[BACK STORY] Come Back To Me, Part 2
Posted on Sunday May 22nd, 2022 @ 7:01pm by Lieutenant Commander Canaan Serine & Commodore Gregory Paladin
Edited on on Sunday May 22nd, 2022 @ 7:03pm
1,541 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
S1-A1-Ep. 2: Our Foremost Virtues
Location: USS Cardinal; Personal Quarters, Deck 1
Timeline: 2393.10.18 at 2357 hours
[ON]
Previously On, Star Trek: Poseidon...
“I know, but I’m afraid you won’t come back to me.”
This fear both men shared was why they were hitting the pause button. Canaan, in his search, could surely die – It was almost a foregone conclusion, really. Each member of the Arach-VI Expedition had been murdered, save for Canaan, so why should his fate be different? However, Canaan would find no peace, no rest until he found a way to lock away the hellish wraiths that he and the team had foolishly released.
Canaan shrugged, “I may not.” His admission caused Gregory to pull him even closer, hold him even tighter, not wanting to let go. Gregory was his protector, his shield, and his spear. He’d fight for Canaan until his very last breath, and he knew Canaan would do the same for him. Yet, Gregory knew Canaan was doing just that, protecting and fighting for the survival of Gregory, Kana, Freya, and countless others who would fall prey to the ghoul’s malicious ministrations. And it was only Canaan who could do it.
“But I hope you know that, if I shouldn’t… you were the last thought on my mind, the last beat of my heart, and your name the last word on my tongue.”
Gregory stood, cupping Canaan’s face between either hand. There were no words he could say that would alleviate this fear. Instead, Gregory pulled Canaan in, their lips playing against one another with an unbridled passion that had existed from the first moment they’d met.
And now, the conclusion.
“Honey? Are you listening to me?”
Canaan blinked fast, pulling his hand away from the canvas duffle as if it were a hot iron.
“Oh, right, Mama… what were you saying?”
Matilda Serine sighed, exasperated. Her son was thirty-six years old, and she’d have thought after this many years, she’d have grown accustomed to or, at the very least, found ways to cope with her child’s absence of mind.
“I said that your father and I are just a little concerned for you. It sounded as if you were so happy with your posting to the Poseidon. You’d settled in, developed a good routine, and finally made some friends. Then, you’re off to lead another expedition out of the blue? Where is it to this time?”
There was genuine concern in Matilda’s words, a conviction that conveyed how she felt about the suddenness of this change.
“Honestly, I’m not sure yet. I don’t meet with the Federation Science Council until tomorrow morning.” He retrieved a stack of undershirts, placing them in the wardrobe’s top drawer. “But it wasn’t like I went looking for this assignment. I’m merely following orders, Mama.”
“Even so, you could have declined them.” She admonished, stern expression in the image displayed across the desktop terminal.
“Maybe, but something tells me that the result would have been the same even if I had. I was the nearest officer with the experience needed to lead the expedition. Please, Mama, don’t compound it all – I already had a hard enough time saying goodbye to my friends on board the Poseidon. A little support from you and Dad would go a long way.”
Another sigh followed, this time in resignation. Matilda leaned back, slumping in the chair and assuming a posture Canaan had mirrored nearly his entire teenage and adult life, however utterly oblivious it was to either Matilda or Canaan.
The blond-haired woman raised a hand in defeat, “Alright. We just – Well, we miss you, Can. The last expedition you led was gone for five years. Five years without so much as a visit.”
“Mama, you know how expeditions are. Arach-VI was well beyond communication range with Earth. The most I could offer recorded messages. Besides, you know how challenging these missions are on everyone involved, including the crew.” Canaan’s confounded expression softened, his brow smoothing as any semblance of frustration left his tone of voice. “I missed you, too, Mama.”
A comfortable silence fell between them, a hint of a smile drawing up the corner of Matilda’s mouth, a dimple forming in the pocket of her right cheek. “Just promise me that you’ll stay consistent with writing home. Not every day, but at least once or twice a week. Do better than your last expedition?”
