Posted by Civilian Allison Fleet (Civilian) in Rovan Moor: Arrival to the Athena

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Rovan Moor (Engineer/Pilot) in Rovan Moor: Arrival to the Athena

Posted by Civilian Allison Fleet (Civilian) in Rovan Moor: Arrival to the Athena
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Snip

The next message began to play. The video showed Allie once again, now in an environment unfamiliar to Rovan. The lighting was soft and diffused, and had a slight pinkish tint to it. All this view gave him for context was the sight of a pale blue wall, and his human friend was dressed once more in civilian clothing. She smiled slightly at the camera, waiting a few moments before beginning to speak, lowering her hand from right beside the camera to nearer her lap. There was the faint sound of children’s voices in the background, dulled by the walls that were between the microphone and said voices. The camera quality was significantly lower than the quality of the previous calls.

Rovan continued to smile as he looked at the image of his friend in the room, unfamiliar it might have been to him, but Allison looked relaxed and comfortable, and healthy. The quality of the video concerned him slightly, was she somewhere that had interference in the atmosphere? Was radiation involved with that pink glow?

“Hey, Allie here. I’ve arrived on Earth, fortunately in one piece,” she grinned slightly. “I’m sorry for the video quality… All I have is an old digital camera. They still make them even though the technology is centuries old! Aunt Mary - she insists I call her aunt even though my brother is her husband’s ancestor - is sorry that they don’t have much in the way of high-tech stuff on the farm, but it seems that there are still communities that like to live off the land in the old fashioned way. I like it here, so far. I arrived yesterday and they already had an old room made out for me. It’s not the same room I had when I was a kid - that house isn’t around anymore - but it’s in about the same spot…” she trailed off, staring in the direction of the light source, probably a window. There was a sound of a clatter from downstairs, and Allison chuckled. “Oof, sounds like a mess just happened… I should probably go help,” she said hastily, reaching up to the corner of the frame.

She had made it to Earth, and not some far away colony world. That made Rovan more relieved than he thought he would of been, now he knew she was somewhere safe. Not only safe, but with her family. One thing that Rovan had been keenly aware of when they were together was Allisons sadness about missing out on her family, for centuries. It may have been exciting finding out she still had family alive and that descended from her brother, but that would never dull the loss of the people she had been most close to, grown up with and knowing they had been gone for centuries. That was one reason they had grown close, neither of them had anyone and their chance meeting that night had been somewhat fortuitous. Neither could sleep, and both had walked to the arboretum at the same time with thoughts and loneliness heavy in their hearts. He finished his sandwich as he watched, and settled in with his nearly finished beer.

The video was static for half a second before returning to the same shot of Allison, now with a noticeable amount of flour in her hair. “So, Ben decided that bothering his mother while she was cooking was a good idea,” she almost laughed out loud. “I should probably explain the whole family situation going on here on the farm. You probably remember Adrien, the old gardener on the Genesis. His son, Michael, and daughter, Lillian, kind of own the business, along with a few other cousins. Adrien’s father, Alfred, had two siblings, Brendan and Maryanne. Brendan had Justin, who had three boys, and those three boys are John, Terry, and Fred. Those four actually run the farm, since Mike is in Starfleet and Lilly is a little too busy taking care of everyone else’s kids this time of the year. There’s a figurative army of them on the farm, and they range anywhere from seven to twenty-three! And the 23 year old has a little one of his own on the way…” she trailed off again, looking thoughtful for a few moments before sobering up again. “Anyways, I need to get this flour out of my clothes, so I’ll be going now. See you later, Rovan. Love you,” she said softly, reaching up to end the transmission.

Rovan found himself laughing when she reappeared with flour in her hair, and nodded at the mention of Adrien. He listened as Allie spoke about the people, her family that lived there, the names going mostly over his head as he tried to reconcile that with what that meant they were to her. It still confused him a little at how she was basically a great great great’ish Aunt, Cousin or something like that, to them. He did smile at the thought that with that many, she probably wouldn’t have time to sit and really consider that, especially with younger kids around. He felt himself wanting to visit, to meet them and see her families farm/nursery, but he knew that having just been assigned, it was going to be out of the question for some time. “Love you too” Rovan said, and he paused the video and stood.

