Posted by Lieutenant Commander Zachary James Hartley (Chief Tactical Officer) in Starbase One - A New Journey

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Valerie Ashford (Chief Science Officer) in Starbase One - A New Journey

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Zachary James Hartley (Chief Tactical Officer) in Starbase One - A New Journey
Posted by… suppressed (25) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Lt. Commander Zachary James Hartley had been back from the dead a little over three years, three years since he had been found by the crew of the McKinley, adrift in a blast-scarred shuttle from the USS Mansfield… his old ship, one that had been lost presumably with all hands following a run in with a Romulan commerce raider in June of ‘97. Until the moment the McKinley had confirmed his identity, then Lieutenant Hartley had been on the Federation’s list of Missing - Presumed Lost since that horrible day that had taken the lives of everyone he had worked with for over a year… and the life of his beloved Charlotte, the woman that had followed him to the Manny to start a life together. He would never forget her voice, the way she always smiled, and her beautiful laugh. But, try as he might, the last thing Zach could remember was dinner and the evening following with Charlotte the day of her birthday… June 7th, 2397. The following day and the incident that had taken over a thousand lives… including hers… was a blank.

Once Zach had been found, the poking and the proding back on Terra commenced. Countless meetings with shrinks, Fleet Intel, Command, and the Federation’s Office of Counterintelligence… that was fun! before they would even let his family know he was alive. His mom, Stefanie, and baby sister, Jane, had held him between them and cried till they physically couldn’t while Zach looked over their heads at his father… who just couldn’t believe his only son had been returned to him… just stood there, tears refusing to fall and shaking his head in disbelief. His first words to his son were “I had just about given up hope… I’m sorry son” before the mountain of a man wrapped his entire family in his arms and for the first time in Zach’s memory, Michael James Hartley cried.

It had taken over a year to finally get through the psych evals and security screenings to even being considered for a return to active duty and after that, Zach took the full 24 months of survivor’s leave before returning to the world he was now longing for. When Command reached out about the Atlantis, it was Jane that convinced him to take it.

Now, three weeks later, Zach Hartley sat in a window seat watching the massive hulk of Starbase One grow in the frame. She was right He thought. I missed this, more than anything… and as much as I miss Char’, she wouldn’t have wanted me to give up what I loved either!

As the shuttle docked, the newly minted Lieutenant Commander rose and tugged his tunic straight before grabbing his day bag and heading into a bustling environment that rivaled the very busiest of old Earth’s busiest pre-space airports.

Once he found the right gate, Zach strode over to the food court for a quick bite before the six-hour MAC flight out to Atlantis. Grabbing a sub sandwich and chips, he found a table near the gate and settled down to wait.

Hartley, CTO

A few tables down from Hartley, slowly eating through the last fries on her plate, a woman read the contents of a PaDD. There was nothing remarkable about her, nor was she someone who would draw anyone’s attention. Her dark hair was pulled back into a braid, revealing the same human features as any other member of the species, and her blue Starfleet uniform was not an unusual sight among the many people that traveled daily through starbase.

If someone was to look closer about the woman, however, they would find that the most curious thing about her was not herself but the contents of the PaDD she was reading — it was the personnel file of the man who was now eating a sandwich and chips a few tables away. Given the hustle and bustle in the food court area it would be impossible for anyone passing by to make that connection.

Swallowing the last fry, the woman licked the tips of her fingers and wiped them on her napkin before putting her PaDD away. She seemed pleased as she looked around for the replicators where she’d be able to recycle her tray, plate, and cutlery. Getting up, she slung her duffel bag over her shoulder carrying her tray with her available hand.

It wasn’t that her path would necessarily take her by the man’s table. It was that she chose to take the path that went by it. A well calculated ‘accidental’ hit of her foot on one of the back legs of his chair made her lose her balance and sent the tray careening into the table. It’s contents spilling onto his lunch with a loud crash.

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

Hartley wasn’t exactly a cat, but his quick reflexes did save his attire from wearing both their lunches… though, when years later he retold the story, Hartley wouldn’t talk about the fact that those “reflexes” also resulted in dumping him unceremoniously onto the floor.

