Posted June 11, 2022, 12:50 a.m. by Lieutenant Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) (Jennifer Ward)
Posted by Lieutenant Commander Markus Woods (Chief Star Fleet Science Officer) in Rest and Relaxation (TAG Woods)
Posted by Lieutenant Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Rest and Relaxation (TAG Woods)
Posted by Lieutenant Commander Markus Woods (Chief Star Fleet Science Officer) in Rest and Relaxation (TAG Woods)
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Sharah wasn’t sure how she felt about yet another ship reassignment. She had truly felt like she’d found a place among the crew. Her life was rich and full and not lonely anymore. But it was part of being in service. But after the Viking’s last mission she was being decommissioned and the crew reassigned. The debriefing had been intense and overwhelming for Sharah, but she guessed no more so than anyone else. And then had come the psych reviews. The had stretched for hours and days. In the end it was decided that Sharah needed a long medical leave. The doctors had encouraged her to decide if Star Fleet really was the right place for someone like her. That hurt and stung and made Sharah feel like some kind of monster or thing to be pitied and hidden away.But right now she was taking her medical leave. Cpt Rende had arranged for Sharah and Markus to travel with them for awhile. Tabris’ children were excited to travel more and spend time with them all. Sharah had spent the morning prepping Geoff (Tabris’ fig tree), Hope (her bonsai), and Markus’ bonsai for transport. She heard the children in the corridor, her quarters on the far end of the same deck and grabbed her last bag and stepped out to join them.
Mercona was firmly attached to Eldorin has he carried her. Julin was skipping back and forth until he spotted her and then he wouldn’t leave her side. Neltus walked with Cpt Rende asking all kinds of questions about Asam Estate and what Earth was like. Vedi though, he never wandered far from Tabris. He was nervous and worried he wouldn’t be accepted and he felt safer with his father. Sharah could feel Markus’ presence, his light mental touch, he was on his way to meet them.
The captain took the controls along with her husband, while the rest got settled. It was a long and slightly cramped journey to the Starbase where Sharah and Markus would continue the rest of their journey.
Fayth
The U.S.S. Viking’s halls felt terribly empty on departure, even if there were still plenty of crew milling about. But now the shuttle was waiting to take them onward.
The debriefing had been endless. Every detail of the mission report went over with a fine-toothed comb. Any discrepancy questioned and re-questioned. It felt more like an interrogation or tribunal than a simple mission report. Every decision made called into question. Why did he do this and not that. It was humiliating and embarrassing. Like they didn’t believe him. That he’d done something wrong. Anything. But int he end the admiralty seemed satisfied. It was just a bad situation all around. And probably would have gone a lot worse without him and other key members there.
Did he have any recommendations for future situations like this if they arose? He had no better answers for them yet. But he wasn’t going to let the matter rest. Even he wasn’t happy with how things had gone down. He wasn’t used to feeling so out of his depth. But in his two years severing aboard the Viking, it had challenged him in ways he never thought possible. He had more questions than answers, and things that happened there still woke him up at night in a cold sweat.
The psych evals that followed for those most involved came next, like with Sharah. It took a few days. And the scans, pokes, and prods. But he showed no signs of having been affected. Duh. He’d told them that. But at least he had a mostly clean bill of health, save for some lingering PTSD from the previous Viking and the events leading to it’s destruction.
The last sight of the Viking, her portals, running lights, nacelles, scoops and all so dark asleep… had been hard. That ship was a part of who he was now, and left him changed in ways he still wasn’t sure how. That had been days ago.
He put it out of his mind as best he could, making his way into the shuttle bay and toward the runabout waiting to go. Slipping inside, he put his carry container with the few personal items he had, that couldn’t simply be re-replicated in one corner and secured it with a little webbing. “Good to go,” he said as he found a seat next to Sharah and sighed.
