Shared Experiences

Posted on 18 May 2009 @ 11:49am by Colonel Stadi Andrus

1,714 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: M1: Prepare for Battle
Location: Melanie's Quarters
Timeline: Current

The Captain had left her in the empty quarters. She twisted the silver bracelet that Talar had given her all those years ago. She wished she would have been able to marry him in public, that it could be made public but it could not. She stood up and left the empty quarters slowly making her way to hers. She stepped inside and sat at the desk.

Mari had heard the sobs. She had seen the doctor and the captain enter quarters that were not yet assigned. And had the doors not malfunctioned due to the damage they'd sustained, that is all Mariposa would have known. However, the doors had not closed behind them all the way and Mari did hear. And now she was approaching the doctor's door to let her know more than one 'little' thing.

Melanie took the bracelet in her hand again and got lost in the memories of when it was given to her. Had she stayed away from Starfleet, had they stayed in New Zealand...none of this would have happened. Talar would still be alive, they would be happy...Silent tears fell down her cheeks, onto the desk.

After several moments of hesitation, Mari rang the chime and waited to see if the doctor would respond.

"Come." She said wiping the tears away.

The door swished open and Mari entered, her shoulders squared, her fingers loosely entwined behind her back. She thought about waiting for the woman to look up and acknowledge her presence before saying anything but decided against it, "I heard you crying...earlier...I wanted to check on you..." she said in a rather halting, stilted manner.

"I will survive Commander." She said pulling her sleeve over the bracelet. "I am sorry to have worried you."

She had tried doing this the 'nice' way but now Mari decided she needed to be blunt and to the point, saying directly, "I saw you go into those empty quarters with the captain. I heard everything."

"You were listening on a private conversation Commander."

"Yes, I was," Mari agreed, moving her arms in front of her and crossing them over her chest.

"Then what is it that you want from me?" She asked bitterly.

"Several things, actually," Mari said, "Primeramente...I want to know if you have any idea what the implications are of you having been involved with a Romulan and if you have any idea what dangerous ground you are walking now with as close as you appeared to be getting to the captain...?"

"I fail to realise what any of this has to do with you and as for the captain...that is his business...not yours."

Sighing, Mari shook her head and said, "Pues, it has to do with me because I know about it. Does Starfleet know about your former fiance?"

"And if you don't get the answer you want you are going to run and tell them like a child would tell their mommy and daddy that someone stole their lollipop?"

Mari's face hardened, growing cold, "You know nothing about me. I owe Starfleet nothing. This is about honor, intentions, and honesty."

"No Commander, they did not know his true heritage and I would like to keep it that way. I had left Starfleet for him and will do it again if it comes to it. I have just lost someone I hold more dear than you can imagaine. As for the Captain...nothing happened Lieutenant. We share a common loss...nothing more."

Sighing again, Mari shook her head, "Are you truly so bitter, so cynical? You are not alone but you might as well be...I feel sorry for you," and with that, Mari turned on her heel as if she were going to leave.

"I am sorry Commander. Please...take a seat." She sighed.

Mari turned back around but shook her head, "You do not want me here. I should go."

"Please Commander...I apologise for my rudeness."

Slowly, Mari moved to the couch and took a seat, looking the other woman over cautiously before she said, "I know what it is like...to love someone you should not..."

"May I ask then...why you asked me about Talar and him being Romulan?"

"It is...complicated..." Mari said, shaking her head, thinking of her family and her estrangement from them, "What it boils down to, though, I suppose...is both curiosity and a general fear of Romulans...especialmente since we have just been attacked here by them."

"He had nothing to do with that...please understand that."

"Pero todos modos...he is Romulan...or was...and the suspicion will always be a dark cloud over your head..." Mari's words were ominous and almost sounded as if she were talking from experience more than anything else. This was more than she had even hinted at to the counselor and they had spent an entire evening together.

"Commander?" Melanie knew that Mariposa wasn't telling her everything, she was too emotionally drained to read the woman's thoughts...besides being drained as she was it would be rude of her to do so.

