Other Thoughts at 0300

Posted on Tue 10th Feb, 2026 @ 11:59pm by Magnus Temple

2,359 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: [MAIN] From The Ashes
Location: Crew Quarters

ON:

Magnus was having that dream again. He was five, maybe six, running around the halls of some office building. He was chasing after Nycolas, his brother, who was always faster than him. They ran down long, stretching corridors, through rooms of adults doing important work, they were laughing and giggling as they bolted past. God how they ran. As fast as their little legs could go, they felt like starships warping through the galaxy. It was their playground, after all, where they spent most of their afternoons while their mother worked late into the night.

Then, he was there. Loud, shouting, crashing through doorways. He slurred as he yelled. He stumbled. He reeked of alcohol and piss. Magnus could smell it. The boys ran faster now - no longer the fun, giddy game, but a means of escaping him. The monster that would come to ruin their day, embarrass them, hurt them. Nycolas was always faster, of course. He was never quite in danger. Magnus, however, could feel that man right on his tail, taking mean swipes in the air hoping to grab the boy by his clothes. Magnus' face streamed with tears now.

Nycolas ran through a doorway and it slammed shut behind him, leaving Magnus trapped in the corridor. The monster's rumbling, stomping footsteps closed in on him. He turned, feeling the presence right behind him and -

*****

Waking up with a shudder, Magnus was greeted by the darkness of his room. The constant hum of the station filled his ears. He was drenched in sweat, he felt the wetness over his half-naked body, across his brow and under his arms. Magnus tore the bedsheet away from him, needing free air to breathe. Next to him on the bed was a peacefully sleeping Security officer - Ensign Daniel something-or-other, who thankfully hadn't been woken by Magnus' sudden movements. He remained quietly snoring as he laid face down on the mattress, his large body and wide arms spread out like a felled tree.

With a sigh, Magnus quietly crawled out of his bed and made his way over to the bathroom. He silently tapped at the console inside the doorway and asked the computer to deliver him a burst from a cold sonic shower. He felt the chill run over his skin as he stepped into the shower, closing his eyes as his heart beat stopped pulsing rapidly in his chest. Magnus counted down from twenty, allowing his mind and body to regulate back down from the spike of panic and adrenaline that the dream had brought him.

“Not again.” He murmured to himself, eyes closed. He slapped the tile of the shower wall in frustration.

Stepping back out, he lazily grabbed for a towel but didn't feel the need to wrap it around him as he walked back into the main living area. He merely used it to cover at his face, as if willing the memory to fade from his brain.

"Round two?" The Ensign spoke, his bashful grin evident in the sliver of light coming from the bathroom. He had been woken after all and was sitting up in bed, watching Magnus with those eager youthful eyes. It was the same look he had given Magnus several hours before in the Promenade Deck; the look that brought them to his room. "Or is it round three?"

Magnus gave a polite smile in return. "Maybe later." He cleared his throat, now pulling the towel around himself. "I thought you had the early shift today?"

"Yeah," The Ensign replied slowly, not quite getting the hint.

Magnus just nodded to the panel on the wall, showing the time as 3am. "Well if you're on duty at 4, you better head back to your own quarters now, make sure you're on time for your shift. I doubt Commander Mindo appreciates lateness in his team."

"Right, right." The Ensign nodded. He lumbered out of bed, all 6 foot 5 of him, and he began gathering up the uniform that had been so hastily discarded on the floor. He was pulling on his trousers, pec muscles bouncing as he did. "Think we can catch up again?"

"Sure." Magnus politely lied. "We can figure out a time later."

The Ensign began looking around for his shoes in the dim light as Magnus turned to make himself a drink.

