Beginnings in San Fran

Posted on Mon Jan 11th, 2021 @ 3:54pm by Lieutenant Mica Rue & Captain Abigail Laurens

Against the dark backdrop of the sky, the woman's silhouette was framed by the edges of the window. Her flowing dress, as blue as the ocean that could not be seen in the darkness, drifted from her shoulders, clinging tight to her torso, billowing from her hips down her legs to the floor, hiding her feet.

The woman stared upward, to where the Astraea should be, hovering above. But it wasn't, and that in itself was sobering. Although most of the crew had gotten out, there were casualties, including the nurse who had aided her. Casualties for nothing, except an ill-ship.

The woman shifted, leaning against the window frame, laying the side of her face against it, hissing quietly at the tenderness still on her temple scales.

Silently, a man came from behind. The woman say him approach, if only by the glow of the moon reflecting from his crisp white suit.

"Are you alright?" he lifted his hands from his pockets, gazing out on that starry night sky with the woman - as though that was really what she was seeing.

She sighed. "How did you find me?" She continued to lean, closing her eyes briefly at the intrusion.

He turned to look at her. "The institution got wind of a starfleet vessel that had gone down, all survivors transferred temporarily to earth. The director came to notify me when she found out it was your ship."

"And?"

"And what?" he threw his hands up. "And I wanted to see if my sister was alright."

"And to convince me to come home." She hefted herself from the window, turning toward him.

His mouth opened and closed, silently choking down the words he so desperately wanted to say. "You were injured, almost fatally, and you weren't even on active duty, Mikey."

Mica garbled out a half-laugh. "I almost died because I tried to suppress what I was. Because I agreed to install the damn implants despite my better judgement. Because of a secret YOU and our brothers refuse to tell me." she jabbed him in the chest with her finger, trying to reign in her anger.

Selin glanced away. “The implant didn’t work?”

She chuckled. “Oh it worked. Too well. Until it shorted.”

“So you had to remove it?”

She stared at his figure. “I had to get someone to shoot me in the head to turn them off.”

His head came up quick. “Gods, Mikey, you could have died instantly.”

“You think I don’t know that, Selin? I’m smarter than I look.”

Selin looked down. "I just want you to be safe, Mikey, we all do."

The woman turned from him, staring out the window again. "I have two choices - be safe, or be happy. Which ne do you want for me, Selin? Cause I've tried safe, and I'm tired of being so damn miserable."

the Trill man shoved his hands in his pockets once more, biting his bottom lip. It was a family trait, one they were now both doing.

"I'm hoping to rejoin starfleet as a full officer, Selin, and I don't want there to be any bad blood between us with this decision."

His head snapped up. "Bad blood? Of course not, Mikey, we're just worried about you." He reached out, gently pulling his sister into his chest. A full head shorter than him, he rested his chin on the top of her head. "We could never be disappointed in you, and we'll support you any way we can, even if it's from another quadrant."

Mica Rue leaned into her brother's embrace, relishing in the touch. "Is this just you? Or do Yolan and Batan feel the same?"

"Does it matter?" he asked, resisting her pull away but allowing it. "I'm head of the family now. They will accept and support what I tell them to."

Mica did pull away completely. "That isn't fair, Selin. Not to them, and not to me." She backed up, placing her hands behind her, leaning her back against the frame. "You can't force compliance or the way they feel."

He huffed, checking the inside of his cheek, cramming his hands back in his pockets. "Then truthfully, Batan will feel whatever you tell him to - you know he dotes on you. Yolan, well..." he glanced away. "He won't like it. He hates the idea of you staying away from us twice as much as I do."

"He'll go over it, and so will you." the woman unconsciously placed her fingertips gently against her temple plate, moving them in small clockwise circles to ease the soreness. "But I wouldn't expect anything different from my big brothers."

a chime came from Selin's side then. He pulled a handheld device from his pocket and grimaced.

