Surefoot 23: Baby Steps

"Hovat?" Kami, standing beside Hrelle, repeated. "That name sounds familiar."

"It should," Hrelle agreed. "We've encountered him before, during the investigation of Captain Acres of the USS Tempest. He's my Cardassian counterpart on the other side of the Border, and I'm betting he has little actual interest in interstellar medicine. Now, what about the asteroid, Chief?"

The images shifted to a holographic representation of the asteroid and the Surefoot, while Chief Grev led the demonstration. "Currently the asteroid is moving in a wide, wide arc back towards the Kobliad; the impellers are simple mechanisms compared to a ship's warp drive, which means this asteroid has all the steering capacity of, well, a huge mountain in space. The impellers were mounted based on the a.

Mr Ostrow and I have come up with something, based on the Enterprise's encounter with the Borg. We want to rig the warp engine of the Surefoot to channel all its energy through the deflector dish as a massive, sustained graviton beam. This beam will be directed at a specific point on the asteroid, increasing its local gravity and creating a controlled imbalance that will force the asteroid to shift in a tighter arc."

Hrelle nodded. "Like shifting on a sailboat to affect its course. Nice. But if the asteroid is moving at warp speed, and our engines' power is being channelled through its beam-"

"We'll be riding within the asteroid's own warp bubble when we fire up the graviton beam. It's risky, but doable."

"But that will not be the only risk," T'Varik pointed out. "The Enterprise's activities ended up burning out much of their deflector array, and producing high levels of radiation, requiring evacuation of the areas of their vessel nearest the array."

Kami looked at her husband. "You're not seriously considering this, are you?"

His expression tightened. "The Enterprise's adaptation was as a weapon. Will the risks be the same for us?"

"Not as great, though I suppose other unexpected problems might arise. But if it does work, it will shave twenty percent off the asteroid's travel time. Maybe even a bit more. Whether or not it might satisfy Admiral Starchass is another matter."

"And it's being implemented now?"

Grev nodded. "Mr Ostrow and his team returned to the Surefoot an hour ago."

Hrelle tapped his combadge. "Hrelle to Ostrow: Jonas, are the modifications ready yet?"

A distracted, uncharacteristically ill-mannered Jonas replied with, "They would be, if there were fewer interruptions- Sir! Ostrow out!"

The adults in the holosuite looked to each other, before Kami announced, "I think I need to take Misha for a walk."

*

Deck 8, Deflector Control Room -- 1645 Hours:

Kami carried the chair with the napping Misha as they approached the room, listening to the ongoing argument coming from ahead. "No, Nancy! I said the Primary Coupling! That'll overload first!"

"Excuse me, Lieutenant, but you said the Auxiliary."

"I know what I said, Yeager, just do your damn job-"

Kami stopped at the doorway. "Jonas-"

He spun in place, face red. "WHAT?"

That made the group freeze in their tracks. Kami set Misha's chair down beside her, her voice taut and low and measured. "Firstly: don't ever raise your voice like that to me again.

Secondly: you did say the Auxiliary. I heard you when I came out of the turbolift."

He blinked. "Oh."

Kami nodded, adding, "Thirdly: this is the point when you act like the man I know you are, and apologise to Nancy and the others."

Scarlet-faced now, he turned to Yeager. "Sorry, Nance. I'm wound up with this assignment." He looked to the others. "Sorry, everyone."

Yeager nodded back, and returned to her work, as did the rest of them.

Kami set Misha's chair down and beckoned him to approach. As he did, she spoke more softly. "What are you doing?"

Jonas rubbed his hands agitatedly on the hips of his uniform. "We're making modifications to the deflector array to emit-"

"I didn't ask about the technobabble, I asked what you were doing, putting yourself and the others under such stress?" She nodded towards the infant. "Pick him up."

"What?" He looked down and frowned. "No! I'll drop him!"

"You handle warp cores and doohickeys and framistats all the time, I think you can handle my cub."

"Counselor, we are on a deadline here-"

She folded her arms across her chest. "Pick up my cub right now and cradle him, or I will relieve you of duty with immediate effect; that's a direct order from a senior medical officer."

Jonas glanced back at his crew, who had stopped again to watch the scene unfold. Reluctantly he knelt down, unbuckled Misha, and stopped to look up again saying softly, "I don't want to wake him."

"Then you'd better be nice and quiet and calm, haven't you?"

He glowered at her, before focusing on the cub, gently lifting him up under his arms and setting him against his shoulder, supporting him under Misha's rear after some silent coaching from Kami, as Jonas returned to his feet, thankful that the cub hadn't stirred. Then he asked in a whisper, "Now what do I do?"