He took a couple of minutes to walk around the room and stretch his legs, returned his plate and empty beer to the replicator and then stood for a moment as he thought about the rest of the video’s and what he had seen. He was relieved, immensely that Allie was awake, remembered him and had sent him these messages and at the same time, so guilty that he hadn’t been there.

His mission hadn’t been compulsory, but he had waited for weeks and grown frustrated, scared, worried and restless with the feeling that he was completely powerless to help her. That even as he sat with her every night, and visited her before and after his shifts, read books they had spoken of enjoying and told her what the Genesis was getting up to, he had still been helpless to help her in any way he could see. When the offer of the mission had come up, he had thought about staying to be with her but the frustration he could do nothing, and fear she wouldn’t know him if she woke up had won. On the mission, he could do something, and he had. He had taken his anger at being useless to her, his frustration he could do nothing and put it into the person he had become. It had scared him, and the person he had been felt real, like only a small twist of fate could have made him that very Ktarian pirate. If the mission hadn’t ended successfully, Rovan wasn’t sure if he would have been able to walk away as his release of anger and frustration had been intoxicating.

He paused on that thought and new the truth was different, any news that Allie was awake and alright would have changed things. He may have gotten in too deep eventually, but he knew the word of Allison would have brought back Rovan Moor. Smiling and giving a short grunt at his thoughts, he made himself a Ktarian chocolate pudding from the replicator and then sat back down, the warm and super sweet dessert in a bowl in front of him as he brought back the vids. “Computer, play next message” he said and then saw the date and smiled as he took a bite of the pudding. It wasn’t Birthday Cake, but it was close enough and he smiled widely as he saw the screen and what was coming through.

The next transmission was from August 15. Before the video, an image was attached. Allison was dressed pretty nicely, and in front of her was a cake with five candles in the shapes of numbers - set into two groups. One set of three candles were a two, a six, and a five - her chronological age. The other two were a three and a zero - her age minus the years on the planetoid. There was a mirth-filled smile on her face as she blew out the flames. There were a couple other photos attached. One showed a very shocked Allison as the large family appeared to be throwing a surprise party for her. Another was her surrounded by her “cousins,” the children all laughing and smiling. Another photo, she was next to an ancient-looking mantle which had been left from the original building. On top of the mantle were framed photos ranging back centuries, even past her original time. The final photo was of Allison relaxing in the shade of a massive tree that must have been almost three hundred years old.

He chewed on the pudding slowly as he looked at the images, and the people in them as well as Allie. “Well, they always say we should date older women” Rovan joked, as if Allie could hear him, “I’m not sure skipping a couple of centuries qualifies though Allison.” The image of her relaxing in the shade of the tree made him smile again, as the memories of their meeting came to him once more. “Happy Birthday Allie”

The photo slideshow ended, and the transmission began. The camera was a little shakier than it had been in the previous transmission, and the sound of nearby giggling could be heard. The setting was outdoors this time, in the shadow of that same tree. “This is my Gran’s tree,” Allison said, not looking directly at the camera. “She planted it when she was… when she was young. I remember looking at this thing when it was just over fifty years old, marveling that something could be so large when it was so young. Now, so many years later, I marvel that it is still here, not knocked over or forgotten…” She looked back at the camera, behind which someone giggled. “Something else I remember, was that Gran planted this tree on the 15th of August. She always did find it funny that I was born on her tree’s birthday. Guess we’re both a couple of ancient girls now, huh?” she patted the bark of the tree. “Think I should send this one to him?” She asked the camera-holder. The reply she got was a giggle and an enthusiastic “Yea!” before the footage cut.

Rovan laughed with the sound of the young giggling, and wondered why the child thought Allison was sending messages to a man and what was causing the giggles. The tree still being there somehow settled Rovan as well, and he couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was because something of Allisons past still remained, a living being that she knew. He found comfort in that and by the tone of her voice, he was sure Allison had found more comfort than she knew as well.

