Posted by Civilian Genesis (Gen) McCallister (Anomalous Individual) in Cobb’s office

Posted by Civilian Genesis (Gen) McCallister (Anomalous Individual) in Cobb’s office

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Cobb’s office
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Cobb ceased his mock-searching then sat back on his haunches, his eyes fixed on the young girl.
“I do not hate him,” he attempted to correct her, somehow immediately understanding of whom she spoke. “I hate what he represents. I hate what he stirs within me, the memories of those I lost, of those I failed. Of those who were meant to be safe under my command but died anyway. I hate the reflection of myself that I see when I look at that bloody mask!”

“You’re reflection is you no matter where you see it. Why does it bother you so much when you see it reflected there. Or does it bother you when it’s reflected everywhere?” She asked.

He snorted - his annoyance not with Gen’s question, but with the response about to launch from his tongue. But not speaking it would do naught to hide it from the girl.
“Aye,” he shrugged, lowering his head to avoid those searching, amber eyes, “I am no fan of my own reflection. Too many memories. Too many crimes and indiscretions carved across my face. My mother always told me I had no face for poker. But some truths are more palatable when consumed in small doses. And even then they still manage to choke us.”

Climbing back to his feet, Zachariah opened a drawer on his desk and began to rummage noisily inside, blueprints and tools and stem bolts being discarded in a pile around him. Until finally he emitted a triumphant “Ha!”

With a grin, he turned back to Gen and handed her a large, round jar. It had, at one time, been full to the brim with chocolate chip shuttles. A gift from Dr Kastil. Now, only a few broken shuttles remained, but he was happy to share them with the girl.

The corner of her mouth quirked and she took the jar and rummaged inside. Removing one she carefully set the jar down and clambered on top of one of the captains bookcases. Clambered being the best word to use when in fact floated up and sat on was more akin to the actual action. She sat and chewed her snack.

“What do you make of him, Gen?” he asked, genuinely interested in her opinion. For he had already learned not to allow that innocent appearance to distract him from the wisdom of her true years.

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

OOC: Bump

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him yet. But I can see him in your head. And it’s not a nice picture. My mom says you should talk about things when they bother you, do you want to talk about him? About them?” She asked.

Gen

“Yes. No. I…” Zachariah exhaled. It felt wrong to unburden such horrors on one so seemingly young. And yet Cobb suspected her history laden with trauma to rival his own. Although of course, not a single shred of confirmation had he been given thus far. To him, Genesis McCallister remained an anomaly indeed. A mystery.

“For one who seems so fond of talking, you say very little of yourself, Miss Gen,” he replied. “So how about a little game, eh? I will share with you one of my secrets. Then in return, you share one of your own. Deal?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

OOC: Bump

OOC: Just keeping this on the front page so we don’t lose it…since Cobb is still very intrigued by Gen.

Gen considered this. “Throw in some cookies and you have a deal.” She said sliding into a chair across from the captain.

Gen

Cobb chuckled. “Cookies? Miss Kindle brought me a fresh batch just this morning.”
Rising from his seat, the captain approached the makeshift bar but then suddenly paused and turned back to face Gen. “Now, this is to be our little secret, Gen. I do not want the entire crew finding out where I keep my personal stash of treats, eh?” Then pushing to one side a row of paper books, he withdrew a large, metal tin, similar to the ancient ‘lunch boxes’ that were a curious necessity in the days before instant nourishment. Placing the tin on the desk as if it were made of solid gold, Zachariah undid the clasp and flipped back the lid to reveal a mouthwatering assortment of cookies in several different flavours.

Gen nodded and watched to see what cookie he would take.

Helping himself to an oatmeal and raisin, he paused for a few moments to savour the sweet snack, then clearing his throat, announced, “I’ll go first, eh? Why am I so bothered by Chief Vonn? Well, to tell the truth I am not so much affected by them as an individual, as by the memories the sight of them provokes. I lost everything because of the Breen. My ship, my crew, and in the aftermath that followed, my wife and child. And yet I, alone, was spared. I hated them!” he spat. “For leaving me here. I hated them for destroying so impassionately and from a safe distance. But more than anything else, I hated them because their technological brilliance left me in awe. I have been doomed to forever marvel at and admire the instrument of my own destruction.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Taking an oatmeal and raisin cookie for herself Gen considered his words. “Do you ever wonder…why…” she said slowly. “You are alive when they could have killed you easily.” She looked down at her cookie. “Do you ever secretly think that maybe they didn’t? You just don’t know it?”

Gen
Creepy child/psychologist in the making?

bump

Immediately Cobb’s chewing of his cookie stopped, eyes darting sideways to glance at the young girl with a composite expression of alarm at the question she had asked and sheer terror at the concept it suggested.

Several moments of silence followed, as Zachariah struggled to swallow his cookie down a throat as dry as Vulcans Forge. But a quick nip or several from his hipflask found him warming to the conversation somewhat.

“Aye,” he admitted with a nod, “I do wonder on it. All the time, in fact. I wondered on it when I met Prim Zar, a woman possessed of beauty and vitality far too incandescent for this dreary world. I wondered on it when lost on OED V, Prim one moment in my arms and the next vanished like the fading tendrils of a decaying dream. And I wondered on it most recently when in the office of an old friend where this secret, subterranean world of the ARU was revealed. But then I think to myself, if this is no more than dream, these incredible people all around me, this magnificent vessel at my feet, this mission that brings my life purpose and meaning…well, perhaps it is the better option if I never again am forced to wake.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb