Renewed Confidence

Posted on 09 Jul 2021 @ 10:16am by Ensign Vince Stryfe

Mission: Picking up the pieces
Location: USS Silvana
1187 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

.:: USS Silvana :: Ten Forward ::.

Staring out of the window seemed to be the most Vince saw of space anymore. Since the events of Halcyon, Starfleet Medical was convinced that he was suffering from PTSD, something he always denied. He had seen people who had the condition, and there wasn't any sign of that with him, and no shrink or doctor was going to tell him otherwise. He took a drink of water, staring at the glass for a moment, remembering when he used something to deal with grief and nearly destroyed his life. As he sat the glass down, he felt a hard smack on his shoulder, and an all too familiar voice.

" So, you applied to another ship again," the man seemed to be prodding Vince," You just can't take no for an answer, you're crazy dude, and stuck with us on the Silvana. Just relax and enjoy it."

Vince looked over at the man, unamused," I'm not going to stay on a ship that barley sniffs outside of Federation space. I want to be out there discovering new things with the controls of a ship at my finger tips. You know damn well, Gordon, I'm fit to serve on a long mission, and so do I."

"Well, I guess you must be good to go then," Gordon took a drink of his beverage, gesturing to Vince," Wanna try it, it's quite tasty."

"Nice change of subject," Vince waved him off," But last time I had something like that, I almost ate a phaser. It's water or even milk for me now, not gonna test those waters again."

Gordon smiled," See, you do have PTSD, and you did it to yourself. So you're stuck here."

"I really hate you sometimes," Vince ran his hand down his face," How did you even know that I applied for a different assignment anyway?"

"Simple, I looked at the PADDs that i was asked by the Chief to take to the XO," Gordon winked," That's how I always know things, and to be honest there are some pretty spicy things in those PADDs."

Vince sat up, letting out a short laugh," That's going to get you in trouble one day, and I sure hope I'm there to see it. In fact, maybe I should head out to the XO's office and let them know, should cause you to go on suspension, and get me back at the controls for a little bit."

Vince and Gordon had served together since their days on the Presidio. The two became instant friends, and almost inseparable, save for the Frankfurt. They only need one more helmsman for the mission, and Vince had proven himself time and time again, so he was selected. Gordon was then assigned to the Silvana, and when the news of the Frankfurt arrived to them, he was devastated. They searched for months, and only by chance was a ship able to pick up the rudimentary distress beacon that they had built using busted tech from Halcyon. In truth, Gordon probably had more PTSD signs from the incident than Vince did, and he knew it.

As the two friends continued to banter back and forth, and other man approached, unknown to the two helmsman.

"Congratulations, Mr. Stryfe," The man held his hand out over Vince's left shoulder," You have finally gotten your wish, and to be honest, I'm glad to hear it."

Vince grabbed the man's hand, and smiled looking up at him," Are you serious Admiral, am I finally getting off this damn leash?"

The Admiral handed a PADD to Vince with the other hand," Must be nice having a Commander in the family, and one with a good foot in the door of the Medical division. Your Mom really went to bat for you, as well as dome other people."

"Well glad to know my mom still has that confidence in me, even after," Vince paused," She never wanted to give up on me, and I believe that you didn't either, or am I wrong Tom?"

" You are not wrong, Vince," Tom pulled up a chair next to the two helmsman," You've been through worse than Halcyon in my opinion, something I echoed frequently to the brass when they said you were unfit. To be honest, I believe you were in your element there, surviving, and never giving up hope. That's what makes you, you. Stryfe's never seem to give up, even when they fall pretty far, also something I think you get from you Father. I don't know how many times I've watched him fail at something, and yet he always finds a way to bounce back from it, better than he was before. I know you're going to do great, just stay off of derelict planets run by psychopathic geneticists."

Vince jumped up from his seat, he wasn't even trying to hide his excitement over the news," That's for damn sure. Sooo... When do I leave?"

Gordon held his glass up, toasting Vince," Pretty much right now. I already knew, but the Admiral made me promise not to say anything. I even went so far as to get you stuff packed up, and sent to your taxi already."

Tom stood up in front of Vince, abruptly giving him a hug," You've always been like another son to me, and I'm glad you are getting back out into the world. I know you'll be fine, and make us proud. If not, remember I'm basically your Uncle, and your dad gave me permission to kick your ass. Get to the transporter room, your things are already loaded on the Sentinel, and you're headed for the Beta Quadrant."

Vince hugged Tom back, and gave Gordon a quick fist bump, then started to head for the door when Tom spoke again.

" And by all means try to convince you CO that they need another helmsman for something. I don't want to deal with Gordon by myself." Tom smiled at Gordon," I'm not joking."

"I'll see what I can do," Vince gave a nonchalant salute, and headed towards the teleporter.


.:: USS Andromeda :: Deck 10 Hallway ::.

A short time had passed since Vince had arrived on the Andromeda. He hadn't really had the time to meet many people yet, and his meeting with the Captain was fairly brief. He walked through the hall headed to one of his favorite places, being as he was off duty. The Beta Quadrant was a whole new place to him, and he hadn't seen what it looked like out of the windows in 10 forward, and I bet they had some wonderfully tasty water for him to enjoy. He laughed to himself thinking about that. He got excited about drinking water, how foolish of him, it'd be the same water as anywhere else in Starfleet, but this water was in a whole new place for him, so it's ok to be excited about it. He laughed again, kind of loud, drawing a gaze from a couple of people passing by him. He brushed it off, and saw where he was going, but he felt something...