As Hartley started to come to his feet, he reached over to help the young woman up as well. “Are you alright Miss? That was quite a tumble.” Straightening his tunic, Zach returned fully to his feet and saw the wreckage of his lunch and, apparently, the others as well… and the steward looking exasperated as he walked toward the wreckage of the combined meals. “Wanna join me for lunch… after we replace ours, of course?” Zach asked the woman as he nodded apologetically to the steward before grabbing his bag and extending his hand.

“Hartley… Zach Hartley…” The tall, dark blonde in Tac Gold said with a smile.

Hartley, CTO

“I am so so sorry!” Came the apologetic response as she allowed Hartley to help her to her feet. She hadn’t expected him to fall off his chair, and while she would likely had been able to maintain her balance, his sudden movement caught her off guard, sending her already unstable body down to the ground with him. “I didn’t mean to…” She looked around trying to ‘understand’ what had been the object in which she had tripped, even though she knew perfectly well since she’d done it on purpose. To Hartley, however, the sentiment would seem genuine.

“Valerie Ashford, but friends call me Val.” Ashford said shaking the offered hand with a smile. Her Federation Standard was… standard. Almost too standard in fact, which was usually a good indicator of someone who had grown on a starship or a starbase, away from specific Earthly accents and instead drawing from all the different ones they were constantly exposed to.

“Once again… I am so deeply sorry.” Her face showed genuine concern. “I already finished mine… I was on my way to recycle my stuff. But please… let me at least get you a new one. It’s the least I can do.”

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

“Valerie…” Zach said with a genuine smile… his tone warm and friendly. “… that’s a beautiful name.” Hartley then chuckled with a silent snort. “I personally always thought Zachary sounded a bit stuffy, hence Zach.” He paused for the briefest of moments before grinning widely and shaking his head ever so slightly. “It’s very nice to meet you Val… I’m glad to know we both aren’t having to replace a meal! But as my dad always tries to remind me… s*** happens!” After another brief pause, Zach smiled “As for my meal…” He motioned to the table where he had been sitting just moments before. “… only if you insist. It was just a burger & fries after all. Plus, I don’t want you to miss your flight over dealing with me.” Hartley motioned to the boarding gate with a shrug. “I’m just waiting on the Pioneer Fleet Rotator… heading to the Atlantis myself. So, if you need to be somewhere else… I can grab a to-go bag if necessary. I promise, no hard feelings at all!” There was that charming smile again. It was clear the Zach was obviously more embarrassed about the accident than Val.

Hartley, CTO

“Oh, I am headed to the Atlantis as well!” The surprise in her tone was unmistakeable. “What are the odds?” Valerie chuckled in amusement. There were no odds. The fact that she was headed to the Atlantis in the first place was because Hartley himself had been assigned there. Of course, he didn’t know this and Ashford had no intentions of making him privy of that information. “So that’s settled, then! Let me grab you a new one. Burger and fries you say? Anything in particular?”

Oh really now? Hartley thought as he suppressed a smirk. Since being trapped in a buffer for the better part of five years and surviving, Zach Hartley had a tendency to be a bit more devil-may-care in his attitude toward life. He had traveled more, tried to enjoy life more, and even spent a wild (and exhausting) weekend with an Academy friend before both decided friends was the right path for them both as they laughed over breakfast at the B&B the Sunday morning before they were to checkout and head home.

So, for Zach, the fact that the rather attractive prospect that had ever so recently practically fell into his lap… he was much more likely than not to (eventually) take his shot. For now, though, he’d see how things played out. It wasn’t like he’d have to rush things if they were both assigned to the Atlantis!

Once Valerie knew what Hartley had been eating, and after gathering the mess she had not-so-accidentally created, she left for the wall of replicators.

It didn’t take long for her to return, slightly out of breath. It was clear that she had been in a hurry, but also that she was carrying way more stuff than she should have been. She now set it all carefully on the table.

Hartley was already half out of his seat when he saw Val struggling and helped in unloading the tray. “You didn’t have to do all this and…” He motioned to the table. “… you must still be hungry, huh?!”

