Baseball Game Part I
Posted on Fri Oct 30th, 2026 @ 12:26am by Lieutenant Junior Grade Marjani Smith
1,800 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
A Day In The Life
Location: Brett Stadium,Port Shangri-la, Cestus III
Timeline: From Marjani's Past
How did I get to this place, Edon wondered to himself as he spun the small white sphere lodged in his leather mitt around in his right hand as he stood on the slightly raised pitcher's mound at Brett Stadium, feeling the seams on the baseball. What was a Bajoran, of all things, doing playing an ancient Terran game that most Terrans did not even play anymore anyway? This was all Marjani's fault, he knew.
She had recruited him to the team in the first place when the Seagulls' ace pitcher had been injured and she had heard through the squadron grapevine that the Black Knights' commanding officer had been famous in the Bajoran resistance for two things: the ability to pilot anything with an engine at ridiculous velocities and the ability to put photon grenades exactly where he wanted them to go every time.
Edon sighed and peered in at the catcher, a thickset Tellarite, and got the sign for the pitch. It was not as if there were really all that many choices for Edon, he really only knew fastball, change-up, and something called a knuckleball that the Seagulls' pitching coach had hurriedly taught Edon in the week and a half he had been on the team. It had been the easiest extra pitch to teach since it only required holding the ball differently rather than wrist snapping or special pressure during the release.
Getting the sign Edon came set at the belt, wound up, and delivered a knuckleball in the direction of homeplate to the first batter of the top of the ninth inning as the Seagulls were holding on to a 3-1 lead. The pitch seemed to dance and flutter as it went in and the batter swung and missed. That was followed on the next pitch with a fastball which was similarly swung on and missed and then another knuckleball that was low and outside. On the fourth pitch, a change-up, the batter swung and drove a high fly ball in the direction of center field.
Marjani smiled to herself, watching the posture of Edon as he sent his pitches towards the plate. Her own stance was one of readiness, waiting for the ball to come in her direction. She felt the warm sun upon the top of her baseball cap, heard the distant sound of the spectators as they watched. Two swings from the batter, both being missed, then she heard the sharp crack as the bat made a strong connection with the hard wood. Her vision sharp as an eagle's, Marjani tracked the ball which was at first just a small dot of white against the blue sky,stepping back.
"I've got it!" she yelled, moving forward to catch the flyball.
Both hands up, the glove in place, Marjani felt the satisfying solid contact of the white orb in her glove.
"Edon, nice work!" she shouted tossing the ball towards him.
Edon watched his subordinate make the catch and lob the ball back in towards the infield. The second baseman moved to catch the ball and then relayed it the rest of the way back to him on the mound.
Catching the ball in his own glove Edon paused for a moment and removed his cap to use the sleeve of his uniform to mop sweat from his brow, using the layered cloth of the number 69, a number he wore to commemorate the year the Cardassians had been driven from Bajor, stitched on the sleeve as an effective sweat rag before jamming the cap back on his head and looking in at the catcher again.
The next batter was a Gorn, taking part in the game as part of something of a goodwill stunt between the Federation Colonists and Gorn Hegemony. No doubt the lizard-like aliens were wanting to get a first hand experience of the game that the colonists all seemed to enjoy. With his strength, if he hit the ball it would go a long way. But three pitches later, two knuckleballs with a fastball in between, and the Gorn had been struck out for the fourth time that day. Edon had to wonder if the lizard-man was enjoying the game that much, but he doubted it.
Next was the Pioneer's first baseman. Edon wound and delivered a change-up to begin the at bat. The big hitter swung and smashed the ball a long long way down the left field line, but it was also foul by a good twenty feet. Next the Bajoran pitcher unloaded a knuckleball which the hitter was out in front on and also pulled foul. Edon decided to challenge the hitter with a second knuckleball and the Pioneers' big first baseman put a big swing on it and drove the pitch back towards the wall in deep right center field.
The sleek dark-skinned outfielder, took off like a rocket, to get between the ball and the fence. She dove for it barely missing her target, it grazing the edge of her glove. A tuck and roll to where she was on her feet, scooping the ball up to throw it towards second base. Marjani growled at herself for missing the ball then shrugged it off.
