Fear Cuts Deeper Then Swords - Part One

Posted on Sun Mar 8th, 2020 @ 5:33am by Division Admiral Thomas Lasky & Fleet Captain Torilla Yamaguchi

Mission: Mission 76: The Winter of My Discontent
Location: Various Locations - USS Courageous
Timeline: 1730Hrs - April 4th, 2392

Captain Torilla Yamaguchi was seated in her ready room, her three youngest children were in the ship's daycare and Jake had dropped in to spend a few days with his wife, this was something that Torilla, while quietly appreciative of, she also enjoyed his presence and company around her. Spending time with her younger children was also a blessing to her.

Yamaguchi turned her head as she felt something approaching, she raised an eyebrow as she rose to her feet, her two dogs both noticed the change in their mistresses demeanor, as they both got up and followed her out the door. They wanted to be sure that all was well and Torilla did not need this added complication with the two King Shepherd dogs getting aggressive with the storm to come. "Javier... Could you keep an eye on these two for a little while.?"

"Sure skipper. Why?, whats going on?" Morales regarded Yamaguchi, a gentle smile on his lips.

"I have an old ghost to deal with, who wants me... " the older Halanan female responded with a smile. "I won't be too long.. I hope" and with that she shooed the dogs over to where Javier was sitting in the command chair while Torilla moved across the bridge and she went out the aft entrance, before moving into the conference lounge where she sat down.

Yamaguchi settled in to wait for the storm that she felt in her mind to arrive.

Meanwhile down the hall was the center of the hurricane of emotions that was presently raging. Commander Tom Lasky had already talked to Elizabeth and Kameron, while it had gone well it had also touched off a firestorm of emotions raging in his mind, he was exhausted but he needed to see this through.

The long conversation with Kameron and Elizabeth had gone quite differently then Lasky himself had been expecting but it was glad in a way that it was all resolved and all was well that ended well. But he knew he still needed to forgive himself what was was done but that would actually come later.

It would all depend on this next coming confrontation that he faced.

Lasky sighed as he tapped the wall display which went in a band all the way down both sides of the hallway. "Computer.. Locate Captain Torilla Yamaguchi.?" he inquired in a moment of fear as he made sure that Torilla hadn't moved, in this case she had moved to another location.

"Captain Yamaguchi is located in the conference lounge." came the rather unexpected response.

Lasky knew that his quarry was telepathic and she could sense his presence so she had taken steps to level the playing field so rather then hunt her down to her ready room, he would meet her on neutral ground.

Several minutes later. Lasky stood before the door that would permit him access to the conference lounge. Meanwhile seated inside was Torilla Yamaguchi. She turned in her seat as she regarded the door, knowing the storm front was upon her.

Lasky sighed as he tapped the door release button. The door then slid open with a smooth and gentle hiss. Lasky moved forward. "Torilla... We must talk."

"Yes... Did Elizabeth or Kameron upset you?" Yamaguchi inquired. "My eldest is always a handful. I-" the older woman stopped as she noticed that Lasky simply shaking his head.

Lasky regarded her. "No... Elizabeth and Kameron were both more forgiving then I expected. I went to see them to apologize for my transgressions."

"You did?" Yamaguchi responded quietly. "Tom... Why did you leave this all so long?"

"Because I wasn't sure if any of you would give me the time of day."

Torilla sighed deeply. "Tom... Have long have we known each other?" the Halanan inquired as she regarded him. "I mean really.." the tall female's look did not change. "You were there when Diamond was born..."

"About... Twenty years now... Five or take.." Lasky sighed as he sat down in a chair.

"Yeah, and in all that time... Have I ever not given you the time of day when something stupid has happened?"

"No... But then I never-"

"You were never in the position of defending someone you cared about." Yamaguchi regarded him, gentle eyes giving him the once over. "I had to let you face that demon on your own... Relationships take a lot of work... Jake and I make it look easy Tom... But thats because we've had the time to work at it and we both knew what we wanted from the other... I wanted children and he wanted a good and loyal wife. We gave the other what we wanted."

"For all the good that did me." Lasky's laugh suddenly turned bitter. "Zara is still .... immature and deranged.." he shook his head. "Her stupidity nearly got Saki killed.."

Yamaguchi regarded him as she paused, she had not been expecting this revelation. "Wait... Did you broke up with her?" Torilla asked in a soft voice.

"I did... Yes." Lasky sighed softly as he nodded his head.. "What a waste of time and effort..."

"No... It wasn't a waste as your heart was in the right place Tom, Don't ever question that..." Yamaguchi responded with a gentle sigh. "You and I resolved that problem long ago... Before the other issue came up.."

"For all the good that did Torilla," Lasky responded with a gentle sigh.

"You saved people during the hanger deck fire... You ensured that Elizabeth would keep her husband and she would have her future children. I know you had to shoot him to do it... But she considers you a hero for what you did... and so do I."

"I almost murdered you Torilla." Lasky regarded her.

"You don't feel you are worthy of personal redemption." Torilla then got up from her chair before she moved over to sit down next to Lasky. "You always were too hard on yourself Tom... You have to let it go... Those you personally saved in the hangar fire life through your effort. You didn't fight for yourself.. you fought for others that day... You and Kameron tried to resolve your issues there.... Didn't you?"

"I tried.. and for a while, we succeeded... but the old animosity crept back in... Because of what I did or rather what I almost did to you."

Torilla regarded him with soft and gentle eyes. "Tom... I'll talk to him... But I know why he reacted so strongly to it... Its because I'm the only woman he calls mom... He is ferociously protective of his kin."

Lasky smiled. "Good. Any man who isn't willing to stand up for what he believes in isn't worth keeping around." he sighed. "A voice somewhere deep inside screamed for me to stop... as I had you in that grip... I convinced myself that you deserved it.. and I ignored the better angel of my nature."

Yamaguchi regarded him. "I confess... I was expecting you to do it... But I was suprised... Why did he hesitate?" Torilla inquired. "But then I suspected that your goal was not to hurt me, it was to send home a message to me about you being in the situation that you were in... Time has made me wise to that message... and it helped that Elizabeth and I discussed the events at length... She always believed in you... and at first, I couldn't understand why..." Yamaguchi regarded Lasky.

"It was because of Kurt... Your son."

"Tom. I can't claim Kurt as my child... You know why.." Yamaguchi responded softly.

"I know... Elizabeth explained it to me at length. You'd insist that he be raised alongside your other children because of your species issues with facing their extinction."

"Yeah." Torilla responded. "I knew that if I gave him up... That you would take him in and raise him as your own... Which was what I had hoped you would have done." the tall female explained. "He is your son after all... I also knew that you were the last Lasky."

"Not anymore.." Lasky responded. "Thanks to Kurt..."