Posted by Lieutenant Commander Mathys Ducote (Chief Engineer) in Captain’s Office- New Beginnings

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Mathys Ducote (Chief Engineer) in Captain’s Office- New Beginnings

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Mathys Ducote (Chief Engineer) in Captain’s Office- New Beginnings
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

SNIP

Mathys felt his lungs inhale and relax. His grey eyes lingering on the CO. It was clear what the older man was getting at. In a practiced posture, the light haired man continued to rest his back against his chair and let a quiet draw out. His fingers rubbed the bottom of nose before he broke the pause.

“I understand that. From my experience, I think responsibility has a lot to do with our perception of time. When I was young and dumb, I thought my carefree times will never end.” He licked his lips briefly.

“Becoming an unexpected father and reflecting on the memories of it, I think is the best example of this. I feel older than dirt, but I’m still in my prime.” Mathys’s words echoed his mother’s familiar ones. A chuckle sprung to his lips as he let it ripple in his chest, gradually settling down.

“In this case, your ‘children’ are your crew. Does that make sense?” His face held his gaze with the CO.

-CE, Mathys Ducote

“Yes,” the Captain said. “Perhaps. I think so.” He seemed to still be thinking about it.

“I don’t exactly think of them as my ‘children.’ Especially because I’m marrying one of them. Who in fact has a child. Who I might… umm… well… I guess I didn’t actually talk to him about that part. It’s kind of a detail I should sort out this week. But… I think I agree with the broader point.” He was perhaps overthinking it. Maybe he actually had a bit to think about.

“Your child still on Earth?” Johann knew that Mathys was only here by himself, so that implied the mother and the child were somewhere else.

– Johann Dvorak, CO

Once the CO finished, Mathys considered the question.

“Yes. It was decided that Hayden would have a better life with his mother than me. A ship isn’t an ideal place to rise a child.” His eyes drifted to the wall, staring for a few moments.

“The relationship with her is complicated. Let’s say my vows were important to me, than her. It’s especially painful when you return home early and see her with another man.” A hiss escaped his lips with the last statement. He remembered the explosion swiftly followed and became a minor incident. Mathys couldn’t stay in the house after that.

“Oh,” Johann said aloud sympathetically.

“I thought that memory would stop hurting eventually.” The engineer’s voice regained its lighter tone, trying to shrug off the pain.

-CE, Mathys Ducote

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up something unpleasant.” Perhaps he should have known better. Were there were enough hints in the conversation for him to have figured out that there was a divorce? Maybe.

This is one of those moments where you let the other guy change the topic first, he thought. Occasionally it happened that people expressed something personal that they were emotional about. It was Johann’s experience that it was best to let the person express whatever it is just so they could get it off of their chest.

– Johann Dvorak, CO

“Naw, you didn’t know. Besides, I got my Hayden out of it. I wouldn’t trade him for the world, even to spare myself the pain.” Mathys lightened the painful moment as he moved on.

The edge of a smile crept into Johann’s face for a moment. He had heard this sentiment from other people who had children, and it always made him slightly happy when he heard it. It was nice to see people express gratitude, especially when it still shone through the darkness of hardship.

“He’s so much like me. One day, he wants to join Starfleet and become an engineer. Honestly, imagining him facing the stuff I do… frightens me a bit.” It was clear he was considering the risks the job had as he turned the question on the CO, referring to the adopted one.

“Have you ever considered that with yours?”

-CE, Mathys Ducote

“Yes, a little. He’s expressed some interest in Starfleet; we’re letting him shadow a few people to get a taste of things to see if it, or something related to it, is something really wants to do. He’s quite a bit older, so you know, he’s at that age where he’s thinking about what he really wants to do with his life. He’s actually pretty interested in Engineering, so you’ll probably see him drop by. He read a few Academy texts on electrodynamic fluids and found them to be… uh… I think he said ‘basic.’“

“His name is Jerrin. He’s a Tenraith. Very tall; 6‘3”. Red hair. Looks a lot like his mother.” There were quite a few differences in their appearance which Johann appreciated greatly, but that was not something he’d talk about with… well… anyone actually. At least not so bluntly.

– Johann Dvorak, CO