The Regret Of The Son

Posted on 03 May 2012 @ 12:54am by Captain Jonathan Holliday

1,451 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: XO's Quarters - USS Galileo
Timeline: MD05 0300hrs

[ON]

Previously, in The Sins Of The Fathers

"Father"

"Still running around playing soldier are we John?"

"Still spending your days finding other people's shortcomings to make up for your own old man?"

"Dammit John...I'm not here to talk about your mother. I'm here to talk about you and me"

"I'm dying son...no jokes...no tricks...here; I'm transmitting you a copy of my medical records...if you don't believe me you can look them over yourself"

"Sharat syndrome...terminal...looks like you're going to get your wish at last John, no more of me hounding after you any longer"


And now, the continuation


The beta shift had come and gone like it had done so many days before, and John had found himself getting settled into a routine of duty and downtime. With so much free time starting to come into his hands now that he no longer had the stress of helping get a ship ready to launch, and with the silence of his quarters, John had decided to take up the advice of a friend.

That same friend who, right now, was lying in Sickbay, fighting to live, and uncertain of her future. John remembered McCarthy's last conversation with him, and how he had made inferences towards picking up some hobbies, something to break up the monotony of duty and sleep, and at last, had settled on something. It had taken some work and pulling rank a couple of times with some of the requisitions and replicator privileges, but John had finally gotten what he thought he needed.

The latest addition to his quarters, sat just next to the standard issue Starfleet sofa, was an acoustic guitar. Nothing fancy, just a simple 6 string wooden instrument, something to start off with, something to dull down the sense of boredom he sometimes found during his off hours. Smirking to himself as he thought of the fun he would hopefully have learning a new hobby, John's musical thoughts were interrupted by the uncanny tune of the comm system, the monitor on his desk opening up in response to an incoming communique.

Frowning slightly at the thought of being disturbed by a simple subspace communication, John headed round to his chair and settled in, looking down at the screen expecting to see the standard Starfleet emblem in front of him, but instead, it was a civilian frequency, nothing military or encrypted about it. Perplexed, John tapped in his access code and looked at the transmission signature.

It was definitely from the Sol system, and definitely sent directly to the Galileo, albeit routed through a few more...military protocols on its way there. After a moment, he gave into his curiosity, and opened the channel.

The picture he saw was one that filled him with a mix of gratitude, and solace. His father. The face of the man who only a few days previously had been in contact with him to deliver the news that no child ever wants to hear; the news that they were probably going to outlive their parents. It was a natural thing, and almost every species had the same biological process, but it never mattered, a child, no matter of their age or standing, never wants to lose a parent.

"Dad"

John half whispered as he looked on at his father, who by now was almost becoming a dream to him. It had been so long since he had seen him, and so much rage had once filled his heart, but now, it was giving way, slowly, to something softer, gentler, more open.

"John...so I see your little ship hasn't managed to get itself blown up yet. Been busy charting gaseous anomalies in the Neutral Zone?"

The XO was well aware of the position his father held within the Federation Science Service, and even though this mission was classified up to the highest possible levels within Starfleet, he was sure that the older Holliday would have at least heard rumours of what was going on."

"Yeah dad...real busy...not much call for a...soldier...like me, as you put it. Are....how are you?"

John still hadn't managed to find his voice for this conversation, every moment that passed he was afraid that he would end up having to learn something new that was going to make him feel even worse than he already did. The XO had, in advance, decided that once he returned to Earth at the conclusion of this mission, he would take some of his leave to pay a visit to the Martian colonies of his birth...and secretly he was praying this mission would be over quickly enough to let him do that.

The failure in their warp core had stood as a testament to the problems that seemed to plague John every time he wanted to get something done quickly, and he had taken the repair work as a personal mission to ensure that their ship was back on the road as fast as possible. Like he had already said to Chief Quinn, he would rather ignore the rules, and get their ship up and running in a few hours, and take an ear-bashing from an Admiral over a lengthy delay any time.

On the screen, the old man's eyes had not wavered from that of his son's, staring intently at him and looking at every facet of his face as if studying it for the first time. He looked noticeably thinner than he had done a few days ago, which had been logged in the medical files that he had received after having his father transferred to Starfleet medical care.

"I'm...I'm ok John...the pain is getting a bit more intense, but your shiny Starfleet doctors keep dosing me up with god only knows what medication to keep it under control....you didn't have to get me moved you know?"

"I know dad....I know....but being the XO of a starship has to have some perks....I just...pulled a few strings that's all"

"You mean you pulled rank....you military types are all the same...rank first, consequences later...."

His father paused for a moment mid-sentence, a look of regret forming on his face as he contemplated the words that had just fallen from his mouth, before looking down at the desk in front of him and rubbing his forehead with his open palm.

"I'm sorry....I shouldn't have said that son"

"its ok dad...I understand"

Now it was John's turn to be confused over the words that had just fallen from his mouth. A few weeks ago, he would have never contemplated letting his father get away with something like that, and probably would have either ended the transmission, or fired back across his father's bow with a few insults of his own. But this time, he didn't have any such urge, no anger, no fire in his belly welling up to defend him, he just felt calm, maybe for the first time in many years.

"You mom's been asking after you....wants to know if you'll be coming home any time soon"

"Tell her....tell her I'll be home as soon as I can....this mission shouldn't take too long...we're only going over to a starbase to collect some...some navigational charts, and some astrogation data....then back to Earth before you know it...."

"I'll let her know...just make sure you aren--"

John's father suddenly found himself unable to finish the sentence as a bout of coughing began to overcome his frail respiratory system, a small splutter eventually developing into a chest-rumbling spasm. Before John could even say a word, a nurse in Starfleet medical attire appeared, and draped her arm around the old man's shoulders, looking up at a monitor above him at his vitals, as the cough began to pass.

"Damn....that hurt....listen John....I'm gonna have to go...not as strong as I used to be...plus if I don't the good lady nurse here is going to have someone come along with a hypospray and drag me back to bed I'm sure....stay safe son."

"I will dad...and hold on ok? If you go before I get back to Mars, I'll never forgive you."

"That'd just be one more thing...on a long list John...."

His father's words trailed off as he closed the comm channel from the Sol end, the picture quickly being replaced by an end of transmission screen, before it went black, and the computer terminal receded back into the desk.

"Dad....hold on....."

[OFF]
---

Lt Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

RSS Feed