Setting The Scene

Posted on Tue Nov 12, 2024 @ 10:39am by Commodore Kate Banninga & Lieutenant Commander Richard Fitzsimons

1,031 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Second Chances
Location: Lyshan Colony

ON:

Letting down a long breath, Rick leaned back in his make shift chair before rubbing his eyes. Caoimhe's reports were being to drive him up the wall; in the absence of Megan the woman had become crazier...if that was even possible.

Of course the situation wasn't help in anyway by the near proximity of the other woman in command who managed to get under his collar...just in a different way to the science officer.

Turning in his chair, the man glanced across to Kate; her head buried in a PADD couldn't hide those lips that haunted his dreams since that night back on the station. Who'd have known that a woman was capable of blowing up his world in more than one way.

Rubbing his fingers across his forehead, Rick tried to push away feelings that had no place in the months proceeding that moment. Kate and him had a job to do...save, recover and rebuild. It left no place for anything else; no matter how easy it may have been to pick up where theyd left off.

"See this Caoimhe one...do you think there's a way to leave her on the planet when the new station arrives? Although...I somehow think she'd still find a way to make my life a living hell even with the distance." As he spoke, the Commander moved behind the Commodore, trying to get a peek at what she was reading. No matter that even her subtle scent threatened to push him to lean in closer.

She turned her head to him and lifted a eyebrow. "Leave her on the planet. Sure, leave our Chief Science behind. Why not? You gonna do her job then? We're already missing Megan." She moved the padd out of his line of sight. "Can I help you with something? Besides rearranging the senior staff roster, apparently"

Rick tried to not take the woman's words personally. Over the last few months he'd come to see this as the norm, Kate's reaction to everything that had happened to the station. No matter how many people told her she wasn't at fault, Kate didn't seem to want to listen. "Come on...you know it'd be fun. She might loosen up abit without all of us hanging around. You know you wouldn't mind a few hours rest from her...intense personality."

"Believe me, there's no loosening up needed." Kate said as she returned to the padd she was reading. "For both of us." Caoimhe and she had struck some kind of friendship over the last years. Even more now they were roommates. She was fully aware why Caoimhe had put her shield up. Probably because she had done the same. What else were you suppose to do when people expected you to be strong and do a demanding job, while you were feeling like shit, mentally.

"Progress report on the new stations arrival!" she said showing the padd she had in hand, purposely changing the subject. "As well as a huge list of what they expect us to do to be ready for its arrival."

Hesitating for a moment, Rich took the outstretched PADD while keeping his eyes on Kate. "Shouldn't be an issue. Everyone around here is about ready to get their feet back onto metal ground. But..."

Resting his hip against the woman's desk, Rich attempted to get Kate to look at him. While his mind might have been on instances in the past, he was also worried for Kate. Everyone had noticed the change in her since the destruction if their last station. "When's the last time you managed some downtime?"

"Define downtime?" she replied. She was aware what he was trying to do, but she didn't have room in her mind to acknowledge anything personal between them. Not even friendship. "Could you check with Ops if they got the upgrades ready on the transporters, so we can use them to transport people and stuff back to the new station?" She asked, hoping he would stop with the personal question. It just wasn't possible for them.

The attempts of the Captain to circumnavigate his questions were easy to see; what concerned Richard more was why. Was she on a knifes edge and ready to topple at any point or was he perhaps the problem. "Yesterday's update indicated that they are a week out from operation which should allow time for practice tests, and to get a few molecules lost and found again before it's time for relocation.'

Richard shoved his free hand in his pocket to stop himself from grabbed Kate's chin and forcing her to look at him. "When's the last time you got your head out of word and just managed to clear your head?"

She looked up at him. She wanted to be annoyed with the question, but she couldn't. He was right. She took a deep breath before saying. "Four months, three days and ..." she checked the time on the padd in front of her. "5 hours."

It didn't pass Richard's attention that she forgot the 39seconds...the time since that moment they had on the station. Tightening his fist in his pocket, the officer forced himself to focus on the here and now, trying to keep his voice tone natural. "Meet me in ten minutes and we go for a walk...when in all that time have you just stopped, taken a breath and looked at everything around you." The statement was just that, a statement and not a question.

She looked from him to the stack of work that was waiting for her. She had to agree that she needed an outlet. She needed to do something or she would explode, no pun intended. "Fine." she acknowledged. "10 minutes."

It took him a second to register there was no need to fight; quickly Richard moved to his feet indicating for the Commodore to preceed him out the door. "Work is easier once you take a breath and just let the fresh air clear your mind.'

"I think you might be correct." Kate agreed.

[OFF]

Commodore Kate Banninga
Commanding Officer
Langley Station

Lieutenant Commander Richard Fitzgerald
Executive Officer
Langley Station

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