Posted by Civilian Aiofemi T. Oshiro (Director of Medical and Social Services) in While You Were Sleeping…Aiofemi and Samikah’s Char Dev (Closed)

Posted by Civilian Samikah Jaxsyn (Administrative Assistant, Medical & Social Services) in While You Were Sleeping…
After an hour-long video call with her twin sister, Mandah who was still back on Earth, Samikah decided to whine down for the night. Rising from her workstation, she maneuvered around the many unpacked boxes that had just arrived from Orbital Station, which had recently been cleared by customs, scattered on her floor in her new apartment. She made her way to her bathroom and showered. Afterward, she quickly glanced at her to-do list for the next day and then hopped into her bed, pulling the covers over her shoulder as the left side of her face hit her soft memory viscoelastic polyurethane foam pillow. Aiofemi had given her what seemed like a continuous list of tasks to accomplish the next day including sending a new plant to the Lt. Governor, finding an appropriate gift for the Governor as well as Dr. Fayth and Helaky for helping her organize the seminar with the Vren. She knew she needed to be mentally on point tomorrow.
As she lay there, Samikah about couldn’t help but think how things would have been much different if she had gotten the Director of Medical and Social Services job instead of Aiofemi. She had nothing against Ai as she was the kindest and most honest person she’d ever met; however, Samikah had applied for the same job and didn’t get chosen for the position. Then a few days later she coincidentally got a call from her long-time friend hearing that she had gotten the job she applied for and really wanted for herself. It was not only an astronomical surprise but also kind was a sting for her too. More so when Aiofemi, who had no idea she had applied for the job, offered her to come with her as her right-hand woman. Being the assistant seemed like a… consolation prize. However, she accepted Ai’s offer because she was fond of her as they both had worked and collaborated multiple times while they were Starfleet officers and had formed a friendship that endured the time and service they put into the organization and apparently job opportunities as well. Also, she knew that Aiofemi would never treat her like a typical “assistant”, and she always wanted to see OED V because it was starting to gain traction as the best new place to visit and live.
Samikah closed her eyes and almost immediately drifted off into a deep sleep. As she fell deeper into her slumber, a fully clothed woman in an all-black jumpsuit emerged from the dark corners of her bedroom. The woman wore Samikah’s face, had the same eyes, and was the same exact build, weight, and height. The only difference is that she did not have the afro-curly hair Samikah had. Her hair was straighter, sleeker, parted in the middle, and fell well past her shoulders. She approached the bed where Samikah slept and stood there watching her.

Mikah, Admin Assistant DMSS

“Ensign Delaney, take my kids to escape pod 7, immediately!”, said Lieutenant Imani Akpan-Oshiro.

“Yes, ma’am”, said the tall slender blond woman as she quickly nodded her head.

“Momma, what about you? Are you coming too?”, asked 10-year-old Ai as she grabbed one of her mother’s hands.

Imani kneeled down, to level her face with her daughter’s, and said, “I will….eventually. But honey I have to make sure the wounded and sick get to safety first. Okay? I will be leaving with the last patients.” Ai did not respond as she stared into her mother’s brown face and black eyes. “Ai”, her mother frowned as she continued in a stern voice, “Listen to me. I need you and your brother to go with Ensign Delaney.” She pointed to the woman as she stood right by her daughter.

Suddenly there was a loud boom and the ship shook violently. Ai fell to the ground and landed hard on her left side. As she hit the ground she made a loud huff sound. She did not have time to recover from the fall as Ensign Delaney grabbed her arm, pulled her, to her feet and started to lead her down the corridor in the opposite direction of their mother. Looking back as she ran down the corridor, her thick curly hair blocked her view at first and she quickly moved it so she could see her mother. When she came into view, Ai saw her just standing there at first, then Imani abruptly turned and took off running the opposite direction toward sick bay. There was another loud crashing sound and Ai, snatched her hand from Ensign Delaney, and ducked in a squatting position with her hands over her ears as she screamed, “Zach! No! I am scared! I want mom!”
Ai’s brother ran to her, grabbed Ai by her shoulders and jerked her to her feet, using both hands, then said, “Ai!” He began to shake her violently, “Stop it! I am tired of you..…”. However, after seeing the shocked look on her face, he stopped midsentence, dropped his hands from her shoulder and his voice softened. “You can’t…you can’t act like a baby. Not now. Okay?” Ai face was wet with tears but she nodded her head to indicate she understood. “Come on. We are almost there.” She took her brother hand and allowed him to lead her to their destination.

“Hurry children!” yelled the Ensign.

As they approached the escape pod. Zacharias pushed Aiofemi in, then he got in, then the Ensign went after them. The Ensign ran to the pilot’s seat. “Buckle up, Zach…Ai.”, she yelled. Ai and her brother did as they were instructed. They heard the Ensign counting down. “5…4…3…2…Off! Stay in your seats!”

