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Star Trek: Full Speed Ahead
By Michael D. Garcia

Episode Six: The Better Part of Valor

NCC-18253 (USS Potemkin)
En route to Turkana IV
Stardate 38896.89
Stateroom 06-0018

Lieutenant Ethan "Dawk" Dawkins stepped in through the door from the corridor and took up his customary seat at the octagonal table within the stateroom. "Congratulations on your promotion, Commander."

"Thank you, Dawk," replied Commander Krystine Leone from across the green felt. "Missed you at the Wetting Down."

"I heard all about it from Ted and Oleg. It's all they talked about late last night after I finally got off shift," said Dawkins with a shake of his shaggy blonde hair. "I almost punched them out for bragging about it."

Leone gave her friend a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry you drew the short stick on the shift schedule."

"If you were really sorry, I'm sure you would have arranged it so Ted or Oleg had the duty instead of me."

"Too true." She reached underneath the table and pulled up a tall bottle. "Just so there's no hard feelings, I saved you a little something from the party. Courtesy of the two of us."

Dawkins' eyes lit up as the bottle came into view. "Oh, my... well, I think you're most definitely forgiven, then."

"Just do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Tuck that away and keep it out of sight for a while? I think everyone drunk themselves stupid last night and to be honest, I could go a long while without seeing another damned bottle of alcohol."

The doors slid aside to admit two more people as Dawkins' promised, "I'll be sure to keep this in a very safe place, rest assured."

Lieutenant Commander Ariel Elannis grinned as she stepped in. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the tall bottle being placed at the floor near the table. "Oooh... you have a tasty treat for us tonight, Dawk?"

"Sorry, but I'm under strict orders to keep this out of sight."

"Pity. I'm parched."

Leone grumbled, "The replicator is right over there. Dry out a little, you big lush."

"I'm not a lush!" complained Ariel. "Dawk, tell Her Royal Highness that I am not a lush."

"She's a lush," deadpanned Dawkins. When Ariel shot him a dirty glare, he shrugged, "Well, you are. You want me to lie?"

"Yes."

"My apologies." He turned to Leone to tell her in a matter-of-fact tone, "Commander, our operations chief is not a lush."

Everyone at the table chuckled, except Ariel. "I'm not, damn it! Want me to prove it?"

"No!" came the collective exclamation.

Leone slipped a deck of cards from its cover and began to shuffle. "Can we please play poker now?"

The doors opened to admit Lieutenant Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt and Lieutenant Commander Oleg Johansen. They almost said in unison, "Good evening, everyone."

Ariel slipped into the seat next to Leone and furrowed her brow. "Guys, please tell Krys that I'm not a lush."

"Poker," complained Leone.

Ted and Oleg looked at one another and laughed out loud. Finally, Ted dropped his grin and asked, "Oh, shit, were you serious?"

As he took his seat, Oleg snorted. "You're the biggest lush I know."

Ariel frowned. "You two are worthless."

"Starfleet doesn't see it that way," retorted Ted with a snicker. "You hungover from last night still or something?"

Oleg offered, "If you need the hair of the dog, I thought I saw a bottle of something on the floor."

Dawkins grabbed it away from Oleg before he could place it on the table and cradled it. "Mine!"

Ted asked with a raised hand, "Wait, we need dog hairs?"

Leone pointed to the table and raised her voice above the increasingly loud conversation, "Well, lookie here, folks. A deck of cards. What say we play with them, huh? Maybe a game where we gamble on who has a better hand? Anyone know of a game like that?"

"Krys, sarcasm is unbecoming an officer in Starfleet," Ariel said, grinning.

"Says the bitch who drank the ship dry."

That drew a wince from Ariel. "Touché."

Ted immediately complained, "Hey, how come she gets to call you a lush, and we get yelled at?"

Leone offered a wide grin of her own and started dealing cards. "Because I outrank everyone in this room, so shaddup!" When she was satisfied that she had their attention, she announced the game, "Now, the game is five card draw, jacks to open, trips to win."