Posted June 4, 2023, 5:29 p.m. by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) (Lucas Foxley)
Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Randal Farquharson (Counselor) in Side sim: Guilt Ridden Letters (TAG Randy)
Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Side sim: Guilt Ridden Letters (TAG Randy)
Roman didn’t want to think about the letter. It was far easier to hide it with the rest of the letters from the last three years and not think about it. He knew it was rude not to respond to them but he kept doing it anyway.And Rand was not going to let him ignore it, was she? She’d been so excited about it. Which was a nice change, after the letter the previous morning. But it put him in rather an uncomfortable pickle of not avoiding what it was he’d spent three years avoiding quite effectively.
When Rand inevitably asked why he didn’t want to write back, she was probably going to march him to Randy herself. So why not cut out the middleman? Or, middlewoman in this case, anyway. He didn’t want to do that. His usual preference was to avoid things and put them off as long as he could get away with.
He sat in his office with a PaDD in front of him, the screen off, as he contemplated this for quite a while. Finally, with a huff and a lot of grumbling, Imaginary Rand won the debate in his head and he snatched his communicator, dialing it to connect to Randy’s. =/\=’Randy, do you have time to…’ There was a soft grumbling and groaning, ‘meet me in my office? For a, er… personal reason?’=/\=
~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO
Upon hearing Roman’s request through his communicator, Randy’s grey eyes crinkled with a touch of concern. He was familiar with Roman’s propensity for procrastination when it came to personal matters. And with his proclivities towards his sister he knew that he had to tread just a touch lighter than with his usual clients. He rose gracefully from his chair, straightening his skirt before responding, =/\= “Of course, Commander. I’ll be there directly. Just give me a few moments.” =/\=
–Randy–
Roman also had some… rather archaic ideas that made him embarrassed to need Randy’s help. He always called Randy on a personal comm and always insisted on meeting someplace, or at a time when he thought it would be less obvious why he was calling Randy. =/\= “Of course. I don’t mean to interrupt.” =/\=
When Randy arrived, Roman pressed the control to let the door open and waved Randy inside. Then he gestured Randy to sit. He opened the drawer to his desk, withdrew a data disk, and set it on the desk, looking… very uncomfortable. He paused a long minute, not wanting to do this.
But Imaginary Rand was still in his head. Come on, Roman. Just tell him. He can help, she would say. Urging him to deal with this. Both for his own good and so he didn’t push something nice out of his life.
“I received a letter… This morning. Well, it was for both Rand and I.” The words felt wrong in a way he couldn’t describe. It was difficult to make himself go on. “From… Well, here.” He tossed Randy the disk and offered him a PaDD. The data disk was labelled: To Cmdr Roman Alden and Ensign Rand Farquharson, From Mr and Mrs Caliano.
Caliano was the surname of the friend Roman had lost when his ship was attacked three years ago, in September of 2247, Jay. To this day, Roman still almost never spoke of the ship or anything to do with Jay, even to Rand or Randy. He’d spoken some about his childhood, very rarely any stories involving Jay.
~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO
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