Ghosts from the past

Posted on Mon Jul 18th, 2022 @ 5:41pm by Commander Benjamin Jamesson & Petty Officer, 3rd Class Kiyara de Vos
Edited on on Mon Jul 18th, 2022 @ 5:44pm

Mission: Mission 6 - Memory
Location: Benjamin's Personal Quarters
Timeline: MD301 - 08:30 hours
1085 words - 2.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Kiyara looked at the work order in front of them. They had wrapped up their investigations into the ghost access to systems and it had not been shedding any light on the situation. They had escalated the investigation to security, where it would take a huge backseat to the murder investigation. So, they had to refocus their minds on some mundane tasks, at least that's what the Chief had told them. They hit the chime for the personal quarters with a report of a broken shower and rocked back and forth on their heels waiting for the door to open.

Benjamin had returned to his newly assigned quarters to find that the shower did not work at all. He had filled in the requested report form and waited for someone to come and allow him to have a proper shower where he could relax despite the strange feeling he was getting on the ship. “Come in.” He called before he pressed the door release and stepped back to haul the door open.

Barely looking up from their padd Kiyara stepped into the room, "I'm here to fix your shower, I'll be done before you'd know I'm here." They stepped past Benjamin in the direction of the small bathroom in the back of the room.

Benjamin looked at the person in front of him stunned for a moment before he stepped back and allowed them to pass him without comment. The last time he had seen them they had been dying on the floor without him being able to do a thing to stop it. “Thank you petty officer.” He said moving to sit on the bed relieved to be not longer having to stuff himself on a bunk when his bull just did not allow it.

Kiyara hadn't really spent any time with their universe's Benjamin, they hadn't given it any thought when the door opened but now felt a bit of awkwardness between them. Normally they were the cause of that awkwardness but there wasn't anything they could remember doing other than stepping through the door. "Is something wrong, sir?"

“No. No I am good Petty Officer promise.” Benjamin promises quickly trying to sound a lot more cheerful. It was the first time that he had felt awkward in the presence of someone he had lost in the other universe. “Just good to see you.” He finally said when they did not look away with his gaze.

"Oh. Did I. Was I. Eh." Kiyara felt bad for not really knowing their universe's Benjamin, it had been a long time since he had been killed in action and at that time they hadn't really had time to meet. They looked down at the PADD again, "I'll be done and out of your way in no time."

“Everyone from my universe is gone.” The man explained simply. “But you existed. We worked together for the last year so I know you will be done in no time and I will be able to shower.” He explained slowly as they disappeared into the bathroom to at least fix why they had come to his quarters.

"I'm sorry," Kiyara said softly, it was woefully insufficient. Everyone this man had worked with, everyone that he called friends and colleagues. They were all dead. Even the version of them that he knew. And now they just stood there, stammering in his quarters when all he wanted was to take a nice warm shower. She scampered off into the bathroom without another word. Diving into the technical problems had always been their escape from awkward situations and they were glad to have one right there for them to work on.

The man said nothing to distract the petty officer so he thought about the fact he could have fixed it all himself but he had no tools. He had nothing to do at the moment other than think and occasionally bother Hughes to make sure he was not getting himself into trouble with the chief medical officer on this version of the Atlantis.

It only took a couple of minutes to trace the error that caused the water to sputter and stop. Kiyara was almost finished when suddenly the mechanism fell back into place and dumped a bucket of cold water on top of them. They couldn't help but let out a high-pitched yelp as the water drenched them and coloured her blue uniform an even darker blue. Quickly they turned the water off, "I think that means it's fixed."

Benjamin leapt from his bed at the yelp and rushed forward stopping on instinct as he saw that they were just surprised by the water from it being left on and nothing more. His nerves were shot and the adrenaline from the last few days was still rushing around his body. “Here Kiya.” He offered the towel from the desk area to her.

Kiyara accepted the towel and dabbed some of the water from their face. It was weird to hear someone they barely knew talk to them so amicably. "Did the other me and you spend a lot of time together?" It seemed weird to be asking about that sort of stuff but they couldn't contain their curiosity.

"Yeah. Well, I was the Chief Engineer." The man reminded stepping back to give some space. He was trying to take it slow with people. "But we did spend a lot of time together. You... they... were a friend of mine." He said simply offering a smile. "But no pressure to be them... you are a totally different person who had been on a different adventure." He said hoping they were feeling no pressure to conform or be the person he knew.

"Oh. I." Kiyara was no stranger to feeling awkward, they were way better with machines than they were with people. "I'm sure they appreciated your friendship. Our Benjamin was K.I.A. before any of that happened." They felt guilty for not having the same kind of fond memories associated with him as he seemed to have with them.

“I believe they did but I am here now.” He held out his hand to them. “Commander Benjamin Jamesson.” He said by way of introduction. It seems to be all he was doing at the moment but it was nice to be among some familiar people and to be safe.

Drying off their hand first Kiyara took the friendly gesture, "P.O.3 Kiyara de Vos. A pleasure to meet you, Commander."