Pater expecto patronus

Posted on Fri Jul 1st, 2022 @ 10:14am by Captain Samuel Woolheater & Consul Andrinn Orin
Edited on on Fri Jul 1st, 2022 @ 10:15am

Mission: Season 5: Episode 4: Reef
Location: USS Elysium - Deck 32 - MARDET HQ
Timeline: MD01 - SOMETIME AFTER LEAVING SICKBAY
2114 words - 4.2 OF Standard Post Measure

[ON:]


“The stag is at war with the serpent: it traces out the serpent’s hole, and draws it forth by the breath of its nostrils, and hence it is that the smell of burnt stags’ horn has the remarkable power of driving away serpents…” — Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book VIII


=== USS ELYSIUM – NCC 89000 – DECK THIRTY-TWO – MARDET HQ – AFTER THE NEWS FROM COMMANDER STHILG ===


When Sam finally did look at the chronometer, he didn’t know how long it had been since he came back from seeing doctor Sthilg. He held the PaDD in his hands and kept re-reading the text. He finally set the PaDD down and rubbed his eyes. Earlier, he had sent a copy of the medical report to Emily’s brother, Evan and the Hope family. It was early evening on Pacifica. Sam didn’t know how the news would be received. Only that he was not the baby’s father. And now, he didn’t know how he should feel or what he should feel.

The comm panel beeped at him, lifting his head, he eyed the comm and it was from Pacifica. There was no way to avoid this. Sam answered the call.

He tapped the panel and an image of Emily’s father and mother whom Sam had never met before. And her brother who Sam had met earlier this morning over the comm. He was surprised to see all of them on the call. He answered and said, “Hello? Evan? Mr. and Mrs. Hope? I don’t know what to say…uhh…I’m Sam.”

Both Evan and Mr. Hope looked as though they were both about to blow a gasket. They appeared to be upset in general and it wasn't until Mrs. Hope began to speak that anyone could have understood the gravity of how they truly felt.

When Mrs. Hope began speaking, her voice cracked when she finally spoke, saying, "We.....just got the news and wanted to reach out to you to let you know. Since....you're not father of the child, we wanted you to let you know that the child will be taken care of. We will be taking care of the child, so you don't have to worry about anything with the baby. We wanted to apologize to you too, since you never did anything to harm her or bring this child into the world, as well as what Evan might have said when he contacted you earlier."

It felt like a piece of his heart got ripped out again. Sam was not going to hold it together but he was at a loss for words. "Your daughter's death...was not..." Sam brought his hands to his mouth and steepled them there for a moment as the pain washed over him again and his eyes teared up. He said, "Emily was coming to Titan. I was going to meet here there. I loved her."

He regained his composure and taking a deep breath he said, "I would never have done anything like this and leave her alone with a kid to raise. Evan was doing what he thought best. It's what I would have done and said too. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect her."

Mr. Hope just couldn't take it anymore and got up from the seat that he was sitting in and left the frame of the comm link. Evan followed his father out to make sure that he didn't do anything stupid or rash. But, before he walked out of the frame, he just looked at Sam and said, "This doesn't make us even Marine. Just 'cause my mom wanted to make things all kosher, doesn't mean that they are. Understood? Come back to Pacifica, you better steer clear of here."

Evan walked out of the frame and went yelling for his father, who you could hear mumbling in the background. But, the voices quieted down as it appeared that they were going away from the room that the communicator was located. All you could see was Mrs. Hope, who was looking down at her feet. She had lost her composure too and said, "I'm sorry about them. It has been hard on all of us, losing her, you know? We all thought she was going to be here to do so much. Now that she's gone, it has been tearing us all apart. I just wanted to let you know that the baby will be taken care of and that Bryant will be taken care of in the years to come. I know Evan can seem mean and menacing, but he just means well. Come by for dinner sometime, okay?"

There was just so much coming at him all at once. Everything in life was coming apart at the seams and it all started with the explosion back on Pacifica. Sam felt lower than shit on a boot. He had never even met these people before. And the way Emily spoke about her family before was nothing like this. He realized that everybody, including him, were in shock. Sam said, "Mrs. Hope, I am sorry for your loss. There are no words for the loss you and your family have suffered. For what we have all suffered. I spoke to her before she left for Titan. She was so happy. And she said she wanted to tell me something important. Up until a few hours ago I thought she was going to ask me to come and live with her you know? Come and meet the family."


Mrs. Hope looked at Sam and just starred off into space for a moment, taking her time to collect her thoughts. She didn't know what to say to the man who just blew the news that he wasn't the father. It just meant that there would be a lot more questions than answer at the moment. She remained silent because she didn't want to talk.


