Posted by Lieutenant Commander DaVinci Colter (Chief Intelligence Officer) in StarBase 257: Knight and Colter

Posted by Captain Dante Knight (Commanding Officer) in StarBase 257: Knight and Colter

Posted by Captain Dante Knight (Commanding Officer) in StarBase 257: Knight and Colter
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Dante leaned back in the chair and stared out of the window. Outside the window, the Saracen could be seen in dock with the worker drones and personnel in EV suits working on repairs and the replacement of the overworked engines, while on the inside of the window, he sat at a small two person table in the stations bar, dressed in civvies and nursed a beer and just relaxed, watching his ship and waiting to see if Lt Commander Colter had been free to meet him.

His message had been short, brief and simple. If the Lieutenant Commander was free, would he mind meeting Dante at the bar for a beer? Throughout the hectic days of the last mission the new CO hadn’t had a good time to sit down and meet his crew, with many of them being on the away teams and busy trying to keep the ship in one piece with the temporal issues that had plagued them. Now was as good a time as any and Dante preferred to keep things casual when not on duty, he was sure the crew had had all of the formal and professional they could handle for now. So he sat back, waited, and watched his ship as he lazily sipped from his handle.

Captain Knight, CO

DaVinci walked into the lounge and saw his Captain starring out the window at the Saracen as work drones scrambled along her surface, making repairs, guided by the deft hands of Federation engineers.

He sidled up behind Dante and silently watched for a few moments. When he spoke, his rough, whisper-like voice was calm and contemplative.

“When I was born, Earth had yet to send a man into space. Half a decade later, we finally set foot on the moon for the first time. When I boarded the Aurora, warp travel was still just a theory . . . .and now, space travel is as commonplace as breathing. Here I am, living the science fiction life I could only imagine growing up.”

“It must all have been quite a sight” Dante commented, also looking out at the Saracen. “To suddenly have what it must have seemed, the galaxy, at your fingertips.”

He cleared his throat and continued. “Apologies, Captain, for interrupting your reverie.”

Colter (CIO)

“Not at all” he said, and turned his focus to the table and chair with a smile. “Have a seat Colter” he said, and waved at a nearby waitress who made her way over to take the mans order.

DaVinci ordered a beer to match the Captain’s. He took the offered seat as the waitress wet to the bar.

Taking a sip of his beer, Dante leaned back slightly and wiped the froth from his lip. “You did good on the last mission” he started, “you basically saved the Federation with that shot. I bet you never thought you would be doing that when you found yourself in our time? How are you doing after the mission?”

Captain Knight, CO

“At least not with that rifle. Williams must’ve known my preference for that exact sniper rifle, when it appeared at my side. I had 47 confirmed kills with that weapon during the Eugenics Wars.”

“But to be completely honest sir, I was tempted to just. . . . walk away.”

“I don’t blame you” Dante admitted, “take out the man responsible for the deaths of millions, and maybe save them, maybe not. We know it probably would have changed everything we know but still, that would be a lot of pain and suffering avoided. But who knows, maybe it was just that pain and suffering that made us what we are today, without it, well, we saw what the sensors showed the state of the quadrant to be before the runabout became trapped. That was billions more affected by that one, simple choice. Maybe, we’ll never know for certain.”

The waitress returned with his mug and set it in front of him. DaVinci stared into the amber fluid before continuing. “While I was trying to figure out why we were brought back to this specific date and year, I found out my father was still alive. He was 89 years old. His obituary said he died the next day. . . .”

Dante picked up his own beer and took a drink, there wasn’t much to say to that, except listen.

“I was hoping that aftertaking the shot, I would have a chance to go and see him. When I left Earth in ‘96, my parents weren’t aware of what my mission was. My father lived the last 30 years of his life not knowing what happened to me. He didn’t know if I was alive or dead. Such were the hazards of being a Delta Force operative.”

Nodding, the Captain agreed. “No matter which uniform we wear, it’s still a uniform and Duty never changes. It takes a special kind of person to wear it well, and often the sacrifices we give for it are thankless ones. I’m sorry that things happened so fast after we stopped the shooter.

“I wanted so desperately to see him, to let him know, that I was okay. To be able to let him pass with some peace of mind about what happened to me. . . “

Colter (CIO)

OOC: My last act as a meddling Gamemaster… If it’s out of line, feel free to void.

OOC: Not a problem!!

IC:

Another waitress came by again. “Excuse me sir, I was asked pass this PADD and envelope to you. Specifically, a week ago, a man came by and said to give this PADD and envelope to the gentleman who ordered an amber colored drink and sit exactly where you are sitting at this precise time.”

Dante simply lifted a single, querying eyebrow as he watched the envelope be handed over, then looked at Colter with puzzlement.

