STF

Ships in the Night

Posted Sept. 15, 2021, 12:03 a.m. by Lieutenant Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) (Lucas Foxley)

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in Ships in the Night

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Ships in the Night

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in Ships in the Night
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Rand threw herself into her work, so much so that she was more a ghost than a person. Reports appeared on DH desks and disappeared later after being signed. Personal requests were reviewed and approved, or sent up the chain and then responses sent out. Coffee, tea, water, what have you appeared on time on the bridge, but no one ever seemed to see Rand.

In the lab, evidence of Rand’s presence was everywhere. She continued to take notes of her observations, feed Nibbles and interact with him as best she could on her own. And on her scheduled days she even fed Mushu. And when everyone was at lunch and the lab empty she returned simply because she liked the animals better than the people around her. She even stopped by the enclosure of Mr Wyvern. “At least I know why you look at me like that. You want to eat me,” she told the giant Alderian Crimson Snake. Rand wasn’t avoiding Cmdr Alden, not him personally. She just threw herself into her work because she didn’t want him to have any reason to think she was neglecting her duty again, and in order to avoid others, she’d adjusted her schedule some, and so she was never in the lab when he was.

Rand went out of her way to avoid people in the corridors. The best yeoman was one unseen and not caught up in socializing. She saw and talked to Randy of course, but his schedule was just as insane as hers. Sickbay was epically under staffed. The only person who could actually say they had seen and talked to Rand was Cpt Rogers.

So it was at 2305, a very very weary Rand walked into the Galley, carrying a tray of dirty dishes. She stepped inside the kitchen to rinse and stack the dishes. She tried to help where she could. The gamma shift cook smiled at her. “Rand you look like you are about to fall over. Girl when do you sleep?” Rand shrugged. “Here, go sit, and I’ll get you the last of that ice cream you like.” She had learned not to refuse, the cook would just come out and make a scene to embarrass her. She took the bowl and sat in the darkest, furthest corner, away from anyone who might come in. But it seemed it was early for the ‘dinner’ crowd yet, so maybe she could sit…for just a minute.

Yeoman Rand

At 2305, Roman was supposed to be asleep for the past few hours. But not recently. Recently, he had been up into the wee hours of the morning, writing up and compiling notes, doing other busy work. He was probably the most caught up he had been in months. When Rand dropped off reports, they were signed in minutes, left in a basket for her to scoop up when she came by.

At first he assumed she was busy, as she always was, but as days went by, he began to wonder if Rand were avoidig him. He hadn’t seen her in her usual place, cooing Nibbles and Mushu, though her notes turned up like always. He hadn’t gone over reports with her, or heard her nag him to finish his unsavory work. Then again, perhaps that’s because it was already done. He hadn’t seen her since… that day in the hallway, when he caught her abandoning a tour.

Had he offended her that badly? Did she not like him anymore? Her help was sorely missed in the lab. Or was it? He still had her notes. Reports were still done. And yet, he wished for her to be back in the lab, like the days before.

It seemed something besides Rand’s sudden disappearance was bothering Roman. He’d been snappier than usual with staff, his sleeping and eating habits abysmal. Whatever it was, most assumed he’d work it out on his own. But unbeknownst to others, while it wasn’t the entire problem, Rand’s avoidance did bother him.

And so, in the corner of the mess area, the first officer sat, looking at a plate of protein cubes. They weren’t really appetizing, but then, nothing really sounded good, so he’d rather not waste limited foods. He wasn’t even hungry, but he’d skipped dinner (and lunch), and the last thing he needed was a lecture from Randy. He’d probably already get one for his sleep habits if Randy found out.

Lectures from Randy were to be avoided to save Roman’s sanity at best. The ex-yeoman/head nurse was only an Ensign but he was effective. Roman usually avoided him for the most part. They usually didn’t much get along.

