EXETERRPG: (3 - 0820) FO Cmdr Ailynn Bracken and former FFO Adm Emmi Greene(Retd)

[Mark Howard]

Mission: Murder on the Exeter Express

Day:03

Stardate: 2445.12.03



(USS Exeter – FO’s Office - FO Cmdr Ailynn Bracken and former FFO Adm Emmi
Greene(Retd) - 0820)



Ailynn sipped her coffee, the cup annoying her. She wasn’t a ‘cup’ person,
but it seemed that whoever on the last vestiges of the night shift that
laid her desk out, saw fit to put a cup on her desk.

The cup had bunnies on it.

~What kind of psychopath put’s bunnies on cups? Bunnies are for Pyjamas,
not cups. I’m surrounded by imbecelles.~

She sipped the admittedly rather fabulous coffee out of Peter Rabbit, and
thoughts began to settle themselves in her mind. There were people who
truly understood her, her mum had tried, Dale too, but she had eclipsed
both of them. There was one person who she had always been able to turn to,
that she always felt could understand the torture of her own intellect.

“Computer…” she sighed. “Connect contact number 1, secure, Command
authorisation Bracken-iota-kappa-six”

The seconds seemed like years, eventually, a ladies face appeared onscreen,
the only face that had ever truly understood her.

(Earth - England - Greene Family Estate)

Her fingers moving slower than she wanted and than they used to Emmi had
accepted the secure Comms and opened the channel, she smiled at the young
woman in red looking back at her, as time went on Emmi saw two very
important people in her life defined in this woman's features; but a
fierceness that only Ailynn had.

“Morning ‘G’.” She sighed and regarded the older lady, “I have had a day
like only you would believe.”

Chuckling Emmi saw the mug but decided not to comment, just yet. "Well look
at you, what's wrong?"

Ailynn looked into the eyes of her father’s mother, a very highly respected
Admiral in her time, still was come to that, albeit retired a while now.
“Just a courtessssy...calll?” she ventured.

"Now you don't call me up in the middle of the evening on Earth and pretend
nothings up, those three pips might stop your crew from getting in but it
won't stop me. The truth, I'm not Aimee you can talk to me."

Ailynn sighed, Emmi always could just walk through the armour she she’d put
up, knew exactly where all the chinks in it were. “Bad day Grannie. Only
had a couple of hours sleep since yesterday...sometime”

"That explains the mug" she sighed, a concern grew in the back of Emmi's
mind right away, stress and lack of sleep were never a good mixture. "Go
on…."

“I can’t say much yet, I’ll fill you in when our report has been filed.
Five deaths, hostages taken and tortured. I had to lead a team on a very
risky beam in to one of our holodecks; and I feel like I failed them.”

Emmi laughed hard "I was signing confidential reports before you were
walking, it's very odd for an Admiral to be told no, you've got Dales
backbone child."

Emmi gave her warm smile "and what's made you feel you've failed your
crew?"

Ailynn sighed. “Honestly I don’t know...It just feels like I wasn’t enough,
wasn’t quick enough, didn’t try hard enough. Like I’m too stupid...you
know? And I know that that isn’t true...”

"Well, if you feel it's true, who are we to argue" Emmi had always been a
hands on Doctor, even when she moved to command she kept the personal
approach, her years of training had always amounted to one thing, don't
outright disagree; allow the patient to change their own mind.

“I know. I faced down a Bajoran cultist possessed by a Pah Wraith for
crying out loud. It’s just...I’m just reacting badly to failure I suppose.”
Alynn sighed.

"I would think your service record says otherwise, First officer at such a
young age, it's different from my day yes, but it's stands for something."
Emmi looked deep into the screen, times like this she urged to be at her
only Granddaughters side, she loved her more than Ailynn could ever know;
she always saw her only Son.

“You knew mum when she was about my age...was she ever as neurotic as I
am?” Ailynn asked gently. She utterly idolised her gran, they’d always
just..got each other.

Emmi laughed hard, it was always the same with the Brackens. "What is your
obsession with looking backwards? Leave that to the old and nearly dead; of
which you are neither. Aimee is one of a kind with a complex and frankly
disturbing past"

Emmi pointed to the screen "don't you ever tell her I said that by the way,
but her past is not your past, her issues are not yours and her grief isn't
on your shoulders. You need to stop comparing yourself to the successes and
failures of your mother, you're not Aimee Bracken."

“I know, it’s just that…” Ailynn began, the catharticism of  opening up to
her oldest confidante was gently seeping into her soul.

"And don't argue with me young lady, unless you want an old style Grannie
sat on your bridge. Now the truth, what's really going on?"

Ailynn sighed, and grunted. “You’re an infuriating old woman d’you know
that?” she said with a playful smile on her face. Sighing once more, she
regarded the woman on the screen, wishing that she could be sitting next to
her, with a cup of that fragrant tea that she always gave her, a recipe
that she had tried for years to replicate, but the replicated versions
tasted like dishwater. They’d sat, countless times in Emmi’s garden, on the
small two seater swing overlooking the aromatic wonder of her herb garden.

“The present I can compete with, and be the best, the past I can overcome,
learn from it’s failure and temper myself against; the future...Uncertain
the future is.”

