STF

Ships in the Night

Posted Sept. 16, 2021, 12:18 a.m. by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) (Jennifer Ward)

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 Lieutenant Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Ships in the Night
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
“They may be easier to understand, but a more meaningful relationship isn’t possible,” he replied, after a moment’s thought. It wasn’t something he’d put much thought into himself. He chose to be alone, and he liked his animals, but to him, they were no subsitute for human relationships. “Like anything, the harder something is, the more rewarding it is.” Joining Starfleet had been hard, yet he wouldn’t have it any otherr way. His research was difficult, sometimes, but discovering new medical compounds, learning more about alien life and how it differs from terrestrial life, was all worth it. In his mind, a human relationship was the same. If one worked for a great relationship, it would be far more rewarding than that with an animal.

It wasn’t to say that one couldn’t love animals. He’d had a childhood dog that he loved. He’d be saddened if his animals died, even though they were lab specimen. He hadn’t had a truly meaningful human relatioship in manny years, and he did not seek them out, but he couldn’t deny the differences.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand suppressed a sigh. That wasn’t what she meant…she didn’t think relationships with people weren’t worth the work - she just had a hard time with people. She fought every day with her anxiety, just to walk into the galley, full of people and pick up a tray and leave. If someone waved and said hi, did they expect her to wave back or come talk. If she couldn’t because she had somewhere to be was that rude? If she didn’t notice at all was she stuck up and uppity? And then there were those people that felt like they could simply fix her fear and anxiety by forcing her into more and more intense social situations. Assuming because they liked their life that way she had to as well.

She’d been to familiar, over shared, and didn’t explain herself well. Now what did he think of her? First she neglected her duty and now she appeared to not want to put the work in? Is that how she sounded? That’s not what she had meant at all, just reflecting on…on things better not said. Rand was fully aware that the severity of her anxiety could be reason to be discharged from duty. “Things easily gained have very little value, those that have to be reached for, earned, are worth working hard to get and keep.” Then very softly she slipped into Gaelic, “Ach an rud a tha furasta dha cuid tha blàr dha feadhainn eile.”

Yeoman Rand

Roman could tell that she seemed bothered, but by what he hadn’t any idea. It was not at all the case that he thought she didn’t want to put work in, it was quite clear to him that she did. But without knowing that’s what the problem was, what she thought he thought, he couldn’t tell her such. He understood exactly no Gaelic, however he did recognize the spoken language, and so while he heard her say something, he was unsure what she’d said. “Gaelic is rather an uncommon language to be fluent in,” he said.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand grinned sheepishly a bit of color crossing her face at the slip up, well okay it wasn’t a slip, exactly. “Our whole clan knows it. Most of the clans do to some extent. Randy and I grew up speaking it. We learned it along with English. I think it’s a beautiful language.” She finally sat down, right across from him, “Do you speak Gaelic?”

Yeoman Rand

Roman shook his head. “I’m English, I can recognize it but I never learned it. I’ve dabbled in Welsh,” he replied with a shrug. “From what I do understand it is quite an interesting language.” He added. He really didn’t know much about it, but he was fluent in four languages already and had studied several others. He was always open to adding a new one to his list. “Your clan?” He asked, just thinking of it. He found himself curious, wanting to know more.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“Our clan name is Farquharson. Within the clan there are many families with many different surnames. It’s like a giant extended family, full of aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. We just aren’t necessarily related. We are connected due to property boundaries and historical connections. Our clan has lived and worked the land in our current location since 300 BCE. With some give and take to boarder skirmishes and marriages and alliances. All those archiac things we learned about in ancient history. There was always some one around and things to do, Randy loved it.”

Yeoman Rand

Roman got a kick out of knowing Rand’s family was as old as his was. Older, more likely. His family was thought to have come to power, nobility, in the middle ages. There was even a family story that Robin Hood had stolen from them. “Why did you leave?” He asked. An unusual question, normally he would never ask anything so personal. But he was wholy invested in the story.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Oh that was…she looked sad for a moment. She didn’t want to tell him that she had failed so miserably at what she loved. That it was something that had to be worked hard for and she’d wanted it more than anything. But she’d failed at it. “I wanted to actually see some of the suns that are the stars we look up at. To see what was there. Are there people who look up at their sky and see Sol and wonder who we are. What do those worlds look like? I wanted to see one or two. Just once to say I had done it.” She looked up from her hands and he was looking at her, intently, and she turned pink. She wasn’t that interesting. “I..I’m not really good at too much, but have an an incredible memory especially for fine details. My professor at Stirling said joining Star Fleet as a yeoman might be a good fit.” Especially since her degree didn’t work out....

Yeoman Rand

Roman guffawed. “‘Not good at too much?’ You’re the best Yeoman I’ve ever seen in the fleet. You have fantastic memory for details. You never stray from your job. You keep everything orderly and finished in a timely manner. You may not be command but you are indispensable to our team. You’re one of the hardest working Ensigns I’ve ever seen in my career. If you went into science or medicine, your name would be known forever.” He believed every word, even when he said she’d probably be able to achieve great things as a scientist or doctor. It seemed like she wasn’t telling the whole truth with her reasoning but it was such a personal question he did not want to push. If she’d asked him the same question, he wouldn’t have answered entirely either.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

The laughter caught more than Rand’s attention. Unseen by the two the cook popped his head around the corner of the kitchen door to stare for a moment, grin, and disappear again.

