Runabout USS Thames....
Axeline awoke with a start, his body covered in sweat. Quickly he rose from the bunk and went into the utility room, took a sonic shower and got dressed in his Starfleet uniform. His final act was to attach the two gold pips onto his collar, the first time he'd worn his new rank.
The nightmares had become more frequent ever since he'd heard about the mission of the USS Hornet. His memory was clear only back ten years, beyond that he only had vague images. The previous four hundred years or so of his life was a mystery, even to him. He'd been found some ten years earlier adrift in a Federation shuttle within the Briar patch. Injured and in some kind of deep hibernation, he'd survived the previous eighty years, but only just. Having suffered a head trauma, almost his entire life had been wiped from his memory.
The nightmares were of images from his past that Axeline had no conscious recollection. From his vague recollection when awake, they all appeared to be of some kind of war.
Axeline walked into the command area of the runabout.
"How are we doing?" he asked Ensign Jakobs, the Trill at the helm.
"We'll be dropping out of warp in about five minutes, sir," the Ensign replied. "You picked the right time to wake up. Had a good sleep?"
"Don't ask," Axeline replied, taking the seat in front of the operations console.
As the shuttle decelerated and realigned with normal space, the view was amazing. Axeline hadn't been back to Earth in nearly five years, the last time he'd seen Earth had been as he had left for his first assignment to Starbase 612, where he'd stayed. But he knew Earth wasn't his home, that was somewhere far away.
He'd still have been on the Starbase if it hadn't been for a transmission sent to Axeline. Five weeks earlier, someone had sent an anonymous message describing the launch of a new vessel, the USS Hornet. At first Axeline had dismissed it, but then a second message arrived a week later.
That was when he'd seen where the Hornet was posted. Someone wanted Axeline on that vessel and part of Axeline wanted to go. He wanted answers to questions that forever floated around in his head. But the rest of him didn't want to go, he'd made a new life for himself, one with which he was happy.
Then the transfer orders came through, along with the promotion. Someone had made the decision for Axeline; he was to report to Commodore Wallace aboard the Hornet by the 30th of October as the ship's new CMO.
[Sector 001 flight control to incoming runabout. Please identify yourself.] A voice came over the comm link.
"This is runabout USS Thames, Ensign Jakobs and Lieutenant Redinium aboard. We have been ordered to proceed to the USS Hornet," Jakobs replied.
[Acknowledged. Welcome to Sector 001.]
"Thank you flight control. Thames out," Jakobs acknowledged.
Half an hour later, the runabout had landed in the Hornet's main shuttlebay and the Doctor's personal possessions were off-loaded.
"I'll make sure they reach your quarters, Doc," Jakobs said.
"Thanks a lot Jake," Axeline replied. "I suppose I better go report to the Commodore."
Heading for the turbolift he entered the empty cab. Just as the doors closed, a young woman in command red ran into the lift.
"Where to?" Axeline asked.
"Wherever the Commodore is," Commander Wolf replied. "By the way, I'm Commander Jenna Wolf, and you must be Lieutenant Redinium, our new CMO."
"How did you know?" Axeline asked.
"I just do," Jenna replied with a smile.
"Computer, locate Commodore Wallace," Axeline requested.
<Commodore Wallace is in the ready room.>
"Bridge," Axeline ordered.
Meanwhile....
Commodore Wallace took a seat at his new desk and picked up a data PADD from the desk. This contained most of the information about the ship's new CMO and was enlightening to read. But there was a great deal of information missing, especially about how he was found. He'd asked Starfleet for the Enterprise-E's logs for that time and he'd been granted limited access. That information had not yet been transmitted, but Richard was hopeful that it would before they left Spacedock.
The most puzzling thing about all this however, was why Axeline had been assigned to the Hornet in the first place. His medical career spanned less that ten years, half of that in Medical school, the rest at a remote outpost. Okay, it was an impressive career, but the Doctor had gotten himself into trouble more than once. But most Starship CMOs had experience in medicine spanning many years, sometimes decades.
This assignment had been one of the few that Wallace had had no control over, the transfer had already been approved even before Admiral Ross had told Wallace about the Hornet and it's mission. Did someone in Starfleet want this alien onboard, did he know more than he had told Starfleet all those years ago when Axeline had been first found?
Just then the door chimed.
"Enter," Wallace ordered.
Two officers walked in and stood at attention. Wallace quickly figured out who they were. The young woman wore command red, the other, a tall male, wore blue.
"Commander Jenna Wolf, reporting for duty sir," she stated, passing her transfer orders on a PADD to the Commodore, who read it briefly.
"Sir, Lieutenant Axeline Joxal Redinium reporting for duty as well," Axeline stated, with a hint of a smile.
The great Commodore Wallace, he thought to himself. Since being forced to join the crew of the Hornet, Axeline had read up on the Commodore's career.
The Commodore handed Axeline a second PADD. "Welcome aboard the Hornet, both of you. Doctor Redinium, I suggest you go and meet your medical team; we will be leaving for Supply Base 901 within an hour."
With that Axeline left the Commodore's office and headed for sickbay.
As he entered the sickbay, it appeared empty. Then he noticed a male in the office, back to the door.
"I think this is my office," Axeline said as he reached the door.
The man in the chair jumped up, more out of fright then respect.
"I'm sorry sir," the man apologized. "I didn't sense you come in. You must be Lieutenant Axeline Redinium."
Axeline just smiled, realizing from the statement something about his young friend.
"Empath?" Axeline asked.
"And telepathic," the young man replied, regaining his composure. "Lieutenant Tyrran Wolf. Medical officer."
"Any relation to our XO?" Axeline inquired.
"Brother, Twin brother actually," Tyrran replied.
"So that's how she knew," Axeline remarked under his breath.
"You've met Jenna then," Tyrran remarked.
"Yes I have. I suppose you're wondering why you couldn't sense my presence earlier," Axeline stated.
"Actually, yes," Tyrran replied. "I couldn't sense you until you came into the office. Are you telepathic?"
"I'm afraid not, but for some reason empaths have a problem sensing my emotions unless I'm very close. Somehow, my mind seems to be able to block empaths from long range. But it is still possible for a telepath to read my mind, just like I suspect your sister did in the turbolift," Axeline explained.
"That's interesting," Tyrran remarked.
"So how does my chair feel?" Axeline asked.
For a moment, Tyrran was stumped.
"Not to worry, you've got at least three years to come up with an answer. Until then I look forward to working with you, Mister Wolf," Axeline said.
Tyrran left the office and headed out of sickbay.
Axeline sat down in the still warm chair and smiled. Getting comfortable, he switched on the PADD the Commodore had handed him and started to read.
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