Repayment

Posted on Mon Dec 19th, 2011 @ 8:04pm by Melody Johnson & Petty Officer First Class Tanner Willeg

1,985 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 78 - Colonial Uprising
Location: SB400 - O'Dell's Tavern
Timeline: Current

Melody was in her office taking care of some last minute paperwork before leaving the tavern in her manager's capable hands when one of the barmaids came back to inform her there was someone wanting to see her. She followed the barmaid out into the tavern and when her visitor was pointed out she walked over to the table the woman was sitting at and said, "I understand you wanted to speak to me?"

The corner of Tanner's mouth twitched as the woman approached. She couldn't help but find the situation entertaining, and whatever nerves were in her system broke down. Instantly, the Betazoid engineer decided that you simply couldn't not like this... 'Captain Mel.' And the woman was... After all, it was impossible not to like someone who called themselves Captain of the tavern.

"I do. It's about a message you left in the commons. You're looking for a co-pilot?"

Melody sat down across from the woman and motioned for the barmaid to bring her another round of whatever she was drinking and a pint of ale for herself. When the drinks were brought to their table Melody picked up her glass and took a drink then leaned closer over the table so that she could talk without raising her voice and being overheard.

"Well first of all I need to ask.....are you in anyway affiliated with Star Fleet?" Melody asked, looking seriously at the woman. "Like are you a Star Fleet officer....or contracted by Star Fleet?"

It was one of those things people did without thinking about it-- when Melody leaned forward, Tanner did as well, so the two of them were now hunkered over the table in close conversation, which... at least to Tanner's mind, made the entire situation feel eerily foreboding.

Of course, not knowing what the situation was, Tanner was missing whatever respectable amount of fear ought to be shown for it, but the secretive nature of the whole thing had her curiosity piqued. Holding her breath, Tanner tucked her head down further when the woman began speaking and then...stared.

After several seconds of nothing but blank eyes and a lost expression, Tanner suddenly seemed to spin into motion. Her brows scrunched down, shot back up, then finally settled into a reasonable place on her forehead. Her lips also seemed to pucker before stretching into a grimace and smoothing out again. Her entire body shifted back, as though about to lean into the chair before seeming to remember a need for the huddled position as she rocked forward once more, and in the process, her hands moved-- to her sides as she shifted back, into the air as she rocked forward again, then one atop the other on the table as though they needed to be held in place or they'd jump up and leave. "Am I...?" It was the very last question she'd expected to be asked. "Yes. I'm an enlisted member of Starfleet."

"Why on earth would a Star Fleet officer be "applying" for a job as a "privateer's" co-pilot? " Melody thought to herself. She forced her expression to stay cordial. Most people had to work at maintaining a poker face....if they could achieve one at all....but it was an art that Melody had learned at a young age and through the years had perfected.

"As the notice said....this is for one trip only and it will most likely take 45 days to complete," Melody explained. She added to herself, "barring any complications." Melody took a sip of her ale then said, "forgetting the time requirement....I've been told that Star Fleet doesn't like their officers to moonlight. So I'm curious as to why you're here." She took another sip of her ale as she regarded the woman intently.

Tanner blinked, considering the question. She tilted her head, leaned back in her chair, and sighed, "honestly? I'm here, because the Vanguard doesn't appear to be leaving dock anytime soon, and if I don't get off this Starbase, I'm either going to end up mad, or drive everyone else on it mad." Tanner shrugged, "so it seems a better alternative than mass insanity. And as for the time issue, and whatever problems Starfleet has," waved a hand, "the perks of being enlisted. Random petty officers hardly get noticed in the grand scheme of things."

"How much do you know about Impulse and Warp drive engines and RCS Thrusters?" Melody asked.

Tanner bit down on her lip to keep from giving the immediate response that came to mind: that she knew enough about engines to build one from the ground up. But there were times when that kind of answer got you into trouble, and this woman was still feeling her out. "Quite a bit."

"Are you familiar with the Capell System?" Melody asked, then took a sip of her ale. She still watched the woman intently....not completely sure she should trust her. She may very well be telling the truth about needing something to do during her down time but she was still a member of Star Fleet and Melody hadn't met a member of Star Fleet who wasn't fiercely loyal to everything to do with the United Federation of Planets and their special military division...Star Fleet Command. Entrusting someone like that with the purpose of this upcoming little excursion would be a one way express ticket to one of the Federation's prison camps, mines or barges and that was definitely an unappealing thought. Melody took another sip of her ale while she waited for the woman's answer to her last question.

