Post by aoibheni on May 7, 2018 13:11:25 GMT
“All right… waitwaitwaitwait... Hang on, play that again.”
Danann’s right fist gripped a handhold over the hatch into the cockpit, her left shoulder braced against the doorframe as she leaned in the open hatchway. She’d come straight from Sickbay after Leeson’s comm, bolting through the ship like a hunted targ.
Her mouth was dry, her heart already making its presence felt in her chest as she listened through the message, barely taking it in. The implication of the message was reason enough to make her nervous. A Starfleet distress call? she worried. In the Badlands? This wasn’t good news, on any level. At best, she’d have her work cut out for her talking her crew into seeing the value of assisting them, at worst, she’d have a mutiny on her hands for even suggesting offering assistance.
But a part of her knew she had to. It went beyond her Starfleet training, it was part of her DNA. If you can, you help. It was that simple. Rome had taught her that.
Leeson hit replay and a male voice once again filled the small, cramped cockpit.
“To any ships in the area. This is the Federation Starship U.S.S. Chiron…” the confident, subtly accented voice repeated. Niamh leaned closer to the comm unit located by Leeson’s shoulder. This time, she was listening.
“Holy. Shit.” Her face immediately lost what little colour it had. Her red lips and the scattering of freckles across her nose stood out starkly in the malachite glow of the cockpit controls.
“What?” Leeson queried, turning with suspicion in his creaking leather chair. He glowered with disapproval at how far into his personal space Danann was leaning.
His Captain hardly noticed.
“I don’t fucking believe it…” she breathed, the sounds tumbling from her mouth as one, long word.
“Cap’?” Leeson’s voice sounded terse.
“...we are in need of assistance…”
“This isn’t happening… there's gotta be a mistake...” Danann felt her head spin. Her nerves jangled with elation and anticipation and fear, and a drum beat of overarching doom pounded to the pulse of her rapidly increasing heart rate.
“...Ship´s systems are damaged and we need assistance…”
“Not here… please not now.”
“Captain!”
“He did say Chiron, right?” she said, pulling herself back to reality. “The USS Chiron... Not the Huron, or or the Chirogan maybe?... The Sheeran? the She’gian even?!”
Leeson shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with his Captain's familiarity with an organisation that had been the source of so much of his own, and his family’s, misery. “You know the ship, then?” he inquired, dryly.
“I know her Captain.” Danann admitted, closing her eyes briefly, remembering. “I know her Captain very well…” she pursed her lips and leaned in further to run her eyes over Leeson’s console readings. “And shit, if she’s out here, there can really only be one reason.”
She called up all the data the beacon had gleaned from the original signal. “They're in the thick of it too,” she noted.
“They sure ain’t here to sight-see…” Leeson offered, scowling at the entire situation but aiming his ire at the rolling, dense storm that still masked their presence.
“You’re right there,” she frowned.
Please assist,” the voice implored, his accent growing more distinct, more recognisable. “Please...assist…”
That’s when it hit her.
“Oh.”
That’s when she realised the extent to which her life was about to fall apart. That’s when the magnitude of the situation in which she found herself; the sheer volume of shit the universe was, right this second, holding over her head, ready to dump, became apparent.
And that’s when she caught a fit of the giggles. Danann felt the laughter shaking her shoulders before she’d made a single sound, but now, it erupted in a torrent.
“Oh shit… hah! Oh man, that’s… I’m… ha!” her words scrabbled out between deep lungfuls of gasping, uncontrollable, hooting laughter, the kind that hits children on the most sombre of occasions.
“Cap?!” Leeson looked genuinely concerned, watching his commander lose all control.
She looked at him, tears already streaking down her cheeks. She waved a weak hand at him. “I’m OK. it’s just… hah!” she gripped her side as another wave of uncontrollable mirth overtook her. “Him… him too… that voice… how could I not recog- it’s- of course it is! Hah!” she laughed, raising her hands in abject surrender, slapping her thighs as she let them fall once more. “hahahaha! whoooo...typical!” She howled with frenzied mirth, turning and leaning her face on the cockpit’s cool bulkhead for support, “I mean, where else would he be but… Hah!”, thumping it with a feeble fist as she struggled to regain control of herself.
“I’m gonna need… like... a minute,” she admitted, managing to calm herself for a fleeting moment with a loud, protracted hooting sigh.
“It’s just…” she snorted, breaking down once more in a fit of uncontrollable hysteria, “Him… Her… there… me here… Hah!… just… so close… and…” she resorted to simulating an exploding noise with her lips.
