Farewells

Posted on Sun Jun 25th, 2023 @ 9:58am by Captain Abigail Laurens & Captain Dirk Taggart
Edited on on Sun Jun 25th, 2023 @ 9:58am

Mission: Lower Decks
Location: Tabula Rasa
Timeline: Prior to Now

Shore leave was coming to an end. Already the crews had started filtering back to the ship, yet Abigail lingered on the surface, leaving departure arrangements in the capable hands of her crew. The day had been spent with Dirk.

A slow and lazy morning in bed, brunch overlooking the ocean, complete with mimosas and all her favourite foods. A stroll through the most glorious gardens she had ever seen, including time spent admiring fountains more exquisite than any she had seen anywhere else in the universe... and now, a beautiful dinner on a boat, just the two of them. Soft music played in the background as she moved slowly in his arms, her head resting against his chest while they danced alone under the stars.

Though the conversation had been lively while they ate, talk about shared interests, their time at the Academy, various missions that they had been involved with, even mundane talk about childhood memories and the mutual friends they discovered they had. Now, in this moment, the chatter seemed to die, overshadowed by the knowledge that this was their last night together. As the suns rose over Tabula Rasa in the morning they would each return to their respective ships and crews and depart with less than no idea of when they would even occupy the same sector of space again, let alone the same room.


The last few days had passed in a blissful blur of time that Dirk would hold close in the months ahead. "I'm going to miss you Abby," he said sincerely, "I need you to promise me that you'll take care of yourself, don't make me come rescue you again." Dirk winked hoping she'd hear the humor in his words yet concern for her well being.

Though she knew it was a joke, Abigail barely managed a forced smile. "Are all the repairs to the Pennsylvania completed now?" she asked. "I got an update earlier that my Engineers had returned to the Astraea so I'm assuming everything was completed?"

"Yes everything is complete, it's nice to finally have a starship that's not damaged or limping along. I know I inherited it that way, but it's been one event after the next. I can't wait to shake her down and get her up to warp 9. It will be awesome to really see what she can do. I've heard a lot about the nebula's capabilities but it will be fun to experience them," he said sounding like a 16 year old boy driving a fast car for the first time.

She smiled at his excitement. 'Just don't break it," she cautioned. "Don't make me have to fix your ship again,' she retaliated.

"It got tore up worse trying to save your hot ass, well our collective asses," he teased back. He looked at the ocean for a moment to before looking back at Abby, "Thank you for letting me just be me for a couple days. It may sound odd but it's nice to have a respite from getting Captain-ed all the time. These little meet ups and getaways recharge my soul if that makes sense."

"I know exactly what you mean," she smiled, then laughed softly. "It's nice not always being the Kindergarten teacher," she joked lightly.

"I have a gift for you," he said as he handed Abby a small rectangular package. "I hope you like it."

Abigail accepted the package, opening it, a smile forming on her lips as she revealed the book within.

"I got it so you can write your thoughts down while we're apart. I can't tell you how many times I think about you and wish to share things with you, and then completely forget when we're together," Dirk explained.

"I love it," she said softly, tracing her fingertips over the ornate cover of the journal. I'll make a point to write in it every day." She held it to her chest and rose up on her toes, brushing a soft kiss over his lips. "Thank you, it's perfect."

"Your welcome," he said and kissed her again. "I hope the next time we are together you have some good stories to share."

"I'm sure I'll find something interesting to tell you, I mean, being a kindergarten teacher can be pretty interesting," she said with a grin as she looked up at him. "I actually have something for you, but it's back in our room. How about we go back there now? I want to be alone with you while I can."

"As you wish, Princess Buttercup," Dirk said with a broad grin as he led her towards their room.