Far From Home: The Complete Second Series (Far From Home 13-15) Read Online Free Page B

. . ."
    Dunham shook his head.
    "To the Doc!" Billy Yamato said, lifting his beer. It was now his sixth, and he was well on his way past merriment to falling-over-his-own-feet drunk. Unlike other joints on other Starbases, Mickey's only served real alcohol. None of the synthetic stuff those other dives peddled. Starbase 37 had been the only other station the Defiant had so far visited that held real booze – perhaps because it was so far out from the rest of the Union.
    Trouble was, when crews got a chance to let their hair down, they couldn't hold their drink. It soon got the better of them.
    So to say the crew of the Defiant partying in Mickey's were wasted was an understatement.
    They all raised their drinks in a toast. "The Doc!"
    Why they would be drinking to Dr. Clayton was anyone's guess. Not that they needed a reason to drink.
    The music thumped and thumped around them, the lights strobed from time to time in a way that made them feel unsteady. Chang, Rayne, Banks, Dunham and Yamato drank round after round.
    "We deserve this," Chang said in Rayne's ear.
    Olivia nodded. "Yeah."
    "It's been tough."
    "But good, no?"
    Chang smiled. Drunk – more than tipsy drunk – she looked positively goofy with her big smile and sleepy eyes.
    "Very good," Chang said and moved in for a kiss. Rayne swung her arms around Chang's neck, pressed her lips hard against Lisa's.
    Chang's hands wandered to Olivia's waist as they made out right there, in front of the others, their mouths locked in a passionate snog.
    The intermittent conversation between the three boys rapidly faded away as they watched the show.
    "Are we . . . hallucinating? " Dunham asked, his eyes wide.
    Banks couldn't look away. "Dunno. Am I seeing things?"
    "Nope," Billy Yamato said. He swallowed. Unsurprisingly, his throat had gone suddenly dry. "We're not that drunk . . ."
    The sudden flickering of the lights overhead cast explosions of white-blue light over the somewhat uninhibited women.
    Banks stood up. "I'm going up to the bar. I need something stronger."

 
    9.
     
    Aboard the Defiant , while the others partied and enjoyed their short freedom from the confines of the ship, Jessica explained the details of their mission to Commander Greene.
    "Strange," he said. "I mean, for them to pull us away from our next excursion to investigate this, it must be pretty important."
    "From what I've had a chance to read – and I've only skimmed some of the file – the Namar were famous for their advances in the areas of starship construction, weaponry advancement, and biological enhancements. And if this thing is Namar tech . . ."
    "I get you," Greene said. "It's of great interest to Command."
    "Anyway, I'm up for it. To be honest, it still falls within the parameters of our actual mission," Jessica said. "Explore unknown territory. Make contact where possible, so long as it doesn't violate directives in place to protect developing civilisations."
    "And all that jazz."
    "Yes. And I feel this side mission of ours could encompass all that. There's no way this thing is naturally occurring phenomena. It's completely, perfectly cylindrical. Built to precision," King said. "And the orbit is perfect. No degradation of any kind. It's out there, going round and round, an orbiting mystery."
    "I take it you'll hold a meeting?"
    Jessica nodded. "Yes, once we're under way. I'm going to stick with the profile and assign three teams. Sounds about right."
    "Any thoughts on who should be on them?" Greene asked.
    "Not yet. I'm still deciding. Anyway, I hear from Grimshaw we're to expect a guest. Doctor Wilf Gentry. I said we'd put him up in one of the ambassadorial suites," she said.
    "Good idea. Who is he, anyway?" Greene asked.
    "Some kind of expert on all this. To be honest, I'm not sure just how much the man is going to help. But hey, Grimshaw must have some reason for wanting him brought along."
    "There is that . . ."
    "It'll be fine," King assured him. "We'll be heading into the unknown.