Anyone for Velocity (Part One of Two)

Junora Loris, the Nuan operations advisor awoke from her dream in a sweat.

*Got to find Brayden.* She thought, her instincts taking over.

"Computer. Where is Cadet McCaffee ?" She asked the computer.

[Cadet Brayden McCaffee is in holodeck two.] The computer replied.

Junora got dressed and headed out of her quarters and towards the nearest turbolift.

"Deck eight, holodeck two." She requested as she entered the lift. Inside, she met with Doctor Katts who was heading back to Sickbay and Lieutenant Commander Tyra who was heading towards the officers' mess.

"Doctor, Commander." Junora acknowledged.

"Commander Loris. How are you ?" Tyra asked.

"A little sleepy, but I have just woke up." She replied. "I've been feeling off for a couple of days now, I can't seem to get enough sleep."

"You do seem a little distracted Junora." Doctor Katts announced. "Maybe you should come by Sickbay soon and we can give you a complete medical work-over. I've been meaning to get you and the Ambassador into sickbay ever since I arrived onboard, but things have been busy. I know that your race is closely related to the Bajorians, I wouldn't mind taking a look at just how close your DNA is. It would also be nice to have your medical profiles in the database for future reference."

"I'll do that soon Doctor, thank you. I'll also have a word with Major Mual. I'm sure she won't object to your request." Junora replied.

The doors to the turbolift opened and Doctor Katts left.

"Where are you heading ?" Tyra asked Junora.

"To the holodecks, for some reason I've got this thought in my head that I must see Cadet McCaffee. I just can't get Brayden's face out of my mind." Junora said in reply.

A smile crossed Tyra's face. All of the Bridge crew knew of Brayden's attraction towards the young Nuan Lieutenant Commander. Now it seemed that love had started to have its effects on Junora as well.

"Oh, I'm just heading for something to eat." Tyra replied, trying to hide what she was thinking.

"Why are you smiling Commander ?. Have I said something funny ?" Junora asked.

"It's nothing, just a happy thought crossing my mind." Tyra said. "Hey, here's an idea, do you play Velocity at all ?." She asked.

"I've seen some of the officers playing." Junora replied "But I've never actually played a game. It looks quite physical"

"I've never played either." Tyra announced "I know all the rules and I've studied various video replays. It's something that I've always wanted to try though. Would you like to have a match sometime ?"

Junora thought for a moment, she had found life rather mundane over the past months and the only other Nuan aboard was Major Mual. Apart from Brayden and the Ambassador, Junora had no really friends aboard the Leviathan. Here was a chance to make a new friend and Junora knew that she had to grasp it with both hands.

"Sure, I'd love to play ?" She replied.

"I'll see if I can book a holodeck in the next couple of day. I'll let you know" Tyra said.

They both exited the turbolift together and then split off in opposite directions.

Junora reached the holodeck and opened the door. What she saw before her was exactly what she had been expecting. It was Brayden's meadow programme, a re-creation of a meadow on Earth, with green grass and birds flying, the sun warming your face and the breeze gently keeping you cool. Junora hadn't taken in the beauty of the scene before, but for some reason deep inside she knew why Brayden liked this place so much. Back on the Nuan homeworld scenes like this were no longer available, the war with the Bariens had seen to that. But with them now defeated and with the help of the Nuan's new-found friends in the Federation, Junora hoped that when they returned home she would one day be able to look at such a scene on the Nuan homeworld again.

"Hi, Junora. What are you doing here ?" Brayden asked as he saw the young Lieutenant Commander standing just inside the holoarch.

"Actually I was looking for you." Junora replied hesitation in her voice.

"OK." Brayden said, puzzled by Junora's hesitation. Usually it was Brayden who was always 'stumbling around for words, not Junora. "Would you like to go find somewhere to sit and talk ?" Brayden asked.

Junora thought for a moment, her mind 'clouded' with all kinds of thoughts. "Yes, let's go find somewhere to talk." She finally replied.

They walked side by side until they reached a stream with a steep bank.

"This looks like a good place." Brayden remarked, sitting down on the banking watching the water flow by.

Junora sat beside Brayden not saying a word.

"So what do you want to talk about ?" Brayden asked "The weather ?. Always sunny here you know." He joked.

Junora again paused before speaking.

"Do you know the rules to Velocity ?" She asked.

"That's an odd question." Brayden remarked.

"Is it ?. I suppose it is. Lieutenant Commander Tyra has asked if I'd like to play and I said yes. I've watch games being played, but I've just realised I don't know any of the rules." Junora replied.

