<Alert. Now approaching destination.>
Garek looked up at the scoreboard above the rink. The clock on the scoreboard was counting down from 30 seconds. It was the third period, and he needed one more goal to win the conference championship. However, the computer was ordered to warn him when he was five minutes from SB901.
Plenty of time.
"Garek! Get your head back in the game!" Jon Valdago called to him from across the rink. Garek was standing motionless looking up at the scoreboard at center ice, with the puck sitting underneath him. "Pass the puck!"
"Oh, right!" Garek snapped back into "reality", and brought his stick down to the ice. He then began moving forward, and passed the puck across the blueline for Jon to chase down.
Twenty seconds left.
Jon lurched forward, knocking over a defender. He the quickly gathered up the puck, and moved towards the opposing teams goal.
Fifteen seconds left.
"Shoot the damned thing!" Garek looked on as the half human, half Kirusan skated across the ice, playing with the puck.
Ten seconds left.
"No need to worry." Jon looked through the facemask into the eyes of the opposing team's goal keeper. A small smirk then came across his face, and he fired the puck forward.
Five seconds.
The puck shot forward with a speed upwards of eighty miles per hour. It wobbled slightly in mid air. The goal keeper watched it intently and put his glove up in the puck's projected path. Suddenly, however, the puck wobbled out of control, dipping itself out of the path of the glove, and made it's way into the back of the net. The red light over the goal judges box went off, and the crowd began to go crazy with emotion. The buzzer blared, signifying the end of the game.
"About time." Garek smiled, and skated over to where his friend was.
"Told you no need to worry." Jon gave a wide grin.
<Warning. Approaching destination. Time to end of flight path: One minute.>
"Best end the program." Garek looked to Jon. Jon nodded in reply. "Computer, save program Loran season 1, and end program." The small personal holo emitter equipment that Jon had brought onboard to keep the two occupied shut down. The images faded, and Garek was left facing Jon, standing in a small, circular type of contraption placed on the floor. Garek then made his way up into the cockpit area of the Lambda Flier and switched flight controls over to manual. A joystick on a side panel slid out and flipped into position.
Jon made his way into the cockpit area as well, occupying the seat next to Garek. He began going over sensor readings. "We're coming out of the Briar Patch."
"I'm decreasing speed to quarter impulse." Garek keyed in a few buttons, and the Lambda Flier slowed down behind them, off in the distance, was a large, red plasma cloud. "Goodbye 'Briar Patch'."
"Lock in the coordinates of the base and I'll get us there."
"Aye aye, Skipper." Jon's fingers flew over the LCARS display. Course locked in. Bearing 010 mark 14."
"Thank you." Garek brought the nimble shuttle/fighter craft around into a wide bank, till it marked up with the cooridnates displayed on the screen. "Now, for a bit of housekeeping before we arrive."
"Why do I think I'm not going to like this?" Jon asked.
Garek smiled. "Simply start cleaning up your stuff on your foldout bunk, and clean up the card table and engineering counter, that's all. Remember that you're not suppose to be here. This isn't suppose to look like a pleasure cruise."
"Good point my friend." Jon smiled. "Don't want to get you in any trouble. And thanks again for this. I really needed to get out of the Gamma quadrant." Jon stood up, and made his way back aft.
"This is Lieutenent Commander Garek Loran of the shuttlecraft Lambda Flier, registry NCC-011883. Requesting landing clearence." Garek looked out the viewer upon a large station sitting just outside the Briar Patch.
"This is Docking Controller Chief Gregory Edwards, Supply Base 901. Lambda Flier you have clearance to enter the docking bay. The Lambda Flier is set to occupy bay 3. Welcome to Supply Base 901 Lieutenant Commander."
"Thank you Chief. Lambda Flier out." Garek closed the communications channel. Powering up the thrusters, the Lambda Flier moved forward slowly, gaining momentum. The "runway" lights were activated, and Garek was able to make out the deck officer with the light batons, pointing towards the side of the bay where he would be landing. The landing space lights were also lit, to aid in the landing progress. With the skill and patience of a surgeon, Garek flew the Lambda Flier into the bay with ease, enganging the anti-gravity generators, and lowered the landing skids. Then, gently, he set the shuttle down in the designated space. "Well, we're hear. That will be thrity-six bars of latinum?"
"Thirty-six bars? For what?" Jon gave Garek a quizzical look.
"Fare for transit to the base."
Jon gave Garek a smack in the back of the head, and made his way back into the personnel area.
"Ow..." Garek shut down the systems onboard the shuttle, and made his way aft as well. After a few moments, Garek flipped the switch opening the rear hatch and stepped out into the bay. Infront of him was a older man that Garek and Jonathan remembered.
"Welcome aboard Supply base 901. Good to see you guys again. I'm surprised you made it here so fast."
Garek smiled, "Well we learned a little bit about transwarp technology during our trip."
Jon stepped out of the Lambda Flier. "Hello Captain. Glad to be on da station."
Captain Jeffreys extended his hand, and shook Jon's. "Welcome aboard Supply Base 901 Lieutenant. We've got some talking to do."
"Yes, I understand, Sir. I've got a lot of expalining to do." Jon smiled.
"Funny, I didn't hear your Russian accent onboard the Flier, Jon."
"You must remember Garek, your ship has de uniwersal translator onboard. Dis station doesn't."
"Good point." Garek smiled.
Commander Jeffreys looked at the two. "Well Garek, I'll let you go to your quarters and check out Engineering. I'd like to see you, Lieutenant, in my office."
"Yes, Sir," the two men said.
Commander Jeffreys headed for his office. Valdago gave his friend a look and followed behind, waiting for the consequences of abandoning the Virgo.