In His Son's Eyes

Posted on Jul 28, 2014 @ 11:05pm by Captain Peter Aspinall
Edited on on Jul 28, 2014 @ 11:07pm

Mission: The Tangled Webs We Weave
Location: USS PENDRAGON

"In his son's eyes" (Contd- "A Sort Of Homecoming.")



Location: USS PENDRAGON
Scene: Cargobay 2
Stardate: [2.14] 0727.2352



Cargo bay 2 had been converted soon after their arrival at ELANDIPOLE in their own timeline as they began to plan the potential for more effectively taking the fight to Edgerton in the past this space had become a hub for all the information they had collected and no dispersed.

Consoles from a number of damaged and sealed off rooms had been salvaged and formed a ring around a holo-table in a central space. The room was relatively quiet as they waiting for input from various sources as to how their plans were going.

ELANDIPOLE was of course not a standard part of any information updates for Starfleet, their communications and information coming in through various guarded, and therefore slower, means.

Their main source of information other than public news broadcast from nearby relays was as various members of the PENDRAGON and STONEHENGE crews returned from forays out of system. Unfortunately the more important missions were further afield and information on their outcome was still scarce.

Peter stood leaning over the holotable, supporting himself on its edge as his eyes flickered across a complex map covering the federation with tags of information fading in and out, events that had happened, events that should be happening now based off their own history, the predicted courses of all the people they had sent out in a variety of colours to make them easier to follow, the Drakes being the most prominent, the ones driving deep in to locations where their discovery would be costly indeed. Each time it flickered up Peter's eyes were drawn to the icon for the ACRIMAN and its predicted location and he couldn’t help but wonder if Mav had been successful.

They were all there, his friends, his comrades, every person he trusted was among the flickering mass of information on the map, former CO's, former subordinates, people at all levels of the organisational structure of Starfleet and almost all of them in danger, and; for now at least, he had no idea if the machinations of he, his crew and their fellows in the future had made the blindest bit of difference to most of their lives.

Footsteps echoed in the room behind him and he felt a familiar presence.

"Penny for your thoughts." Commented Maddie as she came to join him.

"Which one of many." He huffed.

"You need to find a focus among it all Peter, you can't risk losing yourself or your emotions will follow and lead you to despair."

"I know sis," Sighed Peter as he stood up properly and turned to regard her. "It’s not easy when there is so much happening, so many threads, so many people at risk."

"You don't bear the weight of the Federation alone; we are all here beside you." She smiled softly.

"I know sis, thank you."

"How are your crew?" She asked as she gentled pulled him away from the table, and his obsessions.

"Some better than others, it's taking a lot for some of them to get around the change in circumstance our time travel has brought. Even though they know it intellectually it's a lot to process when instinct has become such an integral part of our actions."

"I cannot imagine the STONEHENGE's arrival helped the matter then?"

"Not particularly, luckily the bridge crew on duty at the time were largely people who had previously served on her or the PROPHECY but there have been questions. Rharn refused to use the D-drive in the future, even to escape." Peter paused in the walk his face stricken as he tried to force the memories of the exploding STONHENGE from his head.

"Well I have a distraction for you." Commented Maddie.

"Oh?" Asked Peter intrigued.

"A shuttle is on long range sensors, it would appear Matthew is home."

Peter’s stomach did a flip flop. The concern that had been eating away at him as he looked at the holo map was joined by excitement, worry, fear and a whole host of other emotions. He was momentarily glad he did not display his emotions quite so clearly as Izzy as if he did he imagined his skin would not settle on a colour right now.

Maddie’s hand on his shoulder, a strong gesture for a touch telepath such as she, grounded him a little as he tried to prepare himself.

Of all the people he had seen in this time that he knew were dead in his own this one would be the most painful and to add to that he once again had to tell his husband that one of their sons was dead.

His own deep anguish at the death resurfaced as he fought to re-assert his control helped by the presence of one of his oldest friends. He looked in to her familiar eyes and could see the trust she and the others placed in him, he knew they were beside him, that they would be by his side however this eventually turned out and it helped centre him.

Apparently his emotions however were not reigned in quickly enough as within less than a minute, while he and Maddie were still stood in companionable silence, Benham walked in, not quite at a run but definitely not at a normal pace.

Peter knew what had fetched him so he offered an explanation.

“Your Dad is approaching.”

The same emotion that had, Peter had no doubt, flashed over his own face flashed over his son’s. Telling Matthew the first time had been heartbreaking but this Matthew, he had not faced the grinding away of everything he knew already, he had not been fighting a bitter guerilla action that was doomed to failure. He was still, for all that he had encountered, relatively naive by comparison. No doubt it would hit him harder still although what worried Peter was actually the relationship between Matthew and his surviving son not to mention Jackie and himself. They had each blamed themselves and one another in the days after Boone’s death and it had taken time for them to get over that, and time was something they couldn’t afford right now.

Benham came to stand by his other shoulder and Peter realised seemingly for the first time just how adult his son was; he was already older than Peter had been when he joined Starfleet and that was when Peter realised he wasn’t really sure just what would have the biggest impact on Matthew, Boone’s death or the change in the rest of them.

To them their change had been gradual, the usual turning of the clock, but Matthew would not have such a great benefit, would not even have begun to imagine this result and suddenly Peter was even less sure about how to face him than before.

Benham’s eyes met his own and of all the comfort, all the words, gestures and deeds from everyone that had tried and were still trying to help him that was the most firming, the most steadying and also the most humbling for in his sons eyes he saw more than the trust he had witnessed in Maddie’s he saw what he could closest describe as hero worship. A faith so inimical to Benham’s beliefs that he brooked no doubts that somehow his Father would get through this, he would get them all through this.

Peter still couldn’t share anywhere near that confidence in his own ability but one thing was for certain, after seeing that look in his son’s eyes he would do all he could to make it come true. He would not, could not, give up.



NRPG:

I apologise for how this could read, you are pretty much getting a stream of consciousness here, it was relativly unplanned and as i send it i have 5 hours before i have to be waking again and havent even taken the time to read it properly.


Peter Aspinall the voice of among others.

Captain Peter Aspinall
CO
USS PENDRAGON