Night Hours

Posted on Sun Jul 31st, 2011 @ 12:40pm by Commander Patrick Leroy

***** USS Takei: LTCmdr Leroy's quarters - A few days after departure from SB900 *****

What he regretted most was having left behind his old chessboard on SB900.

Of course he had replicated a new one but it didn't feel the same way. Maybe it was just tiredness or tension but Patrick seemed unable to focus on something relaxing from the moment he had embarked on the Takei to undertake the mission to Divitia Prime.

Numbers and formulas kept creeping into his mind even in his sleep where his recurring dream found him talking to a desperate divitian audience trying to explain the equations leading to the problem solution.
In the dream he wrote with chalk on an old-style blackboard adding numbers to the equation and, no matter how hard he tried, the equation always seemed to enter an infinite loop from which he was unable to get out with the divitians becoming more desperate with every line added on the blackboard...
Until he awakened to find himself covered with sweat and a racing heart.

That had been one of those nights. Unable to sleep anymore he was trying to ease the tension with his usual solo chess play.

=^= Queen in C-6. Checkmate. =^= The computer voice of the Takei sentenced.

"Darn computer." Patrick snapped in disappointment, stood from the seat and walked to the portal to watch the stars passing by.

Work your magic and find me some answers.

Commander qeraQ' had been very clear on the matter, but what if his magic had left him for good?
What if the Divitian situation had no viable solution? What if the only outcome to the situation was just standing there and watch a planet die trying to take away everything that could be saved?

'Your darkest fears dwell in the night' as he recalled to have read somewhere, and that was true even on a starship where the difference between day and night wasn't so readily recognizable.

Following instinct Patrick sat at the terminal and started typing a message. Maybe Kh'ali had some good news of the situation on SB900. It would have taken hours or even days to get an answer from her, still the thought of that contact eased his tension, somewhat...



************

LtCmdr Leroy
Insomniac SB900 CSO