Mari just shook her head and cleared it of all thoughts on the subject if that were even possible, "Never mind, no importa...it's history..."

"I hav trusted you with mine..." She offered.

Studying the woman, Mari simply stayed quiet, waiting to see if she would expound on what she'd said or leave it at that.

"Would you rather I tell you more of Talar first?" She asked.

"Si, if you wish," Mari stated.

"We were on a ship during The Battle of Chin'toka. The ship was disintergrating around us. He pulled me into an escape pod before the ship finally blew. He had volunteered as a doctor in the sickbay I was working in, as you know we were extremely short handed. It was 10 days before we were rescued. When rescued he told the rescue party that he was Vulcan...not Romulan, I did not deny it. He proposed to me later on...I left Starfleet and we moved to New Zealand. We were happy and in love. I rejoined a couple of years later as a favour to a friend. Starfleet believed that Talar was Vulcan...he also began working as a doctor again. But we got separate commissions...He was stationed on DS5 for no more than 3 hours before...before..." She refused to finish the sentence.

"Before he was killed," Mari finished for her with a nod, "When I was young, a mere fifteen years old, having just celebrated my quinceañera, I was swept off my feet by a man more than twice my age, a renegade, an explorer. He invited me to go with him, to live my dream, jumping from one adventure to another. But my family disapproved of him. They told me if I went, they would disown me. I didn't care. When you are young, you do not realize the value of family. I went, knowing I could never return to my roots. Alejandro took me only so far and then he left me, saying he would return soon and that his next adventure was too dangerous for one so young and preciosa as me," Mari paused, the numbness returning as the hollowness entered her voice, "He did not return. I stayed and waited with faith and patience, but he did not return," she sucked in a breath and held it for a moment to be sure her emotions would stay firmly under control and then she finally looked Melanie directly in the eye and said, "Six months later, I received word from his second in command. His ship had been attacked by pirates and he had not made it out alive. That was when I decided to join Starfleet..."

"I am...sorry Commander."

Mari shrugged, shaking off the melancholy that would cut too deep if she let it, and shook her head, "Ni modo. That was 13 years ago now. Life has moved forward and so have I."

"I will have to do the same. I will have to make arrangements for his funeral." Tears stinging her eyes once again.

Nodding again, Mari asked quietly, "Do you have family...?"

"He was the only family I had left. My mother died when I was very young...my father in the battle of Chin'toka."

"Then we are the same," Mari replied, placing a hand on the other woman's shoulder.

"You will not speak of this to anyone then?" She asked.

"No, I won't," Mari said quietly, "But you should be careful. If Starfleet finds out that you have witheld this information from them, they may do more than give you a simple reprimand. It may be wise to make Talar's origins known. With him gone, what can it hurt? But then, that is just me, looking at what might be the next step to keeping myself out of their extended grasp..."

"I have only told the Captain and one other besides you...they can be trusted. The Empire has already declared him to be dead this past 10 years. I will leave Starfleet if the truth ever does come out...until then, I am here for the crew."

Mari nodded, "You have made your decision, then."

"I have. If I cannot be with Talar, then all I have left is my career. I know I will lose that too if Starfleet Command finds out the truth."

"Not necessarily," Mari said, "But do as you see fit. I will not go there for you."

Melanie nodded. "Thank you Commander...I am sorry if I was...harsh with you earlier."

"Entiendo," Mari said, a teasing smile pulling at the edges of her well-formed mouth, "Just don't do it again, Entiende?"

"Yes ma'am." She smiled, it was the first time she had smiled since she had heard the news of her love.

"Cuidese," Mari said, becoming more serious again, "And don't be afraid to come talk to me. I'm always around...somewhere."

"Understood." A smile tried to break across her face but failed.

"Bueno," Mari said with a nod as she stood, her long locks flipping back over her shoulder, "I should be going. Like I said, Cuidese, Doctor."

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Lt Mariposa Roderiguez
XO

Lt. Melanie Hemmingway
CMO

 

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