Hartley’s burger and fries were the first thing she pushed towards her new acquaintance, followed by a small assortment of different desserts — a slice of apple pie, a few flavors of ice cream, a box with a variety of different cookies, and another box filled to the brim with several miniatures of different pastries.

Zach eyed the table with a smile. He hadn’t really been that hungry before but now that all the e options were there for the picking, he actually felt his stomach growl. “You truly didn’t have to do all this, Val.” He said as he pulled out a chair next to him for her to sit down. “I’m not complaining, mind you.” He said as he sat down and nodded to the food. “But I’m just a lowly CTO, nothing special to deserve this kind of attention!”

“I’m sorry.” Valerie started, dropping her duffel bag on the chair next to her, and finally sitting down. “I thought maybe I should treat you to dessert to make it up to you, but I realized that I had no idea of what your preferences are so… I brought a bit of everything I could think of.” She smiled apologetically. “Don’t worry, I’ll finish whatever you can’t. Besides, I brought enough miniatures for the both of us.” Ashford smiled, motioning to the box with the pastries.

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

“They look delicious!” Hartley said with a wide smile. “Which one is your favorite?” After taking a bite, he asked. “Where ya from Val?”

LCDR Hartley, CTO

Hartley seemed much more talkative now that the embarrassment seemed to have washed off his face, Valerie realized with amusement.

“Honestly… anything with strawberries on top.” She chuckled. “I’m especially a sucker for those.” Eyeing the box closer, Valerie pointed at what seemed to be a small tartlet with a few strawberries sitting on a whipped cream filling. “Which is why I got a few extra ones.” She said taking the pastry and biting into it with a smile.

“Ah!” He laughed. “At least your honest! My sister would just shrug and say I shoulda been quicker as she eat everything in front of me.”

“Well, good thing I’m not your sister, then.” Valerie said with a playful wink. The remainder of the pastry disappearing through her lips.

“As for where I’m from… a bit of anywhere and everywhere, I suppose. Grew up on a starship.” She said nonchalantly in between licking the tips of her fingers and promptly taking another pastry from the box. “What about you? Hartley right?” She squinted slightly. “I hope you don’t mind me asking this, but I can’t get it out of my head since it occurred to me while in line for the replicators.” She offered an apologetic smile, but quickly continued. “A few months ago, I bought an issue of the Federation Weekly, and its cover story was about a man that had been trapped inside a transporter buffer for five years… Quite a fascinating story, if you ask me.” She chuckled, her cheeks blushing slightly. “And uh… you have a lot of similarities with the man in the pictures. Are you… by any chance… related?”

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

Zach was just closing his teeth on his burger when Val asked the question. Pausing almost imperceptibly, his hazel eyes finding hers as he began to chew slowly, Zach took a moment to think… processing how best to respond to a question asked far too many times since that stupid frackin’ article was published. On the bright side, Hartley couldn’t help but notice how cute she was when she blushed and as he finished chewing his bite, he swallowed thinking oh to hell with it! before nodding ever so slightly.

“Yup, that was me.” He shrugged with a sigh, blushing a bit himself. “I can’t tell you how freaking much I hated that they made me wear my damn dress tunic… like I was some goddamn war hero! Fleet PA insisted, saying it was good optics.” Hartley used air quotes for the last two words before he ran a hand through his hair and took another bite, clearly embarrassed but not trying to hide that the story was about him. “I might regret asking this but… why did you wanna know?” The last of his words were flat, not aggressive nor mean, just curious.

LCDR Hartley, CTO

The question caught Valerie off guard. She had expected a lot of things, but that hadn’t been one. “Can’t a gal want to know more about her new acquaintance?” The tone was still playful, but there was no wink this time. Instead, she reached for the box of pastries once again.

Well Frack! Hartley thought as Ashford’s tone shifted slightly. He wasn’t trying to come off as a prick but by the way she reacted, he knew that he damn well had.

There was a pause as Valerie took a bite of yet another tartlet and struggled not to let half of it fall on the table. As the remaining half of the small pastry regained its balance on her hand, Ashford looked at Hartley again.

