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Post by Harbinger on Jan 8, 2013 19:54:33 GMT
Reuben smiled, "For which I am grateful. Good doctors who aren't your credits are hard to find,"
"Well, I do try," Phlox replied airily as Reuben scratched his neck slightly in thought wondering what else Archer had planned for him today. He hoped it wasn't some sort of tour, he found thos kinda on the long end.
He glanced up as he heard and saw the blonde haired man come in and speak to them. He frowned with faint interest, search... what search, he mused to himself as Archer seemed to understand.
He shrugged slightly and reached for his jacket, slowly putting it back on.
Archer smiled proud of his senior staff as he was of all of them. Trust them to be able to give her the courage. Course he wasn't aware of what had happened in the Armoury after he had left.
"Reuben... we have someone who'd like to meet you that we thought you should see if you don't mind?"
"Why would I mind? New faces, more contacts," he replied but Archer could hear the wariness in the tones. He supposed the man would be doing that a lot as he looked at Malcolm and nodded.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 8, 2013 20:01:48 GMT
"I did manage to find a file for a Dani Mitchell." He began to explain, helping to remind their guest of the database search Trip has done the day before. "And it turns out that we have an Ensign Mitchell here on Enterprise." A smile came across the man's face. "So it probably won't be so much of a new face to you, but I must warn you... when she was flung through time she lost a lot of her memory." He held out his hand to indicated to Reuben that he should turn around to see what was going on.
As the engineer was speaking, Dani and Malcolm had carefully begun stepping forward, the young woman coming out from behind her superior.
"This." Trip introduced. "Is Ensign Dani Mitchell." He then looked at Dani. "Mitchell.... This is Reuben Boch."
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 8, 2013 20:31:58 GMT
He frowned, he hadn't really expected anything to come from the man's search. The likelihood of the existence of her in his mind was slim and he had no faith he would see her again. So why were they talking.... on Enterprise? His frown deepened with confusion as he looked at Trip, searching the man's eyes to see if this was some corny joke of theirs.
Trip put out a hand and Reuben turned, almost crashing in Archer as he startled with surprise. The face had not changed much from when he knew he her. It was one of few memories he did relive in his mind,e specially when feeling alone.
"Dani?" he breathed looking at her, the others in the room meant nothing to him now, his mind was focused. It was clear he was lost for words.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 8, 2013 20:42:45 GMT
Dani stood looking at the man, but nothing jogged her memory. He was just a new face to her, and she felt a little uneasy looking at him. She glanced at Malcolm and shook her head, then looked back at Reuben. Still nothing. "I'm sorry. I don't know who you are."
Trip sighed in disappointment, rubbing a hand down his face. At least they had tried, and at least Reuben had his answer of whether she was alive or not.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 8, 2013 20:48:46 GMT
At first what she said didn't compute in his mind. He moved towards her but Archer stopped him with a gentle but firm expression.
"I don't understand... you must do... you, you're my best friend... were... I..." he fell silent staring at her, a face he had not seen for many years and she was here and she didn't even remember.
"Dani?" his voice broke, this was just too much.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 8, 2013 20:55:28 GMT
She took a step back from him as he came towards her. "There's a lot of things I don't remember..." She paused, there was only one way to be certain he was who he said he was. "If you truely know me, then you will know the answer to these two questions." She began speaking, watching his expressions. "What year was I born in... and what was the name of my first dog, and what breed was it?"
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 8, 2013 23:04:27 GMT
His mind was reeling but somehow he put his wits together, "1980, Labrador... Dylan," the name was harder to remember, "I was with you day after he died, if my memory isn't dying on me," it'd been doing that a lot lately. Or seemed to. Details that merged into a web of smudged visuals.
He had not hesitated an inch. He remembered because most of the experiences he had were good and had her in, he had focused on those as to not lose his sanity back in the mining slave camp. He had used them to forget the horrors he had narrowly survived. He knew he was the only human in the Delphic Expanse. Many, the majority were Reptilian Xindi, had taken wagers than he would not survive the first month and he had made them lose a lot of money.
