Story:Star Trek: Infinite Voyages/Choices

Summary
Lieutenant junior grade Tricia Jensen transfers to the USS Pioneer and runs afoul of Dr. Robert Dalton when she fails to report for the required physical examination. Dalton visits her quarters and coaxes her into sickbay. Despite her confessed anxiety, she strikes up a conversation with him and the two arrange to meet later for dinner. After Jensen leaves, Dr. Justine Usman comments on his apparent attraction to the young woman and speculates on each of their motivations.

That evening, Jensen is on her way to Dalton's quarters when she passes Captain Quinton in the hallway outside Commander Franklin Xavier's quarters. Quinton, suffering from infatuation and a guilty conscience, resolved to disclose his romantic attraction to Xavier, though he accepts that anything more than friendship between them is impossible. However, he is now finding that's easier said than done. Once he summons his courage and goes inside, Xavier's reaction surprises him.

Meanwhile, Dalton and Jensen have finished their dinner and are getting to know each other. As they talk, the interest appears to be mutual, though both seem to come to the same unspoken conclusion that it's not the right time. Jensen recently separated from her former fiancé, a civilian scientist on assignment to her previous ship, and it's clear she's still struggling with the repercussions. Dalton questions his disinterest in social interactions following his wife's death two years earlier, and resolves to let this one progress.

The next morning, Quinton and Xavier begin to discuss the change in their relationship but are interrupted by a sudden red alert announcement over the com from Lieutenant Commander Watley. On the bridge, she tells them the Pioneer is under attack from an unknown alien vessel. Scans of the ship are inconclusive, but as quickly as it appeared, it vanishes.

Chapters

 * Chapter One
 * Chapter Two
 * Chapter Three
 * Chapter Four
 * Chapter Five
 * Chapter Six
 * Chapter Seven
 * Chapter Eight
 * Chapter Nine
 * Chapter Ten