It was as close as she could come in that moment to articulating how she was feeling. She could sense the universe shifting beneath her feet once more, but this time, she decided, she was resolved to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Danann’s right fist gripped a handhold over the hatch into the cockpit, her left shoulder braced against the doorframe as she leaned in the open hatchway. She’d come straight from Sickbay after Leeson’s comm, bolting through the ship like a hunted targ.
Her mouth was dry, her heart already making its presence felt in her chest as she listened through the message, barely taking it in. The implication of the message was reason enough to make her nervous. A Starfleet distress call? she worried. In the Badlands? This wasn’t good news, on any level. At best, she’d have her work cut out for her talking her crew into seeing the value of assisting them, at worst, she’d have a mutiny on her hands for even suggesting offering assistance.
But a part of her knew she had to. It went beyond her Starfleet training, it was part of her DNA. If you can, you help. It was that simple. Rome had taught her that.
Leeson hit replay and a male voice once again filled the small, cramped cockpit.
“To any ships in the area. This is the Federation Starship U.S.S. Chiron…” the confident, subtly accented voice repeated. Niamh leaned closer to the comm unit located by Leeson’s shoulder. This time, she was listening.
“Holy. Shit.” Her face immediately lost what little colour it had. Her red lips and the scattering of freckles across her nose stood out starkly in the malachite glow of the cockpit controls.
“What?” Leeson queried, turning with suspicion in his creaking leather chair. He glowered with disapproval at how far into his personal space Danann was leaning.
His Captain hardly noticed.
“I don’t fucking believe it…” she breathed, the sounds tumbling from her mouth as one, long word.
“Cap’?” Leeson’s voice sounded terse.
“...we are in need of assistance…”
“This isn’t happening… there's gotta be a mistake...” Danann felt her head spin. Her nerves jangled with elation and anticipation and fear, and a drum beat of overarching doom pounded to the pulse of her rapidly increasing heart rate.
“...Ship´s systems are damaged and we need assistance…”
“Not here… please not now.”
“Captain!”
“He did say Chiron, right?” she said, pulling herself back to reality. “The USS Chiron... Not the Huron, or or the Chirogan maybe?... The Sheeran? the She’gian even?!”
Leeson shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with his Captain's familiarity with an organisation that had been the source of so much of his own, and his family’s, misery. “You know the ship, then?” he inquired, dryly.
“I know her Captain.” Danann admitted, closing her eyes briefly, remembering. “I know her Captain very well…” she pursed her lips and leaned in further to run her eyes over Leeson’s console readings. “And shit, if she’s out here, there can really only be one reason.”
She called up all the data the beacon had gleaned from the original signal. “They're in the thick of it too,” she noted.
“They sure ain’t here to sight-see…” Leeson offered, scowling at the entire situation but aiming his ire at the rolling, dense storm that still masked their presence.
“You’re right there,” she frowned.
Please assist,” the voice implored, his accent growing more distinct, more recognisable. “Please...assist…”
That’s when it hit her.
“Oh.”
That’s when she realised the extent to which her life was about to fall apart. That’s when the magnitude of the situation in which she found herself; the sheer volume of shit the universe was, right this second, holding over her head, ready to dump, became apparent.
And that’s when she caught a fit of the giggles. Danann felt the laughter shaking her shoulders before she’d made a single sound, but now, it erupted in a torrent.
“Oh shit… hah! Oh man, that’s… I’m… ha!” her words scrabbled out between deep lungfuls of gasping, uncontrollable, hooting laughter, the kind that hits children on the most sombre of occasions.
“Cap?!” Leeson looked genuinely concerned, watching his commander lose all control.
She looked at him, tears already streaking down her cheeks. She waved a weak hand at him. “I’m OK. it’s just… hah!” she gripped her side as another wave of uncontrollable mirth overtook her. “Him… him too… that voice… how could I not recog- it’s- of course it is! Hah!” she laughed, raising her hands in abject surrender, slapping her thighs as she let them fall once more. “hahahaha! whoooo...typical!” She howled with frenzied mirth, turning and leaning her face on the cockpit’s cool bulkhead for support, “I mean, where else would he be but… Hah!”, thumping it with a feeble fist as she struggled to regain control of herself.
“I’m gonna need… like... a minute,” she admitted, managing to calm herself for a fleeting moment with a loud, protracted hooting sigh.
“It’s just…” she snorted, breaking down once more in a fit of uncontrollable hysteria, “Him… Her… there… me here… Hah!… just… so close… and…” she resorted to simulating an exploding noise with her lips.
It was as close as she could come in that moment to articulating how she was feeling. She could sense the universe shifting beneath her feet once more, but this time, she decided, she was resolved to sit back and enjoy the ride.