JDL | VAdm Archer, Cmdr Archer - "Like Mother, Like Son"
Posted on Thu Apr 23rd, 2015 @ 3:04am by Vice Admiral Sabine Scholtz-Archer & Commander James Archer
Edited on on Thu Apr 23rd, 2015 @ 3:05am
2,172 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission: Agua Mala
Cold Station Theta was a lively place with a promenade boasting an array of languages Sabine found refreshing. No one species seemed to prevail, and many of them were new to the eyes of the retired Admiral as she stood at the observation railing perched above. "You're late." She greeting an approaching shadow - even from the blurred vision at the corner of her eye, she could easily spot and recognize her son's encroaching form. "It's not like you to be late, Jim." The strawberry blonde added as she turned to lean against the rail and carefully consider him. He wasn't injured, at least not in any way overtly and readily apparent, but there was a tired weariness that seemed to loom over his admittedly handsome features. Her brow creased as it furrowed.
"It's good to see you too, Mom," James acknowledged as he kissed his mother on top of her head. "Pop said you're enjoying the yacht."
"Jim..." An eyebrow went up and the petite woman sighed, shaking her head. Her voice held a small measure of warning and another of soft demand as she gathered her boy up for a quick hug. "I know all of your tricks. Nice try, A for effort, but cut the shit." She leveled with a wry smile, releasing him from her grasp and folding her arms. Better had tried to divert her attentions, and none had succeeded. Especially not him.
James sighed, "I was checking on a friend. She was injured during our visit to Atlantis Prime and I was just making sure she was getting along OK."
"Commodore Ivanova." Sabine nodded in perfect understanding. Word of the Phoenix's last demonstration of her ability to rise from the ashes had been harrowing on the crew of the Vindicator and nail biting to the rest of the Federation to say the very least. "Admiral Hark has been a nervous wreck and pissed off to say the least at how that situation crumbled." She sighed. News of the man's new found fatherhood had hit the gossip lines almost as soon as the Vindicator had pulled into the station. Nothing was secret, or sacred, anymore. His reaction to her disappearance and injury had brought about whispers and speculation, but his eventual donation of platelets and plasma had cinched speculation into concrete knowledge.
"It's odd how parenthood changes a person," James huffed, "even if he had only just found out."
Her head tilted ever so slightly and she shot her son a sidelong glance, studying him carefully as he spoke and reacted, "You care about her, don't you? I know that look."
"Of course I do. She's a good friend," James scoffed. "You know how close people become when stationed on a ship."
"Yes. I do." Sabine's wry smile only seemed to strengthen, bolstered by memories, "And that's why I ask. You're getting older Jim, maybe it's time to think about setting aside the mind games and finding out what else life has to offer." She paused and with a shrug added, "Like parenthood. Hark waited twenty-seven years to find out what it feels like and was robbed of some of the most precious moments he could have experienced. I feel sorry for him, but... At least he knows now and he wears it well. Has a lot to be proud of."
James rolled his eyes, "Not this again, Mom. Besides, even if I wanted to get with Roc... Commodore Ivanova, I couldn't. She's in one really messed up relationship with a Trill that keeps running off. She's so hung up on Slug-o, she has a hard time seeing what else is out there." James smiled, "and I haven't really found the right one. I may never find the right one and as long as I do what I do, I can't have a real serious relationship. It wouldn't be fair to put them in danger like that."
This time both eyebrows went up and the wry smile became an expression that shined bright with knowledge. "I've heard all about the Captain," she nodded, "but Jimmy... Commodore Ivanova or not, it's time you start thinking about finding a successor and settling down before the gauntlet you run winds up completely consuming you. Just the fact you're so tired looking tells me that there's a chink in your armor. That's dangerous enough to be exploited and lead whatever and whomever straight back to her." Sabine's head tilted again, "Trust me on this one. Either stay put on the Vindicator or leave it completely. You absolutely cannot have your cake and eat it too."
"I can't go back behind my desk at Starfleet Command." James plopped down on the bench overlooking the promenade, "This is what I do. This is who I am. A family would be nice, but what do I do with myself?"
"You train the new era, keep the Vindicator out of people's grubby hands. Study and plot the moves of the Romulans, Klingons, Stenellis." His mother listed off the ideas and options on the tips of her fingers, "I'm not saying to sit behind a desk and throw darts at the ceiling, but I am saying to cool your heels before you wind up being burned. You know as well as I do that the moment you start feeling anything that the gig is up." Sabine emphasized by poking at her son's chest before moving to sit beside him, "Sometimes priorities change, and that's ok. You have that privilege, Jim, you can pick and choose what assignments you want to cater to."
Mom still knew James very well. Sometimes even better than he knew himself. With a heavy sigh, "I know. I know. But I'm not going to chase something I can't have. That's not who I am."
"I didn't say to chase anything, now did I? Don't put words in my mouth James Maxwell." Sabine sharply warned, wagging a pointed index finger at him, "I'm telling you to live. So you never get that girl. She winds up making a life with Captain Neyes and somehow manages to find happily ever after. You still wind up having a friend you can trust with your life and that obviously accepts you for who you are, your father's flaws and all. There's other fish in the sea and stars in the sky, Jimmy." She sighed, reaching to smooth a hand back and forth across the back of her son's shoulders, "I just want you to be happy and safe. That's all I've ever wanted for you and I know your father feels the same."