He nibbled the corner of one of the colorful cubes, not much paying attention to what was going on around him. He heard the cook talking to someone, but wasn’t listening and didn’t bother to discern exactly who. Then, footsteps. And then someone sat down, not too far from him. They’d probably go away soon. It was late enough that no one else should be around and early enough that no one from the night shift should be there.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand stared at the bowl, she didn’t want the ice cream, but the cook had already taken it and space for fresh food was premium on a star ship. Hearing the clink of metal cutlery on porcelain plate made her look up. She hadn’t seen anyone when she came in and she hadn’t heard anyone. She looked around for the source of the sound and saw a lone figure eating those awful protein cubes at a table not far from hers. She glanced at the face and paused. Cmdr Alden. Rand missed....she missed him? She thought about that, and Randy would have a field day and never let her live it down. She guessed she did. She enjoyed helping in the biology lab. She had really learned a lot, Alden was a wealth of information. He was serious, thoughtful, and dedicated. And despite his pride sometimes getting in the way he did listen when others talked, even if at first it sounded silly or idiotic. She realized she missed talking to him. They only ever talked about his work in the labs, the animals, or ship’s business, but Rand wasn’t nervous talking to him. He was professional, polite, and purposeful. She didn’t have to guess about what he expected and what she needed to do.

Her tasks for the day weren’t finished yet, and she should probably go before he noticed her. She wasn’t upset with him at all. It had taken months to actually feel she’d gained the first officer’s approval. She’d screwed up, no matter the reason and she felt about as tall as the scoop of icecream in her bowl. The harder won the approval the more it meant. Before she realized it, “I didn’t know you came in here this late Cmdr Alden.”

Yeoman Rand

The fork clinked against the plate as he accidentally nearly turned his plate over in surprise. “Rand?” He asked as he looked up, and he saw that it was indeed Ensign Farquharson. “I don’t usually. I… just don’t want to hear your brother’s next lecture on my work habits,” he replied, cutting a protein cube in half and eating half of it. “I knew you were usually up late, but I didn’t know you were still working this late,” he added. For as late as it was, he did not seem tired. He seemed mostly like his usual self, except that he hadn’t noticed she was there until she spoke. He wasn’t usually so.. in his own world.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

A small smile twitched the corner of her mouth at the mention of Randy. “Randy is…bossy, over bearing, and means well, and that is why I’m in here…waiting for him to go to sleep.” She looked down at her ice cream. “I will be getting a lecture from him about my choice of dinner.” She nodded and shrugged, “This is still early for work. Tonight, I still have about an hour of work still.” Oh…oh did that sound like she was avoiding her work. “I…I’ll get it all done tonight. I just brought the trays back and Henson gave me…” Rand stopped with a sigh. Cmdr Alden didn’t like excuses. She’d worked so hard to make up for her the other week. She could feel the nerves misfiring down her arms from the sudden anxiety. Her impulse was to get up and leave, but that wasn’t really the way to deal with things. She looked down at the still untouched ice cream. Rand’s comments about her brother and the quickly stopped explanation was probably the first time Alden heard her say anything that wasn’t about work or the ship.

Yeoman Rand

A small grin appeared on his face when she called Randy ‘bossy and overbearing’. It was quite a rare sight. “I am sure you’ll get it done. You work very hard,” he said, and meant it. He wasn’t worried about her little ice cream break in the least. He pushed a protein cube around his plate with his fork. He wanted to say he’d missed having her in the lab, but he couldn’t figure out how to say it. Finally he settled on, “The lab hasn’t been the same without you.” It might’ve come across more personally than he meant it, and immediately regretted his word choice. He decided to attempt to distract from the statement. “You wait for your annoying brother to go to sleep?”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Was something wrong in the lab? “I…umm…I had to rearrange my schedule a bit. I come in earlier now and…and at lunch.” She ate a bite of the ice cream to stop herself from stammering more. She’d noticed Nibbles had started to act more sluggish again. Being the only one in the lab when she went in meant she had to limit her actual interaction with him. Her desire to avoid people was the reason for the schedule change. That wasn’t fair to Nibbles though if it was affecting him. She looked up at Alden’s question and nodded hard enough to make her curls bounce for a moment. “Yes, Sir, I do. Especially when avoiding a lecture I know I deserve,” and she actually grinned. And again, before she realized what she was saying, “What has you still up?”