He paused a moment to see her face. "Emily looked a lot like you. She had the same eyes, same smile. Same wonderful smile that made me so happy. This was going to be my last tour of duty too. I just recertified my skill and that was going to be my surprise to her. I had the documents all ready to go. I didn't tell her because I...because I was selfish. I wanted to see the look on her face when I told her I was out. I was going to get a normal life and we were going to do anything she wanted. Go anywhere. Anywhere, just to be near her. Just do 'normal' stuff. I don't think I'll ever feel that way again? And, I want you to know that you can be mad at me; hate me if you think it'll help? I'm mad at myself."

"I just want you to know that she truly cared about you. While she didn't talk to us about it, she cared about you a lot. There....was a letter that was with her belongings that explained a lot about you and her relationship. But, it never mentioned that you were the father or who he was," Mrs. Hope said through the transmission, as she began tearing up again.

The ships doctor did the paternity test. So, there's no longer any doubt. Do you or...are you going to try and find Bryant's real dad?"

Mrs. Hope just sat there, twiddling her thumbs as she listened to Sam speak and just waited for the right moment to actually get a word in edgewise. She finally looked at him, as though piercing right through him through the comm screen. One could almost see pity and fury in her eyes at the same time, both directed at Samuel. She wanted to be understanding, but she knew that her daughter might still be alive if she didn't try to go to Titan.

However, she saw the man that he is, not the man that her husband and son wanted to see. She was understanding and compassionate, but it still hurt. As she began speaking, one could still hear her voice cracking as she said, "We already did and Starfleet couldn't find a match, nor could anyone within the Federation. If he's out there, he's not out there in the databanks." She begins crying, dapping the tears away as she may never put to rest another thing in her life. She wanted to find out who was the father, but knew that she wasn't going to for a lifetime, if ever.

Sam simply nodded. This call was a mistake; this is not the news they wanted. But now that he knew them a little better, what would the alternative have been like? Sam had 'knocked up' their daughter and couldn't see to the kid because he was deployed on some distant planet? He knew, logically, he knew that this was a 'Kobiyashi Maru' scenario. He simply promised to stay in touch. He felt more hated now than ever. He was anxious to bring the call to a close and thankfully, it was coming to an end.

"Mrs. Hope, I am so sorry about everything that happened. I wish I could undo it; but I can't and I am sorry."

"Just....keep in touch, okay honey? I'm sorry for your loss too," Mrs. Hope said before hitting the transmission button to end the call. Before she hit it, you could tell that she wasn't feeling extremely happy and almost wanted to end the call before it began. However, she stayed strong long enough to explain everything and get out of it all.


FAR ACROSS THE GALAXY - RETICULA IMPARA - 'THE BONEYARD'

The 'Boneyard' is a place where old starships, decommissioned starships or otherwise obsolete starships go to await their day under the scrappers torch. However, it is also the place where the Agent Garmin has setup a small listening post. One never knows when an old Akira class starship will come in handy.

=== BRIDGE - DECOMMISSIONED STARSHIP ===

On the screen was an identical transmission, which should be impossible, of the conversation that Sam Woolheater was having with Emily Hope's mother. The conversation was just ending and Sam signed off and the connection was closed. The bridge of the ship was an odd collection of hardware and scrapware. A dark figure sat in from of the terminal screen at the Science I station. The ship has been decommissioned two years ago. The room is dark except for the illumination from the screens themselves. The figure wrapped in darkness leans forward. It is Agent Garmin. In his hand he holds an ODN data node. On it, is the real paternity of one Samuel Woolheater and Emily Hope. The screen displays that the data has been altered, by Garmin, who then closes the terminal and saves the data.

Garmin turns to his assistant, "See that this ends up in a safe place for now? We may need this at some point in the future. One never knows when the services of a marine sniper will be useful?"

Andrews walked over to Garmin and said, "Right away, sir. But, you do know that if this gets back to the director, he won't be happy and will probably throw you in the booth for your insubordination. You know how he feels about you going behind his back. Just make sure that it doesn't get that far, understood?"

"I am the stag and the Director is the serpent my young friend. And I will do what I will do to guarantee certain...outcomes...are met. For now, we have an asset at our disposal who doesn't even know he is one. And should Mother Nature assassinate him for us before we have used him? Well...there's a whole regiment of marines yet to choose from" Garmin said and then carefully handed the ODN data node to Andrews.

"You're not talking about that stupid diplomat again, are you? That fracking half breed that just transferred over to be with the Marine? They'll both get their fate sometime soon enough," Andrews said as he sat down next to the other man and began working with him to get everything that they needed set up. He wasn't going to be the reason why the mission fails and they don't make it home...more or less safely.


[OFF:]

Consul Andrinn Orin
Playing the Papa, Mama and Evan Hope's
and
Agent Andrews

&

1st Lieutenant Samuel Woolheater
“Saepius Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater Infinitas”
Division VI, MARDET 62nd Company "Spartans", 1st Platoon CO
=/\= USS ELYSIUM - NCC-89000 =/\=