575: Missing Pieces

by TC Blane and Dane Cristiane
Immediately following I Should Be So Lucky

-=Bridge, USS Serendipity=-

Having arrived only seconds before, Dane wasted no time in taking his station.

He made sure that all routine comm traffic was flowing smoothly, and then turned his attention to a secondary task.

He had been at work on that task less than sixty seconds when he heard a stern voice speak up from behind him.

"Mister Cristiane, what do you think you're doing?"

Dane froze. He knew that this was going to look bad, but he also realized that maybe the very help he needed to succeed was standing directly over his shoulder.

"Commander Blane, Sir, before you say anything,"

TC leaned down, lowering his voice to a minimum volume somewhere between a hoarse whisper and an outright growl.

"I won't be saying anything but goodbye to you, Ensign, if you're doing anything that you didn't want me to know about."

"That's just it. I was about to ask if you would help me."

"Oh, you need help. But whether or not I get involved with whatever...this is," TC knew from one glance that Dane was trying to use the knowledge that he'd gained through his advanced tactical training to override the security lockout commands on someone's personal comm files.

"I talked with O'Sullivan's kid this morning," Dane explained softly, switching the screen off as curious people tried to catch a glance of it as they walked past.

"He's giving the man a lot of grief. Turns out he didn't get any of the letters Keiran ever wrote him. I found fragments of files in the system and I thought, if I could reconstruct them, any of them, and give them to him." He shrugged. "I'm not doing it for him, I'm doing it for Keiran." He glanced up at Blane nervously.

"Will you help me?"

Blane looked down at the man seated in front of him and found himself silently proud of Dane. Finally a selfless act on his part, maybe he was starting to understand.

“OK.” TC said finally.

He leaned over, inputting his security code allowing access into the computer core and the archived data files. The move showed great trust, considering TC’s broad access to the ship's systems.

“Start in the communication logs then work your way into the cached flash memory. There might be some older comm. echoes in there because personal messages are not classified. They are not removed until the space is needed for new data so you might luck out.” He held up a finger in a warning fashion. “Stay out of any classified areas, and the personnel folders.”

"I will, I promise."

“If anyone asked what you are doing tell them to see me.” He turned to walk back to the center chair. “If you need me you’ll know where to find me.”

"Commander Blane,"

TC paused.

"Thank you."

Blane shook his head gently, thinking this was the first time he had ever heard Dane use the phrase without a hint of sarcasm.

He watched from his vantage point as activity quietly hummed all around him.

It was good to be home.

He looked up a few moments later as Keiran O'Sullivan came dashing out of the main conference room and began searching the faces of all those present.

TC had a feeling he was not looking for Salvek.

"Lose something?"

"I hope not, Mister Blane," Keiran's brow was furrowed with worry. He moved toward the steps leading to the ready room.

"She's not in there," TC advised, "She told me to consider her unavailable for the rest of the day and took off in a big hurry."

"O'Sullivan to Zanh," The big man tapped his badge and tried to raise her, but she did not answer. "Did she say an'athing else to ya?" He pounded the button to call for the lift so many times, so quickly that he nearly embedded it into its panel.

TC approached O'Sullivan and spoke at a barely audible volume. "Only that there was something she needed to say goodbye to."

Keiran looked horrified at the thought. "Thank you, Thomas."

After O'Sullivan disappeared, TC turned around and he and Dane locked eyes a moment.

Both were remembering the way that Zanh Liis looked as they each held her by the arm, steadily lowering her onto the steps of that huge cathedral in the 'other' life.

The one that they were told was, in fact, every bit as real in its way as this one.

TC was a man who believed in the here and now, but Dane was finding that the experience of having been some other place, in some other time to be one that was having a profound effect on him.

Seeing O'Sullivan buried, then alive again was a life-altering experience for Dane. He was suddenly mesmerized by the idea of working at the job that Keiran and Zanh had for so many years.

He was entirely certain after seeing what he'd seen, that he would never be the same man again.

Knowing as they both did that O'Sullivan had gone off purposely seeking out Zanh, Dane slowly nodded to Blane. Another moment of understanding passed between them, as they both hoped good things for Keiran, and their captain.

Before he returned to his work Dane did something else that Blane had never remembered seeing him do before.

He grinned from ear to ear with genuine happiness.

"Commander Blane," Admiral Lassiter poked her head out of the conference room and addressed the man currently in charge. "May I have a moment?"

Blane hesitated for a second to leave Dane with his security codes still in force and he eyed him warily.

Dane immediately understood the change in his expression, and moved to close the registry he was working on until Blane returned and could supervise him.

Seeing how quick he was to do it, TC decided once again to show faith in him and gestured for him to continue.

Again, he saw gratitude in the young man's eyes.

*There might be hope for the kid yet,* he thought.

"Today, if possible, Commander..." Lassiter prompted, and TC realized he hadn't answered her aloud.

"Right away, Sir. Samson, you have the bridge," TC announced as he quickly made his way into the conference room.

-------------------------
Commander TC Blane
Second Officer/Chief of Operations
USS Serendipity NCC-2012

and

Ensign Dane Cristiane
Communications Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012