"Beta Quadrant, between Federation and Klingon space." Taking a sip of her drink, Tanner realized that spending the next 45 days with this woman was going to be difficult if she didn't start out by being straight-forward. "The bad news is, I've technically not been through the Capell system, except perhaps the very outskirts. The good news... I've never crashed anything there, been thrown into a Capellan prison, burned anything in the system down or been banned from any of it's planets for life, which..."

Cringing, as though she was perhaps shooting her own foot, Tanner admitted, "you should know up front are all things that have happened in other places, so I might not be a safe bet. But the Capellan people are just as unfamiliar with me as you are, so immediate disdain is minimal."

Satisfied with the woman's answer, Melody extended her hand across the table and said, "I'm Melody Johnson...captain of the Blaze....but everybody calls me Captain Mel." Melody smiled a sweet, friendly and relaxed smile as she waited for the woman to accept her hand an introduce herself.

Grasping the woman's hand, Tanner smiled. "Tanner Willeg. Engine systems specialist." As their grips released, Tanner picked up her glass of wine and lifted it over the table as in a toast.

Melody gave Tanner's hand a couple of firm shakes then let it go. She lifted her glass of ale and touched the rim to Tanner's and said, "Nice to meet you Tanner," then she took a sip of her ale...completing the toast. "Could you be ready to leave in 32 hours?" She asked as she set her glass of ale on the table. She leaned back in her chair so that she appeared to be completely relaxed but all the while she continued to study the woman sitting across from her.

"Absolutely." There'd been a time when an hour would've been more than enough time to pack up her entire life and move. Granted, that was a long time ago, but thirty two hours was certainly plenty to prepare for a trip that was scheduled no more than two months.

During the past 11 years, Melody had hired a co-pilot on only two occasions. The first was Moropan. The second time she had an Efrosian co-pilot and both had been male. Her first concern about Tanner was the fact that she was still on active duty as a member of Star Fleet and Melody had never met anyone affiliated with the Federation or a member of Star Fleet Command that wasn't an upstanding, law abiding, "goody-goody two shoes" who would rat out any law breakers in a heart beat because....no matter how much money was involved and could be had....their loyalties were always with the Federation of Planets and Star Fleet Command. She already had a bounty on her head in 3 sectors of 2 quadrants (which had seriously narrowed the areas she could operate in) and she didn't relish the thought of adding another to the list. She remembered a good friend of hers who was not only the captain of his own ship but the ship was large enough to have a crew of 10 once told her that it looked like he was going to have to retire earlier than he had planned because he was wanted in so many places that there was practically no place left for him to make money in.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Mel," he had said one night in a tavern over a pint of ale. "The more places you are wanted...the less money you will be able to make. So if you find yourself in a situation that might possibly end up with you being added to the local bounty hunters' lists....think first about whether the thrill of dancing on the line between lawful and criminal is worth losing the revenue you could be making in that area. That is....unless you want to retire early," he added then laughed and the two proceeded to get very drunk.

"I feel you should know that you are not the first to answer that notice, "Melody said to Tanner....sounding almost apologetic. "And there is another "applicant", " she said...making quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "that I would like to talk to again before I make up my mind. Where can I reach you in the next 12 or so hours?"

Tanner blinked. Hers was a world where everyone communicated easily and quickly via links, comm channels and PADDs. The idea that someone might need her location to speak with her was a concept so foreign that it took a moment to comprehend.

Twelve hours was-- a long time. Long enough to say she had no idea how many places she would pass through or be in during such a period. Unless she had a project.

"I'll either be in the cafe on the promenade... or a Holosuite" Tanner reached into her pocket, pulled out a PADD, set it on the table. The thought that Mel might not have one kept prickling at her mind like a scab that refused to heal. After all, everyone had some kind of personal portable, right? It wasn't as though you needed to be a member of Starfleet to own one. "Keep it," Tanner pushed the PADD toward Mel, "and that's not a bribe or anything. It's just... yours."

Melody picked up the PADD and looked it over. She smiled warmly at Tanner and said, "I will contact you and let you know my decision...one way or the other." She drank the last of the ale in her glass and set the empty glass on the table. Once again she reached across the table and extended her hand to Tanner.

"Tanner? It was a pleasure meeting you," Melody said. "You're welcome to stick around and have another drink....on me," she said smiling. "But I do have some last minute things that I need to do so if you'll excuse me?"

"Of course, and thanks." As soon as Melody stepped away from the table, Tanner drifted off. If she was going to be leaving the following day, there were things she needed to get done. Perhaps first on the list... make a list.

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