Posted by Lieutenant Casela Synthi-er (Counsellor / RTF) in Side Sim- Holodeck- A rare moment of vulnerability

Posted by Lieutenant William Hampton (Chief Engineering Officer) in Side Sim- Holodeck- A rare moment of vulnerability

Posted by Lieutenant Casela Synthi-er (Counsellor / RTF) in Side Sim- Holodeck- A rare moment of vulnerability
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
It was 2100 hours in holodeck 1. The program was an old 21st century bar. While the program had come with a large and bustling crowd, they had all been removed. Every last person, including the bartender, had been canceled. There was no need for a fake man to serve fake drinks, the programmer had his own, and very real, alcohol. There was a single addition to the program, a jukebox which the user had added before running the program. In the center of the bar, among islands of tables and empty seats, sat William Hampton. A bottle of vodka before him, and a full glass in hand. He didn’t normally come to this place, but life had not been fortunate to him as of late. There had been a defective plasma coil that the Chief Engineer had spent all day trying to find and replace. It had been arduous and stressful task, one of many that were beginning to take their toll on the man. On top of that, the Tellarite Starfleet had saddled him with was just a thorn in his side. As if that was not enough, he still had not made a single friend or even met a person he could actually fully trust. Life was simply to frustrating for him to sit in his quarters. He needed to get out and take his mind off his life, if not just for a few fleeting precious moments.

The song playing on the jukebox was a Vic Fontaine song, as Hampton had set them all to play in order. He had seen the program before and loved the music that came with it. The song on was “Here’s to the Losers”. When it came on, William had gone through about half of his bottle. He raised his glass to himself as the song started. “To the losers,” he muttered to himself, before gulping down half the cup. He shook his head as the drink burned his throat. He nearly spit it out, but kept it down. He truly was a loser. No friends, nobody to care for or about, nobody to spend time with, nobody to share life with. He had gone his life being alone, and in most situations he could convince himself it was what he wanted. But after the days he had and the current state of his life, he knew was kidding himself. He desperately wanted to be able to have a friend at his side, someone to confide in and trust, that person simply did not exist.

Hampton thought back to when he had first joined the Leviathan’s crew, how deep down he had been excited to meet people who he hoped would be like him. Instead of kindred spirits though, William had stumbled across mischievous demons. He simply frowned and took another sip of his drink. After several minutes of drinking and pouring the next song came on. “You are nobody until Somebody Loves You.” As the lyrics began to play, anger suddenly welled up with Hampton. He was a nobody, there was not a person who knew him who cared about him. His deeply repressed to have a love in his life swelled to the surface, along with his frustration at being alone. For all his skills, his confidence, his ambitions, his pride. William Hampton deep down knew it was all hollow, he was just as empty as the RTF agents who skulked about the ship. Just in a very different fashion. He stared at his empty glass, and in a sudden impulse of rage stood up and threw it across the room, watching it shatter as it collided with the wall. His open hand that he thrown the glass with curled into a fist, and he slammed it on his table. He was a nobody, and at the rate his life was going, he always would be.

Lt. William Hampton- CE

If the distant sound of glass breaking had caught the passing Captain’s attention, it was the slam of real fist against holographic table that had brought him through the doors.

Inside, the scene could have been plucked from Cobb’s own tormented past, the unknown yet familiar bar inviting only those with nowhere else to go. And while the music might not have been to Zachariah’s own taste, the atmosphere that it painted was achingly, nauseatingly familiar.

What was unexpected, however, was the figure at the bar. Lt Hampton was usually to be found working away on his special projects at these small hours. And yet the circumstances that had brought him here seemed etched indelibly across his face, making him appear in that moment closer to Cobb’s own age than the much younger man he truly was.

Without introduction, Cobb moved to the bar and reached for two glasses then, extracting a pewter hipflask from his breast pocket, he poured a generous measure into each before sliding one over to Hampton.

“Rough night, eh?” Zachariah finally spoke as he brought the glass up to his lips.

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Casela had been wandering the cooridores, as usual, unable to sleep. She felt the anger, apathy, deep depressive sadness and she recognized it in herself. She followed it to the holodeck. The door wasn’t locked and she walked in. She looked around and saw Cobb and Hampton. She moved to the far end of the bar. “So is this a stag party or is there room for another disenchanted soul?” She sat down on a bar stool and stared at Cobb raising a brow. She knew what he carried and it was perfect for how she was feeling.

She looked over at Hampton. He wasn’t S31 but she understood the man’s apprehension at all the secrets on the ship. “Hampton.” she said in acknowledgement.

Lt Synthi-er, CNS

Hampton looked up as someone entered. Apprehension swelled up within him, but it deflated, as maybe the closest person to a friend he had entered the room. “Captain,” he said with a nod. He watched as Cobb took a seat and passed him a glass. He was about to take it and smile when the door opened again. When Hampton turned and saw Synthi-er taking a seat the color drained from his face. “I’m afraid there is not.” He asserted. Could they not leave him alone for two seconds? He asked himself, could SHE not leave him alone? “I apologize if my unfortunate outburst caught your attention, counselor, but I’ll be quite alright without your assistance.” He didn’t mind telling Cobb his problems, but he would be damned if he was going to let the counselor in on it.

Lt. William Hampton- CE

Casela didn’t say a word. She hadn’t known who was in here. She had made it a point NOT to learn the mental signatures of the crew. But she respected his opinion. She gave Hampton a small salute, did a neat about face and headed back to her wanderings. She wouldn’t want to be around herself either.

Lt. Synthi-er, CNS

The captain displayed no outward reaction to Casela’s arrival and almost immediate departure, although mentally he resolved to check in on her later, in case her feelings had been hurt. Still, he had no quarrel with Hampton eschewing the Counselor’s services and reaching for alcohol instead. Hell, Zachariah had built his entire post-war existence on a similar mantra.

“Women,” he snorted into his glass, at the closing of the holodeck doors, “can’t live with ‘em, can’t…live with ‘em?”

But the engineer needed much more than dated jokes in this moment. He needed a friend. Empathy, kindness, understanding…these were traits long since banished from the personality of Zachariah Cobb. He retained no single drop of care for his own needs and even less for others. And yet, this drain that Hampton threatened to circle was one that could have been built by the captain himself. He could not bear to see another drown in his own wake.

“I know a troubled face when I see one,” he attempted, awkward and yet primal in his sincerity. “What is it, son? What’s happened?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb