In the Blink of an Eye - Part 9 [Finale]

Posted on 29 Jul 2023 @ 10:16am by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde

2,183 words; about a 11 minute read

:: 2366 - 26 years prior to current time
Three days after the events in Part 8
USS Prudence ::


The group of survivors from the Wylde shuttle were in various states, laid out on biobeds on the Starfleet ship. They'd eventually been picked up after some kind of miracle glided them out of the system without attracting attention.

There was a vague sense in Alexion that they should be celebrating....so many ships had tried to escape only to be shot down, they were the lucky few. Yet, they remained in silence...tired, numb, lost.

None of them looked up as the door opened, not really noticing it.

"I'm Commander Lawson," the dark haired man who moved in introduced himself but paused for a moment, as if to consider his words carefully. "I understand that you are survivors from Vaeron. I know you've been through a lot. Our medical and counselling staff are here for you should you need them."

Although the Commander paused for response, he was met by nothing but silence and glances from the group.

"Yes," he said quietly, nodding before clearing his throat to continue. "We want to extend our deepest sympathy and regret over what happened..."

"Then why did you not come?" Ridion asked him, finally looking to him, the patient's dark eyes meeting the Commander's relentlessly. "Why did Starfleet not come to help our people?"

Lawson watched him in return, but his brow creased into a frown at the direct question...a question he had hoped to avoid. "We've only just started to put together all the reports and cut through the rumour...."

"You mean, you waited until the fire stopped burning and let the people trapped in the fire perish before coming to pick up any stray survivors that had managed to drag themselves out," Captain Eaest said softly, shaking his head with disbelief as he watched him, almost as if he could see into him. "So you did not have to get your hands dirty and risk getting burned yourselves," he arched an eyebrow, just watching the officer knowingly for a moment before shaking his head and looking away with disgust. "Politics."

Lawson looked down as he took a slight breath to keep his composure, shaking his head slowly and solemnly. "I don't know what happened or why we weren't there," he finally replied to him, as one man to another for a moment, rather than as an officer. "But I am here now, in this moment, for you, and I will make sure you are looked after."

"How many other survivors are there?" Alexion asked quietly as he watched the floor rather than the Starfleet Captain, almost afraid to ask the question.

"On your planet still? I don't know," Lawson replied honestly, shifting his gaze to him. "Out here? There may be some we haven't found yet, but we picked up a few transports. Not many, but there are others."

Alexion shook his head and looked away, his chest tight. A few transports out of all those that had tried to escape. Shot down. His people reduced to 'a few transports' worth of individuals. "Can you check if someone is amongst the survivors?"

"You will be able to check for yourself in a couple of hours," the Commander assured, glad to be able to deliver some good news at last. "We are not far from the Starbase the others have been taken to. You'll be dropped off with them as soon as we arrive."

Alexion nodded quietly, his mouth dry as he watched his hands, rubbing them awkwardly against each other. A part of him didn't want to see.

Hanri reached out to clasp hold of his arm, squeezing gently. "At least you'll know," he whispered in their own language. "At least it will be over. And you won't be going alone."


~~~~~~


Wearing a generic, plain black Federation outfit that the doctor on the ship had given him, Alexion and the other survivors from the hospital moved into the large room where the other survivors were collected, most in a similar exhausted and wounded state.

His hearts thumping hard in his chest, he looked around as a swell of nausea swept over him, searching for the one face that could make the whole nightmare struggle to get off his home planet worth it.

"Dad? Dad!" Laeon pushed past the others to get to him, lunging for him without warning, wrapping his arms tight around him as if he'd never let go again.

"Laeon!" Alexion grabbed him tightly in return, holding him almost painfully close with the wave of relief and sheer emotion that came from seeing his son again...at feeling him alive and warm when he had imagined him dead so many times since sending him away on the shuttle.

"Dad..." Laeon pressed his face to his neck, his fingers clutching at his back with desperation, needing to feel him close...feel he was alive. He cried against him, not caring, unable to hold it back after all he'd seen and gone through without his father there for reassurance. His body shook with the force of the sobs and he clung to him as if he never planned to let go again.

"Shhh," Alexion breathed, tears escaping his own eyes as he rocked his son to try and soothe him, his hand in his hair. "Shhh, it's over now, I've got you."

Laeon pushed back, suddenly hitting him hard across the face, his breath shaking as he shoved his shoulders. "That's for knocking me out and forcing me to leave you!"

Alexion held the side of his face that was already reddening from the hit, but he couldn't do anything but laugh as he watched him with awe and love. "You're damned right. Do it again if you want, I don't care, do it as much as you want."

Laeon's sudden surge of frustration and anger quickly melted back to relief and joy as he leant against him, holding him tightly. "It's so good to see you," he whispered as he closed his eyes tightly. "I didn't think I would, I was so sure, I'm sorry..."

"Shh, it's okay," Alexion whispered, stroking the fair hair firmly, pressing his cheek to it as he let out a long, shaking breath to try and calm himself. "No regrets. I'm pretty sure we all lost hope at some point."

"He did well, you'd have been proud," Jaq assured as he moved to them with a small smile, watching with obvious relief.

Alexion looked to his brother, his breath shaking as he reached out to grab him, dragging him close to hold him tightly too, swallowing hard against the tightness in his throat. "Thank you," he whispered to his ear. "I will never be able to repay you for keeping him safe."

"You're not meant to," Jaq said firmly, touching the back of his head with a long, heavy sigh at knowing his brother was alive after what had seemed like an eternity of waiting.


