Emotions Taking Over

Posted on Sat Feb 3rd, 2024 @ 9:01pm by Ka'see 'Cassie' Anderson (*) & Maras (*) & Executive Officer Jake Ford

Mission: Fractures
Location: Future
Timeline: Future
1928 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Cassie groaned to herself as she stepped through the doorway and instantly the ship looked different and that was before she noticed that she was alone but the ship looked lighter and cleaner than it had moments before. This was the third time she had shifted and it was exhausting to keep going through the process of it all. The ship did not give anything away to the when she was at all which meant she just had to keep walking until it became obvious. She glanced back but neither the future Jeassaho nor her Liha had followed which meant Liha was either in the future still fuming she was not there or off on her own adventures again.

Cassie stopped as the door further along the corridor opened and she jumped back along a cross section to jump the person as they passed.

Stumbling through the doorway looking for Gregnol, Jake was aware of the weird sense of dysphoria as he felt another wave of the time-dilation hit. His stumble almost turned into a trip and a bump as he made contact with someone else; thankfully, it was a familiar face.

"Cassie. You're here...wait - which 'you' is this? What year do you think it is?" he probed quickly.

Cassie had been about to hit out when the figure stumbled into her and it was only because of the wall that she had been hiding against that neither did not. “Jake…” She breathed a sigh of relief and gripped his upper arm. “2398. It’s me but we are not where we should be.” She assured quickly knowing that he was going through the strange time issues that she was too. It certainly was not in the strange future where Jeassaho was the Captain nor where the Captain had been Liha.

"That's a relief." He wrapped his arms around her. "Wait - do you remember anything about this from your past on the Ishimura? I was just there, standing on the bridge with Captain Deuveauex. If you don't remember it, then maybe we can have some confidence we're not going to cause some time paradox by interacting with our histories..."

Cassie relaxed into the embrace and squeezed him close just savouring the moment with him. Cassie listened to his words and stepped back to check that she had heard him right but the look on his face told her that she had. “Sebastian?” She blinked. “I do not remember anything time travel related but…” she narrowed her eyes trying to find something very vague in her memory. “There was a moment where I felt like people were avoiding me and I was removed from bridge duty with no explanation.”

"So we can't be sure. But...you don't seem to have changed at all. You're still you, and nothing else seems to have changed. Maybe we're all right," he said, feeling a temporary sense of relief.

The Vulcan smiled and leant out squeezing his hands before moving to wrap her arms around him again. “I am still here.” She assured quietly. “Though I do not know where the here is.” She had not had time to assess anything before he had turned up.

"Rosie. I think?" Jake studied the hallway. It looked like their own time and place, but it was hard to tell. Certainly it wasn't the Ishimura anymore.

“Definitely our home and ship but I am just not sure on the when or where.” She admitted pulling back from the embrace to look more at the corridor but it gave her no answers. “Maybe need to head to somewhere like bridge or sickbay?” It was logical to her but maybe from a security point of view it was different.

"The onboard sensor lab," he said. "We need to work out a way of tracking these fractures down and tracing them back to their source. I know we got hit with a torpedo from the Temperance and then this started happening right after." He offered her his hand. "We're sticking together, though. I don't want to lose you."

Sensor lab was not a bad call at all. She was sure that her wits would come back to her soon and allow her to be more helpful. “Yes sir.” She teased but took his hand and weaved her fingers through his.

He smiled at the momentary humour and gave her hand a little squeeze as they headed onward.

Lost in her thoughts as Cassie turned the corner, she did not notice the child racing towards her, a whirlwind of energy and innocence until the little one skidded to a halt in front of them. "Mummy! Daddy!" the child exclaimed, eyes sparkling with a mix of joy and expectation.

Jake's face was a mirror of Cassie's in that moment. Open-mouthed with surprise, they looked at each other and then the child in front of them. It was a boy, probably not much older than six or seven years old. Human-looking, though some slight point of the ears... "Uhh...what?" Jake managed to ask out loud.

The little boy in question looked between the pair confused before Maras came around the corner. “I did not realise you two were back. We would have come and met you at the cargo bay. He has asking every hour on the hour when you would be back.” She said.

