Posted by Jason Lee in StarBase 257: Knight and Colter

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… suppressed (2) 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.”

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. . . .”

“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.”

“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.”

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?”

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.”

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)