Hope among the stars...

Posted on Fri Jun 29, 2018 @ 8:20pm by Lieutenant JG Jacob Hartley

Mission: Falling Star
Location: Hartley's quarters
Timeline: MD 33 || 2345 Hours

Jacob stood alone in his quarters, the lights off, staring out at the stars. He was grateful to have the quarters he did, and he enjoyed the view. The room was his fortress of solitude, as it were. And that had been how he had always seen it, a place to be alone, where he could easily gather his thoughts.

But his life…ever since he had come aboard the Triumphant, his life had begun to change, in ways he had never imagined. He had seen things he had never expected to see. A Virus from the future, killer holograms, Willow Riorden…oh, how he had never been able to anticipate Willow.

He had chosen Intelligence because his friends had recommended it, as had his adoptive parents. He had made very few friends, but he had come to prefer it. When he worked alone, it meant he had no one to depend on him, no one to slow him down. That had always aided him before. But now…now he was part of a team, and he was finding it difficult to not think of Willow…her red hair, her demeanour, everything about her…nothing made sense when she was around, and yet at the same time, everything made sense.

She had seen him at a time he had been vulnerable, when he had made a mistake, and was chastising himself for it. She had brought a new viewpoint to him, and now…now he was considering everything they had said and done. The first dinner…taking her to the holographic representation of the cabin…she was unlike any woman he had ever met.

And then there was the Captain, Madeline Weisz. She was…well, she was never going to forgive him for shooting a holographic target of her between the eyes. He suspected it had been a simple error, but at the same time, it was still not something that he’d forget soon enough. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t been there and witnessed it.

And the first time he had been to the Intel deck…yeah, he wasn’t going to forget that anytime soon either. As Jacob took a sip of the tropical juice in the glass he held, he allowed himself to wonder what else the future had in store for him. He had a feeling it wasn’t going to be anything like he had expected it to be.

His previous ship board assignments had been interesting, but they had been undercover assignments. Now, this was his duty. He had always heard stories of things that happened on ships like the USS Enterprise and USS Voyager, but he hadn’t believed all of them. After all, how could such things happen? A holographic version of Professor James Moriarty coming to life, the ships coming alive to kill the crew, ships from out of time…but he had experienced similar events whilst aboard the Triumphant, so maybe they could happen.

It was becoming clear to Jacob that the unknown really did mean anything could happen. As the stars seemed to glow, Jacob listened to the music that was softly playing in the background. He was…well, it was difficult for him to be able to say how he was feeling exactly. Everything that was happening…he could never have predicted any of it.

But what next? Where did he turn now? Often, when he was still in the academy, he had asked William where he would turn. William, his mentor, always told him the same thing.

“To the stars, Jacob. To the Stars.”

He hadn’t understood it at first, but he knew that the stars were so full of wonder, of possibilities. A man could be guided to his destiny among the stars if only he listened. So he did, and he had followed the stars.

Because William had been right. If one looked at the stars, they could see the possibilities, and there would always be possibilities.

But destiny? What did that mean to him? What was his destiny? He didn’t know, but he would find out, because he had to. He needed to continue down his path, for his own sake more than anything.

He thought again of Willow, her laugh, her smile, her eyes…she was rather infectious to him. Was she a part of his destiny? He didn’t know that, but now, more than anything, he was thinking of what he had learned as a child about the future, about what his life would become.

All that matter was that he would follow the path, wherever it took him.

He just hoped…and prayed…that it wouldn’t destroy him as it had destroyed so many people he had known and loved. In fact, he hoped that his future would include Willow. He hoped it would include finding happiness, and maybe, just maybe, a family of his own. And maybe he would find the peace he had long since looked for.

He hoped.