"You came on business?" Mica asked, a bit deflated by the reality.

He nodded. "It seemed smart, considering I didn't know if you would even see me." Sighing, he extended his arms again. "I've got to go, but I'll be on earth as long as you need me. See me again?"

She forced a smile. snuggling back into his embrace. Wrapped in his long arms, his body huddling over her, she felt like a little girl cuddling with her biggest brother once more. Safe. And happy. The only place she could be both. "I don't know how long I'll be here, yet, but yes, of course I'll see you again."

She felt him nod above her before he let go reluctantly. Her hand trailed down his sleeve, grasping his fingers, squeezing them before dropping hers away. Straightening his suit jacket, he shot her a smile. "Bye Mikey."

She winked, an old habit she knew would make him think back to the old Mica, the carefree one. "Good luck."

As she watched her brother walk away and exit through the doors, a waving hand caught Mica's attention. She approached the table, hands behind her back again. "Captain," she started. "I'm glad to see you're hale."

Abigail offered a slight nod and motioned for Mica to join her. "And you," she said warmly. "Seems you're well on the way to recovery now that you're back on Earth?" She picked up the mug between her hands and sipped it slowly. "How are you feeling Lieutenant?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine concern.

Mica sat across from the CO. "Much better, ma'am. I hope to never repeat that experience ever again." she mouthed the word, 'coffee' across to a server. It didn't matter that it was late, Mica doubted she would be sleeping anyway. "You were uninjured?"

There was a pause, another sip of her drink before a slow nod. "I was uninjured, thank you for your concern," she finally replied softly. "There were others that were not so lucky." She sighed heavily and stared at the liquid in her mug. "Everyone should be receiving new orders in the next 48 hours. Command hasn't yet reached a decision on what will happen to the crew."

Sobered, Mica glanced down at her lap and nodded. “I know, I heard the preliminary report.” Quietly she accepted the cup of black goodness and placed it on the table. “I suppose they will reassign the officers into the various openings across a number of ships....” she bit her lip again, wishing things could be easier, that her future could be assured right now. But there were bigger things to think of...

"I don't believe any decisions have been made yet," Abigail replied quietly, watching the other woman carefully. "Are you okay Mica? You seem... troubled."

Mica put her hands around her mug finally. “The last year...the troubles with my family, transferring to trill, the implants, coming back to the Astraea on temp...” she looked up. “It’s been...a ride.”

"Indeed," Abigail said quietly. "I was very sorry to have heard about your parents, it must have been hard losing them so quickly like that."

Mica didn't answer for a long minute. Then she smiled, though the expression didn't reach her eyes. "It was, but....time moves on. Captain, I know you probably won't have much say on the matter; however, I'd like to be considered for a position on your new ship, if that is a possibility. I've thought about returning to trill, but I know now that isn't something I can do. I had officially put in my transfer of position to a medical engineer, and..." realizing she had gone back to her old habit of rapid fire speech, she paused, slowing her breaths. "My place is with starfleet, and I would prefer to be with a CO I am accustomed to for my return, if possible."

Abigail offered a smile and a slight nod. "Once I find out what decisions are made, I will definitely do what I can," she offered softly. "I can't make any promises, but I'll try, you have my word."

The Lt nodded, then turned her head toward the window, watching the stars. “Two people died because of me, up there. I won’t forget that. And I owe it to them to live the way I deserve to. The fullness of life they should have had.” She glanced back at the captain. “I appreciate your efforts. If it isn’t meant to be, then so be it. But I will be back on a ship again, and I’ll make something of myself again...for them...and for myself.”

Reaching across the table, Abigail rested her hand on Mica's forearm momentarily. "I'll do what I can, I promise. You'll hear back from me within twenty four hours." She stood up and straightened her shoulders. "If you'll excuse me Lieutenant, there is something I need to take care of. I'll speak to you tomorrow."

Mica nodded back, then turned her gaze back to the great blackness outside...