The Path Not Taken: Transfer

Posted on 10 Dec 2023 @ 11:31am by Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor

1,148 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A Deck 4 - Vala and Sera's Quarters
Timeline: Early 2395

Early 2395 - 3 years after the deletion of Cold Station 31 files.

[ON]

Words. There had been too many words. Too many words and not enough meaning. Tarin had tried to present it as an opportunity, a promotion, but Vala knew that even she had been surprised to receive the orders.

Sweeping into the quarters with a gait of indignation, his face a maelstrom of anger and frustration, he tore off his commbadge and threw it to the floor, "Fvadt!!" He tossed the PADD he was carrying onto a chair then began to pace, running a hand repeatedly through his hair.

It was this bloody nonsense with his people and the accursed Klivammsu. Conspiracies and demands. The Federation was going off the deep end. He closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his face. What was he going to tell S'Ers-a.

--

Sera was in one of the Jeffries tubes finishing up a conduit upgrade when she felt it. Overwhelming rage coursed through her and knew it had come from Mongtomery.

Grabbing at the side of her head, Sera dropped her tool and reached out with her free hand so to not fall over to the grating. Something was wrong.

She scrabbled her way out of the Jeffries tube, leaving her tools and her job unfinished to race the distance to their shared quarters.

Unsure of what she should prepare for, Sera opened the door and walked into the main room of their quarters. His commbadge was on the ground.

"Varin...T'Hy'la?" Sera called out as she headed towards their sleeping area.

He sensed her before she came through the door, but her usually soothing presence was little succour in the circumstances.

When S'Ers-a found him he was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring, his hands cradling his head. He could not find words to explain what had happened. After a moment he looked up, his face still a picture of anger and now sadness. He simply exhaled, "E'lev..."

She walked over to him and got to her knees so she could look up into his face; he did not need hide himself. She ran her right hand across his cheek in a comforting motion.

"K'Diwa, let me see. Sera responded, feeling his inability to speak what had occurred to him aloud.

She focused her mind to his, and in the space of an exhale, their minds were joined. No words needed to be spoken; willingness was all that was needed.

For a brief moment Sera was still amazed at how he trusted her implicitly. She gave her trust in return without reserve.

Sera's expression smoothed to an eerie blankness as her eyes seemed to focus far away.

They were back in the Captain's office, and Sera saw everything replay through the meld.

A sobre greeting, Tarin cutting to the chase, a pad slid over the desk. Vala's face losing its colour as it is read. Shock, fear, misery... Anger. Attempts at reassurance, he was valued, higher ups had taken notice. It was a promotion. Vala standing, refusing. "The decision has been made. The orders have been issued.

Sera's hand withdrew from his face, her expression grim.

Vala rubbed his face with both hands, finally reconnecting with reality. He exhaled sharply and looked up at S'Ers-a, "The orders are in the living space," he said weakly, "I am ordered to leave in 24 hours." He shook his head, "Chair of Xenogeology," he said under his breath, "Its not even my specialism..."

"Twenty...24 hours? That...there...no time." Sera stammered. He was leaving? They were sending him away to Earth...after all this time, they feared him? She squelched down the fear that was bubbling up within her. That was too far away.

Sera stood and looked down at him. "I will return shortly," and without so much as a backward glance, Sera walked out of their quarters and made her way towards the bridge.

--

She had been gone for almost an hour when the the doors to their quarters hissed open and Sera returned. Her expression was as blank as he had ever seen it, which meant that she was in turmoil.

"We should begin packing, Varin." Sera said by way of greetings.

Vala had only managed to move as far as the living space during the time she had been absent. He was sitting, fixated on his transfer orders when she came through the door. Normally he'd have sensed her approach but his mind was out of sorts.

He looked up at her, his face pale and drained, and it took him a moment for her words to sink in.

"We?" He said, his brow slowly furrowing, "Rhiana, what has happened? What did you do?"

"Only that which is necessary." Sera responded as she reached down and grabbed his commbadge off the ground and handed it to him. The right side of her uniformed jacket was bare of the ubiquitous symbol of Starfleet.

"You... what did you do?" He repeated, the fog of his mind beginning to clear. He began to sense that she was in turmoil.

"I was not going to be allowed to accompany you to Earth. My skills were needed here. That was unacceptable to me, I cannot...we..." Sera's stoic exterior was starting to slip. She too was emotionally compromised, but her emotional state still skewed towards the irrational. Taking a deep breath, she got a hold of herself again. "I resigned my commission."

He blinked. Tears filled his eyes. Wordlessly he stood up and swept over to her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Moments passed. Silence surrounded them. He could feel her heart, beating alongside his.

He had never meant for this to happen. Any of this. Giants were moving on the galactic scene, and they were smaller than ants in comparison. Unable to affect change, and wholly effected by their whims and wills.

Arguing was useless. Profoundly pointless. Earlier on in their time together, when the bond was fresh, he might have insisted on going without her, on not ruining her career prospects. But... Kaiidth, as she would often remind him. He could not be without her. He would not be without her. He bared his relief openly.

"Khnai'ra," he whispered in his native tongue, "You honour me."

"Parted from me and never parted, never and always touching and touched." Sera responded with a soft smile on her face.

Their lives had irrevocably shifted, all because of fear. How she felt about what had occurred over the last few hours was irrelevant. All that truly mattered was right before her.

[OFF]

--

Lieutenant Montgomery Vala
Deputy Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Chief Engineer
USS Galileo-A

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