"Well that was a little silly." Brayden said "Do you know if Tyra is any good ?. You might end up facing a heavy defeat."

"She claimed that she's never played, but had always wanted to. Do you think she was lying ?." Junora asked. "If she was lying then why ?."

Brayden laughed.

"Was there any kind of wager involved." He asked. "Whoever wins get some kind of prize from the other person, something like that ?"

"Not that I am aware of." Junora replied.

"My advice to you is this. If Tyra does make such a wager before you start the game then you've been 'hustled'. Just pack your bags and walk away from the court." Brayden said.

"Hustled, I don't understand ?" Junora replied a puzzled look on her face.

"Sometimes people make out that they can't play certain games, when they can. They hide their true abilities until they think their opponent is ready then make some ridiculous bet. Their opponent thinks that there is a possibility to win the bet, so they accept. But of course the hustler always wins." Brayden explained.

"Does this happen a lot ?" Junora asked.

"Not really, certainly not in the more professional games. However, between strangers and in the more seedy parts of the Federation, it has been known to happen." Brayden replied. "Don't worry, I've played a few games in my time and I know a few moves myself which I could show you sometime. Computer, start Velocity training programme Alpha One."

Suddenly the green meadows and the stream disappeared to be replaced by a Velocity court.

"We're not really dressed for playing, so let's just watch a game from the side lines and I'll explain some of the rules." Brayden said. "Computer run Velocity holo-replay game, Jenson versus Salo, Stardate 2382249, match seven. This is probably one of my favourite match replays; I could describe to you every move that's made and all the possible outcomes. It's for the Earth Velocity championship of 2382, both players have won three matches and this is the decider."

The two young officers spent the next couple of hours watching the Velocity Game, Brayden explaining to Junora what was happening on the court.

[Cadet McCaffee to the Bridge.] Lieutenant Commander Barker's voice came over the intercom.

"Coming, Commander." Brayden said "Time to go. I've got a duty shift on the Bridge in five minutes. I'll maybe see you later, in the mess hall."

"I'll walk with you to the turbolift, I need to see Major Maul sometime, might as well be now." Nuan replied.

The two of them left the holodeck, Brayden shutting down the programme as they left and headed for the turbolift. As they walked, Junora continued to talk about why she was going to see the Major.

On the Bridge, Lieutenant Commander Barker was in command, about ten minutes before the change in duty shift. Some of the Alpha shift personnel had already arrived on the Bridge and were discussing with their Gamma shift counterparts any problems to keep an eye on. Chu had noticed that Brayden was not on the Bridge yet. This wasn't something odd, but he knew that the Captain had put a formal warning on Brayden's record for being late for duty shifts.

"Computer, located Cadet Brayden McCaffee."

[Cadet McCaffee is in holodeck two.]

"Is there anyone else with him ?" Chu asked.

[Lieutenant Commander Junora Loris is also present.]

"That explains it." Chu said to himself in a low voice. "Cadet McCaffee to the Bridge."

[Coming Commander] Came the reply from Brayden on the holodeck.

Five minutes later, Brayden emerged from the turbolift, two minutes before he was due to start his shift.

He walked towards the Commander and said thank you, before heading down to the Helm position. Brayden knew that he owned the Commander one and he knew that his punctuality was lax. Chu had made sure that he had arrived on time. Captain Devore entered the Bridge a minute later and walked towards the command chair. Chu moved aside and took the vacant first officers' chair, allowing the Captain to sit down.

"What's our status ?" Captain Devore asked.

"We're still heading towards our destination using the auxiliary warp drive. We think we've found the problem with the Deflector dish and Engineering is currently replicating some replacement parts that should be installed within the next day or so. They say that should take no more than a couple of hour, but of course means we'll have to drop out of warp for the duration. Commander Tyra has estimated that she will probably need another twelve hours once the deflector is operational to get the Slipstream drive operational." Chu replied.

"Good. Any news from the King ?" Devore asked.

"They are still heading towards the Class-M planet we detected the other day and have reported back about an hour ago. Their long-range scans have confirmed large deposits of Dilithium as well as lush vegetation. They estimate that they will reach the planet in another thirty six hours." Chu reported.

"Excellent." Devore said, looking around at the Bridge crew "And for once, Brayden is on time for his shift." He said in a sarcastic voice.

"Aren't I always Captain." Brayden said from the Helm, a smirk on his face.

"If that's all Captain." Chu said rising from his seat.

"Fine, Commander. I'll see you at the daily briefing later." Devore replied.

Chu walked towards the turbolift and headed back to his quarters to get some well-earned sleep.