round 5 MSNPC Lt. Commander Delavigne - Redemption Song

[+ Alex Blair]

((Sometime. Someplace.))

::The glowing from the lab was painfully bright and all encompassing. The static energy around them had subtly shifted, and instead of repelling them from the epicenter, it was now subtly pulling them in. There was no going back now. He had wanted to push Tarch away, free her from this hell of sacrifice, but the time for that was long past. He should have freed her years ago, if not before this whole horrible episode began. It was too late for that now. All he could do was stand by her. Stand by her and hope that somehow time would make things right.::

TARCH: It's coming. Right now. Atlantis has detonated their device.

DELAVIGNE: I can’t see it. How can you see it? You need to guide me!

TARCH: We have to be everywhere, Frank. In every time. We have to take the anti-polaric energy back with us, to all the moments that came before, back to the very one where you set this disaster loose. We are the conduits.

::She took his hand, something solid in this great wash of light and chaos and he held on back, like a drowning man hold into a life buoy.::

DELAVIGNE: ::Whispering:: Be strong. You can do this. For her. ::Though it was not clear whether he was talking to himself of Tarch. Maybe it didn’t matter. Both of them had someone they cared about, something they hoped they could see again, if only in spirit.::

::Pain ripped through him and the polaric energy tore through his body, suffusing every cell. Both of them were lifted off the ground, their very physical reality breaking apart as time split into a kaleidoscope of possibilities.

Frank saw the lab scene replay, saw his every decision on the Pike, how he had inadvertently engineered destruction into that ship by his own self-centered actions. He saw his descent into madness, his longing for a child, he saw Tarch and Saltas, Arravan and Good, all of them trapped in the rifts of time.::

TARCH: We need more power! We have to be strong, Frank!

DELAVIGNE: Strong… ::his word trailed off and he squinted, looking farther and farther away.::

::He could see the USS Yorkshire, the ship that brought him to the Pike. He could see himself on the USS Hanlon, serving against the Romulans. And if he really looked he could see the New Dakota colony. He could see his little house, the vibrant blue lawn trimmed so neatly with its garish pink flowers along the walkway. He could see Angela waving at him, holding Elizabeth in her arms. His heart swelled. He knew where to find his strength.

Power welled around them as he focused on the sight. Whether it was memory of a point in time that he couldn’t remember, but he could somehow see within the stream, it didn’t matter. Angela and Elizabeth were all that ever mattered to him, and they were what fueled him in these final moments.::

TARCH: Thank you, Frank! Thank you!

DELAVIGNE: Thank you, Barbara! ::he called back, the words nearly lost in the din:: Thank you for reminding me who I was!

::Her hand slipped out of his and she disappeared, sucked by the eddies of time, away from him. Frank closed his eyes and fixated on that one memory, that one sight. Angela. Elizabeth.

He had to see them one last time.::

~*~

((New Dakota Colony, 112 years prior))

::Elizabeth Delavigne stood on her tippy toes, trying to place her father’s favorite Christmas ornament high enough up on the fuzzy fronds of the palm shrub that he could easily see it::

ELIZABETH: Mommy! Mommy! I need a boost!

ANGELA: ::Her mother chuckled and walked over:: You know you can hang them on the bottom, I did the top ornaments.

ELIZABETH: ::With the steadfast conviction that only a small child could have over a trivial matter, she looked up at her mother, big eyes welling with tears:: Daddy said this one was his favorite! He needs to see it!

ANGELA: Well ok, then! ::She laughed and picked the little girl up, lifting her up to chest high and patiently waiting as she wiggled her chubby fingers around a frond, slipping the hanging wire into place.::

ELIZABETH: There! This will be the first one Daddy sees!

::Setting the girl down, both mother and daughter took a step back to admire their ingenuity. On a planet where evergreens simply didn’t exist, Angela Delavigne had to improvise a Christmas tree. She had promised Frank a tree, with presents under it and home baked cookies. They talked about it over subspace, late at nights when Elizabeth had gone to bed. He was due back in a week, and there was a palpable air of excitement in the small home.::

ELIZABETH: Daddy will see it soon, right?!

ANGELA: Next week, sweetie. He’ll be coming home next week. ::She leaned down, petting her daughter’s hair::

ELIZABETH: Can’t he get home sooner? Won’t the ships fly faster?

