Hospital Visit

Posted on Sun Jul 21st, 2019 @ 11:10pm by Lieutenant Aleksander Voroshilov

Mission: Getting To Know You
Location: Earth
Timeline: Weeks Prior

“I’m glad they saw fit to promote you to Major,” Aleksi nodded to the only casualty his team had experienced during the Norwich incident, Kotal’s arm. He loaded a magazine into his weapon, racking a round into the breach, “At least it was just your arm, not your leg as well.”

Kotal raised his brow, vaguely recognizing a human joke in there. The metal fingers of his new robotic hand closed around the grip of an ancient Klingon rifle, “I’m sure this is not what the hospital meant when they said ‘safe and relaxing’ activities,” Pulling the trigger, a little too hard, the round merely clipping the target’s shoulder, “Not that I’m complaining.”

“We could have had tea and crumpets,” Aleksi shouldered the Kalashnikov, sending three rounds downrange in rapid succession. The rounds cut neat holes center mass, Aleksi letting out a low whistle, “Possibly work on a jigsaw puzzle.”

“Solving puzzles was always your thing, not mine. I’m just a man behind a trigger,” Cracking off another round, it would have broken the left portion of a jawbone. Kotal had been on the Spectre, acting as Aleksi’s deputy and led the team’s offensive power. He had been initially skeptical of receiving the intelligence officer, concerned that he’d grow weak at the first sign of violence. It only took a week to prove him wrong, the first one to draw a disruptor.

Sending a few more 5.45 rounds at the paper foe a grin crossed Aleksi’s face. Phasers were good, though he preferred disruptors, but there was nothing more primal, more enjoyable, then the scent of burnt gunpowder in the air, “You’ve proved to be more than just a pretty face my friend, you’ve pulled my ass out of the fire more than once.”

“Without you we would have all died, on numerous occasions. That silver tongue and sharp wit keeping us ahead of the devil,” His finger froze on the trigger, a slight shake becoming apparent. Setting the rifle on the bench, Kotal looked at his Human brother, “This promotion should have gone to you. You led the team, you saved the Federation from some serious embarrassment, without you we’d be in some petty squabble with Klingons that would inevitably start a new cold war and drive the Empire into the arms of the Romulans.”

“Because of me there we almost ended up in a not so petty squabble with the Andorians,” Aleksi removed the empty magazine, setting it on the shooting bench. Taking in a sharp breath, he released it slowly, “I don’t regret the choice, the Federation is okay when it comes to state versus state but they’re pretty fucking terrible at dealing with insurgency. Also, I had no desire to see him win, to execute you because you happen to be from a species he hated.”

“Of course you made the right call! Anyone but a fucking bureacrat could see that! But instead of parade across the Golden Gate we got to spend four months figuring out if attempted Genocide was really worth stopping,” A low growl eminated from his throat, “Of course who gives a shit about a no name Intel Officer? A live man’s existence be damned to appease the ego of a dead man.”

“It’s more than that, if the Federation were to admit that one of their golden children had snapped they’d have to admit that not every officer commanding a starship is as moral as Picard or noble as Kirk. It’d also open them up to some very hard, and very deserved, questions from the public,” He shoved the rifle into the Klingon’s chest, trying to give him something to distract him, “We can both agree the public needs to know about what happened, less for my sake but for the sake of our collective sanity, but in the end they made the choice to maintain the lie that keeps the Core Worlder’s warm at night. I can’t entirely blame them for it.”

“You’d assume the oath we took to defend the Federation at all costs would only mean your death,” Taking the Kalashnikov and offered magazine, he went through the manual of arms. Shouldering it, his eyes found the red dot hovering over the chest of his target. Dropping the selector to full-auto he smirked, it may not have been a good day to die, but it was a decent one to kill. Three seconds later the firing stopped, empty casings clattering to the ground, “Looking at sticking around?”

Aleksi laughed, looking at the target full of holes. Taking the empty magazine from his friend he handed over a fresh one, hoping Kotal wouldn’t burn out the barrel before their little therapy session was over, “Mira has made her case, but I’m still not sure.”

“You? Unsure?” Kotal smirked. As far as the Klingon knew, Aleksi was never one to be on the fence. Sure, he generally wouldn’t tell you what his decision was but he usually made it, “I’m surprised you haven’t just fucked off. Run that vineyard of yours or become a warlord. Either would suit you well,” Thumbing the selector to semi-auto he chuckled, “And you have a lot more fun. That’s what I’d do in your shoes. At least take some time before you get the shit kicked out of you.”

Shaking his head Aleksi drew his pistol. A fresh target appeared in front of him as he pulled the trigger. While these exercises had always been fun they had real world applications, many he experienced first hand. His focus shifted from the front sight to the slowly retracting hammer, his mind wondering how nice it would be to think of nothing beyond what he was going to have for dinner that night, perhaps the next year’s harvest. Taking his finger off the trigger, he lowered the muzzle, “I think you might be right. Perhaps a vacation is in order.”

“You’re damn right it is,” Kotal lowered the rifle, turning to face his friend, “You and I both know what will happen the moment you walk onto that ship. You’ll be the outsider, someone that will start in a position of distrust. They’ll think you’re going to be just one bad day from killing them and taking their ship, not realizing why it happened in the first place. Even when you explain it to them they’ll still be fearful, perhaps they’ll feel their orders should be followed regardless of how stupid they are.”

Turning back to the target, squaring up to it, he raised his rifle, “Even if you do somehow manage to earn their trust, you’ll always be a stain on their reputation. On the other hand,” His finger curled around the trigger, “You can be a civilian, bounce around from one well endowed woman to the next while doing what you do best, using your wit to earn your pay,” Three rounds cut through the air as if to accentuate his point.

“This from the man who’s still wearing a uniform,” Aleksi raised his pistol, emptying the magazine into the target. Two rounds to the chest, one to the head. Kotal was right, he still had time to decide and the idea of starting fresh was a tempting one.

“I still get to kill people and break things,” Kotal sent a few more rounds down range, “Not many people in the civilian world would pay for that sort of thing, at least not in a legal aspect. No, my life is good and as you pointed out it only cost my arm. All in all my position in the Federation Government is much better than yours,” Setting the rifle down he looked back at the Human, “And I envy you for it.”

=/\=

Major Kotal (NPC)
Director of Operations, Ops Floor
Special Operations Commander

&

Lieutenant Aleksander Voroshilov
Chief Intelligence Officer
Resident Jester
USS Astraea