Episode 60. The Belgium Kiss Test
Context
- Coordinated Universal Time
- Monday, August 5, 2024 - 17:18
- Location
-
- Space
- Lunar Orbit
- NATO Starbase
- USS Enterprise
- Shuttle Bay
- Timeline
- Schak'Irra Timeline
- Previously
-
As the second mission of Operation: Reclaim Earth gets underway, Admiral Michaux assigns the Enterprise a special operation: transporting Colonel Gomard and fifty soldiers to Moscow to retake the Kremlin bunker. Captain Rodriguez sees the mission as suicidal, and she starts looking for new allies. Over a Martian beer, Agnes and Angie decide to bring the colonel into their secret, a risky idea, but perhaps a necessary one.
Characters
| Name | Affiliation / Branch | Title / Rank | Species | Original Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes V. Rodriguez | NATO / Special Fleet | Captain | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Robert Gomard | NATO / Army | Colonel | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
Manifest
| USS Enterprise | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | NATO |
| Location | Docked at the NATO Starbase |
| Captain | Agnes V. Rodriguez |
| First Officer | Angie Chen |
| Pilot | Eric Corda |
| Communications | Emilie Flores |
| Operations | Charlene Savea |
| Tactical | Eric Corda Charlene Savea |
| Science | Manu |
| Advanced Weapons | Eros Vitos |
| Sickbay | Victor S. Calpel |
| Advisor/Consultant | Manu |
| Custodian | Manu |
| Passengers | Tarsi (Confidential) Robert Gomard and his squad |
TL;DR
Agnes meets Colonel Gomard in the shuttle bay and brings up the perilous mission ahead of them. Memories of Donbas resurface, mixing respect with distrust. To make sure of his loyalty, the captain chooses a method as direct as it is unpredictable: a sudden kiss, sealing a pact of trust that looks very much like a test...
Story
With our little Mars brews tasting over, we leave the mess. Angie heads back to the Enterprise bridge. As for me, I go to feel things out with the colonel in the shuttle bay.
From the access ramp, I can see him with his team, busy loading the mission equipment aboard.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Hi, Robert.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Hello.
Who are you?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Don't you recognize me?
It's me, Agnes.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Good God, Agnes.
What the hell are you doing here? And what did you do to your hair?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
As for the hair, I was tired of all that stuff on my head, so I shaved it off.
As for my presence on the Enterprise, it's justified. I'm her captain.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Wow.
I didn't know.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
You didn't check the manifest before coming aboard?
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
No.
You know I never dwell on superficial things.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
You haven't changed.
How does an Army soldier like you end up wandering around the starbase?
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
After the Zaporizhzhia power plant exploded, all our troops withdrew from the region.
My squad was transferred here.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
That happened a year ago.
You've been hanging around here all this time?
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Yes and no.
I was preparing future missions, until everything fell through last July 15, when the Russians dumped their entire nuclear arsenal on our heads.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Don't remind me.
The Mercator hit me pretty hard with that too.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
The Mercator?
That's the charred scrap heap at the far end of the docks?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Yes.
That's the one.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
That's strange.
Energy shields are supposed to withstand a major nuclear explosion.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
The Mercator wasn't prepared like the ships from the starbase.
She was assigned to Brussels, with the bare minimum of resources.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Brussels?
Why didn't you go back to your bunker as planned?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Sorry, Robert.
That's classified.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Of course. I'll believe you.
You could at least have made up some tall tale for me. Something like: little green men show up in a flying saucer and start shooting at you.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
You caught me off guard there.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Ha ha ha.
I bet I'm not that far from the truth.
Tell me, do you have any news about Angie?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
She's on the bridge.
Did you know she became my first officer?
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Well, I'll be damned.
You two have come a long way since last time.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
We have.
And all that is partly thanks to you.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
You know I only did my duty.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Still.
We owe you a big debt.
Speaking of duty...
What do you think of the next mission?
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Michaux briefed you?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Oh, absolutely.
I have to admit it worries me. Why didn't you refuse it? You know it's suicide.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
I didn't get a say. They're forcing it on me.
I swear, Agnes, I did everything I could to get it canceled.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
What a bunch of bastards.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
And you're being kind by calling them bastards.
They think they're superior with their new weapons that look like science-fiction gadgets.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Have you tried them?
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Yes.
I can tell you it's nothing like our standard equipment. And as for reliability, we've seen better.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Have you ever considered not following that order?
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
It wouldn't change anything.
Either we get slaughtered at the Kremlin, or it's the guillotine for mutiny.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Hmm...
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
What is it, Agnes?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
I may have a way to repay my debt to you.
But before that, I need your word of honor that you won't disclose to anyone what I'm about to propose.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
My God... you suddenly look very ominous.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Swear it to me.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
I've always given it to you.
What else do you want me to say to...
Seeing time slip away, I decide to take matters into my own hands. I don't give him time to finish his sentence. I step closer and, catching him by surprise, kiss him briefly.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Hmm... Uh... what has gotten into you?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Shut your mouth and kiss me!
Smooch... Smooch... Smooch...
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Smooch... Smooch... Smooch...
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Good. You're legit.
And above all, don't go imagining things.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Can you explain?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
You wouldn't understand.
It's a girl thing.
Now I trust you.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Really!?