Chapter Text
Brad Boimler was sitting in his quarters. He had been listening to his old friend’s calls she gave him. Beckett Mariner. She was upset. She had every right to be upset at him. He left in the middle of her shift. He knew he couldn’t talk to her, or else he would crumble. She had changed him for the better. His thoughts were constantly drawn to her. He constantly wondered how she was doing. If she was still mad at him. As he pressed play, on the most recent voicemail, as of yesterday. The answer was, yes. She was still angry.
“Bradward Boimler I still cannot believe you left! You backstabbing traitor! I was supposed to be your mentor! And you just left! I cannot believe you! I opened up to you! You are my best friend! You couldn’t even bear to look me in the eyes and tell me you were leaving the Cerritos! Jerk! I have to get on duty! Call me before I go over to the Titan and kick your ass!”
Brad sighed. He missed the Cerritos. Riker was crazy, insane. He signed up to explore, instead of all this action. Getting shot at. Getting in life threatening situations daily. Hourly. He sent Rutherford a few texts. Same with Tendi. They were supportive of him. He was too scared to talk to Mariner.
Then, his comms chirped. “Riker to Boimler.”
Brad cleared his voice. “Go ahead.”
“Please report to my ready room at once Mr. Boimler.” Riker said.
“Yes sir. On my way now.”
Boimler sighed. He was nervous. Regardless of his thoughts of Riker. He still intimidated Brad. He walked to Riker’s ready room.
While he was walking, he took the scenic route. Regardless of the many things that could kill him in space, Brad always enjoyed seeing the ship at warp. The bright blue nacelles, propelling the ship at light speed. The stars crossing across the window. It was comforting.
Eventually, he went to the bridge, then to the Captain’s Ready Room. When Boimler entered the Ready Room, he was surprised by the amount of memorabilia Riker had. Light Jazz was playing in the background. The ready room had a trombone on display, as well as a model of the Titan, and the Enterprise D, and the Enterprise E. On his desk, he had 3 photos. One of him and his wife, Deanna Troi on their wedding day. One of him and Picard, on the Enterprise E. And the entire bridge crew of the Enterprise D.
Riker was sitting in his chair, examining a PADD. As the door opened, he looked up, and smiled. “Ah! Mr. Boimler! Please. Have a seat.”
Boimler awkwardly took a seat.
Riker noticed this. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
Boimler croaked awkwardly. “Root Beer would be nice”
Riker smiled, stood up, and went to the Replicator. “Two Root Beers”
The replicator came out with two Root Beers, sizzling with foam at the top. Riker went back to his desk. He handed Boimler one and took a sip out of his.
“So. How are you adjusting to the Titan?” Riker inquired.
“Uh. Fine sir.” Boimler replied, as he fiddled with the handle.
“I see. Have you made friends with any of the crew yet.” Riker questioned
“Uh. Yes sir.” Boimler nervously said.
“Mr. Boimler. If you are going to be on my bridge, I want you to be honest with me.” Riker said, in an authoritative tone.
Boimler sighed. “I’m sorry sir. I have a lot on my mind.”
Riker then took another sip. “Enlighten me.”
Boimler looked confused. “Sir?”
Riker smiled and said. “I said, enlighten me Lieutenant.”
“Sorry sir. I am not used to captains fraternizing with their crew.” Boimler said.
“Are you familiar with Jonathan Archer?” Riker asked.
“Uh. Yes sir.”. Boimler was visibly confused.
“At one point in my career, I had to make a tough decision.” Riker explained, “Deanna recommended me to look through the last mission of the NX-01. I learned a lot from that mission. Something that I liked about his leadership style, is that he made time for his crew members. On one mission, he said ‘the way I see it, all we have on this mission is each other.’. After that, I adapted that aspect of his leadership philosophy.”
“That’s.. very inspiring sir.” Boimler said.
Riker smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Boimler. Now. Let me ask that again. How are you adjusting to the Titan?”
Brad sighed. “Not well.”
Riker looked concerned. “Why is that?”
“Well, Captain. I kind of left the Cerritos on a bad note. Especially with my friends there.”
