Take 2

Posted on 05 Mar 2013 @ 12:26am by Lieutenant Lilou Zaren & Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk

1,262 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 7
Timeline: MD 05 - 1550 HRS

ON:

Cyrus knew it was a long shot.

Peer's reaction to..well...to him was odd, which was putting it lightly. It concerned him as it should, considering he was only a security officer, and her the head of the Engineering department. It was the very least to check up on her and make sure that it was only an isolated incident. He knew that there was trouble enough from stress and depression on this ship.

As he took the lift down to the Engineering offices he wondered what would have been the cause of her reaction. It was scary that he could invoke so many bad sides out of so many people. Maenad, Kiri, Stone, and now Peers...

He should be keeping a running tally.

The doors slide open and he stepped into the corridor. It always felt hotter on the lower levels, probably was just himself though, most of the ship received specialized climate temperatures to prevent dramatic increases and decreases in temperature. It was odd, it seemed that his mind was more focused on how everyone else on the ship was, instead of his actual task, which was setting up the TRT.

Maybe it was because it had been progressing so well and hadn't hit any snags. If anything, the idea had ballooned into something more. If this worked, it could revolutionize small starships. He forced the thoughts from his head, there was no sense taking leaps before crawling.

It seemed only moments before the door to the main engineering area was before. Kiwosk took a slight breath, preparing himself as he could only assume the worst. The doors slid open without incident and Cyrus peered in.

Main Engineering at the shift changeover was as much of a madhouse as a miniscule department could be. The tiny engineer was shuffling through a pile of PADDs, and alternately writing notes on a giant board on the wall and tossing PADDs to the other engineers as though they were oranges, all while muttering to herself. Something about plasma speeds and a variety of numbers that she seemed to think were actually words. "Right," she broke out of her numeric zen state. "That's all. Good luck; don't break her before 0900 tomorrow. I'm heading up to the hangar, see if there's any last minute adjustments on the shuttles. Thanis, go to sleep, you're all on your own tonight."

"Yes, sir," the young Trill chirped and scurried past Kiwosk out the door.

Lilou followed him with her eyes, then blinked as the security officer's presence registered. "Here to see Willis? He's running a system check on deck five."

"Actually, not so much Willis as I'm here to see...you, ensign. I was hoping we could talk about the other day...you know...when you looked like you were going to take..." He looked around at the other individuals. "me to that favorite spot at the bar so I could buy you that drink I owe you..." He didn't want to add any further problems to the situation and bringing it up while her department was running by didn't seem like the smartest of ideas.

Lilou blinked a couple times, brow furrowing, and gathered her PADDs under her arm. "I have to check the hangar," she said quietly and hurried past him into the corridor.

So she does remember " Seems we're going the same way then. " He replied calmly, his shoulder urged for a rolling, but he resisted, not wanting to intimidate the young woman further.

She paused just before the turbo lifts, hugging her PADDs to her chest. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize for upsetting you; however I had upset you, I wish I could do more." He stopped unsure exactly what to say, knowing that it seemed odd that he would have hunted her down, just to apologize. "So...I'm sorry."

"You're sorry," she repeated, feeling for all the world as though she'd rather be disintegrating into molecular particles. She couldn't even remember what had set her off precisely. His bearing? A remark? It was all a blur of panic and terror in her memory. "You didn't do anything."

"Not directly, but whatever set you off, it was me physcially that caused whatever happened. I feel bad for that. So I'm letting you know that I'll not bother you any further should that be the best course of action. I don't want to have you take another...one of those." Cyrus explained, feeling almost like he was justifying his apology. Unsure what she was feeling at the moment.

"You didn't do anything," she said again. Spirits, he was making her feel like a worm for a reaction that had been out of her control. "I'm just... I don't know what you want me to say."

"You don't need to say anything...I just wanted to to clear the air...I guess." He chuckled weakly. "I still owe you that drink, whenever you get a chance." He looked around without saying much more before smiling a small half-smile. "I'll let you get back to work ma'am. I didn't want to keep you even this long, and I still have the rest of the engineering deck to cover before the hour is through."

"Yeah, 'cause we're just a huge space to walk in an hour," she mumbled, hugging her PADDs. "I'm sorry if- I mean, I can't help- I didn't mean-" she gave up on a sigh. She could strap kinetic field absorbers onto a starship but she couldn't form a sentence. "I'm going to go now. Air cleared?"

"Peers. " Cyrus looked at her and chuckled. "Relax. You didn't offend me. Shit happens. " He sighed and straightened his uniform. "You're forgiven...I know you didn't mean it that way and no one can help sarcasm. The air is clear. "

He chuckled.

'No one can help sarcasm'? she wondered. Why was he laughing so much? She didn't find this remotely funny.

"I still owe you that drink, might as well make a night of it, invite your friends!"

She opened her mouth but stopped herself before the words 'what do you mean, friends' fell out. Friends. What was everyone's obsession with this meaningless word? She'd had friends on the Algonquin - people she'd spent time with, drank with, slept with, enjoyed being with, trusted. Not one of them had protected her. Not one of them had cared when she'd changed. Maybe they hadn't noticed, but wasn't that, in itself, a sign? 'Friendship' was a myth. "I should go," she said quietly.

Cyrus wasn't nearly as good at reading expressions as his mentor, but he could tell when he had touched a sensative nerve. "Lilou...Ensign, I didn't mean to upset you again....man you must think I'm a brute..." He sighed. "I hope I'll stop running around like a bull in a China shop..." He sighed. "If you require anything I'm always available, Ensign." He gave a brief salute and proceeded to make his way for the opposite exit.

There was no sense trying to beat down walls that were put in place, he knew when to step back, or at least. He'd like to think that.

Lilou watched him go, cuddling her PADDs to her like a child might embrace a prized stuffed animal. Fear made her mute. Not his fault. Not right now. What did that matter, though, when her body seized and his brain silenced?

OFF:

ENS Lilou Peers
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo


CWO Kiwosk
Security/ Tactical Officer
TRT Squad Leader
USS Galileo

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