He hugged himself, something that wasn't characteristic for him to do and frowned slightly when he felt the ridges on his back.where they reached to his sides. This wasn't fair. To see a face he thought he never would again only for her to have completely forgotten.
"Not fair..." he murmured to himself, staring at the ground.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 8, 2013 23:25:19 GMT
Archer stepped forward. "Ensign.... is he correct?"
For several seconds Dani was silent before she began nodding her head. "Yes... to both answers." She replied, looking at Captain Archer.
Trip smiled a little bit. "Imagine that... Corporal Cole was defeated by a woman nearly two hundred years old!" He tried to joke to lighten the mood, but no one else laughed, they remained sombre and silent. He cleared his throat feeling a little stupid for that.
"I'm sorry that this was probably not the meeting you were expecting." Dani apologised to Reuben. She really was trying, but she felt very out of place. Nothing was bringing those memories back.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 8, 2013 23:33:58 GMT
He shook his head, his legs felt weak and his stomach like fleeting butterflies, "I didn't think you had come through... I thought I'd never see you again. All those years of suffering, scratching a living with only a few memories to keep me sane and then the one human vessel that happens upon me has that which kept me alive all those years," he visibly shuddered cause it wasn't something he wanted to remember. His back was more than the evidence he needed, "and it's not fair. Galaxy's giggling at me," he sighed before he moved to the bio-bed, leaning against it, he couldn't trust himself to hold his weight. Not with the shock he was going through.
"But why weren't you there, when I came through? I don't understand. If what brought me through, brought you through... why..."
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 9, 2013 5:45:20 GMT
"That's anyone's guess." Archer stepped forward once more to stand closer to Reuben. "And most likely we'll never know how you got here, so I'm afraid we'll never be able to send you back." He looked between the two of them. "At least you know she is alive." He took several steps forward towards the Ensign. "And you may be able to get some answers.... fill in the blanks." He returned to Reuben, looking between him and Dani a few times. The fact that Trip and Malcolm had managed to so easily get her to change her mind about seeing him showed there was something there. "We don't have to drop you off anywhere. You're more than welcome to stay on board." He offered to the man.
Whilst everyone was focused on Reuben, Dani Mitchell felt it was a good opportunity to quietly slip away. She didn't know what else to say to him right now, and she needed some time alone. She headed for a cargo bay where she knew no one else would be and where there was a weapon locker that needed checking.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 9, 2013 12:55:36 GMT
He barely heard Archer talking, he went quiet and he felt trapped with all of them surrounding him. Reuben looked blankly back at Archer, not entirely certain if he had heard everything correctly but he wasn't sure he could deal with this nor being constantly surrounded by strange faces. He was used to being alone for the majority of the time, he only tended to venture into society when he had to collect his bounty rewards.
"I... I'll think about it.... I need to be alone, I... I'm sorry," with that he moved past them, fighting an urge to run out of Sickbay and instead managed a quick paced walk out of the room. Archer turned watching him as were the others.
"Let's keep an eye on those two,' Archer breathed softly and the other men nodded, "I'm going to the Bridge," Archer knew that T'Pol would have to be told and so would Admiral Gardner. He wasn't sure how Reuben would fit in on board only that he had a right to be with his own kind. He knew Reuben probably had numerous contacts in Xindi space which could come in useful. He sighed softly as he left Sickbay leaving Malcolm, Trip and Phlox to glance at ech other.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 9, 2013 19:08:39 GMT
For the rest of the day, Dani managed to avoid contact with most people. She had her duties to tend to, but she was also going a lot slower than she normally would... not wanting to accidentally misfire one of the weapons. Despite how careful she was being, no memories were coming back to her. After nine years she was now pretty certain those memories were lost... lost to the sands of time. When it was time for meals she waited till she knew most people had eaten and the Mess Hall would be a lot quieter.
The dinner rush was over in the evening and the young woman took a chance with going in. Stepping in through the door she glanced around, noting that only a couple of crewmen and Ensigns were about. Looking a little harder she could see Trip, John and T'Pol standing by the door to the Captain's Mess. They had obviously finished their meal and were just chatting amongst themselves. She couldn't hear but she was pretty certain their topic of conversation was either about her or Reuben Boch.
