[Epilogue] LtCmdr Jovenan – Not all stories need a resolution right away
Jovenan
((Bridge, Deck 1, USS Karnack))
((OOC: I won’t be including the dialogue or tags for conversations Jovenan doesn’t hear or listen to.))
There it was. The sight was greeting Jovenan as she stepped to the Bridge of their wrecked starship. After the days and weeks of claustrophobic caves and caverns, Jefferies tubes and corridors, and the sky with a hint of purple peeking through the ruptures in the hull, the view through the main viewer was something in stark contradiction to everything Callis I represented. Each minute after the violent shakes of the ship taking off, the brightness of the planet’s atmosphere diminished, left behind.
The everlasting field of stars took them to an embrace.
Usually – to a sane person, perhaps – the dark void of space represented nothingness, the danger that only the thin layers of duranium and miscellaneous other alloys shielded them from, the cold, suffocating death. However, Jovenan could barely hold back her tears seeing it. She might have not yet been home, but at least here she could feel like she was in a place she knew. There was no sky between her and her home, no difference in the stars and the nebulae that dotted the skyless existence behind the transparent aluminium. They were almost on the Artemis already.
But home wasn’t just a place. The bridge was full of chatter as the crew could gather for the first time without the overwhelming dread the planet and its unfortunate residents presented. They were as happy as they could – they were safe. She sensed Vitor step closer to her. Had it not been for the others watching, she might have leaned into him. The events on the planet had changed him, but he was still him, now more clearly than in the stress of the pursuit, and she loved him. And although few faces in the crowd had been there for long, she could say that she cared of them all.
Besides Vitor and herself, one person there had remained there all the same after the years together. The Captain cleared her throat and stood up.
MacKenzie: Now that we've made it off Callis 1 and things are relatively quiet, I wanted to take a moment to gather us in one place. Aside from a brief reunion when we found the Karnack, we haven't all been in the same place to be able to appreciate what we've been through. (beat) And the fact that we're all still here.
They were, despite the odds. Jovenan looked at the people that had gathered to the bridge. Their uniforms were ripped and dirty, their hair were greasy and muddy, some had grown a bushy beard in that time. It smelled awful in there. It had been a rough week or so, both mentally and physically. This had to be one of the hardest missions they had had so far – especially considering the mission had just been bringing a ship to a scrapyard. In top 3 of hardest missions, by Jovenan’s quick assessment. It was difficult to beat the Battle of Frontier Day and its prelude, while losing her sister-across-the-universes likely had longer-lasting effects on her. Still, pretty bad.
MacKenzie: After everything we've been through together, there is no doubt in my mind that this crew can do absolutely anything we put our minds to. (beat) I have a surprise
Jovenan raised an eyebrow while the Captain crossed the bridge to one of the consoles. There had been plenty of unpleasant surprises so far. Finding the dead bodies of the Dark Things lying in the corridors had been the latest one. They were predators who would have hurt them, sure, in that sense their demise was going to keep the crew alive for a bit longer, but she… she didn’t know any more. Perhaps they were already doomed.
The Captain returned with filled glasses. It definitely wasn’t something she would have taken from a ration pack. For a moment, Jovenan was concerned. They didn’t need luxuries, they needed food and water, more brown mush for their diminishing reserves. A laughter almost escaped her lips when she realised that they were once again in the post-scarcity society of the wider Federation. They could get their basic necessities from the replicator whenever; there was no need to ration anything or worry about running out. They could afford luxuries, it was not a sacrifice to hand out fancy drinks to everyone.
MacKenzie: I managed to get a replicator up and running long enough to get these.
Well, maybe they actually couldn’t afford luxuries quite yet, but they already had those, so what can you do. Jovenan accepted her glass of bubbly drink – sparkling wine, if she was not terribly mistaken, or maybe champagne, she didn’t remember the difference – and shared a smile to Vitor. It was definitely going to taste better than the rainwater at the bottom of the Garden Cave.
MacKenzie: To a good meal, a sonic shower, and to being off Callis 1 for good.
K’Wara: Cheers!
Cole: Here, here! ::lifting her glass a bit::
Jaran: To... the sonic shower we'll eventually have once it's back up and running.
Bergmen: Cheers to that!
Storm: Here, here!
Imril: Here, here!
Silveira: That's got to be the best toast ever. Cheers.
Jovenan raised her glass with the others. Vitor leaned closer to her, and she brought her glass to meet with his, clinking them. It was a happy scene; it was a happy ending. No matter how bad it had been, no matter how they didn’t get a resolution to figuring out what the Dark Things were and how to help them, it was a happy ending. A story didn’t have to be all bliss and sunshine or have all the answers, to still get a happy ending. It had taken Jovenan years to figure that out. She didn’t need to concern herself with the mysteries still uncovered afterwards. There was time.
Silveira: And to you my love.
Turning her head first, Jovenan fully faced her boyfriend. This close to him – even if their distance was still far enough to be appropriate for the occasion – his untamed beard was what caught her eyes before reaching his. It wasn’t long enough to cover his familiar smirk, but it made it appear less boyish. If he liked it and cared for, it wouldn’t look bad on him. She’d need to form her opinion only after seeing what it felt like when kissing him. That’d have to wait until another occasion.
Jovenan: And to you, my love.
As the crew began to mingle or were returning to their respective duties, Vitor lead Jovenan slowly aside, holding her by the hand.
Silveira: I look forward for us to be back on the Artemis. Back home.
Jovenan: Me too.
Vitor squeezed her hand. Instead of squeezing it back, she leaned against his side, looking out through the viewscreen. They still had problems they needed to solve, some of them urgently: what happened to Vitor and others who used the Callisian teleporters? How to undo the changes or to accommodate for them? What happens next to the bodies of the Dark Things, and to their surviving fellows? The streaks of light from the deflector shield lighting up the dust were subtle as they dove into the interplanetary space – Jovenan allowed her worries to drift away with them. She rested her head by Vitor’s shoulder.
Jovenan: But I’m feeling like home already.
----
Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11