Star Trek fiction: "Nine-tenths"
Title: Nine-tenths
series: Andorians
summary: Pre-Galaxy days -- Jhæss busts a brawl, which Shallan happens to be in.
In the third month of his very first posting, Jhæss was part of a security team lead by an unusually grim-faced Commander Dasgupta to deal with a violent brawl that had broken out in a drinking establishment frequented by civilian freighter crew. Jhæss and Ensign An-sat were charged with pinpoint targeting combatants from the starboard approach; another pair of "sharpshooters" took port, and the rest of the team went in the front door with their type-2 phasers set on wide-dispersal stun. It was an effective tactic. Some of the troublemakers were smart enough to escape into an access tunnel, but they would find those set with snares -- however, most of them were too intent on fighting, or too drunk, to try anything sneaky. Three quarters of the brawlers were out for the count within 6 minutes.
But not all.
A huge Nausicaan appeared to have some kind of shielding against phaser-fire; their shots reflected harmlessly away. Meanwhile, he was waving a huge knife and roaring, a basso rumble of pure threat. Jhæss opened his mouth to ask An-sat if it thought a kill-shot might overload the shielding -- but stopped as his eyes caught a flutter of blue at the Nausicaan's shoulder.
The huge alien abruptly dropped like a felled makra, and Jhæss's breath caught. The shen that stood revealed, though dressed in civilian clothes, was clearly Doctor/Lieutenant Shallan.
She struck a victory pose.
"My enemy has fallen by my hand!" Shallan proclaimed loudly, sweeping her antennae around. "I claim --" -- here she spat out a Nausicaan phrase that Jhæss's translator rendered as Right of Possession. "Yet witness my mercy! For I relinquish my right to take my enemy's spouses and children as house-slaves. Instead, I will take only his ship and half the worth of his cargo, for he was a worthy opponent! Who witnesses this claim?"
An arm waved from under a table.
"I do attest," called a tired voice.
"Good," Shallan said firmly, then started casting about on the floor around her.
Jhæss stunned two more hold-outs, and then, at Dasgupta's signal, cautiously picked his way over to where the doctor was kneeling amongst the carnage. She was prying open the eyelids of a human.
"Paek? Paek, you need to wake up for me now."
The human groaned, and Jhæss found himself pinned by a tense gaze as Shallan swiveled to look at him.
"Call for a medic, she took a hard blow to the head."
"Y'r a doc'r," the human slurred, and Jhæss suddenly recognised her as a Lieutenant who worked in the Communications Station that co-ordinated with ship traffic. Shallan turned back to her.
"I am, but if I try to practice medicine before I sober up, they'll throw me in the brig, Paek. Hang in there."
"Urg-!" Paek said urgently, and Shallan rolled her onto her side to vomit.
An-sat retreated several steps, slapping its communicator and frantically calling for a medic. Its mouth compressed in a vertical line; Jhæss hadn't seen it so alarmed since the Academy.
"Oh, don't worry," Shallan said soothingly, rubbing Paek's back, "regurgitation is a natural reaction in Humans to the dizziness and vertigo that accompany this kind of head injury. I think they evolved this way because many poisons from their homeworld produce similar symptoms. This is the body's way of ejecting the poisons."
"If you're trotting out that old chestnut, you must be drunk," said one of the medical staff as two officers in blue arrived with a stretcher.
"You know, it took me four years to figure out that expression, Dave," Shallan told him. "Do you realise how many of your own people don't understand that it's a reference to horses?"
He ignored her question in favour of examining Paek with a medical tricorder, which he clucked over -- and then used to scan Shallan.
"Jeez Louise, Shallan, did she try to match you drink for drink? With real alcohol?" He didn't wait for an answer, but gestured to his companion to help him lift Paek onto the stretcher. "If you have a hangover in the morning --"
"I never do, Dave. Andorian physiology doesn't work that way."
He grunted something rude and hustled away with her friend. Shallan stood, and eyed the two security Ensigns.
"Can I follow him, or are you going to arrest me for brawling?"
An-sat gestured for Jhæss to handle this question with the peculiar rippling grace only someone with two elbows per arm could manage.
"...I think you'd better ask Commander Dasgupta that one, Lieutenant."
She grinned at him.
"Zerjhæss, I like you better and better! I'll do that." She bowed to them and started to weave her way to the door.
"Hey!" Jhæss called before he could stop himself, turning after her like he was pulled by a string.
Shallan half-turned and looked a question at him.
"Was that a neck pinch you used?"
She grinned again, answering cheerfully: "Sure was!" and then continued on.
Jhæss realised An-sat was looking at him, mouth in an "o" of amusement.
"...What?"
"Are you aware that you had your antennae pointed at the doctor for all of that?" it asked in a teasing whisper.
Mortified, Jhæss hissed a curse at his own obviousness. Dasgupta strode over to them.
