SIM:Pholin Duyzer - Captain Bem

((Turbolift to Deck 11 - USS Columbia)) ((Time-index: After the events of "Loss".)) :: Pholin had been continuing his duty, he had reported for the night-shift again and mindlessly carried on working. He felt empty. His family had always been his life, he could not imagine a life without them. So he didn't. He hadn't been thinking about them. He'd been burying himself with work. More and more work. :: :: As the turbolift doors opened, he quickly got out. With a confident and quick pace, he moved through the hallways, knowing where to go. His usual smile was not to be seen on his face, and his eyes were fixed on the ground. Taking a final left turn, he arrived at his destination. :: :: He resisted. He had been keeping his family out of his mind and it had worked. Worked as in, he hadn't completely mentally broken down yet. He resisted because he didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he had to say anything. He sighed. Nelis had made the appointment without checking with Pholin; he knew Pholin wouldn't say no if the appointment had already been made. :: :: He entered. :: ((Holosuite 4 - Deck 11, USS Columbia)) :: Pressing a few screens near the entrance, he told the computer to reroute the incoming transmission to this suite. He moved to the center of the small room and waited. A few moments passed before photons began to assemble a humanoid shape. Although not particularly slender, the man stood taller than Pholin. The figure was standing in a blue uniform and with a frown from cheek to cheek. :: :: He had clearly been crying and his hair looked sloppier than ever. He looked defeated and enraged at the same time. Standing there, Pholin realized he had never seen him like this. Usually, he was confident and good in burying his emotions, but this clearly had been the breaking point for the man. For a few seconds, they both stood there entirely still; there was a clear three-second delay caused by the holographic communication. :: :: He walked to his father and hugged him. :: Bem: Senuv beev-ra mit'bee mi raah mat-nik... (I would never do such a thing to the family...) :: Pholin felt he had desperately needed the hug, even though the photons flickered every now and then. It had been a long time since he had last hugged his father, maybe more than a decade. Their relationship had always been between love and hate. Pholin couldn't think of one decision in his life which was not despised by his father. :: :: That moment was different, however. As the Tellarites liked to say, "grav-degh makh" or "loss unites". :: Duyzer: Mekrum... ::he switched to Federation Standard:: Please... what- what happened? :: His father let go of the hug and held his two hands on Pholin's shoulders. He bit on his lip as he looked Pholin in the eyes. :: Bem: They're saying I did it... ::beat:: I didn't do it. :: Pholin looked down at Bem's uniform and looked down at his uniform. It had been scratched and he had clear wounds on his left waist. Pholin heard beeps and whistles classic of a hospital in the background and hoped his father was well looked after. :: Duyzer: Then what did happen, father? :: His father worked on a submarine, exploring the vast sea-life on Denobula. Growing up, and learning about other planets, Pholin had been surprised Denobula was one of the few inhabited planets in the Alpha Quadrant not fully explored yet. :: Bem: ::he sighed, having to tell the story another time:: We had been tracking a pufferfish-like species for a week. Your mother had encouraged me to go to the Trench. She was sure they were there... ((Flashback: Stardate 239512.31 - Dayala Sea, Denobula)) :: Bem was standing on his small and cramped bridge. He was looking over his son in the pilot seat, with two hands on his shoulders. His wife was standing in the middle of the bridge looking out at the sea. :: Bem: And? ::beat:: Got anything? Tira: Bem... give them time. :: He grinned. Although fascinated by her work, most of the time he had no idea what she was talking about. She would explain to him the patterns in which the animals either appeared or not, and how she could predict when they would next see the creatures, but he never fully understood it. :: Fren: Bem oxygen levels are running out. ::he sighed and changed his tone from professional to familiar:: Mom, we've been here for hours. They're not gonna show up. Bem: You heard her, son. Give 'em time. :: Bem moved away from Fren's seat back to his wife. He walked behind his wife and looked at her screen of the outside. He was seeing little more than the green of the water. He too was getting impatient, but he knew better than to show that. :: Bem: ::whispering in Tira's ear:: Fren was right, though. We've got twenty minutes tops, it's ten minutes to the surface. :: His wife remained silent focusing on the screen. The bridge went back to quiet each person focused on their task, most of them focused on the oxygen level above anything. The silence was broken after a few moments by a large thud to the starboard side. Two more followed. Bem heard a crack in the hull before his view went dark. :: :: Alarms. Screaming. Water. It all flashed passed him. :: ((End Flashback)) :: Pholin broke down hearing his father tell the last minutes of his family's lives. He felt he got dizzy as he fell down to the ground crying. His father tried to comfort him but clearly had trouble holding up as well. :: Duyzer: ::his voice was weak:: How-... how did you get out? :: Pholin couldn't see his father through his tears but he heard it took him a long time to formulate a response. :: Bem: I don't-... I have no clue. ::beat:: Pholin, they're telling me I sank the ship. They're telling me a captain shouldn't have been able to survive. They're putting me in front of a jury. :: Pholin didn't know how to respond and he did nothing but hug Bem again. He did so for a few moments before he heard his father say something about having a doctor's appointment. Pholin wasn't really listening as one moment all the photons disassembled and flew away leaving him hugging nothing but air. :: Lt. JG Pholin Duyzer Science Officer USS Columbia C239509P10 together with Naval Captain Bem Commanding Officer Submarine Pak’cha C239509P10 (PNPC)