Midnight Knows All Of My Secrets
Posted on Tue Sep 15th, 2020 @ 7:04am by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke
Edited on on Thu Sep 24th, 2020 @ 8:25am
2,054 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Episode 10 - New Home, Same Pioneers
Location: Various USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD008 0000 hrs
Tyler loved to walk the ship late at night, much to Kat’s dismay. He said it was the best time to clear his head. A memory of the first time that he walked the ship came unbidden into his mind. He remembered how empty the ship was then. Delta shift had taken the bridge and Tyler decided that a walk would be just the thing to clear his mind. However, the walk did less to clear his mind as he found himself mentally preparing for the ship’s log that he had to write and file by morning. As he walked the ship, he would smile and nod a greeting to the crew that he saw, some he would shake hands.
I need to talk about this. I have to justify what has happened over the past two years. What I have done, and what Starfleet has done. At least to myself. I can’t talk to anyone else, not even Kat. Maybe if I just lay it all out in my log, it will finally make sense. Moreover, I’ll be able to make heads or tails of what is going on now.
It all started innocuously enough I was given the command of my dreams an Intrepid Class starship. Everyone was over the moon including myself except I should have known there would be a down side. My main mission was to maintain peace in Cardassian space, to make sure that the Cardassians could rebuild after the horror of the Dominion War. While this mission seemed to be a hard one my crew and I took to it like a duck to water. And within a year, we rooted out a major enemy not only to the Cardassian people but also to the entire quadrant. We also discovered the enemy within our own ranks and at our moment of greatest triumph when all of our hard work was to pay off Starfleet orders us to relocate, abandoning the Cardassians. This is not the fleet that I knew and loved, this was not what we all signed on for.
Tyler found himself in a room that was just off Main Engineering. This recently refurbished room was a storage closet prior, if memory served him correctly. However, now it houses the Pioneer’s Quantum Slipstream Drive or QSD. A lot on the Pioneer had changed in two years, a lot indeed. Now the ship could get almost anywhere in Federation space in moments, other quadrants in hours instead of days. Tyler found himself staring at the device for a moment as he thought about all of the possibilities that the drive meant. For Tyler that is what Starfleet truly meant, possibilities.
I have many reservations about abandoning our mission. The first being that it is not finished, we took out one head but one remains. Leyton is still out there. The New Maquis can and most likely will return. It makes more sense to me to keep us here and have us finish the job; we know what is going on as well as sector politics. But alas, the fleet would have us go off to Romulan space. This leaves Admiral Martinez and his crew at Port Royale standing as the last line of defense against the New Maquis and the True Way. I can only hope that should the Admiral have need the Pioneer can be back in time to assist. I am not a fan of the consolidation of the fleet, of the closing of boarders, the ceasing of exploration. It seems to me that the fleet is not what it once was. For now however, I must take may ship to Romulus and be the model Starfleet officer. Work from within the system to get what I need.
Heading toward Romulan space does come with its rewards though. It will give me a chance to learn more about a member of my crew. One who has become a dear friend. Vaebn tr'Hwersuil has been nothing but a mystery since the day that I met him. Perhaps getting closer to his home will unlock some of that mystery. I for one hope that he can handle it, the man has been through so much in such a short amount of time. A lot of the Romulans who have come to the Federation have been through a lot. Yet they all remain a mystery for the most part. Perhaps is is those that joined Starfleet are caught between worlds. Loyalty to their home and people and loyalty to their new life. Despite what seems to be mounting despair what has happened to the Romulans gives me some hope. If they can integrate smoothly into Starfleet, Federation colonies, and even life on Earth. Then anything may just be possible. The era of mistrust will finally end.
Working within Romulan space affords us one great benefit. It will also allow us to explore some areas of space that the Federation has never been allowed to see before. This is where I will begin to launch against what the fleet is currently doing. I will push for this exploration and not stop until they allow it.
Tyler found himself on Deck 8 as he walked past Astrometrics. A small smile and nod toward the door was all that betrayed the thoughts in his head. The lights in the hallways were dimmed, as were all of the lights all over the ship. This was standard when it was night aboard the ship. It was also the time that Tyler liked to roam the ship most. There were not a lot of people in the corridors and those that were in the corridors did not treat him like the Captain, he was just another night owl like the rest of them. He smiled at a female security officer and inquired about how she was doing with her pregnancy. Tyler was glad to hear that she carried the child well and would deliver a healthy baby.
