by TC Blane, Dane Cristiane and Landry Steele
Stardate 110331.23
Following Mission :Improbable
-=Earth=-
Stardate 110331.23
Following Mission :Improbable
-=Earth=-
"Something wrong with you, Cristiane?" TC Blane asked, as the trio of Starfleet officers--one willing and two much less so--trudged onward through the cold.
Dane simply grunted in reply.
"Let me rephrase the question." Blane narrowed his eyes. "Something more than usual?"
"No." Dane muttered, quickly adding a half-hearted, "...Sir." In fact, there was something more than usual wrong with him today: specifically the fact that he was not at all where he wanted or more importantly, felt he needed to be. His mind was far off, somewhere, and with someone, else.
"He hoped he'd be on a date about now." Landry explained, cramming her hands deeper into the pockets of her jacket and cursing herself internally for forgetting to replicate a pair of gloves.
"That so?" Blane's eyebrow elevated.
"Not really a date, Sir." Dane hurried to correct Landry's comment. "It's just..." he shrugged. "Never mind, Sir."
"Spill it."
Dane sighed. "This is the first Christmas Gira is going through without her brother. I. " He stopped.
Suddenly, Blane understood. "Say no more, kid." He quickened his pace; leaving the pair already struggling to keep up with his long strides even more challenged to keep up with him now. "I know you got drafted for this at the last minute and so let's try to get this over and done and then maybe you can catch up to her, wherever she is."
It was 'where she was' that worried Dane most, and he sped up to match Blane's increased speed. "Thank you, Sir."
After a moment, Dane looked around at his surroundings and his boots crunched slowly to a halt. They were in a location that he was unfamiliar with. His thoughts had been so distracted he did not even pay attention to the coordinates that Blane had given to the transporter chief as they stood on the pad only moments before.
“Excuse me, Sir but, where are we?” He sped up his pace again to close the distance with TC and Landry.
They had been walking up an uncleared path though what could only be described as insanely deep, pure white snow. Tall Evergreens flanked them on both sides. Sun shone though in sparkling beams but it was not overly bright, so Dane surmised it was had to be early evening. He glanced at his watch--a gift from Keiran O'Sullivan on his last birthday to "aid the perpetually late young Intern in the correct tellin' of the time," and it showed the time to actually be only a little past noon.
The path had been slowly climbing at a mild angle and now crested a hill. TC stopped and glanced down, following its path. His breath formed white clouds in the frigid air that seemed to last for an eternity before slowly fading away.
“Alaska. ” He pointed down the path at a picturesque scene. A frozen lake was in the distance with majestic white mountains beyond that. In the foreground of the lake sat a large log cabin with tall windows and a massive cobblestone chimney. The cabin sat partially tucked into the protection of the Evergreens.
“Um no offense Sir, but the O'Sullivans live in Ireland...” Dane pulled the hood up on his parka. The thought of being in Alaska on Christmas Eve when Gira was so far away making him colder then he already was.
TC started down the path towards the cabin. It led them down to the unplowed driveway where TC turned and headed towards the darkened cabin passing an ornate, handcrafted mailbox. Landry took note of the name.
“Blakeslee..." Her eyes brightened. "This is Commander Blakeslee’s house?” she half asked, half marveled as they walked past the house towards the garage in the back. TC nodded as they passed the garage and made their way into the grove of trees behind the house.
“Why are we here?” Dane glanced at the snow piled up at the back door of the cabin: solid evidence that no one had been at the cabin since at least the fall. “Nobody is home.”
TC stopped and surveyed the trees around him. “Very astute, Mr. Cristiane. Maybe it’s because they have been on the Sera for the last several months.” He lifted the dark sunglasses from his face, as they were now in the shade of the trees. “They will be back when the weather warms. Delta IV has a tropical climate, so Missus Blakeslee is not fond of the cold. Unlike her husband.”
"I always kn-n-n-nnew that woman was ss-s-s-s-smart." Landry shivered in the cold of the shade. “So why are we here?” she asked, between chattering teeth.
“To pick up a Christmas gift for the Captain and her husband. A parting gift from the Blakeslee’s.” He took a step forward and peered around a particularly thick Evergreen and smiled. “There it is.”
