Stardate: 61105:1801
Title: New beginnings
Author: Cory Anderson
Time: After "An Escape"
Scene: USS Penelope/USS Relentless


Cory Anderson sat alone in the semi-darkness of his quarters, wondering what was happening. He'd tried to use the time to catch up with his journal reading, but somehow he couldn't seem to concentrate very well. He'd read the words but nothing was being absorbed...

Cory exhaled deeply, leaning back in his chair, and began gently massaging his temples.

While struggling with his Journal, it had also been one of those days where a surge of paperwork from the Medical Department had caught up with him. Looking at the documents which awaited his attention, he had decided to put on some music, and on impulse had called up the recording Viony's debut.

It had been a mistake. Viony's performance of Shostakovich's second piano concerto with the symphony had been a triumph, but the thump-thump-thump-thumpity-thump rhythm of her encore - was now stuck in his head, and the persistent little tune wouldn't go away...

The Vulcans called it 's'halu'ak, the Cardassians described it as a bi'tal'pak, and the classical German word for it was ohrwurm. Literally, an "ear-worm"; a melody that lodged itself in one's head like a parasite, and it was distracting him to bits. Cory shook himself and stood up to stretch, taking a quick look around his quarters. He had received transfer orders with immediate effect and was due to depart the Penelope 0800 the next morning. It was a sad fact, but he knew this would be the last time time he would spend aboard what had been his home for the past few years.

"Such is the life of a Starfleet Officer," he reasoned.


=/\= USS Relentless - Following day =/\=

Cory had expected a rather dull gamma shift spent getting to know his fellow officers and crew assigned to him. What greeted him was a scene out of a war. Relentless' sickbay was packed with crewmen suffering plasma burns and phaser fire. A nurse noticed him and beckoned towards one of the most critically injured.

Dr. Anderson looked down at the injured woman. She suffered wounds consistent with decompression and several blunt trauma injuries. Cory mused to himself as he set to work that the god-awful earth-tone carpet would have to wait for another day.


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Ensign Cory Anderson
Medical Officer
USS Relentless
NCC-11966
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