Landscape

Posted on 14 Oct 2021 @ 8:09pm by Laeon Wylde & Nesh Saalm
Edited on on 29 Oct 2021 @ 6:42pm

2,381 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Arboretum
Timeline: MD 03, 1300hrs

[ON]

Resting back against the reassuringly strong trunk of a tree, Laeon had stopped looking at the large sketching pad on his knees. Instead, his head was tipped back, watching the blossom above him with pale violet blue eyes, his breathing deep as he took in the scent. He had gone to the arboretum to draw...mostly because he had no idea what else to do. Not with the tension on the ship. Not with the hurried pace and furtive whispers of crew members who passed him. His father had been just as tight lipped, and that's when he'd actually seen him. At some point he'd zoned out though, his mind absently trying to put together the puzzle pieces of the snippets he'd managed to glean about just what in the galaxy was going on right now.

Nesh Saalm had come to the Arboretum for space. Her quarters, now feeling like a claustrophobic prison cell covered in splatter of red, red blood and memories, were less than calming and appealing. She had walked awhile, taking care to make sure she wasn't being followed. She would put nothing past Wyatt at this point, especially since introducing her knife to his stomach.

She spotted Laeon sitting there and hesitated. She...didn't want to be alone. No matter what she told others, she didn't. She swallowed and moved over to him and sat down, touching the ground...and felt somewhat more settled for it, her eyes on the youth. "So a Starfleet officer, a Starfleet enlisted and a Marine walk into a bar..." she started, aloud, before she shook her head. "And they all walk out again."

Laeon dropped his head back down, looking to her with surprise before smiling warmly to the Orion. Maybe it was because she was a civilian too, or maybe it was because she was younger than a lot of the others on the ship, but for some reason, he always felt more at ease in her company than others on the ship. "Why did they go in if they were all going to walk out again?"

"Not sure, I got told that one by some old Starfleet guy. Something about never leaving anyone behind," Nesh said before she shook her head, looking around. "How are you doing? I...Haven't been out much in the last few days..."

"Same," he gave her a half smile, just watching before leaning in close so he could lower his voice. "What in all the smoke and ash is going on?" he asked in a hushed tone. "No one tells me anything, they treat me like a kid," he shook his head at that, sighing softly. "I know it's not really any of my business, but...well, do you know what it's like? Living on a ship, knowing something is very, very wrong, but not being told what? It feels like anything could happen at any moment."

Nesh looked down at her hands, rubbing them together for a moment...she found herself doing it a lot the last hours. "My sister was relieved of duty and took a shuttle and..." she stopped and met his eyes, because she felt tears in her own. "And well. All went to hell as they say."

Laeon watched with surprise at the words, holding his breath tight. It would explain a lot...and it fit with some of the hurried whispers he'd caught. "Can you even do that to a Captain?" the youth asked as he watched her with a frown, seeing how unsettled she looked. "She's okay though, yes?"

"She took a shuttle before they could lock her up. So...I don't know," Nesh said and looked at him, with a frown. "I don't know. I...hope she is okay. But...for all I know, they got her killed by doing that..." she paused and sat back, slowly. "If you got the right reasons, you can do it. With the law and all. If not...it's mutiny. And the crew might not even know they are part of it."

Laeon looked down at that, at a loss in what he could say to make it better for her. He knew how horrible it was, being separated from someone you love, not knowing for sure if they were alive or dead. "When we left our planet," he finally replied, almost a whisper as he looked down to the soft grass beneath them, "I was on a shuttle sent out when Dad stayed behind in the fighting. We didn't know anything about what was going on back home, not for sure. I just knew he wasn't with me and there was nothing I could do about it. I refused to believe the worst though. It was like I felt that if he was gone I would somehow know it. I guess that's how everyone feels, but it seemed real enough at the time."

Nesh looked at him, just taking the words in with a slight frown...before she gave a small nod of agreement. "You are right," she said, taking a deeper breath. "I would know it if she had passed. I would feel it in my bones."

He nodded at that, giving an encouraging smile as he reached closer to her, but only touched the grass. "Besides, she seems pretty...well...tough," he settled on the word, laughing at how it sounded. "That came out as unflattering, I didn't mean it to be...."

Nesh chuckled before she looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "She is tough, strong and at times unforgiving like a solar flare. It's not unflattering, it is the truth."

"Then she's going to be just fine," he grinned at that, watching her with shining eyes that fully believed it. There was no white lie there, just faith in her judgement.

Nesh smiled at that before she bit her lip, suddenly thinking. "I...let my anger out on Wyatt," she said after a moment, sounding almost ashamed as she said it.

Laeon watched her features, the emotion all too clear to him. "What happened?" he asked quietly, sensing a story behind the words, but unsure if it was meant for his ears.

She looked down, considering the best way to say it. But Nesh lacked a lot of the tact that her sister had so she blurted it out. "I stabbed him in the stomach. Well...I held the knife, he walked into it..." she whispered and looked at him, her eyes dark.

Laeon's eyes widened with shock as he considered if he'd really heard what he thought he'd heard. He glanced around, as if to make sure no one else was listening before leaning in close, voice hushed. "Is he okay? I mean, he has to be okay, right?"

"He is fine," Nesh said quietly before she looked at her hands, rubbing them. "It wasn't deep and it wasn't...somewhere he suffered. I patched him up. It...we went to far. All of this is people going too far."

"He should go to Sickbay," Laeon shook his head with a frown, worried for both of them in whatever had happened. He could imagine it well enough though. It was clear enough that she was repentant though, however it had played out.

