A New Life

Posted on 30 Mar 2021 @ 5:50pm by Lieutenant Commander Natalia Reyes & Commander Marcus Wilcox

1,050 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Home

The USS Odin had been "home" for just over a day now, and Natalia Reyes was at a loss.

She was glad that she had spoken with the captain and had an idea about her options, but she she really didn't know what she was supposed to think or feel about this fact. Really, when she'd first heard about this ship from the general, she may have been inclined to think they were all crazy people to say they were from another time, but the ship itself and all the data in its computers, their uniforms and their ways... Well, it would have been the most elaborate delusion she'd ever seen so she accepted it as the truth.

But accepting something as their truth wasn't the same as her own...and yet here she was, and now she was pursuing what she hoped would lead her forward.

That was how she ended up on the ship's flight deck, looking for the CAG.

The flight deck was mostly quiet. The muffled background noise of the ship echoed gently through the vast open space, to an almost meditative trance if one were to focus on it. The majority of the lighting was dim, for only a few people were working. Their areas were brighter, one of those spots was around a fighter. Marcus had stripped off his uniform jacket, rolled his sleeves, and put on a pair of overalls. His gloves were black with the gunk and work he was performing on his craft.

Reyes previously hadn't really met or spoken with the CAG much but she was able to recognize him from her study of the ship's senior staff. She approached, taking a quick look at his somewhat disheveled state. "Commander Wilcox, do you have a moment?" she asked politely.

He silently finished the project he was working on, which took less than a minute. Silence though, can change the feel of a minute. Taking off his gloves and dropping them into a bin near his work area, he turned to face the voice. A face he didn’t know, or did he? He studied the person in front of him, the uniform helping him put the pieces together. “Yes Colonel. What can I do for you?” Marcus replied, with his usual monotone but a hint of sincerity, of welcoming to whatever situation may be laid out.

Nat was already on the back foot here, as the saying went, so she didn't take issue with being made to wait. The use of her rank made her smile sadly. "Please, just Natalia or Reyes would be fine. I'm not really a colonel anymore, am I?" She didn't let that linger. "I, uh... I've spoken with the captain and she's offered to let me remain aboard. She thinks Starfleet, after some training, will allow me into their ranks. My background is as a pilot, and she suggested I speak with you to see if you'd be willing to let me in your department."

“Natalia then,” Marcus replied with a subtle smile. He motioned to walk, a direction that would take them down the flight path, an apt place for the discussion in his mind. The pace, slow, to allow the thoughts to flow freely. He contemplated her statements for a moment then. “To not have the rank anymore officially does not necessarily make you not a Colonel, no? You still consider yourself a pilot, yes?” The two questions genuine curiosity on his part.

She fell into step with him, although her gait and demeanor were both pretty stiff with tension. "I am still a pilot, sir, yes," she said. "However, I am not really a colonel without the organization that promoted me. The captain said I could qualify for a Starfleet rank, however, should I remain with the ship. I believe she said lieutenant commander. Not a exact shift, but close."

Marcus nodded, doing the conversion in his head. “What did you fly?” He asked as he glanced about the bay, taking in the smaller details that on a normal day one wouldn’t notice.

"They were called the TUAC-oh-nine demons," she answered. "I've studied the public literature on your Valkyrie-class fighters and they are roughly comparable, although the demons were a little more heavily armed and a little less maneuverable."

Marcus nodded, their walk making it to the end of one row of fighters. A slow gradual arced turn brought them in line with the other side of the bay. His eyes still moving around the room looking at different things, however his presence still rested in the conversation. "Intriguing. How does the prospect of joining the crew feel to you?"

Natalia swallowed down a knotted surge of emotion and forced a faint smile. "I feel, sir, that it is the only choice I really have. I know nothing and no one in this...reality, or timeline, or however you call it. I only know the people on this ship."

Marcus stopped their walk to turn and look at her, clasping his hands behind his back. They stood only a few feet from each other as his eyes searched for something, his face neutral. "That is where you are wrong. There is never only one choice," He said bluntly, maybe harsher than he intended. "You may join the department if you wish, if you want it and not because you feel," he thought for a moment, "shoehorned into the decision simply for the comfort's sake of not exploring other options." They stood quietly for a moment, Marcus still holding the reigns of the conversation. "So I believe you have some thinking to do."

He gave a tiny bow, bending at the waist with the subtle bend of the neck as well before beginning to walk off. Not more than a few yards away he stopped and turned back to her. "And whatever you choose Natalia, I enjoyed our conversation and look forward to the next. I'm here 0600 every day, and believe we have many interesting conversations and things to learn together." A quick turn on the heel and he continued off.

That hadn't quite gone as she'd expected, and the displaced officer of the Terran Union was left with a confused expression as she watched the ship's CAG walk off...

 

RSS Feed