STF

Rivers quarters - ghosts of the past (Tag CNS)

Posted May 5, 2021, 2:50 a.m. by Lieutenant River Styxx (OIC Marine) (Nathan Derricutt)

Posted by Lieutenant Revna Edman (Counselor) in Rivers quarters - ghosts of the past (Tag CNS)

Posted by Lieutenant River Styxx (OIC Marine) in Rivers quarters - ghosts of the past (Tag CNS)

Posted by Lieutenant Revna Edman (Counselor) in Rivers quarters - ghosts of the past (Tag CNS)
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
“That’s the truth. I made goods friends from both races. sub commander Te’lee and General Mar’chuk, are the two that come to mind. In fact Mar’chuk and i still contact each other. He says that I should leave the federation and join his crew. that a warrior such as myself is wasted in star fleet.” River said chuckling “To which I remind him I’m a marine I’m not officially part of star fleet. but friendly advice, if you ever meet Mar’chuk don’t get into a drinking match with him.” she added

Revna shook her head, “I have yet to meet a Klingon who has met a Viking. I may not be able to out drink him but I would certainly be interested in seeing if I could match him drink for drink.” Revna didn’t drink often but she could more than hold her own. “He sounds like a very honorable man, and I would be greatly honored to meet him. But he is right. The Federation does not recognize our warriors as they should. It is a great honor he has offered you.”

“Now that is something I would like to see. I’m not sure who would win that one. Perhaps one day you will get to meet him” River said happily, well happily for River anyway.

Revna grinned, “I wouldn’t expect to win, but I bet I get a great story out of it.” She inclined her head slightly, “I would be honored to meet such a man.”

“I had to talk him down when I got arrested. Otherwise star fleet would have lost a few men to a very angry Klingon. The Sub commander Te’lee organised a new lawyer for me as the one i was given to begin with was useless. You can imagine how shocked those admirals where when they where faced with a Romulan as my lawyer. Never get into a legal battle with a Romulan.” she said it was clear the memory amused River.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

“I had this misfortune of getting into a debate with a Romulan once. It is not a mistake I would make again. They are masters of interpretation and using it to their advantage. You are blessed in your friends, River.”
Lt Edman, Counselor

“I hope I may count you among them as well.” River said kindly “I have always thought i was lucky to have the friends i did. It so easy for someone who grew up as I did, to fall into crime and all manner of other misdeeds. they then either end up in a prison or in the ground.” she added before fishing out an old coin form Lillys box.

Revna certainly would consider River a friend and she smiled and nodded her head, but didn’t want to interrupt River.

“In fact that’s how I met Lilly. She was in an orphanage. Her parents where in a shuttle accident. Her Father was killed on impact but her Mother lived but only just. The docs had to make a choice, save the unborn lily or her mother. Her mother pleaded fort hem to save Lily. And they did” River said twirling the coin between her fingers “She tried to pickpocket me. But she wasn’t skilled enough. I applauded her skill and she ran off. After that i tried to figure out where she was from.” she added.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

“She was lucky. Anyone else might have been very cruel to her. She was fighter, a survivor, like you. It’s amazing the ways our choices, or our lack of choices, brings us to people and places that can so impact our lives.” She eyed the coin, “Was that what she tried to pick-pocket?”
Lt Edman, Counselor

River nodded “Yep. She saw the glint when i took it out of my pocket as I sometimes did” she said handing the coin over to Revna. It was an old pound coin, the gold had faded and it was dirty but it was still easy to tell what it was “During basic we did a survival week. We where given a small backpack with a handful of supplies and told to survive a week. So I found a cave not far from a river, set up my camp and started fishing. I caught this. I had never seen an actually coin. I mean it’s been hundreds of years since coins where used. So I saw it as good luck charm.” she added smiling “I kept it with me wherever I went.” She said.

Revna nodded. Such things were relics of history. It was amusing to her that so many people on board had such things. River was not the only officer that had a coin they liked to fiddle with. They were the perfect shape and size for keeping with you. “You were lucky to find that. I would have thought it came out of the cave and not the river.” Revna turned it over in her hand. She’d seen them before, her ancestors had a miss-matched collection of coinage they used. If it was shinny and round it had monetary value. She grinned, there was probably thousands of different coins burried with their honored dead, well originally anyway. She ran a finger over it studing the image. “A pound.” She handed back to River.

