Posted by Lieutenant Corinne Dalton (Scientist) in XO’s Office- Reunions

Posted by Commander Dr. Royal Sinclair (Executive Officer) in XO’s Office- Reunions

Posted by Lieutenant Corinne Dalton (Scientist) in XO’s Office- Reunions

(snip)

“It’s… a long story, and one you get to hear every detail of.”

Cori took tentative steps towards him, not really putting weight on the cane as just having it with her as she closed the distance and came to stand before him. Cori wasn’t exactly short but he still towered over her. Reaching out for a hand, she took his fingers and lifted them to her neck. Yes, her chest rose and fell with her breath, but it always had, even if the breaths he had seen her take weren’t real. This though, this was different and as she pressed his finger tip into her neck, her carotid artery pulsed beneath them. “It’s not a trick, or a delusion. I’m a real girl,” she said, breaking into a tiny and familiar grin as the referential joke, her blue eyes glimmering.

~Corinne Dalton

Royal kept his finger on her skin, feeling the beat… the flow of blood. He stared at her for minutes in silence; processing what was before him. He then pulled his hand away, bent down, and wrapped both arms around her under her waist and lifted her her up into a giant, firm-but-gentle, bear-hug.

Depending on how overwhelmed he was by his emotions, Royal might notice that not only was her body tangible and solid, but it was warm.

He buried his face against her neck and shoulder, laughing and crying simultaneously. “Fu<%ing hell, Cori… just… I cannae fu<%ing believe this!” he said into her shoulder as he held her off the floor and against him. He finally pulled away enough to look at her, his eyes red with tears and joy. “Ya do know that I’m not putting you down for the foreseeable future, right? I cannae let go until I know I’m not dreamin’.”

Sinclair, XO

She laughed as tears streamed down her face. “Just know that this body is still really new and still a bit on the weak side. Squeeze me too hard and you might crack some ribs. I know a married pair of doctors who would be mighty pissed off. So maybe we go sit and be comfortable and talk and stuff?”

~Corinne Dalton

Royal stared at her, smiling. “Nope. Not gonna happen. Not till I wake up or whatever is gonna make this go away.” He squeezed her to him, but then really did set her gently and gingerly on the carpeted floor. “No promises I won’t do that again.” he said and took her hand and led her to the meeting table. He pulled out a chair for her, slid it in when she was seated, and then went to the replicator. “Water, chilled, two glasses.” and he came back with the drinks and took a seat. He sat next to her, and reached up and cupped her cheek with his hand. “I don’t… never mind. Just… just tell me what happened.”

Sinclair, XO

For a brief moment she leaned into his hand, feeling that solidity of touch that reminded her not only was she real but that she could once again connect with people.

Taking a steadying breath, Cori launched into the story. She told him how she remembered talking to him one minute and then the next she appeared in a strange lab in an agonizing pain that she could only equate to having her limbs ripped off her body. She was fractured, incomplete, adrift. The Saracen was gone, but she hadn’t understood how she could be anywhere else. And then there was the strange man who asked her question after question and she felt so disconcerted but what could she do but answer the questions and hope it would get her somewhere and get answers of her own?

She explained the man known as Kane coming and going and then eventually bringing Dr. Alexis in to meet her. Then came the bomb shell that there might be a way for her to have a body but they’d be gone a couple weeks. She was promised that she wouldn’t be left alone and there had been a notification that would have gone to Royal should something have happened to them.

Then came the time for the transfer, meeting Captain Myqian and getting the whole thing explained. She decided to take the risk… and it paid off when she woke up in the quarantine bay with a beating heart and a mind that was still functional. The bombshell that Royal on not only on this ship, but the XO. She explained how the positronic brain and body worked together and her rehabilitation which would be ongoing for sometime. The final version of the cover story and her patient file that had a temporary and false name of Hope Ballard, hoping no one would draw the connection with her birth name. The chats with Myqian that left her hopeful even if she found it kind of weird to have had such conversations with a commanding officer before. Her experiences with CO’s previous had been highly variable.

“And here we are. I wanted to see you right away, but the reality was that my body and brain were still learning to talk to each other. Hell, I couldn’t even tell if I was hungry or needed to pee. You can imagine the awkwardness that would have created had I rushed to see you too soon.” Her eyes glistened and a single tear rolled over her cheek. “You have to know though that I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I appeared on this ship. I kept wondering what you were up to, whether you still…” Cori shook her head. “Then I learned you had my stuff and it seemed to answer any questions or worries I had.”

~Corinne Dalton

Royal listened, hanging on every word as if they were water and he had spent months lost in the desert. It was her. The tones, the inflections, the way she held herself. The more she spoke, the more he learned about the past two years and her sudden and wholly miraculous transformation from holographic etherealness to a living, breathing woman. When she finished, he just sat and stared at her for a long time… not wholly realizing she had stopped talking until his mind kicked back into gear and he turned red and looked away for a moment. “Well… I suppose I should think of some way to thank Doctors Kane.” he said while he composed himself. He looked back at her and grinned. “I had all your belongings moved to a secure, private storage facility. And I monitor them regularly to make sure nothing went missing. I can have it all brought here for you. It will take a few weeks, though, with the distance and all.” He took a deep breath and then said “And then there is this…” and he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small object that was completely familiar to Cori… her portable hologram emitter from the Saracen, the one she wore that let her move about the ship. It was obviously well-worn; as if it had been, perhaps, continuously in a pocket and handled frequently. He set it on the table in front of her. “I never gave up that you would come back, Cori. Not once.”

Sinclair, XO

She reached out and her hand hovered over the emitter that was clunkier than the original it was based of it. Why that object and his constant handling of it affected her so much, Cori couldn’t explain in this moment, but later she could probably think about it more deeply and understand that that emitter had been a small gift of freedom, but also tied to Jarred. So it had made her sad as she had struggled to reconcile the dissolution of their relationship. It was a bittersweet object, and one she no longer needed to wear ever again. And yet, that he had held on to so tightly as a reminder, as a measure of hope, struck so deeply in her core that she wasn’t entirely sure how to process the emotions.

Cori broke down into tears.

Thick, strong arms wrapped around her, and in a moment she was enveloped in an embrace both unyielding, protective… and simultaneously gentle, and supportive. “I swear to every god of every planet, woman… if you keep crying I’m gonna lose it.” he said with a chuckle that took more than a little effort to not allow to turn into sobs. Shock, amazement, surprise… all of these were wholly overshadowed by the sheer and unmitigated joy that he felt at that moment. And that was even, in turn, eclipsed by the amount of relief he felt. Cori was back. She was right here, with him… in a way that for years had only been a dream. “No way am I ever gonna let you outta my sight again, Corinne Dalton. Never again…” he whispered to her as he held her close, one arm around her and one hand on the back of her head, holding her to his chest.

Sinclair, XO