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A Series of Unexpected Events

Posted July 11, 2020, 10:40 p.m. by Captain Molly Holloway (Commanding Officer) (Joana Ribeiro)

Posted by Captain Amelia Manning (Former Executive Officer) in A Series of Unexpected Events
Even though Pete taught at Pomona College in Claremont, California, the couple didn’t live in the city. He had been given a small apartment by the university whenever he needed to overnight in town, but the improvement and growing widespread use of transporter and shuttle technology made commutes almost inexistent, allowing for people to live far away from their workplaces.

After the couple had left the USS Manhattan behind and a year before Amelia had been made the Dresden’s Executive Officer, the Mannings had bought an old abandoned ranch in Northern California and they had remodeled it and upgraded it to the current standard of living. What had once been wide pastures for cattle were now lush gardens made possible by state of the art terraforming technology, and the old house itself was almost unrecognizable.

Pete had just left for Claremont that morning when Amelia had slipped back into bed, and grabbed a PaDD lying on her nightstand. It reported several new messages for her to read, the most prominent of them, coming from Starfleet Command, asking her to report with the utmost urgency to Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco.

Furrowing her brow, Amelia sprung to action, and after a quick shower and putting on a freshly pressed uniform, she headed out the door.

It didn’t take long for Manning to appear at the transporter PaDDs set at the Starfleet Academy’s main gate, and it seemingly took her even less time for her to get to the HQ building.


“Ah, Commander Manning. I’m Admiral Eric Anderson. Nice to meet you. Please take a seat.”

The office was simple and sparsely decorated, and Anderson himself seemed to be in his older fifties. His hair was mostly grey at this point, but his eyes had a glint of warmth in them that made Amelia feel comfortable. Confused as to the reason behind her being there, Manning sat in one of the indicated chairs and waited for the Admiral to sit down behind his desk.

“As you know, the Dresden is currently undergoing some scheduled maintenance work and as part of that work, Starfleet Command has decided it would be best for the her to have a few changes in the crew as well.” Was she being fired? The thought intruded in Amelia’s mind as intruding thoughts often do when you least want them there. “And given that she is a Maverick-class ship, made to be in the frontline of the battlefield, we have decided to reassign Colonel Harris as the Marine… Consultant on board, if you will, until we can find him a permanent Marine Expeditionary Unit to be placed under his command.”

So, had Harris been fired? Amelia was not liking where the conversation was going, and Anderson must have seen it in her face. “Don’t worry. He is not leaving the Dresden, and he still holds his full rank of Colonel. But Starfleet Command thought it would be best to have a fleet officer in charge, not a Marine.” Ah. So they were tired of a green shirt in command. Manning nodded in understanding, even if she wasn’t very keen on what she was hearing.

“That leaves the center chair open for a new Commanding Officer, and we agree with Colonel Harris as that seat should belong to you.” The man slid a PaDD and a small velvet box across the table. Suddenly what had been a surreal morning seemed even more surreal. “These are your new orders, Captain. Congratulations.” The Admiral’s lips opened in a warm smile but Manning felt like she was having a nightmare. What did this mean? She had just gotten home after two years away from Pete. She had gone for Command only because he had suggested she should try it, but she had never intended to stay this long. And even though she had loved being the Executive Officer of the Dresden and was willing to go back as such and finish her job, she had been having second thoughts about going back ever since her feet had touched her home planet. Being away from her partner had taken a lot more from her than she had expected, and she found herself in several occasions missing the one field she had passionately pursued her whole life: Engineering.

“I’m sorry Sir, but I can’t do it.” Amelia heard herself say, surprising even herself.

“I beg your pardon, Captain?” Came the Admiral’s shocked reply.

“I don’t think I can do it. I don’t think I can command the Dresden.”

“Of course you can. I know that it can be overwhelming at first, but you have done an excellent job as Executive Officer. Just keep doing what you were doing and you’ll be fine.”

Manning shook her head. “With all due respect, Sir. I know I can do the job, I just don’t think I want to do it. I don’t think I am ready to go back out there. I would much rather take a position that would allow me to remain planetside.”


And so it was. Having returned home with a promotion but without a job, that evening was a blur. But for as much as her mind kept wondering whether she had made the right decision, Peter’s joy in knowing that she wouldn’t have to leave again, made her certain of where she truly belonged.

Amelia

Two weeks later

“You’re my Maid of Honor. Here’s what you will be wearing. I don’t want to hear it.”

Erin’s words still echoed in Molly’s mind as she sat bored at the head table, watching her sister dance with Gavin at the sound of 24th century Earth pop music. Was this what kids listened to these days?

She was wearing the light flowy sea green summer dress that her sister had made her put on, and a thin gold tiara sat on her carefully arranged fiery red hair. The dress was not so bad, but Molly was sure Erin had picked the tiara just because she could. And just like Molly, her sister didn’t miss an opportunity. By her side, Cal sat on his Marine dress uniform, his foot tapping along with the cheery rhythm of the song. Molly knew that sooner or later he would ask her to dance, but right now she was finding comfort in basking in her own misery.

“Excuse me, Captain Holloway?” A smartly dressed young man tapped on her shoulder. Molly assumed he was someone from Gavin’s family that had finally worked up the courage to approach her. It was a big wedding after all, and the Holloways were not exactly unknown. “Do you mind if I have a word with you? In private?” He opened his palm to reveal the black badge of Starfleet Intelligence, making it clear that he was not there for the event. Nodding to the man, Molly mouthed ‘Intel. I’ll be right back.’ to her plus one, hoping that he was able to read the message on her lips.

She followed him to the venue’s garden where the newlyweds and their guests had just been taking pictures moments before.

“I’m sorry to come to you like this, Captain. I know this is a big day for your family. But we needed to inform you of this today.” He handed her a PaDD just as they passed a few pink hydrangea bushes.

Molly took it and examined it, not believing what her eyes were showing her. “Wait… so… Command wants me back? And why is Intelligence offering me the job and not Command? Are they too ashamed to talk to me after what they did with the Turing? And why would they even think I would leave Intel for them right now?”

“So you are not taking it?”

“I thought you were here to ask me if I wanted it.”

The young man shook his head. “No. I’m not here to offer you the job. I’m here to make you a counteroffer.”

Molly’s eyebrow raised. “Go on.”

“Command doesn’t know you’ve seen this. Tomorrow you will be called into HQ to be told that they are offering you the position. They will apologize to you and tell you how valuable of an asset you are to them. It will come with a change of division and a new snazzy red uniform, and you will be back at answering directly to Starfleet Command. You will be feigning surprise and taking this job.”

“That doesn’t seem like a counteroffer, but rather like you’re firing me.”

He shook his head once again. “Intel has their own plans. It’s a good thing to have our officers on the center chairs of certain ships. You’ll be our eyes and ears. Here, these are your new Command codes.” His hand touched hers momentarily and he snuck something into her palm. An isolinear chip. ”Think about it as a covert ops mission. Your shirt might be red, but your undershirt is black. We’ll be in touch.” And with that Molly was left alone in the gardens.

Placing the isolinear chip in a small pouch she carried with her, Holloway made her way back into the wedding venue, her thoughts spinning, not sure what to think about what she had just been told.

Molly


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