Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Rovan Moor (Engineer/Pilot) in Rovan Moor: Arrival to the Athena

Posted by Civilian Allison Fleet (Civilian) in Rovan Moor: Arrival to the Athena

Posted by Civilian Allison Fleet (Civilian) in Rovan Moor: Arrival to the Athena
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Snip

A few days after Rovan’s arrival on the Athena, he received the very word he had been hoping for, in the form of a collection of recordings Allison Fleet had sent him, one every week or two since she had woken up from her coma. The first message had been sent nearly seven months ago, according to the time-stamp, June 23. The backdrop was the familiar medical bed she had been laying in the last he had seen her, the background sound of beeping monitors and such just audible over the sound of her voice. She looked thin, almost emaciated - although she had been fed a steady drip of nutrients during her four months of lost consciousness, that wasn’t the same as real food.

“Allison” Rovan said as the image came up on screen. He had finished his shift for the day and had walked into his quarters tired, seen the light blinking on his private console but left it so he could shower away the days cares. After that, and fetching himself a sandwich and a beer from the replicator he had sat down to check the message and almost choked on the sandwich as her image displayed before him. Dropping his dinner unceremoniously on the plate beside him his excitement was tempered only slightly by her surroundings. “She’s awake” then a look of concern came over his features as he noticed how thin she looked.

“Hey there, pilot extraordinaire,” she said, smiling. “Um… I’m awake now. I woke up two days ago and only just managed to get enough energy to record a message. So, any time you feel like coming back to the Genesis, feel free,” she chuckled lightly. “All the doctors will say is that you left to go on some crazy secret mission, so I’m not sure when this message will get to you, if ever, but a girl can dream, right? I’m awake now, everyone seems pretty shocked regarding that particular detail. Apparently I was hit so hard on the head I shouldn’t even be alive, let alone awake and talking rationally. Guess whatever those aliens on my planetoid did to me was a little more lasting than I thought. I’ll be in here for a while, but I guess once I’m better I’ll be back to work in the astrophysics lab, or whatever they have me doing. Um… that’s all for now, I suppose. Love you,” she said sweetly but a little jokingly, lifting a hand to wave at the camera.

“Computer Pause” Rovan said, his hand had frozen over the sandwich he had begun once more to reach for. “Replay time index 1:06” he said and watched as the scene played over again. in the astrophysics lab, or whatever they have me doing. Um… that’s all for now, I suppose. Love you That brought a smile to his face, through the shock of actually seeing and hearing her, the news she was awake and remembered him. No, not remembered him. She said Love you. They had never said that in person, even as friends and Rovan realized right then just how much he did care about her, and miss her. Sandwich forgotten, he took a large swallow of his beer instead and closed his eyes. “Computer next message” he said, and watched.

The picture fizzled away and was replaced by another message sent two weeks later, July 7. Allie was looking much more healthy, and was wearing her civvies. The backdrop this time was her crew quarters, which he would remember being notably smaller than the quarters assigned to most Ensigns. Even given the option to have the same quarters as most her rank, she had chosen to take the smaller enlisted quarters, citing a discomfort with the large space. She was just… more comfortable with a smaller space, more like what she had been used to before her time on the planetoid. She was relaxing in her desk-chair, her original uniform framed up on the wall like it had been since she had been convinced to stop wearing it as PJs.

The image made Rovan grin, he remembered their talk about how she was used to smaller spaces, and he had joked about taking her out in a fighter some time if she liked tight, cramped conditions. His smile came in larger part however from seeing how much better she was, and that she was up again out of that hospital bed. This time he did pick up the sandwich and take a bite.

Her expression was quieter that it had been in the first video… more sad. “Hey, Rovan,” she said, leaning forward towards the camera. “I miss you…” she trailed off quietly, biting her lip for a moment. A motion Rovan would be familiar with, seeing as she did it every time she was struggling for words. “I really hope you’re getting these messages, but from what I’ve been able to gather, you’re out of communications range or something. I’m going to be sending my messages to a buffer, it’ll pass them forward as soon as you’re back. The Genesis is quiet without you around, and,” she glanced away from the camera for a moment. The video flickered somewhat, showing that there had been a cut in the footage. Her eyes looked a little redder than they had been before the cut. “Sorry. You don’t need me piling all my burdens on you,” she said quietly. There was silence for several moments before she spoke again. “Love you, Rovan Moor,” she said, and the recording ended.

“Wait, what” he said, as if the image of Allison could hear him, “No, no no, pile them on me” he said. He was saddened by the fact she was upset in the message, that it had been so short and he didn’t find out what she had been doing. He wanted to know why she was upset. “Pile them on me, I love you too” he said, softer than before. There had to be something going on that was causing her stress, and it tore at him that while she had been sending these messages he had been undercover on a mission under a different identity. For all intents and purposes Rovan Moor and ceased to exist when Allison seemed to need her friend the most, that made him feel so guilty that he lost his appetite, pushing the sandwich plate away from him. He kept the beer though, and sighed. “Next Message” he said, and watched as it flickered to life.