"Somebody please tell me that shen didn't actually take possession of a suspected smuggling vessel."
series: Andorians
summary: Pre-Galaxy days -- Jhæss busts a brawl, which Shallan happens to be in.
In the third month of his very first posting, Jhæss was part of a security team lead by an unusually grim-faced Commander Dasgupta to deal with a violent brawl that had broken out in a drinking establishment frequented by civilian freighter crew. Jhæss and Ensign An-sat were charged with pinpoint targeting combatants from the starboard approach; another pair of "sharpshooters" took port, and the rest of the team went in the front door with their type-2 phasers set on wide-dispersal stun. It was an effective tactic. Some of the troublemakers were smart enough to escape into an access tunnel, but they would find those set with snares -- however, most of them were too intent on fighting, or too drunk, to try anything sneaky. Three quarters of the brawlers were out for the count within 6 minutes.
But not all.
A huge Nausicaan appeared to have some kind of shielding against phaser-fire; their shots reflected harmlessly away. Meanwhile, he was waving a huge knife and roaring, a basso rumble of pure threat. Jhæss opened his mouth to ask An-sat if it thought a kill-shot might overload the shielding -- but stopped as his eyes caught a flutter of blue at the Nausicaan's shoulder.
The huge alien abruptly dropped like a felled makra, and Jhæss's breath caught. The shen that stood revealed, though dressed in civilian clothes, was clearly Doctor/Lieutenant Shallan.
She struck a victory pose.
"My enemy has fallen by my hand!" Shallan proclaimed loudly, sweeping her antennae around. "I claim --" -- here she spat out a Nausicaan phrase that Jhæss's translator rendered as Right of Possession. "Yet witness my mercy! For I relinquish my right to take my enemy's spouses and children as house-slaves. Instead, I will take only his ship and half the worth of his cargo, for he was a worthy opponent! Who witnesses this claim?"
An arm waved from under a table.
"I do attest," called a tired voice.
"Good," Shallan said firmly, then started casting about on the floor around her.
Jhæss stunned two more hold-outs, and then, at Dasgupta's signal, cautiously picked his way over to where the doctor was kneeling amongst the carnage. She was prying open the eyelids of a human.
"Paek? Paek, you need to wake up for me now."
The human groaned, and Jhæss found himself pinned by a tense gaze as Shallan swiveled to look at him.
"Call for a medic, she took a hard blow to the head."
"Y'r a doc'r," the human slurred, and Jhæss suddenly recognised her as a Lieutenant who worked in the Communications Station that co-ordinated with ship traffic. Shallan turned back to her.
"I am, but if I try to practice medicine before I sober up, they'll throw me in the brig, Paek. Hang in there."
"Urg-!" Paek said urgently, and Shallan rolled her onto her side to vomit.
An-sat retreated several steps, slapping its communicator and frantically calling for a medic. Its mouth compressed in a vertical line; Jhæss hadn't seen it so alarmed since the Academy.
"Oh, don't worry," Shallan said soothingly, rubbing Paek's back, "regurgitation is a natural reaction in Humans to the dizziness and vertigo that accompany this kind of head injury. I think they evolved this way because many poisons from their homeworld produce similar symptoms. This is the body's way of ejecting the poisons."
"If you're trotting out that old chestnut, you must be drunk," said one of the medical staff as two officers in blue arrived with a stretcher.
"You know, it took me four years to figure out that expression, Dave," Shallan told him. "Do you realise how many of your own people don't understand that it's a reference to horses?"
He ignored her question in favour of examining Paek with a medical tricorder, which he clucked over -- and then used to scan Shallan.
"Jeez Louise, Shallan, did she try to match you drink for drink? With real alcohol?" He didn't wait for an answer, but gestured to his companion to help him lift Paek onto the stretcher. "If you have a hangover in the morning --"
"I never do, Dave. Andorian physiology doesn't work that way."
He grunted something rude and hustled away with her friend. Shallan stood, and eyed the two security Ensigns.
"Can I follow him, or are you going to arrest me for brawling?"
An-sat gestured for Jhæss to handle this question with the peculiar rippling grace only someone with two elbows per arm could manage.
"...I think you'd better ask Commander Dasgupta that one, Lieutenant."
She grinned at him.
"Zerjhæss, I like you better and better! I'll do that." She bowed to them and started to weave her way to the door.
"Hey!" Jhæss called before he could stop himself, turning after her like he was pulled by a string.
Shallan half-turned and looked a question at him.
"Was that a neck pinch you used?"
She grinned again, answering cheerfully: "Sure was!" and then continued on.
Jhæss realised An-sat was looking at him, mouth in an "o" of amusement.
"...What?"
"Are you aware that you had your antennae pointed at the doctor for all of that?" it asked in a teasing whisper.
Mortified, Jhæss hissed a curse at his own obviousness. Dasgupta strode over to them.
"Somebody please tell me that shen didn't actually take possession of a suspected smuggling vessel."