Where No One Has Gone Before Pt. 08

"Good. That's what they were sent to do," I said. "Anything I should know?"

"Um, yes, sir," Jim said in a somewhat embarrassed tone. "Petty Officer Jenkins said she decided to, uh, go 'native' after she arrived."

"Go native?"

"Yes, sir. She said she felt uncomfortable being the only clothed person in the section where she worked. So she, uh, removed her uniform. All of it," Jim said.

"She got naked over there?" I was amused and remembered the old saw that went, 'when in Rome, be a Roman Candle.'

"Yes, sir," Jim replied. "She also spent the night with one of the unmated Gingravik males in her section. Said it was the most exhilarating sexual experience of her life." Jim pulled her report and read from it. "According to her written report, she claims to have had three of the Gingravik's, uhm, appendages, inside her at the same time. Between that, and the fact that he, and I quote, 'recited Gingravik love poetry,' unquote, directly into her mind at the same time, she felt..."

"I get the picture, Number One," I said, holding a hand. That was just a bit more information than I really wanted to hear. "What did you tell her?"

"I expressed my desire that she refrain from 'going native' on THIS ship, sir," Jim said with a smile. "I also informed her that none of the ... details... of her time with the Gingravik male would be maintained in her file or made part of the official record." I smiled at that.

"Good," I said, relieved to hear that I wouldn't have to repeat this to Alan. "I wondered how you managed to get so much information from her. Anyone else... indulge... over there?"

"Yes, sir. Two other crew members accepted the offer of a 'designated companion' for the night. Said it was the best experience of their lives. They wondered if we might consider something similar here."

"It'll be a frigid day in a very hot place before that happens, Number One," I said. I remembered Kyra being 'assigned' to me for our first deep space mission. All command-level officers had a specifically selected partner to keep them on an even keel during the long voyage.

The crew assignments were also made with that consideration in mind. And every possible demographic was considered to avoid as far as possible the hookups and breakups that passion-driven, temporary relationships could result in. Those were the kinds of things that could play havoc with crew efficiency and morale.

I also reflected on my admonition to the exchange teams that they were responsible adults and expected them to behave as such. After a moment or two of mental wrestling, I resolved to talk it over with Kyra to get some more clarity. As commanding officer, I preferred to be out in front of potential problems rather than playing catch-up.

"Yes, sir. But I can relate to what they reported."

"Hmmm," I replied, reflecting on Jim's ongoing relationship with Mishita - a double-edged sword if ever there was one.

"By the way, Commander Mishita said she would be contacting you later. She said she has information to share with us that you might find interesting."

"Thank you. Speaking of which, would you like to travel with the next batch of exchangees?" Jim's face broke out in a wide grin. "We are slated to be here for another day, after all."

"I would enjoy that, sir. It might be nice if I could get a look at how they run things on their bridge."

"Yes, it would. I'm also interested in determining her tactical abilities, Number One. We may have to slug it out with these Darnok, and I want to know how proficient she is in that area. And what kind of weaponry they mount. Nothing classified or sensitive; just a general idea of what they have so we can sych up our tactics."

"I think I can do that, sir."

"Good, Number One. I want you here when she contacts me."

"Yes, sir," Jim said. Just then, my communicator pinged.

"Captain, there's an incoming communication from the Tere," the duty comm officer reported.

"Thank you, pipe it into my ready room, please," I said.

"Yes, sir," the female lieutenant responded. Jim and I turned our attention to the large monitor as Mishita's image appeared.

"Captain Jones and Commander Decker here, Commander. What can we do for you?" I asked.

"Pleasant day, Captain... Jim," she responded with a smile. "I have spoken with my contact in the High Council. There have been a number of communications between the home world and your planet, Captain. Many of those were sanctioned by our government, and I am not at liberty to share the details of those communications. I'm sure you can understand."

"Of course, Commander," I said.

"The others, however, were not official communications. From what my contact learned, those were relayed through a Mr'rk vessel in this area of space," Mishita added.

"Merc? Is that another species we should be aware of?" I asked.

"That's Mr'rk, Captain," Mishita corrected. "They are not a separate species. They are a group of what I believe you might call... profiters... and they are made up of rogue individuals from several different species."

"You mean, profiteers. Pirates," I said.

"I... believe so. My apologies," she said.

"No problem, Commander. What more do you know about these communications?"

"We were not able to decipher them, however, we were able to determine the end-point of the communication. It is a place called Was..."

"Washington, DC," I finished.