"I said that, he didn't want to get me into trouble," Nesh said before she shook her head, slowly. "I suppose something stuck in me to remember how to use a med kit."

Laeon's lips pursed at the statement, but he didn't push it. It sounded over with either way now. He pulled a leg close, wrapping his arms around it as he set his chin on his knee. "Did you really mean to hurt him?" he whispered.

Nesh hesitated before she shook her head slowly. "I wanted to...but not physically. I wanted to hurt him emotionally," she confessed, ashamed of saying it. "So he'd know how I feel..."

"Like you with your sister," he said quietly, nodding with understanding as he frowned, sighing gently. "I think we've all done stuff like that," he admitted quietly shaking his head. "As long as he's okay now..."

"He is," she said and nodded, looking at him for a long moment. "He is...I...I don't think I am though..." she paused before she shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I wish none of this had happened." Childish, she knew it sounded childish.

"Nesh...." Laeon watched her with worry, leaning forward to wrap her arms tight around her, shaking his head. "I'm sorry...it'll get better, I promise," he said quietly against her hair, frowning with pain for her.

She swallowed and hugged him, a soft breath escaping at just feeling someone hold her. "It will get better," she whispered, repeating his words. "I know. I know...thank you, Laeon...I...I needed a friend."

He smiled gently at that, just pleased that he could do something to make her feel better. He gave her a gentle squeeze, his hand on her back. "Why don't you stay here a while? It's been pretty quiet. It's a nice place to draw."

"I...can I borrow some of your supplies? I am underprepared..." Nesh said with a warm smile, drying her tears with a careful hand. "I would love to sketch you."

"Me?" he laughed softly at that, pulling a pad over with charcoal, offering it easily. "There are much better things here to draw, but if you want, I don't mind," he smiled gently, showing what he'd done on his so far. "It's the blossom, when you look up. I usually draw people's stories though, so it's not that good. This is more of a human subject."

Nesh moved closer to watch, smiling gently. "I like it...but I prefer your other work..." she said, motioning to his sketches. "I like it when they get a bit...surreal."

"Surreal," he laughed softly at the way she put it, watching her intently as he settled his chin on his pulled up knee. "Is that why Science didn't make you happy?" he suddenly asked, but hoped it wasn't too personal a question. "Because it was too....real?"

Nesh considered it, genuinely mulled the question over before she nodded. "It made me happy, for awhile. But then..." she stopped and looked around, almost as if it was a secret. "I spent a lot of time hating the establishment. The structure of it all...and now? Now I have been out here so long..." she paused, biting her lip. "I think I might need the structure of Starfleet service."

He tilted his head at that, smiling softly for a long moment, taking a deep breath in as if taking an impression of her in with it. "What you miss is the certainty of what tomorrow morning will bring," he said softly, shaking his head. "A lot of things...changed."

Nesh met his eyes at the words before she smiled. "Yes, it has. Not for the better...maybe...I need to look at ways of changing it all for the better...one day," she added the last with a weak shrug.

"Maybe you have too much choice," the youth said with a half amused smile, his hand vaguely sketching on the paper at his feet. "Where I am from, you have no choice. If you're of a serving family, you serve the council. Otherwise you wait until you know what your talent is, and you're given a role that suits it."

Nesh looked at him for a long moment before she bit her lip, but it was with a small smile. "You have all the choice now...what do you want?" she asked, curious, leaning closer to the other youth.

"I don't know either," he admitted with a soft chuckle, shaking his head as he watched her with warm eyes. "Dad says he'll kill me if I become a doctor though. I don't think he's all too keen on me joining Starfleet either. Hypocrite, right? Coming from a Starfleet doctor?"

"He never had a choice, did he?" Nesh asked before she gave a small smile, one of agreement. "But very hypocritical of him. It might be your lifelong dream! To stand in sickbay...dealing with twisted ankles..."

He laughed softly at that, pushing her shoulder lightly as he shook his head. "I guess, I just mean...just because something worked for other people, doesn't mean it will work for you."

"True..." Nesh sighed and eased down onto her front, stretching her legs behind her. "So...what do you want to do, Laeon? I mean, really?" she asked, her voice thoughtful.

Laeon chuckled as he moved to lay as she did, stretching out on his front with his chin in his hand but so he was still facing her, leaving about a foot between their faces, lifting his feet behind him. "I don't know," he admitted quietly. "I mean....it's still a little strange. It's a new world to us, I need to find something I...want to be a part of. I think that has to be the most important part."

"Part of something greater than yourself?" Nesh asked as she watched him with interest."Hm..." she bit her lip and then laughed. "Starfleet. You will end up in Starfleet then..."

"I told you, Dad would never let me hear the end of it," he laughed softly at that, watching her with clear warmth. "And I think...I don't know, I think someone like me will always be a bit of an outsider," he didn't say 'people like us' but he had the suspicion that she would also know what he meant.

Nesh gave a small nod, which seemed more thoughtful than anything else. "Embrace it," she said softly, unable to stop the words. "The best people have always been outsiders. They see everything because they are not trapped in the conventions."

He smiled at that, watching her with awe at what felt like sage advice. It was easier said than done, but he responded emotionally to it, to the sentiment. "Well, all we need now then is for Starfleet to introduce Officers of the Arts, and we're both saved..."

[OFF]

--

Laeon Wylde
Civilian
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

Nesh Saalm
Civilian
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vansen]

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