Alterations and Arrivals

Posted on Sun Jul 24th, 2011 @ 2:29am by Petty Officer First Class Tanner Willeg
Edited on on Sun Jul 24th, 2011 @ 2:31am

1,090 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Mission 76 - Home comings
Location: Betazed/Shuttlecraft
Timeline: Prior to Mision/Boarding

"What!?! You won't voluntarily step foot in a sickbay...or even a counselor's office, you've never carried a weapon in your life..."

"That's not true. What about that time..."

"Threatening someone with a copper-bottom pot doesn't count as weapon wielding. And if they left you alone in a science lab, you'd be bouncing off the walls in less than an hour."

Suddenly defensive at her friends utter disbelief, Tanner frowned. "There are more departments than that. Maybe I'm moving to diplomacy."

Friendship. It was what made things worth while, even when those friends did something to surprise you. Having been friends with Tanner as long as she had, there wasn't much that surprised Dayton anymore. She simply stared, and waited for the punch-line. When it didn't come after five seconds, which was Tanner's normal threshold for silence, her eyes widened and her mouth parted.

Another ten seconds was all Tanner could stand before the confession bubbled out of her, "okay. So I'm not going into diplomacy."

"Thank the gods," Dayton sighed, releasing the breath she'd been holding.

"Should I ever consider a change in career path, I do appreciate your encouragement," Tanner quipped.

"You know I think your rants are charming. They just take some...getting used to. Where are they sending you?"

Friendship also made everything alright. They shared in the joy and celebrations of life, and they stuck around through the crisis and emergencies. It wasn't so strange then, that it was during those times of celebration that you thought of all the crisis you'd shared with them and remembered it was a rare friend who'd tell you the truth. "Starbase 400. Research and development."

Again, the blank stare. Tanner waved a hand in the air and frowned. "Homebase to Le'Raye. You okay in there?"

"I think... My water just broke."

"Oh. Your... Oh!" Jumping from her seat, Tanner looked around the room. "Bag. You have a bag somewhere, right?"

"By the door."

"Of course," Tanner slung the bag over her shoulder and moved to help her friend.

The pair waddled to the door, and Tanner glanced around. "How are we getting to the hospital?"

"Thorolf was going to take me. He isn't here. That means you have to take me."

Tanner's nerves went from anxious to panic. "Me?" Tanner raised a brow and stared, slack-jawed at her friend as they both recalled the last time either of them had been behind the nav controls for...anything.

-Cataria Medical Facility-

Trying to keep her calm with the shrieking woman on the other end of the transmission, Tanner sucked in a breath and let it out again. Okay...so climbing onto a trolley and bribing the driver to deviate from his normal route was not the ideal way to make it to the hospital. But when the transpo service had arrived, seen the round-bellied Dayton, and pulled away shaking his head, what other options did they have? She wasn't very well going to deliver a baby standing on the front stoop. But the screaming woman who happened to be Dayton's mother didn't want any of it.

"I'll have you know that..." the shouting continued.

Glancing up at Dayton who had the newborn Caibre curved into her arm, Tanner rolled her eyes and mumbled, "I'm a fine upstanding member of this community. A member of the..." She tuned out the speech she'd heard dozens of times before, though usually while chastising her own daughter.

"...And why do these things only ever happen when you're with her? You're a member of Starfleet. You should've called someone to come get you."

Right. Because every member of Starfleet had a personal assistant at their beck and call. When Dayton looked up to ask how it was going, Tanner just shook her head as if to say, 'I don't know how you deal with this woman.' Patience running thin, Tanner sighed, "e called the trolley over. By the way, I thought you'd like to know that your new grandchild is safe, healthy and a boy."

When the elder Le'Raye only managed to go up another octave, Tanner disconnected the personal communication device and tucked it back into Dayton's travel bag.

"That was very diplomatic of you," Dayton grinned.

"It's got to be easier to deal with hostile species than your mother." Leaning over, Tanner gave the new mother a careful hug. "You take care of yourself, and the little one." Unable to reach high enough to hug Thorolf, Tanner simply patted his arm. "Glad you could make it, Papa."
Looking up at her husband, Dayton laughed. "You know, I've seen this woman calmly patch a shuttle's life-support system with spare parts from an EVA suit, but tell her you're in labor, and she freaks."

"I know how to fix a life-support system. I do not, however, know how to delieve a baby." Tanner shrugged. "But I've gotta go, before I miss my shuttle.

"Hey, Tanner?"

Stopping in the entryway, Tanner glanced over her shoulder.

"Change is good."

Glancing down at the newborn, Tanner nodded. "I know."

-Shuttlecraft-

Maybe some of Dayton's excitement had rubbed off on her. Maybe it was the rush to make the shuttle on time. Maybe it was anything but nerves.

Tanner stared out the viewer and tried to keep still. She'd been pacing, but the pilot had quite forcefully told her to sit still. She'd resorted to tapping her foot, and though she'd escaped being scolded, she kept receiving irritated looks for it. She couldn't help it. She was nervous.

Prior to receiving her transfer papers, Tanner had no idea there were research and development teams. Not that it didn't make sense. Surely someone had to come up with new and better ways to do things, but she hadn't thought about it before. If someone had asked her to give a description of what R&D was, Tanner would've raised a brow and explained that it's what happens when things break down in an emergency situation, stuck in the middle of nowhere and run out of options: you empty your pockets, grab whatever's within reach, and figure out a way to make it work. Even if making it work meant stalling disaster long enough to think of something better.

Tanner wasn't sure whether she should expect some kind of think-tank, or a free-for-all where new technology was experimented on by trial and error. Tapping her fingers on the bench, she watched as the starbase pulled into view, hoping the nerves would dissipate once she was out of the small shuttlecraft.

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