Yeoman Rand

Nothing was wrong… just, he found himself enjoying his work less when she was there. Kind of like… the Ardent. But different, because his relationship with Rand was different than that with Jay. Because she wasn’t the same rank as him, perhaps. But he couldn’t deny that Rand wasn’t really just another officer. “I… have always had an affinity for avoiding deserved lectures.” It was probably the first time he’d said anything about his history. He wasn’t known for getting in trouble, but when he did, he was an expert at avoiding the lecture.

Roman seemed slightly surprised by her question, but not in a bad way. He was glad she was comfortable enough to ask something so… casual. But the smile still faded slightly. His old friend had been on his mind again. Perhaps that was why he found himself comparing Rand… But it also meant he couldn’t sleep. “Work. I’ve got reports and transfers, research papers to read, I lost track of time, I suppose.” That would be believable over the true reason, probably. He did tend to throw himself into work.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand didn’t quite smile but there was a shared acknowledgement. “I have found that with Randy the only way to avoid his lectures is to not let him know that something has happened that requires a lecture. And since Randy…sigh unlike me…is good at reading people, the only way to hide it is to avoid him.” But Rand new she could only avoid Randy so long. He always knew, he said he could feel it, when something was going on with her. “Siblings can be frustrating,” but the way she said it was with light hearted seriousness and maybe a hint of laughter.

“I had three of them,” he replied easily, returning her lighthearted seriousness. “All frustrating in their own right.”

The smile slipped…she’d over stepped…there was work to be done, yes, but they were technically off duty. But she was a yeoman and yeomen were never off duty and he was a much higher rank than her. She dropped her hands to her lap ringing them over her misstep. “I’m good at paper work and red tape. I’m happy to help, Cmdr. Just tell me what you need.” In truth Rand missed working with him, and that confused her, but at the same time she knew she enjoyed the work and the learning in the lab. It wasn’t just Alden…

Yeoman Rand

Roman shook his head. “We’re off duty, don’t bother yourself with it now. Whenever your schedule returns to normal, I can always use your help in the lab,” he said. His paperwork was caught up. Technically, he didn’t really need extra help. But he’d fall behind, he always did. He’d never been one for paperwork, despite his orderliness. “I think Nibbles misses you. It keeps sleeping on your sleeve,” he mentioned. “I’ve put it in my observations. I think in the future, I could see them being a popular pet.”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

She started to tell him she’d make the time to help in the lab, but was distracted and then looked at him and leaned back, relaxed in her chair. She’d never heard Alden refer to the animals by anything other than their species, even in casual notes. “Nibbles, Cmdr?” He liked the names, and that made her grin at him. “If they will be popular pets does that mean you’ll let me take Nibbles home and keep him?” She was teasing him, just a little bit and she was totally mortified, and tried to change the subject, but probably only dug herself deeper. “I’ll…umm…make time to spend with you…I mean in the lab when you’re there so I can interact with him more.” Then she spoke under her breath in Gaelic.

Yeoman Rand

He glanced up, as if distracted. “What? Ah, I suppose I am getting tired.” He said. He hadn’t touched the remaining few protein cubes. He recognized that she was teasing him and he wasn’t upset. “The day I let you take any specimen home will be the heat death of the universe,” he replied, sporting a new half-grin. And then she said she’d ‘make time to spend with him’ and for a short moment Roman was speechless. But he recovered quickly. “They seem to like routine. I think they’d like if you made a little more time with them. I do understand that you’re busy, if you can’t,” he said.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO


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