Less Awkward, More Brave

Posted on Sun Feb 20th, 2022 @ 4:24am by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Ensign Michael Sloan

Mission: Mission 5 - Babel
Location: Unknown planet
Timeline: Day 271 05:00
1777 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Beth was enjoying the freedom that a planet gave her as she stood at the top of the tower and just stared across the forest at how big and wide the scene was. Space had made it all seem so small after the last 270 days in the vastness of space but there watching the sunrise across the world it was beautiful to see and made her for a moment forget for a few moments whatever was going on. She turned to go around to the other side of the tower to look to where the camp had been when she noticed the man. She would not have noticed him if she had not wandered around to the other side to take in more.

“Good morning.” She said quietly. They had not really spoken much in the last two months since the Caelestis both trying to just get through the issues that came up. "I see I am not the only one taking advantage of the 36 hour days to take in a sunrise."

While Michael had spent just as long in space as everyone else, he had probably been more places. In just the time aboard, he had literally become a whole new person. As part of his journey, he had see Romulus, Earth, and relived memories that he did not know he held. While he had grown to become the Chief Engineer, he still felt trapped in a place where he felt as though he was under a microscope. Being on another planet to watch a sunrise seemed to let all of the stress of the past 270 days melt away. He watched the colors of the sky, the clouds almost painting the canvas before them as the world became brighter.

Having heard a few footsteps coming his way, Michael was expecting to hear a voice. Beth's was certainly welcome. The two of them had been on a rollercoaster, ranging from adversaries to romance and everything between. "Good morning," he echoed to Beth. Nodding with his head toward the sunrise, he motioned her closer. "It's beautiful," he said. The response was simple, but it reflected the awe that the man was in over the scenery.

Beth smiled and took confirmation that she could approach and leant on the barrier beside him. “It is such a strange world. Twilight lasts so long.” She mused for a long moment before she looked at him dropping her rucksack to the floor with a thud. The sunrise was beautiful but it made her sad that planets like that if they were lucky was all they were going to get. The silence was not deafening to the woman but comfortable despite everything between them.

“I had not realized you were down here or did you come down on the first flight?” She wondered finally turning from the sunrise to him.

"The last flight," Michael added, turning from the sunrise to look at Beth. It was fascinating to him that the planet rotated so slowly, on Earth or Romulus the home star would have already been well past the dawn stage. "I have never seen anything like it," he agreed. His curious and often cautious mind got the better of him as he asked, "Have we found any signs of sapient life down here?"

Beth made an ‘oh’ sound. That made sense, ship time and planet time were a little out of whack at the moment. “Me either. Such a straight twilight.” Beth closed her eyes savouring the moment as a breeze hit her face just right. She had wanted something like that for months just a light breeze to ruffle her and remind her that fresh air did exist. “Nothing other than this tower and the symbols on the way up.” It was light enough inside with lamps to see so she was sure unless he had been intent on just coming straight up he could not have missed them.

While expected, the information did allow Michael to relax a little easier. But, the fact that the tower was there at all was slightly concerning. The last time he had set foot on an alien world with remnants of old technology, his life had been dramatically changed forever. He turned back to the star rising slowly over the horizon. The scene, Beth, his new position was setting up to be a perfect situation. Or as close to perfect as being lost in space impossibly far from home could be. However, he and Beth were just getting past a hard beginning to there, was it a relationship, and his journey so far had been full of tragedy. For a moment, he did allow himself to get lost in the natural beauty of the strange planet.

As he had not spoken Beth said nothing for a long time. It would be hours before the sun would be up properly and Beth could not watch it forever but she did just stay there for a long time just watching it with him. "You have been quieter than normal. You okay?" Beth finally ventured putting a hand on his arm wishing she knew what she could do to help him more. It was a struggle between them, things were slowly getting less awkward with communication but it was still like they were on thin ice some days.

"I was just thinking about our experience with the Vrav," Michael confessed. He brought his other hand to a gentle rest on Beth's hand. "It was the last time I set foot on a planet, and it completely changed everything that I thought that I was," he added, briefly thinking about his life as only a Starfleet officer from Earth. Now, that was no longer the case. He was a person with no home, torn between two adversaries. Smiling slightly at Beth to reassure her, "I'm okay." He had only mentioned the results briefly to Beth, but he wanted to weigh just how much she knew. Perhaps it was the Romulan side of him. "Did Darru brief you?"

“Cannot change the past remember.” She did not want him to dwell. It had been a tough time where they had all been tested. As he put his hand over hers Beth decided to wrap her arms around his arm and shook her head. “No. He said I should just come and talk to you.” She said. “Ready to talk?” She wondered looking at him as much to say that she was ready to listen if he was to talk about it all.

Sighing as if letting go of a great weight, Michael tilted his head to the side to sort of meet Beth’s own. “I asked Darru to perform a mind meld with me. To help bring the scattered versions of me together,” he explained. “I saw my old lives, how they joined to make what I am now.”

Beth just listened and squeezed his arm reassuringly as he spoke. She was surprised by what he said when he had been so reluctant to talk about the Romulan him. “Who you are… not what,” Beth said gently. “Has it helped? Do you feel… better?” She wondered trying to find the correct words.

Letting out his breath to think about it, “I do. I think I’m beginning to make peace with both sides of myself.” Looking back at his experience, Michael added, “I’m neither of the two people who once were, but I’m also both of them. The Vrav scrambled the trigger, so I’ll never be completely one or the other.” Letting those words sink in a bit, Michael added, “I just have to put together the pieces and figure out who I am now.”

Beth stayed silent for a moment as she tried to figure it all out. “What do you need from me?” She finally asked wanting to know what he needed from her to help. She did not want to assume anything.

“I don’t want to ask for much,” Micheal honestly replied. “We’re stranded across the Galaxy and holding together with duct tape and best wishes,” he started to explain. “How about this,” locking eyes with Beth, “Let’s start with weekly breakfast?”

"Michael you can ask for whatever you want or do not want," Beth said taking her hand back to give him some space to explain what was going on. "If you want what happened between us to be just a memory then that is what it is but I will do weekly breakfast." She nodded biting her lip in a nervous gesture that she did when she was unsure of a situation.

Looking at Beth, the sunrise really brought out the red in her hair in a way that the sterile lighting of a starship couldn’t. “I don’t want it to be a memory,” Michael admitted. "You, well I don’t regret anything. I just didn’t trust myself or what I was, lost,” he was clearly nervous and stammered out something. “What do you want?” He asked, meaning more than just at the current moment in time.

"You to give me a chance to prove that there is something more than this tension and awkwardness. I do not regret it I was wrong to freak out after and I have just been letting you be to find yourself because I know you have been struggling." Beth tried to explain but it was impossible to put into words what she wanted to convey so she step up to him and kissed him softly caressing his cheek. "I trust you." She whispered simply.

At that moment, Michael felt more alive than he had since before they had set out on the voyage. Just before he could respond, his ears picked up movement on the other side of the door.

Beth was about to say more when the door to the stairs opened and McManus burst out and stopped dead as he saw the pair. "Um... Hi Captain... Sir. I was sent to find you, Ensign. The ship want to talk to you about the engines." The Engineer said keeping his gaze on them. There was no shame in being caught like that, he was almost jealous if he was honest.

"Of course Mr. McManus," Michael replied as though everything were normal. He silently mouthed sorry to Beth as he took a few steps toward the engineer. "What seems to be the problem?"

Beth said nothing just returned to the scene around her and enjoyed the moment. Something was coming she just did not know what for her or whether it was good or bad.