“There was no particular reason why I ‘wanted to know’.” She added air quotes with her free hand. “I thought you looked familiar. Nothing more. I’m sorry if it was insensitive of me to ask. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through.” Though the words sounded apologetic, there was no regret in her tone. For a moment, Valerie’s gaze returned to the food in her hand. “That was a nice dress tunic though.”

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

“I’m really sorry Val… seriously.” Hartley began with a clearly apologetic smile. “I’ve been asked about that whole mess multiple times a day for the past three years.” He sighed and shrugged once more. “If I were to be honest, the only reason I agreed to do the damn interview was to get folks off my ass about it!” Another sigh. “Turns out it just made it worse. Questions increased by a ridiculous magnitude, the requests poured in for followup interviews before the damn thing was even published!”

Zachary paused, blushing alarmingly bright for a moment, his eyes moving from Ashford to the table. “Then came the fan mail… the… inappropriate holos, and of course… more than two hundred offers for either dating or straight up marriage!” Hartley threw up his hands in obvious disgust. “That’s the reason I finally took my sister up on her push for me to return to active duty… to get back on a starship and away from the nonsense.”

It was then that Hartley reached over and patted Val’s hand. “I really wasn’t trying to be rude Valerie, I guess its just been a wild six weeks since the damn story went public.

LCDR Hartley, CTO

“Don’t worry about it.” Valerie said with a smile, but as his hand came into contact with hers, a more somber expression flashed behind her gaze. It was a mere split second before it was gone and her cheerful expression returned as if nothing had happened. Her hand, however, moved out of reach, pretending to adjust her uniform. “I’m sorry as well. I had no idea.” Ashford’s words were genuine. “And no, in case you’re wondering I’m not a fan. Just a fellow Starfleet officer curious about her coworkers, that’s all.” Though I’m sure if being stuck inside a transporter buffer comes with that kind of popularity, a lot of young officers will definitely want to try it. The sentence came to the front of her mind, but she bit her tongue. She had just met the man, after all.

“So,” Valerie continued, changing the subject. “I think you mentioned before… you are the Atlantis new CTO right?”

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

“Yup…” Hartley continued as he finished another bite. “… you could say I’m a bit of a tactical specialist. Honestly, I’ve only been an active Starfleet officer a little over 15 months. The Atlantis will only be my second ship.” After taking a sip of his drink, Hartley mindlessly brushed his thumb over his three pips… one hollow and two solid. “I came over from the private sector with advanced grade due to my educational background and extensive experience in the private sector. You ever heard of Holloway Heavy Industries?” Zach thought he was being stupid asking such a question but after coming across as rude, he didn’t want to further complicate things by assuming a scientist knew about a shipbuilder like HHI.

LCDR Hartley, CTO

Valerie’s hand hovered over the remaining miniatures in the box, but after what seemed to be a moment of pondering, she retracted it, clearly changing her mind about going for yet another pastry.

In all truthfulness, Ashford had heard about the famous shipbuilding company extensively. She had first come across the name after the message she had intercepted while on the Thresher, directed at its President, Lucas Holloway. Later, she had dived deep into it because of Hartley’s work with them. She knew his work on cloaking systems almost by heart, even if a lot of it was outside of her own field of expertise, and she had explored it at length trying to figure out what had happened on the Mansfield on its final day. Still, it wasn’t like she could disclose the full extent of her knowledge to the man, so she opted for the role of the regular scientist.

“Not extensively, but the name does ring a bell.” With a shrug, she snuck another pastry out of the box and popped it through her lips in one go. “Did you work for them?”

Lt. Cmdr. Ashford, CSO

Hartley continued to enjoy his burger as they talked and chuckled at Val’s question. “You could say that…” He smiled slightly, sitting down his burger and grabbing his tea. “… after wrapping up my PhD at Cal Berkley, I took over leadership of the ATSL at Holloway, half a decade there before I went OCS and joined Starfleet. A stint as Assistant CTO on the Mansfield before promotion to CTO and…” Zach’s voice trailed off as he picked up his burger, his eyes noticeably turning away from Valerie’s as he became much more focused on his burger. “… I think you and everyone else knows the rest. Fleet found me in the buffer of a Manny Shuttle summer of ‘98, took a bit of leave after they poked and prodded me for over a year, and now I’m here.” The haunted look in Zach’s eyes was unsettling, to say the least. It was the look, for just a moment longer than a heartbeat, of a man who had effectively lost almost everything he knew. Then, as suddenly as the look appeared, it was gone. “How about you, Ashford? What did you do before our mutual assignment?”

