Actions Have Consequences
Posted on Sun Aug 13th, 2023 @ 12:32pm by Ensign Evanora Drei
Mission:
Shakedown Shake-Up
Location: USS Endeavor
Timeline: Pre-Vesta
1029 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure
"What?!?!"
Eva shrugged in response to the collective outburst from her peers. The group of four was in the lounge, sharing drinks when the half-Betazoid dropped the news of her transfer. "Yeah, it just came out of the blue," she said, glancing around at the three pairs of eyes staring at her.
"Dude, how badly did you deck Landon???" Another Betazoid engineer, Lovora, leaned in, eyes wide at the news. She nearly choked on her drink when Eva shared the news, and needed to know more. "There's no way the Captain is transferring an engineer like you for no reason!"
"No kidding. Being transferred after a demotion... that sucks, Eva. That's worse than like... rewiring pattern buffers or something." Merr ran his hand through his hair, the straight locks falling right back to where they were on the Bajoran's forehead.
"I don't know if it was because of that." Even Eva doubted her own words. Ever since she punched Landon for condescendingly reminding her that telepaths usually had no issues with their telepathy, there was an air of seriousness and perhaps a little caution around the engineer. "It seems like a poor decision to transfer me, because he started it. He shouldn't have gotten away with it." A shared glance between two of her friends made her give them a puzzled look. "What?"
"You didn't hear?" After Eva shook her head, Lovora leaned in and spared a quick glance around. "Landon got kicked out of Starfleet."
It was Eva's turn to be surprised, and she leaned forward in her seat at the news. "Wait, what?!"
"Yeah. Apparently this wasn't his first time being a total douche," Lovora added, sitting back in her chair. "I heard from a friend of a friend that he did this kind of nonsense to other hybrid species. Him getting a rise out of you was what Starfleet needed to throw him out the airlock, I guess."
"So congrats," their fourth, Sam, cut in. He had been quiet throughout the exchange, preferring to provide his thoughts sparingly. The Human lifted his class toward Eva in a slight toast. "You saved some future victim from his harassment."
Eva was still processing the knowledge that Landon got kicked out of Starfleet. That she got him kicked out of Starfleet. The thought that she was to blame made her shake her head to get rid of the thought. No, he brought this on himself, she reminded herself. She couldn't be to blame, even if she did start the fight. "Yeah, you may be right."
Lovora's senses tingled when she picked up on the doubt in Eva's mind. It was difficult to avoid with her proximity and how prevalent the emotion was. Knowing better than to say she sensed it, she studied the half-Betazoid's expression for a moment. "You look like you have doubts."
Eva looked to Lovora, watching her black eyes study her carefully. "I mean, yeah, of course I do. Something I was involved in got someone else kicked out of Starfleet."
"Stop overthinking it," Merr interjected with a wave of his hand. He crossed one leg over the other and took a sip of his coffee. "You're absolutely not to blame here. Seriously. He deserved that hook." The Bajoran gave her a little smile, "besides, you saved me from the stress of dealing with him when I go on shift in a few." He was the only one amongst present company who was on the night shift, hence why he was drinking coffee so late in the day.
Sam rolled his eyes. While he wasn't there when this incident happened, he heard plenty about it. As a pacifist, he didn't fully understand why people resorted to violence. It was even more strange when his peers congratulated her on resorting to such a thing. "So what's your new ship?"
"The USS Vesta," Eva replied, taking a sip of her tea. "It's a Vesta class, and it has a gorgeous schematic if you ever get the chance to see it."
Merr snorted. "Who names their ship after the ship class?"
Eva chuckled at the jest. "I don't think it was intentional, Merr." There was a brief pause as Eva thought for a moment. "Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how ships are named. Surely they don't pull names out of a hat, there's got to be some reasoning behind it. Anyways..." She gave the conversation a dismissive wave of her hand. "My orders say I'm transferring via Esquimalt Station."
Lovora's eyes widened at the mention of Esquimalt, her expression suddenly serious. "Oh no..."
Confused by the response, Eva looked to her Betazoid friend, sensing the suddenly strong feeling of dread coming from her. "Oh... no?"
"Eva... Esquimalt is huge. It's a telepath's nightmare." Reaching for the PADD she had brought along with her following the end of her shift, she pulled up the specs for the station before giving it to Eva to look at.
"Well, yeah, it needs to be big so multiple ships can dock at it..." Still slightly confused, Eva accepted the PADD and read the information on it. Then, she paled slightly. There was a five-digit number next to the 'Station Capacity' line, and many 4-digit numbers next to the personnel breakdown of officers, enlisted, marines, and passengers. "O-oh... that's... a lot of people..."
"Yeah," Lovora nodded sympathetically. "I heard that the station is at about 50% capacity right now, which is a little better, but still. Just be ready for the noise."
Oh boy. That was still several thousand people. Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat, she glanced to Lovora. "Um... c-can you help me prepare for this?"
The Betazoid didn't need to use her abilities to see that Eva was already anxious about the idea of setting foot on the station. "Absolutely," she replied with a nod. Lovora was aware of Eva's current abilities, and knew that she was grossly unprepared for the mental noise of space stations. She only hoped that the transfer would go smoothly so her time on the station would be minimal.