“Lily saw the gold and thought it was worth something. When i came to the orphanage she thought I was going to press charges or have her shot. She had heard skewed rumours about Marines executing people who broke rules. I told her it was only in war we did that.” she said after a short pause.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

“So it eventually became hers, and now, you have it back to keep giving you luck.” She shook her head. “You know it’s really a shame that there are so many…misconceptions. Marines and Star Fleet are two branches of the Federation military service, but yet there is no…” Revna stopped and considered, “It’s a shame there is so much friction, that it’s not easier to work together, to work side by side.” She sighed, maybe a slight huff. “Sorry, you know all this already, but it drives me crazy. There is no point to it other than ego.” She shook her head, “Ignore me. A personal irritation of mine. Let’s talk about Lilly instead. What did she do when she realized you weren’t there to ‘arrest’ her?”
Lt Edman, counselor

“No worries. It is hard. On a planet it far easier. the problem is the federation brought marines back during war, and now we are not at war, they don’t know what to do with us. Its not like you can just drop a marine into the security department and vice versa. Marines have a very different kind of training.” River said simply

“When i came for Lily not a lot happened the first time. we talked and that was it. But then over the weeks I would come visit her once a week. Then it was twice a week then it was every other day and so on, and so on. It took a while for her to feel comfortable around me, and it was hard for me as well. I have never really dealt with kids before that. But i think it helped that we came from the same background, both of us were orphans.” She said pausing for a moment and thinking “It seemed after I told her that we bounded quicker. I think she was happy to find someone who understood her.” she said remembering fondly.

“Children need someone that understands them. My sister could talk you to death for hours about it. I could go into the psychology of it, but it comes down to children need to feel understood, accepted, and safe. And all those add up to feeling loved. You were both lucky to find each other. We talk a lot about children needing someone but I think we adults need them just as much.”

“Then she asked me if had a boyfriend.” River paused and chuckled “I can’t tell you how hard it was trying to explain to Lilly that I wasn’t into guys. She was shocked, I think some of the other kids had told her it was bad or unnatural. Of course i set her right. I said you can’t help who you fall for” she added.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

Revna shook her head. “That’s the truth. The heart wants what it wants.” Revna’s own heart ached slightly. Even when that person was long gone, sometimes you still ached for them. She shook her head mentally. Nothing was brining Shauwn back and at this point she wasn’t honoring his memory anymore. But self analysis would have to wait for later. “You know such pairings are found in nature among sentient and animal species across the galaxy. There is nothing bad or unnatural about it. Survival requires certain things, but living, really living requires that are often at odds with basic survival. And it’s beautiful.” Revna placed the coin next to the small figurines. “What else is there?”
Lt Edman, Counselor

River fished around for a few seconds then pulled out some folded card. “There’s this” she said as she unfolded it to it full A1 size. It was some sort of project poster. On the top where the words bring your parent to school day, in purple writing. Underneath where various pictures and drawings. In the right hand corner under the heading was a list of attributes. Name: River Styxx, Job: Marine Sargent, Marine number: Z74195. Then it listed why River was Lily’s choice. ‘River is a marine, she is a soldier for the federation. She spends most of her time training and keeping everyone safe. She like me, grew up in an orphanage and made a place for herself. She inspires me everyday and when I grow up I hope I can be as cool as her. The pictures covered many different things, one had river in her armour, another had her and Abi at a talent show, there was a drawing of the reaper that was on Rivers armour. Others where of a beautiful park at sunset and various other places.

Revna looked at the pictures and words. It was obvious how Lily felt about River and Abi. It was a beautiful tribute for River to keep of their family. “It’s obvious she loved you very much. You had an impact on her.”

“Lily didn’t have parents so she asked her teacher if i could be her project and he said yes. So she spent a week following me around where ever she could. obviously some places she couldn’t go. Then she told me had to come to school while she did her presentation. I managed to convince my CO to let me go in my armour” River said chuckling “The kids thought I was some sort of war robot. They said I was cool and a lot of them thought I was some sort of superhero. I wasn’t and I’m not. I just do my job. Have you ever been the subject of a kids study? its a stressful but also hilarious experience” she added

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

“I bet they loved seeing your uniform. Kids need to see stuff like that first hand. I’m glad your CO agreed.” Revna shook her head. “No I have not been, but it’s a good idea to pass on to my sister. Let the kids follow around the senior staff for a couple days.” There were a few of the senior staff that she would get a kick out of watching with curious kids that ask strange questions. But as for super heroes. “Kids need heroes River. And maybe you don’t feel like one, but in the end a hero is just someone who did their job even when others ran away.” She looked at the poster again, “We should frame it and hang it up to honor all the things Lily loved.”
Lt Edman, Counselor

River laughed “I think some of the senior staff would like it but others, we might end up having kids crying in corridors because they got locked out of someone office” she said. it would be amusing to see how the senior staff reacted. Then she paused and scratched the back of her head “Listen counsellor, Doctor, Revna. Its a great idea but if its framed it might get damaged or misplaced. Wouldn’t it be safer kept in the box?” River said unsurely she was mostly genuine she didn’t want it to get danged but also seeing it everyday would be hard for a while. The handwriting was one of the last physical personal reminder of Lily and if t reminded her of Lily it would reminder of what River did what she became.

She knew Revna would see right through her it was a good idea. It was just River’s Nervousness and Rivers uncertainty that was stopping her from doing it.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)


Posts on USS Atlantis

In topic

Posted since


© 1991-2024 STF. Terms of Service

Version 1.15.9