The Return

Posted on Sat Dec 22nd, 2012 @ 2:46pm by Captain Nathan Cowell MD

Mission: Funzone
Location: Bridge, USS Arizona
Timeline: One Day Prior to Mission Start

[Bridge, USS Arizona]

The turbolift door slid open, the sound of it like a distant memory to Nathan. He'd missed it more than he'd realized and hearing it again didn't seem real. The view he beheld was also right out of his memories. Some faces had changed, others were mercifully the same. As the old Admiral stepped off the lift he could feel the tension that had driven spirits down suddenly shatter.

"Admiral!" the voice of Lieutenant Junior Grade Paul Akron was the first one that broke the uneasy silence. The young helmsman could barely believe that his mentor had suddenly returned to the ship during their darkest hour. He'd idolized the old man during their time together. Nathan had seen in him something Paul never had and managed to pry it out of him every step of the way. To the young officer, Cowell's abrasive tone and caustic words were little more than motivation to be a better person. The old man's departure had hit the young man hard, and his replacement had been nothing but a tyrant.

"Akron, what the hell did you do to my boat, son? I leave you for a year and you let some jackass run her into the dirt! You better get your shit together," Nathan scolded the man.

Tears glistened in Paul's eyes as the flood of relief took over him, "I'm sorry sir..."

"You're damn right you're sorry..." Nathan said as he approached the man. Without warning, Nathan gathered the boy up in his arms and hugged him. Akron collapsed and hung in Nathan's embrace like a limp rag doll, sobbing the entire time. When he was able to stand again on his own, Cowell let the boy go and sat him back at his station, giving his shoulder a squeeze before turning his sights to the next familiar face.

"Dad..." Lieutenant Junior Grade Elizabeth Marion barely whispered as she rushed the old man and held him, her body convulsing as she cried into his chest. Nathan didn't say a word to her, simply stroking her back as she let go of whatever anguish she'd been hiding inside. It took her nearly two full minutes before she could pull herself together enough to speak coherently.

"What are you even doing here? No one said you'd be coming..." Elizabeth asked him as she gazed up at him with tear filled eyes.

"That's because I didn't tell them I was on my way. I heard what happened and I hijacked the first ship out of Spacedock. I just got here a few hours ago, met with Haverson... kicked the shit out of him... and now I'm here to fix what should never have been broken," Nathan explained.

Lt. Marion nodded as tears continued to roll down her cheeks intermittently. Several others on the bridge watched the exchange, unaware of the history that surrounded the three of them. Regardless of their ignorance, the fact that someone actually cared about their ordeal was heartening.

Nathan turned to the chair that sat in the center of the compartment and approached it. His El-Aurian sensibilities were almost instantly repelled by the fog of tyranny that had settled over it. It was bad enough that Nathan couldn't bring himself to even sit in the thing.

"Marion, have this chair removed... and the one in the Ready Room. In fact, anything Haverson ever sat on or slept in should be removed and burned..." Nathan demanded, turning his back on the foul thing.

"Right away," Liz said as cheerfully as she could muster.

Lt. Akron looked up at Cowell hopefully, "How long are you going to be with us, Admiral?"

"Well son, I'm El-Aurian, so I'm going to outlive each and every one of you. Didn't they teach you that in the Academy?" Nathan remarked casually.

"I meant here on the ship," Paul corrected himself with a small grin.

"A team of wild mules couldn't run me off, boy," Nathan remarked as he disappeared into the turbolift.

Akron turned to Lt. Marion with a puzzled look plastered on his face, "What does that mean?"

Lt. Marion smiled, "It means he's here to stay."

"Oh... well then... I guess I better help the engineering crew with the bonfire," Paul said as he walked to an equipment storage locker and produced a tool bag.

Elizabeth laughed for the first time in what seemed like forever, "You're already sucking up again."

Akron gave the Operations Officer a wink and set about removing the bolts that held the command chair in place. In one fell swoop Nathan Cowell had reclaimed the Bridge as his own and put at ease at least two troubled hearts that resided there.