Riker took a sip of his root beer, then leaned back against his chair. “What happened?”
“I kind of left without telling one of them. Specifically Ensign Mariner.” Brad explained. “Ever since I left, she’s been giving me voicemails. Not exactly nice ones.”
Riker chuckled. “Yeah. I know Beckett. She is very protective of her friends. She has given me a few calls as well. Not mean ones but telling me that I should send you back to the Cerritos.”
Boimler felt a little blush inside him. He was worried that Mariner would say something stupid to Riker, but instead she asked him to send him back. After that thought, it made Brad feel significantly worse. Did Mariner really care about him that much?
Riker continued. “That being said, I think you should call her back. She cares about you a lot. Relationships can be difficult. Especially when you get transferred and have to end a relationship.”
“Oh. Uh, Me and Beckett aren’t dating.” Boimler blushed.
Riker chuckled. “Ah. The way you and her were.. never mind.”
Boimler reddened after hearing this. “Ah. Uh. Yeah. I will call her.”
Riker nodded. “Good. We will continue this discussion later.”
Boimler stiffened. “Ah. Captain. I would greatly appreciate if this stayed between the two of us.”
Riker said. “You got it. This stays between us.”
Boimler exited the ready room with the undrinked Root Beer in his hand.
As he made his way to his quarters, he thought on what he was going to say to Mariner. He can’t say something lame, like “Oh. Hey.”. Brad had to make it seem like he cared. Maybe. “I am really sorry. I missed you. I am a jerk for leaving you.” No. Too emotional. Mariner would eat him alive. Before he knew it, he was at his quarters.
As he opened the doors, he said to no one in particular. “I am so screwed.”
Eventually, he sat down. Looked at the time. 2030. Mariner should be off duty. He sighed. His nerves were scrambled. He clicked on Mariner’s contact. It rung.
What if she didn’t respond? What if she blocked him? Brad’s mind was going Warp 5.
Beckett picked up. She was in her bunk on the Cerritos. The room was dark, but Boimler could make out her face. She had a confused look on her face.
Brad said. “Uh. Hi.”
On the computer, Mariner’s face tightened in anger. “So, you don’t respond to me for 2 months. Leave in the middle of my shift. Keep in contact with all of our friends, except for me! Leave me without any responses for 2 months, not knowing if you are dead or alive, and all you have to say to me is. ‘uh hi?’ What is wrong with you! I am so mad at you Bradward Boimler. What are you drunk? You are so lucky I don’t just hang up. You know what? Goodbye Brad.”
Brad was quick to interrupt. “Wait! No! Beckett. Please. I’m sorry. I was so nervous. I am still so nervous. I just.” Brad put his hand to his face. “I’m sorry. I really am. I just. I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I missed you and your company. I know I am literally the worst person in the universe. I just. I just wanted to talk to you again. You can hang up on me.”
Mariner’s face softened, but still had a harsh voice. “You are damned right you are the worst person in the universe.”
Brad had a small smile. He was thankful Mariner didn’t end the call. “Yeah. I’ll be happy even if you just tell me how horrible I am. I just wanted to talk to you again.”
Mariner said. “I most definitely could! You are a weasel! I am still so mad at you! You are such a jerk! Just leaving me in the middle of my shift? Dick move man!”
Brad chuckled. “Yeah. I know. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I was afraid you’d.. convince me not to.”
Mariner let out a huff. “Well of course I would convince you not to! You are such a jerk. You are my best friend! I didn’t want you to leave. Tendi and Rutherford are always busy or together. There’s this guy named Jet that is trying to take your place in the friend group. Now I feel all out of place here.”
Boimler sighed. He knew he should’ve at least talked to Mariner before he left. He is even rethinking about transferring to the Cerritos.
“I’m sorry Mariner. I called because I missed you.” Boimler said, softly.
Mariner blushed a small amount, hoping the darkness would conceal it. “Yeah well. I miss you too. That doesn’t mean I am still not super pissed at you.”
Boimler laughed. “You have every right to be.”
Mariner huffed. “You are right I do!”
