Welcome to the Nightmare - Part 6

Posted on 03 Mar 2025 @ 10:19pm by Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater

1,474 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 21 - Helix
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 7, Arboretum and Main Engineering
Timeline: MD02, 0526 hrs

[ON]

Previously on...Welcome to the Nightmare

Once she was happy with the condition of this charge she marked down some notes and placed him back on the ground where he began to waddle excitedly back towards his mate. Looking again over to Sera by the pump she felt she had to admit something "When we were at the academy I met him a couple of times. I had no idea he was married." If memory served he certainly hadn't been one who acted like he was married. She left that unsaid, something told her that Sera already knew all about that and it would be a deeply impolitic thing to say about someone's deceased spouse. "I don't think I ever saw you there. I didn't know him or anything like that, there were a lot of people in sciences and the two of you were a year ahead of me. Just thought I should say."


And now the CONCLUSION...


Sera stopped her work and turned to look over at Sofie as she busied herself with her feathery charges. Her words were a painful reminder of her failures as a mate. "I..." She sighed and returned back to her work. "My attempts to fulfill his wants and needs were insufficient. I was never scientifically minded...it was not something he could readily engage in a discourse with me...and he did not find engineering topics stimulating. He did not allow me to join him for any social outings with his colleagues...it was for my benefit, he said. Our mutually agreed upon plan had been to serve together on a star ship within our respective roles...he then informed me at graduation that he had taken an a classified assignment as a junior researcher with his current...person of interest, instead. Then he died. Horribly."

Sera shoved the repaired motor back into its housing with a perhaps a little more force than what was necessary and it made a rather resounding racket as it connected forcefully with the framework inside of the pumping unit. Fvadt. She muttered under her breath as she peered in to inspect...hopefully she hadn't caused any further damage...

Sofie had to hold herself back from immediately questioning if Sera knew anything of the nature of Viruk's secret assignment. Fortunately her need to be polite and considerate were still formidable enough to be able to outweigh her burning desire for revenge over the cold stations. Another competing interest also helped tip the balance in that direction: indignance that someone had acted so callously to her beloved Sera. "What you had to go through was terrible." She squatted down to scoop up another duck, there was nothing she could think of to say as a form of sympathy, no words seemed big enough. She shook her head and took a deep breath "We survive terrible things and we keep going. We're both quite resilient and neither of us is alone."

Sofie's unspoken question rang through her mind like a bell. She all but dropped the cover, but through superior reflexes--and most definitely NOT luck--Sera was able to retrieve it before it hit the ground, and Sweet Surak! one of Sofie's feathery flock members.

"All of us have faced challenges in our lives." Sera demurred. "It is logical to learn from them...and to satisfy your curiosity - I do not know exactly what he was involved in. My last correspondence from Viruk originated from Regula 1. He informed me that this assignment was a career-making opportunity, something to do with his quantum entanglement work while at the academy, and to inform me that he was going to make alternative arrangements in dealing with his "Time," and for me to do the same. I may have destroyed my comm unit...although a most illogical reaction, it did feel rather cathartic."

The cover was now on and appeared to be adequately sealed. It was time to restart the impellar and get the unit back online and to see if the filtration system's repairs were sufficient. She double checked and ensured that all the filters were locked and the covers securely fashioned. Satisfied, Sera stepped back over to the control screen and turned the filtration system back on, then bent down to pick up the call duck and brought it over to Sofie.

Sofie did not like that her thoughts were no longer private. It was admittedly disappointing that Sera had no new clues to offer her, but she hadn't asked and she shouldn't have been given an answer. She was not used to sharing her thoughts with other people and it was uncomfortable to her, things did not conform to the ideas of conversation she was used to. Nothing today had conformed to those ideas particularly well, or any other ideas for that matter. Things had not been under control and she did not like it.

Sofie didn't rush to say anything, instead, over the handful of seconds as she waited for Sera to reach her, she gave quiet snippets of song to the duck she cradled. Once the engineer was close she looked up from the duck, not quite meeting Sera's eyes. "It's repaired then? Do you know what caused the issue?"

"I believe so, although it will take a few hours for the water to noticeably clear. I will come to inspect it before start of my next duty shift to ensure that the water issues have been resolved. Two of the solonoids in the impellar pump malfunctioned. I have replaced them..." Sera looked down at her soaked uniform and continued, "And cleaned out the filters." Sera almost reluctantly handed over S'Task to Sofie. The duck was a rather nice creature.

She wasn't sure what to do now, but could feel the same tension returning within Sofie. It was not a particularly agreeable feeling to know one is causing another distress. "I will contact you regarding setting up time for meditation. Perhaps it will assist me too... She thought silently, not wanting to bring up her own personal struggles into what Sofie was dealing with currently.

"Thank you." Sofie gave a little nod of acknowledgement. She was very grateful for the offer of assistance but also there was a certain sense of relief that this signalled an end to this arduous encounter. She'd need time to recover, some time alone. She took little S'Task, smallest of the cadre of ducks, from Sera. From his little quack and forlorn look at the engineer, as he passed from her hands, it seemed that he liked Sera and that made Sofie smile.

"This space is open to the crew for recreation. We can enjoy the plant life and spend time being around the waterfowl." There was now a duck in each of Sofie's arms. A happy chorus could be heard not far away, carefree quacks discussing the events they had been witness to. Hopefully they did not judge the humanoids too harshly for their messy lives. "Don't feel like you need an excuse to come here. I'm sure they'll be happy to see the one who saved their pond."

"I believe you underestimate your appeal..." Sera countered. Nightmare notwithstanding, the time spent with Sofie was...fascinating. "I plan to allocate an amount of my 'required' down time to visit this space." She leaned forward and her expression took on a conspiratorial look. "I will only feed them the designated 'snacks' provided."

"I would hope so. I am second officer on this ship. Failure to follow the clearly signed instructions will result in disciplinary action." There was a hint of a humour in her voice, a hint of a grin on her face. But not too much, not enough that you wouldn't think she was deadly serious.

"You have my deepest thanks for the help with the filtration system Sera." Sofie tried to put this as diplomatically as she could while still trying to be firm in her request. A part of her was devastated to be parted, but the rest of her needed the space. "I have other things to do here and I would prefer to do them without these distractions."

"I come to serve." Sera answered in the traditional response when receiving thanks. "I understand, Lieutenant. I will remove myself so that you may resume your duties. Please inform engineering immediately if there are any additional concerns that arise." Sera did not want to leave, in fact the thought of gathering her things filled her with something rather disagreeable. However she had been--in essence--dismissed, and there was was a lot to unpack as it were...


[OFF]


=====


Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A

&

Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

RSS Feed