A Poor Definition Of Fine

Posted on Fri Jul 2nd, 2021 @ 9:41am by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Ensign Michael Sloan

Mission: Mission 4 - Eden
Location: Deck G - Guest Quarters
Timeline: Day 165 20:00
1535 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Beth had not thanked the man for looking after her nor passing her laundry onto her yeoman so she found herself stood outside his quarters pressing the chime a book in hand without much thought of what else she was going to say. She had showered and changed into civilian clothes needing something just different than the uniform and tight EV suit she had been in all day. It was in the moment when she had been trying to settle down that she had remembered offering to find Michael more books and remembered Leah's box of belongings still in the corner of her quarters. There was only one person she wanted to talk to after the day she had, had on the other ship and meeting the AI, King was just not going to cut it that night. Michael had the best of three worlds - Marine, Starfleet and Romulan, even if potentially two of them were fabricated.

Having just one single duty shift guarding various parts of the ship, depending on the day, left Michael with a lot of free time on his hands to spend in his quarters. He had found three-hundred-twenty six separate welding lines the held his quarters together. Warp V was fast, but the former Chief Armory Officer was still able to notice various star patterns would only slightly shift between warp jumps. It was another reminder of just how long their trip was going to be. The door chime brought an abrupt end to his own journey through the stars outside the viewport. "Come on in," he called from his seated position on his bed. The man was wearing Starfleet issue blue casual wear. A long-sleeved blue shirt with white accents and a Starfleet logo on the left chest with matching blue pants. "Ah Captain, I wasn't expecting you so soon. I would have thought everyone was still exploring."

Beth smiled a little as she came into the room and the door slid shut behind her with a hiss. She had not expected the Starfleet issue casual wear but who was she to judge when she was sure up until Christmas no one had seen her wearing anything other than uniform.

“They are still exploring the ship. It is fascinating. I came here for another reason I seem to remember when I hit my head you were in need of reading material.” She said holding a small stack of books in her hand. She set them on the desk before looking around trying to work out if he had brought anything from his own quarter to this one.

His quarters had always been on the spartan side. Michael's came from a line of military officers who had never really hoarded personal mementos. He had taken his personal items from his former quarters but had only unpacked the things that had a practical purpose. He had left the pictures and decorative memories in a footlocker under his bed. They would only serve to confuse him and he did not want to set back his progress or trigger another uncontrolled outburst. He stood up, looking at the pile of books as though it was a rare treasure. "I'll happily take any reading material I can get. What kind of adventures am I about to embark?" he replied, looking between Beth and trying to make out the titles on the spines of the book.

That was a very good question in Beth’s opinion. She had not looked at the full stack of books when she had grabbed some from Lexi as well as Leah's box. She glanced down and frowned as she was wondering if she should have checked what other titles other than Journey to the Center of the Earth were in the pile. “Well, only one is from me. The others are from Lexi. So, I apologise for anything um…. Yeah, I just apologise… Lexi.” Beth said as if that summed it all up and to anyone who knew the young comms operator it did. She shrugged and stepped back a bit to allow him to look at the pile properly.

Taking the offered stack of books, Michael began to skim through the covers. “We have Journey to the Center of the Earth, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Odyssey, and (Lexi’s choice?),” he read. He reorganized the stack into a stack and put them on the nearby table.

"Some are from Leah's belongings so I am sure they will be familiar to you for the most part." There had been so much tension that they had not really discussed Leah since the day that he had given her Leah's pip. "Do you mind if I sit?" She indicated the chair.

“Of course,” Michael replied, sliding the books to the other side of the table. “I wasn’t expecting visitors,” he apologized. He nodded toward his teapot and asked, “Would you like anything?”

“Jy het my nie verwag nie.” Beth replied in Afrikaan without thinking. She did not know she was going to end up there, let alone know how her mind worked. “I am fine really Michael. Please do not fuss about I really just came to hand the books over and thank you for looking after me when I knocked my head.” She assured wondering if he wanted to be left alone. She knew she could do with some company herself even if the tension was heightened in the air at the moment.

"Berei voor vir enigiets," Michael replied in Afrikaans, "Or so they always tried to teach us." Giving the Captain a once over to see if she really was fine, the man added, "I'm glad you're doing better, the ship needs you."

“I do not think that anyone can prepare for any of this. Have you gotten across to the ship?” Beth wondered not able to remember if he had been assigned to go over or not. It should be easier with 70 crew to remember but she knew some people have not yet been over to the strange and wonderful ship.

Shaking his head, Michael stated, "I haven't been given clearance yet." Not trying to sound bitter about it, he pointed out, "Though I can not blame them, it would be my first away mission since I became a traitor to United Earth. Who knows if something over there may trigger another round of mental programming." Looking from the Captain to the ship and back to the Captain, Michael asked, "You look stressed, I hope everything is going alright over there."

"Ah yes. Gerhard did mention it to me. Maybe tomorrow you can come with my team? It is easier now the ships are connected and we no longer need shuttles to go across." Beth said softly not that they had the gangway from the ship connected it was allowing them quicker access to the ship. She should have realised that William would not run the risk of it but Medical was pretty sure that there was nothing more there but some people were not convinced. If Beth thought she was in danger she would not be there, by herself. There was tension over everything that had happened. She looked up at the mention of stress. "No, I am good."

Michael’s eyes were unable to hide his disbelief at that statement. No one aboard the ship was currently what a normal person would call good. The Romulan turned Human looked at his Captain, eyebrow arching in a Vulcan manner. “Are you sure? Because how can anyone be good?”

"I am fine." She said a little firmer. She was stressed but who could she actually admit it to? Who would understand that she felt like she was on a knife-edge of her own health and sanity sometimes with not sleeping due to everything rolling around in her year? The best sleep she had, had in months had been when she had hit her head.

“You are clearly not sleeping and you’re pushing yourself to the limit,” Michael stated. The purple under her eyes gave away that as much as the dry eyes. “The top is a lonely place, you need some kind of outlet,” the man advised. The look he got in return silenced him.

"Drop it." The woman commented getting annoyed. She could see the annoyance on his face as well, it was easy to see that they were frustrated with each other.

Without thinking, Michael went from staring at his Captain, wondering why she was so stubborn. The next, their lips had been locked together in combat. For a brief moment, he pulled himself away. But, that was only to begin removing his Starfleet issue shirt. Giving a look, he reached to help Beth with hers.

Maybe it was why if anyone asked Beth what had happened she would not be able to tell them. One moment they had been staring at each other annoyed and the next they had been kissing. Maybe it had been where they had been heading the whole time with the tension between them? Beth did not know but it felt right at the moment as he reached for her again. She could decide tomorrow.