Author: Jadeblueafterglow17
A Companion Piece to my AU Wesley Crusher in my "The Final Mission, Alienation of Affection & A Beat in My Heart : Patient X - Alternate World 1"
Title: The Duty to Defend
Summary: I always wondered how they treated Wesley on campus knowing what the 4 squad members had done and knowing Wesley was the "snitch." So here's how I envisioned that his life was like after "The First Duty". It helps if you read the reboot to The Final Mission I & II that I reposted, but is not necessary to understand this universe. :)
Disclaimers: Owned by Paramount, and some other folks...amazing franchise, amazing characters...
Just borrowing Wesley, Picard, Robin, Beverly...the usual...and Worf! Thank you #Hulu & #Netflix for constant access! Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Night Watch
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Starfleet Academy Grounds 2245 hours Stardate 45826.96
A lone figure sat near the pond in the darkness as the reflection of Earth's Waxing gibbous moon shimmered across the water. Even though little light shown down from it at its irregular angle, the glow of the slowly drifting moon and the lighted grounds cast a grayish white shadow on the cadet. His face was drawn and pale, long dark lashes opened and closed softly and bore stark contrast on his clear skinned face. His twisted emotions got the better of him as he drifted in thought thinking of his tumultous life these past few months.
Hunched over shoulders well identified his current persona. He was a beaten man. He felt like the most hated man on the planet and if he thought killing himself would end his own overwhelming grief for the one who had died when they should have all died, he would have done it. He felt a chill run down his spine at the mere thought of Joshua Albert.
It had been six months since the incident. The attempt to complete the Kolvoort Starburst at graduation nearly cost him his life but did take the life of Joshua. He rubbed his arm as a twinge of pain stirred by the terrifying memory reminded him of the significant burns and fractures there. They'd initially blamed Joshua and said that he'd broken formation, but his conscience and his Captain had gotten the better of him. The truth was revealed, and Joshua's name was cleared, and honored. Their squadron leader Nick Locarno was expelled and the other squad members lost a year of academic credits because he had a duty to the truth rather than to his team mates and friends.
The last six months had been absolute hell for him. There would be no more teams for him, no more lab partners, not even a roommate. The people on campus came to revere him as an enemy. They called him names, broke into his dorm room and trashed it mere minutes before inspection and had succeeded in making him feel like public enemy number 1.
He never told a soul. It was what he deserved. He should have been expelled too. Everyone here loved Nick Locarno, and in the end they had all turned on him because he was allowed to stay and Nick was forced to leave. If he tried to get medical attention at Starfleet medical, the junior officers made sure his name was lost in the shuffle for so long that he eventually gave up on being seen at all. If he tried to get something to eat at the commissary, they would snicker at him so badly at his delivered food that he became fearful of eating it after becoming violently ill one evening after dinner. He even had to take an evening job repairing drive nacelles to pay for the other share of his expenses so as not to alert his mother that no one would be his roommate any longer.
His mother. He hadn't seen her face in six months. He would write to her in data messages but would not send any audio or visual communication. In her last communique she had mentioned that he seemed to be avoiding her and she wanted him to come home in a few short days when their summer break began and the Zapata could ferry him to the Enterprise when they arrive at Starbase 23 in two days.
He chose to just send his usual letter about his studies, and dismiss the rest of her concerns and requests. The disappointment he still felt from her and the captain hurt just as much as the ire from the others on campus. He had become the most hated cadet in the history of Starfleet.
Telling the truth had cost him his friends, a year of his life, and made him a pariah to everyone that felt Nick Locarno did the honorable thing by resigning.
God, he wish he'd died in that collision rather than Joshua sometimes.
The slim figured young man sat on the bench staring up at the stars. He stared at the planets Venus and Saturn as they hung like red and purple diamonds in the sky near a haloed moon. The constellation of Orion was always a welcome sight with its three bright stars shining in a diagonal line in its belt. He reached in his backpack and pulled out a peanut butter sandwich he'd replicated earlier and began to nibble at it. His stomach began to protest in earnest. He'd lost at least ten pounds in the last few months and nothing seemed to agree with him anymore. Every time he took a bite he imagined that Joshua didn't have that luxury anymore, and suddenly everything he ate tasted like dirt. One last bite he forced down his throat before placing the sandwich back in his bag.
He looked down at the chronometer on his wrist. He'd finished his last exam earlier that day and was looking forward to a few extra hours of sleep before he went to go work a double shift at his job. He'd doubled up this semester and was taking all the credits he'd lost plus two additional classes. He almost had enough to finish paying for the fall rent of his upcoming junior year. He stared down at his hands. His fingers bore cuts and bruises from working hours and days with engine parts and his joints ached from the sheer exhaustion of school and constant work.
With that thought he stretched his arms above his head and prepared to walk back to his dorm when he distinctly heard the sound of whispering and giggling. He sighed. His nice quiet hiding place seemed to have become a hiding place for two young lovers in the distance.
His gift, - no his curse - was plaguing him once again as he believed he could hear the thoughts of someone nearby him.
Counselor Troi had taught him how to hone his new talent but when he was so tired and exhausted, it was all but jumbled noise. His head injury from years back lodging free his unknown telepathy. Unfortunately, it made it even easier for those who were too nice to say cruel things to him, to think them instead, and he heard them anyway.
It was a hellish gift he'd gladly return.
He rose from his seat and gathered his back pack and tool bag headed through the thicket of woods to his dorm.
As he reached the opening to the path he felt his legs give out as he fell to the ground with a yelp. He grabbed the back of his legs and he sensed the presence of other individuals surrounding him. A cacophony of voices assaulted his mind. A kick to his stomach confirmed his fears as a bag was shoved over his head and he was hoisted to his feet panting heavily. His hands were held behind him in a half nelson as the others steadily punched at his face and assaulted his body with punches and hits from some type of solid object. He tried to fall to his knees but was held in place. As his moans and grunts continued. They finally let him go and beat him, as he slumped to the ground, with sticks and began kicking him in his chest and the back and front of his head. Someone stomped on his skull laughing.
"You think you're so smart. You should learn to shut your mouth Snitch!"
They continued their assault kicking him in the ribs and chest, stomping on his legs, and kicking his head until they grew tired. When the boy no longer moved, one of the teens ripped the bag off his face revealing a blood soaked, bruised and battered face of an individual who no longer struggled and no longer groaned.
"Stop! Stop! He's not moving!"
"Oh damn, is he dead?"
"I don't know...let's get out of here." He gave him another kick in the back for good measure and scurried away like rodents into the night.
The mob of teens moved away and scurried back into the woods leaving the disheveled body of Cadet Wesley Crusher lying in the grass just beyond the tree line.
Well, Its been forever. Life has been crazy, but you can't keep a fanfiction lover down for long.
You know what to do...I love reviews. Got ideas? Shoot them my way, I'd love to add them in!