She picked up the baseball cap which had fallen off, placing it more solidly on her head, tucking her black, extra curly hair back inside. Marjani noticed she had picked up a grass stain on the elbow of her uniform, and dirt smudge on her shoulder.
"You catch some, you don't" she commented to herself trotting back to her position.
Edon grunted as the ball was returned to him again. The Pioneers batters were crowding the plate. That was the only reason their first baseman had hit that pitch like he had. He knew he'd have to do something about that. The next batter dug in and Edon did not even bother to take the sign from the catcher.
Rearing back the Bajoran wound up and unloaded a fastball on the hitter. There was a sharp crack as the white sphere collided solidly with the hitter's lead knee and the Trill hit the ground and clutched at his broken kneecap, howling in pain.
"Bet that hurt," Edon said under his breath before brazenly taking a seat on the pitcher's mound looking thoroughly unconcerned and watching everyone scurry about the downed player, giving every intention that he had, indeed, beaned the opposing hitter on purpose, which he had. If any of the opposing players was dumb enough to do something he had been told was called "charging the mound" against a man that had fought in the Bajoran resistance then he would make sure they joined their teammate back in the clubhouse.
Marjani took the opportunity to head up to the pitcher's mound while the chaos was prevalent at homeplate. She arrived at the same time, as the umpire, who stormed up to Ebron.
"You can't do something like that and get away with it!" The ump yelled his face turning a mottled red and purple, leaning over, his masked face near Ebron's.
"Look, he doesn't know all the rules."Marjani began, placing a hand on Ebron's shoulder. In a sotto voce she also said to Ebron, "Don't attack him, please sir? It could mean you'll be kicked out of the game."
"You look just like a Gul I once knew," Edon said lazily, looking up at the umpire. "Yeah, he got angry just like that one time I was flying a VIP shuttle back before I joined the resistance on Bajor. He was awful mad when I made him spill his kanar all over his uniform. I bet he was probably still mad about that three years later when I hit him in the chest with a photon grenade," Edon continued nonchalantly. "But, he's not mad anymore," he finished, the meaning quite clear.
The Umpire gave Edon an inscrutable look, "You pull another stunt like, that you're out of the game!" Jerking his thumb over his shoulder, straightening up, then pivoting on his heel he walked away.
Marjani shook her head, giving a rueful chuckle. "In this game you touch the umpire you're kicked out of the game, and we need you."
Edon flashed a crude one fingered gesture at the retreating umpire. "Want to see if I can hit him in the head with the next one," he asked, completely serious. "Wouldn't even be that hard, I don't think the Tellarite's got a quick enough glove to snag it."
Marjani deliberately stepped in front of Edon, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Listen, we'd like to win this if possible. Getting the umpire angry at us, to where the team gets kicked out, won't be good for the morale of our team. Please, lets finish the game without any further deliberate injuries."
Edon shrugged and got to his feet dusting off the seat of his pants. "They were crowding the plate, I bet the next one doesn't do that," he said dismissively. He waited for everyone to get back in position and then stared down at the next hitter. "You want a broken knee too," he shouted at the hitter. The squadron commander did not care one way or the other if the opposing team liked him or not. They were not there to be friends, and he was there to win. That and he seemed to have endeared himself greatly to the crowd, and judging by the roars they were giving him for the little spectacle that had just occurred.
Edon got the sign from the Tellarite, grunted, and tossed a knuckleball that the hitter swung underneath. He followed it with a fastball that the hitter was just a little late on which resulted in a high pop up directly behind home plate. The catcher threw off his mask and camped under the ball to make the final out. Edon, on the other hand, was already three quarters of the way to the dugout, not bothering to watch the result of what he already knew was the final play of the game.
Marjani caught up to Edon, "Thanks, am appreciative of you being our pitcher." giving him a grin. The rest of the team were in high spirits, clapping each others backs.
The Bajoran grunted and was just about to duck into the dugout when he heard a chorus of high pitched voices shout his last name. Turning his head in that direction he saw several kids of varying ages, but none very old, pressed up against the railing that was in place to keep the fans in the stands on off the field at the far end of the dugout. Turning on his heel he headed in the direction of the kids.
TBC
First Lieutenant Marjani Smith
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