Ens. Sienelis: "The Wait"

[Sienelis]

(( Promenade, Deep Space 6 ))

::It was a strange feeling, being this close to Romulan space again. Every time she got near a window, Valesha found herself looking out at the spread of stars that were home to the Empire, and for the first time she she had made her application to Starfleet, she found herself uncertain that she had made the right choice.

::Today, she was dwelling on that uncertainty. The Darwin was in the Delta Quadrant -- there weren't the words for how disappointed she was to have missed that -- and so she was idling some time away on Deep Space Six. Sat in the outer ring of the promenade, she had migrated toward one of the large windows and taken a seat beside it, half-heartedly picking at the spicy Bajoran street food she had selected for lunch.

::For weeks now, her father's words had been echoing around in her skull. "The Federation," he had said, "are a collective of self-congratulating hypocrites. While they laud themselves for embracing diversity, they scorn any beliefs that stray from their established values. That is why they seek to diminish us, for they cannot reconcile our way of life with their own, and thus they deem it an evil to be corrected."

::It had never been a belief she had shared. As a child she'd laughed and ignored him, and occupied her mind with merrier things. As an adolescent, she'd been sceptical, as she was with everything he said. Then when she had finally encountered Starfleet and the Federation, they had been nothing like he had said. 

::There had been some suspicion, of course. She hadn't minded that -- she was Romulan, and would have considered them foolish if there hadn't been -- but mostly she had been treated with compassion and kindness. 

::Yet… it was the little things. The silent looks of disgust she had received when she had idly quoted a Romulan truism. The way a conversation stopped when she walked into the lab. The assignments that someone else stepped in to complete, and the ones that never reached her at all. Just little things, that added up into a big question: had he been right?::

Nkai: Mind if I sit here?

::The owner of the question dropped himself into the seat opposite without waiting for an answer. He was Rodulan, that much was immediately obvious, and she found those black -- no, deepest blue -- eyes unnerving. How were you supposed to tell where he was looking?::

Sienelis: Was that a rhetorical question?

::He grinned at her, utterly shameless, the corners of his eyes creased in amusement.::

Nkai: Apparently it was. 

Sienelis: Was there something you wanted..?

Nkai: Kaelan. Kaelan Nkai. 

::Leaning forward in the chair, he reached over and plucked some of the fried vegetables that had come with her hasperat. She scowled and whipped her lunch away from him, and he continued grinning cheekily back, sucking his fingers clean.::

Nkai: It's Valesha, right? I was on the transport with you. You didn't notice, because you spent the whole time in your quarters.

::Feeling sorry for herself, trying not to get dragged down into a new black hole of grief. But he probably knew that already -- Rodulans were telepaths after all. The thought made her frown through her next question.::

Sienelis: You're from the Invicta as well?

Nkai: The Yamaguchi.

::The Yamaguchi. A ship that everyone had thought destroyed at Wolf 359. Instead, one of the Q had scooped it up, adding it to her "collection". She'd had starships from every known race, and a few unknown ones, and their best guess had been that she scooped up vessels involved in major historical events, moments before their destruction.

::In the end, the Invicta had managed to escape the collection, bringing the Yamaguchi with them.::

Sienelis: You didn't go home?

::Many had. In the blink of an eye, the crew of the Yamaguchi had twenty-five years to catch up on. Families were reunited with lost parents and children returning home. Hearts were broken, when husbands and wives found their partners had long since moved on. It was enough to keep a whole hospital's worth of counsellors busy for a very long time.::

Nkai: No need. ::::He shook his head, brushing off the question and distractedly running a hand through cropped, dark brown hair. Then he looked at her.:: So how did a Romulan end up in Starfleet? 

Sienelis: Lost a bet.

::He didn't seem to mind the sarcasm. His answering grin was lopsided and he shrugged in reply.::

Nkai: Fair enough. 

Sienelis: You never answered my question.  

::He had skipped neatly around it, in fact, which only made her more curious.::

Nkai: You noticed that, huh? ::He paused.:: In truth, I was hoping for some company and I figured that since we're both waiting on the Darwin that it might be nice to make a friend before we board.

::It was a kind thought, but her defences were up and she blurted out a retort before she realised what she was doing.::

Sienelis: What if I hate you?

Nkai: What if I hate *you*? Artist above, we could end up mortal enemies! What then?

::He grinned merrily away, and this time scooped up her cup and stole some of her drink. She flicked a vegetable crisp at him in annoyance, and it bounced off his nose, which only seemed to further his amusement even more.::

Nkai: Let's see. I'm an engineer and you're in science, right? So when you become my ultimate nemesis, you can plot my untimely demise from the safety of your labs without ever having to see you.

Sienelis: You laugh. But I can be diabolical in my deviousness. 

Nkai: Excellent. I'm quite ingenious myself, so our rivalry will become the stuff of legend. Stories will be told, songs will be sung, and at least one epic mural will be painted.

Sienelis: Only one?

Nkai: Well, you know. I only have tiny paintbrushes.

::Despite herself, she smiled. His good humour was annoyingly infectious. She stood and walked around the table, swiping back her drink from him and taking a pointed slurp through the straw.::

Sienelis: Fine. Deadly enemies then.

::He stood and nodded, deadpan.::

Nkai: Splendid. We should scout out potential battlegrounds. I thought we could inspect the park and then maybe a restaurant?

Sienelis: I suppose.

 ::She said it with distaste, but she couldn't quite keep the smile from tugging at the corner of her mouth as they moved toward the turbolift. The distraction was welcome, and good company even more so. Perhaps the wait for the Darwin wasn't going to be so bad, after all.::

​​END

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Ensign Valesha Sienelis

Science Officer

USS Darwin

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&

Ensign Kaelan Nkai

Engineering Officer

USS Darwin

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