It seems that more and more of the crew are pairing off and some are having children. I never thought I would command a ship that would house families. In fact I actively set out to avoid that. However, a lot changes in two years including a Captain’s mind. I guess it would be inevitable for members of the crew to pair off. I mean they do spend so much time together, and work in close quarters. In the past month, we have had two weddings and one birth. One baby on the way, add to that the education of Enya and you have what amounts to a large family. I have to say that the more I see and hear the little feet scurrying around the corridors the more that I welcome it. I have to admit when your XO is right they are usually right for a reason. Quinn told me I would come to welcome children and families aboard and now I can’t imagine the Pioneer without them. I think the children aboard give the crew hope as to what we are fighting for and what the future will hold. In fact I, hope that in due time one of the sets of little feet will be attached to Kat and me.
It is funny how life seems to come full circle. My mother the Yeoman raised me, and now it seems that I am mentoring a young Yeoman. There are rare moments when Sof reminds me of my mom, in particular when she makes sure that I have eaten. It only goes to show that family is not just related by blood, but it is who you choose to be with as well.
For the first time in a long time, Kat and I are both assigned to the same ship. However, this time she is under my command. I find myself having to watch what I say around her when on duty. It is something that I am working on and hope to change in the near future. However, it is hard to hold command over your spouse. I have learned a lot from the O Flannagains. When we left Empok Nor with our new orders, I could not bear to part from Kat and have her on the other side of the galaxy. With the future being so uncertain I need my loved ones as close as possible and with her here that is now complete. Despite all of the stress and tribulations of late, I can do anything with my beloved Kat at my side.
As Tyler traveled deeper into the bowels of the ship, he found himself now on Deck 9 walking past Security and The Brig. His thoughts turned toward how here too the scope of someone’s life would change. It would seem that the Pioneer had the habit of changing everyone’s minds and outlooks on life. Here a woman would return to her calling and the fold. While she still stuck to her convictions, Makeba Brown now knew that her convictions were in line with his. Tyler was happy for what he and Quinn had accomplished with Makeba. He was proud to have her in his crew.
While Makeba Brown was someone that the fleet thought of as traitor, she never actually committed a traitorous act. For that, reason it was not too hard to get her reinstated into the fleet and assigned under Masters’ command. However, Calvin Quaid was going to be something different altogether. The report that Elloma submitted still shocks me. The very idea that one of our own gave the shield codes to the enemy. There is going to be nothing that I can do for him, and in fact, I would not want anything done. The worst thing that you can do is betray your friends, your family. Sis is going to have her hands full with the case. I would be most curious in finding out why. I mean according to his record Calvin has had a stellar career why would he just go off the deep end like that. It really makes me think about how many are that close to the edge. There was a long pause in the recording here. An audible sigh could be heard. I think now more than ever we are going to have to keep a watchful eye on our friends and family. We are all standing on the edge of a cliff and at any moment one of us could fall or jump. We must ensure that never happens.
Tyler now found himself in After 11. The bar was closed but being Captain had its privileges. At the moment, all he did was stand and look out the window of the aft of the ship. Out into the void, the emptiness where anything and everything could and usually did happen.
So in two years the Pioneer has brought a stable peace to Cardassia, assisted in the retaking of Empok Nor from the enemy. All it cost was the life of one Admiral’s daughter, a number of Marines, and the career of one Starfleet Officer. Having those things as well as others weigh heavy on your conscience is a small price to pay for peace. So I will learn to live with it. Because I have to live with it….
A pause in the recording is heard here. This pause lasts for close to a whole minute.
I can live with it… Computer end log…
Tyler stood and looked out the window for a while. The void soothed him, it made him realize that even though he was Captain he was insignificant. Tyler Malbrooke found comfort in this thought. He tapped the window for luck and headed to his quarters. His bed and his wife were calling and Tyler would not let them down. His smile broadened as he headed back he realized that he was a Pioneer, they all were. However, they were all more than that as well they were family.
Captain Tyler Malbrooke
Commanding Officer, USS Pioneer
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