TC treaded though the snow with Landry and Dane following the path he blazed. He stopped and looked at a perfect specimen of a Blue Spruce. It easily stood ten feet and was perfectly full. Not a single gap was present: it would make a perfect Christmas tree.
Dane pointed to the base of the tree. “Someone’s been here.” Fresh tracks were in the snow at the base of the tree.
TC looked around and no tracks lead to the tree or away. He smiled as he approached it. “Someone with access to a transporter and first hand knowledge of the exact location of this tree.” He knelt in the snow to look at the base of the tree. There attached to the trunk was a brass plaque.
Dane approached the tree. “Commander Blakeslee,” he decided.
“Ambassador Blakeslee.” TC corrected, and then he read aloud the inscribing on the brass.
“For those who fly with the stars
We must not forget the treasures of the Earth
Lest we misplace the Shepard of our soul.”
Enjoy our gift of Friendship and Love for many years to come and remember us fondly each year you decorate it.
Have a Merry Christmas, and many, many more
Zander, Samthia & Family
TC stood up and brushed the snow from his pants.
“So they are giving the tree as a gift?” Landry looked at it. “Wow, that’s nice but it’ll die in a few weeks once we cut it down.”
TC smiled at his two unknowing subordinates. “Who said anything about cutting it down?” He pointed to the shovels hanging on hooks on the back of the garage.
"Um...but..." Landry raised her hand in protest, drawing an imaginary circle around her face in the air before pointing squarely at her nose. "Does this look like it knows anything about transplanting trees?"
"Does this look like it cares?" TC asked, mirroring her gesture. "Come on, ya feather-weight. Remember who we're doing this for."
"Zanh Liis, Queen Of All Starfleet?" Landry grumbled, having adopted, somewhere along the line, Dane's old and not quite respectful nickname for their Captain.
"No." TC said, moving toward the shovels and grasping one in his hand. "We're doing this for Keiran."
Before Blane could say anything more in the way of admonition, he saw he didn't need to.
Out of respect and affection for the man in question, both young TI officers had taken the shovels and already started to dig.
TC nodded his approval and tapped his combadge. "Blane to Grace."
"Grace here," February answered, from high overhead aboard the Sera.
"How goes your part of Operation Evergreen?"
“Mission accomplished. Everything is ready and waiting. There are a half a dozen or so burly O'Sullivans standing by at the house with miles of lights, a smaller tree for inside, and a treasure trove of family ornaments." She sighed softly with contentment at the mental image the thought produced. "They are being commanded by one very little but incredibly determined young nun." Grace laughed. "I only wish I could see the look on Keiran's face when he sees it all."
"We'll be sure they take pictures," Blane promised. "Thanks for your help, you're a peach."
"Now now. You know I'm much more a strawberry marshmallow. Grace out."
Satisfied that everything was on track, TC grabbed the last shovel and dug in to help.
When the clearing away was done, Dane wiped sweat from his brow and, huffing plumes of warm breath into the clear Alaskan air, he made an observation then asked his superior officer a single, desperate question.
"It's a hell of a swim from Alaska to Ireland ...please tell me we get to use the transporters this time?"
TC reached into his pocket and pulled out a transporter transponder. “Well for me and the tree it’s off to the lovely Emerald Isle.” He smiled at Dane and Landry. “You two are welcome to join me or head back to the ship. Your choice. As you heard I have the practically the entire town of Cork to assist me with getting this set into the Irish soil. ” He reached through the branches and attached the transponder to the trunk.
He turned back to the two young officers and smiled his rare, toothy grin. “In any case, you two have a Merry Christmas.”
“You too, Sir. I’ll try to catch up to you later.” Dane replied.
The moment Blane and the tree disappeared, Dane turned to Landry.
“What about you?”
“Give my regards to the Queen…” Steele slugged Dane on the arm somewhat affectionately, but then her eyes clouded. She reached up and tugged at a chain hanging around her neck, though Dane could not see what exactly was hanging from it as she concluded, “I’ve already got other plans.”
Commander TC Blane
Second Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Ensign Dane Cristiane
Temporal Investigations Intern
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Ensign Landry Steele
Temporal Investigations Agent
Serving aboard the USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Second Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Ensign Dane Cristiane
Temporal Investigations Intern
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Ensign Landry Steele
Temporal Investigations Agent
Serving aboard the USS Serendipity NCC-2012