Lt. JG Sienelis & PO2 Johns - Finagle's Law (Part II)
Quinn Reynolds
((Brig, USS Gorkon))
::His eyes shifted from the forcefield to her, a stab of guilt making his heart sore and inciting a blast of heat to his cheeks, haze of tequila beginning to wane. An emotional outburst had got him in there and trying to temper his anger with a pragmatic response was causing more harm than he intended. Turning, he pressed his back against the wall, crossing his arms, quiet for a long moment. When he did speak, if he’d made any attempt to keep his feelings out of it, he failed drastically.::
Johns: I don’t know, Vee. Did you?
::That made her flinch, blinking in surprise, and hot tears found their way down her cheeks, just as she'd been afraid of. She stared at him in open disbelief, not wanting to believe that she'd just heard the question.::
Sienelis: Wh-- ::The word caught in her throat, forcing her to clear it before she continued, her voice pitching higher when she did.:: What did you just ask me?
Johns: Did you? ::He was pale; pale for her. Rage, sadness and resignation sending a tremor through his question.:: If any of that dream was real, I know you didn’t, but something prompted this. Someone believes you did.
::Muted relief was exhaled in a small puff of air, the Romulan surrendering the fear that Chris had no faith in her. Strangers believing you were capable of murder was one thing, but him... Dropping her chin toward the floor, she wiped her cheeks with the heel of her hand.::
Sienelis: I'd gone to get our water rations. When I got back the doors were already closed, and... ::She hesitated, rubbing fingers and thumb across the raised ridges of her forehead. Whenever possible she tried not to think about the events of that day, let alone talk about them.:: I didn't do anything to set it off, and there wasn't anything I could have done to stop it.
::With palpable uncertainty, Chris pushed himself off the wall and slowly walked the small space along the edge of the forcefield. Arms crossed tightly, frown deepening, he stopped in the centre of the cell, his forefinger and thumb finding the hollows of his eyes briefly before he looked toward her, the distance between them feeling wider than a chasm.::
Johns: Did anyone else survive it?
::Valesha closed her eyes at the question, not wanting to answer. After the accident, she had almost entirely withdrawn from the others on the ship, keeping to herself, speaking to none but those she had to. Had she seen any of those faces from the cargo bay afterwards? Opening her eyes again, she shook her head in a slow arc, back and forth.::
Sienelis: ::Quietly,:: No, I don't think so.
::If this was anyone else, anyone at all, it would be comical, but it wasn’t. It was Valesha and the Romulan Star Empire, and the preconception that the race was arrogant to the point of obsessive about their superiority, where manipulation was a given and weakness a transgression. Chris exhaled a frustrated groan, shaking his head, then ran his hands up over his face into his hair.::
Johns: I hate this.
::Valesha agreed with a soft noise in her throat, eyes unfocused, throat suddenly dry. Her thoughts were running along different lines, the magnitude of her situation coming into sharp, oppressive focus.::
Sienelis: There weren't any manifests of where people were staying. Things were always breaking, we were constantly moving around. To confirm that I was the only person from that bay who survived the accident, they would have had to interview everyone on the ship... and there were hundreds of us. ::Dull green eyes darted over toward him.:: Someone's been building this case for months, if not longer.
Johns: Why? Why now? ::He covered his stubbled chin with his hand and started to pace again, back and forth in front of the forcefield. Anger radiating with sheer helplessness.:: Why not arrest you when you were rescued? Why not keep you in custody after we got back from Over There?
Sienelis: I don't know.
::An answer wasn’t expected, the questions impossible for either of them, but Chris assumed Kotanne had answers, if not suspicions. Thinking of the Mazerite’s face and twisted knowing smile slit through him like barbed wire. Recklessness didn’t seem to be his style; every accusation backed up in streams of evidence. Almost too frightening a prospect to contemplate.
::He hung his head, his hand finding the back of it into tufts of salt encrusted hair. Like a stone, he dropped down onto the edge of the bunk, leaning forward. Elbows on his knees, fingers in his hair, wearing fret and agitation like a second skin.::
Johns: ::Quietly,:: We’ll fight this.
::Valesha looked at him as he sat there, expressing every emotion churning within her own belly. Close enough to reach out and touch, she did so, combing through the mop he'd so recently claimed was irresistible to hearts and fingers. One corner of her mouth quirked up, for just a moment. Evidently, he'd been right.::
Sienelis: And we're back to not wanting to take you down with me.
Johns: History does have a tendency to go round in circles. ::Her observation pulled a soft smile, however brief, from him.:: You’re the scientist. Einstein’s parable of quantum insanity. If you want the change the outcome, you need to do something different. ::He looked up at her, into reddened jade eyes that made his heart skip.:: I’m not going anywhere, Vee. We’re a team.
fin
--
Lieutenant (JG) Valesha Sienelis
Science Officer
USS Gorkon
T238401QR0
&
PO Second-Class Christopher Johns
Operations Officer
USS Gorkon
G239304JM0