Time to Catch Up

Posted on Thu Apr 30th, 2015 @ 5:43pm by Ulani & Lieutenant Commander Ethan Chaparral MD

Mission: The New Sydney Fiasco
Location: Ethan and Dylan's Quarters
Timeline: After Ulani's First Contact with Nexi

Her business in the main hanger done, Ulani headed for Ethan and Dylan's quarters. She promised to give him an update on the past four years. Some of it would be hard for her to deliver, but Ethan must know. Sooner or later, he would find out. It was better if it came from Ulani's mouth. She hoped the Saurian brandy on her breath was not too strong as she rang the chime to the door.

Ethan was laying on his back clothed only in a pair of gym shorts doing crunches when he heard the chime sound. He knew instinctively who it was, who it had to be. So he rolled to his feet and grabbed a towel off the couch an mopped his sweaty brow and chest, then he went to the door and opened. "Hey mom..." he started then seeing the expression on her face and the alcohol on her breath said,"mom what's wrong?"

Ulani instinctively averted her eyes and face away from Ethan. With a tired voice she said, "I've just met Nexi. A talented girl. She reminds me of my younger self. She should be a valuable asset to Dylan."

She took a deep breath, sat on a couch, then admitted, "We have to talk about the past four years."

Ethan slipped the shirt on taking a deep breath as he did so. "What about them?" he asked apprehensively.

Not really knowing where to begin, Ulani decided to start at the beginning. "When I had heard of your losing your arm, I made a few contacts. One was with Dylan. I began a search for this Ian fellow. I had some friends still in Intel that was willing to help. We went to the area where everything happened to you, used it as a central location and spanned out from there."

"So did you find anything?" he asked curiosity replacing apprehension for the moment.

"We found a debris field that appeared to have been a star ship. My heart began to race; my first thought was that it was the Hera. We latched on to some of it with a tractor beam and brought it on board. The parts we examined were not from a Federation ship."

"We found no trace of this Ian or his ship," Ulani continued, "unless the debris was his ship. We decided to seek out the Hera. We were able to get information on your destination and where you were. So we set an intercept course. When we arrived at the intersection point...no Hera. We scanned the area with negative results. We checked your destination; you hadn't arrived. We began a new search pattern, but could not find you."

"Yeah, as you know we kind of got sucked into some kind of anomaly and found ourselves back in time fighting some Klingons and some weird ghost like things. Then when we came out four years had passed. I'm sorry, you must have been frantic."

Ulani left out a long sigh. That wasn't the difficult part of what she had to say.

"A shuttle was provided to me to continue an off the records search. I searched two years, hoping I'd find the ship and it's crew alive and well. Then I got word that an epidemic broke out on earth in Morocco." Her voice trailed off and she had to pause to pick up the nerve to continue.

The look on her face told him more than he wanted to know. His heart thundered in his chest and he had to find a place to sit down. "Dad's dead, isn't he?" he managed to get out.

Elasian tears flooded from her eyes at the truth of his words. "I hurried home. Your father tirelessly worked to help the victims, ease their pain, discover the cure. He worked day and sleepless nights. He worked so hard that his body fatigued and succumbed to the virus." No deep sobs came between each word. "I helplessly watched from behind a containment field as Jaime died a long and painful death."

She gathered herself some before saying, "they say the virus didn't originate on earth. That's why it took so long to find a cure."

Ethan just sat there in stunned silence as the reality began to hit him. He loved his mother with all of his heart, was devoted to her. She had always been there for him. But he had especially close to his father. He spent more time in his office growing up then almost anything else.

He tried to hold back the tears, but couldn't. They started slowly at first but then the floodgate opened and was crying freely. Deep agonizing sobs. He couldn't speak for several long minutes and finally he said, "I should have been there instead of out in space."

"No!" Ulani demanded. "I know your heart, Ethan! You would have been right there by his side, wearing yourself thin. I couldn't have stood losing both of you!"

She momentarily paused to gather her thoughts. "The Federation believes it was a biological weapon since it was not an earth born virus."

"It's Romulan," he said quietly, "I was working on it, well a cure for it. That is why he tortured me. to find out why I knew. I was close too. If we hadn't gone back in time I would have had a cure all those people would still be alive. Dad would still be alive."

"How can you be sure it's the same?" Ulani asked. "The Federation connect four Ferengi to it, because they profited so greatly from it. When people panicked in the beginning, these four promised transport to a safe haven for the right price. However, they transported these same people into slavery, selling them to the highest bidder. Perhaps someone else paid them as well to test the effectiveness of this virus."

