L.T. Phone Home

Posted on 27 Jan 2013 @ 8:56pm by

2,490 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Stone's Quarters
Timeline: MD01 1900

[ON]

Jeremy stepped away from the bag and armed sweat from his brow. The chime sounding let him know that it was 2030 hours and time for him to stop his exercise routine and start preparing to go to bed. He did scowl at that though because he had to add to his nightly routine, adding Sidi's grooming needs as well as his own. He unwrapped his hands, almost expecting that they would be raw and torn up again, but, aside from some mild soreness, they appeared to be okay.

He picked up the wrist PADD from the desk and deactivated the alert He was already late getting to bed, because of the addition of Sidi - who also was adding to the disorder of his quarters. Jeremy stared at the tug rope lying in the middle of the living area. Sidi, however, was lying on the bed, his head on his paws and brown eyes watching Jeremy. Jeremy sighed, he'd been trying to get the dog to understand he wasn't allowed on the furniture, but short of locking Sidi in the kennel, it was hard to keep him off the bed. Now he had to clean up Sidi's disarray as well as his own.

He was about to go to the bathroom to grab the brush and begin Sidi's brush down when he was alerted to an incoming subspace call. He frowned as he asked to have it patched through to his quarters. He had no idea who would be calling him at this time of night? He went to the desk and saw the incoming call notification. Sitting down, he activated the call, his frown deepening when he saw the man on the screen.

"Dad," he said, simply. Years ago, when he was being reintroduced to people in his life, he found it easy to accept there was some form of familial relation between him and his father due to the strong resemblance to the two men. He found it less easy to accept the woman who claimed to be his mother because of the lack of resemblance. However, had come to accept the photographic record linking him to her.

"Jeremy," Phillip said. "How are you?"

Jeremy frowned. "Dad, you fail to provide context for your question, how am I what?"

Phillip sighed. "It's just an expression, Jeremy."

Jeremy shook his head, "It makes no sense, why would you ask me how I am something but then-"

"Can you talk, Jeremy?" his dad asked, knowing the irritation would be missed.

Jeremy sighed. "Dad, we have had many conversations and you contacted me over an audio medium such as subspace. If you weren't sure of my continuing ability to speak you should have-"

"I mean do you have a few minutes where we can have a discussion?" Phillip asked, rubbing his head.

"It's bedtime here, Dad. I was just starting to go to bed when you called."

"Yes," Phillip said, "It's late here too. We need to talk about something."

"Okay," Jeremy said, "Let me know when a good time is to contact you and I will check my schedule to call you back."

"I told her no, Jeremy. I told her I wouldn't authorize it."

Jeremy sat up in the chair, more confused now than before. "Told who 'no'?" he asked.

"Your friend, the Bajoran lawyer. I told her no. I'm not going to authorize payments for a frivolous lawsuit."

Jeremy sat straighter in the chair as he glared at the screen. "You don't get to make those decisions."

"No, Jeremy, I do, that's what a conservatorship is. To make sure you're financial affairs are looked after. Trying to sue Starfleet over a dog? Jeremy that's...look, son, I think it's time you came home. You've stayed in and proven your point, but you're not getting any better. Come home and we'll-"

"No, Dad, you don't. It's my money and you don't have the right to tell me what I can't spend it on. It's not just about a dog, but about making sure everyone in Starfleet gets treated with the same respect and courtesy."

Phillip sighed as he held out a hand. "Jeremy, I don't want to fight about this. You need to see reason here. You're saying this is about animal rights but Jeremy, I hear what you're really saying. This isn't about a dog but about you. You just need to speak up for yourself. Stop taking all this bullshit and holding it in. Lack of respect? Mistreatment? Second class citizen? Jeremy, stop and listen to yourself. This is clearly a projection of your own frustrations. If you just admit to your disabilities then you'll have the freedom to start dealing with your own problems. You don't need to project all of this onto a dog."