~~~~~


:: Current timeline - USS Galileo ::


Struggling upright in bed, Alexion worked to catch his breath for several long moments, his skin drenched with sweat. The cover had fallen down to his lap, making him shiver with the chill on his damp skin. He closed his eyes tightly against the nightmare...memories...whatever they were, covering his face with his hands before running them up through his fair hair to get it off his face.

"It's alright," Laeon whispered in their language, watching his father from the doorway with concern.

Alexion looked across to him in the darkness, watching with surprise before reaching to raise the lights just a little, just enough to see him better in the dim haze. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Laeon said softly, shaking his head before glancing down with a slight, awkward shrug. "I...knew you were dreaming about it."

Alexion leant against the back of the bed, letting out a long, shaking breath as he nodded, just watching him. "Your Talent is starting to develop," he said quietly. "You feel and know more things now, don't you."

Laeon nodded, but he was frowning as he looked down, his hand awkwardly rubbing the doorframe.

"Perhaps you will not be a Transferer. Perhaps you will be a Telepath like Hanri," Alexion assured softly, not sure which part of it was making the lad uneasy.

"I would rather be like you," he replied gently but firmly, meeting his eyes so he knew he meant it.

"You will get whichever Talent the Brothers think you can wield," Alexion assured, arching an eyebrow at the matter of fact statement. Taking a breath, he shifted to the edge of the bed against the wall and patted the blanket next to him.

Laeon moved over, squeezing on to the bed to sit against the back of it, stretching his legs out as he settled against him. "I was worried."

"I'm fine. It's just a dream, memories can't hurt you, not really," Alexion said quietly, turning his body enough to watch him in the dim light. "You've never told me," he said quietly. "What happened on your side of everything during the attack. What happened to you, what you saw," he said softly, broaching the subject carefully.

Laeon was silent for a long moment, frowning as he watched his hands. He finally gave a reply in the form of a single nod.

Alexion nodded with him, letting out a long, shaking breath as he rubbed his arm. "Well, you don't have to either, not if you don't want to." He was silent for a long moment, just letting him soak that up before touching his hand. "The counsellors in Starfleet would listen to you as well, if you wanted to talk to someone who isn't me or the others."

Laeon frowned at the suggestion, shaking his head softly. "But they're all so...intense. Besides, it is strange, talking to someone younger than you while being treated like a child."

"You are," Alexion chuckled gently, touching his cheek with a strangely tender hand for the usually gruff man. "Well, a youth anyway. You are like a teenager to them."

"But I am older than them," Laeon shook his head with a shrug, letting out a soft breath at the predicament. "It's weird."

"It was just an idea," Alexion assured, pinching his chin fondly. "You don't have to talk to a counsellor if you don't want to. And if you ever do want to talk about it, well, I'm here...and if that's weird too, you have Uncle Jaq, or Hanri, or even Eaest."

The young lad nodded at the words, accepting them but not indicating either way whether he might or not. "You haven't told me either, you know, about what happened to you during the slaughter," Laeon said softly, finally looking to him. "I mean, you've given me the children's edited version, but not the real one."

Alexion searched his eyes for a long moment, stroking over his hair with a heavy sigh. "I suppose I don't think you need to carry it with you too," he whispered.

"Maybe I think the same about you, with what happened on my side," Laeon whispered, shaking his head gently, his serious expression so similar to his father's for a moment.

"I'm the father," Alexion whispered as he leant to kiss his hair, as if that explained it all.

Laeon gave a weak smile to that but didn't reply either way, knowing better than to bother arguing. "Can we see Uncle Jaq soon?" he asked softly, meeting his eyes with hope.

Alexion nodded with a smile, squeezing his arm firmly. "He has a break in his filming schedule coming up soon, I'll see if I can persuade him to come out here."

Laeon's mood quite obviously lifted with the news and he leant close to rest against him, his head laying on his shoulder as he shifted to get more comfortable. His hand moved to gently tug Alexion's shirt up just a few inches, enough to see the scar on his torso and touch the puckered skin with careful fingertips, knowing it was from the fight on Vaeron.

"It was at home," Alexion whispered, keeping still. "The Wylde estate, when I went back for the last of our things. One of the bastards got me with a knife."

Laeon nodded, taking the words in, but his brow creased into a frown with them. "I hope you sent him to the sea."

"Not even to the sea," Alexion murmured softly, almost to himself. "His corpse remained lost on dry land."

Laeon was silent for a long moment, watching the scar in the dim light with pain. "Good."

Alexion pulled him close, holding him tight as he rested his cheek to his hair. "Whatever happened, that you don't want to say out loud, whatever happened, I'm proud that you were strong enough to get out and survive."

"You too, Dad," Laeon whispered, closing his eyes as he held onto him, his hand clutching his arm with relief at the words. "You too."

[OFF]

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