Chapter 123. Celia’s perfect vacation
"That's right," she nodded slowly. "I still have some time, though. If we share command on this mission, we won't need a new one for the time being," she decided. "As for the rest of the crew, it's not going to be easy. Some are quite far from here. A week may not be enough time."
Noah smiled and said, "Then we can't waste any more time." It was like before, they were working together again, and he was enjoying the moment. So together they set about reassembling the crew.
Leaving the gym together, Tini and Mi Zhiwa both completed the two-hour training plan, and now they are both exhausted. Although a warm post-workout shower may relieve some muscle tension, true recovery requires getting enough sleep in bed. They walked silently through the corridors of the cabin, their quarters near each other. They were too tired and in no mood to talk. Anyway, there is nothing that cannot be discussed until tomorrow. They meet every day and have talked about everything. Especially regarding the men of the right age on board. But they all agreed that there were probably only three or four people who could be truly convincing. And this situation may change after getting to know these people more deeply.
As they rounded the corner of a corridor, they almost bumped into Delilah. Tiny was surprised and stammered an apology. She was too surprised to react better. After all, Delilah was one of those three or four men who stood out.
"Hello you two, beautiful ladies," he responded better. "How are you?"
Mi Zhiwa just waved her hands to give up. "Tired," she said simply. "The bed is calling me."
Tiny nodded in agreement. She didn't want to talk anymore.
"Then you should go to bed," Delilah said with a smile, but before she continued walking, he glanced at Tiny. "Can I talk to you?" he asked softly.
Tiny's eyes widened. Before she could react, Mi Zhiwa had already realized it. She analyzed Tom's tone. "I can't stand any longer, I'm leaving first," she said apologetically, turning around and walking away faster than Tiny had hoped.
Now that she and Delilah stood face to face, she didn't know if she wanted to have this conversation.
"Tini, I know this is none of my business, but I just can't help but ask you this question," Delilah began, looking her straight in the eyes. "I'm always a little uneasy in my heart. I saw the way you and Nilf got along and talked. It was the same in the bar. The intimate behavior between you made me feel a little strange. Is there something going on between you?"
Even though she didn't want to, Tiny couldn't help but laugh. "Between Nilfer and me?" she asked amusedly. The idea was beyond her imagination. "No," she said. "He's my friend. A very good friend. But that's it."
It could be seen from Delilah's face that the tension was finally relieved. Apparently, he really thought about it seriously. "Then we can go get a drink together. Just the two of us," he emphasized.
"Delilah, I don't know..." Tiny began hesitantly. Suddenly, Pike's memories came flooding back to him. He was also a co-worker and then dumped her. Not only that, he betrayed her. How could she be sure that Delilah wouldn't be like this?
"Please, Tiny. Please. We're not strangers."
They already spent a lot of time together after get off work. In the lounge area, bar or observation deck. But there are always others present. Mi Zhiwa, Nirfo or his friends. They were pleasant times, yes, and although she had noticed him, Tiny never seriously considered taking it further. Had she set him up for this? She didn't realize it.
"I don't think we should do this," she replied. Although not very convincing, it was a motivation for him.
"Then listen to what you have to say and let's give it a try. At least go on a date," he didn't give up.
However, when he mentioned her heart, he touched her sensitive spot. "No," she responded vehemently. She had made up her mind, based on her experience with Pike, that she would never listen to her heart again.
He was surprised by her reaction and looked at her with wide eyes. "Tini..."
"Goodnight," she interrupted, and left him. She walked quickly down the hall, giving him no chance to continue speaking.
Delilah shook her head and looked at her back. He was a little confused. What on earth did he say that caused such a reaction? Sometimes women are really hard to understand.
At the corner of the next corridor, her residence was within sight, and Mi Zhiwa was waiting for her. She greeted Tiny with a thoughtful expression.
Tiny looked at her friend with sparkling eyes. She was so excited now that she couldn't guarantee not to hurt innocent people. "What's wrong? Are you eavesdropping?"