Woods, Lost in
Sharah hadn’t been on the Viking as long as Markus, but she felt his sadness, like saying good bye to home, or a very dear friend. She threaded her fingers into his, feeling that soothing buzz as they connected, and tried to offer him comfort in the moment. She had watched the Viking disappear out the ports and was sad, she’d liked it there. She had finally thought she’d found a home for herself. She was apprehensive about what would come next and the evaluations that would resume when she returned to duty. The newness of the runabout was soon exhausted for the children. Soon Sharah found Mecona climbing up into her lab and was soon asleep against her. The child was a cuddle bug and clung desperately to those she trusted. As unsteady as Sharah felt, that constant brought a smile to her face.
The week in the runabout fell into routine. Eldorin and Tabris kept the older two busy teaching them about the runabout’s systems and Mercona and Julin kept Sharah, Markus, and Rende busy. Whether entertaining or keeping them out of mischief. But soon they were docking at Starbase 21. It was a short trip for Markus and Sharah now, but the rest were going on to Earth. But they weren’t quite on leave yet. Rende and Eldorin and Tabris had to process out, and Sharah and Markus had medical and science experiments and samples to deliver.
The last night before they were all to depart, Rende had asked them all to come to their quarters. She and Eldorin had cooked and they were celebrating.
Fayth
Mark, when not distracted by the kids was quiet, introspective. Pained. There was a sense of loss, but more than that he was struggling with the matter. Even if the review board had cleared all of them, and even commended them. As much as Sharah tried to put that to rest, it was something that he circled back to in the quiet moment,s like poking at an old bruise. In the end, with only the specter of what had happened, what was left behind, even without saying much, he leaned on her, but by the same token, did his best to keep her from downing in the guilt and the grief. In some ways what she went through was far more personal. When the nightmares came, he was right there, steady as a rock.
So it was now the appointed hour, and instead of coming individually, he escorted her along and slipped inside. They had nothing to hide, not that they’d ever tried. Mark paused outside the doorway and hit the chime. It was a formality but one he felt appropriate for the evening. His other hand had a bottle of wine he’d picked up on the layover. It came from one of the vineyards of Deneva and seemed like it would be a good drop and a good idea to bring along.
Idly he slipped one arm around Sharah’s waist. “It’s too bad we didn’t get to do this more often on the Viking,” he murmured to her.
Woods
Sharah leaned into his side, her head resting against him, his arm around her waist resting against her opposite hip. Tonight Sharah was sad and quiet. For someone who had spent her entire life alone and lost in the crowd she hated this moment. She didn’t want to say good bye again. Markus made it bearable but what if they were assigned to different duty stations? The prospect of walking onto another ship or starbase alone was a crushing weight. “It really is. There’s never enough time. I understand why Cpt Rende is retiring.”
But the door opened and Sharah put a smile on her face and pushed down the sadness. Neltus was still learning to control his own empathy and it was hard for him. His siblings were both excited and scared and he felt it acutely. Sharah would do her best not to add to that. She knew how it was to deal with unwanted emotions from others. Eldorin grinned and made an effort to be more understandable tonight. “Welcome, come in come in.” The space was total chaos. Rende and Eldorin had embraced the role of grandparents and there was paper, crayons, toys, shoes, snacks, cups, and was that a blanket fort? everywhere. “Hello Lt.” Sharah said only to get a disappointed look from the ancient engineer. “Now none of that. I told ye, yer family. I’m Eldorin, you’re Sharah, and he’s Markus. We’re family, no rank here anymore.” He kissed Sharah’s cheek and shook Markus’ hand.
Rende came over Julin attached to her pant leg, leaving messy sticky finger prints at her knee. She pulled Markus into a tight hug and then Sharah. Tabris appeared out of the back room with Mecona who ran to Eldorin begging to be picked up, and of course he gave her whatever she wanted. Tabris hugged Sharah, knowing how hard this was for her, and then being the sentimental man he was, he hugged Markus too.
“Alright, drinks? Who wants what?” In unison Julin and Mecona begged for Juice. Vedi and Neltus looked at each other and feeling like they were old enough spotted the bottle of wine and said “Wine!” Tabris said, “No, try again.”
The Asams
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