Omake - Lt Kuznetsova Gets It Right - AKuz
AKuz
Been Better
- Location
- A Rising Tide of Horrors
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I lied. Remember when I said there were three ficlets? Well, there was a forth! Remember this post of mine? Here's what it looks like in universe. And now., I can finally rest. Good night.
Lieutenant Kuznetsova Gets It Right.
Stardate 21070.5, Starfleet Command Cafeteria, Earth
Lieutenant Alexandria Kuznetsova of Starfleet Intelligence is an odd duck. For one thing she has some eccentric views on the galaxy and life. And another thing is that she knows better than the entirety of Starfleet Intelligence.
"Bloody Romulans trying to 'send a political message', that's not at all what's going on. It's a plague and we're all going to die," Kuznetsova says, putting down her sandwich.
Lieutenant Anne Usha of the Office of Naval Architecture quickly bites into her sandwich. Sometimes she wishes she ate alone at her desk, "Okay you're going to have to run that one by me," she says after swallowing a mouthful of delicious sandwich.
"Well consider...and bear in mind that the following is all publicly available. So I am not violating any secrets… consider the following..." The Starfleet Intelligence officer says while grabbing a salt shaker, "Suppose at some point the Romulans encountered some sort of biological weapon or terrible plague that was imprinted in their institutional knowledge base." She shakes the salt… shaker.
Anne nods, and takes another bite; if her mouth is full she won't have to reply.
"Now, that disease breaks out on Ulith III, maybe it defrosts from the ice or something." Alexandria grabs her sandwich and pours salt on it.
Anne eyes the salt warily, and now thirsty she puts down her sandwich to pick up her glass of water, only to watch in resignation as her friend takes a spoon and moves some of the salt from "Ulith III" to her poor sandwich. "Now at some point a freighter or something moves the plague from Ulith III to Korlonia II."
"My sandwich..." Lieutenant Usha says with deep resignation. This has all happened before, and it will all happen again.
Alexandria doesn't seem to hear. "So now, Challorn shows up at Ulith III and finds all the outpost crew killed. But rather than risking the disease spread via leftover spores or virii particles or something," she punches her sandwich, causing Anne to jump in her chair, "They sterilize the whole area."
Lieutenant Usha regards her sandwich longingly, but sheds not a single tear and turns to a slice of angel food cake, her favoured dessert, and she picks up a white plastic cafeteria fork to consume the tasty treat.
Kuzentsova takes her own dessert, a large cookie, and pours some salt from Korlonia II on it, "Now, Cheron takes on the disease somehow. Probably stored in her cargo rooms or something." She suddenly breaks the cookie in half. "And the Romulans, noting what has been happening, try to destroy the Cheron." she drops half the cookie in her glass of milk, "They don't destroy the ship, but do destroy the offending sample"
Anne nods as her fork delivers a bite of delicious spongy cake to her mouth, which means that it is out of place to save the rest of the slice from Alexandria's demonstration, "Muh Cake..." she says sadly, through a full mouth, as her friend uses a black plastic cafeteria spoon to move salt onto her cake.
"Then another sample is delivered to the Klingon colony on… Tre...beck?" the SI officer shrugs, "Not important. Anyway the Romulans try to fight because they don't trust that we will destroy a colony of our own people on our world."
"Klingon colony" Anne provides helpfully, wondering if she can brush the salt off of her cake with the sleeve of her crimson uniform.
"Well… yes, not important. Anyway. They fail" Anne snatches her cake back before something else happens to it, "Buuut…. Korlonia II drops out of communication, probably suffering from the disease. And…" *bam* she punches the remaining sandwich. "Korlonia II is sterilized as well"
"Muh Sandwich..." the ONA officer says sadly through a bite of slightly salty cake, deep in mourning, considering that she should stop eating with her friend if this keeps happening. And it happens at least once a week it feels like. All the way back to their days as Academy roommates. She sighs, the deep sacrifices of friendship.
"So what does this tell us?" Kuznetsova asks, and Lieutenant Usha shakes her head while eating her cake as fast as possible. "That the disease is either intelligent or controlled by an intelligent force."
Anne regards her friend dubiously, swallowing the last hastily chewed bite of her cake, "That's crazy. You're crazy," she says with a kindness born of familiarity that softens the literal meaning of the words.
"That's what Commander Otiev says. But I'll show him, I'll show them all!" Alexandria's voice grows strident, "I'll put this in writing, and submit it. And when the time comes they'll know that someone predicted this disease!"
"What? This time?" Anne Usha regards her friend dubiously, "Why will that happen this time as opposed to, say, the Tribble conspiracy?"
Alexandria has the good grace to look slightly embarrassed.
"Or the omnipotent and omniscient energy being watching Humanity, so that someday we will stand trial for our actions?"
"That remains unproven!"
"Oh! Or the possible threat of infiltration by changeling aliens from ~The Gamma Quadrant~"
"Also unproven!"
"And what about the breed of augmented Intelligent cats ruling Earth from the shadows?"
"Well, I suppose I was overenthusiastic about that. But how else do you explain how cute cats are?"
"Uh-huh," says Anne taking a sip of her unspoiled water, "What makes this time different?"