Dani stepped over to the cabinets and pulled out what was left of the meals before sitting down at an empty table where she began to eat. She glanced up a couple of times and she thought she had managed to make it in without them seeing her.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 9, 2013 21:31:00 GMT
Archer had been a little concerned about bout their welfare of mind. He knew from talking with Malcolm that Dani had been carrying on with her work as well as Reed could expect of her but he had seen nothing of Reuben all day. Either the man had holed up in his quarters or found some other place to hide.
"What else did Gardner say?"
"Hm? Oh... Reuben is welcome to join in, help out with the crew in places where he could be useful. The fact that Reuben may have some useful contacts is something we should take a look into..."
Reuben had spent most of the time avoiding everyone else which meant a majority of that time spent in his given quarters lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling. He had wormed out of Travis and Hoshi taking him to get some lunch, but of course his body hated him well enough for that. He just could not face anyone, least of all his friend who had no clue who he was right now. It was messed up and he didn't know why he was letting this affect him more than it should.
Yes, she was his friend at one point in time but he knew he was different from when she had known him. He had been a lot more carefree, more the social butterfly but now, through what he had gone through, the boy the child in him had all grown up and he was a lot harder for anyone to get to know despite his guise of a jovial personality.
What if she did remember? He was scared of what she would think of him now... He sighed, he couldn't stay here. He was used to his life alone, without other people trying to worm inside his mind.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 9, 2013 22:03:13 GMT
Trip nodded his head. He was looking over John's shoulder and watched as Dani came in and sat down. "Ensign Mitchell has just walked in, sir." He whispered. He looked down at the ground then at his commanding officer, not wanting the Ensign to know she'd been spotted by them.
T'Pol, who was standing next to Trip briefly glanced over. "It would appear Ensign Mitchell has been crying." She stated, noting the redness around her eyes.
"What's our next step?"
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 9, 2013 22:31:14 GMT
"We take this slowly. I don't want to frighten her any... it's gonna take time," Archer replied thoughtfully. "We're just going to have to make sure they know we're all there for them, if they need it. Maybe she'll remember something when she sleeps, we don't know." he breathed, he still hadn't seen Reuben in the Mess.
"Could you take something to eat to Reuben please Trip? I think he's in a similar mindset,"
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 9, 2013 22:40:57 GMT
Trip thought for a second then nodded his head. "Sure." He moved to the cabinets and grabbed a tray, placing various things on it. A mixture so that Reuben had a choice, just in case there was something he didn't like. He decided to not make any eye contact with Dani as he walked passed her table, pretending he hadn't seen her at all.
With plates, bowls and glasses loaded onto the tray he headed to the guest quarters and rung the chime, waiting patiently.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 9, 2013 23:15:29 GMT
"Thanks Trip,"
Reuben was so densely into his own thoughts he didn't hear the chime at first. He heard it the second time and was startled enough to hit his head on the overhanging bookshelf above as he shot up. Rubbing his head, he glared at the door before sighing. "Come,"
Whoever it was better had good reason.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 9, 2013 23:17:00 GMT
The door swished open and Trip entered. "Thought you might be hungry, so I brought dinner along." He said, placing the tray on the nearby table.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 9, 2013 23:30:31 GMT
He looked at Trip and smelt the food and he couldn't hide it when his stomach grumbled. He swallowed, "Thanks... You didn't need to," he replied softly. He was grateful for the thought .
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 10, 2013 5:28:19 GMT
Trip shrugged slightly. "Wouldn't do to have you die of starvation on us." He watched Reuben for a minute or two. "How are ya holdin' up?" He queried as he pulled up a chair and sat down.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 10, 2013 18:52:39 GMT
"I suppose, all that paperwork huh," he replied before he rose if only to make his stomach shut up. He peered at what trip had chosen for him and knew he could eat all of it without question. He took the tray back to the bed before sitting back down.
