Checking In on a Security Chief

Posted on 05 Sep 2020 @ 9:01am by Ensign Gwen Leighton

Mission: Mission 4 - Race against the machine
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: MD 6 1500
1370 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Michael drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Once again he felt that he was playing catch up. Bits and pieces were floating about in his head, MU Fox having had escaped,hurting Syvar and Amelia, He didn't quite know the extent as to what happened. There were about two or three people that could possibly give him some information. One of them would be Gwen, that is Chief of Security Gwen Leighton. It had been a little bit since they had first spoken, and he didn't know how she was doing other than she was alive and on the bridge when dealing with that Planet Killer.

Taking out his PADD, Michael sent off a message to Gwen, "I'd like to meet up with you to discuss some things,one of the subjects is about a mirror. What is your location?"

"Holodeck 1." Gwen responded, "Come on down."

"I'll be right there." Michael responded being curious as to what he would find.



The sound of waves crashing against the shore was a kind of therapy in Gwen's mind. A small grass hut that was called the 'Wandering Home' was nestled in the white sand and offered an array of enjoyable libations. Gwen quietly sipped something green that had a twirling umbrella while seated at the bar. Her usual uniform was replaced by a comfortable tanktop and flowing beach skirt.

He stepped inside, his eyes widening when the scent of the ocean and the sound of the waves greeted him. Oh how he missed the ocean.

Michael made his way to where Gwen sat,feeling a little out of place, him wearing his uniform, whilst she was in beach wear, and looking rather fetching.

"Hi, thank you for agreeing to see me." he looked about once more, feeling his shoulders relax. "My favorite sort of climate. Sun, sand and the ocean."

"I hope you don't mind my attire," Gwen said, a little aware of how bare her skin was, "I wasn't expecting a visitor." She motioned for him to join her, "Would you like a drink? The bar tender is programmed with a vast library of libations."


"Fits the scenery perfect, and you look great." he stated, "I'll have a mint lemonade, please." he stated to the bartender before sitting down. "I don't mean to intrude on your personal time, I'm just checking on things around the ship, and checking on friends."

He accepted the drink from the bartender, which had a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint. He took a sip and smiled perfect not too tart and not too sweet with the mint adding a cooling zest.

"How are you doing?"

"Well, I'm not rocking back and forth while weeping so - I'll say that's a positive thing." Gwen laughed, "The stress levels have been almost visible among my security staff as of late. There's just some things you can't prepare for. How are you doing with...everything?"

"I am.... okay for the most part, not happy with what MU had done to our fellow crew members and escaping. The loss of one of the security officers doesn't sit well with me. I had heard what happened and its terrible. Amelia told me that MU is dead, but...I for some reason do not think she is dead, even if the shuttle she was on exploded." Michael's brow furrowed.

"With how intelligent she is, and how cunning that woman was, I think she had a plan to escape and make it to where we would think she was dead. She is, what I would call, a mastermind. Have the transporter records been checked? I know I hadn't even checked on that until just now. We have been focusing on that behemoth out there that, we could have missed that she could have beamed out somewhere, while the shuttle was running a program that she had programmed before."

Michael shrugged, and sipped at his drink.

"Well..." Gwen stirred her drink with the straw, "Thinking like that is a one way street to not sleeping." She look at him, "There are always a lot of 'what if' scenarios in our job. If we spent the time going over them we'd second guess most of our choices and lose faith in almost everything."

A light tinkling of wind chimes caught her attention, "And how can one enjoy this kind of place if you're thinking like that." She motioned for the bartender to craft another round, "Tell me something else. Anything! As long as it's not related to mirror anything."


Michael accepted another drink from the bartender, listened to the cry of a lone seagull floating above the waves looking for a meal, as he thought of Gwen's request.

"Anything you say? Of course with in reason." he mused. " I could tell you the tale of a warm summer night, when just a lad, I met a mermaid."

He paused to look at Gwen, a whimsical smile upon his lips, as he continued on.

" I was just thirteen, sailing on my grandfather Cole's tall ship. The stars were gleaming like beautiful jewels nestled in the black velvet embrace of the sky. The moon was full, the color of a pearl, its silvery light cutting a path upon the waves. I was admiring the view, when I caught sight of a splash, and the glimpse of a tail of a large fish, upon the port side of the ship. The scales of the tail of which I saw, was greenish in hue. Excitedly, I looked to see if I could catch another glimpse. I did, then I saw rising from beneath the water, a rather beautiful woman just floating along with the waves. She had moved close to where the light of the lantern from one of the portholes, reflected upon the water. She smiled at me, her long dark hair dancing in the waves, she crooked a finger towards me, as if to entice me into the water to join her. I was half tempted in doing so, but also was reluctant. I couldn't abandon the ship at all."

He turned his gaze towards the ocean as he continued, a far away expression in his eyes. "Then, she started singing in a language I hadn't heard before, it was hauntingly beautiful. I found out later that the language of the song was gaelic. I was definitely mesmerized. When the last notes of the song grew silent, she somehow pulled herself up to the railing where I was, gently kissed me on the cheek, then dove back into the sea."

Michael gave a little bit of a chuckle, turning his dark gray eyes back towards Gwen, "I told my grandfather about it, all he did was chuckle, giving me a clap on my shoulder and walked away. I don't know if he believed me, however I did have evidence that she had kissed me on my cheek, for where her lips had touched, there was an a faint iridescent shape of her lips."

Gwen's brow raised, "So what book did you get that story from?"

"Crazy as that sounds, it actually happened." he chuckled. "Later on, I met the mermaid once more, before I joined Star Fleet. Instead of shattering the mystique that had been built up around her, I was intrigued to find out who she really was. Her appearance was part of the ship sailing experience, after all, there have been the stories from old, of things seen and it adds more to the allure of sailing upon the ocean blue." he looked at Gwen with a twinkle in his eyes. "I don't suppose you believe in faeries do you?"

Before Michael or Gwen could say anything more, there was a chirp from his padd. Michael pulled out the padd, looked at the message, gave a shake to his head.

Looking up from it to Gwen."Once more duty calls. Thanks for the drink, and I'll see you around." giving a smile and a nod, he turned and walked out, leaving Gwen to enjoy the rest of her day.

"You got it mermaid man," She raised her glass to him before settling in for a beach nap.