Unbroken Bonds

Posted on Thu Jul 1st, 2010 @ 3:30am by Lieutenant Commander Sara Archer

Mission: Shadows Fall
Location: Chief Intelligence Office
Timeline: MM2, MD1 1923hrs

With a hand resting against her forehead, Sara found herself lost in another report. With her security measures in place, key locations of the ship have been locked out to random visitors and the necessary files have been transferred to each department. With that part of her job taken care of, she had started working on her part of the files. As usual, her need-to-know clearance extended to nearly all of the ship’s classified information. A wise doctor once described the job of an intelligence officer by saying “all I can do is read these fascinating reports and analyses, and analyses of analyses and then keep it all to myself. Because no one else has a 'need to know’.” He wasn’t too far off. Although she does have occasional infiltration missions, most of her responsibilities involve the keeping of information and distributing that information as it becomes important. She takes a lot of pride in her work, even if it is to the exclusion of everything else.

Currently, there was someone she was excluding. It was not because she hated her aunt. In fact she loved her very much. Sara was just not good with interpersonal relationships. Jennifer, however, was just about the opposite. She loved being surrounded by her friends and family, though there isn’t much of their family left. Jennifer was not about to let her only niece ignore her. Sara already stood her up when she was supposed to meet her in the crew lounge, and it only took a matter of time for Jennifer to find the intelligence office. While the computer did not readily supply that information, it’s amazing how helpful the Starfleet crews can be. Coming outside of Sara’s office, she presses the chime, noting that the computer requested a passcode for access. Knowing what her niece does, she wasn’t surprised by the security system.

Sara lifts her head. “Computer, identify the person outside my door.”

“The person outside the door is a civilian named Jennifer McClellan.”

Sara lets out a long sigh. She loved her aunt, but she really hadn’t intended to spend her time at Earth with her. “Come in,” Sara announced reluctantly after stuffing her PADDs in a secure place. She should at least humor her aunt a little.

Jennifer entered Sara’s office through the now unlocked door. She wandered into the room, strolling over to the windows to see another view of Earth. She stayed quiet, knowing that she was keeping her niece waiting. Sara finally broke the silence. “Is there something I can do for you Aunt Jen?”

“Sure, I can think of a couple of things. For starters, you could try meeting your aunt in the crew lounge like you promised. I don’t really appreciate being stood up by my niece. I came here to see you, not hang out on your ship while you avoid me. I could have stayed at home and been avoided. What happened to you?”

“I had intended to meet you, but I’ve had some more work come up. I have a lot of reports that need to be read and filed. A lot of departments are depending on me to get this information processed.”

“They can wait. Those reports aren’t that important. Put them aside, and spend some time with me.”

“Aunt Jen, you don’t know how important these reports are.”

“Maybe not, but your captain does. And he said that you can take some time off to spend with me.”

“Was that an order?”

“Yes, it was.” Jennifer hands Sara a PADD. “I made sure to get it in writing.”

Sara took a look at the PADD. Sure enough, her aunt had gone over her head to force Sara to spend time with her. Essentially, she was forced on leave for the duration of her aunt’s visit. Naturually, she was not happy. She tossed the PADD down on her desk. “You went to Captain Krace because I put my work first on my list?”

“No, Sara. I went to Captain Krace because you wouldn’t put me on your list at all. I may not be an intelligence agent, but I could see that look in your eye. You weren’t happy to see me, were you?”

Sara was quiet. She had to tread lightly. At a loss of words, she just chose to stay quiet.

Jennifer was now pacing back and forth. She continued before Sara had a chance to respond. “I’ve just never understood that about you. I know we’ve tried to keep in touch through subspace, but that’s only once a month at best. I know there’s been a lot of tragedy in your life, sweetie, but I’ve felt it too. Please don’t shut me out of your life. Let me share it with you. When you’re mother left you on Earth to enter the Academy, I promised her that I would take care of you, and I still intend to keep that promise. I just can’t stand knowing what kind of dangers you may face while not being able to hear from you. I wouldn’t have even been able to find you on this ship if I didn’t still know some friends of your father stationed in San Francisco. I have to follow your life based on what I can find in your service record, and half of that is still classified. I don’t know about you. Do you have any friends? Is the someone special in your life? From the way the crew talks, are aren’t friends with anyone. You just stick to yourself or hide in your office. You didn’t used to be like this, Sara. After the war, you closed yourself off to everyone. What happened to you?”

