Long Goodbye - Part 1: (Bad Goodbye)
Posted on Fri May 17, 2019 @ 2:10pm by
1,100 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Plaga Navis
Location: Starbase 451
T’Mira looked down at the small com badge in her hand. The sleek black Section communicator drew her back to a time not too long ago. She shook her head wanting to clear it. She wasn’t going down that road. Not today. She hurriedly packed the rest of her things in her shoulder bag. Her crates had already been loaded onto the transport ship that would take her to her new home on the Victory.
She decided to do one final sweep of the room that she’d taken on the Starbase for the last month that her ship had been tethered to the station. She didn’t want to stay on the ship. The XO was a monster and she couldn’t handle the woman right now. Things were complicated right now and she didn’t do complicated on top of complicated.
Having just finished her final sweep of the rooms she had been about to go when she heard the chime to her door. “Enter.”
The door whooshed apart to reveal Benaton Ward. She stood at attention. “Captain Ward.”
He smiled, “At ease. I’m not your captain anymore so you can kind of stop doing that.”
She tilted her head to the side and watched him.
He chuckled, “Oh right regulation. I swear T’Mira sometimes you just….” He sighed. “Anyway the reason for my visit is to try and convince you to stay. The Mercury needs you.”
She raised an eyebrow in that Vulcan fashion that drove Ward nuts. “Sir,” she began. “I have no intention of staying and you do not need me. I have taken the liberty, though, of drawing up several people with more skills and knowledge then I have. They are all available. I have taken the liberty of pulling their files and getting recommendations.”
Ward stared at her for a moment and then took the PADD and began to howl in laughter.
She just observed him wondering what she’d said that was funny.
Ward wiped the tears from his eyes and straightened, “Only you T’Mira. My God.” He looked at the PADD. “I don’t … “ He sighed again. “Look this is great but I want you to stay. I know that you and Commander Feehan didn’t see eye to eye but…”
“Sir…my apologies but why would I want to see her eye?”
Ward’s lip twitched, “Expression T’Mira. As in didn’t agree.”
“Ah…well I doubt that….what do you humans say…ah yes, I doubt that the Devil himself would agree with her. She would probably have him running as well.”
Ward cracked up again. She wasn’t trying to be funny but sometimes the words that came out of her mouth had him in bits. “Oh I will miss you. Listen just know if you ever want to come back I am willing to vent the commander into space,” he said joking.
She tilted her head to the side and he swore he had almost predicted her words in his head before they came out of her mouth.
“Sir…I cannot ask you to do this. It would ruin your career and it is not legal. I dislike the commander but not to the point of asking you to vent her out of the airlock.”
Ward snickered and shook his head. “Okay before you make me laugh to death let me just give you this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge. She looked at the symbol in his hand. It was an upside down communicator badge with a globe in the center and a sword running through the globe; pierced from the top and the blade hanging on the bottom. “From the Mirror Universe?”
She had been there when Ward had accidentally transported there and a month later when he’d transported back. He’d been different since his return. He lived as if each day were his last. She’d always wondered about that but it was not wise to ask.
“It is. It was given to me by you… or rather your counterpart. I learned a lot about her that month…and frankly about you. You two are similar. Your duty, honour, and inner strength are the same and…she… she was the only reason I survived. She risked her life go get me back here.”
“I see.” She looked down at the badge in her hand.
“T’Mira I know that there is something more that you’re going through. I wish I could help, I wish you would trust someone with it. If you cannot then fine but just hold on to this. Let it remind you that we are more than our circumstances.” He handed her a PADD he’d held. “This is a full report of what happened in the mirror universe. Also a letter from that T’Mira. She said she’d learned of our universe and always wondered what she’d be like here. She’d always wanted to make contact. I waffled if I should give you this but…Perhaps we can turn this bad goodbye into a useful one.”
T’Mira gave a nod and accepted the PADD. She studied him. “Sir, permission to ask an odd question?”
He grinned, “You just did.”
“I see. Then permission to ask two more, the one I just asked and another after that if you agree.”
He snorted. Leave it to her to cover all her bases. “Alright.”
“What is the preferred method of thanking you? I believe a ‘thank you’ is not nearly enough as we have worked together for a year and that requires more. Is the social norm a hand shake? A hug? I am not good at…”
He laughed and then stepped forward extending his hand and separating this pointer and index finger from his ring and pinky fingers. “How about Live Long and Prosper.”
She gave a nod and returned the familiar Vulcan salute. “Long Life and Prosperity to you.”
He smiled and turned, once he reached the door he turned back one more time, “Anytime you want back in. Let me know.”
She gave a nod and watched him go.
Sighing she put the badge and PADD in her bag. She lifted the bag to her shoulder and headed towards the door stopping half way. A feeling settled over her just as the door chimed. She knew who was on the other side…this would be a long goodbye long and miserable.
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