"Is that what you think, Dad? That I'm just..." he frowned. "I'm not disabled. I'm fully capable of doing my job and doing it well."

"Really?" Phillip asked. "Make any friends aboard your new ship? Or are you fighting with everyone?"

Jeremy shook his head, "That's not the point about-"

"How about your captain? The executive officer? Any of your contemporaries? Anybody?"

Jeremy blew out the frustrated sigh. "Dad, when did being 'popular' equate to ability? Is this the crap you wanted to teach me as a child, that I'm only as good as I am popular? Maybe there's a reason I'm not remembering any of that life because it's crap. What the hell kind of person was I? Some sort of fratboy douchebag?"

"No, Jeremy, you were well liked because you weren't the person you are now. You were kind and polite and-"

"And what am I now, Dad? If I'm not 'kind and polite' anymore than what am I?"

Phillip shook his head. "Jeremy, stopped, please, stop. I didn't call to fight and I don't want to do this again. You're my son and I love you but you make it hard for us, your mother and I. We're trying, Jeremy, we really are but you're making it difficult."

"I'm sorry this is so hard for you," Jeremy said shaking his head and shoving his hands into his pockets. "I don't know why, because it's just one big party for me. I know what it's like to suffer indignities and because of that I don't want others to have to go through this. I know it's hard for you and Mom, Dad, I know that. But there are things I have to do. And Sidi needs that help. Where would I be if I didn't have people who were willing to help me?" The implication of his parents abdication was clear and unspoken but had always lain between them.

"Jeremy, they're animals, okay? You can't expect anyone to agree that they should have rights. It's just a damned dog! Wanting to sue to give them rights, that's the craziest thing you've ever done!"

Jeremy's jaw clenched as his fingers dug into his thigh. "I'm not crazy, Dad. I've been put through so many evaluations and tests that I can say with certainty that I'm not crazy! And Sidi isn't a damned dog. He's a Starfleet officer with duties and responsibilities, but he gets no respect or authority merely because of his species. Work without respect is just slavery."

"Are you serious? You're comparing someone telling you to keep a dog off the bridge with slavery? Do you even hear yourself anymore? You're not doing well, Jeremy, you need to come home. We can find you help here, away from military doctors. We'll find some sort of specialist who knows what he's doing."

"Come home?" Jeremy asked, his anger rising. He thought his parents, of all people, should be more supportive. Instead his father was insulting him and treating him like a child. "And do what? I'm not qualified to do anything else, Dad."

"That's not true! You're an intelligent, capable person who can do anything-"

"Unless you don't approve of it!" Jeremy snarled at the screen. "What would I do on Earth? Sit around the house?"

"No, you'll find a job here, something meaningful, that you'd enjoy doing."

"Dad, it took me years to requalify just to be a security officer. What employer is going to have that kind of patience to teach me a new job?"

"I spoke with Tom, you remember him, the local sheriff? He said that if you came home, he'd give you a try. It'd be a local cop, sure, but it's the same thing you're doing now, just not zipping through the galaxy."

Jeremy shook his head. "I tried that already, remember? I couldn't even pass the written test. How am I expected to pass the tests and get hired? The medical screening alone would prevent me from getting hired."

"We'd get you help first, make sure you were cured."

"There is no cure! Why don't you understand that, Dad? There is no cure for what I have. I can't just take a pill and it's all better, or have surgery. If there was, I'd've been 'fixed' a long time ago. But I'm not because there's not. Even if I managed to fake my way past all the tests and he hired me, how do you think I'd pass the training academy? Dad, we've been over this. Starfleet is all I'm qualified to do. It's all I can do anymore. They have to let me do this because-"

"Then go to school and learn something new, Jeremy, Starfleet isn't good for you. You're getting worse!"

"No, Dad, I'm getting better. Things right now are bad, but I've been told that they're always bad for me in the beginning. It'll get better again and...I'm a Chief of Security now, Dad. Chief! Starfleet didn't hand that to me, I earned it. Because I can do this job well. Because of the opportunities and the time to get me reoriented and trained. That won't happen anywhere else. Starfleet is all I have. I'm too young to be 'retired'."

