Memories...
Posted on Fri Nov 14th, 2014 @ 5:08pm by Fleet Admiral Mike K`Wor Bremer & Christopher Bremer & General Janice Fultian-Bremer
2,205 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Mission 87 - Disaster
Location: Starbase 400
Timeline: MD 1, 1150 hours, Following 'Uneasy Friendship...'
ON:
After seeing his oldest two children off and on their way to Earth and Starfleet Academy, Mike had walked with his wife Janice and youngest son Christopher back to their quarters. At his young age, Christopher didn’t fully understand where K’Wor and Becca had gone or how long they would be away, so he started asking questions only a four year old could...
“Daddy, where’s Becca and K’Wor going again?” Christopher asked.
“Earth, to begin their time at Starfleet Academy.” He said as he looked down at his Son walking beside him.
“How long will they be there?” Christopher asked.
“They’ll be there a few months before they can come home for a while, then they’ll have to go back.” Mike replied, “The Academy takes four years to complete.”
Christopher looked down at his fingers and counted out loud, “So I’m four...five, six, seven, eight. I’ll be eight when they come home?”
“When they graduate from the Academy, that’s right.” Jance said to her Son with a smile.
They continued to walk along the corridor, then Christopher asked an innocent but deeper question, “How old will I be when Marc and Emma come home?”
Mike and Janice both looked at each other, not really sure how to answer. They both came to a stop, turned, and knelt down beside Christopher.
“Um, well, honey, remember both Emma and Marc were hurt when that bad man attacked us on the Runabout? Well, they umm, they both died...and won’t be coming back, but they will always be with us as long as we remember them and love them.” Janice tried to explain so the four year old would understand.
Of course, Christopher didn’t fully understand, but he knew enough that he started to cry, “I miss Marc and Emma...and I hate bad guys!” With a burst of anger, that was clearly from his father’s Klingon side, Christopher started running down the corridor toward their quarters.
Mike and Janice slowly stood, “I’ll talk to him. I know you need to get to Ops.” Janice said.
Mike nodded, “If you need me, let me know. I’ll be home around noon and each lunch with you both.”
Janice flashed a smile then kissed her husband before following after Christopher.
Mike on the other hand slowly turned away and entered a nearby Turbolift. “Ops.”
As the lift started going up, Mike’s thoughts also drifted back to that dark day. He remembered the family was about to leave on their first family vacation in years when he was called away for a meeting that he felt could wait, sending the rest of the family ahead, except for Becca who wanted to leave the next morning with her father. The meeting the next morning, a conference call between Romulan Admiral Tomalak and Admiral Riggs of Starfleet Commander concerning Starship deployments along the newly reformed Neutral Zone was in fact something Mike really didn’t need to be a part of, but after the meeting as he left his Office...that’s when everything changed...
“Mr. Archer?” Mike asked with a smile.
Archer’s face was clearly showing concern and worry, “Sir…um, we’ve been contacted by Desica II’s space port, the General’s...um, your family’s runabout hasn’t arrived yet and they’ve lost contact on sensors.”
Mike looked over at the time, the Runabout should have arrived a few hours ago. “What was its last position?”
Archer handed Mike a PADD, “Here sir, but there’s more. A Bolian freighter reported to DS6 that they spotted a Federation Runabout adrift. They couldn't detect any life signs on board. They relayed the coordinates, they match the last known position of the Cherokee.”
Mike could feel his heart stop, he was speechless...
K’Temoc had arrived in Ops just in time to hear about the Cherokee, and he quickly tapped his comm-badge, “Vice Admiral T’Lar to Ops, immediately!”
Mike looked over to his brother, then back to Archer. “Nick you have Ops til T’Lar arrives, fill her in.”
Mike raced for the turbolift, K’Temoc quickly followed. As the door closed behind them, Mike said one word in a very serious tone, “Pegasus!”
Mike said nothing else, but his brother knew what he was thinking and he tapped his comm-badge, “Pike, Harrison, Coleman, Ramata’Tar, Roebuck, Gillo, Baratan, Vid-Lotilija, Brislan, Hurd, report to the Pegasus on the double!”
Several minutes later, the Galaxy Class Refit USS Pegasus undocked from her moorings and backed away. The large vessel then turned, faced the space doors, and started moving toward them as they opened. Within moments, the vessel was free and in open space. Mike sat in the CO’s chair, silent, staring at the viewscreen. Chief Branson was at the Conn and already received the last known coordinates of the Cherokee. Once the ship was clear of Starbase 400, she blasted off into high warp.
Faster than a runabout, it took the Pegasus a little over four hours to reach the area of the Cherokee.
The crew worked together like clockwork, like they always had. Pike was at Intel One, Harrison at Tactical, K’Temoc at Strategic Ops One, Vid-Lotilija at Science One, Coleman at Engineering, Gillo at Ops, Branson at Conn, Hurd at Marine Ops, Ramata’Tar at Mission Ops, Baratan at Intel Two, Roebuck at Strategic Ops Two, and Brislan at Science Two. The XO’s chair was empty.
K’Temoc spoke up as the Pegasus dropped out of warp, “I have the Cherokee on sensor, five million kilometers, bearing zero-zero-nine mark three-four-six.” He paused a moment, it was his family too. When he spoke up, his voice was a little shaky, “I’m reading extensive hull damaged from weapons fire, signatures suggest Romulan disruptors. Debris, not all from the Runabout though, she took a bite out of whoever did this. Life support is functioning, but I’m only picking up two life signs, both faint.”
“Move us in, rescue team to Transporter Room Three.” Mike said as he stood, it was the first time he’d spoken since leaving the Station.