Approximately 5 minutes into their smooth flight, there was unexpected turbulence, Ai turned her head to look out the window and saw the Majestic was in flames. “No!” said Ai as she smacked the window. “What about…momma?” Ai looked over at her brother. His head was hung low and Ai could see tears coming from his closed eyes. She grabbed his arm and laid her head on his shoulder, “Maybe she made it”, she said in a low whisper. Suddenly her brother put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. She said once more, “Zach, she probably made it out in time.”

Aiofemi jolted awake and sat up in her bed. She looked around the dark room and noticed it was 0300 hours. After taking a few deep breaths she closed her eyes before placing the back of her right hand on her right eye and sat there a moment. She stifled her tears, quickly dropped her hand and got out of bed. She went to her workstation and sat in the chair as she nervously scratched her head ruffling her thick curly black hair. =^= Computer, place a call to Zacharias Oshiro…=^=

Dr. Ai Oshiro, DMSS

As Aiofemi requested the computer to place a call to Zacharias, she couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions. The dream had awakened a deep longing within her, a longing to reconnect with her brother and perhaps find solace in their shared experience. She hoped that hearing his voice would provide some comfort and reassurance in the face of the haunting memories that had resurfaced.

Minutes later, an image of a handsome man of half-Asian and African descent appeared on the screen. The background behind him was lively and bright. “Hey, Ai. Are you okay?” he asked with a slightly concerned look on his face. “It looks like it’s the middle of the night where you are.”

Aiofemi rubbed her fingers through her hair again and then rubbed her right eye with her right hand. “Yeah, I am fine.”

He stared at her for a moment then said, “I know you’re not. What’s up, sis?”

Ai sniffed and said, “I had that dream again. The one about…”

“Mom,” he finished her sentence.

“Yeah, that one.” She hung her head for a moment. “I don’t know, Zach. I feel… a sense of doom or something. I feel like something terrible is coming or something bad is going to happen.” She gripped the chest area of her shirt in a tight fist. “I wish you could come here and visit for a while.”

“Ai, everything is okay. You just need to adjust to your new setting.”

“Yeah, I know, but I miss you and I miss Mom too. I am sad.”

Zacharias paused, then said, “I think you need to see a familiar face. I cannot make it out there anytime soon, but our brother Sampson should be in that part of the galaxy about a month from now. I will have him stop by and check in on you, okay?”

Ai nodded, then managed a small smile. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to ruin your day. I know you hate it when I am a crybaby.”

“Ah, nah. It used to bother me a lot when we were growing up, but now I just think it’s kind of adorable. You still need your big brother to comfort you and tell you everything is going to be okay.”

Ai laughed as she wiped her tears with her hand. “Hold on, Zach.” She said as she went to the bathroom to grab a box of tissues. As she passed by the floor-to-ceiling windows, which didn’t have any curtains at the moment, she looked out one and was able to see the road clearly from her second-floor condo, which was within walking distance of the Government Tower. Ai squinted her eyes and then widened them because she thought she saw Samikah standing there on the street, looking up at her window… at her. Ai placed her hand on the window as she locked eyes with the woman. Then suddenly, Samikah turned and strutted across the street, heading in the direction of the Tower. The woman was similar in every way to Samikah, only she was dressed in a form-fitting black bodysuit, something Samikah would never be caught in, and her hair was straight. Samikah would never straighten her hair. She knew Samikah’s own apartment complex wasn’t much further away, but she wondered why she would be out at this time of the night since the last time she talked to her, about four hours ago, she said she was tired and going to bed.

She hurried back to her workstation, forgetting about the tissues. “Um… Zach, I am going to call you back.”

“Is everything okay?” he asked, his eyebrows raised, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, everything is fine. I think I just saw Mikah. Something seemed off. I need to go and check if she’s okay.”

“What? It’s already 3 am over there, right?”

“Yeah, it is. I doubt she would be out at this time of night.”

“Ai, you shouldn’t go after her. Don’t leave your condo. You’re not familiar with the colony yet.”

“I’ll be fine. I have to make sure Mikah is okay. I’ve never seen her look the way she did… It was strange. When I looked at her, she looked back at me, but it was like she recognized me, yet she didn’t?”

Ai’s brother nodded. “Yeah, that’s odd. Look, since you’re not going to listen to me, call me back in a few minutes and let me know what happened. Otherwise, I might have to take the next express shuttle out there. I love you, sis.”

“Love you too, bro. Talk to you later.” She ended the call.

She grabbed one of her beautifully decorated kimono robes and quickly put it on over her tank top and shorts, the clothes she had been wearing while she slept. Then she slipped on a pair of ballet-style flat slippers and rushed out of her condo, down the staircase, through the lobby of her apartment building, and out of the massive front decorative glass doors. However, when she reached the spot, Samikah was nowhere to be seen. She glanced towards the path leading to the Tower, which was nearly empty except for a few straggling pedestrians. Cupping her hand to her mouth, she yelled, “Samikah!” She turned in another direction and yelled again, “Mikah!” There was no response.

Dr. Ai Oshiro, DMSS