She hadn’t been able to put Shapeer Shuun out of her mind. Not ever since Captain Melvin -”˜but you can call me Mel’ because “˜I want you to feel like an equal even though you most certainly are not’ - Schwarzkopf had first briefed her on this mission two days earlier.
Schwarzkopf - and Tazla shuddered at the thought of calling him Mel - had made it his personal mission to reveal any possible links between Shuun’s intergalactic criminal organization and elements within the Federation and possibly even Starfleet. The fact that Shuun was also believed to be responsible for numerous attacks on Federation colonies and cultivated close contacts with the Orion Syndicate was merely a side note to Schwarzkopf.
The question that refused to allow her mind a moment’s worth of peace was why Schwarzkopf had chosen her as a partner in this endeavor. Partner of course was not the correct term to describe their current working relationship. After all he gave orders and as the senior captain, commanding the more formidable vessel, he expected her to follow them. Considering the sway the man had with Command it was in her career’s best interest to do so.
But why her? The most obvious answer to the question was that it had been a matter of convenience. Schwarzkopf had required another vessel to assist him with his plan and it simply so happened that the Sacajawea was the most available vessel in the sector at the time and it simply so happened that Tazla Star was in command of said vessel.
Had it not been for the particularity of this mission and the person involved she would have been more than willing to entertain that notion.
It simply could not be coincidence.
Star was too involved with this puzzle to watch where she was going.
She failed to take notice of the man who had stepped right into her path (or had she stepped into his?) but had turned his head into the opposite direction as if confused which way was most appropriate to lead him to his destination.
The impact was harsh and painful.
The man was still moving forward and Star was in full stride so that the blunt force of the collision threw her backwards. She was completely ill-prepared for the artificial gravity that quickly took hold of her and unceremoniously crash landed her onto the floor.
The abruptness had caught her by such surprise that she hardly registered the pain in her hindquarters at all. It was the embarrassment that made her head flush the color of her hair. “What the seven hells?”
The man had been able to keep his balance thanks to his shoulder which had saved him from the full brunt of the impact but his head bad impossibly turned an even darker shade of red. “Crickey, I didn’t see you there at all. Are you alright?” he said, his words flying out of his mouth as he offered her a helping hand.
“Maybe if you had been looking where you were going,” she mumbled but took the hand nevertheless, still feeling the sting of embarrassment of being knocked onto her backside.
“I know. I should have been more careful. This is totally my fault. I was-” he stopped himself in mid-sentence apparently only now realizing the Trill’s rank insignia. He stiffened immediately. “I’m so sorry, ma’am, I really am.”
“Sir.”
“I beg your pardon?” he asked, even more confused.
Star began to dust off her uniform as she stood straighter even though it was highly doubtful that any of it could have gotten on her clothes considering how meticulously clean Starfleet ships were being kept. “Sir.”
“Sir?”
She nodded. “I prefer sir not ma’am.”
“Oh,” he said once the other shoe had dropped.
She looked at him expectantly.
It took him a moment to understand what she wanted from him. “I’m very sorry, sir,” he said slowly as if he wanted to test out every single word.
It was only then that Tazla Star realized how handsome the man was. He had sandy brown hair, an excellent build, a marvelous tan and his Australian accent only helped in making him more endearing.
When the captain didn’t seem to speak again he continued. “Well you see, sir, I got lost on my way back to the transporter room. I thought I needed to go into that direction,” he said and pointed the opposite way, “so I didn’t pay enough attention to where I was actually going and well ... to make a long story short, I ran right into you.”
“Yeah, I noticed that part,” she said and felt a smile forming on her lips. “But I wasn’t really paying too much attention either, Lieutenant ...”
“Bane, sir. Nigel Bane,” he said and stuck out his hand. It wasn’t until much later that he came to consider that asking a superior officer to shake his hand might have come across slightly inappropriate.
Star didn’t seem to mind. She took his hand without hesitation. “Tazla Star, nice to meet you.”
“You’re the commanding officer of the Sacajawea?”
Tazla’s facial expression turned into a frown. “You don’t know who I am?”
“Well ... uh,” he began to stutter slightly at her persistent glare. “I’m not really ... well ... from around here, you see?”
Star noticed the variation in his uniform for the first time. “You’re form the Border Dogs ... I mean Service. Border Service.” she said, correcting herself quickly. “Sorry,” she added.
