Child In A Sweet Shop
Posted on August 5th, 2014 by Ilaihr

With the Helium-3 crush cans coming in and the hustle and bustle of the shuttlebay; Ilaihr felt young again. First mission on the Atlantis and lives were in jeopardy, it was exciting, but it wasn’t proper to act as such. He dove, can to can, checking everyone of them for any microfractures, with almost a skip in his step. The tricorder almost sounded like music to him, he had to resist the urge to hum, whistle or worse…. sing; this was a serious situation and he had to present himself as such. But temptation inevitably got the better of him, beginning to sing a song he sang when he captained Betty.

"The captain the captain of his ship, the captain the captain he makes her tick tick tick. Flys her through space and time, wherever we go we dont care why. Because I’m the captain ….." He stopped abruptly, sensing eyes upon him. He tweaked his spectacles, trying to change the angle to catch a reflection. He sighs. "I know you’re there cadet. Speak your mind."
Behind him stood a young female cadet with a befuddled look upon her face. "You’re not the captain…sir?"
He chuckled. "Not anymore. They were good years."
"I’m afraid I don’t quite understand, you were a captain?"
"Captain Ilaihr of Andor, of the Independent Trade Vessel Betty. Commanded her for 80 years, saw the far flung corners of know space, carrying only the finest commodities and wares. Even did trade with the Romulans and the Tholians, it was magnificent."
Her confused face still did not subside. "Then, why may I ask, are you now an ensign in Starfleet?"
"Betty was irreparably damaged sadly, the best thing to do was to put her down and move on. I had the chance to join starfleet over a century ago, but it was a confusing time, so I went on my own adventure for a long while. Being aboard a Starfleet ship as I sent Betty off, made me desire a change, the chance to do something more. And so, here I am now." He smiled at the cadet’s questions; he loved telling stories. "What may I ask is your name cadet?"
"Ummm….." She stuttered. "Jensen…..Victoria Jensen."
"Well it is a pleasure to meet you Jensen Victoria Jensen. I apologise for singing so loudly and disturbing your work. I must dash, there is much to do and much to see in these exciting times." He cupped her outstretched hand and nodding as he seemingly translocated across the room to work on something else.
Cadet Jensen stood there for a moment, unsure of what had just happened. Then it hit her and she exclaimed. "Wait, did he just say he was over a hundred years old?"

As Ilaihr started work on one of the cans, he pondered to himself thinking about the military officer, wondering if he was right in saying that his place was on the ship. He was certain he could fly the can down through the atmosphere, and if anything went wrong he would be there to fix it, he would also be a Starfleet officer on the mining station. Perhaps this is just not the time, he is new afterall and he must prove himself before the crew. This also reminded him of the fact he has not yet met the captain of Atlantis, he had heard of Admiral Blackthorne by way of reputation, and like he was with all people; Ilaihr was anxious to meet him, as well as more of the crew.