Starting Over

Posted on Fri Aug 22nd, 2014 @ 5:15am by Lieutenant Jason Solaris

Mission: New Frontier
Location: Starbase 80
Timeline: A few hours prior to "Ghosts" and "Last Dawn"

[Starbase 80, Transporter Room Fourteen]

"Lieutenant Solaris! Welcome aboard Starbase 80, sir!"

Jason Solaris groaned as he finished materializing, only to be greeted by the sunniest of dispositions. After the trip he'd had from Earth, a welcome delegation was easily outweighed by the prospect of sweet, sweet sleep.

"Thanks..." He grunted, holding the bridge of his nose and making his way off of the transporter platform. "...um..."

"Ensign Gordon, sir," the ensign piped up, helpfully. Everything he said seemed to involve piping up, helpfully, though; Jason bit his lip, trying to suppress what he knew was fatigue-induced cynicism.

"Thank you, Ensign Gordon." Trying to salvage what he had left of his pride, he reached out to shake the Ensign's hand. "Lieutenant Jason Solaris. It's a pleasure -- though, obviously, you're already expecting me."

Ensign Gordon nodded rapidly. "Yes, sir! Though we were expecting you about two hours ago, to be honest."

Jason snorted. "Yeah, it was a little bit of a rough trip on the way to the Canterbury."

"Rough" was putting it mildly. His runabout had run afoul of a series of mysteriously-placed subspace mines, and he was fairly certain that if he'd been any less of a pilot, he'd be dead.

Instead, here he was, reporting for active duty on a starbase for the first time in at least six years, and he was already faced with an overly chipper junior officer.

Well, Jason considered, some things, at least, will never change.

"Wait." Jason paused in the middle of the corridor that they'd been walking down, turning to look at the Ensign. "You don't mean to tell me that you waited in the transporter room for all two hours, do you?"

Gordon hesitated, considering his answer, before volunteering, "I took breaks to go to the bathroom, sir."

Jason paused for a moment before quietly closing his mouth and turning to continue down the hall, shaking his head softly.

With a quick movement, the ensign raced to catch up with the Starbase's new officer. "Sir, Commander Masters stated she'd like to speak with you when you came onboard prior to the delay, but she's now off duty and asked that you report in during your normal shift tomorrow. There's also a Flight Operations status meeting tomorrow at 0800, prior to the alpha shift, and you'll probably want to get caught up on the department manifest in your -- "

"Ensign!"

"Sir?" Gordon paused at the outburst, eyes wide with surprise.

Jason caught himself. Gordon's face read all the things that reminded him of his last failed attempt at being a Starfleet officer: fear, surprise, poor communication.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and in the back of his head heard Admiral Lee saying again, "They need you, Jay. They need someone like you."

Not someone like this, they didn't, and wasn't that the whole point of trying his hand on the frontier again?

Jason took a deep breath as the pair stepped into the turbolift. "I'm sorry, Ensign. It was a very long trip out here, and not at all an easy one, so I'm a little bit on edge. I'm afraid the best thing I can do right now is try to get some rest."

"Oh." A little bit relieved, Gordon looked out of the hall as the lift arrived. "Your quarters are here on the junior officers' deck, sir, room B fifty-seven."

"Thank you." Jason turned to step out of the lift, rubbing lightly at his temples.

"Sir?"

"Yes?" Jason paused in mid-step, turning to look at his walking companion.

Ensign Gordon hesitated, clearly afraid to ask the already-exhausted lieutenant his question, but with all the enthusiasm he could bring to bear, he bit the bullet. "Sir, is it true you know one of the old Joint Commanders?"

"Admiral Lee." Jason's answer wasn't a question. Know her? If it wasn't for Sam, I'd have told them to bust me down to Ensign when I came back to the fleet.

"Yes, sir. What...uh...what is she like?"

Jason turned, taking the few steps remaining to the door to his quarters. "Well..." He paused, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his next thought. "She's an even better friend than an Admiral, and she's a damned good Admiral."

The doors swished open, and Jason stepped into his new quarters, already beelining for the sonic shower. "I'm just here to try and return the favor, someday."

With a hiss, the doors to the newly occupied quarters shut, leaving Ensign Gordon to squint at them, cryptically, before finally leaving to go about his business.

[OFF]

Lieutenant Jason Solaris
Asst. Director, Flight Operations