Musings of a Science Officer - Personal Log 3

Posted on 04 Oct 2017 @ 11:00pm by Lieutenant JG Gideon Nicols PhD

861 words; about a 4 minute read

“I have been having this reoccurring nightmare…”

Gideon Nicols sat at the desk in his temporary quarters, tapping the end of a stylus against the edge of a large PADD. The screen was filled with words, a cursor blinked where he had left off. His blue/gray eyes shift to the large bank of windows that looked out onto the Bay. The sun was setting and he couldn’t help but smile at the beauty of it. That was one of the nice things about being planet side, the sunrises and sunsets. He loved both, it signified life, and even more importantly it signified that life continued. Earth had seen billions of sunrises and sunsets and it would see billions more. He all of a sudden felt very small in the scheme of things.

“I’m running along the shoreline, I’m in uniform, and the sun is high above and beating down on me. I’m so hot and sweat is dripping… everywhere. I am being chased by Starfleet Admirals, which include the centenarians who still feel confident they can do the job. They are yelling obscenities and throwing an endless supply of commbadges at me. The funny thing about the commbadges is that they are of normal size and they get bigger as they are being heaved at me. I’m able to outrun them, yet the shoreline seems to go on forever. I have no fudgin’ clue what it means. Could be something to do with my career, or my choices, I have no clue…”

His gaze shifted; once again find the PADD that sat on the desk before him. He stared at the words, absorbing them, his lips moved as he read them over.

Jack slipped his gun from it’s holster and hoisted it up at point blank. The corridor was dark except for the greenish hue from the lights above. It was also eerily quiet, he could hear his rapid breathing, and his heart began to beat faster as the adrenaline began to course through his veins. He could have left well enough alone, but, no. He was never one to do that, in stead he defied orders and decided to take this assignment on himself. He knew this could get him killed, yet he didn’t care, there wasn’t much to live for these days anyway… and the cursor blinked, taunting him, daring him to continue… yet he couldn’t. What was Jack running from? What was hurting him?

“Huh? Well, isn’t that just my own subconscious coming through…” He pushed the PADD away but still tapped the stylus, this time against the desk. He would have to go back and recheck the last few pages that he had written and hoped not to much of his own issues were starting to come through in his writing. He knew on some level writing was an extension of ones self, but there had to be a delicate balance.

“I have agreed to do the book signing and Marie has booked me on for twenty bookstores to start. Twenty! Doesn’t that seem like a lot? Good thing we have transporters, at least I can come back to San Francisco to sleep after each signing. Though, Marie said I might want to take advantage of some sight seeing since some of the cities I’ll be visiting are cities I haven’t been to before. I’ll suppose I can just see, it might be a lot of fun.

“That will certainly fill some of my off time…” Gideon reached for another PADD and placed it in front of him. “Oh, before I forget, remember when I mentioned whispers of an expedition to the Akkadian system? Of course you remember, you are me, well, my personal log…” He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Annnyway, those whispers became a reality and I have an interview with a…” He paused as he looked down at the PADD. “…a Doctor Wells. Hopefully he or she will take me on, this could definitely be a career highlight for me…”

In actuality it really could be a career highlight, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have it on his service record. The Akkadian system had been such a mystery, so little was known about it, but the system’s name floated around in the science circles for years. Though for most of those years it was really just a myth, until more recently. This could boost him in ways that he couldn’t even expect or imagine. “Not that I’m that ambitious or anything… it would just be a nice career high, that’s all.”

Again, Gideon paused as he picked up the PADD and placed to the side. He picked up the PADD that contained his next novel and he stared at it. He knew he should tackle it, at least finish the chapter but instead he pushed himself up from the desk and pulled on his sneakers. He decided to go find a bench in a park and take advantage of the beautiful sunset. “I’m out… computer, end log.”

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