How did you love

Posted on Fri May 1st, 2020 @ 8:50am by

585 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: S2:1: Good Will Gunboat Tour
Location: Various; deck 4 - holodeck
Timeline: MD1: 2300hrs

The soft whir of living on the ship had become background noise, or so it was said to be. A false belief that seemed to be shattered night after night as he lay on his bed staring up at the very familiar ceiling of the Traveller. He had stood down from his shift a couple hours ago, headed straight for his room to decompress and as much as sleep was a useful ally; it was elusive.

He had plenty on his mind:

Myriad.

Rekas.

The potential loss of life.

(Not that he would voice these thoughts at all in public for everyone to pick at a scab that he had tried to heal)

Garrett heaved a heavy sigh, sweeping the covers off him. Laying there for a still moment before pushing himself upright, hands raked down his face as he shook his brain awake. He expected his PADD, placed by his bedside, to chirp. A request. A task. Anything to keep his mind occupied and his body busy. He wondered what his therapist would have said; anxiety, no. He'd still refuse to admit to it. Garrett finally stood up, dressing himself in his standard dark t-shirt and trousers, his intention to head towards the holodeck.

His safe haven.

A place to think without thinking.

Adrenaline without the coffee.



The rifle felt heavy in his hands, finger settling around the rail as he watched the holodeck come to life around him. It wasn't the sleek design of the Traveller, a scenario he had become comfortable in, but the harsh terrain of a jungle. The noises around him almost deafening, drowning out any chance of his mind thinking about anything else as he started to walk. His footsteps were carefully placed, branches bending and snapping under his weight as he moved through a puddle.

His senses, though dull in one sense, had heightened in another.

Heart pounding.

The unknown.

Pausing, Gaz narrowed his eyes, kneeling down by a pile of broken twigs. Where everything seemed to slow as his mind whirred into life, hairs on the back of his neck standing up as he wheeled himself around, shouldering his rifle and firing.

One-two. One-two.

But the figure was as equally elusive.

"Daddy?"

"Leah?"

"Daddy, where are you?"

Heart and mind were in battle. He blinked, slowly coming to stand but flinched as he heard the sudden rustling of bushes and leaves. Gaz took several steps forward - the voice echoing, pitching upwards in distress. Gaz shook his head; he had to keep his head - the Reka.

It had to be them.

Fighting the jungle and an unseen enemy was never ideal, now he was fighting what his heart wanted to believe. That the holodeck was able to conjure up his daughter, the young girl he had barely been in their life for. Gaz kept the rifle shouldered as again the figure appeared in the distance.

"I'm scared, daddy...."

The wind was knocked out of him, pinned and rifle hanging uselessly in his trapped hand. A hand around his neck as a familiar face stared back at him; Liars. Repeating the words as Gaz struggled, bringing his knee up in desperate hope to free himself. "You're weak, Gaz. You'll let your crew down."

His own voice parroted back at him; taunting and mocking.

The holodeck scene dissolved slowly, Gaz glaring at the Reka as it disappeared.

Leaving him alone and in the dark.

So much for sleep.

 

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