Previously in the Life of Amaranai Franklin, Part 2

Posted on 02 Dec 2016 @ 1:32am by Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin
Edited on 02 Dec 2016 @ 1:34am

1,282 words; about a 6 minute read

Early February, 2389
San Francisco, California, Earth
Starfleet Academy Gym 0530

"You'd better keep running,!" a woman's voice yelled.

"I can't," the girl said, slowing down.

"You'd better or no breakfast!" another admonishment.

"You wouldn't do that to me three days in a row!" the reply came amid huffs and puffs.

"Think I'm bluffing?" she said. "Try me."

The girl running on a treadmill slowed a moment and watched as the woman next to her began to shake her head. She spoke again, but this time in a more relaxed tone and a smile.

"You're right," she said after a moment of silence. "You've been running solid for an hour. We can eat."

The woman, Commander Nara Doteen, slowed the treadmill until Charlotte Franklin - her adopted daughter - could stop running and get off.

The young girl looked at her adopted mother and shook her head.

"You're not fair sometimes," Charlotte said.

"Your sister said nothing about being fair to you," Nara said. "She told me to change your attitude toward yourself and others." She paused. "For me, that's starts with staying in shape."

The woman started walking away and Charlotte hopped off the treadmill and started to follow. There was silence between the two as they walked into the locker room. Nara changed and waited as Charlotte did the same.

"But I'm not a cadet," Charlotte complained. "I'm just a kid."

Nara turned on the girl.

"You're right," she said. "You're a kid that I've been asked to care for by a friend. And what do you do?" She paused a moment. "You complain and whine and expect the world to do whatever you ask of it just because of who you are."

Nara started to walk out of the locker room with Charlotte closely following. Once they were away from the gym, Nara stopped and looked at Charlotte once again.

"Well guess what?" she said. "You're name doesn't mean anything to me other than your sister is my friend and she wanted you to get a better upbringing than she had. Understand?"

A beep sounded from Nara's wrist and she looked at the device.

"Your sister has sent you a message. Let's get back to the house to view it."

The pair headed across the campus to Nara's residence in silence. Charlotte considered what Nara had said but didn't mention it at all. She was still mad at Amaranai for dragging her to San Francisco and leaving her with a stranger. It didn't matter that Charlotte was actually happier in San Francisco versus London. At least here she had someone that was paying attention to her and wanting her to succeed. At least here she didn't have to fear for her life or fear of being arrested on a day to day basis.

They arrived at the apartment and entered. Nara left Charlotte alone with the console. When Charlotte felt Nara was out of the room long enough, she pressed the button to play the message.

"Hey Char," Amaranai said. "I was sending this message to let you know that I'm going to be transferring from the Hawthorne to the Gemini. The transfer won't happen for a few weeks, but I wanted to let you know now in case I didn't have time for another message."

Charlotte understood how busy her sister was and was always grateful for even a few minutes of seeing her. She wished that they could talk directly via subspace, but Charlotte knew that that wasn't always possible. Just getting a message from Amaranai wasn't always easy, either, so she didn't mind. Charlotte also wondered if something had happened on the Hawthorne to make Amaranai want to transfer.

"And before you ask," her sister continued. "Yes, something happened that has led me to my decision. Nothing bad. Nothing life threatenin. Nothing illegal. Just, something." There was a pause. "Someday, I might tell you. Until then, just know that I know what I'm doing."

Charlotte didn't like being the youngest because she didn't get told anything despite the fact that she had learned things, done things and known things that even her sister wasn't aware of. And so she played the role of the young, naive girl, unaware of the adult world and its dangers.

"Listen, Charlotte," Amaranai said. "I know you miss London. I know you miss your friends, but they weren't doing you any good. Look at where I got you from. I want you to remember that even though I'm way out here in the middle of another system, I'm still your sister. I'm here if you need me."

Charlotte looked around the empty room for a moment as there had been another pause.

"I love you, Charlotte," the message started. "I always will. No matter what."

The message ended and the screen faded. Charlotte huffed and pressed a different button on the console to begin recording a reply.

"Sister, dear," Charlotte said with a snobbish tone. "I really wish you would tell me what made you decide to transfer. It would save me a lot of time coming up with excuses of my own."

She giggled, knowing her sister would too.

"Seriously, though," Charlotte continued. "I do miss you and I wish you could just be here. Is the Gemini coming this way anytime soon? I want to be able to see you in person."

Despite Charlotte not being the kind of person to show emotion, Amaranai was probably the only person to know that Charlotte could actually cry. And it was this fact that allowed Charlotte's eyes to water up.

"I don't like it here, Am," she continued. "I don't get to go anywhere. I don't get to do anything except what Nara wants." She paused. "Not that I don't like her. She's nice and gets me things that I need or want. It's just . . ."

This time, Charlotte gets out of the chair and walks around.

"You should have left me in that jail, Am," Charlotte said from a few feet away. "At least there I would have some freedom. Can't you just take me with you? I won't be any trouble. I promise. Please?"

With that, Charlotte had moved back to the console and the recorder. She could see that the tears were beginning to fall from her eyes. Pushing them away with the tip of her finger, Charlotte continued.

"I just want to be gone from here. I'm tired of living like a prisoner. Why do you think I acted out so much? You know I didn't have a chance with any of them at home, right? You were the one I could look up to. You were the one that escaped. And I wanted that. And I thought I had to do the same things you did. And it didn't work until you saved me. And now I'm here, still stuck and you've escaped even further." The tears were flowing again. "Can't you save me?"

Charlotte touched the console intending to erase the message and accidentally sent it. She swore under her breath as she heard a door open and Nara enter.

"Everything okay?" she asked Charlotte.

"I'm fine," Charlotte said as she wiped away the leftover tears. "Amaranai is transferring to the Gemini. I'm just sad because she won't be heading here anytime soon." She paused. "Oh well."

"Well," Nara said. "Let's not think about it. For now, you get the rest of the day to yourself. Whatever you want to do. Sleep. Eat. Talk. Whatever."

"I think I'll rest for a bit," Charlotte said. "Thank you."

Nara nodded and headed to the kitchen to work on making breakfast, letting Charlotte go to her room without any questions.

TBC

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