48 Hours Off the Clock
Posted on Thu May 21st, 2026 @ 7:55am by Petty Officer 1st Class Kael Draven & Petty Officer 2nd Class Ronan Drake & Finn Drake
Mission:
Die Hard: Chimera Edition
Location: Chimera > Main Docking Port
The docking concourse looked less like an orderly Starfleet transfer point and more like the beginning of a riot with luggage. Crewmembers flooded through the massive docking ring in noisy waves, hauling duffels, arguing over reservations, and laughing too loudly now that they had forty-eight unexpected hours off the ship. Beyond the docking port, the gleaming space station stretched endlessly outward beneath vaulted glass ceilings while, far below, the planetary space elevator disappeared through the clouds like a silver thread.
At the enlisted checkpoint, Petty Officer First Class Kael Draven already looked spiritually exhausted.
Chief Enor had vanished twenty minutes earlier with a casual “You’ve got this,” which in Chief-speak translated roughly to Good luck, don’t embarrass me.
Now Draven stood behind the checkpoint console processing leave authorizations while fielding increasingly stupid questions.
“No, you cannot expense a luxury penthouse under ‘operational morale.’”
“Because that’s not what operational morale means.”
“Yes, I’m aware the casino advertises free drinks for officers.”
“No, that somehow makes it worse.”
Across the concourse, a young lieutenant at the officers’ checkpoint looked one scheduling conflict away from resigning his commission while junior officers loudly debated shuttle reservations, spa packages, and whether an archaeology gala required dress uniforms.
Draven rubbed at his temple just as Finn Drake slipped through the crowd like a feral child with clearance privileges.
Behind him, Ronan Drake carried two duffel bags and the expression of a man who had accepted that peace was no longer a realistic outcome.
Finn stopped dead at the checkpoint, staring wide-eyed at the chaos.
“…Is this what command looks like?”
Draven glanced up. “No. This is what collapse looks like.”
Finn grinned while Ronan slid their leave padds across the counter.
“Checking out for station leave.”
Draven grabbed them without looking. “Names.”
“You know our names.”
“Humor me.”
“Petty Officer Second Class Ronan Drake.”
Finn immediately leaned onto the counter. “Finn Drake. Tourist. Visionary. Future legend.”
“Current problem,” Ronan muttered.
Draven processed the padds. “Destination?”
Finn answered instantly.
“Museums, food, the giant space elevator, and apparently there’s this Ferengi-owned entertainment house down on the planet.”
Ronan froze. “…The what?”
Finn lowered his voice dramatically. “Orion-themed.”
Draven looked up slowly.
Finn continued completely seriously. “Ferengi-owned, Orion-influenced, and built for travelers with more credits than self-control.”
“You are eleven,” Ronan said flatly.
“I’m observant.”
“You are absolutely not going there.”
Finn pointed at him accusingly. “That sounds exactly like something someone says right before accidentally ending up there.”
A nearby crewman barked out a laugh while Draven visibly reconsidered every life decision that had led him here.
“Please tell me you don’t actually know where that is,” Ronan muttered.
Finn shrugged. “I know what district it’s in.”
Draven handed the padds back immediately. “You’re cleared. Leave before this conversation gets worse.”
Finn immediately spotted the massive elevator platform moving slowly through the transparent shaft beyond the promenade windows and pointed like he’d discovered it personally.
“RONAN. LOOK.”
“Yes, Finn.”
“IT GOES THROUGH THE CLOUDS.”
“That’s generally how planets work.”
Finn ignored him and bolted toward the transit line before Ronan caught the back of his jacket.
“Walking,” Ronan ordered.
“I am walking,” Finn argued while half-jogging.
The station elevator terminal buzzed with off-duty Starfleet personnel, civilians, traders, and tourists funneling onto the descending platforms. When the doors finally opened, Finn darted inside and immediately plastered himself against the transparent side of the car.
The city below sprawled endlessly beneath them, glowing towers rising through the clouds while streams of shuttle traffic moved between platforms like schools of fish.
Finn’s eyes widened.
“Ohhhhhh,” he breathed. “Okay, this is officially the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Ronan stepped in beside him with both duffel bags still hanging off one shoulder. “You said that about the warp core.”
“The warp core was inside a ship,” Finn replied immediately. “This is an entire planet.”
The elevator began its smooth descent, station lights giving way to open sky and drifting cloud cover.
Finn pressed both hands to the glass.
“Do you think the Orion place has food?”
“No.”
“Music?”
“No.”
“Can I at least look at it from outside?”
Ronan looked at him. “Absolutely not.”
Finn nodded thoughtfully.
“So we’re definitely going there accidentally.”
Ronan closed his eyes briefly while a nearby civilian tried and failed not to laugh.
The planet continued rising toward them through the clouds as forty-eight hours of freedom officially began.