LCDR Hartley, CTO

The look hadn’t gone unnoticed to Valerie, but she didn’t press it. It must have not been easy for Hartley. In fact, after reading everything there was to read about the man, Valerie was aware of the hardships he had faced. Well, at least the ones he had personally recounted. Yet, she found herself empathising with him. It was hard not to.

Intelligence believed that during his time away he had been made some sort of sleeper agent, and it was hard not to believe that theory. After all, the Mansfield had been attacked near the Neutral Zone by Romulan ships while testing their experimental sensors that would detect cloaked ships with quite high accuracy. An experimental piece of technology that Hartley himself had helped develop. After that, his whereabouts had been unknown only for him to return five years later, stuck in a transporter buffer, in the Neutral Zone. The logical assumption would be that Romulans were involved, especially, since contrarily to what Hartley himself believed, he hadn’t been in the transporter buffer for five years. He had been placed there a few years after the Mansfield had been destroyed, either by himself or someone else, further thickening the plot.

Still, no matter how much merit there was to Starfleet Intelligence’s theories, Valerie found that it was very different to have the man standing right in front of her, than to read about him. So far he had been nothing more than words in a PaDD, some sort of experiment almost, and now he was… human.

“Me?” Valerie replied licking the tips of her fingers yet again, and moving the pastry box away from her. “I was a cryptanalyst.” She waved her hand, used to people not knowing what it meant. “A glorified signal’s analyst, if you will. My job has mostly been to decode communications, and come up with better ways of doing so.” She smiled. “I’m expecting to continue said job on the Atlantis, although I imagine that I’ll be managing a few more projects than what I’m used to.” She chuckled nervously. “This is my first Chief Science Officer appointment, and even though I’m used to lab management work, there are a few on going projects on board that have been making me a little nervous by how out of my purview they are.”

“You mentioned you went through OCS, right? I’ve been through it as well. When did you attend?”

Lt. Cmdr. Ashford, CSO

“92 Golf…” Hartley said, without a pause, the Class Designation for the OCS Class that completed their course and graduated in the seventh month of the standard Terran calendar year. “… damn if those first few months weren’t wet!” The man chuckled as he thought back on the course. “The instructors said it was one of the wettest falls on record, but I was just happy it hadn’t been like my last summer at Georgia Tech… God, if it wasn’t a miserable year!” After taking the last bite of his burger, Hartley smiled at Ashford. “I spent five years running one of the most advanced scientific research labs in the Federation. I know it ain’t like running a lab on a Fleet ship, but I’m happy to be a sounding board if you ever need any advice.”

Pausing for half a breath, Hartley added. “What Class were you? A lot of my folks kept getting picked up for Fleet or Science Council work. I’m surprised the Fleet Recruiting Service didn’t give me a medal or even a damn Recruiters Badge the second I stepped into uniform!”

Hartley, CTO

“No way! I was in the same class as you!” Valerie’s eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. “We must have had classes in common… or at least pass by in the corridors at some point! Funny how small the universe is…!” She chuckled. “It was definitely a wet autumn. Not comfortable at all. Glad I don’t have to deal with that anymore.” Another chuckle left her lips.

With a swift flick of her left wrist, Ashford glanced at her wrist chronometer. “If you’re done we should probably get going. It’s still a bit of a walk to the gate.” The truth was crowds were not Valerie’s cup of tea, and they had already spent quite a bit of time in the crowded food court of the Starbase. She was starting to feel a bit antsy, and she was looking forward to the less crowded boarding gate.

Waiting for Hartley to gather his things, Valerie started to do the same. They still had time, so she didn’t want to look like she was in a hurry. Slowly, she reached for the pastry box, put the lid on it and slid it towards her current company. “They’re yours. I have eaten enough.” She said with yet another chuckle.

