Second Chances (Part XIII)

Posted on Mon Aug 23rd, 2021 @ 9:28pm by Lieutenant Soren Dillinger 'Speedy' & Lieutenant Bobbie Sue "Bobcat" Hunter

1,598 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Operation Romulus Return
Location: Rio de Jainero
Timeline: Immediately after "The Wrong Foot"

[PREVIOUSLY]

"Take me there."

"I'm sorry. You do not have access to that section." Alice replied, still smiling.

[CONTINUED]

Soren let out a slight frustrated groan. "Of course that's your answer." He placed his hands on hips and shook his head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Have we seen everything we are allowed to see here?" Bobbie Sue asked. They could ask Max and Rafe about the Scorpion-class in the morning.

Alice placed her hands in front of her and smiled. "Allow me to check." She closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them to answer. "No, there is the living quarters." She said as she gestured to the room Max entered from as the lights came on. Inside was a large bed and a few Starfleet standard wardrobes and a desk area with a built-in console. "Agent Dillinger used this room frequently when she was here."

"My mom used this room?" Soren said softly as he immediately walked into it as if he couldn't help but explore the same room his mother always used when she was here.

Bobbie Sue followed him, but more slowly. While she was curious about the room--and his mother--she knew he needed a minute or two to take it all in. She looked around the room, taking in the details, then she just watched Soren.

Soren stood there for a moment, looking around the room, as if looking for some kind of sign that this was hers. Perhaps it wasn't here. Maybe it was taken when she stopped working here. He turned to Alice, as she walked into the room, and asked her. "Alice? Has my mother’s stuff been removed since she stopped being an agent?"

Alice seemed to tilt her head, giving him an odd look, smiling a bit as she did so. "Everything is as it was... and she has not stopped being an agent of Paladin. Max and Rafe has limited her duties to allow her to focus on being with her loved ones. Her things and codes are still valid."

"What things of hers are still here?" Bobbie Sue asked Alice. "I think Soren is looking for something specific."

"Nothing specific, really. Just something in general." Soren replied. It wasn't anything in particular. He just wanted to see something. Or maybe he was looking for something specific. Something to let him know that even, when she was here, she was thinking of home. Thinking of them. Thinking of him.

Alice looked to Bobbie and nodded. "Everything is as it was since the last time she was here."

"And when was the last time she was here?" Soren asked as he walked over to the desk.

"Two months ago." Alice replied with a smile. "Would you like to know the exact Stardate?"

"Two months ago?!?!" Soren replied in shock as he looked over to Bobbie Sue. "She was here two months ago? Why?"

"I do not have access to that information. I am sorry." Alice replied quickly.

"It's okay, Alice," Bobbie Sue said. She went over to Soren and slipped her arm through his, giving his arm a little hug. "If she only comes for a couple of days, she won't have much here. Check the drawers by the bed," she suggested.

Soren looked over to Bobbie Sue and shrugged slightly before patting her arm around his. He eased out of her embrace before walking over to the bed and sitting down on it. He looked around for a moment before tapping the draw button to release it. The door slid open, allowing Soren to look through it, shifting through the various things in there. "PADDs. Mostly small PADDs." He took them out, one by one, glancing at the screen before placing it on the bed. "All locked. I am guessing for her eyes only. Or whoever has access to them. Which Alice will remind us we do not have." He said jokingly.

"No, but that's not what you're looking for," Bobbie said, watching him. "You don't want to know what she's working on; you want to find something personal that belongs to her. Am I right?"

"What are you, doing your impression of a psychic?" Soren replied with a smile as he closed the drawer. Obviously, I don't want to know what she was working on. Even if I did, I won't have access to it as our holographic friend would point out." He opened the bottom drawer for a moment before closing it. "I'm looking for something... personal... to her. Something that would tell me she was thinking of us when she was here."

"Alice?" Bobbie Sue asked. "Is there a place his mom would leave something like that?"

"Of course." Alice replied with a smile. "All Paladin Officers are allowed access to the storage compartments to ensure the safety of their personal items or important materials to be used at a special time."

"Let me guess..." Soren interrupted as he stood up from the bed. "We don't have access to those."

"On the contrary." Alice countered as she maintained her smile. "Diane Dillinger's storage unit is accessible to you."

Soren walked over to her impatiently. "So... what are you waiting for?"

"For you to ask." Alice replied.

"This is me asking, Alice." Soren said, his voice slightly raised, as he smiled a bit.

"Oh." She said as she looked around a moment, a bit confused, before adding. "I am not used to requests being so cryptic and vague."

"Where is Diane Dillinger's storage unit?" Bobbie Sue asked, hoping to help Soren get a definite answer. "And are the lockers we can use in the same location are they somewhere else?" She would like a secure place to put her racing gear.

Alice looked at Bobbie briefly before pointing to a wall on the far side. At that moment, a square section of the wall released, opening to reveal a compartment with some things still inside. Preserved in a way so that they seemed to be in the same condition they were in when placed inside. "There are still a few compartments available for use." She said as she replied to Bobbie Sue's question.

Soren looked over to the opened compartment and walked slowly to it. Immediately, he saw two items that he recognized among others he didn't. When he got to the compartment, he reached in a pulled out a stuffed teddy bear in a cadet’s uniform top. He laughed softly and whispered. "Hey, buddy. Long time no see." before reaching in with his other hand and pulling out a photo in a frame. It was a picture of him and his mom. He was still a little boy and his mother was in her Intel uniform. She was hugging him from behind and young Soren was holding onto the same teddy bear he just found.

Bobbie smiled when she saw the bear. She assumed, by the look on Soren's face, the picture was of him and perhaps his family as well. "Thank you," she said softly to Alice. Part of her wanted to go over to Soren and look at the picture, to share this with him, but another part of her felt that he needed this time to himself. There'd be plenty of time later for the two of them. This was for him to deal with more ghosts.

"Alice," she asked softly. "What locker is empty that I can use?" She could get out of her racing gear while Soren dealt with his memories.

Alice pointed to the same wall as another compartment opened up, not that far from the one Soren was using. This one was empty. It was about the same size and shape as the other one.

Soren put down the bear and picture before going back to looking through what was inside the compartment. He found a few more PADDs, however, these weren't classified information. It was articles and information breakdowns of Soren, from the moment he went into the flight program to afterwards, with a few intelligence reports of some of the stuff he did when he was working as a thief and smuggler. She was keeping an eye on him, or at least, she had someone checking in on him.

"Thank you," Bobbie Sue said before going over to the empty locker. She touched Soren's arm as she passed in a gesture of understanding and support. Then she stripped off her jumpsuit and folded it carefully before putting it in the locker. Her helmet followed. She ran her fingers through her hair and turned to again watch Soren as he went through the PADDs.

Soren grabbed the bear, a few of the PADDs, and walked over to the couch itself. As he sat down, he began to look at one of the PADDs, skimming through the content, before realizing what it was. It was about the job he pulled back when he was hired to steal something for one of his employers. The details of it weren’t as important as the fact it was meant to be a secret. Only a few people knew about it and, somehow, his mother and friends were able to learn its details someway. Maybe one of the people they used was involved? Maybe a member of Paladin was part of the whole deal? Maybe, just maybe, the entire job was to keep him occupied and it was all a hoax.

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Soren Dillinger 'Speedy'
Squadron Leader
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant Bobie Sue Hunter 'Bobcat'
Squadron Leader
USS Tokyo

Alice
AI

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