She shrugged. "Continue with your technobabble. Let's see if you can get your work done without raising your voice or your blood pressure, because I know for a fact that you don't have to go around like a constipated Klingon to lead a team. And in future, when you're feeling under pressure, imagine you're holding him again and trying not to disturb him."

He stared incredulously at her, before turning to face his crew, speaking in a deliberate calm and controlled tone. "Praas, could you please remove the failsafes on the graviton conduits? The report from the Enterprise stated those were the first to go, and we have nowhere near the strength of a Galaxy-class dish."

The Trill cadet smiled at the young man with the cub and nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Jonas looked to the other crewmen. "Torleen, we'll need redundancies cleared to the warp engines; liaise with Chief Grev to ensure they're on Standby..."

Behind them, Kami leaned against a wall and watched as the tension began to ease from the back and shoulders of Jonas... and Misha began drooling on the boy's shoulder.

*

Deck 3 Fore, Enlisted Mess Hall -- 1715 Hours:

Neraxis held Misha against her chest and shoulder and gently patted him on the back. "Come on, Furball, I know you've got it in you-"

He burped. Loudly. Drawing attention from the neighbouring diners.

Sasha was looking away at another table, but still asked, "How do you do that so easily?"

Neraxis set him on her lap, wiping his muzzle with a wet wipe. "Benefits of being the oldest in a large family: lots of practice." She watched and grinned as his long tongue darted out. "Ooh, you're gonna be popular with the ladies when you grow up." She cleaned off a small spoon and let him grasp it in his stubby hands as she looked at her friend again. "Stop it. It's embarrassing."

Sasha didn't stop. At the far table, she saw Giles sitting with some crew ensigns, talking away happily. Like nothing had happened to him. "Only to you. No one else knows."

"Are you kidding? Everyone knows!" She held out her hand and let Misha smack the spoon into it like a drum.

Sasha frowned. "He didn't even acknowledge me when he came in. It's gonna be like this for the next three months, isn't it? Avoiding me like the Tarellian Plague."

"Give him a break, it must have been a shock for him." When Misha spat up some milk, Neraxis took it in her stride and went, "Oh dear! Ickle Baby!" before reaching for another wet wipe for her uniform and his face. "It might be easier for him to have some distance, to help him recover from your amazing charms."

"Maybe," Sasha agreed absently.

Neraxis looked up at her, as did Misha, though it was the Bolian who asked, "Really? Holy Hraxor, I was joking!"

Sasha frowned. "Are you saying I couldn't ruin him for other woman?"

Misha blew a raspberry.

*

Deck 1, Bridge -- 1825 Hours:

Misha sat in his father's lap in the Command Chair, chewing on Hrelle's finger, as Hrelle watched the huge black asteroid dominating the viewscreen. It unnerved him, knowing they were riding inside its warpfield, dependent on their impulse engines alone; he felt like a tiny bird trying to fly backwards away from a charging razorbeast. "Everything okay, Mr Rrori?"

The white-furred Caitian male at the helm glanced behind him. "I... think so, Sir. I just hope this asteroid doesn't mind us getting so up close and personal."

Hrelle nodded and looked to the Engineering stations. "Lieutenant?"

Jonas was conversing with Nancy at Station 1, but now looked up, making a visible attempt to appear calm. "I think we're ready, Captain."

"You think, or you know?"

Jonas swallowed. "I know, Sir."

"Then give the order."

The cadet nodded and looked to Nancy. "Engage."

Seconds later, the huge column of yellow-white energy shot out from the Surefoot to strike at the predetermined point on the asteroid, causing a plume of coruscating energy to flow around the surface of the rock. Immediately the ship began shaking, prompting Jonas to reach down to his own station, reporting, "Increasing power to inertial dampeners and structural integrity fields!"

Hrelle's free hand gripped the arm of his chair, immediately hating what was being done to his ship -- though Misha seemed to be enjoying the bumpiness of it all. The shaking abated, but only by a little, as alerts sounded. Behind him, Neheru was announcing over the noise, "Radiation flares immediately around the deflector array room! It and the surrounding areas were evacuated, but-"

"Structural integrity is overloading!" T'Varik cut in, as secondary alarms sounded. "Deflector dish showing signs of stress-"

"Disengage!" Hrelle roared over them all. "NOW!"

That caught everyone's attention; in seconds, the graviton beam, the alerts and the shaking ceased, power was diverted back to the warp drive and Rrori moved them out of the path of the asteroid.

