Work Text:
The first thing Eiffel saw when awakening from cryosleep was the dim-lighted plain,metal wall belonging to one of the station's many hallways. Although this was his first time using cryosleep-- rather, the first time Eiffel remembers using cryosleep-- he wished that the engineers who designed this shuttle would have at least given him a pretty window to look out of when he woke up. He'd rather be reminded of the endless beauty of space and the countless journeys it has to offer instead of the dreaded reminder that 'Oh yeah, you're trapped in a tin can with a bunch of strangers (sorta-friends?) that you barely remember because the people that sent you up here tried to kill you multiple times and then took away all your memories for trying to save a god-like alien species'.
So yeah, thanks for that one Goddard, Eiffel thought.
At least the trip back to Earth was short so he didn't have to spend too many weeks stuck in cryosleep. The more time he spent in one of those frozen-ice coffins, the more his skin seemed to get irritated from the cold-- almost like his body was still recovering from a past illness.
Eiffel looked around the room to see if any of his other crew members had been awoken yet from cryosleep, and noticed that Renee's pod was the only other one opened. It made sense that the ship's commander and navigation officer would want to get a head start on checking their current status towards home. Ever since he met Renee he'd noticed how uptight she was about following the rules, hell she would even get mad at Eiffel for not wearing the proper uniform.
For crying out loud- we're on a spaceship Renee, in the middle of freaking Nowhere! You really think command is going to notice if one officer is out of dress code?
Whether or not they notice is besides the point Doug, as commanding officer of this spacecraft I'm in charge of overseeing that all technological and personal performs runs smoothly, and that includes team effectiveness and morale, Renee sighed and smiled warmly, You never really change, do you Eiffel?
No matter how much of a stick up in an ass she was, there was no one more qualified, no one he was more terrified of, and no one Eiffel trusted more with his life than Renee Minkowski. Actually, he might be a bit more scared of Isabel and Daniel than Renee, but he would never admit that to her face or to the either of them.
Eiffel was trying to figure out where he should be headed since he was the only other one awake when he heard one of the ship's intercom make an announcement, "Officer Doug Eiffel, please report to the control room"
….
When he walked into the control room, Renee was hunched over one of the ship's consoles and speaking to Hera about the ship's ETA and recent orders they received from HQ. She looked so invested in her work that Eiffel really didn't want to interrupt her, lest he risk a huge slap in the face.
"Uh... Renée? Is this a bad time?"
"Oh Eiffel! I-um-no, I just got lost in thought for a couple minutes," She turned away from the computer and embraced Eiffel in a quick, but endearing hug, “Did you sleep well?”
“Ehhhhh, about the same as anyone who just spent 77 consecutive days sleeping in a human-sized refrigerator. Thankfully, I won’t ever have to go back into that infernal machine. Hopefully.”, Eiffel said, “But what was it that you needed me for?”
“As you may recall, we made contact with home offices on Earth a few hours from our departure from the U.S.S Hephaestus regarding the...unfortunate circumstances aboard the ship in its final hours. Since then, Hera and I have remained in contact with them to ensure a safe trip home as well as official proceedings for when we return-this of course being press coverage, financial compensation, and our contracts with Goddard Futuristics; all things I’ll cover with the rest of the crew once they wake up.”, Renee finished.
“That sounds great and all Renee, but if you’re just planning to bore us all later with meeting plans, I don't understand why you needed to wake me up so early. Even if it is in an uncomfortable ice prison, a man does need his beauty sleep.”
“Well you remember what I told you during your debriefing with you after your “accident” right, about your reason for being sent up here?”
And with just the slight mention of his so called accident, Doug immediately shut down. He looked down at the ground, almost unable to stare his friend straight in the face, and tapped his foot furiously against the metal flooring, “Unfortunately, yes.” There was nothing like being told after you just had all your memory wiped regarding your entire life that you were offered a contract with an evil mega-corporation to work for them in exchange for a prison plea deal. That’s right, in a past life Doug Eiffel was a criminal. A stingy, low-life criminal who enacted the worst possible thing a person could do to his daughter. Sometimes he wished he could just sucker-punch himself for all the terrible things he did. But alas, here he is: unpunched and deeply regretting getting aboard that goddamn station in the first place.
“Goddard Futuristics representatives will cover all of this with you back on Earth, but I just wanted to give you a “heads-up” and prepare you for what’s to come.”, Renee placed a hand on Doug’s shoulders, which he immediately shrugged off.
“Just get to the point Renee.”
Renee took a deep breath in and said, “Your ex-girlfriend Kate is willing to negotiate a custody arrangement with you for your daughter.”