He smiled at her slip up. “Oh, don’t worry sir, we don’t mind the term. I think we actually came up with it. But yes. USS Bluefin, at your service. I came aboard to meet an Academy mate who serves on your ship. I hope you don’t mind ... sir.”
“No, no of course not. Who am I to stand in the way of an Academy reunion, especially if it helps foster inter-service harmony,” she said. Star was aware that tensions existed between the more high-profile regular fleet and the Border Service which usually remained well out of the limelight. She found the whole matter rather silly really but then on the other hand could not imagine trading in her command for one of those cramped little border cutters either.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward about just standing there in the middle of the corridor, partaking in small talk with a junior lieutenant. But something, and she wasn’t quite sure what it was, compelled her to stay put.
And so did he. Equally awkward. “Well, sir, I guess I should ...”
“I’m not your captain, Nigel.”
“Sir?”
“I mean, you don’t really have to call me sir, seeing that I’m not really your captain,” she said and immediately wished she could have called those words back and stuck them down her throat instead. What the hell was she thinking? What if any of her crew were nearby and overhead that comment? How would she have explained that? That it was fine to expect respect from her people but that it was not required from anybody else? Fortunately for her there was nobody else around who could have overheard the thoughtless comment.
Nigel Bane’s deep blue eyes sparkled now and she almost found it well worth it. “Well, I suppose that makes a certain kind of sense.”
She smiled. “Tell you what Nigel, I can call you Nigel, right?”
“Of course.”
“Well Nigel, you can call me Taz when nobody is around,” she stopped when a crewmember decided to pass them by at just that moment.
He nodded. “Alright then,” he replied and looked around to make sure the witness was no longer in earshot. He leaned forward conspiratorially. “Taz.”
That brought another smirk onto her lips. She wondered if she was being hypocritical, if she was treating this young officer like Schwarzkopf had been treating her. She quickly dismissed the notion.
“Do you anticipate us to be alone again?”
Star’s spots blushed slightly. She had wanted him to ask her this question. She had absolutely no idea what had come over her or why she was still standing there and implying matters entirely inappropriate for her position.
Maybe it was because this handsome lieutenant had given her the chance to be herself for just a few moments. To forget that she was a captain with a crew that had no confidence in her at all and on a mission that could spell doom to her career. Maybe she needed a form to escape it all if even just for a brief moment and maybe Bane was the ticket.
“McBride to Lieutenant Bane.”
The immaterial voice shook Star out of her thoughts.
The Australian officer needed a few moments to respond himself. “This is Bane, go ahead, Commander.”
“What’s your current location, Lieutenant?”
“I’m still on the Sacajawea, sir,” he said and winked at Star over the word that had sparked their conversation.
“The skipper wants you back here ASAP. Do you think you can tear yourself away from those fancy regular fleet folks?”
Star wanted to laugh out loud but caught herself at the last second.
Bane opened his mouth to respond but the words were stuck in his throat.
“I’m sorry Lieutenant, I think I didn’t make myself sufficiently clear. That was not actually a question. There is no need for you to consider an answer as there is only one possible response,” the voice continued without malice or impatience but in a noticeable relaxed Texas drawl.
“I’m on my way and will be back on Bluefin momentarily, Commander.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant, that was the correct response. McBride out.”
“I take it your captain doesn’t like to be kept waiting, does he?” said Star with a smirk.
“Do any?”
She shook her head. “I suppose not. Well then, I don’t want to get you into any more trouble, Lieutenant,” she said, using his rank after spotting other crewmembers close by. “The transporter room is that door over there,” she said and pointed right at it.
“I was pretty close.”
Star nodded. “And should you ever be in the same sector again ...” she said but didn’t finish the sentence.
“I’ll make sure to let you know?”
She shrugged. “I suppose you could do worse.”
“G’day, Taz,” he said and then added more formally, “Sir,” before he walked away and disappeared into the transporter room.
Tazla Star couldn’t manage to keep her own smile off her lips as she watched him disappear. The peculiar encounter had felt good. She wanted to feel it again but she knew she couldn’t allow herself. At least not this blatantly. Not that she cared much for her current reputation. The crew hardly took notice of her anyway. But decorum had to be maintained if she cherished her career, she understood that. She couldn’t deny that she longed for somebody like Nigel Bane, somebody refreshingly different from the men she’d had the misfortune to get involved with.
And just like that Shapeer Shuun was back on her mind and with him all the endless complications that her new mission had created.