JP: LtCmdr Tristam Core & Capt Roshanara Rahman: Last Night (Part 1)

[richyulin]

((Captain's Quarters, USS Veritas - Around 0400 hours))

 

::Sometimes, fate and the universe were truly cruel masters. Just a few months after Tristam’s Starfleet commission had been reactivated, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers saw fit to have him head off on assignment elsewhere in the Shoals--away from Veritas and away from Roshanara.::

 

::It made complete logical sense of course. She’d probably have assigned him similarly if she were back on Earth looking over the Corps’ resources and seeing a components expert posted on a deep space cruiser that didn’t really offer him the same resources as say a Galaxy class ship or a starbase for research. More importantly, Tristam’s skills were vital to the Corps’ efforts (and the Federation Council’s stated commitment) to improve infrastructure throughout the Shoals.::

 

::But she thought they’d have more time.::

 

Rahman: I know we should go to sleep, but I don’t want this night to end…

 

::Her voice was wistful, her head resting on his chest as they both lay in her bed staring up above. Tristam gave a quiet sigh, nuzzling against her hair.::

 

Core: The good news is, it’s still in the area.

 

Rahman: Hmmph. Ketar? Karakka? Wherever they send you out here, it might as well be the Delta Quadrant.

 

::She turned slightly to look up towards him.::

 

Rahman: You know it could be months before we see each other again...

 

Core: I’m not thrilled about it, either. But maybe it’s a good thing - professionally, I mean. Walker has everything tied down here. With everything else . . . well, I mostly fixed the com problem, remember?

 

Rahman: True… and since that is what I presume you’ll be focussing on now for the rest of the Shoals, maybe finding a way to keep us in touch better is a pretty good incentive for you to do well.

 

Core: Well, I’ll need numerous com tests. Veritas is equipped for that. Not my fault if the captain decided to take those calls.

 

::She chuckled, reaching back with her right hand to stroke his lightly-shaved beard with the back of her fingers. As she thought though of what their relationship was to become--long distance, again, and one sustained (inshallah!) by subspace calls--painful memories of her last experience with such an arrangement began to resurface.::

 

Rahman: Tristam, we don’t have to do this.

 

::He frowned a little, the hand that had been tracing small patterns on her arm now still.::

 

Core: I’m guessing you don’t mean halting my transfer to the outpost.

 

::He was trying to keep things light, fully aware of what she was trying to say, but unwilling to let it, or rather, his reaction to it, ruin a good day.::

 

Rahman: It’s just… I’ve been down this road before. I know how hard it can be.

 

::She stopped to correct herself.::

 

Rahman: How hard it *will* be.

 

::She closed her eyes as she felt them begin to water.::

 

Rahman: If it becomes too hard for you, I don’t want you to feel like you can’t tell me. And if there’s any doubt, then maybe it’d be best to resolve it here, now--while we’re together. Not months or even years from now when we’re divided by a screen.

 

::He didn't want to dismiss her concerns. He had no intention to, not after the disaster that had been his time on Rodul. But he couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t getting the whole story here. He thought about it for a few moments, hand resuming its patterns on her arm.::

 

Core: Is that what *you* want?

 

TBC...

 

Lt. Cmdr. Tristam Core

Components Expert, Starfleet Corps of Engineers

C238803SB0

 

&

 

Capt. Roshanara Rahman

Commanding Officer, USS Veritas

I238705TZ0