Dreams, Omens, and Favours

Posted on Sun Mar 29th, 2026 @ 10:58pm by Captain William Abernathy & Lieutenant JG Aiden Poe

1,135 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Forgotten Wounds
Location: USS Arcadia | Captain's Quarters

ON:

Poe's heart was racing as he stood outside the door of the CO's quarters at 5AM ringing the chime like his life depended on it.

Captain Bill Abernathy was wide awake before the chime ever sounded. He had already had hit the shower, caught up on some reading, and was getting ready to grab breakfast when the chime rang.

Years of command had carved that habit into him: sleep lightly, mind never fully at rest. Be up early, and be prepared for everything. By the time the sharp, insistent tone cut through the quiet of his quarters, he was already pulling his uniform jacket into place and proceeding to the doorway.

The hour told him everything he needed to know. Zero five hundred in the morning meant it wasn’t routine. It meant urgency. It meant something had gone wrong.

The chime sounded again... Longer this time, more desperate.

“Hold on,” Abernathy called, voice steady but firm as he crossed the room in measured strides. He didn’t rush. A captain didn’t meet panic with panic.

The door slid open, and Lieutenant JG Poe was standing there, breathing hard, eyes wide with the kind of adrenaline that hadn’t yet decided whether it was fear or resolve.

Abernathy took him in at a glance. The posture, expression, the unspoken weight behind the urgency. “Lieutenant,” he said evenly, anchoring the moment. “Talk to me.”

Whatever had driven Poe to his door before dawn, Abernathy was already bracing to meet it head-on.

"You can't allow this." He said grabbing the captain's jacket. "You have to let me go. If he goes it's going to be bad. I mean really bad. Please don't let Commander Walker on that shuttle."

Bill took a few steps back, but Poe's grip on his jacket just pulled Poe into the quarters with him. "Lieutenant, it would be very wise for you to let go of my uniform. Now" stated Captain Abernathy. "Grabbing your Captain's uniform jacket is a fantastic way for getting your ass tossed into the brig for the rest of this mission."

He stepped back his eyes misting. "Sorry, Sir."

"Commander Walker is piloting his shuttle. Nothing you say here is going to change that decision. He's competent, skilled, capable, and the man I need out there. It may go bad, Poe. I cannot argue with that, but it would go worse without him."

"It will go bad. I've seen it."

"Aiden," Bill said, addressing the man by his first name. "I'll admit, I don't know much about your species. I know they have a history of clans and warring, but beyond that... not much. If you have some sort of 'ability.' I will say the same thing to you as I do to Counselor Alexander. I'm a principles man. I don't make decisions based off of 'feelings' or 'prophecies' and that's that."

"But I saw it." He swiped at the tear on his cheek. I felt the fire I felt...pain...then nothing. When I woke up it was to the sound of a crow cawing and I turned the cards over and I got the Devil and Death and the upside down Fool. I saw him in my dream...he's ..." He shook his head. "Please let me go instead. I can do this."

Cards Bill sighed. "Aidan. You know all of that stuff is interpretations, and you are letting your fears and feelings get in the way" stated Captain Abernathy. Bill placed a hand on Poe's shoulder. "I believe you. I believe you felt things. I believe you saw things. I believe you had dreams, but if I made command decisions based on all of these things.... people would be dead. I don't know what will happen to Walker or the rest of them out there, but I can't dwell on the what ifs."

Aiden's shoulders dropped. "It's better if it happened to me. He's important I’m...not."

"The hell you aren't" Abernathy said shaking his head. "You are important. You're all important. None of your lives are less value aboard this starship, and I do not want to hear otherwise. You are my Acting Chief Science Officer, Aidan. I need you here, and I need you focused. If you can't be focused, you can't on the bridge."

He gave a nod. "Okay...I... I will try." The Captain didn't believe him. Everything in him told him Walker should stay but maybe...maybe the captain was right. Maybe this was his stress talking.

Just before he could say something the door chimed again.

"Poe, even if you are correct... sometimes, we have to let fate play out" replied Captain Abernathy. "Enter," he said sternly.

Sabastian came strutting in. "Captain I came to grab break...fast with you." His brow furrowed. "Poe. Everything okay?"

Poe walked up to Sabastian and reached up to press his right shoulder.

"What ...are you doing?"

"Vulcan neck pinch to keep you from going?"

Sabastian laughed and ruffled Aiden's hair. "That's not how to do it. I'll tech you when I come back."

Poe shook his head. "No...you won't" He turned. "Thanks for your time Captain. I'm going to go to the lab." He hurried out.

Sabastian's brows rose. "What was that about?"

"Oh you know," Bill said with a smile. "You've been marked for death. At least that's what the cards say."

"Well if that's what they say they were right. Had I not checked the skiff this morning that's just what would have happened. There was an interruption in the antimatter engine flow. Not just my skiff but the main shuttle. All fixed, scanned, double scanned and ready now. Had I not caught it he would have been 100% right."

Bill's face turned wrought with concern. "One is an accident. Two is a coincidence. I do not believe in them."

"Neither do I but sometimes they do happen. These ones were caused by the shuttle upgrades from the station. They've been playing havoc with all our systems. I took them off line and manually brought it up to speed. We are good. I promise you that. Although someone on this ship has a weird pet."

"Strange is part of the job" joked Bill. "I need you to come back alive and well, Commander... can't have cards being right."

He laughed. "I don't believe in those. Although like I said that crow was a bit....strange. I'm hoping that the bay workers caught him." He sighed. "Now breakfast sir? Couples therapy says that any good couple should eat at least one meal together." He grinned.

"Then a breakfast date it is," joked Bill. The whole 'couples therapy' for the two men may have been some asinine Admirals power trip, but it was helping them.

OFF:

 

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