#ooc. PAIN TRAIN IS BACK AGAIN. CHOO CHOO.

[dojimakaichou]

★. ―

Daigo lifted his head and took a deep breath, glad for the sensation of her hands in his. He cleared his throat before he spoke ; it was impossible to hide the lump of emotion sitting in there. Daigo reflexively squeezed her fingers again. Though he soon answered her, his eyes never left the scene in front of them.

"I was third, technically," he said, nodding toward the human woman speaking to his younger counterpart. "Her name was Elodie Hunt. We were both assigned here at the same time, but she had more experience. They made her First Officer."

The captain of the Tojo watched as the First and Second Officer of the Galiant tried desperately to pull together some form of escape plan that would save everyone. Quickly, however, they realized it was futile ; the Galiant was equipped exactly as Daigo said. To save 150 using the available shuttles ( flown by senior officers ), they had to sacrifice 75.

"How did I feel ?? " Daigo repeated, voice hollowed. "Yes. I felt responsible." The mere word felt heavy on his tongue, and his shoulders sagged. "Commander Hunt and I always thought Grimby was crooked . . . we just didn't see how bad it really was. Not until now. I should have done something sooner, stuck my nose in deeper ― but we had only one run left. Commander Hunt was going ashore to have her daughter, and I knew I would be promoted up. I thought I would figure everything out then."

He grimaced, stare lingering on what seemed like the ghost of his fellow officer. They were turning around together to give orders. The shuttles needed prepared, and it was up to the handful of officials on the bridge to keep their passengers calm during the inevitable sorting that would come.

"I still talk to her wife," Daigo murmured. "We get a drink when our paths cross at the stations. She's an accomplished engineer ― designed some of the latest safety measures on the Tojo, actually. Commander Hunt would have been proud of her." His barely - there smile was sad. Daigo exhaled, hard, and glanced up for a moment. The captain blinked rapidly to clear something from his vision ( which he certainly wouldn't say were tears ).

In the other world, in the world he left behind, the officers of the Galiant were starting to filter out of the bridge to their new stations. There was a large chamber in the shuttle bay that Daigo and the First Officer would quickly take control of. One of them posted per pair of heavy doors with security personnel mingling between to help manage things. Daigo remembered it all too well.

[ Onboard the Galiant, the alarms were still screaming. The world was red due to the harsh emergency lighting filling the corridors. Passengers were beginning to shout, eyes widened, in spite of the crew's best efforts to soothe their worries. Women and children, came the archaic method of sorting. The vulnerable first. ]

The captain of the Tojo walked them toward that dreaded area. He stopped amidst the crowd pooling in front of the doors. After a minute of quiet, his gaze fell to Melissa. Even revisiting this memory . . . he didn't want to go in.

[ It was families. The ship carried passengers from public stations to private or corporate sites under Federation influence, and normally these people were visiting their loved ones. So, the teenagers, small children, and even infants in the throng were not surprising. ]

If anyone decided to visit the captain's ready room aboard the Tojo, they would be presented with an unusual sight - but not one that conveyed the pain and torment that Daigo was going through, even if it was just an echo and not a repeated situation. Both officers remained on the ground, sitting as children sometimes did for some of their plays, but the intertwined hands and the closed eyes suggested a different type of intention, lacking the innocence and pleasure of the juvenile rituals.

The Inadian too kept her own eyes closed - it wasn't necessary, but Melissa had always thought that removing distractions helped focusing on the memories being accessed. The link between hands was but an anchor and encouragement for Daigo, and soon enough she saw it - as clear as a movie, the telepath was viewing the former ship without interference - the fact that it was so perfectly constructed was a testament to how the captain had never forgotten these details.

Galiant - the name was marked close to where that recollection began, and the counselor assumed it was how that vessel used to be called. Melissa watched a younger version of the man she was with in the real world appear - a different look, but unmistakably Daigo. His features had not changed, and neither had his care for those under his command (albeit his not the final link of the chain at that time).

Melissa could sense that he didn't have a lot of respect for his superior officer at the time - although there was no lack of manners, the fact that the captain of the Galiant had ostensibly bended the rules with potential disastrous consequences was not something Daigo took lightly; the fact that the same man was fast to seemingly abandon the bridge at the very first sign of trouble was also evidence in that regard.

But an important thing in relation to the scene was revealed - Daigo had not been responsible for the situation they found themselves in, not even under orders he disagreed with. He had been ignorant of the scale and unwillingly involved, seeking to determine a course correction - but they just ran out of time. Inhaling softly, Melissa squeezed his digits but projected her voice over the link - as if they were exchanging commentary over a regular movie enjoyed at a theater.

'You were second in command back then, correct?' Melissa asked merely for confirmation, and then moved on, 'And by no means liable for what happened aboard the Galiant considering the captain had altered registrations and not briefed any other members of the crew. How did you feel at this time?' the woman asked earnestly, but holding Daigo's hands as one would with a boy, scared of nightmares plaguing him, 'Did you feel personally responsible for this situation that you had not created?'