Personal Log- Caleb Brighton

[Caleb Brighton]

[Stardate 2394 10.31]

Caleb took a few deep breaths. His eyes were closed as the wind slowly blew in his hair. There was no need for words at the moment.No thoughts or otherwise. He was utterly alone in the moment and he felt at peace. There were birds chirping in the distance and the grass felt cool and dry on his knees. This was his alone time. His anxiety was waning with every breath. He blocked out all other outside interference. He wanted this, no he needed this. The past few weeks were nothing but a blur. This was one of the only moments he could get and be grounded in some form of reality.

Once he was done with his quiet moment, he opened his eyes. He looked at the base of the large monument in front of him. On the bottom, etched in the stone rather than by hologram, were his parent's names.The stone read..."Jacob Brighton Loving Father and Wonderful Captain  2349-2394.  Alice Brighton Loving Mother and Amazing Diplomat 2354-2394." Atop the stone that read the names of the deceased, was a small replica of the ship they died on and the mantra of the ship. Caleb, still mourning the loss, had it tattooed on his left arm. A permanent reminder of his parents.

He placed the two single stemmed roses in the vase that was at the base of the monument. Along with his flowers, there were others that were left there as well. Mementos to them and all the work they had done. Caleb found himself deep in a graveyard. He knew his parent's remains were never recovered, but he still knew this would have been their choice for a final resting place. They had talked about it before. With the nature of Star fleet, there was always uncertainty. He smiled at the beauty around him. Though there were many graves the Australian hills he called home, soon to be very temporary, were always calming. "Mom... Dad.... I know I'll make you proud..." He said not caring who heard.

He stood up and closed his eyes once again. Sometimes, no matter how illogical it felt, he'd like to think the wind was his parents comforting him.  He smiled as he headed to his car. Tomorrow would be the start of his new life. He would be leaving the spit of a rock he called home, well at least for the past few years. As he began to drive out of the graveyard, he sighed for a moment. "I can't help but feel I'll always be compared to you..." he thought.  At that moment has had to stop as the tears began. There were many instances in the academy where he was compared to them. He played it off, but only recently it affected him.

Normally, after visiting his parents, he would go to see his best friend Jenna. He would also stop to see her parents, he often called them Mom and Dad. They were his second family. Jenna, much like Caleb, was an only child.However, this time would be different. Jenna, who joined Star Fleet with him, was already assigned to a ship and off on her own adventure. Her parents, who attended the funeral with Jenna and him, were off on assignment. After he got his composure back, he drove out of the graveyard.  As he passed through the familiar streets, his PADD went off. It wasn't a call, but he knew it was a message from Jenna.

He got home to his parent's place. It was rather modest, a five bedroom two floor home in the middle of a cul de sac. He pulled in and took it all in. This was the last night he would spend here. He enlisted a friend named Nigel to watch the house in his absence. Once he got in, he locked the door and grabbed his favorite bottle of whiskey. In his mind, he heard Jenna stating he better watch himself when he got onto a ship. "You watch... you'll be assigned a dry ship!" Hearing her say that in his mind made him chuckle. He sat and looked at his PADD. Just like Jenna promised, she sent him her personal log. He swiped up and projected it onto the television in the main room he was in.  Her australian accent, just as thick as his, rang out in the room. "Personal log initiated..."

[Stardate 2394 11.1 aboard the USS Athena. Caleb's new quarters which he shared with another ensign]

"Small Personal log initiated.. Jenna... I think this may be the real deal! I was invited onto the bridge on my first day. Crazy right? The situation looks bad... I can't go into detail... At least not yet... I hope to send this to you when the dust settles... I know no one here... maybe that's a good thing... A fresh start....." Caleb said. He paused for a moment and ended the log. He quickly got dressed in his Starfleet uniform and headed up to the bridge.

[Caleb Brighton]

Caleb sighed and stared at the camera on his PADD he had set up at the desk. So many ideas buzzed in his head. There were so many stories he had to tell. His notebook was laid open on a random page. This held a collection of drawings, remedies, notes, and stories he had collected on his short time away from Starfleet. He took a few more deep breaths and pressed the record button. He then stared in silence for a moment. "I never know how to start these things... This is Caleb Brighton and the stardate is... well that doesn't matter right now... There's a lot I want to get off my chest. I don't claim to be a good man and if someone else other than myself happens to come across these logs, I do not blame you if you think otherwise.  My time with Ben was....." Caleb said with a pause. It has hard to put into words exactly what he had wanted to say. He rubbed his temples and eyes before continuing. "For lack of a better word... interesting. I learned a whole hell of a lot, but when I think back I knew I could have handled things a lot better than I did. These stories will be in no chronological order. So if you happen to make some sort of a story line be my guest. Our story begins when we were restocking near the planet Xivivvian III...."
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Caleb sighed it had been nearly a month since he had been traveling with Ben and the tasks were daunting. Luckily this trip allowed for some off shore leave. Ben had excused himself to the nearest bar which allowed Caleb the chance to explore around. The spare quid he had one him would be more than enough to get him by if he happened to want any trinkets. He found himself in the middle of the town square. He was sketching the ornate fountain in his sketchbook when he noticed a little girl in the distance. Her skin was olive green and her hair wad black. Her pink eyes blinked a few times as she stared at him. He passed her a smile as he continued to draw.What he didn't know was the girl  began to sneak ever closer to him. When she was close enough, she stole his jacket. He noticed when she began to run away. He then pocketed his notebook and gave chase.

He called out to her to stop in every language he could muster and she didn't seem to. He chased her through the twisting alleyways and bowels of the city. After almost loosing her in a crowd, he found she went into a small shack. He went inside and the girl ran into the back of the house. When he got there he saw a woman sick in a bed. "P..please h..help" The little girl said.

Caleb threw all anger to the wind when he noticed the woman. "Is she sick?" Caleb asked getting down to the girl's level so he could speak with her. The little girl nodded. "Can you tell me what's wrong? Was she throwing up? Did she hit her head?" As Caleb asked this he pantomimed each question. Knowing either the girl didn't speak much or there was a language barrier, he was trying his best. Just then there was a knock at the door. "Maria? Are you ok? This is Doctor Stevenson! I hear strange voices in there! I am coming in!" A voice said from behind the front door.