"Despite what I've said, our future is dependent on us learning the lessons
from our pasts, but it is your past, present and future; your path to walk
alone" Emmi sighed, not out of frustration, she enjoyed the family
conversations, but this was a conversation that every command officer that
served with her and every cadet had had with her. "What's brought this on?"

“I dunno, I guess I’m being wistful, reflective, end of the mission stuff.
Looking forward…”She sighed. “I told you about Caity? My Girlfriend?” She
sighed as she sipped at the coffee.

Emmi looked at the glint in her Granddaughters eye "not yet, but go on"

“Grannie, you understand my job, it’s so stupidly dangerous no sane person
would think of it. It’s my job to lead a team of people into situations
that could, would, and very well may get us all killed, I’m supposed to be
the one with the answers, but here’s the thing…”

"Fear?" Emmi interrupted, not trying to be harsh but more instinct.

“You know me far too fracking well,” she emoted. “Yes Grannie, I’m scared;
I’m scared of the future. I’m scared that if I commit to a relationship,
and I mean properly commit, that she’ll get that call, you know? The one
that begins ‘Miss DuBois’ and ends ‘she was brave.’”

Emmi took a moment and ran a few conversations through her head. She
covered the silence with a sip, she looked down at the cup, at the chip
that was in it. A memory came back of Mil at nine handing her and Nicolea
matching cups, flashforward to him storming her bridge when he defected.

She looked back at the screen

"Your father made me this mug, I've cherished it for well over 50 years,
it's been with me through more commands than I need or want to remember.
I've fixed it so many times when it's chipped, I've put so much effort into
nurturing it, protecting it so I can enjoy it more; it's no use to anyone
but me but I love it. It makes me happy to hold it, it's mine. If something
is worth the effort, it makes you warm and unexplainably fuzzy inside take
the jump."

“And the sacrifice? The danger? The very real fact that I could be
dead...tomorrow?” Ailynn’s voice was quiet, gentle, and genuinely
questioning.

"That call? That's her choice not yours."

Ailynn smiled warmly, “She said pretty much the same thing. Said it was
worth the danger. Seems like you two might get on well. She’s kind, gentle,
clever, and she grounds me.”

"She sounds wise beyond her years" Emmi smiled again, glad that after a
tempestuous start Ailynn had found someone.

“Does it ever go away? The feeling that you want to see what’s over the
next hill I mean.”

Pondering the question fully Emmi thought about telling her of all the
conversions she had with Captains in her fleet, how a previous powerful
officer once sat in her office terrified because she had lost her crew, how
a young Doctor spent all night on her couch. ~youve given her the speech
about focusing on the future, enough advice, let her work it out.~

Emmi smiled "if it did, you wouldn't be out there rebuilding the Federation
and from what I read, you're doing a great job."

Smiling gently, Ailynn nodded. Emma had always known how to cheer her up.
"I suppose there aren't many girls in their late 20s who have become the
best neurosurgeon in the field, rebuilt a hospital, and become First
Officer on one of the Fleets newest and most advanced starships. It's not
bad going."

"You've got good genes" Emmi winked and laughed, the women in their
families had always been high achievers.

She sighed. "I've been so rude how are you Grannie?"

"Oh you really want to hear about how I've been tending the garden, keeping
up with the Joneses. Im envious, one last fling amongst the stars would be
nice. I'm planning a trip to the Gamma Quadrant, review some of the
settlements for Starfleet, not the same as running a fleet but keeps the
grey matter going keeps the dust off the old noggen" Emmi laughed again

She looked at the screen and into Ailynns eyes "how's my grandson?"

“He’s...He’s good, a little of the gruff side, doesn’t suffer fools any,
but…” she smiled. “He’s got a kind heart under there. He’s seeing a
horribly gorgeous Flight Officer called Ronnie, she used to work with Dale,
baffles me how they connect, but opposites attract and all that.” She
winked playfully.

"Hmm" Emmi had asked more out of pleasantries than anything else. The stain
that was Gaberal Vespers had plagued her family for long enough, she had
never forgiven that Woman for what she had done, Aimee and Mil had a future
and now the memory of her only child was marred by a bastard child.

“I need to spend some time with him actually, I’ve been such a bad sister.
Although to be fair, in my defense he’s been in iso for a while. A kind of
flu of all things.”

"I'm sure if he needed to return to earth for recuperation it could be
arranged. Be careful there Ailynn, you have your own troubles to keep at
bay, don't take his too."

Ailynn’s annoyance flashed. “Don’t worry, I’m not taking on anyone’s
troubles, also however I’m not tarring someone with somebody else’s issues.”

Emmi held her hand up "peace...I come from another time and place, my
memories are not mine to transfer to you. This whole family is just so
complicated. He's your half brother of course you're going to care for him,
just please, there is a lot you don't know about it all, about him, promise
me you'll put yourself first."

Emmi hoped her face was saying enough to send the message to Ailynn, deep
down she loved them both but Gabe had caused so much hurt growing she
struggled to forgive.

Ailynn regarded her gran and simply nodded, and a world of unasked
questions and unspoken answers swam between them. “I’m sorry to be snappy.
Love you grannie, I’ll be careful. Speak soon, Bracken out.”

(Reply none)

(Posted by Mat H and Mark)
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