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

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) 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… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
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Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Hampton picked up the glass the captain gave him. “That’s one of my issues sir. I have never known life with a woman before, and I wish I could.” He could already tell the alcohol was making him overly emotional, and he knew that he was probably going to say things he was going to regret. He took a sip of the drink and looked at Cobb. “Nothing is has happened in particular sir, my life just sucks and I hate it.” He downed the rest of the glass. “I have no friends and I am always alone. It’s a wretched way to live.”

Lt. William Hampton-CE

Cobb nodded a “hmph” to signify that the Lieutenant’s words had been heard and registered. But in the immediate aftermath he offered no verbal reply, only stared silently into his glass, as if somewhere within that rich, amber liquid, he could uncover every answer to life’s myriad questions. But it was not answers that Zachariah Cobb was searching for within those depths. It was memories. And the courage to revisit them anew.

“I was thirty-one when I met my wife,” he offered eventually, his eyes never leaving the whiskey as the glass danced within his hand. “And I was thirty-three when she left me and took my boy with her. Oh, I’d never expected it to last. I’d lost the ability to care around the same time as I lost the ability to win a battle. I came home from that war a shell of a man and she too gentle and too fragile to fill me again.”

He snorted dryly and drained his measure then poured another from the flask before sliding it over to Hampton. But in his mind, that day was repeating with the agonising clarity of the present. Anastasia crying, begging for him to talk to her, to look at her, to tear himself from his work and his study for five minutes. His boy crying too, an overspill of his mother’s tears and an indictment of this stranger who had destroyed her. And Zachariah Cobb could spare her not even a single glance, a single kind word or smile, as she released that final, desperate scream and then gathered her bags, gathered her child, and fled, wailing, into the night.

He never tried to find her again.

“Some of us are just meant to be alone,” he shrugged. “And who’s to say there’s aught wrong with a little solitude, at any rate?”

Damn it! He had sworn not to do this. A life capsized by loneliness was no justification for dragging another to his depths. Hampton had youth on his side, still. Had time and intelligence and wit. And perhaps, until he’d made the mistake of sharing a bottle with his captain, he’d also had hope, transient though it might be.

“Don’t listen to me,” Cobb roared. “I’m just a miserable, bitter old man!” Then, tearing his eyes from the glass and for the first time truly studying the engineer, Zachariah attempted to lighten his tone somewhat as he asked, “Is there no-one on this ship you’ve enjoyed spending time with? They’re not all of them as bad as they might first appear.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Hampton looked at his glass. “There is nothing wrong with a little bit of solitude, or even a lot, but there is something wrong with infinite solitude.” He looked up at Cobb, “Which right now is my life.” He saw Cobb’s face become reflective and the Captain looked like he was trying to remember something. After a few moments Cobb’s outburst happened, and Hampton was momentarily taken aback. Apparently Cobb has his own demons as well. Hampton scolded himself, of course he did, everyone on this ship each had a private little demon inside. “Sir,” Hampton replied, “I’d take bitter and old over shady and young any day of the week.”

He poured himself another round of vodka, nearly emptying the bottle. “Not particularly,” He responded to Cobb’s final question. “Nobody shares my personality, interest, or sense of right and wrong. Even if they did, I have no way of knowing, since deception seems to be everyone else’s private hobby on this ship. He looked at his glass, proper drunk. “I just want someone to love.” He sputtered out.

Lt. William Hampton- CE

“Aye, love can indeed be a fine and glorious thing,” Zachariah conceded, his mind now shifting forwards in time to Shamera. And then to Prim. “But for all of the effort we expend in locating it, once its within our grasp we’re forever afraid of losing it again. And to live in fear is no way to live at all.”

From somewhere deep within the cavernous, echoing recesses of Cobb’s mind, a tiny thought was crying out for attention. And as the old man continued to listen, it grew louder and more insistent. It expanded from a mere suggestion to something very nearly resembling a plan. His eyes still on Hampton, Cobb rose up from his seat and began to pace the holodeck floor. Gone was the melancholic, mournful shambles of a man from moments ago, replaced by one almost brimming over with determination and cunning.

“Love is a war, son,” he declared at the engineer. “And if it’s a war you intend to win, then you first must be prepared. No more moping around on the holodeck like some bloody teenager, eh? If you want the attention of the ladies, or the men, on this ship, then you damned well have to earn it! Straighten your uniform. Lift up your head. For the sake of all the gods run a comb through your hair. Then walk down that corridor like you’re the most striking creation in the four quadrants.”