Boimler asked. “Why aren’t you out doing something? Like, why aren’t you at the bar. Or at the holodeck. Or with Rutherford and Tendi.“.
Mariner rolled her eyes. “Well. You see. I am not in the mood to drink.”
Boimler teased, “Beckett Mariner not in the mood to drink? What has the universe come to!”
Mariner sighed. “Well, a certain stupid someone decided to leave me out to dry! I don’t like drinking alone!”
Boimler apologized, “You are right. I am sorry.”
Mariner continued, “Yeah! You better be. And Rutherford and Tendi are flirting all the time. It pains me just to be around them. All they do is talk about nerdy stuff.”
Boimler had a dramatic sigh, “Hey! I talk about nerdy stuff!”
Mariner snorted, “Yeah! But I can make fun of you for it. If I make fun of them for it, they are all awkward about it, and slink off to wherever.”
Boimler said, “I’m surprised those two are not dating already.”
Mariner laughed. “I am sure that they are, just secretly. I swear to you Boims that I have seen them hold hands in the hallway! I am sure they go off to the Jefferies Tubes to make out. Or the holodeck!”
Boimler laughed at that. “Alright, alright. Tell me everything that’s happened”
Mariner was thinking. “Ah. The same old. Uh. I told you about Jet. Oh! There was this collector who was totally going to try and collect Rutherford. They made the new security chief into a doll. That was weird. Ransom turned into a giant floating head and tried eating the Cerritos.”
Boimler laughed. He missed the Cerritos. He missed his friends. “A Typical Day on the Cerritos.”
Beckett asked, “How about you? On the fancy Titan? How’s Riker?”
Boimler let out a dramatic sigh, “Only every other day, do we get in life threatening situations. Riker is insane, but a good captain. I never knew that there were so many puns to be made with Jazz. I haven’t exactly made any friends here. I kinda put on a front that I was an experienced officer that knew what he was doing.”
“Rookie mistake Boims.” Mariner said casually.
“Yeah. I should’ve stayed on the Cerritos. I miss you.” Then he quickly added it on. “All of you.”
“You could always transfer back, you know.” Mariner said, in a soft voice.
Boimler was quiet. He had honestly thought about it. The only thing that was holding him back was Mariner. If she would ignore him.
“I have thought about it. The only thing I wasn’t sure about was you pushing me off out an airlock.”
Mariner looked a little angry. “I may tease you about that, but I would never do that! You are my best friend Boims.”
Brad smiled. “I’ll put in my request when I get back on duty tomorrow.”
Mariner had a smile on her face. “Really?”
That made it all worth it. Seeing her smile.
Boimler said, “Yes. I miss the Cerritos, and the people on it.”
Mariner, still smiling said, “Well. That definitely got you a lot better standing, so I won’t be too mad at you when you get back.”
Brad said, “I’m glad.”
“You- you don’t have to you know. I’ll understand.”. Mariner had a look of fear on her face.
“I know. I want too. Riker is too insane.”
Mariner smiled. “Good. He is insane.”
Boimler laughed.
Mariner said “Hey Boims. Show me your room. Don’t you have an upgrade?”
Brad, sighed. “It’s bare. I haven’t put much here. Just a few photos.”
Mariner said “I wanna see! I wanna see Boims room!”
Boimler laughed and gave a small tour. It wasn’t much. It was just a bed, with blue sheets and a green bedspread. He had two photos on his bedside table, and a metal model of an NX Class ship.
“Aww! Boims is a history nerd! He has an NX ship!” Mariner teased.
“Yeah yeah.” Boimler said.
“Show me the pictures!”
Boimler showed his photos. One was of the group, all smiling. Rutherford was carrying Tendi on his shoulders, while Mariner was hugging Boimler. The second one was a photo of just Mariner and him. Mariner was holding the peace sign up, with her hand wrapped around Boimler’s neck, while Boimler was smiling.
“Aww! Who knew Boimler was so sentimental!” Mariner teased.
Boimler didn’t notice the blush on Mariner’s face when he showed the photo of the two of them.
As the night progressed, the two caught up. Laughing. Telling each other stories that they have missed out on. They even bet on when Rutherford and Tendi would get together.
