News from the Other Side

Posted on Wed Feb 24, 2016 @ 9:06pm by Commander Caleb Ryan & Captain Isha t'Vaurek

1,022 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: Deck 24/Captain’s Quarters
Timeline: MD 5/1000

Caleb stepped out of the turbolift onto Deck 24 where the senior officers had their quarters. He’d just come from Sickbay, where they assured him that Ensign Mayhew would recover from the acid attack she took from whatever beastie her away team had encountered in the caverns on Pangea.

Caleb stopped outside of the captain’s door and nodded to the two security officers standing there. He rang the chime.

There was a very short list of who it could be, Isha thought as she stepped towards the door. She smoothed her skirt over her hips, having resumed wearing the gowns she favored in her ambassadorial days, as for now she did not have to blend in with Starlfleet attire. "Commander Ryan," she said as the doors parted. She stepped aside to allow him in. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Caleb returned the smile briefly. He examined the former commanding officer for a moment. She looked rather striking in the gown, and he realized just how much a woman she was for the first time, seeing her out of uniform. He berated himself for noticing, feeling ashamed of his betrayal of his dead wife, and cleared his throat.

“I was given a message to give to you, Captain,” Caleb said, adjusting his tunic. “From your daughter, while I was down on the planet with the away team.” He got right down to the business at hand.

Isha stared at him as though he had just sprouted a second head. "My...Eviess is down there?" It was not often that Isha could not find the words she needed.

Caleb winced, realizing he had gone about this badly. “Why don’t you sit down, Captain?” he suggested, gently touching her arm and leading her to the couch. “Can I get you some coffee or tea?” he offered.

Isha shook her head. When Eviess had disappeared along with the Fae and all evidence of their existence she had resigned herself to losing the girl forever. "Then Rusalka spoke the truth," she said, her gaze fixed on a distant point. "You did not bring her back?”

Caleb settled down opposite the captain and folded his long-fingered hands as he leaned on his elbows toward her. “She…wasn’t exactly…there,” he said. “She was more like a…ghost. It was hard to get readings,” he admitted, “but I would guess that the Fae might still be on the planet, just…slightly dimensionally shifted. Or perhaps able to cross further dimensional boundaries to reach it. Science is still tryin’ to figure it all out.”

Caleb reached out and took Isha’s hand, meeting her eyes. “Evies said to tell ya she’s okay,” he told the captain. “And that the planet had been restored to…both places? Apparently Rusalka wanted ya ta have it?” He didn’t tell her about Eviess saying Isha had always been too busy. The woman didn’t need that innocent insensitivity from her missing daughter.

Isha lowered her eyes to her hands. When she spoke her tone was both sad and wistful. "It is ironic, is it not, that they can gift me an entire world, but the restoration of my daughter's life, save by moving her beyond this dimension, is beyond their power."

“Ironic, yes, but perhaps not without hope,” Caleb mused. “If Eviess can make contact once, perhaps she can again,” he told Isha. “Or we could find a way. Ah’ll see if Science can put a team on it.”

Caleb grew quiet. “Ah know what it’s like,” he assured her. “Ah almost lost mah little girl. Ah’m sorry, Captain.”

Isha tilted her head slightly to one side, regarding him with a not unsympathetic eye. "I did not know that," she told him. "I trust yours is safely returned?"

Caleb gave a sad smile. “Aleczandra did, yes. My wife did not.” He looked away from the captain, taking a breath to steady himself. “Ah know we didn’t exactly…get off on the right foot,” he said, looking back to Isha. “Ah know you have know reason to really…trust me. But whatever Ah can do for you to get ya through this, let me know,” he told the Romulan woman. “If ya’d like a security detail to take ya to the planet, see if Eviess will show up again…”

And just like that the knot in her liver tightened, that knot of loss that bound three of her children, her husband Rh'vaurek, and now Eviess within her. She had a lot more in common with her security chief than she would ever have thought. "I am truly sorry to hear that," she said. "It is not an easy burden to carry. And yes, if she is seen, I would like to see her."

Caleb nodded. “Ah’ll make the arrangements,” he said. “We have to have a detail, since you’re technically still detained,” he told her, “but Ah’m pushin’ through the paperwork that should clear things up so Ah can release ya on your own recognizance. Then it’s up ta a Starfleet tribunal.”

He offered Isha his hand and clasped hers in both of his. “Back home, we have a tradition of bringin’ a thing called a casserole to the grief-stricken. So they don’t have to worry about cookin’ or anything. Ah can bring one by, if ya’d like.” He smiled.

Despite the fact that there was a replicator and Isha had never cooked a thing in her life, she understood the gesture for what it was. "I think I'd like that, Commander," she replied.

Caleb smiled. “Ah’ve gotten to be a pretty good cook since mah wife died,” he said. “Actually, she was kind of a terrible cook, so Ah did most of it,” he said with a sad chuckle, stepping back from Isha. “If there’s anythin’ else ya need, just let me know,” he told her before turning for the door.

"Thank you, Commander," Isha said with a slight smile.

---

Captain Isha t'Vaurek
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Commander Caleb Ryan
Chief of Security/Tactical

 

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