Heavy is the head that wears the crown
Posted on Sun Jun 29th, 2025 @ 4:25pm by Captain Daegan Baas & Julianna Raihan-Baas
Edited on on Sun Jun 29th, 2025 @ 7:40pm
1,918 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Sole Survivor
Location: Holodeck 1
Timeline: MD 16 - 1800
Daegan sent a message to Jules for a relaxing evening in the holodeck. With everything that had happened lately he needed to just get away and relax. Calling up a old camping program he altered it so that it was still in the mountains but was now creek side. Sending Jules a message to meet him in the holodeck he set a camp fire and adjusted the time to just before sunset. With everything set he relaxed in his camp chair listening to the gentle popping of the fire.
Word of the changeling had spread throughout the ship which meant that Jules and her team had been collating any recent reports of changelings. Still, an evening on the holodeck sounded like fun and knowing Daegan as she did, it wouldn't be fancy. She dressed in worn jeans and a soft white pullover that extended down over the top of her hands. She left her hair hanging loose and was running her hands through the dark mass when the holodeck door opened. "Nice," she said softly, as she approached the fire, slipping out of her shoes as she dropped into the other camp chair with a soft sigh."Good idea, Daegan. Good idea ..."
"Thanks," tapping the basket with his toe, "Got roasting forks for brats and s'mores...and assorted beverages." Turning his head towards her, not saying anything anything else, just watching her enjoy the heat from the fire.
"You can keep the brats," Jules said as she smiled back, "but s'mores, well, who can resist them. One of the better things that came out of our time at the Academy. Loved those cookouts. We'd all be quizzing each other and making jokes and eating burgers and s'mores. Good times."
He smiled as he shook his head. No matter how many times he tried he could never get her to do have a brat. No matter. "You know with everything that's been going on...it's nice to be able to do this together. Even if all that mess is still on the other side of a bulkhead, a little reprieve now and then... You know what, it would definitely take some juggling but we should try to see if we can schedule a little family trip. Like we did after Esme graduated from the Academy."
"Yes," Jules breathed. "Nothing touristy ... private beach somewhere maybe?"
He began to think about how he could make that happen. Then it occurred maybe they would get called in to participate in the Frontier Day festivities next here. As one of the Federation's top of the line ships it was quite possible. Replying with a smirk, "You know if they are.there with us, it's not going to be that private."
"As if I wasn't there for their childhood," Jules retorted. "I meant ... no crew members, no strangers, just family." She cocked her head slightly to one side. "Though the 'other' kind of privacy, well, bedroom doors lock for just that reason."
He chuckled as he rose to the bait. "Door locks...check." Leaning forward he added another piece of wood to the fire and embers rose into the night sky. Afterward he stuck a fork into a marshmallow and handed it to Jules. "Though I don't think the old excuses are going to work anymore." Grinning knowingly as he readied chocolate and graham for the rest of her smore.
"You'd be surprised," Jules said as she moved her marshmallow closer to the fire. "The idea that parents have sex is something that no child wants to know, no matter how old they get. It's weird but it's true." She shrugged lightly, rotating the marshmallow, "Just like the idea of being near the water. Swimming and all of that. Hard to stress on the beach."
He had go give her that, chuckling. "Well whenever we can make this happen I'm sure we'll be able to find you your beach." Lay his head back, "Maybe do some diving. No communicators, no emergencies..."
"Hasn't been easy for you lately," Jules observed as she started the process of constructing her s'more. Dessert before dinner; Daegan would push his brats but she'd go find a salad somewhere later. "Want to talk about it?"
He was slow roasting a brat...or had he grabbed a kielbasa? No matter, some brown mustard worked on either. As the turned the fork ensuring he heated it throughout before charring he nodded. "You've always been the one person I could talk to. First Ridge's murder, now this whole Pricari thing...just doesn't seem possible."
"Never does," Jules said as she tucked her legs up underneath her. "Every impossible death I've investigated ... that phrase comes up time and time again. Murder is something that happens to someone else, right? He was a nice guy, fighting against the Vulcan stereotype and all. Shame I didn't get to know him better. But the Pricari? That's both incredibly sad and incredibly unrealistic at the same time."
Fixing his brat he took a bite, "True, but if Aseek was lying, Lieutenant Troga would have said something."
Moving his chair closer to Jules he reached across put his hand on hers. "Well if nothing else it will definitely give the crew something to sink there teeth into."
"Maybe not lying," Jules said, "but there's something weird about it all. Something that can not only animate a dead body but take parts from others as well? How is that done exactly. Surgery? Do they just pick up something and 'glue it on' as they're walking along?"