“Hey Boims. I’m glad you called tonight. But, don’t you dare leave without saying goodbye again. I will be so pissed off with you.”
Boimler had a small smile. “Yeah. Believe me. I beat myself up more than you ever could.”
Mariner had a smile look on her face. She was unusually kind, “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Brad yawned. “I won’t hold you up any longer Beckett. I’ll call you again tomorrow.”
Mariner had an unreadable look on her face, “Promise?”
Boimler said. “I promise.”
There was a moment of silence between the two of them.
“Hey Boims?” Beckett sounded nervous.
“Yeah?”
Right before she could respond. The PADD got thrown to the floor. Brad could hear sounds of struggling.
“Get off of me! I’ll kick your ass!” Beckett sounded pretty upset.
Brad was frozen in fear. All he could to was listen and watch, but he couldn't see much, because it was so dark.
An unknown masculine voice said, “Get her out of here. She will make the Captain break.”
“Hey! Get off me!” Beckett yelled!
The second voice was more feminine. “Good. Pathetic Starfleet. They won’t see this coming.”
Then, Brad heard a crunching sound. Then the computer said, “Connection Terminated”
Brad was successfully freaked out. They had Mariner. They had Mariner. The Cerritos was in trouble. Brad had to do something. He scrambled out of bed.
Brad tapped his combadge “Boimler to Riker.”
“Riker responded. “Riker here. What are you doing up Mr. Boimler.”
“Captain. I need to speak to you. It is urgent.” Boimler was stressed.
“Okay. Meet me in my Ready Room. Counselor Troi will be there as well.”
Boimler raced to the Bridge. This couldn’t wait. He ran through the crowds of people, rushing to get to the Captain. The Titan had to help. He had to help.
As soon as he got back to the Captain’s Ready Room. Counselor Troi could already sense his emotions. Concerned. Scared. Longingness. He was a jumble of emotions.
“Brad. What’s wrong?” Troi asked. “I can sense your overwhelming concern.”
Even Riker looked concerned. Brad had a crazy look on his face, his uniform all out of order.
“We have to help the Cerritos. They are in trouble!”
“Slow down. Tell us what happened.” Riker asked.
“I took your advice. I called Mariner. She kinda forgave me. I talked to her! Then, out of nowhere, someone dragged her out of her bed, to capture her, to make Captain Freeman talk! Reveal something about the Federation!”
Riker and Troi looked at each other knowingly.
“Lieutenant Boimler… I can’t just take the advice of one person, especially if all the proof you can give me is that you saw it on a PADD. Environments can always be misleading. If I know Mariner, she is probably playing a prank.” Captain Riker said in a commanding voice.
“But Captain! I can’t ignore this! My best friend is in trouble!” Boimler tried arguing.
Riker said, “Mr. Boimler. If the Cerritos was boarded, and attacked, do you think they just wouldn’t send out a distress signal? Captain Freeman is an excellent captain. She would let us know if there was anything wrong.”
Riker turned his computer around, showing fleet movement. He zoomed in on the Cerritos. Which was at a second contact planet, Deveron.
Riker continued. “There is no reason to think they are in trouble. They are right where they are supposed to be. If the ship was taken, why haven’t they warped out of there? Go towards their own space?”
“They could’ve taken the bridge! They could have taken the Cerritos before they had the chance! It could have been a stealth incursion! The possibilities are endless!” Brad ranted.
“Lieutenant!” Riker yelled.
“Captain! I haven’t asked for anything from you since I have been here. Please. I am asking you now. Trust me. I have to help them.” Brad pleaded.
“I’m sorry Brad. I have my hands tied on this. Starfleet has already assigned us a new task. Priority one. Investigating a disruption in our communications array near Tholian Space. Get some sleep. That’s an order.”
Boimler sighed. “Yes sir.”
He took off towards his bunk. He was in a dilemma. He knew Mariner was in trouble. He knew Mariner needed him. She would save his butt whenever he needed it. It was time for him to pay her back. He knew she needed him. He had to come up with a plan to save her.