Finally, Ashford stood up, grabbed her duffle bag, and slung it over her shoulder. “So, what is it like? To be back, I mean?” The words left her lips before she could stop them. She couldn’t help it, she was curious. “I’m sorry… you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. I’m sure you have gotten those sorts of questions all the time.”

Lt. Cmdr. Ashford, CSO

The chuckle that escaped the man was light and likely surprising to Valerie. “Don’t worry about it. “ Zach smiled with a blowing it off gesture. “You’re right in that I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked that question in the past few years. It’s OK, I promise.” Hartley paused before he ran a hand through his hair, stood and grabbed his own duffle. “Well…” He cleared his throat. “I guess the most accurate word is… weird.” He shrugged with the last word before nodding toward their departure gate then walking in a relaxed pace toward the far end of the terminal.

Walking beside Hartley, Valerie listened attentively to his every word, taking mental notes of every detail. It was one thing to study someone to the point where you know everything that there is to know about them. It was a different thing to actually talk to the person in question. You could only learn so much from third person reports and personnel files.

“First and foremost, there’s the whole five years of life missing thing. My date of birth is still September 14th of ‘58… making me mathematically 42. But…” The man unconsciously ran his hands down the front of his tunic, the fabric momentarily snug against the man’s surprisingly athletic figure. “… physiologically, I’m not a day over 37. At least that’s what my Fleet Medical record states. So, yeah, weird. So much has changed in that time, ya know. My little sister got married… I became an uncle… twice and didn’t meet the oldest, my nephew, until the little guy could walk and talk.”

Ashford empathized with him. She was an aunt herself and she adored her little nephew, yet, she visited him far less than she would like to and every time she did he seemed to have grown and changed way more than she had expected. When Valerie had left for Intelligence training, the little guy had barely given his first steps, and when she returned he was walking and talking like a small adult. It wasn’t exactly the same thing, but it made her relate with his story.

As they passed the Family Rec area, Zach looked over and sighed. “I missed so much with both of them. And I didn’t even get to see my little sister get married.” There was a distinct sadness in his voice for a moment before one of the older kids threw a small NERF football that sailed over the wall of the rec area and right towards he and Val. Stopping and stepping to the side, Zach caught it and dropped back into a throwing stance… causing the kids eyes to light up. “Hey… you in the red!” Zach shouted. “Go long!” He then threw the ball almost to the other side of the rec area, where the red shirted boy… the smallest of the group… caught it and the group all celebrated, waving to Zach and thanking him.

Valerie stepped aside, watching the interaction with a smile on her lips.

Turning back toward their path, Zach continued. “Now… where was I. Anyway… it was an eye opening experience coming back… cause you don’t realize how much life happens in just a few short years. It’s nice to be back and my sister & their lot welcome me whenever I’m in town. But God, what I wouldn’t have given to have been there for a first step or to stand by Jane when she got married. Life happens really quick.” He smiled a slightly sad smile that slowly warmed then brightened. “So, ya gotta step up and enjoy it when you can!”

LCDR Hartley, CTO

“Life does happen quick.” Valerie said wistfully. She understood where he was coming from, even if she didn’t completely resonate with the thought. “I’m sorry I brought it up…” She said. “I didn’t mean to bring the mood down on your first day back in uniform.” Ashford gave Hartley an apologetic smile, falling silent for a moment afterwards, as they walked towards their assigned gate.

“It’s fine Val, seriously. It’s one thing to visit with someone about it versus having a holovid cam stuck in your face.” Zach said with a smile.

“I have a nephew as well.” Valerie finally broke the silence. “He’s five.” She said with a smile. “I missed a lot of his life too, though… it doesn’t compare to what you went through…” She added. “Why didn’t you choose to remain then?” She asked, curiosity once again, taking the best of her. “Life happens really quick, as you said. Aren’t you afraid of all the moments on Earth that will go by without you, while you’re stuck in a tin can in space?”

Lt. Cmdr. Ashford, CSO

Hartley shrugged, then paused for a moment before continuing. “There’s a big difference though. It’s one thing when you can call, write letters, or exchange pictures… which you can do from anywhere in the Federation’s Subspace Network.”

