#firstcliffhanger

                From the final recoil, Spock looks forward and grasps a rail, “The last pod is off, hold on.” Before the apprentice can reach for a stable surface to absorb the shock he is rocketed from his position by the injured crewmen moments before another explosion desolates half the room and sets it a blaze.

                “NOOO!” The apprentice screams.

                “Focus boy, you almost got hurt.” A voice says from amidst the fiery carnage, “A hundred gather against us behind those crumbling walls.” The crewmen backs out of the extreme heat, his back to the captain and the boy phaser drawn and pointing into the fires.

                “Here we go,” a hand grasps the boys shoulder and lifts him with a single strain. The captain steps forward and pushes the blind man’s phaser downward and speaks above the roaring blaze “Your ship has been forcefully boarded in compliance to merciful governing laws of this sector of space, your surrender has remained unspoken of, and the threats you made to my crew and I are punishable by annihilation.” He lifts a small trigger in his hand and positions his thumb over the rough rubber coated button. “I ask you again…”

                “What would you like on your baked potato sir? Would you also like any prime rib? And you mam? Of course, right away.” A pan slides into place in front of me and a hand sets down three potatoes, I take a moment to gaw at the memory of the head chef before noticing my other lead chef next to me heating 6 on two different pans. My one pan sits covered with one potato underneath almost fully cooked and only heating to melt the cheese, I take a moment to realize my inexperience with multiple actions at once before noticing the missing plates and running back to the dish room to fetch more. When I arrive a mercenary I had never seen before greets me and picks up a load of plates. Before I could ask if those were to be used at the station I was rushing back to a voice interrupted me, “He’s got the plates, get back to your station.” At that moment a dish washer slams a couple heavy loads onto the metallic table and breaks my hearing for a moment.

                “What?”

                “I said-“

                “Lay down your weapons, or be destroyed.” Spock says with the verbal weight of a thousand collapsing suns. The fifty or so blue scaled humanoids that had made it past the fire hesitate for a moment before bringing their laser rifles up to their eyes, the sights slowly sending the apprentice into madness at the thought of losing a superior in battle.

                “Captain,” He says straining to get up and pulling his phaser to firing position.

                “GET DOWN NOW!” The trigger clicks into position.

“When you’ve got 4-5 people in line you really have to kick it into high gear, you can’t move as slow as you did.”

                “I know, I’m sorry” I say whilst wiping the ranges down.

                “Just keep in mind, one day you’re going to have a lot of orders that need to be done at the same time and you’ve got to stay organized.”

                “Thank you.” The apprentice says holding on to the ripped captains jacket, “I couldn’t have made it past federation training without you.”

                “I NEED A MEDIC!” Spock shouts holding a piece of his shirt against the bleeding chest of the dying boy.

                “If I ever make it back, in time to see you get the council chair you’ve always deserved, I expect a drink at my favorite bar” A light chuckle leads to a cough and the boys eyes roll back into his head and his eyes shut.