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The captain is forced to ‘wake’ and fix everything on this goddamn ship and then die over and over again, and they were on the verge of just throwing themself out of the airlock.
To say they were exhausted was an understatement.
Just how many times are they forced to do this? How much longer do they have to suffer?
After being forced out of the cryo-pod, the captain stumbled to the ground, a sob racking through them.
Why was this happening? What did anyone do to deserve this?
They pick themself up, hurrying to grab the fire extinguisher. Time was of the essence.
“Captain?” Mark called with concern laced in his voice, “Hey, are you—” The alerts started up. There was no time for conversations, no time to waste.
Mark sighed, letting his eyes linger on them for a moment before turning to fix the oxygen.
The captain’s hands trembled as they tossed the empty canister to the side, turning to face the new problem.
Inhaling, the captain tries to shove their feelings under the surface.
They stopped, noticing Mark leaving Cryo. He pushed his hair back and breathed deeply.
Had he already fixed the other issues?
Mark tilted his head to them, “Captain.” he smiled, “I took care of everything!”
They don’t remember this.
His captain’s body stilled, trying to remember what went after this. Where would their actions lead them? To Wug? Or somewhere else?
…
He hadn’t done this before.
This was new.
“Are you okay?’ he asked, stepping closer to them, to which they quickly nodded.
What went next? What happens after this?
“Captain, we both know that’s not true.” he placed a hand on their shoulder, squeezing them.
He’s just going to hate them again. There's no point in opening up.
The captain’s tears poured from their eyes.
They collapse onto Mark, dragging them both to the floor. Their resolve to hide away shattered and they burst into tears.
“Woah!” Mark falls off his feet, his hands pulling them closer, ensuring his captain didn’t get hurt.
“I—” Mark tries to talk, but his captain cuts him off with a gasp.
Mark looked at their face, and his eyes widened, seeing tears pour from their eyes. He froze, thinking how he could calm his captain. He whispered their name, sucking in deeply as they cried harder.
“Hey…” he whispers, pressing a hand to their back, “It’s okay, captain.”
They shook their head and grabbed tightly onto his uniform.
“It’s all going to be gone again.” his captain whispers under their breath.
Everyone is going to leave them. They’re going to go through all of this alone. AGAIN.
Mark frowned, he may not understand what they meant, but he wasn’t going to leave them… And they were going to fix this issue. Once they found out what it was. Nothing was disappearing.
“I’m not leaving you, captain,” Mark muttered, pulling them closer to his chest.
Liar.
The captain sniffled, tightening their arms around him, and shook their head,
“I don’t understand why,” they mumbled before sobbing harder.
Their voice was not something Mark often heard, only in settings where their input and speeches were required. Usually, he'd be flustered, but his captain was suffering from something he didn't know about. So, he held them and sighed, letting them cry their frustrations out.
It's not like they wouldn't know what Mark would say anyway. They may not have had this conversation before, but the captain knew Mark well, knew how he comforted them. They knew him too well for this "run".
He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against the top of their head.
The ship was quiet… when was the last time they experienced that— their breathing hitches as memories flood their mind.
Alone.
The beacon they sent.
The closed cryo-pod that belonged—
“Captain?” he whispers. His hand caressed their back.
They shook their head, pushing their head further into his shoulder as if that could make them disappear. Mark sighed once more, nodding his head, not forcing them to talk.
Slowly, the captain’s sobs soften into quiet whimpering,
“I’m sorry…” they uttered, gasping between the tears.
Mark’s grip tightened,
“I’m on your side, captain.” whispering into their hair, he feels his eyes burn with tears, “I don’t know who caused this whole… thing— but what I do know is that I’m always going here, supporting you…” he trails off, his hand rubbing circles on their back.
LIAR.
He had told them they were awful at one point. He called them evil, for fucks sake, he ripped the fucking warp crystal— that was a part of the warp-core HE built— out of their hand.
They let him go because they trusted HIM that this was for the best, only to be stuck right back at the beginning. Boarding the ship for the ‘first’ time and being dragged around by Mark, who was utterly oblivious to the mess he caused… or was about to? Time was nonlinear. It didn’t matter.
They slumped into his touch, tears streaming down their face. There was no time anymore. The lady would be here to shoot them and demand to know things that Mark still hadn’t figured out in this timeline. And then he’ll lose faith in them. Again.
The captain calmed themself, letting them indulge in the present. Here. With Mark. Feeling his warmth as he held onto them. They force themself to match his breathing.
It was time to go.
“We need to keep moving.” the captain breathes out, slowly pulling away and collecting themself.
“Captain.”
They look at him, their emotions locked tightly inside.
Mark hesitated, “I… Okay. Let’s get going.” He smiled at them, “I trust you, captain.”
This time would be different. The captain won't let go of him. Not again.