<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style=""><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Mission: Murder on the Exeter Express</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Day:03</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Stardate: 2445.12.03</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">(USS Exeter – Ready Room– </span>CO, Captain Trip Williams<span style="background-color:transparent;font-family:Georgia;font-size:11pt;white-space:pre-wrap"> – 0808)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.656;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“I heard the Commander’s name a lot, seems you owe her a lot.” She grimaced. “That...like...didn’t come out right. She has your back is what I meant.” she waved her hand in the air vaguely. “You know what I meant.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br></p><p style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">"No, you were right the first time." Trip said with a chuckle. "I do owe her a lot."</p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“So like...It’s okay to be totally scared? But like...It’s the way we come to terms with it afterwards, and how we deal with our trauma that’s more important than the fear itself?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">"absolutely right kiddo," Trip said with a smile, "Does that help?"</p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“It does help a little.” she sighed gently, then caught his gaze. “You know, Maxine asked me if I thought I was any good, forced me to admit that my mother never appreciated anything of my work and disapproved of what I was doing. I know the truth though. You’ve taught me that whatever it was she disapproved of, is rather irrelevant, and...that I did...like...</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">do</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> have value.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </p><p style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">"I definitely think you have value. You'll turn some heads, in a manner of speaking." Trip smiled. "Anyways, cade.... I mean acting Ensign Wakeman, you are dismissed."</span></p><p style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></p><p style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Trip waited for Lana to leave and the sighed. "Kiddo," He said out loud. "Kiddo, she's not that much younger than me."

For the second time that morning Trip began to feel that itch, that wonder. Did he settle down to soon, did he grow up too fast. He began to feel that wanderlust once again. His peer group were young, still ensigns, still with time to figure out their lives, directions, make mistakes. He was 23, the captain of a Starship, married, kid on the way. He loved his life, but he wondered, where else was there to go, and in ten years, would he regret not being afforded the chance to have those young adult adventures.</span></p><p style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font face="Georgia"><span style="font-size:14.6667px;white-space:pre-wrap">"Well Addison, guess the itch is normal after all." He said to himself as he laughed. "Wonder if Ash feels the itch too?"</span></font></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font face="Georgia"><span style="font-size:14.6667px;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></font></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><font face="Georgia"><span style="font-size:14.6667px;white-space:pre-wrap">(reply none)
(posted by Will)</span></font></p></div></div>