*****

Not long after and Magnus was alone in his quarters now, still just the towel around his waist. He had left the room lighting on purposefully low levels, but had opened his window shutters to let in the glow from the space outside. Now sitting with a coffee at his desk, he began to scroll through news headlines from the Federation network:

*Galactic Alliance Party elects new party leader, promises big policy changes.*

*Federation President to speak at Security Summit in Paris.*

*Demolition of the Christiansborg Historical Museum to begin next week.*

Magnus frowned, tapping on the last article. A news reporter from the Federation News Service was standing outside the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen Denmark, on Earth. It was Magnus’ home city, where he grew up with his brother and mother. The daunting dark building was once the home to the Danish Parliament, but had been turned into an historical landmark and museum. Magnus knew the building well, having taken many school trips there while growing up, and often when his mother used it as a backdrop for her election campaigns. He was surprised to see this news, and also the coincidental timing of his dream.

A Vulcan reporter appeared on screen, she looked suitably stoic as she began, "Once a symbol of Danish democracy and the preservation of pre-war European culture, the Christiansborg Palace has remained an historical landmark in the city of Copenhagen for centuries. However, constant structural issues, visible cracking in the exterior brick walls, and the collapse of the Chapel roof last year, lead to heightened safety concerns over the ancient foundations beneath the Palace. The museum initiated a closure of the building while Federation Engineers from the Department of Heritage assessed the damage. They announced their verdict today - Demolition."

The view switched to an older female in glasses standing on the riverbank, the brown brick building in the background. She was named as Commander Elias in a helpful graphic underneath, "Christiansborg Palace, as it currently is, was actually built on the site of two previous structures, going back as far as 1167. Our scans have indicated wide-spread deterioration of the supporting foundation -" A generated image of the subterranean levels beneath the building appeared on screen, where it was visibly sinking in the middle -"shows the building can no longer support its own weight."

The video flicked back to the Vulcan reporter, "Preliminary proposals before the Engineering survey had suggested a careful excavation and repair process could be used to save the aged structure, but that now has been categorically ruled out by the Department of Heritage."

"It's too late." Commander Elias was saying, giving a shrug, "We can attempt to rescue and preserve what we can from the site, especially the bricks and some of the anterior buildings, but the main Palace itself will need to be demolished before it collapses in on itself."

Magnus turned off the news report, sighing as he looked out the porthole window. He could only see stars and distant planets here - he was so far removed from Earth now on SB109. To himself, quietly, he could admit that this distance actually brought him a little comfort. He was too far away to get involved on the subject; he had an excuse not to care. He wondered what his mother would say about this. No, he knew what she would say - that it was another attack on Earth culture and the erasure of Earth history. It was an example that the Federation Government was overruling the United Earth Government in maintaining important buildings. She was probably already drafting a petition to Save the Palace, regardless of the enormous resources that would require and the Engineering report showing that it was futile.

A headache he was pleased to avoid.

Magnus' thoughts were interrupted by a subspace video call, coming from Starfleet. He smiled when he saw the sender was his brother, Nycolas, from the USS Pandora. Magnus had sent him a message earlier, unsure of what timezone or schedule his brother the Captain was currently on. He quickly slipped on a t-shirt as he accepted the call.

"Strudel." Nycolas beamed, using their childhood nickname. He was sitting in his ready room on the Pandora, Starfleet uniform brightly on show.

"Saint Nick." Magnus rolled his eyes. "I hope I didn't wake you?"

Nyx shrugged, "It's lunch time here, kind of. We're still in Luna Shipyards."

"Oh, Starfleet not given you the clear to launch just yet?" Magnus frowned, to which Nycolas just solemnly shook his head. Magnus quietly nodded, moving on, "How's the family?"

"Good, good." Nyx smiled, his face lightening up at the thought of his wife and children, "Emilie is loving the new school facilities, as are the kids. They've got some impressive play equipment here now. Better than what we ever had growing up."

Magnus huffed as he thought about the corridors. The running, the chasing. They made the fun that they could.

Until it wasn't.

"Yeah," He slowly agreed, "Well I'm glad the kids are settling in. I know you were worried about that."

"Heading back out into active service is a big ask." Nycolas replied, "But hey, look who I'm telling that to! Here you are, out on Starbase 109?! Of all the out-the-fracking-way places?"