He pulled his personal Comm from his belt, rolled it in his fingers and flipped it open. There was a pic on the lock screen of Hartley being dogpiled by a brown haired little boy and his younger, auburn-haired sister. All were laughing. “It’s quite another when everybody you love thinks your dead. Space service, with modern comm capabilities, is fairly easy.”

Hartley made a fair point, thought to be fair… she was known to be so consumed by her work that her family thought something had happened to her after several days without any kind of contact.

Motioning toward the large bay windows and the beautiful starships beyond. “And I mean… who da’ hell wouldn’t want to have this for an office?!”

LCDR Hartley, CTO

Valerie laughed. “I don’t have an argument for that.” They had made it to their gate, and slowly made their way to closer to the windows and to the observation deck built so that waiting travelers could enjoy the beautiful scenery outside.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ashford said, leaning against the railing that ran across the extension of the deck, and gazing at the small slice of cosmos before them — the busy movement of ships coming and going against a backdrop of stars. “And to think that this is but a small part of it… that there’s so much more space out there to explore.” She chuckled. “Makes you realize how truly privileged we are.”

Lt. Cmdr. Ashford, CSO

Hartley joined Ashford leaning on the rail and gazing out into the great beyond. “Absolutely…” He began with a sigh. “… especially to be in this era of humanity’s personal voyage of exploration. I mean… think of it. We’re only a millennia removed from a time when gravity hadn’t even been theorized, much of the uneducated members of humanity thought the world was flat, and even going from London to the Far East could take months with no guarantee of survival. And now…” He leaned slightly towards Val and motioned with his head. “… we can hop in one of those things, and be a galaxy away before we even need to take a nap!”

“Only a millennium.” Valerie repeated with a chuckle. “You make it sound like its a short time.”

Hartley suddenly chuckled aloud as he spotted a young redhead with a telephoto lens about 15 meters away behind a decorative bush. “Ya know Val… people can be just weird… stupid or whatever. Never worrying about others or their privacy.” He shrugged and nodded toward the young woman. “You’ll likely be all over the papers tomorrow as my new love interest… much apologizes.” Zach then looked straight at the girl and in an almost comically perfect Southern accent shouted at the girl. “Go on now… GET!”

LCDR Hartley, CTO

Ashford turned to face the direction Hartley was pointing at. Any hint of lightheartedness gone as she spotted the woman. “I’ll be back in a moment.” She muttered, hoping Zach had heard her, before she was gone.

Fifteen meters were not much for an active duty Starfleet officer, let alone one with past Intelligence training. She had once turned in a Romulan agent, she could get to a paparazzo before the woman had started to run. The only issue had been the head start Hartley had unknowingly given her by shouting at her.

Fortunately, after being noticed, the young woman had decided to start packing her camera instead of immediately moving away. That quickly changed when she spotted the Science officer approaching. She wasn’t too far away from the bush she had been hiding behind when Ashford’s hand laid on her shoulder. Frozen in place, the young photographer started at Valerie whose face opened in a polite yet cold smile.

“Hi, I couldn’t help but notice you taking pictures of me and Commander Hartley over there. Any chance you can tell me what that was for?”

Lt. Cmdr. Ashford, CSO

The young woman was noticeably shorter than Val and gulped slightly as she looked up at her, her eyes skimming over her rank the heartbeat before their eyes met. “Commander, I’m a stringer for the New London Times. I was taking… um… a few shots… of Commander Hartley before he, um, headed into the Black.” She then seemed to compose herself and bravely added. “Have you and Commander Hartley been together long?”

Reporter

Valerie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. So Hartley had been right. She would have been all over the papers as his new love interest. Or at least all over the New London Times. Did people really care that much about Hartley? About some poor sod whose life achievement seemed to have been surviving a Romulan attack by getting stuck inside a transporter buffer for a while? Did that really move that much gossip?

Ashford’s silence would have told the woman that she had asked the wrong question, even though the Science Officer didn’t look completely hostile. Then, with a sigh, Valerie’s hand left the reporter’s shoulder, motioning instead palm up towards the holophoto equipment the woman was still holding. “Your camera please.” There was no pleasantry, and it was stated as an order coming from someone that was fully expecting it to be obeyed.

Lt. Cmdr. Ashford, CSO