Guardian Angel

Guardian Angel

((USS Excalibur – Deck 6 – Diplomatic Facilities – Storage Room)) ::Resistance being futile, Brek had opened the vault door and was now exploring the storage room beyond. As he walked among the crates, all containing diplomatic gifts or supplies for deck 6, he felt special.:: ::As a Ferengi he wasn't comfortable with the idea of giving gifts and would often leave this task to Dakarai or Evprak. It wasn't that the task was difficult, just that a Ferengi with a gift in their hands always looked rather insincere..:: ::This put aside, as a present, any odd cultural icon often did the trick. Although it could be a bit risky to offer books. 'War of The Worlds' for instance, was on a black list. For fear that it might give new Federation members the idea that they could invade any planet and spread their chemicals on it.:: ::The best books were the huge ones. Those containing the whole works of an author. Books that weren't made to be read, but to look impressive on a book shelf. The whole of Shakespeare, Dickens or Tolkien were on top of the list, and they looked beautifully impressive once wrapped in shiny paper.:: ::As he was continuing his exploration, Brek found a crate containing such books, and couldn't resist taking one out. He went for the heaviest, with the most exquisite leather cover, and he sat there on the floor, to examine his finding.:: ::Upon opening the volume, he felt instant disappointment. The book was about religions, doing its damndest to list all those that existed or had existed on planet Earth, and there were an awful lot of them. Still, the images were beautiful, and he had to admit, to put so much faith in superbeings supposed to control everything, that was quite impressive.:: ::From what he understood, Terrans were born into a religion, (that of their nation), and they adopted it naturally. Not that it made much sense to him. With the existence of so many deities, surely, the best bet would be to be on 'friendly' terms with as many of those superbeings as possible...:: ::He turned the pages, seeing countless pictures of angels and demons or hewmons with too many arms, and that made him realize that life was exactly like that. It had nothing to do with the many representations of fanciful creatures, no, it was the turning of pages that was important. The more pages you turned, the richer your life became. Wherever you were, it was all about making new memories. The only problem was that the past was like a jealous relative who wouldn't let go of you.:: ::Brek fell asleep on that thought, and a soft snoring soon filled the storage room. Yet his dream didn't take him to the future, but to the past, and his first few months on SB118:: ::Back then, he had been a humble ensign, still plagued by the nightmares that Terran and Vulcan literature were giving him. Those had been compulsory reading, meant to pacify him. So read them all he had, the way you read a shopping list, without much understanding. The dream went on, reviewing his first encounter with Captain Jaxx, and the fantastic banquets that had become regular on the Starbase.:: ::He was enjoying it all, twisting facts here and there to make himself appear more confident when it mattered, when something kicked his foot. Before joining the Fleet, as a young, latinum-less Ferengi, he had slept in all sorts of places, and the disturbance had him on his feet in no time. He also grabbed 'his' book in both hands, as if it was his most precious possession, and stared at Ensign Evprak, who looked particularly conceited.:: Evprak: When I saw that the door was opened, I had an idea I would find you here. Brek: ::Defiantly.:: So what? We are on deck 6, and I'm the head of department round here. What's your excuse for being here? ::Despite his harsh tone, the usually shy ensign continued to speak with resolution.:: Evprak: I'm making sure you don't steal anything, Lt Cmdr Brek. Nothing here belongs to you. It's Starfleet property. And I reckon it should be examined thoroughly, to make sure nothing illegal slipped through security. ::The idea that any of Katy's minions might be sent here to investigate this place, was, in all honesty rather scary, but he decided to respond with bravado.:: Brek: You have no idea how ludicrous this sounds. I have no control over what's in those crates. Some of them even date back from the time Ambassador Frazier and Ventu were on 118. But feel free to do as you please, ensign. I quite like having a guardian angel, making sure everything is above-board on this deck. Now if you'll excuse me... ::He meant to leave the place, but Evprak didn't move.:: Evprak: You need to put that book back where you found, it Chief. Otherwise it amounts to stealing it. ::Brek growled. He was about to explain, at length, the crucial differences between 'borrowing' and 'stealing' but he changed his mind. He pushed the heavy book into her hands, and walked away.:: Brek: It's not a bad book you know, ensign, you should glance at it. It tells you about the good sides that exist in every person. ::He was walking in the corridor leading to his quarters, when the Captain's voice sounded; a brutal reminder that they had lost their F.O.:: Nicholotti: =/\= Attention all officers and crew; we will be arriving at Starbase 118 within the hour. As soon as your stations are secure, 48 hour leave will be granted. Senior staff, there will be a gathering tonight at 19:00. Details to follow from Lieutenant Silveira. I look forward to seeing you all there. That is all. =/\= Brek: oO That's certainly one thing to look forward to... Plus we'll be on 118. I like it when females are the bearer of good tidings... Oo. tag/tbc Lt Cmdr Brek Chief Diplomatic Officer USS Excalibur A