“I can’t talk about what happened during the war. You know that.”

“Do I? I feel like I don’t know anything about you anymore. Sara, you are going to region of space that few have ever been to before. You don’t know what you’re going to find, and I sure as hell don’t either.” Jennifer went back to the window. Earth hung in orbit near the ship. “Do you remember when you joined the Academy, when your mother brought you to Earth? The three of us stood on the Yamaguchi and starred at a view very similar to this one. That visit to Earth was the last time we both saw your mother in person. I know you took her death hard. Losing both of your parents like that when you were no older than you were takes a terrible toll on a person, even you are the stone cold Sara Archer. I know you were devastated, but you never would talk to me about your feelings, not even then. Especially not now. You weren’t the only one who lost someone that day. Not even counting the rest of the families devastated by the Borg, I lost my baby sister. I was devastated. Now, you’re all I have left. I don’t want to have someone in a Starfleet uniform deliver another one of those damned letters. I don’t want this to be the last time we ever see each other in person. I love you, Sara. I love you as if you were my own daughter. I just can’t help but feel like you don’t love me.” Jennifer turned away from her niece and back to the window, tears rolling down her face. The view of Earth wasn’t quite as beautiful as it once was.

Sara stood from her desk and moved over to her crying aunt. Putting her arm around her, she laid her head on Jennifer’s shoulder, tears forming in her own eyes. “There was some else in my life once, during the war. He was another agent. I met him while serving as an analyst. He and I became close. We were…very close,” Sara said with hesitation. “I thought I was in love.”

Jennifer put her arm around Sara, squeezing her tight. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It didn’t last long. Things happen during war, things that we can’t always control. As much as I felt I had control, I had nothing. We were on a mission, and I had to watch him die.” Sara was no longer holding back her tears. “I had never felt so betrayed in my life. You were the only person I’ve ever loved that I hadn’t lost. I was so worried about something happening to you too that I chose to just shut everyone and everything out. I figured there was a reason they warned spies about getting attached. I thought that if I didn’t have any friends or loved ones, then I couldn’t be betrayed.”

Jennifer lifted up her nieces head. “Why didn’t you tell me about him? Maybe I could have helped?”

“The whole mission was declared classified. I probably shouldn’t even have told you what I did. What happened on that mission will just have to haunt me until I die.”

“Sara, we don’t have to be haunted by our past. We should embrace the pain we’ve faced and make ourselves better because of it. Hiding behind a wall and keeping others out is not the way to handle our pain. I’m here for you, sweetie. I always have been. You just need to talk to me. You’d be surprised how much it helps just to talk about things like this.”

“I’ve had doctors suggest counseling before, I’ve just never thought it would help. Most of what goes on in my head is not for anyone else to know. That is the curse I must live with for the job I have chosen.”

“I have no doubt that you are excellent at your job, sweetie, but I can’t imagine you can continue for long when you are this troubled inside. Come on, you and I need to share a drink and talk. I think we have a lot to catch up on.”

“I never drink on duty, Aunt Jen,” Sara replied as she wiped away tears with her uniform sleeve.

“You’re not on duty, remember?” Jennifer asked gesturing to the PADD on Sara’s desk.

What could it hurt? Sara thought. She had been through a lot in her life, but the only person willing to never give up on her was finally here by her side once again. “Alright,” she said, trying to make herself look more presentable. “Let’s go get that drink.”

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Lieutenant Commander Sara Archer
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Iapetus

&

Jennifer McClellan (NPC)
Sara's Aunt