Misha sounded disappointed. Hrelle looked down at him and shook his head as he ordered, "Run full radiation checks, restore everything back to normal." When he caught Jonas' anxious gaze, he shrugged. "You tried, but I'm not risking my ship and crew just to knock a few months off the travel time of that piece of crap out there."

But when the cadet still looked sullen, defeated, he added, "Mr Ostrow, the work you've done already will ensure that Tavela Minor is safe, and that the asteroid is on its way back in the direction of the Kobliad -- later than expected, but still better than nothing. Baby steps are better than stumbling. Now, come on, let's go disappoint Admiral Wayne."

As he rose, carrying Misha, T'Varik approached. "Captain, the Admiral expressed a strong preference for not having an infant in the next meeting. Perhaps if I take him-"

"No."

The Vulcan regarded him. "The Admiral will object."

"And if he does, what do you think will be my most likely response?"

"Will it be an invitation involving the Admiral's lips and your posterior?"

He grinned. "You know me well, Commander."

"All too well, Sir."

*

Deck 2 Fore, Ready Room -- 1902 Hours:

Hrelle wasn't quite sure who was grumpier: the little baby in his arms, or the big baby on the screen. He settled on the latter; Misha was more mature. "What did I tell you before about excuses, Captain? And about children? This is not the place for non-essential personnel!"

"He's not non-essential. He performs many vital functions." Hrelle glanced down at the bundle of joy sitting up in his lap. "He's a therapist, a diplomat, a welcome distraction, a reminder of why we're out here... and if you want to court-martial me for insubordination, he'll be my defence attorney; he won't have to say anything, just sit there and melt the hearts of the Board." He looked up again. "The one thing he can't do is get that asteroid to Kobliad any faster. And neither can we."

"That's not good enough, Hrelle! Increase the power of the impellers!"

Hrelle looked to Jonas, who stood up as if he was back in class. "Admiral, those impellers are designed for haulage, not speed. There are basic physical limitations with regard to the asteroid's mass, its internal structure, that make faster velocities impossible-"

"Young man... how old are you?"

Jonas paused. "Twenty, Sir."

"Uh huh. Well, let me tell you, sonny: I'm over five times your age. And I was out there making the Impossible possible when your grandfather was no bigger than that child on your Captain's lap-"

"Excuse me, Sir," Jonas suddenly cut in, raising his voice and ignoring the look he was getting from Hrelle. "I may only be twenty, but I've spent half of that life crawling through the inside of machinery like those impellers! I know what they can do and what they can't do! You don't, Sir!"

"Jonas-" Hrelle prompted him.

"Oh really, Mister?" Wayne countered. "Have they stopped teaching respect for authority at the Academy?"

"No, Sir. On the contrary; I have the utmost respect for you, for your authority, and for your accomplishments. It's an honour to be speaking with one of the Heroes of Tomed."

The mention of the name caught Wayne off-guard. "You know what I did at Tomed?"

"Of course, Admiral; it was one of the defining moments of this century. You helped save hundreds of lives when you commanded the USS Crazy Horse. But despite the efforts made by yourself and other captains there, there was still criticism in some circles afterwards that more lives weren't saved. And I remember your response to the critics: 'We did what we could, with what we had, where we were; if you wanted more, you should have got off your butts and lent us a hand.'"

Wayne harrumphed, looking suitably chastened. "You know that quote?"

"Yes, Sir. And anyone who's faced impossible tasks has taken comfort from it."

Hrelle looked back at the viewscreen. "Admiral, the Dytallix Company bears some responsibility for this, for their improper security and safety procedures on the project. Perhaps if they wish to maintain their reputation -- and their Starfleet contracts -- they might be willing to bring in some replacement generators, maybe even set up a mining facility on the asteroid immediately, to begin processing the deuridium for shipping to the Kobliad, so they won't have to wait years for the asteroid to reach their system?"

"Hmph. That could be doable. Fine, Hrelle, you can take your ship back to your original assignment." He looked to Jonas. "Good work, young man."

"Thank you, Admiral. Oh, and Admiral? Have you considered giving some lectures on the Tomed Incident at the Academy? It would be amazing to hear what happened from someone who was actually there, rather than some wet-behind-the-ears instructor just reading out dry facts and figures."

Wayne considered the suggestion, making grunting sounds. "Well, I'm not accustomed to public speaking, but... it's an interesting thought, Lieutenant. Admiral Wayne out."

As the screen went dark, Hrelle smiled as he looked back at Jonas. "Ah, so that's the Silver Tongue I've heard about."

