Posted by Lieutenant Siennadye Nox (Counselor) in Side Sim - Arboretum: Sienna Comes Clean
Siennadye Nox paced in the Arboretum. She was at her favorite spot, a nice little alcove of cherry blossom trees and a comfortable wood bench. The soft loam gave cushion to her bare feet as she paced, shoes discarded beside the bench. On a clinical level, she recognized her nervousness and mildly asked her self in her mind why she had any reason to be nervous. Johann surely knew. But then she reminded herself There is a difference between guessing correctly and getting confirmation. She sighed deeply and tucked her long hair behind her ears in a nervous gesture before realizing it. With a grimace, she dropped her hands to her sides, pressing them hard into fists and then slowly letting them relax.

She could tell herself a thousand times that this conversation wouldn’t really matter at the end of the day. This Johann was not her husband so that life was at it had been since the day she had been trapped here, forbidden to her to live. But she had still lied to him for quite some time now and she knew that would make him feel some kind of way and likely not positive towards her. No one likes getting lied to. Even dressing in her favorite white off shoulder blouse and navy yoga pants which she always wore when she was feeling personally vulnerable, would not make her feel any more confident in this conversation. She hadn’t wanted to do this on duty or wear her uniform. This was personal. The fingers of her left hand toyed with her wedding band as she walked up to one of the blooming trees and lifted her right hand to bring the branch closer to smell its lovely perfume. Perhaps her favorite scent would calm her as her mind worked forever on the same problem it had since the day she was sent to the Europa.

She had had this conversation with Johann a thousand times in her mind. Sienna had no idea what to say or what he would say, but she had a million possibilities resting in her imagination. There was nothing she could do but wait. Why had she arrived so blasted early? Stupid nerves.

Nox, CNS

Johann didn’t typically spend any time thinking about his appearance. He had basically kept the same haircut for the last 14 years. He had been a Starfleet Officer for 21 years, so he spent most of that time wearing whatever uniform Starfleet told him to wear. During the last 10 years as Captain of the Europa, he briefly considered the idea of wearing the Captain’s Vest option that was made available to him, and did so on occasion. His off-duty wardrobe got even less thought in all of that time. Until today. Today, he had to be very careful to set the right tone.

That tone was very simple: This Is Not A Date.

He viewed the entire conversation to set this meeting up, which had only taken place digitally, as an exercise in boundary setting. She wanted to talk, he wanted to talk. But… she didn’t want to do it on duty, because it was personal. Which meant they had to meet somewhere that wasn’t either of their offices. They for damn sure were not going to do it in anybody’s quarters; the last time he showed up at a woman’s quarters for a quick discussion he ended up having sex, which was not the outcome he was looking for out of this meeting. So that meant he needed to pick a place that was public, but not too public. It had to be just private enough that they could talk about everything without a bunch of people overhearing it, but not so public that just everyone would walk in and hear what they were talking about. That ruled out the lounge, which was high-traffic, and the holodeck, which they would have to reserve and hence would be just as private as any other place. They weren’t going to go where people might be actually working, so that left the arboretum by default. The problem with the arboretum, though, is that it was a classic choice on starships for dates. He had even been on one in this arboretum, on Europa, with Vora. But this meeting was not going to have Vora and it was not going to be a date.

The trick was to emphasize that without being so blunt as to explicitly say it, so as not to add insult to injury. Hence, the choice of wardrobe became incredibly important. The firmest way to send the message would have been to come his ordinary uniform, but this was not going to be a duty conversation. The next firmest way was to simply dress in a way that was minimally acceptable; just presentable enough to be out in public, but no evidence at all that you put any effort into your appearance. In Johann’s case, that was a dark t-shirt with “Starfleet Academy - Class of ‘76” written on the front, well-worn blue jeans, and a pair of black sneakers. He was actually concerned that it was even then slightly too formal; he preferred dark colors typically, which were implicitly more formal, and more formal implied more like a date. This was as low as he could go without replicating new clothes, and the act of replicating new clothes was something that would actually require effort and therefore be counter-productive. Thus, he topped it all off by not shaving that morning, giving himself a clearly lazy look that was uncustomary but was also acceptable for not being on duty.

The only other thing he could have done to make it even less like a date would have been to bring someone else to it. The only person he could even think about bringing was Vora, but that would have been too awkward for everyone involved. He and Sienna needed to talk without her present, though he had absolutely no intention of hiding anything from Vora. It was still… dangerous… though. Vora was very obviously threatened by this new information, that there was another woman out there with a man who might have been him. He had to get this thing done so all three of them could move past that thought, and he had to do it delicately.

Just missing the wire-cutters, he thought as he walked off of the turbolift. He made a point of finishing his sigh just before he actually walked into the arboretum. He saw Sienna there and walked straight to her.

“Hello,” he said simply.

– Johann Dvorak, CO