EXETERRPG: (16, 0930) ACFO, Ensign SG Ronnie Winters

[Will Banowsky]

Mission: The flames of purity

Day: 16

Stardate: 2445:09:16


(USS Exeter- Personal Quarters - ACFO, Ensign SG Ronnie Winters -0930)

Ronnie sat in her quarters quietly, still in a state of shock. Her best
friend was still prisoner of the cult, but more than that, her very
existence was brought into question. The future she came from was no an
alternate timeline to the one she was currently in. Her parents were
supposed to have conceived her in a few months time, instead now her mother
was pregnant with a baby boy. She would never come to exist, not in this
timeline. Did she alter the timeline by her being here, or was she always
from a different timeline. These were the questions bothering her, as she
was wondering if at any moment she might fade away. But she was still
there, sill breathing, still existing, yet knowing that in this timeline
she would never be born. But at least she still had a life to live. At
least she could still live, love, laugh, and be. But her cousin, her best
friend, she was still captive. She was still alive.

Ronnie, or Veronica Kadaya Williams, as she was then known being named
after her mother's birth Father's family name Ronal (Ronal to Veronica to
Ronnie, or so was Trip's logic when she named her) and her mother's adopted
mother Kadaya Jones, never met her cousin. Ailynn was supposed to have died
on the Interceptor. Which is why Ronnie made sure Ryelle was on the away
team, because then he'd be with her, he'd be there to keep her alive. All
the rumors she had been hearing around the ship seemed to indicate that she
was in fact still alive, so her plan worked. Yet there was still time for
time timeline to correct itself, for Ailynn today. But Ronnie had already
changed things, changed things enough to prevent her birth, so maybe it was
enough to prevent her death. Ronnie desperately needed Ailynn right now,
she needed her cousin, someone to talk to. Ailynn was the only one who knew
her secret. Selfishly, Ronnie just wanted nothing more than to curl up next
to her cousin, eat chocolate, and talk. They were connected, they were
family, and they both cherished that cousin bond, ever since Ronnie told
Ailynn almost a year prior.

(Flashback to Stardate 2444.11.05)

Ronnie was nervous. She had worked diligently for Trip for months as his
assistant and flight officer. She was having the time of her life. She
loved spending time with him, getting to know him, learning his whimsical
wisdom. When she was around him she liked to imagine she was a little girl
again, hanging on her father’s every word.

Except she was afraid of slipping, of people fining out who and what she
was. The more she spent withTrip, the more her heart was bursting and she
wanted to talk and share about her feelings. But Dale was on Earth, and she
didnt always have time to listen with her new job. So she went to the one
person she though might be able to keep her secret, understand her, and
love her.

“Hey Dr. Bracken, do you have a quick moment?” she said nervously entering
Ailynn’s office.

Ailynn looked toward the newcomer to the room, and seeing that it was
Ensign Winters.
“Veronica...please come in...of course.” Ailynn motioned awkwardly toward
the chair at her desk. “It’s a horrible cliche, but my door’s always open
as they say.”

“Please call me Ronnie, everyone else does.” She said sitting down, “There
is something I need to talk to you about, but maybe its better to show you.
I just can't hold this in alone anymore.”

“Computer. Lock door.”
[Acknowledged, door is locked]

“Ailynn…” There was a mannerism about Ronnie which tingled something, the
card player in her could read a tell. “Door’s locked. My name is Ailynn.”

“Ailynn, Gran always said you were wonderful, brave, smart, and I could
always trust you, and I need to trust you now.”

Her eyes tightening as her mind worked, she looked puzzled at Ronnie, her
considerable intellect was fully focussed on the woman in front of her...to
a loss. “I’’m more sorry than you know...your gran...I’m so ashamed to say…”

“Can you ummm, draw a sample of my blood, and compare it to Ashlyn’s and
Trip’s?”

The leftfield question nudged her. “I’m sorry? What now?” Ailynn shifted to
recover her senses.

“Miss Winters.” Her Command voice, as yet not fully developed, cut in. “Are
you certain what you’re asking me to do?”

