and a pilot for company. Surely he could man up and make small talk? If he'd been facing her in a lab in an official capacity, it would have been easy. Unfortunately, he wasn't. He'd be facing her across the aisle of a shuttle, just the two of them, with her looking like something out of his dreams. Well, aside from the green skin. He'd have preferred blue.

Oh, don't go there Riley, that was three years ago. Done and gone.

"Ensign Riley Sukotav. Chief ..uh...science. I'm a scientist..." At least he managed to get those words out without stuttering. Not much.

"So I surmised from the blue uniform. I am surprised at your lack of verbal skills. It must make your job especially difficult."

Was she joking? Hard as he tried, he just couldn't tell from her expression. She looked as if she wanted to laugh, but then maybe she was serious. He decided on caution and simply shook his head.

"I'm Ensign Harrali. It seems we will be traveling together to Starbase 900. I'd hoped for a more entertaining travel mate but I suppose we'll make do. It's only two hours anyway and a few more minutes through the wormhole, and then I'll be shipping out and likely never see you again."

"Teal," he managed to say.

"What?"

"The uniform. It's...it's teal. Not blue."

Now she did laugh. Out loud. Her amusement was so great that when she finally stopped to wipe her eyes, she had to catch her breath. Moving forward, she pressed her hand against his chest and Riley's heart tripped over and began to hammer at light speed. "Good thing you're not a diplomat, hmm?" With a wink she departed the lounge. Their boarding call had come.

All Riley could do was plant his forehead in his palm and groan. Once he'd departed, the boarding chief shook his head in sympathy.

"That poor bastard."

* * *

Once they were onboard the shuttle, things had gone from bad to worse. Being closely examined by a woman such as Harrali had made Riley virtually speechless, much to her continued enjoyment. It had taken him exactly ten minutes to flee to the co-pilot's seat with a mumbled excuse, leaving her to entertain herself without him. He and the pilot had chatted amiably during the trip, no verbal issues at all. Several times he'd felt Harrali's gaze upon him, at first puzzled over his new-found conversational ease, then with a knowing look that meant trouble, in his opinion. Two hours had never felt so long in his life. He dozed for perhaps a half hour, but he never slept well on shuttles and was soon awake once more. Counting down the minutes.

"There it is." The pilot pointed to the massive station that loomed just ahead. Riley was so happy to see it that he could have burst into song. He and Ensign Harrali may be going to the same station, but it was Immense class and there would be plenty of room to stay out of her way, especially since she was shipping out in a week. He just had to avoid her for the next seven days.

And never the twain shall meet.. he thought. If he was lucky.

* * *


The assigned quarters was a welcome haven for Riley. It was quiet, it was still, and he didn't have a certain pair of green eyes watching him. Small favors were a blessing indeed. What he wanted was to get out of uniform, take a shower, and get something to eat that had not been replicated. And maybe a drink. He wasn't reporting to the Hammond's CO till the next day, so why not? The uniform was left draped haphazardly over the sofa in typical male fashion and he slipped into the shower.

Several minutes later, he emerged, a towel wrapped around his waist. He stopped before the mirror to run his fingers through his hair and examine his face. It was a pleasant enough face, in his opinion. Key word pleasant. He never thought he was what would be called handsome, or even good-looking, despite what Layla had said, but then Riley had always downplayed his own advantages. He was a nice guy, so why did he have such trouble around women when things got personal?

Ensign Harrali's face rose in his thoughts, then it slowly faded from green to blue, the dark hair to white. Then it changed again from blue to fair, the hair to black, eyes violet and pointed ears. Next was one fair and blonde, hazel eyes and delicate features. And finally, one last change to a tan face with dark eyes, black hair and the remnants of Borg implants around the left eye. Every single one of them totally out of his league. He hadn't changed much in eight years, he realized.

"Riley, you really need to get over yourself. Just think of them all as business." Yeah, right. The people he worked with weren't winking at him or smiling coyly or getting personal. Well, aside from that one Bolian diplomat that had taken a shine to him, but his past fancy for blue-skinned women didn't extend that far. Especially since she was old enough to be his grandmother, among other, bigger issues. He shook his head and groaned. That was not the image he wanted stuck in his head. Exiting the bathroom, he moved over to his terminal to replace that vision of loveliness with the faces of his new crew mates.

A mixed lot they were to be sure. He studied Commander Davis' face. Strong jaw, very composed. From what Riley had heard, Davis was a man who knew what he wanted and usually got it. Next was the station CO, Admiral Wegener. Stern and intimidating when not smiling but when he was, his character seemed to change completely and it was a most likeable face. Riley nodded as he moved on to the first officer. A fellow Betazoid and one look told Riley he'd have a hell of a time even saying hello to her with any degree of ease. Flipping on through, he checked other crew members here and there. A new image appeared on the screen and Riley froze.

"Why me?" Was this some great cosmic joke at his expense? An unexpected double whammy. Riley dropped his forehead to the desk with a moan. "I am so doomed."

***********

Ensign Riley Sukotav
Incoming Chief Science Officer, USS Hammond