Things Past – Letting it all Out
by Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman
Post Details
ON:
Upon exiting Harrison's ready room, Drakt and Wyman stepped immediately into the turbolift adjacent to the main viewer. It wouldn't be fitting to see two emotionally wrecked officers plodding through the bridge to the main lifts in the rear.
"I'll be all right, Drakt. I just need a minute." Wyman whispered, his voice cracking as the emotional strain overwhelmed him.
"Steven, listen to me! I understand that this is difficult, but nobody blames you for what happened. You did what anyone would have done in that situation; no, you did better than what anyone would have done. Most individuals would have thought of their own safety, but you got Ceridwen and Gwen out of harms way before saving yourself."
Despite attempts to reign it all in, Drakt's words ultimately opened the floodgates. "I could have pulled him after me, Drakt! He would have been torched as bad, or worse than I was - but he would have lived! But I left him there to die!"
"Computer, hold!" Drakt called out. When the lift car came to a stop, he grabbed the larger human by the shoulders and physically forced him down to one knee. Now at eye level, he grabbed him by the back of the head. "Steven - you did the right thing. You had but an instant to make the call, and even Sharas would have said that you made the right one. Think about it - what if it had been Ceridwen who had perished? Imagine what that would have done to Gwen."
The Zarnac paused before posing the next, more horrifying possibility. His voice cracking and his jaw quivering, he stated, "What if it had been Gwen? Steven, if something had happened to her - I do not think either of us would be here right now. We would either be dead by our own hands, or in an institution - sedated in padded rooms."
"I know, Drakt! Damn it, don't you think I know all that? And I know, deep down, I know that you're right. But, I just can't shake the feeling that I left Sharas there to die! He would have sacrificed himself for me, why couldn't I do the same for him?" Wyman was now utterly inconsolable, bawling his eyes out. The only reason he wasn't completely on the floor was due to Drakt holding him up.
Putting his arms around the man he loved unconditionally, who was (until Wyman's marriage and the birth of his daughter) the only family Drakt had in the galaxy, the Zarnac prayed to the Spirits of Emperors past; both for Wyman to find the strength to continue, and himself to find the strength to help him.
And so the two men sat there on the floor of the turbolift, holding each other while Wyman sobbed. Neither knew how much time had passed, and neither cared. This was a long time coming.
OFF
(Then) Lt. Steve Wyman
Chief Engineering Officer
Deep Space 5
Cmdr. Drakt, Son of the Thirty-first House
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Cavalry
by Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman
Post Details
| Title | Letting it all Out | |
| Mission | Things Past | |
| Author(s) | Lieutenant Commander Steve Wyman | |
| Posted | Tue Nov 25, 2014 @ 5:17pm | |
| Location | Turbolift, USS Cavalry | |
| Timeline | During Wyman's sabbatical |
Upon exiting Harrison's ready room, Drakt and Wyman stepped immediately into the turbolift adjacent to the main viewer. It wouldn't be fitting to see two emotionally wrecked officers plodding through the bridge to the main lifts in the rear.
"I'll be all right, Drakt. I just need a minute." Wyman whispered, his voice cracking as the emotional strain overwhelmed him.
"Steven, listen to me! I understand that this is difficult, but nobody blames you for what happened. You did what anyone would have done in that situation; no, you did better than what anyone would have done. Most individuals would have thought of their own safety, but you got Ceridwen and Gwen out of harms way before saving yourself."
Despite attempts to reign it all in, Drakt's words ultimately opened the floodgates. "I could have pulled him after me, Drakt! He would have been torched as bad, or worse than I was - but he would have lived! But I left him there to die!"
"Computer, hold!" Drakt called out. When the lift car came to a stop, he grabbed the larger human by the shoulders and physically forced him down to one knee. Now at eye level, he grabbed him by the back of the head. "Steven - you did the right thing. You had but an instant to make the call, and even Sharas would have said that you made the right one. Think about it - what if it had been Ceridwen who had perished? Imagine what that would have done to Gwen."
The Zarnac paused before posing the next, more horrifying possibility. His voice cracking and his jaw quivering, he stated, "What if it had been Gwen? Steven, if something had happened to her - I do not think either of us would be here right now. We would either be dead by our own hands, or in an institution - sedated in padded rooms."
"I know, Drakt! Damn it, don't you think I know all that? And I know, deep down, I know that you're right. But, I just can't shake the feeling that I left Sharas there to die! He would have sacrificed himself for me, why couldn't I do the same for him?" Wyman was now utterly inconsolable, bawling his eyes out. The only reason he wasn't completely on the floor was due to Drakt holding him up.
Putting his arms around the man he loved unconditionally, who was (until Wyman's marriage and the birth of his daughter) the only family Drakt had in the galaxy, the Zarnac prayed to the Spirits of Emperors past; both for Wyman to find the strength to continue, and himself to find the strength to help him.
And so the two men sat there on the floor of the turbolift, holding each other while Wyman sobbed. Neither knew how much time had passed, and neither cared. This was a long time coming.
OFF
(Then) Lt. Steve Wyman
Chief Engineering Officer
Deep Space 5
Cmdr. Drakt, Son of the Thirty-first House
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Cavalry