Bad Bit of Business
Posted on Mon Jul 27th, 2015 @ 6:38pm by Ensign Eames Eldritch
Mission:
The New Sydney Fiasco
Location: Tsavo-class shuttle, in orbit around New Sydney
Timeline: After Shore Leave
Calm.
Cool.
Collected.
Ensign Eames Eldritch felt in complete control of himself as he got up out of his seat in the Tsavo-class shuttle's passenger compartment, and reached up to retrieve his carry-on bag. The trip to rendezvous with the Hera had been pleasant, peaceful, and — apart from a relatively minor hijacking attempt from a handful of Vaalian terrorists — entirely without incident. Eldritch pulled down his rucksack and turned to see a female Ekosian Starfleet crewman watching his every movement warily. The blonde Ekosian woman's ice-blue eyes glanced at the hours-old blood stains upon the aisle surrounding Eldritch's seat, then looked back at him in both apprehension and accusation. The young Betan ensign gave the leery Ekosian lady a courteous nod, with the same slight smile on his serene face that he always had. Poor creature, thought Eldritch to himself as he walked casually past the fearful blonde and through the aft hatch toward the shuttle's transporter room. No doubt she's still in shock. After all, I daresay it's not every day that a group of violent extremists is killed in front of you. Ah, well.
Upon reaching the transporter bay, Ensign Eldritch found himself looking into the troubled face of the Bolian female who served as the Tsavo-class shuttle's captain. The blue-skinned Bolian woman appeared to have been waiting especially for Eldritch to arrive. After a tense moment of silence, the Bolian spoke:
"Look, Ensign ... about what happened ..."
Eldritch nodded in understanding, that thin plastic smile he wore never wavering in the slightest. "Yes," agreed the young Betan ensign. "Bad bit of business, that. In my experience, ma'am, sordid affairs such as these are best put out of mind as quickly as possible, you know. Best not to dwell on it."
The Bolian fell silent, but still seemed hesitant to let the matter drop. Eldritch had hoped the shuttle's staff and remaining passengers would not feel the need to harp upon the events that took place during the attempted hijacking. He honestly felt badly about their inability to simply move past it.
"I do apologize for making an utter mess of your shuttle's passenger cabin," continued Eldritch, hoping that a polite concession might assuage the Bolian captain's worries. "I would be happy to cover any cleaning or maintenance costs you may have incurred —"
Eldritch stopped mid-sentence as the Bolian female held up a hand. The poor dear appeared visibly shaken as she seemed to search for the right words for a moment.
"Please don't misunderstand me, Ensign," said the Bolian captain, at last. "It's not that I'm ungrateful for your assistance earlier. Those terrorists ... it's obvious that they meant business. If you hadn't stopped them when you did, I'm positive they would have detonated that portable tri-cobalt device and killed us all."
Eldritch gave the most sympathetic nod he was capable of. "Please, ma'am. I just did my duty. Anyone in my position would have done the same."
"I ... I'm not so sure that's true, Ensign," answered the female Bolian. "Those men ... they look like they've been butchered. I understand there was a need to neutralize them. I even understand why deadly force was required. It's just ... the way you did so was so ... violent. Maybe ... maybe even unnecessarily so." The Bolian woman looked away, suddenly unwilling — or unable — to make eye contact with the tall Betan male. "I just ... it troubles me."
Eldritch remained silent for a moment, hoping to convey the appearance of letting the Bolian's words sink in; or perhaps, that they were, in fact, weighing quite heavily upon the young ensign. Eldritch wished that he could ease her conscious by simply stating: 'Ma'am, I truly am sorry if my actions today have added to the trauma caused by our would-be assailants.' An honest enough sentiment, if not entirely heartwarming. Eldritch let out a soft little sigh, and decided that there probably wasn't anything to say that would quickly help her get over what she witnessed today.
"As I said, ma'am," Eldritch said softly. "Bad bit of business. Best not to dwell on it."
The female Bolian looked up at him, searching his devilishly handsome features for a hint of remorse, or fear, or even elation; but found nothing but that same placid, plastic smile. The Bolian could not help but visibly stifle a shudder. If the Betan ensign observed her reaction, he did not show it. Instead, Eldritch took the captain's lack of a verbal response as his cue to make a gracious exit.
"Well. Captain, I would like to thank you and your crew for expediting my arrival to the Hera. I know coming out this far deviates significantly from your normal flight plan. I am in your debt. Once again, if there is anything at all I can do to make up for any inconvenience I might have been party to, I beg you, do not hesitate to ask."
With a final nod to the Bolian captain, Eldritch stepped up onto the shuttle's transporter pad. As the gentlemanly Betan disappeared in a shower of coruscating particles, into the transporter room stepped Eldritch's last remaining fellow passenger: the blonde Ekosian female Starfleet officer. The Bolian captain glanced over to the Ekosian officer, and noticed the stunned expression on the blonde woman's face. Once the particles that used to be Ensign Eldritch disappeared, the Bolian turned to regard her Ekosian passenger.
"You don't ... you don't think we need to be ... worried about him ... do you?" asked the Captain.
The Ekosian officer kept silent for a moment. Memories of the shocking events that transpired only hours ago flashed briefly before her eyes. She remembered clearly the look on Eldritch's face when he stabbed the first Vaalian terrorist to death in the middle of the aisle with the man's own combat knife. She remembered how Eldritch showed neither anger nor hatred when he threw the Vaalian's blood-stained knife down-range to strike the terrorist leader in the throat. She remembered how Eldritch's expression never changed when he then wrestled the terrorist at the rear of the cabin to the floor, and quickly, fluidly snapped the Vaalian's neck.
He'd worn the same plain, pleasant expression on his debonair features the entire time.
The Ekosian female officer shook her head slightly. "I ... I honestly couldn't say, Captain.
"I honestly couldn't say ..."
Post by
Ensign Eames Eldritch
Yeoman
USS Hera