"It was a good opportunity." Magnus said, a little defensively, "The Federation could do a lot of good work out here. If they, you know, cared to invest in formalising relations and actually making permanent in-roads with the local powers. The whole region is lacking in cohesive leadership. We could fill that void."

Nycolas turned up the side of his mouth, "That sounds like a lot of diplomatic talking."

"It's what I do." Magnus shrugged.

Nyx laughed at that, nodding in agreement. He bit his lip for a second, considering his next words carefully. They would always speak honestly with each other. "So, you had the dream again?"

Magnus felt a chill down his spine, the memory flooding back in. He always told Nycolas when he had the dream, and his brother would do the same. They were both stalked by the same nocturnal torture from time to time.

"It's just annoying." Magnus sighed, "Usually I'm dreaming about becoming Federation President, now this again?"

Nycolas jovially scoffed, "That is unfair. You're just going to have to become President in real life instead."

It was Magnus' turn to laugh now, and he did heartily, "Sure. Once I solve all of the Delavi System's issues, I'll pop back to Earth and declare my candidacy."

Nycolas shrugged, knowingly, "It'll happen. I've always said it." He paused and frowned, "What do you think brought it on? The dream?"

"Eh..." Magnus shook his head. "Earlier today I used one of his old phrases. You know, 'If wishes were horses' - "

"'Then beggars would ride.'" Nycolas finished it for him, knowing the saying well. "God I hated that. It never made any sense."

"Our father, the constant slurring, incoherent drunk, trying to give us sound advice like he was a damned philosopher." Magnus sneered, allowing his anger to show in his tone. "When wasn't hitting us or passing out."

Nycolas too shuddered at the thought. He had wished that he had been stronger, taller, able to fight off their father, and to protect his younger brother. But he was just a boy, too.

"Have you..." Magnus began to ask, then trailed off, deciding he didn't want to say it. "Never mind."

"No, I haven't heard from him." Nycolas responded quickly. That news would bring them both some relief. "I don't know where he is now."

"Good." Magnus sighed.

"I did hear from mother, though." Nycolas raised his eyebrows. "She has a petition for us to sign about some old building in Copenhagen?"

"Christianborg Palace." Magnus couldn't help but laugh. He knew it. "They're going to tear it down for safety reasons and, of course, she disagrees."

"She does." Nycolas nodded. "And she's going to use some old videos of us standing outside it. I think she's working the angle about it being important to Danish children?"

Magnus scoffed, "If only we were important to her then." He replied sardonically, shaking his head. "I would stay out of it, she's just gearing up for a new campaign push. The Galactic Alliance Party have a new leader and they're going all-in on 'Earth First' policies. It's just a battering ram towards the elections."

Nycolas rubbed his face, suddenly tired. "All of that just gives me a headache. I don't know how you can work in politics."

"I'm in Diplomacy." Magnus reminded him, putting on his trademark smile, "Entirely different, if not entirely parallel fields."

"Good luck with that." Nycolas smirked, "I'll stay here in Starfleet, thank you very much."

Magnus nodded, "Smart."

Nycolas looked earnestly into the camera, "Are you going to be okay? After, you know, the nightmare?"

"It's over now." Magnus shrugged, letting out a breath to show he was calm now, "The best I can do is hope it was a once-off."

"Okay." Nycolas knew not to push, choosing to live in hope just the same, "So I see you've been making friends onboard 109?" His eyebrows wiggled in accusation.

Magnus' eyes widened for a moment, his throat caught as he saw his brother's intoned, knowing face. "W-what?"

"There's a pair of Starfleet issue boots by the bed." Nycolas smirked, nodding to the background behind Magnus, "I know those ain't yours."

Magnus felt his cheeks flush red, embarrassment seeping over his body. The Ensign had left with the wrong shoes. His brother just laughed raucously.

"I... I... " Magnus stammered, trying not to laugh.

There were worse things to discuss at 3am. Though, this wasn't great either.

OFF

 

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