Posted by Lieutenant Commander Adam Magnusson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Adam’s Quarters - Short Reprieve (Open)

Posted by Commander Hazel Loughty (Starfleet Temporal Agent) in Adam’s Quarters - Short Reprieve (Open)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Adam Magnusson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Adam’s Quarters - Short Reprieve (Open)
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Adam entered his quarters after the briefing regarding the teapot, he needed a change of uniform and a moment to gather his thoughts before returning to work and helping with repairs. He unzipped his jacket and tossed it in a clothes bin to the side of his replicator where he could later on recycle his uniform or put it through the standard cleaning cycle, he didn’t want to waste power on something so luxurious right now. He sat behind his desk, opened the cabinet and pulled out a small bottle of water from a collection he always had prepared in the small cooled storage compartment. He took a deep swig of water and exhaled.

The revelation that the woman he’d suspected to be one of their assailants turned out to be a future version of the XO’s child had been a shock. He hadn’t interacted with the child much despite his great fondness for children, he still felt that the Leviathan was an unsuitable place to raise a child. He thought back to that look she’d given him at the captain’s quarters, almost sadness he’d mistaken for nervousness or fear. He wondered if she’d known him in her past, his future. She looked young, maybe twenty or so years older than the Hazel he knew. He’d be in his late seventies to her, an old man. Thoughts turned to her father, Commander Loughty. Last he knew the XO and his team had been approached by a Romulan signal just before things went to hell and he wondered what happened to them, something big must have occurred for her to be a temporal agent especially one if her rank of commander under thirty was true. He thought about the logistics of Temporal recruitment, did they recruit people from the past or had something occurred that forced the young woman, the child, to the future?

He sighed deeply and tapped a few commands on his console starting a recording “Annabelle” He started, putting on a rare smile, he spoke in his native Icelandic as he did in all messages recorded to his daughter “It’s been nearly a week since I composed my last message to you, you should have started your next semester by now, I think that by the time you get this, it’ll be halfway to yule and we’ll already have met. Things have been hectic on my end, lots of paperwork and endless meetings.” He always said the same thing ever since she was a child, she knew he lied and he knew she knew, still, they went on ignoring that fact.

“Come to think of it I haven’t told you much about my crewmates in the past few years. Captain Henao is still the same although I should say that she’s settled into her command nicely. I took your suggestion to be less critical of her to heart, I also stopped sneaking up on her… mostly” He chuckled at that, Anabelle as a child loved his stories about startling senior officers, then as a teen she found it embarrassing and now as a young adult she secretly enjoyed it but joined her mother in disparaging him his moments of levity. “My XO Commander Loughty, I mentioned him a while back, good man. Cut from the same cloth as me, same tired old generation.” He sidestepped further mentions of him or his daughter “Well the rest I haven’t gotten to know much better” He raised his hands defensively “I know I know I promised I’d do better at the interpersonal relationships, I’m working on it. On a side note, I heard from the old man, his offer to visit Oed still stands, he’s inviting his kids over and it’s been a while since you’ve met your cousins, during the holiday break go visit, it’ll be good to leave Earth and get some proper outer colony culture” He looked at the time, he’d spent more than he’d planned on the message, it would be saved both on the ships central computer and his personal Black Box hidden in the deepest confines of the ship “Well in any case I love you and I look forward to seeing you. My best to your grandparents, both sets” He smiled then ended the message.

Adam leaned back in his chair and sighed, taking another sip from the water bottle before standing up, removing his yellow undershirt and tossing it in the bin followed by the rest of his uniform then opening his closet and grabbing another set.

CIO

Hazel walked up to Adam’s door, her heart heavy with the burden of her thoughts. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to bridge the gap between their timelines. With a deep breath, she pressed the chime, the sound echoing in the quiet corridor. This Adam was different from the one she knew; he was younger, perhaps more naive, and she wasn’t entirely sure how he would react to her presence. The warmth and mentorship she remembered seemed overshadowed by the uncertainty of their situation. Yet, she needed a familiar face, someone who had once been her ally and confidant, to help her navigate this chaotic moment in time. As she waited for him to respond, she wondered if he would see the weight of her experiences or if he would simply see a stranger standing at his door.

Commander Hazel Loughty
Starfleet Temporal Agent
USS Leviathan

Adam looked up surprised, skipped zipping up his uniform jacket and went to open the door, he never called for others to enter, he found it to be impolite. He looked directly into that now moderately familiar face and nodded “Commander…” He took a step back silently offering her to come in “Would you care for some water?” He had a polite but not unfriendly tone, he didn’t have any experience dealing with someone who knew a future him but he had dealt with someone who temporarily lost all memories of him and he knew the hurt that could follow.

CIO

Hazel stepped inside, grateful for the offer of water. “I’d love a glass, thank you. Maybe with a slice of lime if you have it,” she said, a faint smile crossing her face. The familiarity of this small request grounded her, and she hoped it might ease the tension between them, if only slightly.

Adam nodded slowly. He grabbed a bottle from the desk cooler then raised an eyebrow at the small box of limes he kept there, artificially grown but grown nonetheless. He brought the lime up to his desk and pulled a knife from somewhere on his person and sliced it and placed on a small plate and brought the plate and bottle to Hazel.

As he turned to get the drink, she continued, “And please, don’t worry about calling me ‘Commander’—unless, of course, you’d like me to start calling you Captain.” She allowed herself a brief, amused glance in his direction, hoping he’d catch the lightness she was attempting to inject. Before he could respond, she added, more softly, “Honestly, I think I’ve already disrupted enough. At this point, a few slips in conversation aren’t going to spoil much more than what’s already happened.” The weight of her words settled between them, an admission of the temporal complexity hanging over her.

Commander Hazel Loughty
Starfleet Temporal Agent
USS Leviathan

Adam raised an eyebrow and scratched his beard, a sign of mild amusement or curiosity, or in this case both “Captain? Never thought I’d get that far” His tone was dry and cold like he usually spoke but anyone that knew him could read the subtle hint of humor. Adam indicated to the sofa set and sat down himself “I’d suspected we were better acquainted in your past than in my present” He took a small sip from his bottle, looking at the lime on his desk, he didn’t drink flavoured water during shifts but he did prefer lime over most other fruit flavours “I also suspect this visit is of a more personal nature than it should be”

CIO

Hazel accepted the glass with a grateful nod, taking a moment to savor the coolness of the water. “Thank you, Adam.” She took a breath, her heart racing with the vulnerability of what she was about to share. “I—I grew up on this ship, you know. Until I was old enough to attend Starfleet Academy, it was my home. But my version of history was… different. After my father died, everything changed. It was a time of war, death, and despair. I lost so much.” Her voice wavered slightly, the memories threatening to resurface.

She glanced at Adam, his youthful face reminding her of the mentor he would become in her timeline. “You were the one who stepped in, not as a father but as a mentor. You helped me understand what I needed to do, and eventually, you recruited me. You believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.” Hazel felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her, mingling with the ache of past losses. “I guess I came here hoping for some reassurance, some familiarity. It’s hard to see this ship in danger again, knowing what I do. I’ve already screwed up, and I need your guidance more than ever.”

She looked down at the glass, swirling the water slightly, as if it could somehow wash away the weight of her words. “I know this isn’t easy for you—dealing with someone who knows you in a way you can’t fully understand yet. But I need you to know I’m still that same person, just… a little older and a lot more burdened.”

Commander Oliver Loughty
Executive Officer
USS Leviathan