"Sir?"

Misha put his head against his father's chest and closed his eyes, as Hrelle continued. "You are quite the charmer, aren't you? No wonder the ladies are all over you."

Jonas flushed. "They aren't, Sir, I promise!"

Hrelle chuckled. "I'm gonna miss you when you go for that Advanced training."

"I'll miss you too, Sir, all of you here: you, Kami, Misha, Sasha-"

"Sasha? She won't be here, she'll be on Vulcan."

Jonas frowned. "Really? She's talked about coming straight back here after graduation, Sir."

"Oh." He sighed. "Well, I believe your services as Strategic Engineering Officer are done for today. Dismissed."

"Yes, Sir."

Hrelle smiled back as he watched the boy depart, before looking down at his infant and tapping his combadge. "Commander T'Varik, Counselor Hrelle: please report to my Ready Room."

*

Deck 4 Mid, Holosuite, 2000 Hours:

It had been a strange, unexpected order Sasha had received to come here, so strange and unexpected that she was fully inside with the doors closing behind her before she realised where she found herself: a green enclave of trees and bushes, under a bright summer sky. She glanced around, her eyes immediately catching the top of the Golden Gate Bridge over buildings with the Starfleet logo emblazoned on them.

Starfleet Academy: she recognised it, if not the particular spot where she was standing. But the holographic clock on the tower was wrong: Stardate... 66028.36? That was... twenty years in the future! Why-

"There you are."

She turned to see a tall, broad-shouldered, strikingly handsome Caitian male in a cadet's uniform with Fourth Year insignia. He had the kindest eyes, and fur the colour of mahogany, and a familiar -- very familiar -- smile. He reminded her a little of Kami's firstborn Mirow, whom she'd met months ago on Cait, or even a bit of Dad... "Who are you?"

He laughed, approaching her. "Forgotten what your Little Brother looks like? I haven't been away that long!"

Her jaw dropped. "Misha?" She shook her head. "You're a hologram. What am I saying, of course you are, I'm in a Holosuite! What's going on?"

He shrugged. "I'm not programmed to answer that, bubulah. I'm only here to thank you."

She had been ready to depart, to find out what this was all about, but then she stopped. "Thank me? For what?"

The holographic Misha tugged at the sleeves of his uniform. "For inspiring me. I grew up hearing about your adventures, your achievements and promotions: getting your first command, exploring space, making First Contact missions, saving lives throughout the Federation. Making a real difference." He chuckled. "Everyone in my Academy class was all over me when they found out I was the little brother of the legendary Captain Sasha Hrelle."

Sasha was gobsmacked by the program, before frowning. "Where's Dad and Kami?"

"Papa's in the Superintendent's office having drinks with the other Admirals, and Mama's consulting with Captain T'Varik. I have to get ready for the graduation ceremony -- but I had to see you privately first." He drew closer. "I had to let you know... know that I know how scary it was for you to go out there and make your mark in the Galaxy, and how brave it was for you to do it anyway. And now I'm going to do the same."

He hugged her.

Then he pulled back and touched her nose. "Beep Beep."

Then the hologram vanished, as did the Academy, leaving the familiar black and yellow-gridded interior of the Holosuite -- and Hrelle, Kami, T'Varik and the real Misha in Kami's arms, the mother cooing at her cub and declaring, "You're gonna be a gorgeous male when you grow up."

"Indeed," T'Varik agreed. "I must compliment the computer on its extrapolation of his probably appearance at age twenty."

Hrelle grumbled. "Damn, I wanted to see me as an Admiral-"

"What the hell is going on?" Sasha demanded, capturing their attention.

Her father focused on her now. "It's about the future. Or at least, one possible future. One where you aren't afraid to go out and Seize the Day."

Her expression tightened, glaring at Kami now. "I told you before, I'm not afraid!"

"Sweetheart," the Counselor replied gently. "You've been afraid for a while now. It's affected you, your attitude, your decisions."

"No! I know that's what you'd like me to think, but-"

"Sasha," T'Varik contributed now. "The evidence is clear. I am admittedly no psychologist, but I am perceptive enough to have also seen the change in you of late."

"There is no change in me, okay?" Sasha demanded, turning to storm out.

But Hrelle rushed up to intercept her, hold onto her arm when she tried to pull away. "Sasha... I would be delighted beyond belief if you served with me until I was an old grey-furred cat moaning about getting my tail caught in all the sliding doors. But that would just be me, being selfish. You're meant to be doing more than just hiding out with your old man, letting fear control your life."