His pacing halted momentarily, the captain reached for his glass and raised it to the other. “We get their attention first. And then we’ll work on you keeping it. Now how does that sound, eh?”

Hampton could be mistaken, having consumed an impressive amount of vodka already, but in that moment, it sounded almost as if the captain was offering to be his wingman!

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

As Cobb began to talk, Hampton looked at him confused. What was the Captain going on about? Something to do with war, he caught that part, but the rest was jumbled up. He could not focus as well as he normally would, the alcohol had done its job. He staggered back from the bar. “Sir…” He mumbled. “Wh....what are you going on about?” He could see Cobb was enthusiastic but he could not figure out why. Was the captain going to try and set him up with someone?

Lt. William Hampton- CE

“Eh?” Cobb was caught off guard for a moment, but soon recovered with not a drop of enthusiasm spilled. “Why, you, of course. You say you’re struggling to find female companionship and I…well, I might not be able to rival Commander Raauhl these days, but I’ve had my share of…well, I had a woman who loved me. One time.”

Had he won Prim? Everything about her seemed little more than a dream now, too beautiful and too perfect to have been sullied by Zachariah Cobb and still lived. But he knew, somewhere deep inside the most primal recess of his core, that what they shared had been real. But had he contributed anything to their match? Or had her attraction to him been despite, rather than because of, the fathomless void that was his personality.

“Look, son,” he shrugged. “I’m not claiming to be an expert. But I’ve been alive for enough years now to know at least a few things that might help you?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Hampton focused on the Captain’s words and attitude as much as any drunk man could in that situation. “Mr. Cobb,” He eventually got out. “I very very very very much appreciate yo… your attitude towards my dilemna. And believe me Cap’n I would love,” Hampton raised a glass. “Love, love, love, a female companion, but right now, in this moment, I am more focused on just finding a friend.” He took a sip from the glass and put it down. He slumped off the chair at the bar and wobbled over to Cobb. “That being said Cap’n, if you know an…any interested women, do let me know.” He giggled and went back to the bar to retrieve his glass.

Lt. William Hampton- CE

His own glass empty, Cobb made his way behind the unmanned bar and, for several moments, delivered unyielding focus to searching the shelves. “Kandora champagne, pah, a girl’s drink. Jelinian ale, Whelan Bitters, Nut Ale. Why, is there nothing on offer here for the discerning palate?” Then finally he paused and emitted a loud “A-ha!” before turning back to Hampton and waving a large, dark brown, bottle at him. “Yridian brandy. Just the ticket.”

In his newly-claimed role of barman, Zachariah produced two fresh glasses and filled them to three-quarters with the amber liquid. Then, remaining on the opposite side of the bar but taking up a position directly across from the engineer, Cobb placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “You already have a friend, Mr Hampton. Me.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Hampton took the newly filled glass and flashed Cobb a goofy grin. “Thank ya captain.” He said. Was Cobb his friend? Hampton had never considered him to be one, simply because he was the captain, and Hampton did not imagine an informal relationship with superior officers to be a thing. He raised his glass to Cobb. “To friendship Cap’n.” He took a large gulp and put the glass down. His usual look of alertness and determination gone, replaced with a whimsical curiosity. “So what do you have in mind exactly Cobbler?” Hampton chuckled, the joke wasn’t funny, but he thought it was.

Lt. William Hampton- CE

Cobbler? Zachariah raised an eyebrow at that, but made no other comment. As for what he had in mind…

“Well now,” the captain continued, leaning an elbow against the bar, his own expression softening now with every additional drop of the brandy. “I reckon we could do to get you out into the lounge more. I’ve heard all the stories, lad. I know where you spend most of your spare time. And believe me, you’re not going to find companionship locked away on the engineering deck. Or, at least, not the right kind of companionship, at any rate.”

He sipped thoughtfully at his drink. In the whirlwind of finding his feet amongst the chaos of the ARU, Cobb had not paid any special attention to the females of his crew. Of course there was that crewman, Jessie was it? She seemed like someone who could handle the engineering chief. Or possibly Casela? Although if the scuttlebutt was true then she was already busy with the charmer that was his Number One. And then there was the good doctor, who might be able to bake her way to Hampton’s heart, if she didn’t scare the lad half to death with her unique bedside manner first.

“I dunno, Will,” he shrugged. “I guess we just need to get out there and see who takes your eye, eh?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb