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Side sim - Harris' Quarters - I'm Back

Posted June 17, 2021, 4:08 p.m. by Colonel Calvin Harris (Marine Commander) (Jerome Davis)

Posted by Lieutenant Belle Harper (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Side sim - Harris’ Quarters - I’m Back

Posted by Colonel Calvin Harris (Marine Commander) in Side sim - Harris’ Quarters - I’m Back

Posted by Lieutenant Belle Harper (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Side sim - Harris’ Quarters - I’m Back
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Lieutenant Belle Harper had strolled quietly through the corridors seemingly on auto-pilot, her mind drifting back to boat decks and piano bars. She had intended to not make her presence known at all unless duty dictated she must. It’s not as though she had any feelings left for the man. Their romance had been passionate but brief. Maybe a long time ago she even loved him. Now, however, she felt nothing.

So why did she wind up standing outside his quarters late in the evening? It was as much a shock to herself as it would undoubtedly be to Cal. She activated the chime and immediately regretted it. “This was a mistake,” she said out loud and turned to go.

-Lt. Belle Harper, Chief Intelligence Officer

It was at that moment, Belle heard a voice… that voice… which she hadn’t heard in years. “Excuse me…” Came the surprised tone from the man rounding the corner in Marine sweats. “… can I help…” He froze before her. The man’s blue eyes flashed in surprise… confusion… pain. The man standing before Belle Harper was every bit the man he was when she last saw him yet, different. There was distinct greying of his jet black hair by his temples, his eyes had more noticeable crows feet, and his hair was longer now… a short, wavy style that made him look a little more… grown up. Harris took in all the changes to the woman before him… one of three that he had ever loved… and until this moment, all but one of those women… Harris was absolutely certain… were quite dead. Tears sparkled in the corners of his eyes and the Marine reached out a gentle, trembling hand. As his voice caught in his throat, the very softest tips that hand brushed her cheek as if to see if she were really there… like a ghost. “B–Belle?!”

Col. Calvin Harris, Marine CO

For the first time since coming aboard the Dresden, Harper felt ill at ease. She almost flinched at the soft touch of Harris’ fingers but managed to control her reaction. For the first time since… the Monty… six years… she felt… something. She didn’t smile she didn’t move. She just looked. She ooked into the eyes of a man she remembered from another life that felt more like a dream from long ago than actually a part of her past. Time had aged him, but like a fine wine, it was all for the better. Harper could only imagine what she must look like to Harris. Her bald head and steel-gray eyes must look so foreign. The lights of the corridor reflected off of her almost metallic skin, giving her a wet slick appearance. “Hello, Cal,” was the only thing she could think of to say.

-Lt. Harper, CIO

Cal looked as though he had been struck… by lightning. Tears fell from painfully sad stormy blue eyes as the man’s hand ever so gently cupped her cheek. It was really her… but… but how?! “My god Babe…” His voice trembled as he spoke, his eyes never leaving hers. “… wha–what happened to you?” The question was spoken as if it caused him physical pain to ask it. The love for her roared like a flame behind those eyes and the care… the protection in his touch… was there just as it was that night in New York harbor.

Carefully, slowly… he lowered his hand and asked in confused shock. “How are you even… even here?” Cal wanted nothing more than to reach out, touch her… hold her… if for anything else… to remember her touch just one last time. But so much had changed… good and bad… and as tears flowed, Cal stood… visibly shaking… and said in a cracking voice. “You… you were dead.”

Col. Harris, MarDet CO

Dead. He had said that with such conviction. How did he know? Had he checked? Did he check her pulse? Did he even come to see for himself? Or had the report of her death over comms been enough for him to give up, to leave. Oh well? Those were the thoughts that ran through her mind though she quickly pushed them away and of course she voiced none of them. “You’re absolutely right. Belle Harper died six years ago. What’s left standing before you is a shell of what I was. As far as specifics, I am under direct orders not to discuss it. I was reanimated a few months ago. And that’s about all the information I can give you.”

“Reanimated…” The word left his lips softly, the tone even more confused than before. She was Belle… or at least what the frack Harper WAS! It was in that moment, the Monster Blacks of Starfleet Intelligence registered with him and her last sentence made him want to scream. Intel had botched the ‘safe’ Observation zone that got Ali’s mom killed… had taken Molly and twisted her to their will… and now Belle. Those bastards had killed or meddled with every woman to ever hold his heart and it made him sick.

There was the tiniest part of her that felt somewhat guilty holding back so much. She was sure the last six years had been painful for the colonel. She could see how painful their meeting tonight was. As much as she might have wished that things could be different, her hands were tied. “I just wanted to see you. I’m not sure why.” For the first time, her gaze fell from his as she looked down at the ground.

-Lt. Harper, CIO

Cal shook his head as if clearing away cobwebs and leaned over to one side to look up at Belle in the eye. “I’m glad you did… I…” Harris closed his eyes as more tears fell. “… I nearly tore the ship apart trying to get to you. I… my god Belle… I’m so sorry!” He gasped softly. “I tried to–to get to you. I–I couldn’t reach you in time. That bastard took you from us.”

Col. Harris, MarDet CO

“He took away a lot more than that,” she said cryptically. Her usual coolness and lack of emotion washed back over her pushing away the dredges of emotion that had only just started to boil up. She wished she were still back in cold storage on the Monty. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t have come here tonight.”

She turned to go but couldn’t quite make her feet work. Not looking at him she said something that she immediately regretted. “I dreamed of you you know,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. A single tear, more like mercury than saline, streaked down her cheek.

-Lt. Harper, CIO

Harris’ warm hand gently gripped her shoulder just as the words left her lips. “So did I…” The Marine said in a matching whisper. “… every night… for years.” It was the Marine’s turn to say something he’d instantly regret. “I loved you… I—I never stopped.” He closed his eyes and after a gently squeeze of her shoulder, Cal’s hand returned to his side.

Col. Harris, MarDet CO

“I know you did,” she said, returning her gaze to Harris’ eyes. “I loved you, too, once.” If the last words sounded cool it was because that’s what she intended. “That type of love isn’t possible for me anymore,” she said matter-of-factly, though she wasn’t entirely sure that was true. “Cal, I am glad you are well and I hope my serving aboard the Dresden will not negatively affect you in anyway.” All signs of sentimentality fading away. “I have a mission. One I can’t discuss. One I can’t afford to fail.” Though it seemed so far away as to be unreal, something deep within her wished he would scoop her up carry her away and tell her it had all been a bad dream. She knew that wasn’t going to happen though.

“Please, forgive me.”

-Lt. Harper, CIO

Cal sighed and shook his head. “You have done nothing for me to forgive.” He paused, looking into eyes from which he had once seen so much love reflected. “Belle… I’m not going to ask you things I know you can’t answer. I just want to say…” A soft, warm smile broke across his face. “… thank you. Thank you for all that we shared.” A single tear rolled down his right cheek and with another sigh, Harris added. “And while I know that chapter of our lives is closed… I don’t regret a single moment. You were one of the greatest loves of my life… and you made me a better man. So for that…” He sniffed, fighting back more tears. “… I just wanted to say, thank you....” Before he could think of what he was doing, Cal took a single step forward, closing the last remaining space between them and wrapped Belle in a tight embrace. “… for everything.” He said in a whisper before stepping back once more, his face shimmering with tears.

Col. Harris, MarDet CO

Hearing the colonel thanking her for the time and love they had once shared sparked the tiniest bit of something within her that Belle had thought was long dead. She could remember the feeling of loving him, even if she didn’t quite feel it. However, there was a sense of caring about his well-being. She wanted him to be okay. The embrace only slightly caught her off guard and she did not return the gesture, merely standing still as Harris hugged her. But when he stepped back, tears streaming down his face, she couldn’t help herself. Harper’s hands, almost without conscious effort, slowly drifted up to his face. Placing a cold hand on either cheek, she tenderly wiped the tears with her thumbs.

Before she could register what she had done, two security NEs quickly appeared from around the corner behind Lt Harper. One of the men shouted, “Colonel, look out!” While the other trained a phaser on Lt. Harper’s back. He pressed the trigger firing.

The blast caught Lt. Harper between her shoulder blades. She fell to the ground, stunned. The two NEs ran quickly up to Colonel Harris. “Are you alright, Sir?” the man with the phaser asked.

-Lt. Harper, CIO

As the last word left the NE’s lips, they were instantly split by a ferocious right hook from the Marine. The other found the same right hand clinched around the collar of his uniform. “Pick… her… up.” The eyes that were moments ago filled with love and tears glowed now with violent, dangerously-focused rage. Lifting the man from floor and pulling him nose to nose, his voice cracked like a whip. “Right now… or I’ll throw you out the goddamn airlock at the end of this corridor” When the last word left his, he flung the man into the one he just decked. “NOW GODDAMNIT!” The Marine drew the Colt 45 from its holster and slowly pulled the hammer back, staring down both men.

Harris, MarDet CO


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