The next one began to play a few moments later, showing her in her Starfleet Uniform - the modern one. She was in her bedroom again, but the angle was different, and there was a determined but sad look on her face. Her blonde hair was tied up neatly, and from the look of it she was as healthy as she had been before the accident. The time-stamp showed that it was July 28, just over a month after she woke up. “Hey Rovan,” she spoke, and there was a dull quality to her voice that hadn’t been there in the previous two messages. “I really do miss you… Like… I can’t sleep some nights, knowing you’re out there among the stars and you’re probably not even getting these messages. Knowing that you could be dead and I’d never know, doomed to just send you messages one after another until I die… But that’s not what I’m recording this message about. I’m… I’m leaving Starfleet. Just thought I’d let you know just in case you do get these messages and want to get a hold of me. I’m not leaving Starfleet forever, just for a little bit while I get a hold of myself and all. I’ve got to figure out who I am outside of Starfleet, how I can fit into this crazy world.” She didn’t say it out loud, how she had always felt right at home in his arms, like that was where she belonged, but it showed in her eyes as she glanced at her framed copy of the same photograph that was beside Rovan’s bed. “If you’re looking for me, you can find me at Cavendish Tree Nurseries, Toronto, Ontario, Earth, etc…” She let the moment linger for a few moments, then almost whispered, “Love you…” before the third recording ended.

Recordings of Allison Fleet

“Leaving Starfleet” Rovan repeated, feeling slightly empty at the revelation and the tone in her voice. Allison had loved her work, the exploration and discovery. After the accident things must have changed heavily for her to actually leave and return home. That she had returned home gave him comfort, it meant she hadn’t disappeared to a far corner of the Galaxy and out of his reach. “Computer pause messages.”

That he was getting these messages at all was lucky, he knew. She had no idea how close he had been around that date she sent this message to being no longer in this universe. When he accepted the mission there was no guarantee he would return, but he knew he had been searching for a purpose even then after everything that had happened. Moving out of his chair he reached his bed and picked up a PaDD that lay beside it, and after a second glance, picked up the photograph that Allison had looked at in her vid, of the two of them happy and together. Sitting back down he glanced at the screen and placed the photo beside the monitor, then brought up what he was looking for on the PaDD.

“Cavendish” he said to himself, and found the contact details where Allison’s family had lived for generations. With a bite of his own lip and another drink of his beer he scrolled to the communication panel on the PaDD, then paused. “Oh, damn” he swore, then smiled at the toned down curse he had used. Allison had never been a fan of cursing, and he shook his head and grinned now at how he had fallen back into his habit of toning down his swearing just knowing that she was OK. The fact that in North America it was 3am, and no matter how excited he was to call her he was sure that her family wouldn’t appreciate an Alien calling from across the quadrant to speak to Allison. There was always breakfast when he could call her, in only a few hours time.

“Computer, resume messages and show remaining recordings” he told it, settling back into the chair and placing the PaDD aside, pulling the sandwich back towards him and picking it up, taking a larger than normal bite as he remembered he was hungry, then making a face as he realized the bite was too big and he had to struggle to chew it properly.

The recordings stopped for a moment, showing Rovan the entire list from the seven month period.
There were 12 recordings left to listen to.
August 8
August 15 - her birthday…
August 29
September 12
September 27
October 11 - Thanksgiving
October 26
November 17
December 8
December 25 - Christmas
January 1 - New Years
and her most recent message…
January 10 - Rovan’s Birthday

Recordings of Allison Fleet

Finally swallowing the bite, he looked over the list and smiled gently. She had sent him messages regularly and when his eyes got to the last one, his smile faltered. He had completely forgotten his own birthday. Without close friends, family or Allison he realized that the day had meant nothing to him. It was just a day filled with pain and loneliness he had taken no notice of while he completed the transition from being Traylin Uhr, skilled Ktarian pilot, pirate, arms dealer and revolutionary for many months, and back to being Rovan Moor of Starfleet.

“Computer, play messages, beginning August 8th,” he said, and took another bite. He was going to watch these messages while Allison slept. She had taken the time to send him these, and he knew that she must have felt as alone as he did while he was away. He wanted so badly to hear her voice, but she was sleeping and light years away. he would watch and learn from her messages, and for the first time in a long few months, his smile was genuine.

Lt (j.g) Rovan Moor
Engineer/Pilot

The next message began to play. The video showed Allie once again, now in an environment unfamiliar to Rovan. The lighting was soft and diffused, and had a slight pinkish tint to it. All this view gave him for context was the sight of a pale blue wall, and his human friend was dressed once more in civilian clothing. She smiled slightly at the camera, waiting a few moments before beginning to speak, lowering her hand from right beside the camera to nearer her lap. There was the faint sound of children’s voices in the background, dulled by the walls that were between the microphone and said voices. The camera quality was significantly lower than the quality of the previous calls.

