by Lt. (jg) Rada Dengar
80630.23
Following Betrayed
-=Main Engineering; USS Alchemy=-
80630.23
Following Betrayed
-=Main Engineering; USS Alchemy=-
Rada sighed in frustration. Here they were searching every square millimetre of the Alchemy for any thing which their former crewmate could have done to it before leaving and all he could think was how he didn’t understand why.
Halliday observed this and after clearing his throat began to form a question, the words however were no where to be found.
Even though he knew he would regret it, Rada reluctantly turned to Halliday and asked "Is there something you want to ask me?" in a tone much less pleasant than he’d intended.
Halliday could tell that Rada was trying to be angry but was more hurt than anything else. He knew that whilst many people onboard had remained wary of Breaux since the rumours about him began to circulate, Rada had never stopped trusting him and it would seem had never doubted where the doctor’s loyalties would be when it came down to a choice between Starfleet and whatever his other life was, that was, until now.
Rada turned his attention back to the wall and the scans which he knew may very well be useless as they would have been anticipated.
Halliday knew that a man just slapped from the dark was in no position to be questioned about the hand. It was for this reason that he chose an observation over a question.
"There was no way we could have seen this coming," he said.
Rada didn’t reply. A moment of utter silence passed between them before the next words were spoken.
"So we can’t blame ourselves for what has happened," Halliday added.
It was clear that Rada’s mind was drifting now. He stopped examining the wall and lowered his tricorder to his side. He didn’t turn around to face Halliday and spoke without focus.
"As Engineers we’re trained to development our skills of analysis. We’re supposed to be able to offer explanations and solutions to any problems we encounter,"
Halliday nodded in agreement and even though Rada couldn’t see it, he could read the void.
"An explanation, however, is something which eludes me now. Commander Breaux, Avery, he was my friend and yet his actions now baffle me. Of course I was always aware of his opinions of Starfleet and especially the bureaucracy involved. We all knew them. He seemed to consider bureaucracy to be both Starfleet’s master and captor. Yet how he could do this now is beyond my comprehension.
"For more years than I have lived, Avery had dreamt of serving as the Chief Medical Officer on a Starship. It was a common point of discussion when I first met the man. A dream he never let out of his sight. Finally, he had obtained the position here on the Sera and it seems he was willing to give it all away in a heartbeat."
Rada shook his head, reminding himself that he really must stop having these little chats with Halliday.
He turned to the man and apologized. "I’m sorry. I’m sure if Avery were here he’d be able to put it much more poetically that I can."
Halliday laughed a little remembering Breaux’s poetic nature, it was not exactly standard to an Engineer. Rada however was not laughing and he internally scalded himself now, thinking that in his time as Chief Engineer Avery was allowed a disgusting amount of access to Starfleet’s most precious resources.
He had a million chances to plant a monitoring device were it his goal to spy on them although Rada doubted that this were the case. Avery was smart enough to know that he’d not soon be allowed back onboard to collect any stored data and that it would therefore have to be sent somewhere off ship, such transmissions could easily be tracked to their destination and considering the value the man placed on his privacy Rada did not believe he would have risked it.
What really concerned him was that the Starfleet operation guidelines read in reverse gave an effective how to list of sabotage of this ship. These same guidelines had been issued to every Engineer in the Sera’s compliment.
That was assuming that his intention was that kind, they could very easily be looking for a bomb. With the strategic placement of even the smallest device, antimatter containment could be lost in an instant; there would be no survivors and
Rada wasn’t sure anymore whether Avery would even care.
"Where do you think he’s gone?" asked Halliday although they both knew the answer. Working with the man long enough suspicions arise, a certain theme to the political agenda is observed and a position of sympathiser is expected. Now observing the tactics with which he escaped, they could only conclude that it was much more than sympathising and they could be sure now who they were dealing with.
"There is only one place he could have gone. It seems that no matter what happens he’s always with them," commented Rada.
Was Avery the prey with his foot caught in the jaws of the beast as it dragged him back to its den? Or was he merely a man, retreating to the comfort of the only life which had ever truly suited him? That was at least something Rada could understand, a chance to return to a former life was as close enough for most to the very definition of temptation. Perhaps it was a matter as simple as Avery giving in.
Whatever it was, it really didn’t matter to Rada anymore.
*But why now?* Rada thought to himself. It was the timing more than anything else which he couldn’t believe.
"Breaux was now a doctor and he chose to leave the ship at a time when so many crew members were just recovering. More to the point he was once an Engineer and a damn good one as far as I was concerned, that he would leave his ship in this state in incongruent with everything I thought I understood of his dedication to this crew. It seems that I never really knew the man." Rada mused to himself, not allowing any question for Jack to answer to find its place in his words.
"Do you really believe that?" asked Halliday, not really expecting an answer himself.
"Perhaps there was nothing he could do about the timing. They plan everything ahead for months, sometimes years," he added, intentionally not naming the Maquis. When you’d lost someone to them you daren’t speak their name lest you tarnish the memory of a fallen comrade.
Were they a traitor gone to the Romulans then perhaps they should best be remembered as such, but the unnamed group existed in an area far too grey for the decision to be made. Rada heard their name all the same though.
"I don’t really know what I believe any more," he muttered, lifting the tricorder up to resume his scans.
He had looked to Avery for guidance as Breaux himself had no doubt looked to Kellyn in his short stint in Rada’s current position. It was of course the tradition for the Chief Engineer to seek this from those who had filled the role before them, to attempt to follow in their footsteps.
The path left by Avery’s steps had now been revealed and Rada found himself sickened by their direction. He’d spent so long trying to follow them that he was not sure how he’d get back. He hated his friend for doing this to him.
"We’d better get back to work," he said turning to Halliday "We’ve got a lot of ship to cover,"
"Aye, Sir," replied Halliday, but Rada recalled a particular tradition of the Chief Engineers on this ship which he intended to honour.
"Please, call me Rada."
Lt. (jg) Rada Dengar
Chief Engineer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Chief Engineer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012