"Yes," Mishita said. "I have a graphic representation of that end-point." The following image was a satellite photo of the capital city, with a red "X" where the signal ended. I recognized it as one of the several office buildings used by members of Congress. I resisted the urge to curse but gave Jim a knowing look, which he returned.

"I have sent that graphic to you, Captain, in a separate message to do with as you see fit. Let me know if you have issues retrieving it. I have been informed that the Council will have someone reach out to your command about this issue," Mishita added.

"Thank you, Commander," I said. "I know my superiors will be very interested." Or at least I hoped they would be interested. I knew Alan would be more than a little concerned, and I couldn't vouch for anyone else.

"I realize that tomorrow is the last day of our exchange program, Captain," Mishita said. "Given what we may face, I think we should exchange command-level officers to help us... gauge... each other's tactical abilities."

"Yes, Commander Decker and I were just discussing that, Commander, and I agree. Especially given this new piece of information. What did you have in mind?"

"I would like to see Commander Decker join me here for the day, with your permission, of course. In exchange, I will send Commander Ra'al," Mishita said.

"I agree, Commander," I said. "I'll see to it that Commander Decker is on your shuttle first thing in the morning."

"Thank you, Captain," Mishita said. "I have also been authorized to share a piece of technology with you that you may find... useful."

"Oh?" I asked, surprised at this turn of events.

"Yes," Mishita said. "It is our shielding technology. I understand your Enterprise has no such device."

"That is true, Commander. It is something we have never needed before," I said.

"That may change with the Mr'rk involvement, Captain. I will see to it that engineers are sent in the morning to help integrate the shield into your systems," Mishita said.

"Thank you, Commander."

"I must be going now, Captain," Mishita said. "And I look forward to seeing you in the morning, my prince. The thought of being in your presence again makes me... lubricate. I also have new... poetry... I wish to share with you. I think you will find it more... colorful... than what I shared before."

"I look forward to that... my queen," Jim said somewhat nervously. Mishita smiled before ending the call, and I looked at my first officer.

"Queen... Not even married yet, and you're already pussy-whipped," I joked. Jim chuckled at that. "Alright, better get to it. I need to put together a report for Admiral Simmons."

"Yes, sir," Jim said before leaving the ready room. I sat down and started my report with a fresh cup of coffee. My comm device pinged about 15 minutes later.

"Captain, there's a secure point-to-point flash comm coming from Starbase One. Admiral Simmons."

"Pipe it into my ready room," I ordered.

"Yes, sir," the comm lieutenant replied. My monitor lit up again, and I looked at Alan's face. He seemed quite agitated.

"Captain Jones here, sir," I stated.

"Good morning, Captain," Alan said. "We don't have much time, so I'll get right to it. I've just been informed that I'm to meet with an Ambassador Tsod from the Gingravik Prefect of Earth. Do you know about that?"

"No sir, but I just got off the line with the Gingravik commander of the Tere. She sent me information about those transmissions you told me about. A lot of them are official comms between the Gingravik and this prefect of theirs. But several of them went to Washington, DC. I'll forward you the image when I receive it."

"Washington, DC, huh? Any idea where in DC?"

"Yes, sir. According to the image, it looks like a Congressional office building, but I don't know exactly which office. I do know that this system, T-107, contains material called quadrillium that absorbs solar radiation and can be used as a reliable source of clean renewable energy."

"Interesting," Alan said. "What else?"

"According to my Gingravik counterpart, the transmission went through a relay of sorts, run by a group called the Mr'rk. Commander Mishita describes them as profiteers or pirates."

"Terrific," Alan said. "I gather you suspect Senator Jacoby of being involved with these... Mr'rk?"

"I don't know what to think, sir," I said. "It's out of my area of expertise. But it does look rather suspicious. The Senator has ties to companies involved with clean alternative energy, and if this is all true, he could stand to make billions. Possibly trillions."

"You're right, Bill. It IS out of your area of expertise. But it does look suspicious. And Jacoby would stand to make a great deal of money, if, in fact, he's involved with this. Our window is closing, Captain. Keep up the good work. Deal with these Darnok creatures as you see fit. I look forward to your next report. Admiral Simmons, out."

"Yes, sir," I responded, ending the transmission. The monitor went dark, and I sat back in my chair, wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. Moreover, I couldn't shake the feeling that every single person on this ship was about to be put in even more danger than we had ever faced before.

...

To be continued...

Note: Parts of this story reference the seventh entry of my "Plant" series. You can find the link to that in my profile.