Canaan returned the smile, his right cheek dimpling, “I’ll do my best, Mama, but no promises. Is Dad there? I want to say hello.”
“No, sweetie, he went to the farmer’s market this morning and won’t be back until well into the afternoon. I’ll pass along your ‘hello.’”
He couldn’t help the feeling of disappointment welling up from within, yet he did his best to suppress it from showing.
“Thank you,” he replied, placing the last of his folded clothing away before closing either drawer. “Mama, it’s getting pretty late here, and I have an early morning meeting with the station’s Quartermaster.”
“I understand, honey. You get some shuteye and have pleasant dreams.”
Canaan approached the terminal, falling into the chair opposite the screen, his body finally succumbing to exhaustion.
“I will, Mama. I love you and Dad. We’ll talk soon.”
“I love you, always, Canaan.” Matilda kissed at the screen, an affectionate gesture that Canaan returned before deactivating the communications uplink.
Glancing at the bed, Canaan leaned forward in the chair and retrieved a framed holo picture of himself and Gregory.
Flashback.
“I can’t,” Canaan whimpered into Gregory’s shoulder, “I can’t let you go.” He sobbed, hiding his face from the others who disembarked the Poseidon at Starbase 47.
The two men held each other tightly, standing in an alcove off to the side of the airlock, affording the pair some semblance of privacy but not much.
The Poseidon had arrived at the station sometime in the night, with most of the crew taking shore leave or catching their connecting transports this morning. The USS Kissinger was leaving for Starbase 11 soon, and Canaan was booked as a passenger on the Wallenberg-class transport.
Canaan and Gregory had woken early. They’d intended to share breakfast at the station before Gregory walked Canaan to his transport. Instead, they’d made passionate love one final time, knowing each other intimately in a way they’d not yet explored until that morning. They’d held each other for so long that time was running out to the extent that Canaan might miss the connection.
“Please don’t make me say it… I can’t.”
Gregory shook his head, wiping a tear from Canaan’s pale cheek; his lover’s eyes were red with pain.
“Don’t – Don’t say goodbye because this isn’t goodbye. I know in my heart that we will see one another again. I know it.” It was so profound that Gregory’s conviction instilled hope in Canaan that he’d been hardpressed to find. Yet, there it was, the slimmest of possibilities. “We will set each other free until you are truly uncaged, and then we will find our way back to each other.”
“Do you think so?” Canaan swallowed hard, his cheeks damp.
Gregory cupped Canaan’s face between his hands, kissing the man below either eye, “I do.” He said, tasting Canaan’s salty tears.
“Now, go.”
His cheeks hot with Gregory’s kiss, Canaan turned his back and walked away. Several steps away, he wanted to turn to steal one last glance at Gregory, yet knew if he did, he’d falter once more. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Canaan stepped on, feeling a quiet urging from a heartbroken Gregory that this was the right thing to do.
Canaan wiped a tear as he stared at the image – Gregory and Canaan’s pictured in the Poseidon’s lush arboretum. They were both dressed in casual attire, lazying about on a picnic blanket and smiling at the camera. It was an afternoon filled with laughter and play, far away from the confines of duty and obligation – It was a happy memory, one of many that Canaan looked back on fondly.
Placing the picture frame to the left of the computer terminal, Canaan rose from the chair to set the few remaining momentos around the room. A minimalist, it didn’t take long for Canaan to finish, and once that was done, he was all unpacked and settled in.
Glancing around the cabin, Canaan couldn’t help but smile; because, even with a heavy heart about leaving Gregory, Kana, Freya, and his other friends on board the Poseidon, Canaan knew this was a new start.
A start that may finish in his finding a way back to those he loved.
[OFF]
====
Lieutenant Commander Canaan Serine
Chief Science Officer
USS Poseidon
&
Commodore Gregory Paladin
Mission Advisor
USS Poseidon
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