"Why did you do that?" Mi Zhiwa asked calmly. She's professional enough not to be irritated by Tiny.
"Should I say yes to every suitor? I can't say yes to every date request."
"Of course not," Mi Zhiwa said soothingly. "But Delilah is no ordinary person. Does your previous experience with Pike still affect you?"
"Mi Zhiwa, I have told you before, if our friendship is to continue to exist, stop playing the role of a psychologist," Tini emphasized. Although she tried to show a conciliatory tone, The effect was not very successful.
"I'm just worried about you," Mi Zhiwa explained calmly. "You haven't dated anyone in the past. Not even in the nearly year you've been on Earth. The situation with Pike was the extreme exception. It will never happen again. Trust me. You You should learn to trust again." She raised her hand to stop Tiny's response. "Just letting you think about it. I don't want any more."
Tiny took a deep breath but said nothing. Of course she knew Mi Zhiwa was right, but things were not as simple as they sounded. First, she had to believe it herself. But she believes that will come slowly over time. "I will," she agreed politely.
"We'll see," Mi Zhiwa smiled. "See you tomorrow good night."
"Good night to you too." Then they went their separate ways. When Tiny entered her residence, she had to think of Delilah again. He seemed really friendly. However, she cannot accept his invitation now. She had already rejected him, and her pride would not allow her to mention it again.
Noah leaned back in the chair with satisfaction and closed his eyes. He had been sitting in his office for hours, processing documents, negotiating, and submitting transfer applications. The last application had just been sent out a few moments ago. Now all he could do was wait for a response. However, there are actually not many applications still pending. Most transfers have been approved or have been justified and denied. The most common problem is that the former crew member is too far away from the earth in the new station to return to the starting point in time. Or they simply don’t want to go back. Because it’s true that some crew members feel so comfortable in their new positions that they don’t want to go back. Of course, such a decision is also worthy of respect. As a result, a new crew team gradually took shape. In his opinion, the most important people are already together.
His daughter Tini, the psychologist Mi Zhiwa and the mixed-race Neil Fo, the three of them served together on the Pearl. Noah remembers. At that time, he put in a lot of effort to put these three people on a ship. He definitely wanted Tiny and Mi Zhiwa to be on a ship together. They got along very well on the last mission and became close friends, and he didn't want to ruin this friendship. Besides, they were both relatively young in the fleet and had just joined, and he didn't want them to have the negative experience of separation in a military organization like the fleet. Dealing with this problem is relatively simple.
Nilf is indeed a more difficult problem. The half-Klingon had wanted to quit Starfleet after learning of the crew assignments. In a long conversation, Noah finally understood Nilf's thoughts. This man has always been a wanderer between two extremely different races. As a hybrid of both races, he was neither accepted by Vulcan nor Klingon. He has nowhere to go and is doomed to be alone. And this wandering life gradually integrated into his nature. On the Republic, he felt the warmth of home for the first time and established a family-like relationship with the crew. Now that all of that has been shattered, Nilfer is reluctant to adapt to his new surroundings again. And he hadn't been in Starfleet long enough to see Starfleet as home rather than just a separate ship.
It took a lot of effort for Noah to convince Nilfer that Starfleet was not a society where he could come and go as he pleased. While he had the right to resign from Starfleet, he could never return. Eventually, Noah was able to convince Nilf to give it another try. Ultimately, his disciplined, Vulcan side emerged stronger, trumping his impulsive, Klingon side. By extracting some favors that were still owed to him, Noah managed to get the half-Vulcan transferred to the Pearl. Nilf and Tiny were the closest friends, so at least three of the former crew members served together. Everything seems to be running pretty smoothly. At least I didn't hear any other thoughts about resigning from Nilf.
All three transfer applications were approved. The Pearl is patrolling the Neutral Zone, the border of the Klingon Empire. The trio will be picked up four days later and returned to Earth. Just in time.