Phillip shook his head. "Son...I'm your father and I have to consider what's best for you. This isn't it. You get mad when I use a figure of speech, what's going to happen when people call you crazy because of this lawsuit?"

"They won't."

"You really believe that Jeremy? You really think Starfleet, hell anyone else in the galaxy is going to support this madness?"

Jeremy stared at the screen, quiet for some time. "It's my money," he finally said, as if that should end the matter.

"Which you agreed to place under my care. Jeremy, this is for the best. I'm not going to-"

"Fine," Jeremy said, "I'll find someone else to do this, to take care of the money and the financial affairs. Then you won't have to worry about it any longer. You won't have to worry about your 'crazy' son!"

"Jeremy, that's not what I said or even close to what I meant."

Jeremy stood and began pacing. "No, but it's what you're doing. You're using that position - which is only supposed to be so someone helps me with all that stuff - to dictate terms of my life. What's next, you're going to withhold all of it if I don't quit Starfleet an come home?"

Phillip sighed, trying to keep his son in view. "Jeremy, it's not about controlling you. It's all about helping you. Allowing you to try this is ...you'll look like an idiot. You'll look crazy. Everyone will say you are."

Jeremy considered the heavy bag contemplating that, apparently, he wasn't done for the night. "Including my own family, apparently."

"That's not fair! No one here calls you crazy. We know you went though a very tragic incident and we just want to do what we can for you. Jeremy, come home."

He started wrapping his hands again. "Dad, you don't understand, Starfleet is all I have."

"You have your family, Jeremy. We love you, we want you to come home. You can lobby to give more rights to Shep and Buttons. Maybe secure dinner scraps Wednesday nights or the right to lie on the sofa. Focus on getting them upgraded to a better doghouse, but with us. With people who know you're not crazy and love you for who you are. Not what others will make you out to be."

Jeremy shook his head. "I'm a security officer in Starfleet, Dad. As far as I know, that's always what I wanted. Since I forced them to let me back, I've become a Security chief. I can't give all this up just to sit around your house and be a burden."

"Jeremy you're not a-"

"Dad, I'm going to have Ahndyl contact you again. She'll be telling you what she needs to begin this lawsuit for Sidi. You're going to tell her that it's not a problem and give it to her."

"I can't do that," Phillip said. "I won't let you do this to yourself."

"Then I'll have her file to end or modify the conservatorship. If that happens, Dad, I'm not going to be happy."

Phillip sighed. "You never are. But you do what you think you have to do."

"I will," Jeremy said, hitting the disconnect button. He sat at the desk for a few minutes, staring at the screen and wondering. He knew relationships took work, and it would be harder for him not having the same social/emotional connections of others but shouldn't there be some that were easy? It was his father! That shouldn't be this hard. He shouldn't have to argue and disconnect calls from his parents. Sighing he tried to put the matter out of mind, he was already behind and this wasn't helping.

He turned as he got out of the chair, glancing at Sidi. He still lie on the bed, but now his head was up, ears perked - almost as if he knew what was going on an that they were talking about him. Somehow he wanted his parents to be more supportive, more understanding. He was sure if he were to call back and speak to his mother, all she'd be doing at the moment would be crying. That's all that happened when connected with him. His hands still wrapped, he retrieved Sidi's grooming supplies and called him over. Sidi jumped off the bed quickly, almost as if he were aware of the discussion about him. Jeremy took Sidi to the living area and began the brush down of his coat.

After he was finished, he'd call Ahndyl and have her get started on the paperwork to dissolve, or modify, the partnership right away.


[OFF]


Phillip Stone NPC
University Professor/Parent
Tualatin, Oregon, Earth

LTjg Jeremy Stone
Chief Security/Tactical Officer/K9
USS Galileo

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