Moments later, blue and white shimmered in the darkness aboard the Runabout as Bremer, Brislan, Coleman, K’Temoc, and three additional Medical Officers beamed aboard. The team turned on their wrist beacons, and the bright lights cut though the darkness that was only interrupted by occasional sparks and flickering panels.
Mike quickly looked around, finding Janice slumped over in the Co-Pilot’s seat. One of the Medical Officers stepped up and scanned her with a tricorder.
“She’s alive sir, barely, the panel exploded in her face.” The Medical Officer gently brushed Janice’s hair from her face, showing cuts, burns, and bruises on her face, forehead, and temple, then she tapped her comm-badge, "Gates to Pegasus, two to beam directly to Sick-Bay."
After Janice was beamed to safety Mike continued to look around. A moment later, Coleman tapped in a few commands and the interior lights came back on. Everyone switched off their beacons as they looked around.
K’Temoc stepped into the Runabouts aft section, and came to a sudden halt. Mike saw his brother stop, and knew he’d found something. Mike walked back to K’Temoc, and as he rounded the corner he came face to face with what he feared the most...
He saw the body of his twelve year old daughter Emmaline laying on the deck beside the door, a phaser wound on her chest. One of the Medical Officers knelt down beside her and scanned, but soon shook her head.
Mike tried to swallow before he spoke, he didn’t want to sound as upset as he really was. He knelt down beside his daughter and ran his hand though her hair, “Ensign...take her home.”
“Yes sir.” The young woman said and she gently folded Emmaline’s arms over her chest before tapping her comm-badge, “Noel to Pegasus, ready to beam two to Sick-Bay.”
As Emmaline’s body was transported back to the Pegasus, Mike turned his attention to finding his sons. Suddenly the quiet was broken by the sound of something falling within the locked closet of the aft cabin.
Mike tapped the panel to access the closet, but it only beeped, the door was jammed from the inside.
Mike pressed his hands against the door, took a deep breath, and using every ounce of strength and will he had, managed to force it open.
As the door opened, Mike found his younger two sons. Christopher was unconscious with a bruise on his head. It looked like he'd been hiding in the back of the closet on a shelf, and had just rolled off and onto the deck. Mike gently picked him up and Brislan scanned him and smiled, but before she could say anything Mike spoke.
“Get him to Sick-Bay, please.”
The Chief Medical Officer nodded and softly put her arms around the two year old boy, then stepped back out of the way to beam back to the Pegasus.
As Brislan beamed back, Mike looked back into the closet and found Marc. He was lying face down with a Type-II Phaser in his hand. K’Temoc slowly and gently picked up the phaser as the last Medical Officer scanned Marc, shaking his head.
“It’s K’Wor’s phaser, and the power cell is all but drained. It looks like Marc was trying to protect Christopher.” K’Temoc stated aloud, his voice shaky.
The Medical Officer was easily moving Marc’s body out of the closet to beam him back to the Pegasus. Like his sister, Marc had phaser wounds...one in the chest and one on the leg. A moment later, he beamed back to the Pegasus too.
Mike looked over at Coleman, “Transfer all logs and data to the Pegasus and beam back.”
Coleman nodded and a moment later, shimmered away as he beamed back to the ship as well, leaving just K’Temoc and Mike left on the Cherokee.
Mike looked around the runabout, there were scorch marks all over the bulkheads and walls from weapons fire. A rush of anger and pain overwhelmed him. Mike started breathing harder, faster, and then let out a loud roar as he face turned deep red and an expression of pure anger shown on his face.
K’Temoc spoke softly, “I’m not picking up any residual Human or Klingon traces, K’Wor wasn’t vaporized...”
Mike cut him off, “He was taken by whoever did this. It’s a message.” Mike paused a moment as he took a breath, “Harry attacked, Paul attacked, David dead, this...it’s a personal message.” He slammed his fist into the wall leaving a dent.
Mike walked back to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot’s seat. He looked out the window at the Pegasus hovering nearby. As he did, he couldn’t hold back the emotion anymore and tears started to flow. His twin twelve year old son and daughter were dead, his seventeen year old son missing, his wife and two year old son seriously injured. It was more than anymore could bear.
As he cried, Mike took a deep breath, “I should have been here.”
K’Temoc sat next to his brother, he too was teary eyed, “If you were, then you and Becca both might be dead too.” He looked up at his brother in the eye, “We’ll find whoever did this, they will pay!”
The brothers grabbed each other’s hand tightly and pulled their arms together, and looked into each other’s eyes intensely.
After a few moments, Mike stood and wiped his eyes, “I’ll be in Sick-Bay.”
K’Temoc also stood, “I’ll take charge of the investigation and be on the Bridge. I’ll let you know if we find anything.”
Mike nodded, then took another deep breath before tapping his comm-badge, “Bremer to Pegasus, two to beam aboard.”
A moment later, both men shimmered away as they returned to the Pegasus…
Mike took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. In the end, Mike did in fact find out who was behind the attacks, his former Chief of Security and friend turned traitor Jon Westmoreland, it was revenge against Mike for killing his brother James earlier in the year after a terrorist attack aboard Starbase 400. Even though it almost cost K’Temoc his life too, Mike did killed Jon with his bare hands...
Mike tried to suppress the emotions, in time he’d come to terms with what happened, even though he knew the feelings of loss, hate, regret, and even love would always be with him.
Once the lift stopped and the doors opened, Mike stepped into Ops and flashed a smile, even if it was forced. He walked over to the Operations station and looked at the status of the vessels in the Hunster II relief force, and all were preparing to depart. He then saw K’Temoc enter Ops as he looked around the room at his crew, his extended family.
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