Rand was too shocked to react at first. His intense praise was shocking and surprising. She’d never heard him talk like about another officer. She would know she helped with crew evaluations. He filed out both positive and negative criticism. He was strict but fair.

On the other hand she was stunned to silence by his laughter. At first she thought he was laughing at her. And that horrible feeling of panic, dots of light, racing heart, shallow breath started until his words registered. She realized two things: she liked his laugh and she hadn’t had a panic attack around him in months. And that fact made her pause as well.

She stammered for a long painfully embarrassed moment, “Oh…umm…thank you....oh…thank you sir....I mean it’s just hard work. That’s not talent. I could never be a scientist or a doctor. I could never do what you or the doctors did. Making that compound for me or making an anti-toxin or healing the sick.” She thought about Randy and all the people he helped as a therapist. He had a talent with people, Alden with his animals, her father with his music. “Those take hard work and talent…” Her voice trailed off.

Yeoman Rand

“You aren’t great with people.” There was his usual bluntness. “But a scientist doesn’t need to be good with people, and neither do you, you do your job just fine the way you are. Your talent simply doesn’t lie where most other people’s does, and it makes you absolutely brilliant at what you do.” He didn’t consider making the compound for her anything special that he had done. It wasn’t difficult, he hadn’t had to develop anything new to make it. He was doing his job, and of course he’d do that for her. Healing the sick was the same thing in his opinion, nothing that special unless one discovered something new. You were taught everything you needed in medical school. What he thought was special, was that Rand could do something fantastic.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

It had been a long time since anyone had said she was fine just the way she was. Except Rand of course, but he was her twin so he didn’t count. Oh if only he knew how brilliant her talent made her. It wasn’t hubris on her part, just honest assessment. She had been, she had the reviews to show it. She shook her head, “Anyone can learn to be a yeoman, most just don’t have the work ethic to do it. My talents....” She was horrible with people, she didn’t mean to be. She thought she was doing at least a little bit better than she used to be. But it must be bad if Alden noticed. And then she wondered how often she’d made a fool of herself in the lab and not known. Said or responded in such a way that was wrong or misjudged. The idea made her nauseous, her stomach churning painfully. Alden was always so composed and professional and knew his place amongst people.

Yeoman Rand

Actually, he could tell she seemed more natural in the lab. In the lab she seemed pretty well like any other Ensign. But he had always noticed the way she avoided most people. He wasn’t particularly sure why he wasn’t on her AVOID list until recently. Perhaps because she liked Nibbles. Oh, dear God, was that all he was? A necessary evil to get to visit the animals? It was possible, though if true, he doubted she’d be talking to him now. She seemed to have a talent for swiftly exiting conversations and then vanishing like a shadow in the sunlight. Still, the idea was oddly bothersome to him. “Your talents lie in your memory, and your work ethic itself.” He wondered, if she tried, perhaps she had other talents too, that she had yet to discover.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

She’d really never thought about her work ethic being a talent. Her memory, now that was something. She could, without error remember every written thing she had read. If Alden were to ask her what was the contents of the observation notes that first early morning in the lab she could recite them without error. That had made her outstanding in her first choice of profession. But work ethic? That wasn’t talent, just choice. His compliments were making her unbalanced, his focused attention making her worry she would say or do something wrong. She didn’t want to talk about herself anymore. She could easily beg off so she could finish her work, but she’d missed him …working with him. “So that’s how I ended up a yeoman. Trying to find a use for my skills and a chance to see the stars, even if only from a distance. I always figured I would return to Scotland after my service. Tha mo chridhe a ’laighe ann an tìr mo shinnsirean. Far am fàs an cluaran anns a ’mhòinteach.” She knew now he didn’t understand, but she would tell him if he asked. She wondered if he would want to learn, but didn’t know if it was acceptable to offer.

Yeoman Rand

“Would you mind… translating for me?” He phrased it as a question. He was well aware that if he’d made a statement, it would sound like an order. It wasn’t. He would want to learn, but he didn’t want to make her do something she didn’t want to do. “Everyone wants to find a use for their skills,” he said. She wanted to return to Scotland, an idea he considered for a moment. Salisbury, England was where he grew up, but there was little for him there now. He’d always seen himself staying in the service until either he retired or died in the line of duty. Space was where he belonged.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand nodded with an almost smile. “My heart lies in the land of my ancestors. Where the thistle grows in the heath. Ach tha cianalas do-chreidsinneach agam dha na reultan. But I have an Incurable homesickness for the stars.” Rand did love it, and she wasn’t sure how long she would serve, but she always figured she would go home, because she’d never find a place she could feel relaxed. Eventually she would retire, wouldn’t she? “I…I could teach it to you.” It came out in a rush before she changed her mind.

Yeoman Rand

He listened to her translation intently, an odd ache in his heart for something he’d never truly known: A home, with people who cared. The only place he ever felt at home was the lab. The place where painful memories rarely plagued him, where he could focus. All he wanted to do was explore alien planets and life. And protect people. All his rules, the way he acted, he wanted his crew safe. “I’d be happy to learn,” he replied, taking her up on the offer.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand thought for a moment “Try this,” and then swallowing a playful smile she spoke very carefully, pausing to exaggerate the more complex sounds. “Chan e ciùban pròtain.”

Yeoman Rand


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