LtCmdr Connor Dewitt - Bajoran Spring Tea

[Tim]

((Flashback, A corridor somewhere on the USS Khitomer))

Connor was somewhere on the ship he had called his home for quite some time now. It was a corridor right outside Engineering. Or was it? He was not sure. Maybe it was near the SDA control room? His combadge was chirping in a voice that was familiar.

Michaels: =/\= Michaels to Dewitt. Damage control team Alpha is finished in this sector. =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Well done. Take a breath and stand by. We will route you next. =/\=

He was not on the bridge. Why didn’t she call in with the coordinating officer? But Connor was not in a corridor anymore. He was somewhere with his hands on a console he could not see, doing nothing in particular. He should have been in one place or the other. He was neither.

The ship rocked.

Michaels: =/\= Are we under fire, sir? Is there more damage we need to repair? =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= Some, Lieutenant. The bridge has it. Hold for the next routing. If another salvo lands wrong, we are going to want hands on hull integrity. =/\=

Michaels: =/\= Understood, sir. Michaels out. =/\=

((Present Day, Connor’s quarters, the middle of the night))

The dream let Connor got. He was awake before his brain had really left that console behind. The bedroom was dark, except for the soft amber line of the door panel. Ayemet was breathing slowly on the other side of the bed. He counted his own breaths for a minute or two and closed his eyes again.

((Flashback, A corridor somewhere on the USS Khitomer))

Was this the same corridor? It felt like it, but it looked different.

Valeris: =/\= Commander Velaris to Commander Dewitt. =/\=

The Executive Officer tapped his combadge.

Dewitt: =/\= Go ahead, Commander. =/\=

Valeris: =/\= There appears to be a significant power drain on capacitor three for the SDA. Do we have any spares? =/\=

He could see Thelan in the SDA Control Room. The master display was along the back wall, the capacitor bank on the right. He could feel his hand wanting to be there. It felt hard leaving the Commander alone.

Dewitt: =/\= Two spares in the storage cabinet Alpha-3 on your deck, second from the left. Pull whatever you need, Commander. Your call on the replacement procedure. ::beat:: Tell me if you need anything else.=/\=

Valeris: =/\= Roger that, sir. Thank you. =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= Keep me posted, Dewitt out. =/\=

((Present Day, Connor’s quarters, the middle of the night))

Connor opened his eyes and lay still for a while. He had been XO for quite some time now. He had spent most of that time learning the same lesson in slightly different shapes. Make the call. Hand it off. Trust the people in front of you. His grandpa used to tell him that, too. Connor had the feeling he only now really understood what he meant.

Lera had not needed him at the bulkhead. Thelan had not needed him at the SDA. They had needed his answer and that was it.

Connor turned his head. Ayemet was still asleep, one arm folded under her head, the other across the blanket. He let himself look at her for a beat longer than he usually did. She had earned every minute of sleep.

With a thin smile on his face, he slipped out of bed without making the mattress complain.

((Living Room, Connor’s quarters))

The living room was dark. The lights had dimmed down to night-level hours ago. Connor crossed to the replicator without turning on any of the lights.

C. Dewitt: ::quietly:: Bajoran spring tea. Hot.

The replicator answered with the small chime he had heard a thousand times. A mug formed on the pad and Connor picked it up. The warmth against his palm had something soothing. The first officer carried it to the window.

The view outside was the inside of DS33’s dry dock. Half the docking arm was lit by the soft work lights of a night shift. The Khitomer hung at her tether like a fish on a hook, lit up where the welders were working and dark everywhere else.

A workbee drifted across the window from right to left. The small repair pod moved at a pace that seemed patient to Connor. He did not need to be the one in the pod. The pod had a pilot. The pilot knew their work.

Connor took a sip of the tea and let the warmth sit in his belly for a second. There would be more dream later. There usually were. But for now, he let himself enjoy the steam coming of his mug.

NT/End

LtCmdr Connor Dewitt
Executive Officer
USS Khitomer
A239901CD3