"Because this time," Alexandria stands up, posing patriotically, "This time… I'm right"
------------------------------------
Four months later when Lieutenant Alexandria Kuznetsova of Starfleet Intelligence is all but kidnapped for a top secret research program run by Starfleet Tactical, she has the good sense to be surprised… and frightened.
Lieutenant Kuznetsova Gets It Right.
Stardate 21070.5, Starfleet Command Cafeteria, Earth
Lieutenant Alexandria Kuznetsova of Starfleet Intelligence is an odd duck. For one thing she has some eccentric views on the galaxy and life. And another thing is that she knows better than the entirety of Starfleet Intelligence.
"Bloody Romulans trying to 'send a political message', that's not at all what's going on. It's a plague and we're all going to die," Kuznetsova says, putting down her sandwich.
Lieutenant Anne Usha of the Office of Naval Architecture quickly bites into her sandwich. Sometimes she wishes she ate alone at her desk, "Okay you're going to have to run that one by me," she says after swallowing a mouthful of delicious sandwich.
"Well consider...and bear in mind that the following is all publicly available. So I am not violating any secrets… consider the following..." The Starfleet Intelligence officer says while grabbing a salt shaker, "Suppose at some point the Romulans encountered some sort of biological weapon or terrible plague that was imprinted in their institutional knowledge base." She shakes the salt… shaker.
Anne nods, and takes another bite; if her mouth is full she won't have to reply.
"Now, that disease breaks out on Ulith III, maybe it defrosts from the ice or something." Alexandria grabs her sandwich and pours salt on it.
Anne eyes the salt warily, and now thirsty she puts down her sandwich to pick up her glass of water, only to watch in resignation as her friend takes a spoon and moves some of the salt from "Ulith III" to her poor sandwich. "Now at some point a freighter or something moves the plague from Ulith III to Korlonia II."
"My sandwich..." Lieutenant Usha says with deep resignation. This has all happened before, and it will all happen again.
Alexandria doesn't seem to hear. "So now, Challorn shows up at Ulith III and finds all the outpost crew killed. But rather than risking the disease spread via leftover spores or virii particles or something," she punches her sandwich, causing Anne to jump in her chair, "They sterilize the whole area."
Lieutenant Usha regards her sandwich longingly, but sheds not a single tear and turns to a slice of angel food cake, her favoured dessert, and she picks up a white plastic cafeteria fork to consume the tasty treat.
Kuzentsova takes her own dessert, a large cookie, and pours some salt from Korlonia II on it, "Now, Cheron takes on the disease somehow. Probably stored in her cargo rooms or something." She suddenly breaks the cookie in half. "And the Romulans, noting what has been happening, try to destroy the Cheron." she drops half the cookie in her glass of milk, "They don't destroy the ship, but do destroy the offending sample"
Anne nods as her fork delivers a bite of delicious spongy cake to her mouth, which means that it is out of place to save the rest of the slice from Alexandria's demonstration, "Muh Cake..." she says sadly, through a full mouth, as her friend uses a black plastic cafeteria spoon to move salt onto her cake.
"Then another sample is delivered to the Klingon colony on… Tre...beck?" the SI officer shrugs, "Not important. Anyway the Romulans try to fight because they don't trust that we will destroy a colony of our own people on our world."
"Klingon colony" Anne provides helpfully, wondering if she can brush the salt off of her cake with the sleeve of her crimson uniform.
"Well… yes, not important. Anyway. They fail" Anne snatches her cake back before something else happens to it, "Buuut…. Korlonia II drops out of communication, probably suffering from the disease. And…" *bam* she punches the remaining sandwich. "Korlonia II is sterilized as well"
"Muh Sandwich..." the ONA officer says sadly through a bite of slightly salty cake, deep in mourning, considering that she should stop eating with her friend if this keeps happening. And it happens at least once a week it feels like. All the way back to their days as Academy roommates. She sighs, the deep sacrifices of friendship.
"So what does this tell us?" Kuznetsova asks, and Lieutenant Usha shakes her head while eating her cake as fast as possible. "That the disease is either intelligent or controlled by an intelligent force."
Anne regards her friend dubiously, swallowing the last hastily chewed bite of her cake, "That's crazy. You're crazy," she says with a kindness born of familiarity that softens the literal meaning of the words.
"That's what Commander Otiev says. But I'll show him, I'll show them all!" Alexandria's voice grows strident, "I'll put this in writing, and submit it. And when the time comes they'll know that someone predicted this disease!"
"What? This time?" Anne Usha regards her friend dubiously, "Why will that happen this time as opposed to, say, the Tribble conspiracy?"
Alexandria has the good grace to look slightly embarrassed.
"Or the omnipotent and omniscient energy being watching Humanity, so that someday we will stand trial for our actions?"
"That remains unproven!"
"Oh! Or the possible threat of infiltration by changeling aliens from ~The Gamma Quadrant~"
"Also unproven!"
"And what about the breed of augmented Intelligent cats ruling Earth from the shadows?"
"Well, I suppose I was overenthusiastic about that. But how else do you explain how cute cats are?"
"Uh-huh," says Anne taking a sip of her unspoiled water, "What makes this time different?"
"Because this time," Alexandria stands up, posing patriotically, "This time… I'm right"
------------------------------------
Four months later when Lieutenant Alexandria Kuznetsova of Starfleet Intelligence is all but kidnapped for a top secret research program run by Starfleet Tactical, she has the good sense to be surprised… and frightened.
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