by Rada Dengar
81004.20
After By His Side
-=Personal Quarters of Jack Hubbard=-
81004.20
After By His Side
-=Personal Quarters of Jack Hubbard=-
Jack had taken a well earned cycle off at the request of, if not the demand of, Dalton McKay. The holographic doctor had told him that he could manage on his own for a while and complained how human doctors never seemed to pick up during their years of training that many of the facts they were learning about applied to themselves as well as the patients. Facts like humans needing sleep. He’d gone on to point out that since any good safety manual will tell you that you shouldn’t operate a tractor when you’re tired then just maybe you shouldn’t be operating life saving medical equipment either. Eventually Jack had relented.
*I hope you can manage on your own,* Hubbard thought to himself.
When he’d returned to his quarters he’d found a communiqué on his comm unit. As soon as he opened it he wished he hadn’t. It contained orders that he was to leave the Sera as soon as he could, he was being transferred.
It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy getting a change of scenery. He loved moving from assignment to assignment and had been doing it his whole career. Besides, he had never really been comfortable here. The sterile confines of such a small starship did not agree with a man who so appreciated the vast beauty in nature. He missed San Francisco; he hoped that where ever he went next, he would be near her.
Still, he regretted that he would not get a chance to better know the crew. He had always felt that one starship was like the next but in his short time here he’d felt that assumption being challenged. He was even starting to feel as though the ship were as Trick London had described her; beautiful. He wished that he’d taken the time to better know her intricacies, her traditions, her women…
He generally didn’t let a busy schedule keep him from this pursuit. He believed that be it a colony, a starship or a city; it always had its own unique variety of women. He wished he’d taken the time to better familiarize himself with what exactly made a Serendipity woman unique. Unfortunately in his time here the only woman he was in regular contact with had been his nurse T’Dara but as far as his advances went Vulcan women typically showed a certain…resistance.
It had been a short message; the exact reasons for his transfer weren’t included. He deduced that more information would be coming his way shortly. He wasn't upset over not having the information immediately. He expected that from the urgent demand that he depart as soon as he had the opportunity that it had been sent in a hurry. Also that it had been sent to him personally and not through proper ship’s channels indicated that the exact reasons were most likely intended to be kept quiet. This he understood; he knew that sometimes you have to work outside the official channels. *Gods know, I've done my fair share of that.*
He hoped that his leaving would not be mistaken for a matter of choice. When he had first met Commander Salvek he had offered his transfer request under the belief that his unorthodox methods may have been unwelcome here. From what he saw of the crew he now thought that perhaps orthodox methods would be less welcome. Still, Salvek had always been straight and up front with him. He’d even been invited to eat dinner with Salvek and his family. He hated the idea that Salvek would think that all of this time he’d wanted to leave but had been unwilling to be honest about it.
He stared into his coffee cup for a second before tipping it upward and draining the final drops into his mouth. He felt that he couldn’t just disappear without a trace even though the wording in the message seemed to indicate he could. He eventually tracked down Commander Salvek in Sickbay.
-=Sickbay, USS Serendipity=-
Salvek noted that as Hubbard approached his demeanor was far from the pleasant and upbeat nature that he had come to associate with the man.
“Doctor, I was informed that you were…” before he could finish Jack had handed him a PADD with the transfer orders displayed. After studying them Salvek confirmed that “These appear to be in order” then asked “When are you required to leave?”
“I’m afraid Sir that my instructions were for immediate departure…a ship has been dispatched to meet us and I am to beam over as soon as it arrives...that should be within the hour…I’d rather keep my leaving quiet until after I’ve gone.”
“As you wish,” replied Salvek, he could understand that the man may not wish for a fuss but also understood that many people on the ship would want to say goodbye. Still, he respected the doctor’s wishes.
He extended a hand and Hubbard shook it as firmly as he had the day they met. He then excused himself from Sickbay to finish packing. He haphazardly threw his personal effects into a duffel bag and then made his way to transporter room three. His new ship arrived within minutes and he beamed immediately over. They went instantly to high Warp heading in the opposite direction and he was quickly gone. Although perhaps, he hoped, not forgotten.
Lt. SG Rada Dengar
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012