Something of You

Posted on Sat 7th Jul, 2018 @ 5:56am by Eddie Hunt & Commander Paul Graves PsyD

1,029 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Oblivion
Location: Farmers' Market, River Village
Timeline: MD3 1030 Hours

"A friend who dies--It's something of you who dies." --Gustave Flaubert

One of the nicer things about living on a starbase, Paul had found, was that a variety of fresh produce was available. On Vanguard this even included meat, though Paul preferred to eat that replicated. There was no reason why any animal had to die to feed him when genuine meat tissue could be grown and replicated with no harm to an animal. Thus the barbecue at his housewarming party. Today, though, he was looking for oskoids, uttaberries, and red grapes.

He was picking through a stall of green apples that had caught his eye when he noticed someone looking at oranges at the next stall. Something about the shape of his eyes looked very familiar, Paul thought, but he couldn't recall having met the man anywhere..

Eddie glanced across and noticed a man looking at him, before moving his eyesight back to the fruit in front of him. He always tried to get as much fresh food as he could, there was always something nicer about it compared to replicated produce. He picked up a bag and put some oranges in there, before showing the market stall owner and paying for it. He moved onto the next stall before glancing round again. The man was still eyeing him, as if trying to place him, although he wasn't sure the guy knew he was staring a bit too much.

Picking up on the faint air of mild unease and query, Paul abandoned the apples and walked directly to the man. "Hello. I've been trying to figure out where I've met you before. You look very familiar. My name is Paul Graves."

"You're not the first to say that. If I say my name is Eddie Hunt, you may be able to work it out from the surname," He smiled and put out his hand as a welcome.

Paul's eyes widened. "You have got to be Zach's brother! The one he went skiing or hiking with about six months ago, right?" He shook Hunt's hand. "I'm so glad to meet you! I'm a friend of Zach's, and we worked--" The rush of excitement Paul felt came to a skidding halt, because what he felt from Hunt was ... pleasantness covering sadness. "Has something happened to Zach?"

Eddie looked down in sadness, "He had an accident and got killed from it. I'm sorry you didn't know. News doesn't seem to travel well when you're so far out."

"He--he what?" Paul fought to collect himself as his entire body seemed to go cold. This could not possibly be happening. "I wondered why he wasn't on Hermes when she docked and thought I must have gotten the name of his ship wrong. How long ago did it happen?"

"It wasn't too long ago. I don't want to go into too many details if it's okay. It is still a bit raw," Eddie said with sadness.

Paul shook his head, trying to clear it. "Of course. I am so sorry, Eddie. Zach really enjoyed that last visit he had with you. He said you two hiked through some beautiful country and that he was happy to be able to spend the time together. I think he felt closer to you than he did to anyone else in your family. His death must have been as shocking to you as it is to me."

"Oh it was definitely beautiful! It's a nice lasting memory to have of him though, thanks for your kind words though. Well, yeah, it didn't help that my Father committed suicide after learning Zach died, so all of the past few months have been a bit of a whirlwind. Anyway, enough of me, what about you Paul? What do you do on the base?" Eddie said, covering the sadness with a friendly smile.

Paul forced himself no to stare in shock. Not just Zach, but his father, too? Zach had never seemed all that close to either of his parents, but perhaps his father had had more affection for him than Zach had known. Or perhaps their father had taken his own life for another reason entirely; he shouldn't presume knowledge he didn't have.

"That is a lot to bear, Eddie--not just the grieving process, but being the executor of two estates, and dealing with their personal belongings--and their friends." Paul shook his head. "I'm Second Officer of Vanguard and also its chief counselor. I considered Zach a very good friend of mine. If there is any way I can help you, I would be glad to."

"Yeah, it is a lot at times but I've managed to get through for now. I think coming aboard the base is a nice way for me to see part of Zach's life. Thanks for the offer Paul, I will bear that in mind. Maybe we can catch up with a drink or something?"

"Certainly," Paul said. He smiled. "I suspect you'll find quite a few people here with good memories of Zach. He was easy to talk to, and he genuinely cared about the people who serve here."

"I've already met a few people who have known him and it is nice to hear all the things about him. I mean sometimes you think your family are grumpy ogres, right?" Eddie laughed.

"It's sometimes good to see your relatives from other people's perspectives," Paul agreed. He found uttaberries but now had no appetite for them. "Those drinks you mentioned--if you would ever feel like having them at my place, I live on deck 1552, in a Betazoid-style house near a small pond. It'd be good to get to know you, if you feel comfortable with that."

"Yeah that would be really nice. And it's a deck from the casino, so it works out well for me!" He said. "Anyway, I will let you get on and I will pop in when I get a chance! I have so much to get ready at the moment," He laughed.

"I can well imagine," Paul said. "I'm glad to have met you, Eddie. I'll look forward to coming for opening night."

 

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