Chief Engineer Alva Daisy and Dr. Muse Celia are still on Earth. Daisy has reached an impasse on the hyperspace project. She will be transferred out of there. He has arranged this. However, he was unsure whether Daisy had been notified of the transfer. He had heard little from her in the past few weeks, and even less so in the last few days. Typically, she doesn't like being moved from projects that aren't progressing. She always saw her role as delivering results. Ending work early always felt like an escape to her. And that's not good for her. Things may be different now. When they last had a chance to talk at length a few weeks ago, she seemed frustrated. She would have been happy about the transfer then because that project was not progressing at all. The recent conversations had been brief, but he had the impression that she seemed to be doing well now. However, no progress is visible in official reports. Therefore, the reason for her improved mood is less clear. He didn't know why.
Celia decides to take a break and embarks on a faltering journey through the rugged passes of the Himalayas. She is astonished, though she hates to admit it, by being able to manipulate time so easily and change the course of billions of lives. It also pains her that the resulting genocide has been erased and no one will ever know the suffering the victims endured. In the alternate timeline, the residents of Terra Seti's colony suffered and died, and she witnessed it all. And now, it seems like it never happened. No one noticed and no one was punished for these crimes. For her, this was unbearable. So she decided to embark on a journey of self-discovery, traveling alone across the high plateaus of the Himalayas. Noah also wasn't sure if she would come back. Maybe they need to consider looking for another chief medical officer. That remains to be seen.
The rest of the leadership team will come together again. Jeffrey is already on his way to Earth. He had spent some time in Vulcan's archives. There he wanted to find records about Cindy. After all, Vulcans had been traveling through the stars centuries before humans. Maybe there are some old records about Cindy that have never been noticed in the past. Additionally, he planned to meet Buddhadhibo, the only survivor of the Starfleet mission at the time. Noah is particularly looking forward to this report.
They will pick up Ingemar on the way. They would rendezvous with the Lexington and pick up the Ingmar. The Lexington has received orders to return to Earth, where it encounters the Republic.
The head of the security department, Murakami Io, had arrived on Earth a few hours ago. He was currently busy in another room reorganizing the security staff. Like every department, he has some new members to adjust to, as not the entire crew can return. But some level of turnover is normal at the start of each new mission. So getting used to it will be quick this time around.
Noah can't wait to get going. Even though it's not his ship, he'll be spending some time with the entire crew again. He would have some time to watch among them and get used to the new command structure, and then he would have to let them move on. In this way, the moment of farewell would be delayed again, although he knew full well that it would eventually come.
The sound of the doorbell brought him from his thoughts back to reality. He quickly checked to make sure no sensitive personal data was being leaked around before inviting the visitor in.
It was Carol who came in.
"Ah, Captain," Noah greeted her cheerfully. "Please come in."
"Admiral," she smiled suspiciously. "So happy?" She didn't quite understand. After all, they had a lot of work to do.
"I've submitted all my transfer requests and the crew is almost here now," he explained his good mood. "Only one candidate remains undecided, and you have not made a recommendation for chief deputy."
"It still takes a while, like I said before."
"The next candidate on the Republic should be Ingmar," Noah continued, ignoring her rebuttal.
Carol rolled her eyes in dissatisfaction and sighed softly.
"Of course, officers from other ships can also be transferred," he slightly withdrew his suggestion, but still emphasized: "I think Ingmar is a suitable candidate and he will be competent."
"There's still some time for that," Carol replied clearly. She didn't want to talk about it now.
Of course Noah knew it was her decision and he couldn't interfere. It's her crew, her representatives, her decision. She had to work with the man and develop trust in him. When he chose Carol as his deputy, he would not accept any interference. Therefore, he said no more on this issue. "I have to talk to Daisy about her transfer next." He grinned. "I'd better go see her in person. She might have a problem with me if I arrange her transfer directly."
"And I'd have a problem with you, too, if I had to deal with an unhappy chief engineer," Carol responded, but the corners of her mouth also turned up slightly.
Noah looked at her. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he should thank Cindy. They gave him a chance to spend some time with his old crew again. And then, knowing that all these people are on this ship, it's a great feeling. There is no better feeling than this. Maybe he really should thank Cindy.