The next transmission was from August 29. The Allison in the video was in her room again, although the sharper shadows flowing in a different direction communicated that she was lit by artificial lightning rather than the sun. There was a tiredness in her eyes that, although he hadn’t seen it in the previous videos, had been slowly creeping into her expression. Her old uniform was framed on the wall, and the different angle than the video from the beginning of the month allowed him to see her bedside table and the two framed photos it held. One was her 28th birthday, the last one she had experienced before the Planetoid. It depicted a happy family of five - Allison, her parents, her brother, and Naomi, the woman who he would later marry. The second photo was the picture of Rovan and Allison that he had a copy of.

He looked at the phot’s on the bedside table and the uniform, but his eyes drew back to Allie. It was evening, late night perhaps? That might have explained her tired expression but it looked deeper and his smile faded as he looked at her. Placing the bowl down he reached up with his hand and touched the screen, Allisons face as he watched. “Allie, whats wrong?” he asked the image, knowing it was only a recording and she wasn’t going to answer him directly. It was a look that rustled something in his mind and his yellow, cat like eyes narrowed as he watched her. It was late where she was, she wasn’t sleeping again he realized, like her early days on the Genesis.

“Hey, Rovan. It’s been a while since my last transmission, sorry. I’ve included a short video from my birthday and a few images. I hope that makes up for the lack of… Well, I guess you can’t really complain, since I haven’t gotten a peep back from you. I miss you like… more than anything. I didn’t know how much I’d miss you until you were gone. Darn-it, is this what it felt like for you when I was on that bed? You sat beside me for weeks, until you were called away to your secret mission… I’m so sorry…” she looked away. “My dreams are back,” she said, almost in a whisper. “They… they came back pretty soon after I woke up. You always scared away nightmares, I don’t know why. But the emptiness of the Genesis after you were gone… Worrying that you might be dead, remembering Adrien… I started dreaming your face among those of all the people I’ve known and loved…” she choked up, tears falling from her face. “Please don’t be dead… dear god, don’t let him be dead…” she sobbed, leaning forward and putting her head in her hands. She didn’t talk for a few minutes, just letting the video record. “god, Rovan… I’m so sorry I must have put you through a lot of pain while I was asleep… I’m so sorry,” she finally spoke, looking intensely at the camera. “I’m sorry…”

The recording cut off, and the transmissions paused for a moment, waiting Rovan’s command for them to continue.

Recordings of Allison Fleet

“Allison, I’m here.” he said, his own face showing sadness and worry. There were no tears on his face, it was his fault he hadn’t been there for her and she had nothing to be sorry for. It was all because he had left her, wasn’t there when she needed someone she knew. He could not imagine waking from the coma and finding out once more that the people she had grown close to had gone, and that it was he who had left her that time. The guilt was growing within him and he looked at the time on Earth again, still too early to call and he cursed. Rovan just knew he was going to turn up for Duty in the morning with no sleep but he owed Allison this, he was going to call her and let her know he was alive, he had to.

“I’m sorry” he said to the image of Allie on the screen as it cut out. “You have no idea how much” and briefly he thought of taking a shuttle to see her. Starfleet had become his life since his parents and died, and he had put everything into it when he had nothing else except the anger at the raiders that took his parents. Then Allie had come, become his friend and Rovan and known his life wasn’t empty or without only revenge as his purpose once again. Now, those raiders were not a threat. Oh some of them were still out there, he hadn’t gotten them all, but they would take time to regroup, if ever.

Allison was out there now, and she was hurt, sad and scared. Beginning to feel the stirrings of restlessness and helplessness again, and knowing he had months more of messages to view, he pushed away the pudding more and looked at the screen. “Computer, continue playback” he said, and cupped one fist in his other hand and placed his elbows on the desk, chin on his hands as he watched, troubled in thought.

Lt (j.g) Rovan Moor
Engineer/Pilot