As soon as the Virgo had returned to Earth, Johnny found himself at odds. The ship was in the process of being mothballed and most of the non-operational crew had been dismissed pending further assignment. Johnny took the opportunity to take some much needed leave. It was something he had to do, and had to do on his own -- not even Jenara could accompany him.
The Ghostway sing had lasted nine days and had brought out every adult male in his clan in . Johnny's exploits had travelled ahead of him to his homeland, and he was something of a hometown hero: in his absence, applications to Starfleet Academy by people of the Navajo Nation had tripled.
The morning after the sing, the sun rose over the desert, casting its reddish glow through the doorway of the Chee family household. From the outside, the home looked much like a traditional mud and log hogan, but the interior offered every possible modern convenience -- tradition only counted so far.
Johnny sat with his parents drinking coffee. "So, son, when do we meet this wife of yours?" his father asked.
"As soon as she presents her final report to Starfleet Command. Jenara managed to do a lot of cutting-edge research in the Gamma Quadrant. But that shouldn't be more than a day or two now," Johnny said. "I'm sure you'll like her."
"I'm sure I will," his mother replied. The Navajo Nation is nothing if not a strict matriarchy. "Tell me more about your daughter," she asked. Johnny told her the story of how Jenara and Jonathan Lataro had been used in an Eriarti experiment.
"There are stories about those whom you describe," his mother said. "Normally these are wolf stories and are not to be told, but it seems you've had a bit of acquaintance already."
You could say that, Johnny thought. The wolf stories referred to instances of witchcraft in the past. The Eriarti were held in the oral tradition to be exceptionally powerful witches. "I'd prefer not to think about it more than necessary myself," Johnny answered, "but they will be back, and we have to be ready. The Eriarti represent a threat at least as powerful as the Borg."
"Yes, the Borg..." Johnny's father said, descending deep into thought. He'd worked on an orbital platform at the time of the first Borg attack; the self-destruction of the Borg cube had only narrowly averted his assimilation. The com station chimed. Johnny's father stepped up to the screen. "Jeremiah Chee, how can I help you?" he asked.
The image of a Starfleet lieutenant appeared. [Good morning Mr. Chee. Is your son present?] Jeremiah nodded, and gestured for Johnny.
Johnny stepped up to the screen. "Colonel Chee -- how may I help you, Lieutenant?"
[This is the Starfleet Bureau of Personnel. We have your new orders. You are to report to Starfleet Command by 1200 hours today.]
"Acknowledged." The communication ended.
"Well, folks, it looks like my shore leave is ending a little earlier than I thought..."
Johnny beamed into the huge central atrium of Starfleet Command and oriented himself at a kiosk. Promptly and smartly he walked into the Personnel Bureau. A civilian clerk took his name and directed him to an office.
"Good morning, Colonel," the same lieutenant Johnny talked to earlier said in greeting. "We have some good news and some bad news for you."
"What's the good news?" Johnny asked, although he thought he should have asked for the bad news first.
"Given the very high recommendations of Captain Maruu and Commander Lataro, and your outstanding service record, we are prepared to offer you command of a company aboard the USS Darius. It's a brand new ship -- a state of the art MacArthur-class troop transport headed for the Mulluran Sector."
Not bad. Probably not a post for Jenara aboard, but something can be finagled, he thought confidently. "What's the bad news?"
The lieutenant looked a bit uncomfortable. "Uhh, sir, there's been a bit of a difficulty involving your promotions while in the Gamma Quadrant. It appears that the form SF-50 was not properly completed. Also there is additional difficulty corroborating many of the events that occured duringyour sojourn on Portanus V. Without independent verification we can't justify your promotion to colonel at this time," he said.
Johnny very carefully kept his temper in check despite a sudden impulse to break the lieutenant in half. "Okay, so I revert back to major. I can deal with that."
The lieutenant looked even more uncertain. "Uhh, there's a minor problem with that, too. You lacked the time in grade to accept even a promotion to captain, much less major, at the time of the Xenon III campaign. We can't justify that promotion either."
"This is ridiculous!!!!"
"I'm terribly sorry, but this decision is out of my hands," the lieutenant replied. "We will, based upon your outstanding recommendations and superb service record, grant you the rank of Captain and the command aboard the Darius once you complete the time in grade requirement -- in about six months. That's the best we can do."
"The best you can do, Lieutenant? I ended up in the Gamma Quadrant as a tiny crystal cube and would have likely been floating there forever had not the Virgo intervened. I've spent the past three years watching my people get killed -- sometimes by the most brutal means possible. I've been sold out by Starfleet Intelligence and had my family threatened, and have been marooned on a primitive planet in the middle of a time warp. On top of that, I've faced down a planetary invasion -- of Earth, mind you -- and darn near got shot down for it! And this is the best you can do?"
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Yes, you are," Johnny thought, removing the colonel's rank pin from his collar. "But I'll take what you're offering. I don't exactly see any other offers!" he said. The lieutenant just happened to have the bars of a Marine First Lieutenant handy for the occasion. Johnny didn't even bother putting them on as he stormed out of the office.
"Hmmmm...it could have been worse," the Personnel lieutenant said as he read over Johnny's personnel file. "I'm still alive!"
Johnny decided not to return to Chaco Canyon that evening, instead taking a billet in the Bachelor Officers' Quarters at Starfleet Command. He'd been reading over the specifications and mission plan for the Darius -- If I'm going to take the post, I may as well do it right -- when his terminal alerted him to an incoming message.
[Good evening, Johnny. Hope I haven't disturbed you] a voice out of his past said.
"Comm-- Commodore Wallace!" Johnny said, almost reverting back to Wallace's Virgo rank. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"
[I heard that the Virgo had returned. Are you interested in an assignment?]
"I already have an assignment," Johnny said, telling Wallace about the Darius.
[We have a better deal, if you're interested,] another familiar voice said. Johnny saw Wallace joined on screen by his old friend Tarik, now apparently a colonel.
"Well, isn't this just Old Home Week?" Johnny said, glad to see his old friends, even if their fortunes appeared to be better than his.
[I'm assembling a crew for another deep exploration vessel, the USS Hornet,] Wallace said. [You did good work aboard the Virgo and Colonel Tarik assures me that you're one of the best officers he knows.]
"I'm honored," Johnny said. It was upon Tarik's recommendation that Johnny entered the Academy.
[I also heard about what Personnel did to you. I know what that's like; Personnel's screwed me too many times too. But I've talked to a few people a little higher on the food chain than Lieutenant Parsons.]
"And?" Johnny said, trying not to get his hopes up.
[I'm in need of a Security/Tactical Chief. The billet's yours, with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. It's not what you had, but it's better than where you're at now, Lieutenant,] Wallace said.
"I'd have to switch to Starfleet?"
[Nobody ever said the univese was fair,] Tarik replied. [But it's a sweet deal nonetheless.]
"What do I have to do?"
[I've sent the paperwork to your terminal. You can replicate your rank pins in the morning; everything's ready to go on greased rails,] Wallace said.
"How about Jenara? Any chance she can join this expedition as well?" Johnny said, hoping not to push his luck too far.
[As it so happens, I'm also looking for a Chief Science Officer. Have her contact me at 0900 tomorrow and we'll make the arrangements -- that is, if she's amenable.]
Johnny was pretty sure his wife would jump at the chance. "Thank you, sir," he said.
[Don't thank me just yet, Johnny -- the Mulluran Sector's still too damn hot for my liking! Report to SB901 by the end of the week. There are four different transports heading out here in the next two days. Wallace out.]
The next comm Johnny made was to Jenara. "Honey, you won't believe what just happened..."