Sunset of Solaris

Posted on 26 Jan 2020 @ 2:37am by Lieutenant Talrian Bran

2,030 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Tyr's Hand
Location: Solaris Station

Talrian waited just outside the open doorway to the shop. He heard the other three still inside, waiting in the line with the boxes of the virtual training products. Or something of that nature. Their enlisted guides were with them and, from this vantage point, he could hear their laughing and joking. Not the specifics but...he glanced over. Other customers waiting were standing away from them, giving a wary eye on the five young men in uniforms and weapons. It was, Talrian knew, a common occurrence. Along with that, he noticed, was the near instant bond the five made based on their shared experience type.

"Good to see isn't it?" Mulgrave asked, looking away from the five. "That if they can all get along, maybe the rest of us can as well?"

Talrian shrugged, his crossed arms barely moving. He turned back to watch those moving along the public squares of what would be called a 'Promenade' on a Starfleet station. He wasn't exactly sure what the Solaris station personnel called it. He could ask but it seemed too mundane to care. "For all we ask of them, they don't have the same burdens that we have. Though, you're right, aside from some of the more...unpleasent...upper echelon, every one of your service has been..." he shrugged again. "Normal. And it's good to be around people who know they're military and act that way."

"I'm sure that's the case on your ship," Mulgrave said with a chuckle. "You are a military vessel."

"You'd think," Talrian said, once again looking over his shoulder at the enlisted. They were closer in line. "They're probably going to forget to thank you for the credits to purchase those devices."

Mulgrave chuckled, "Probably. But your ship, it's a warship?"

"It's got weapons and defenses but the majority of the crew would rather think of themselves as some scientific hero out solving the mysteries of the galaxy. All the while we keep piling up threat after threat because the vast majority of Starfleet refuses to do what's necessary to keep the Federation safe until they're pushed back too far. By then, it's almost too late and the other threats have been able to build up. No, they don't even comport themselves as proper military." He shook his head. "Not like here. I see your people moving around and they're in step, they've got discipline and bearing." Talrian sighed. "It almost feels like home. Would feel like home if it weren't that I knew it's not and there's so much different that I can't even begin to wrap my head around all of it."

"Wow," Mulgrave said with a shake of his head. "I'd hate that. The disarray and chaos?"

"Yes," Talrian said. "And there I'm this horrible monster because I'm not afraid to do what needs to be done. No matter how much it hurts others. Then when I try to do something good for them," Talrian looked back into the shop and saw Kawolski, all smiles as he traded barbs with one of the Alliance enlisted. "I'm a monster for that as well."

Mulgrave remained quiet. He wasn't sure his new Federation friend was even talking to him at the moment. As the moments strung out, Mulgrave put his hands behind his back and turned to face Talrian. "You could see about a transfer to the station here. Work as a liason until you felt comfortable enough to join the Alliance service. I'd have not problem vouching for you and bringing you into my command."

Talrian looked at Mulgrave for several long moments. In that time he relived every time he walked into the mess and heard the volume dip dramatically as people turned to look at him. Every moment his staff pretended to be busy working the moment they saw him coming through the door. Relived how walking from the door of the security suite and into his office felt like walking the frozen methane fields of Pluto in the middle of the night. The only warmth coming as he entered his office and the door shut behind him.

He relived the whispered accusations of how he caused the death of the counselor because she was a counselor. How he prevented Kawolski from helping her, that he was some stone martinet who had Erickson thrown in the brig for a mere disagreement. How he nearly killed Cindreth and a few other telepaths aboard the ship.

None of that would follow him here. It'd be a fresh start, a redo. He saw another movement of troops on the far edge of the promenade, their precision evident even from this distance. Here those in uniform acted what they were. It was comfortable. It was...tempting.

Here, maybe he wouldn't be so isolated and alone. Maybe he'd be able to find friends who would understand him.

Accept him for who he was, not what they considered him to be.

So tempting.

"I..." he hesitated. His parents weren't here, though. His brother, Dahr, wasn't here. The friends he had in the Corps, the ones that did understand him. They were all gone. Sure, they might exist in this timeline, he couldn't say. The nature of a causal loop is that one small change led to much larger changes. He was standing on a prime example of that idea. They might exist in this timeline, but they weren't his.

But...when he went into the mess earlier with Mulgrave, the noise level dipped but that was because people were curious by the sight of him. He wore an obviously different uniform. He was sure that scuttlebutt about a time-tossed ship has flown through the ranks with rumors aplenty. He was sure many wanted to know more, maybe even talk to him. But they followed their orders and discipline.

"I...thank you for the offer and I ask that you let me give it some thought." Talrian said. "Not because I'm unsure about this time line but, well. It is my crew and my orders sent me to that ship."

