To The Ishimura Survivors

Posted on Sat Jun 1st, 2019 @ 8:30am by Ka'see 'Cassie' Anderson (*) & Jasper Offermans & Chief Operations Kendra McIntyre & Chief Helmsman Eden Bowers & Johnathen Anderson Jr

Mission: Mission 9 - Daucina
Location: Lounge
Timeline: MD03 - 13:00
2017 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

Sitting at the bar, Kendra quietly sat as she sipped the martini in front of her. It was not the pleasant drink that she remembered, synthehol most definitely had a different taste to it. Placing the glass back on the table, she sort of shook her head in disappointment. Things had changed much since she had been part of the Ishimura's crew, and not all of it was for the better.

Eden wrapped her arms around herself. She was only a little cold, mostly she was feeling unfamiliar in a very familiar place. It was one of the oddest feelings she'd ever felt and it seemed to be coming more often when she wasn't thinking about and pining for Sebastian or feeling guilty that she'd survived and he hadn't. "Hi," she said, approaching someone she recognized.

"Hey," Kendra smiled as she saw her old friend. She nodded to one of the open stools next to her and added, "Have a seat, the bar is open."

Hal walked in soon after and made a beeline for the bar. He smiled a little when he saw some of the gang. Maybe this isn't so bad after all. he thought as he sat down, nodding at Kendra. "Uhh..a whiskey please" he ordered. He took a sip. Synthetic. Yay, he thought, sarcastically.

The doors leading outside slid open again, and both Johnathen and Ka'see walked inside, hand in hand. After quickly scanning the lounge, Johnathen saw their friends, their oldest friends now, as they had all served aboard the Ishimura together. Gently leading Ka'see over to the table, he asked, "Hey guys! Got room for two more?"

"Of course," the Ishimura's former Chief Communications Officer replied. She gave Hal a knowing look, then looked back at the two coming into the bar. She lifted her drink while making a face, "I miss having a real drink, the replicators make them almost fabricated."

Johnathen pulled out one of the chairs for his wife, and then sat down in the empty one to her left. He then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it definitely isn't the same. Though, I will admit, it is nice not to wake up with the feeling that a Klingon isn't stomping around inside my head now." He chuckled at his small joke.

Eden didn't drink so she merely sat down without ordering anything. She wasn't even sure she could hold conversation but it seemed polite to be seen with other people who had at least a little idea of what she might be going through. "What really bothers you the most about the things that have changed?" She asked.

Johnathen looked over at Eden and inhaled a deep breath before releasing it through his nostrils as he considered her question. "Well, I guess the biggest thing is that everyone else from our lives back then is gone. I miss my parents deeply. I can't imagine the heartbreak they had to endure for the remainder of their lives after our accident. What about you?"

"Aside from losing my family and just about everyone I've ever met," Kendra started, pausing for a moment to think. Nodding her head, she added, "It would have to be personal interactions." Shifting in her seat, she pointed out the spot behind the where a replicator stood instead of a bartender. "You can do just about anything without ever once needing to rely on any interaction with a living being. Computer this, computer that."

"Hmm," Eden replied. "I don't mind that so much. Then again I was never that great at human interaction. But other than missing certain people, it's definitely the little things I miss. The sounds on the ship are different, the food is different, the voices are different. It's the same and yet it's a completely new world."

Cassie hadn't said much for a while before she spoke up and smiled a little. "As sad as it seems all of you here were the only people along with Ryder that I had any connections too. So I feel like I am home with all of you here." Cassie admitted before looking down at the drink that was brought over to her.

Jasper sipped on his drink listening carefully and drew in a sigh. He understood too well the struggles faced by his fellow crewmates that had shared a dematerialized tomb for more years than many humans ever lived. He looked at Cassie and nodded knowing what she meant. There was much that had changed, things that had to be learned, and unlearned, that could baffle the mind. Drinking had become a bit of welcome escape from the new reality. “Being with this group is about the only place that feels like home. He glanced at Johnathan and nodded, “do you think we will ever really fit in here?.

"No," Eden replied. "Not really. I think we're always going to be objects of fascination, at least here where people know our secret but I can think of worse things. We might be accepted after a time, start new lives and make new friends but deep down I think we know that we don't really belong."

Cassie was surprised that people thought that they were an object of fascination. Cassie had never felt that way at all but maybe it was the fact she didn't assume what others thought or maybe she just didn't care. "I think we are accepted. They are all misfits."

"True, but this misfit is having to relearn everything he thought he knew on the ship's computer," Jasper said fiddling with his glass a bit, "but I suppose we will all get used to it, at least somewhat."

"And this misfit has been replaced by computer programs," Kendra shrugged. "Not much of a demand for communication specialists 200 years out of practice. I don't think we'll completely fit in. We'll assimilate, but there will always be something that makes us a bit different."

