Olive Branch

Posted on Tue 1st Feb, 2022 @ 6:29am by Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark
Edited on on Wed 2nd Feb, 2022 @ 7:22am

663 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: A Good Day to Hunt
Location: Eberstark's Quarters
Timeline: MD 09 - 2130 hrs

Andrew reviewed the latest duty roster on his desk, sipping coffee at an hour that he knew he shouldn't be. At this point, he wasn't sure why he was even drinking it. When compared to the past month, this was a relatively quiet and early night. He decided that if things were indeed going back to a more manageable workload, this was a habit he needed to break.

After confirming and filing the duty roster with the computer, Andrew went to start his weekly operations report when he paused. Thinking on recent events on the Starbase and his personal conversation with Serena, Andrew found himself reminiscing of Earth and home. It was something he hadn't done in quite a long time and made him both apprehensive and nostalgic.

He maintained intermittent contact with his sister, Michelle, over the years but had no contact with his father for the better part of a decade. There was a time when Andrew would have felt ashamed for being the first to reach out, justifying his silence as some sort of strength to show the rift didn't bother him. Now that thought process just seemed stubborn and foolish. Despite all they went through, Andrew cared for his father and he knew the reverse was true on some level. And this rift had the unfortunate byproduct of straining his relationship with Michelle. They were inseparable growing up but since she stayed on Earth with their father, their correspondence has been painfully scarce. Andrew decided he would try and finally change that.

Andrew brought up the message template on his console and began. Every time he felt himself wanting to change his mind, Andrew thought if not now, when? He grew more anxious thinking about the possible answers to the question. In the end, as Serena put it, the decision was a fairly simple one if he had any feelings for his family.

Outside of the few messages with his sister, he tried to keep track of them through other conversations with friends on Earth. As far as he knew, they both still lived at this childhood home and tagged the letter as such for delivery.

He decided to keep the message short and sweet. Assuming his father would actually read the message, Andrew didn't want to overwhelm him. Although his father would never admit it, Andrew got a sense through other contacts that he deliberately ignored some of his messages solely because they came through Starfleet channels. Andrew hoped after all this time either his father would soften his stance or Michelle would talk some sense into him but that part was totally out of his control.

Having the parameters of the message set up, Andrew spoke, "Computer, begin recording for outgoing personal message."

The computer chirped in acknowledgement, "Recording has started."

He took a beat to regather himself one last time and then looked at his screen and started. After a minute of speaking his mind, he ended the recording with, "I hope to see you both soon." He hoped the sentence would resonate with them as much as it had for Andrew in the moment. In his mind, Andrew viewed his chance at success at no greater than 50/50 but his recent experiences compelled him not to be the reason he stayed distant with his family.

It was a simple enough message, but Andrew found himself going over it at least a half dozen times before he relaxed in his chair and inputted the commands on his console to include it in the Starbase's outgoing correspondence. All he could do now was wait, something that didn't sit well with Andrew. After a moment of reflection, he decided he wasn't heading to bed any time soon and felt like working off the nervous energy. As he left his quarters, Andrew felt torn between taking the edge off at Orchids or exercising. As he entered the turbolift, he decided not to choose and see where the evening took him.

 

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