“Hey, Allie here. I’ve arrived on Earth, fortunately in one piece,” she grinned slightly. “I’m sorry for the video quality… All I have is an old digital camera. They still make them even though the technology is centuries old! Aunt Mary - she insists I call her aunt even though my brother is her husband’s ancestor - is sorry that they don’t have much in the way of high-tech stuff on the farm, but it seems that there are still communities that like to live off the land in the old fashioned way. I like it here, so far. I arrived yesterday and they already had an old room made out for me. It’s not the same room I had when I was a kid - that house isn’t around anymore - but it’s in about the same spot…” she trailed off, staring in the direction of the light source, probably a window. There was a sound of a clatter from downstairs, and Allison chuckled. “Oof, sounds like a mess just happened… I should probably go help,” she said hastily, reaching up to the corner of the frame.

The video was static for half a second before returning to the same shot of Allison, now with a noticeable amount of flour in her hair. “So, Ben decided that bothering his mother while she was cooking was a good idea,” she almost laughed out loud. “I should probably explain the whole family situation going on here on the farm. You probably remember Adrien, the old gardener on the Genesis. His son, Michael, and daughter, Lillian, kind of own the business, along with a few other cousins. Adrien’s father, Alfred, had two siblings, Brendan and Maryanne. Brendan had Justin, who had three boys, and those three boys are John, Terry, and Fred. Those four actually run the farm, since Mike is in Starfleet and Lilly is a little too busy taking care of everyone else’s kids this time of the year. There’s a figurative army of them on the farm, and they range anywhere from seven to twenty-three! And the 23 year old has a little one of his own on the way…” she trailed off again, looking thoughtful for a few moments before sobering up again. “Anyways, I need to get this flour out of my clothes, so I’ll be going now. See you later, Rovan. Love you,” she said softly, reaching up to end the transmission.

The next transmission was from August 15. Before the video, an image was attached. Allison was dressed pretty nicely, and in front of her was a cake with five candles in the shapes of numbers - set into two groups. One set of three candles were a two, a six, and a five - her chronological age. The other two were a three and a zero - her age minus the years on the planetoid. There was a mirth-filled smile on her face as she blew out the flames. There were a couple other photos attached. One showed a very shocked Allison as the large family appeared to be throwing a surprise party for her. Another was her surrounded by her “cousins,” the children all laughing and smiling. Another photo, she was next to an ancient-looking mantle which had been left from the original building. On top of the mantle were framed photos ranging back centuries, even past her original time. The final photo was of Allison relaxing in the shade of a massive tree that must have been almost three hundred years old.

The photo slideshow ended, and the transmission began. The camera was a little shakier than it had been in the previous transmission, and the sound of nearby giggling could be heard. The setting was outdoors this time, in the shadow of that same tree. “This is my Gran’s tree,” Allison said, not looking directly at the camera. “She planted it when she was… when she was young. I remember looking at this thing when it was just over fifty years old, marveling that something could be so large when it was so young. Now, so many years later, I marvel that it is still here, not knocked over or forgotten…” She looked back at the camera, behind which someone giggled. “Something else I remember, was that Gran planted this tree on the 15th of August. She always did find it funny that I was born on her tree’s birthday. Guess we’re both a couple of ancient girls now, huh?” she patted the bark of the tree. “Think I should send this one to him?” She asked the camera-holder. The reply she got was a giggle and an enthusiastic “Yea!” before the footage cut.

The next transmission was from August 29. The Allison in the video was in her room again, although the sharper shadows flowing in a different direction communicated that she was lit by artificial lightning rather than the sun. There was a tiredness in her eyes that, although he hadn’t seen it in the previous videos, had been slowly creeping into her expression. Her old uniform was framed on the wall, and the different angle than the video from the beginning of the month allowed him to see her bedside table and the two framed photos it held. One was her 28th birthday, the last one she had experienced before the Planetoid. It depicted a happy family of five - Allison, her parents, her brother, and Naomi, the woman who he would later marry. The second photo was the picture of Rovan and Allison that he had a copy of.

“Hey, Rovan. It’s been a while since my last transmission, sorry. I’ve included a short video from my birthday and a few images. I hope that makes up for the lack of… Well, I guess you can’t really complain, since I haven’t gotten a peep back from you. I miss you like… more than anything. I didn’t know how much I’d miss you until you were gone. Darn-it, is this what it felt like for you when I was on that bed? You sat beside me for weeks, until you were called away to your secret mission… I’m so sorry…” she looked away. “My dreams are back,” she said, almost in a whisper. “They… they came back pretty soon after I woke up. You always scared away nightmares, I don’t know why. But the emptiness of the Genesis after you were gone… Worrying that you might be dead, remembering Adrien… I started dreaming your face among those of all the people I’ve known and loved…” she choked up, tears falling from her face. “Please don’t be dead… dear god, don’t let him be dead…” she sobbed, leaning forward and putting her head in her hands. She didn’t talk for a few minutes, just letting the video record. “god, Rovan… I’m so sorry I must have put you through a lot of pain while I was asleep… I’m so sorry,” she finally spoke, looking intensely at the camera. “I’m sorry…”

The recording cut off, and the transmissions paused for a moment, waiting Rovan’s command for them to continue.

Recordings of Allison Fleet