“It’s the only way you will believe me.”

Holding the gaze, and seeing a determination in the young Ensign’s eyes she
leant back in her chair, and leant into her bottom drawer, pulling out her
medical tricorder.

“You sure?” she asked as she passed the scanner over Ronnie’s offered wrist.

“I need an ally or I’ll burst.” She said anxiously.

[compiling]

“Computer...cross reference scan between James Andrew Williams the third
and Civilian Ashlyn Jones.”

A few moments passed and as the small holo display flickered in the corner
of her eye, nudging a change in readings, she held Ronnie’s gaze.

She flicked her eyes over to the display, and with the flick of her hand ,
pages of complex scan data ran through her gaze.

Finally, she flicked her eyes up toward the young Ensign. “Explain….”

“I have to be sparing in the details, because, well timeline. But, ok, so
four years ago, I managed to come back in time from the future. There was
something that happened, that was bad, really bad, and well, ok, I was
raised by Gran. We ummm…” Ronnie began to cry.

~time…? Gran?” Her mind ran over assorted possibilities, and found only
one. “Gran?”

“We umm, risked everything to come back and stop it, I went straight to
Gran, and she helped me create a new identity, and enroll in Starfleet.
Made sure I could meet Trip so that I could be at his side to fix, things.”
Ronnie continued crying.

“Ok...stop…” Ailynn spoke, standing up from her desk, and moving around to
lift the younger girl out of her seat. Once standing she pulled her into
the firmest hug.

“I’m here. At your own pace...please, whatever you can tell me.”

“Umm, I am the daughter of Ash and Trip, I’m your cousin, and um..” She was
sobbing into Ailynn’s chest. “Something happens, I needed to be close to
mom and dad, to help them….help you change the future. But…..the more time
I spent with dad, the more I just wanted to share everything I was feeling,
talk to somebody about it….but who? I had no one. I felt so alone.”

Ailynn felt the warmth of the other girl’s sobs at her shoulder. “I’m here
honey.” She found herself saying, resting one of her hands on the back of
Ronnie's head, still pulling her into the tight embrace. She thought of the
fibs, the half-truths, the deceptions that she had fed people over the
years, Now, she knew, the feeling was utterly honest. You can trust me.”

“Gran trusts you so much, both from my timeline and this one. And she said
if I ever needed someone, I should go to you. And the joy, the joy of
finally knowing my mom and dad...too much, and I’m afraid I might slip and
mess up the timeline, change things for the worst, keep them from getting
together. I need someone to talk to, I need a friend. I need my cousin.”

“Mitochondrian DNA, you know that’s how I noticed I’m assuming.” Ailynn
smiled. “Cousin…” She tried the word. The Brackens hadn’t in her memory
been ones for extended family. “So…” She held her hands, encircling
Ronnie’s warm palms in her long, cool fingers. An outward sense of
protection in her eyes.

“What can you say Cuz?”

“Not now, I just want to hug you right now.” She said squeezing Ailynn as
tightly as possible. “I think, I think right now, I can just tell you who I
am, and come to you when I need to talk about mom and dad. And you can help
me keep my secret. If that is ok?”

Ailynn nodded. NOw understanding the burden that her mum and Dale, her
Gran, had both endured. She knew that Ronnie had read her face.

“It’s never simple for us Bracken girls, is it?”

Ailynn shook her head, “‘Heavy lies the crown’ I suppose.”

“But in case you ever wondered why we looked similar, or Ash and I looked
similar, this is the reason why.” Ronnie was holding Ailynn tight, as if
she was never going to let her go.

“She’s your mum.” Ailynn answered simply.

“Yeah, and shes more beautiful than any of the pictures I’ve ever seen.”

There was something...no...a number of somethings...all of which came into
her focus all at once. She pushed Ronnie away gently, and longed to look in
her eyes.
“She knew didn’t she…” Ailynn spoke, her brain supplying information,
thankfully now all in the right order. “Gran I mean.”