James leaned his head back against the bulkhead and sighed with exasperation, "Mom, she's going to marry that ass clown. He's been nothing but trouble for the entire command. Even when he was the CO."
Sabine's eyebrow shot up in response to her son's colorful description of the Trill. "He was and is well respected, by Starfleet and the Federation as a whole, James. The circumstances are causing chatter and unrest with some factions, more questions are coming than answers, but as a whole the Federation seems willing to back and continue to embrace Captain Neyes. Admiral Hark himself has cleared the waters, and that's quite enough for the naysayers of that so called 'ass clown' as you so eloquently put it." She replied, gently putting her son in his place. "No mention of an engagement has been filtering along the grapevine anyway. Do you speculate or do you know?" Curiosity, as always, obtained the best of her.
James shot his mother a knowing glance. "It's my job to know and not just know, but know them before they happen. It's what I do and sometimes it sucks. As for Neyes, he has Rochelle's father and all of Starfleet so buffaloed it isn't funny."
"What does Cole have to do with this? He's a washed up has been that failed at everything he tried to do. No one cares if he's been buffaloed." The aging blond scoffed dismissively. "I maintain that Neyes isn't a problem, but if you think he is... Keep an eye on him. The Commodore isn't a stupid woman, Jim, but even the brightest women sometimes follow their hearts blindly."
James looked at his mother with bewilderment, "Hark, Alex Hark."
"Alexander Hark?" Sabine's eyes widened in surprise, "No..."
"You mean to tell me that all the time you spent in Intel, you didn't add 2 plus 2?" James shook his head in dismay and jokingly added, "I forgot, they didn't have DNA testing and facial profiling in the 19th century."
Narrowing her eyes at her son, the Admiral swatted gently at his shoulder, "Don't be smart with me, Jim. I raised you better." She tutted lightly, "I never had the desire to piece together the genetics of Starfleet's commanding officers. Never saw a point in it. Now the big question becomes why on Earth you cared enough or had the idea to cross reference their DNA." Her arms folded as her words fell away into the silence of nothing more than an eyebrow raised in amused questioning.
"No, but have you met my father," James retorted. "The discovery was completely accidental. It's standard practice to verify the DNA of all Starfleet officers in a command position and it just happened that Hark and Ivanova's reports were next to each other and I noticed the similarities. Rochelle is my friend and I don't want her getting hurt. Emotionally or otherwise."
Eyeing James with scorn for his quick witted quip about his father, Sabine slowly shook her head, "I think you're in deeper than you care to admit." She sighed softly and patted the top of his leg, "Normal people don't go probing into the genetics of others just because they had a hunch while eyeballing files." The woman's lips pursed together as she gave her son a knowing look.
"I have no response to that." James shuddered at the accusation, "I mean, do I find Rochelle attractive? Who doesn't? Have I ever thought longingly about the two of us together forever or even for a night? No."
"I think you need to be careful, James. You're playing with fire, no pun intended." His mother sighed, "And that is all the more reason to find someone else to run circles around the universe and to concentrate on the home front. No parent wants to bury a child, and your father and I aren't immune to that."
Putting his arm around his mother's shoulders, James hugged her tight and kissed her on her head again, "I'll be fine, Mom. I'll be fine."
"You say that, but you don't know for sure." Sabine replied, reaching to hug her boy. "I can't tell you what to do, I can only advise you on what I know and hope you'll follow the correct path." She added, taking the time to rest her head on his shoulder before quietly whispering; "We may not be active, but your father and I know everything that's worthy of note. You just left the lion's den, and those lions have factions that want Rochelle dead and the Federation at their feet. The Romulans and the Klingons are locking horns and the Stenellians are sitting back and watching with their fingers on a Cardassian force trigger. It's only a matter of time before that darkness spreads into Starfleet and all Hell breaks loose. The fight will come to us. Mark my words, but we need to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row. The Stenellian Ascendancy cannot be allowed to forge alliance with the Romulans."
"That's why I can not leave the Vindicator. I need to be there. Starfleet needs me there." James paused and took a deep breath, "I'll be careful and I'll think about moving back to HQ when this is all said and done."
"You're a smart boy, Jim. That's what I'd hoped you say." Pushing away to sit upright, the aging Admiral smiled softly, "Just don't run ops. Stay on the Vindicator and stay in touch with your father."
"Asking me not to run ops is like asking me not to breathe or asking you not to worry," James watched as a couple of children ran across the promenade laughing. They were why he does what he does, not for any sense of pride or the thrill, he did it for them. "I love you, Mom. I have a briefing in 10 minutes."
Sabine sighed heavily and her lips pursed. "I have my reasons beyond my worry, James." She said with a shake of her head, watching the same gaggle of playing children. "You can't protect posterity if you're dead." This time her hand found his shoulder, squeezing gently as she imparted yet another tough lesson. "I love you too. Be safe out there and I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."
Commander James Archer
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS VINDICATOR NCC 78213-E
&
Sabine Archer, VADM (Ret.)
RSS Feed