Johnathen took a long pull from his synthbeer, then wiped the foam from his top lip with his bottom lip as he placed the mug back on the table. He then spoke up. "As a pilot, I'm just glad that, whomever that Collector guy was, he left the helm controls as they were." Looking around the table, he continued, "Have any of you seen the latest holographic controls that the Starfleet ships of the line currently use?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I did some research and saw an example of them. It made me feel like an old Mustang pilot who just stepped onto the Ishimura's bridge."

He took another drink of his beer and then said, "We may be misfits in a new era, but, there is no group of people that I trust with my life more strongly than I do with you all. Our shared experience has made us more than simple crewmates. We are family. I will promise you this right now. Should we ever decide to go our separate ways, and any of you need help, I will be there." He knew that his sudden burst of energetic speaking probably caught everyone by surprise, however, it had been sitting on his chest since he and Micheal had followed the Mary Rose into the alternate universe.

Cassie smiled a little at her husband and offered her glass of water to him a gesture of cheers. "My husband speaks for both of us." The woman said quickly before she turned her attention to looking around. She always found something new to think about in the room, something that attracted her attention.

Johnathen returned the gesture from his wife and gave her a loving smile. He definitely thanked whatever Deity or Deities existed that she was still in his life. He couldn't imagine his life now without her.

"Speaks for me as well," Kendra added. Looking around the room at those gathered, she added, "We made it out of hell together. We can make it through this new world together." Looking back toward Johnathen, she replied to his earlier question, "I hate those new consoles. I like the feel of the knobs and the actual buttons. I always feel like I'm either touching air or going to break the glass when I use the new consoles."

"Guess it doesn't matter if we fit in or not. This is our home now, we'll make do with what we have." Eden then grinned at her cheerfulness. "Come on, it's not that bad, think of all the things this technology has helped improve. Medical and science . . ." If she could make it through without Sebastian she thought the others should be able to as well.

He nodded to Kendra. "Exactly! I'd be too worried that I'd inadvertently activate something, simply by moving my hands in just the wrong direction."

Jasper took in a sip and nodded, "if it doesn't matter if we fit in or now why are we trying so hard to?" He chuckled and shook his head, 'i think I'm just too eager to jump right into the new technology. That doesn't seem to be the problem as much as knowing which races are now allied with the federation, you know who we can trust."

"Don't get me wrong," Kendra started, "I love the advances. The holodeck can take you anywhere, the replicators basically end shortages of everything, and I'd rather live with today's medicine." Shrugging, she finished her thought, "It's just a bit hard to go against a lifetime of working things a certain way."

Johnathen nodded in agreement. "I think two of the biggest things that I'm still wrapping my head around, is that, not only are we allies with the Klingons but, the Romulan Empire is no longer the threat it was, now that they're still rebuilding after their home system was destroyed when Hobus went supernova."

"Same here, Johnathan. And the advances we've, well they've made in exploration. I mean Delta Quadrant. Gamma Quadrant. Starfleet has certainly gone farther, at faster speeds." Hal said.

"We used to have to travel months between stops," Kendra pointed out. "Now it seems like there is a civilized colony or station around every star. It's a lot more crowded than it used to be. Have you seen the fleets that Starfleet threw together for the war with that Gamma Quadrant power?"

"I think it is amazing how far the universe has come." Cassie said softly wondering if she was the only one who was feeling positive about the changes and things that had happened. Maybe it was only logical for her to move past a lot of it as she wanted to move on and be happy as she could be again.

"Oh the technology is amazing and I'm so excited about it," Jasper said with a nod and a sip of his drink. He tilted his head and pondered for a moment, "what would our future have been if we hadn't had to go into hibernation."

Johnathen looked up, as he responded to his friend's question. "Nothing would have really changed for us in our lifetime, Jasper. We probably would have had a few advancements, but, they would have been minor ones at best."

"Well, speaking for my own opinion. I'd like to hope the Ishimura would've been discovering some of this stuff. But hey. What do I know? I'm just a kid from the moon."

"Hmm," Eden said blinking at them. "Well I appreciate the pick me up, even if that wasn't the intention, but I should get going.

"Probably all of us should, " Jasper said with a chuckle. He picked up his glass and raised it in a toast, "to the Ishimura survivors."

Johnathen rsised his glassin response and echoed the toast. "To the Ishimura survivors. "

OFF::

Cassie Anderson
Biologist
SS Mary Rose
(PNPC Gregnol)

Eden Bowers
Chief Helmsmen
SS Mary Rose

Johnathen Anderson Jr
Helmsman/Shuttle Pilot
SS Mary Rose
(PNPC Robertson)

Jasper Offerman
Operations
SS Mary Rose

Kendra McIntyre
Communications
SS Mary Rose