Turn of Events Part 2

[Shane 0]

The bright rays of afternoon light shown through the tall picture windows of the starport’s main boarding room, causing Shane to shield his eyes with his sole organic hand. The huge room bustled with hundreds of beings scurrying in and out of corridors leading to various shuttles and passenger ships. Tayjer stepped into the crowds, moving away from the transporter rooms and wandered what to do next.

 

The message he had received yesterday onboard the Reaent had said to come to the starport, but beyond that had provided no other instruction. Without a doubt, Shane would be easy to spot with his Starfleet uniform and gleaming metal appendage. But even still, there were several million people in the port city making it almost impossible…

 

Suddenly someone in the crowd shoved into his right shoulder, almost causing him to lose his balance despite his large frame. He turned quickly to give the person a piece of his mind, but noticed a white piece of paper in the silver fingers of his hand. Unraveling the scrap, it simply showed directions to a local observatory. It seemed that the problem of locating his father was solved.

 

The Starfleet officer was able to locate the observatory in less than twenty minutes. It was a quiet-looking building off of a semi-busy street and seemed to be a place more frequented by school classrooms than anything. Several young space enthusiasts gathered in the various miniature holo-decks to argue the fine-points of their craft as Shane walked down the darkened hallway towards the end room.

 

Shane stepped into the dark room littered with the specks of star systems and the brilliant colors of various nebulas, to find a sole occupant with his back to the door. The man was in civilian clothing with slightly graying hair and was staring at a miniature version of the Sol System. Shane cautiously stepped forward, his mind fearful of disappointment, “Dad?”

 

The man slowly turned to look at him. “Shane,” said Dayson Tayjer as he stepped forward and embraced his son, “I’m glad you came.”

 

“Glad I came?”replied Shane, almost overwhelmed with the joy of finding his father alive, “Why would I not? We’ve been worried sick since what happen at the station! Some of us had almost given up hope. What happened to you and…” A realization suddenly hit Shane and he looked about the holo-room in growing dismay. “Dad,” he said slowly, “Where’s Mom?”

 

A haunted look overcame Dayson’s face and he turned back to the stars shining around them, a tear running down his cheek. He was quiet for several moments as if gathering himself to speak. Shane looked at closer at his father’s features in the pale light. He looked much older than Shane ever remembered and his demeanor was that of a person in great sorrow, under a burden of sadness that no one should ever have to bear.

 

Dayson’s eyes became distant as he remembered events from his life. He slowly began, his voice sounding hollow, “Almost a year before you were born, your mother and I were just happily married, living aboard an exploration vessel in Starfleet. During an away mission, I contracted an alien disease, one that the medical staff could not find a cure for. It was non-contagious, but incredibly painful and deadly. The doctors gave me three months to live.

 

I was given medical leave and was sent to a medical center to live out the rest of my days in comfort. Your mother was allowed to come with me and we settled down to await my death. During this time I was approached by what I later found to be a Romulan agent of the Tal Shiar and was given an offer. He could give me a genetic enhancement to my immune system that would allow my body to overcome the disease that was killing it. In exchange, all I had to do was to leave Starfleet and acquire a spacecraft scrap yard that was going up for sale.

 

I wrestled with the decision for several days. I knew that there had to be a reason behind the Romulan’s reasons, but I couldn’t see what they possibly could be. And I wanted to live! I didn’t want to leave my wife alone after being married for only a few months. I wanted to raise a family and grow old to live life to the fullest. So…I accepted.”