Reflections

Posted on Wed Jul 19th, 2017 @ 10:52pm by Lieutenant Commander Ezekiel Hill
Edited on on Wed Jul 19th, 2017 @ 10:57pm

Mission: S01E01 - At the Brink of Night
Location: USS Taurus; En Route to Tellar Repair Yard

The USS Taurus was an old Marklin class frigate, same as the USS Hunley which Zeke had served on before the war. Zeke had woken up about an hour ago, and was now sitting in the Taurus' forward observation lounge.

Zeke scoffed at the designation "observation lounge." On Marklin class ships, the observation lounge was a glorified officer's quarters, stripped of all amenities, save a bar, a resequencer, and an oversized window.

Still, nobody was using the space that early in the day, and Zeke could reflect on times before the war, when his husband was on the other side of the galaxy, and he got the chance to learn frontier medicine.

"Captain Sho'kev had some wicked brandy too." Zeke said to himself with a smirk. He wondered what the captain of the Taurus had stashed away.

Zeke had his feet propped up, against the threshold of the window. He looked down at his uniform, it had been months since he wore that blue tunic. Uniform code was changing, and some of the ship's crew wore a two piece blue uniform with gold and silver piping. Zeke thought it was garish, and he hoped that he'd get to keep the tunic on his new assignment.

Zeke heard the door swish open behind him, and he turned his head to find the ship's yeoman standing there. He was a young man, with a nervous air about him. Zeke figured he was fresh out of the academy.

The Yeoman took a step into the lounge, and said, "We'll be arriving at Tellar Prime within the hour, sir."

Zeke stood up, adjusted his uniform, and replied, "Excellent. Now, I need your help."

"With what, sir?" The Yeoman gulped hard.

Zeke walked behind the bar, and began to rummage through the shelves, "Aha!" he chuckled and placed an unmarked bottle on the counter top.

"Get me two glasses, Yeoman."

"B-but sir," The Yeoman was nearly trembling, "I just started my shift, I shouldn't be drinking."

"Nonsense," Zeke popped the cork out and raised the bottle to his nose, "If the captain asks, tell him doctor's orders."

The yeoman nodded and opened a cabinet adjacent to the door, grabbed two glasses and placed them on the table. Zeke smiled and poured the mystery drink into the glass -- it was as thick as it was maroon.

"Cheers." Said Zeke, raising his glass.

"What are we toasting to, sir?" The Yeoman followed Zeke's lead.

"To," Zeke paused to think, "Old memories, and new beginnings."

"To old memories, and new beginnings." The Yeoman's response was hardly a mumble.

Zeke gulped the drink down, it was astringent, and metallic. He twitched the moment it hit his stomach. It was Klingon bloodwine. The spoils of war. Evidently the ship's captain was a veteran too.

"Tell me, Yeoman," Zeke wanted to pour two more, but the Yeoman was still nursing his drink. He poured one for himself, "When did you graduate from the academy?"

"Late last year, sir. This is my first assignment."

Zeke clanked his glass against the Yeoman's. "Congratulations. I served on a ship just like this out of the academy. The USS Hunley."

"Did you serve aboard her during the war?" The Yeoman took another meager sip.

Zeke shook his head, "No. Before it. I bounced around a lot during the war."

Zeke's expression turned cold, and he stared down at the counter. Memories swelled in his mind, and his stomach turned. He closed his eyes, and a thousand glazed-over eyes stared emptily back at him.

Zeke gave a sigh and looked back to the Yeoman, "If you don't mind Yeoman, I'd like to be alone for a while. Notify me when we arrive at the shipyards."

"Aye sir."

The Yeoman left, and Zeke put the bottle back on the shelf. He then returned to his seat, and tried to close his eyes. This time, he only saw Matthew looking back at him. He felt surprisingly calm.

 

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