Ulani placed her head in her hands, her face beginning to turn blood red, offsetting her green eyes. "I promised myself I'd see these four on hell! One of them got there earlier today. Intel is allowing me leeway, since I'm no longer in Star Fleet."

"Don't you see mom," Ethan said his voice just barely audible, "it has to be the same one. How could it be anything else. Ian was working for pirates, pirates that were looking to profit from it just like the Ferengi did.

I may have taken more after dad, but I remember what you say about coincidences, there aren't any and only a fool believes that they are. Dylan and I are planning of tracking down Ian and killing him. And I, I want to be the one to do it. Now more than ever. Is that wrong?"

"I understand how you feel," Ulani confessed. She arose from her seat and sat next to him. Taking his hand, Ulani urged, "But Ethan...son...you are not a killer. It's not your heart. You've got your medical career to worry about as well. Maybe this is something I can convince Nexi to help. I really like her style."

In his heart he knew she was right, but some darker Ethan was talking now, "He branded me, did you now that? He carved Ian's property in my chest." His voice rose for the first time. "Did you hear me?" he asked almost shouting now, he fucking carved Ian's property. he broke every bone in my hand and foot. Do you know what that feels like? Really feels like and then he cut off my arm. He cut of my godsdamned arm and burned it. I don't want Nexi to do it. I want to be the one. I want to be the one to make him pay for me, for dad for everyone else he killed just so he could make a profit.!"

The tears were coming again, but this time they were tears of anger, not of sorrow.

Ulani wrapped Ethan in caring arms. She stroked his hair, just as she had done in the past to comfort him.

"Believe me, son, I understand how you feel." Could Ethan be more like her than she knew? "But the greatest thing you can do for your father's legacy is to continue it. He placed that legacy within you." Then she said something she never thought she would say to one of her children. "I don't want you to be me."

She had done terrible things for the sake of the Federation, for the sake of her family, for the sake of revenge. The alcohol had become a way to forget those things; it wasn't for the grief she felt.

Ethan took some comfort in his mother's words and actions,they'd always worked for him in the past. But they didn't have the same effect as they had in the past. The mindmeld with Sinek had helped, but it had only made his determination more logical, less emotional. The shock of his father's death had only renewed that determination.

But her words did give him pause.

"What's wrong with being like you?" he asked weakly.

The hollow look returned to Ulani. "I'm haunted by things I have done, Ethan. Even though they were done for a just cause, they haunt me." She wanted Ethan to consider his father, all that he had taught him. "The same heart that was in Jaime, is in you, Ethan. The heart to do not only what is right, but also what is good. I beg you, as your mother, keep it that way."

There was a long pause, "It just doesn't seem right handing that off on someone else. but I'll try. I can't let it go entirely and I know Dylan's not just going to bow out either. We have to be part of whatever it is."

"I would imagine Dylan would be a part of it," Ulani suggested. "I wouldn't want to take an opportunity from him to show his love for you and to prove he is able to protect you to me. He has more connections than I do. Mine are old and few these days."

"What about the rest of the family, "Ethan asked suddenly changing directions, "how did they take it. How are they doing?"

"You know your brother and sister," Ulani replied with a smile returning to her face. If there was anything she loved to talk about, it was her kids. "They're a lot like me. They have found ways to survive. Jhammon is now a part of the Presidential Security Detail. Rose is married and is using her Archeology studies to make new discoveries."

"Security detail? Good for him. Is he seeing anyone? And Rose what's her husband like?"
Ethan asked. It was small talk but it kept his mind off of more pressing matters.

"Jhammon," answered Ulani, "is unattached. He doesn't feel like putting someone through the stress of being married to another that will throw themselves in the line of fire. Rose's husband, is also an archeologist; his name is Hunter Fjord. They work together."

Ethan took a deep breath, he couldn't say the short respite from the conversation about his father's death had been enough, but he had to know more. "How long ago did he die?" he asked.

Ulani left out a deep sigh; she was becoming exhausted. The emotional strain on top of the alcohol consumption had drained her energy. "A year and a half ago. He held on for four painful months." She laid her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She appeared haggard and in need of much needed rest.

Ethan nodded, "Mom, I, I need time to deal with this and you look like you could use some rest. You can go now if you want. Dylan will be home soon."

There was no response coming back to him. Ulani's breathing was deep and full as she was out cold, sleeping.

Ethan made sure she was as comfortable as possible on the couch, got a blanket for her and then retreated to the bedroom.