"Fine, I guess..." he missed the look that was on Trip's face. The American had heard 'fine' before plenty of times from a certain stoic Brit.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 10, 2013 22:24:53 GMT
Trip nodded his head as he watched Reuben. "I've only known her since this morning, but I can already tell she's a bright young woman. Yesterday she had told Cap'n Archer she didn't want to meet you, not a chance, not even see a photo... Then this morning she changed her mind, just like that." He clicked his fingers as one normally did when speaking that sentence. There was a short pause before he went into the question that had been on his mind most of the day. "Just how close were you and Ensign Mitchell?" He had to ask, he felt it would help the situation to know just how much this was hurting the poor man.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 10, 2013 22:58:26 GMT
He glanced at Trip when the men told of this and he really wasn't sure what to make of it. Part of it had hurt to hear but he wasn't entirely expecting it either. He began to eat, some rice dish... he didn't exactly recall what it was called since he had been eating alien food for so long now but it did taste good.
He didn't respond straight away but he supposed they were trying to understand this just as much as he was. He sighed slightly, "Pretty close. Close enough that if anything was to happen to her and I could prevent it, I would have without hesitation. I don't believe in leaving my friends behind, much less strangers." he replied.
"She was the only one I felt really close to, a sister I never had. I had a brother but we never spoke... Charlie never cared for anyone but himself, selfish little git," he replied, shrugging slightly.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 11, 2013 11:10:12 GMT
Again, Trip nodded his head as he listened to Reuben. It was certainly going to be difficult convincing him to stay knowing what he knew now.
After a short pause he stood up. "I'll let you eat your dinner. Enjoy." He said and turned, heading for the door.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 11, 2013 11:38:48 GMT
He nodded for a moment before a he spoke, "Commander Tucker, I do not wish to be a burden on this vessel. Enterprise has done more than what I have expected... even if it's difficult to accept. If there is anything I can help you with. Let me know,"
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 11, 2013 14:33:01 GMT
Trip turned to look at the man, nodding his head slowly. "I'm sure we can find a job or two for ya." He gave a little smile. "You eat and get some rest while I look into it and talk to Captain Archer. I'll let you know what we decide tomorrow."
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 11, 2013 17:17:04 GMT
Reuben nodded, "Thank you," he replied before he sighed softly and carried on eating. He was finished in a relative short space of time before he returned the tray to the desk. He yawned and lay down, not entirely sure if he could truly survive on a Human vessel. He was so used to being on his own in an alien environment that it seemed ludicrous even to contemplate. The Delphic Expanse had been his home for that last five or so years... he got up then to dunk his head in water from the small sink.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 11, 2013 18:00:37 GMT
Trip left the room and headed off to bed.
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Post by Harbinger on Jan 13, 2013 23:05:23 GMT
He had woken early the next morning and he was too restless to wait for anyone to come by and pick him up for anything. Reuben was still self-assured that he was being a burden but he didn't like to be sat twiddling his thumbs. He had wandered a good while before he had found the gym. He caught sight of a punch bag that the previous user had clearly forgotten to put away.
Reuben moved towards the canvas bag before removing his jacket. They had promised and given him clothes but habits died hard and he didn't think it likely that he could be compelled to remain. Besides, he had another reason for wanting to get back out there and it was adding to his frustration and anxiety.
Before he even realised completely what he was doing, he was punching the bag with quite a stormy vigour. It was clear he had been trained at some point in his life.
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Post by Anteyra on Jan 14, 2013 14:12:50 GMT
Dani had her scheduled day off. She usually liked sitting in her quarters writing letters back to the family that had taken her in all those years ago, but today she didn't really feel like doing that. Putting on her dark blue gym clothes she headed for the gym, a towel slung over one shoulder and a water bottle in her hand.
It was fairly early and very little chance of anyone else being in there. She opened the door, walked in and immediately noticed how wrong she was. There in the corner, with his back to the door was Reuben, punching away at the bag, suspended from it's frame.
She stood by the door watching him for several seconds, trying to decide whether to stay or to leave. Seeing how forceful his punches were, and how much the bag swung each time he hit it she turned and left the room. She only hoped that he hadn't heard the doors at all.
Her pace was slow as she walked away from the gym, heading back for her quarters.
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