ANGELA: ::She chuckled:: I’m sure if he can make it home sooner, he will.

::Angela sat down, drawing Elizabeth with her onto the couch as the tree sprang into a brilliant swirl of color from the tiny lights nestled within glittering golden garland. The little girl gasped, looking up in unbridled wonder::

ELIZABETH: It’s beautiful!

::It was beautiful. It was a beautiful beacon that shone past time and space. It was the one thing Frank Delavigne was focused on as his hazy ghost-like form started to flicker into view. He felt tears stinging at the corners of his eyes, watching his little girl clapping with delight in the warm glow of the Christmas tree. It was everything he had ever dreamt of, everything he wanted to see. Frank took in a deep breath and reached out to her::

FRANK: Elizabeth. I love you…

ELIZABETH: ::She turned slowly, as if she caught a whisper on the wind:: Daddy?

FRANK: I’m here, Elizabeth. Daddy’s here for you.

ANGELA: Daddy’s not home yet, Elizabeth. He’ll be home soon. ::She leaned forward to draw her daughter back to the couch::

FRANK: ::Looking towards his wife, he felt his breath catch in his throat.:: Angela… I’m here, Angela.

ELIZABETH: I heard Daddy! I hear him!

ANGELA: ::She looked around:: Not yet, honey. Soon, I promise!

ELIZABETH: But I heard him!

::Angela Delavigne sighed, standing up to check the front door, just to make sure. Frank was usually so organized, but he was not above being a joker. Maybe he did get home early and was trying to surprise them? She grabbed a cardigan to fend of the chill in the winter air and started for the door to the hallway.

But she never got there.

A sickly green flash spread out over the colony, smashing the windows of the home, vaporizing the oxygen in the air and incinerating Angela and Elizabeth Delavigne in a second. There wasn’t even time to scream.

Frank Delavigne gasped, unable to make a sound as he watched the most horrific moment in his entire life, play out in front of his eyes. As the flash intensified, he threw his arm up to shield his eyes, screwing them shut.

And when he opened them, there she was.::

FRANK: ::Jaw hanging open:: Angela?!

ANGELA: ::She stopped, confused:: Frank? Frank, is that you?

ELIZABETH: ::Overjoyed, she ran to him:: Daddy!

::Frank Delavigne dropped to one knee and scooped her up in his arms. She was light as a feather, just like a ghost.

That’s all any of them were anymore. Ghosts.

Still, her hug was full of all the warmth and love that he had been longing for over the past 112 years. He dipped his head down and nestled into his little girl’s hair::

FRANK: Oh, Elizabeth, I missed you so much. I love you so much!

ELIZABETH: I love you too, Daddy!

ANGELA: ::Angela, meanwhile, had noticed the hazy world around her and figured out that something was terribly wrong.:: Frank… where are we, Frank?

FRANK: ::Slowly he set Elizabeth down and looked to his wife:: We’re… ::he choked up:: We’re not there anymore, Baby. We’re gone.

ANGELA: ::She gasped, tears welling in his eyes as she rushed over to him:: We’re… we’re dead? ::She whispered:: how can that be? Why are we all here?

FRANK: I don’t know. I looked for you for so long… ::he murmured, his voice throaty with emotion:: I was lost for so long, and I finally found you. And now, now I can finally be at rest.

ANGELA: ::She looked up at him, seeing the age in his face, the grey hair, the well worn lines, and she rushed to him, throwing herself into his arms:: Oh, Frank! Don’t go. We’re here now. No matter what, we’re together.

FRANK: I know. ::he whispered:: It’s all I ever wanted.

ANGELA: ::She felt tears forming in her eyes, but none came forth. She wasn’t even sure if she had a body anymore, but she could somehow feel that Frank and Elizabeth were still there.:: Where do we go now, Frank? Where do we go now?

FRANK: Let’s go home, Baby. ::He leaned into her, smelling the scent of her lilac perfume one last time before he stooped down, gathered up his little girl and they all walked into the light.:: Let’s go home.

::And they faded away, together at last.::

~*~

~fin~

~*~

MSNPC Lt. Commander Franklin Delavigne

Science Specialist

USS Christopher Pike

Simmed by: Wyn Foster