MUlgrave nodded. "I understand. You wouldn't be the officer I think you are if your answer was any different. I'll leave the offer open then."

"Hey, Lieutenant, aren't you going to get one?" Kawolski asked, almost as if he'd forgotten for the last few hours how much he disliked him. "They're awesome, we tried them earlier."

"Yeah, Lieutenant," Johnson said, holding up the bag holding the box which held his own device. "Imagine this, we get these and we can do all sorts of training in any open space on the ship. And they have games as well!"

"Yes," Talrian said, wondering how they were completely disregarding the holotransmitters throughout the ship which does exactly that. And in a much more advanced form. "Mulgrave showed me how to order one and have it delivered."

"Oh," Johnson said. "We just wasted all that time when we could have just had stuff delivered? Sorry, Lieutenant."

"I don't think you wasted that time at all," he said, nodding to the other two enlisted. "We are here to learn and see about forming alliances after all."

"I think that's been accomplished. At least among us," Mulgrave said, showing no indication that just moments before he was trying to get Talrian to jump service.

"Who are those troops?" Talrian asked, nodding toward another squad that was moving across the open, public space.

"Those are our enhanced troops," Mulgrave answered, a little too non-chalant.

"Enhanced?" Talrian asked as they began walking along the promenade.

"Genetically modified, some are technologically modified. They're usually our advanced shock troops. Many of them are taken from our injured and remade so they can continue serving."

"Really?" Talrian asked, keeping his tone light. Not wanting to reveal the depth of concern and disgust that one simple statement gave him. "Is there any information regarding that in the information I already have?"

"Probably," Mulgrave said, "Not the classified information, of course, but general information should be in there. Trying to compare our processes to what the Federation does?"

"In a way," Talrian said as they continued to walk toward the docking bays. Behind them the younger men were trying to figure out a way they could keep in touch and what plans they could make if the Odin came back this way. Which was likely considering they were currently at the mercy of Alliance command. But he didn't want to get into the philosophical quagmire about the Federation's ban on genetic modification after the Eugenics War and the idea of technologically enhancing soldiers just to create better soldiers also unsettled him. He wsn't sure why, he believed, as most Marines did, that perfecting yourself for combat and mission effectiveness was a noble goal. But...replacing parts with machines? That wasn't yourself anymore. That unsettled him.

Because he knew what it was like to not be himself anymore. The moment he joined with Bran, the person he was before ceased to exist and he was born in a matter of days.

"This has been enlightening," Talrian said as they moved past the bay's checkpoint and toward the slip that held their shuttlecraft. The two officers held back as the younger men moved forward, exchanging handshakes and information that, if the Odin could connect to the Alliance systems then they could get together over the virtual systems to play games together or training together. There were promises to introduce each group to others to expand their friend base.

"I hope it helps bridge us and reassures you and your crew that we're not the evil empire as some of us might make us seem like."

"I will report my findings to the captain and we'll go from there. Though, your command is pretty hell-bent on proving the 'evil alliance' perception. Are we really such a threat to be feared this much?"

Mulgrave sighed. "No and yes. You are unknown and we are...your Federation sounds interesting, if misguided in their response to threats. But this galaxy is in a constant state of flux. We have old enemies and new enemies aplenty. Wd don't know where you will fit in and how you will adjust to our timeline. If I were elsewhere, around others in my service, I wouldn't say this, but the fear is that you might try to ally with those from the timeine you know and cause problems for us. You would be destroyed in that case but not necessarily by us. Until you get to understand this timeline better, Command looks at part of what they are doing as protection. Things could be vastly different from what you knew."

"So they either fear us or patronize us?" Talrian asked, still reeling from the squad of 'enhanced' troops.

"For now. Try not to chafe too much. Once Command gets to know you better, things should improve."

Talrian could only nod at that, hoping that was the case. But, despite the comfort and acceptance he felt on the station, it soured just a little bit. "Thank you, Captain," he said, holding out his hand for the typical human gesture. Mulgrave took it, with a slight smile on his face.

"I dreaded this 'babysitting' assignment but now I consider it my pleasure. I hope you'll think over my offer and don't take too long considering it."

"I'll definitely think about it," Talrian said. Then, because these 'goodbyes' could go on forever, he finally he turned. "Load up!" he instructed.

"Yes, sir," Johnson, the 'senior' of the group said for them. Talrian went up the hatch and sat himself in the co-pilot's chair and began the pre-flight checklist. He listened as the others came up the hatch and began preparing for launch. Johnson hesitated only a moment before he took the pilot's seat.

"We're clear for departure," Johnson said, hesitating for a moment. Talrian turned to him and nodded. He was in the pilot's seat, that made it his command.

"We're clear for departure," Johnson said, more confident and, Talrian kept from smiling, with more pride. Then, he worked the controls to contact the Odin to inform them of their return.

 

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