"I...we...uh-" Jake looked at Cassie again, searching for a way of responding that didn't cause either of their heads to explode. "You know..." he just shrugged, assuming Maras would draw her own conclusions based on what she knew. He tried to figure out how much Maras had aged from the one they knew, to see if he could gauge the time difference. But her Vulcan heritage meant that was much harder. And with the age of the child also being an unknown, there really wasn't a way to guess accurately.

“Ah…” Maras looked at the pair and offered a nod with an awkward cough. She could perceive what the pair had been hoping for. “Well I am sure we…”

“No Aunt Maras I want Mummy. She promised to show me the nebula photos before she went to help Daddy bring back the shuttle.” The boy argued impatiently as he held out his hands to Cassie. Cassie took a second before she picked the boy up watching him amazed. She was in a state of shock and not sure what to do for the best.

“I am sure that we can arrange that. Why don’t you lead the way.” Cassie said giving the little boy a slight squeeze before she put the boy down.

Jake felt a swelling mix of emotions as he watched Cassie pick up the child. Their child? He silently wondered. The evidence suggested so, and there was a hint of both of their genetics in the young boy's face. "Cass..." he whispered softly, torn between wanting to explore this reality and concentrating on their goal of restoring Rosie to its right state. "We...we can't stay here..."

The little boy glanced at the pair but nodded and led the way. Maras watched the pair wondering if they had had a fight or something and why things were so strained but said nothing as the pair hung back just enough to be out of earshot. "I know but..." She faltered taking his hand again. "We do know when we are going to disappear or change time again."

"That...that's our son..." he whispered. Being a parent had not been something Jake had considered with any great determination. Sure, he wanted to do that someday. But his relationship with Cassie was months old, and despite how good and stable things felt, bringing the question of parenthood into that wasn't something they had even discussed. Even with Maras being around. "I know you want to see him...I know, trust me. But...this isn't our time. Not really. And...well, even if we did, I'd kinda want to be around for the whole thing, not just for this part. If you know what I mean."

Cassie in that moment hated everything about her life and whatever was going on. She knew he was right, she that everything he was saying was logical but at that moment she hated him for being the voice of reason. She look at him and nodded. “Okay… fine.” She whispered and wiped the tears that had slipped out before turning in the opposite direction where they had just come from.

She likely didn't see the pained look on Jake's face as he looked back down the corridor Maras and their child had just fled. He shared her emotion. But the current problem was that their current practical needs outweighed their emotional one. He hurried after Cassie, slipping an arm around her shoulder as they went. "I'm sorry," he whispered quietly.

“Please do not say that.” She whispered back as she used the sleeve of her jumper to wipe another stray tear. He did not know how much it gave her hope knowing that in a possible future she had a child and that she was not as broken as she felt with 2 failed marriages. “You do not understand why I want to soak it all up.”

"You'd be surprised..." he replied softly. She had already had children. Maras was evidence of that. For him, parenthood wasn't something he had ever experienced. "You know we both do. If circumstances were different, you know that I would want to know more. But at the same time...we can't know our own future, can we?"

“But I need that hope that in one tiny future I actually have something healthy. 2 failed marriages and I’ve never managed to have children or any type of stability.” She said moving away from his attempt at comfort to try and make him understand what was going on in her mind.

"You never had children? But Maras..." Jake frowned, not following.

“I…” The woman deflated as Maras was mentioned. “I never had Maras’ father. He was born after I disappeared. Tevir used our embryos to create him and his 2 sisters…. I thought you knew that?” She whispered the anger leaving her as she thought about why he must be thinking of her right at that moment. ”The only child I have ever carried was a child I lost in 2242. I never with Johnathan.” She never would have with Johnathan she had never seen him as a father.

"I guess it's one of those things; a detail that was never mentioned," he replied. "I'm sorry." He put a hand on her shoulder gently. "When we get out of this we should...talk. About this stuff. We might not be able to explore this future like this, but we can explore it on our own terms - not a future that may or may not come to pass."

“If that is what you want to do after all of this then yes I would like to talk.” Cassie spoke in a small voice shivering from the emotions that were stirring for a moment before she stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

He returned the hug, letting her bury her face in his chest as his big arms wrapped around her. Nothing more needed to be said, at least not in this moment; that could wait for when the universe wasn't conspiring to send them mad. For now, he was content enough holding the woman he cared for.