“I told her everything. I couldn’t…. I could never lie to Gran, she was the
first person I went to. She knew from the get go. She knows a lot, not
everything, but a lot. She just had to wait for it to happen.”

Ailynn’s eyes tightened as if to will her mind to put the final pieces into
place, which perhaps sadly, they did. Doors of logic opened and closed in
her brain, all under the gaze of Ronnie, who she was under no doubt could
almost see her thinking.

“Are you ok?”

“We’ve never met before...have we Ronnie?” Once more her eyes closed as she
pulled Ronnie into the closest of hugs, a hug of familial intimacy, and
protection.

“What do you mean?” she asked confused.

Ailynn held up a finger, thinking as she did. “Which Gran trusts me. Now
Gran or later Gran.”

“Both. Both trust you.”

“Fibber. This gran loves me...but my mistakes are still far too fresh. You
may think that she does…”

Ronnie grabbed Ailynn and pulled her into a hug, not one for seeking
comfort but giving it. “Oh Ailynn,” she said, “Do you think so little of
Gran that she will let your mistakes keep her from trusting you. She, not
future gran, now Gran was the one who told me to come to you.”

“Not so little of her...just heavily of myself.” Ailynn answered, simply.

“She said, and I quote, ‘Ailynn may have made mistakes, but she has really
and truly done her best to work past them. She may not realize it, but she
is one of the finest people I’ve ever seen and I’m not saying that because
she’s my grandkid.’ Just because we make mistakes, doesn’t mean the people
that loves don’t trust us. Our mistakes don’t define us. Our triumphs do.
Dad told me that just last week. And he’s right.”

Ronnie squeezed her tighter.

She felt herself pulled into the embrace of the shorter, younger girl. Her
body itself recognising her as Kin. Holding the tight, fierce embrace, she
kissed the top of Ronnie’s head, bestowing a familial warmth on her.

“You dodged it, didn’t you”. She tried again.

“Oh…..”

“You’ve never met me...Have you.” Ailynn flicked her full gaze, her full
intellect toward Ronnie.

Ronnie dodged the question again. “When I was really little, not quite yet
two. Gran was watching me, the Exeter was supposed to be on a routine
cruise. Mom and Dad thought it best for me to be with Gran, it was only for
a few months. Mom was supposed to stay too, but at the last moment she
decided to go with dad. They were so in love. But...But...at the end...all
hands were lost.”

~But you, you died well before that, on her maiden voyage. You were alone,
you suffocated, you dextrocardia could handle the gas, and you died. They
say Dad was never the same after that. Oh he could have used you
against….well, when thing went down.~

“I’m so sorry my Darling cousin.” Once more, a kiss on the head. “More
sorry than you know...I can’t imagine your pain...My Gran actually said
that?”

“Yes….she and I have talked about you a lot.”

Ailynn smiled, ready with a quip, but her face fell serious as Ronnie
carried on.

“I always dreamed of knowing my cousin, but when I was born you were 26
years older than me, now you are only three… Honestly,” Ronnie smiled, “I
am so glad you know. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always dreamed of
being….. Being your friend.”

“Well sweetie.” She pulled Ronnie into another close hug. “We have however
much time for that.” She looked over her shoulder at the Chronometer on the
wall, “Seems like the sun is over the yardarm. Rum? For...medicinal...
purposes?”

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

(End Flashback)

Ronnie looked silently at her window. The away team would soon be underway
to rescue her beloved cousin. One of two people who knew her secret. As she
sat there, looking, staring, wondering, she also wondered if she should
tell someone else. He had the tendency to be a bit of jerk, but for some
reason she could always get him to settle down. Maybe it was time to tell
Gabe her secret. She hesistated getting closer to him, because she was
certain once the future was changed she would disappear, cease to exist.
But now that she knew she would never exist, yet was still existing, maybe
it was time to begin planting roots.

Still that would be a conversation she would want to have first with her
beloved cousin.

~Oh Ailynn.~ Ronnie thought to herself. "May the prophets keep you safe."

(reply none)
(posted by Will and Mark)
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