Davinci’s brow furrowed in confusion as he accepted the two items. He turned his gaze to Dante and said, “A week ago? We weren’t scheduled to be here a week ago, were we? And I wouldn’t have. . . . ” He began to put the pieces together. “Williams?”

“A week ago in this time and my Runabout hadn’t even left space-dock yet to find the Saracen” he said, “We only came here once we returned from the 21st century. Only someone who could tell the future could have known. Williams.” He gestured to the PaDD, “What have you got there?”

The PADD was encrypted, and requested for a specific authorization code and hand print. Once unlocked, it would show a video of Colter’s father from a body camera position. “Sir, on the behalf of the United States of America, we thank you for your son’s service to our great nation and would like to inform you that he is doing fine and well. He is unfortunately unable to communicate with you but I have this video message for you.”

The voice on the playback was unmistakable as Williams. And what played back was from Colter’s personal logs… One which expressed what he would have said to his dad if he had the chance to tell him. Well, to someone like Williams, such information would be declassified or easily obtained… One could say that Williams was paying back Colter a debt for restoring the timeline.

OOC: I’ll let you fill in any missing details, if you are okay with this.

As the video began to play, the CIO would see himself, looking the same as he did today, even though it was more than 400 years ago.

“Hi, Dad,” the video began. “I know it’s been a long time, but this mission has been crazy. You wouldn’t believe me even if I could tell what I’ve been doing for the past four----30 years. Because of the parameters of the mission, I couldn’t contact anybody until now. I wish I could’ve done this before mom passed, but you’ll have to tell when you see her, that I’m okay. I’m alive, and I’m healthy, and living a good life. I’ve missed you and mom, a lot. But what I did, I did for this country and the world . . . .I did it to make a difference. I hope I made you proud. I love you, Dad. Give mom a hug and a kiss for me when you see her. Danny, out”“

IC:

The clip continued for awhile with Williams saying, “On the behalf of a grateful nation, sir, we thank you.”

The video ended a little while after that.

Then a computer message popped up. “Th3 data contents of this PADD will be securely wiped in 10 seconds.”

He put the Padd down on the table and waited for it to be wiped.

There was no way to cancel the command. The PADD self-destructed and fried its internal circuits safely, without so much as a puff of smoke. The PADD was now completely useless.

When Colter opened the envelope, he would find a hardcopy picture of his father in his last moments smiling, with no evidence that Williams was present.

GM

As he looked at the photo, DaVinci let out a small chuckle. He slid the photo across the table to Dante and simply said, “My dad.” When he looked up, the Captain would see red circles around the eyes of his Intel officer. But the tears were not from sadness or regret, but a great, sudden joy.”

“It looks like the video brought him some peace” Dante said with his own smile at the man in the picture. “And for all the times we think that those temporal agents only have a care for the world changing events, I think this gives a hint that they really do care about the people affected. I suspect, Mr Colter, that doing this wasn’t exactly something that was sanctioned by Mr Williams superiors. It should be treasured.” He gently slid the photo back to DaVinci and nodded.

He held up his glass of beer and waited for Dante to lift his in return. When the Captain had done so, DaVinci added, “To Mr. Williams.”

Colter (CIO)

He picked up his own glass again and copied the gesture. “To Mr Williams” he agreed, “and Mr Colter Snr, who’s quiet sacrifice for 30 years saved the world.”

Placing down his glass, Dante looked out the window at the Saracen again. “She’s going to be in dock for some time” he told Colter, “Those engines ran far longer than they should have, and they need to check everything in case the chroniton energy compromised any system. I’ve had a briefing of our upcoming missions, and I have been assigned as the permanent Captain of the Saracen. It’s a little step up from the Broadsword, but I think I have the crew to back me up.” He grinned again and glanced back at the CIO. “I’m going to need your input in the coming missions, they have us doing a few more, well, exciting, things. No Temporal mess this time I hope.”

Captain Knight, CO

“Congratulations on the assignment, sir, and thank you for the of confidence. The Saracen’s a fine ship with a well staffed crew. I think you’ll enjoy her.”

He took another swallow of his beer before continuing. “Though it was nice to go “home”, I’ve gotten kind of used to this time. As well, as the exciting ‘things’.

“When I enlisted in the US Army, their motto was “Be all you can be”, and that’s what I wanted to do. It was a natural progression to go from an enlisted man, to the Rangers, and then to Delta Force and do my part to keep Earth safe during the Eugenics Wars. I was blessed with certain skills that made me a good soldier: the eyes and patience of a marksman, the size of an effective hand-to-hand combatant, a keen tactical sense, drive, determination, a sound psyche. . . .I think that’s what allowed me to adjust so well and so quickly to the future I woke up in. I feel fortunate to still be able to use those skills to help protect the Federation, Starfleet, and the Saracen. Very fortunate, indeed.”

Colter (CIO)

(bump)