Tossing paper towel into the fire he sat back shaking his head, "Right now your guess is as good as mine. Normally we go after a sample for study but if there is even a chance these things are real and capable of what he claims...there is no way I'm letting something like that aboard."
"Complete agreement there," Jules said, mock-shivering, "would not want that loose on the ship. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot more to this than what Aseek has said. For all we know, it's really some sort of hallucinogen that's being emitted or released into the air. That would make more sense than what he's saying."
Picking up one of the thicker sticks he poked and messed with the fire. He thought about what Jules had said for a while. It did make sense, but how had it spread? Unless the Pricari had had no protective measures in place during their examination of the asteroid Aseek had claimed was the source of the problem. There were just too many possibilities, too many unanswered questions...so many questions. "Guess we will find out one way or the other when we get there."
"Be a good idea," Jules said, her gaze dropping to the fire, "to consider all the possibilities. I mean, what data do we have except for Aseek's word? Because to any good scientist ... or analyst for that matter ... one source? It's never enough." She turned her head toward her husband, smiling fondly. "And that's not just I tend to be suspicious. I'm making a valid point, Daegan."
Stabbing the stick into the coals under a few of the larger pieces of wood. "No argument there. And that's precisely why we are going to his planet. I mean it's really no different than any exploratory situation; no information on what's out there... I think it's the 'what if' that's unnerving. What if he's not hallucinating? What if these things are really out there? It would have been ideal if more of the data in that archive had survived, but the surviving information was from their ancient history."
"And what did their ancient history say about all of this," Jules asked as she stabbed another marshmallow onto a stick; two was about all the sweetness she could handle at one sitting.
"Not a thing. Seems that whatever had happened was a recent event." Taking the flaming stick from the fire he stabbed it into the ground to extinguish it. He realized that had been the questions no one had asked. When it had started and how long it had taken to spread through the population.
"Like I said." Jules pulled her marshmallow back to inspect as she continued. "One source of information. Unreliable narrator." She turned toward her husband. "You should read more."
"Read what? The time period from the Pricari archive that could have shed any light on the situation was corrupted.
Under most circumstances we would have other sources of information. Even during the Dominion war we had more sources to work with than we have here. We are beyond the veil, and have entered the unknown. I would love to be able to discard his account as a hallucination or side effect of some trauma but I don't have that luxury. We are going into this with the one and only source of info and because of that we have to assume the worst until proven otherwise."
Jules shook her head, literature, novels, wasn't something Daegan and she ever talked about. The whole concept of an unreliable narrator, someone telling the story, who maybe isn't trustworthy, has his or her own agenda. "I'm not saying discount it, I'm saying, keep an open mind. Be open to possibilities rather than just trying to prove his viewpoint."
He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze as he let out a huh. "I'm sorry, I was taking things too literally. It's not that I'm trying to prove Aseek's story, it's just that until we get to his planet there is not to disprove his account." Adding with a smirk; "Other than everything we have ever heard of or encountered up to this point."
"So true," Jules answered as she squeezed his hand back. "And next time? How about some food I can actually eat, huh?"
He chuckled with a sheepish grin, "I keep trying...but hey, I brought you marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers...not good enough?"
"Doesn't replace dinner but yes, they were good," Jules said. She shook her head, a bit of a smile lighting her dark eyes. "I'm thinking I need to give you a list of things I like because after all these years, it's clear you have no clue. Not .. a. .. one."
"Hey now, can't blame me for trying to expand your appreciation for proper camp fire cuisine."
"Yes, I can," Jules said, laughing, "I absolutely can."
He laughed as well, "Well next time I will just have to pan fry some freshly caught fish."
"So ... I think we'll do French cuisine one night," she said with a sly smile. "Only fair, if you're pushing camp cuisine, I'm pushing French."
"No problem there. I love cheese, french bread, french fries..."
"Oh please," Jules said, rolling her eyes, "that stopped working back at the Academy. That's how it will be bud. I starve, you eat French cuisine. My choice."
Laughing he relaxed his muscles. "Hahaha...and here I was bracing for a smack of some kind for insulting your favorite kind of food." Relaxing even more, "I sure needed this."
"Actually," Jules said smugly, "My favorite changes. Right now, it's French again but I have a thing for this little cafe on Alpha Centauri too ..."
With a smile he recalled a previous French indulgence. "I seem to remember you liked that little French cafe on SB 310 all those years ago..."
Captain Daegan Baas
CO
Julianna Raihan-Baas
Intelligence
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