Commander Ash MacKenna - Mental Cascades

[Marissa Jeffrey]

((Deep Space 33, Captain's Temporary Quarters))

Something felt decidedly off. 

The thing was, most routine procedures were called that for a reason; they were routine. When things started to deviate from the routine, it upset more than just a pattern. No matter how much she knew things to be necessary and reasonable, and no matter how often she found herself surviving the minute changes of day-to-day life in Starfleet, things that were different still threw her into a mental tizzy. Nothing had to be wrong for real, but it certainly felt wrong regardless.

It was moments like this that she envied those who could simply roll with the punches without their internal mechanisms screaming red alert and preparing for imminent destruction. A shiver ran through her as she looked at the Captain and her's personal effects boxed up and set in a most organized manner by the door. There wasn't too much, but the wall decor, the desk she'd set up for his writing, and one of the remaining thistle flowers she'd placed when she first arrived were among the containers. Absent-mindedly she hugged the little feline she'd carried over a bit tighter.

The loud purr that emanated reminded her that she was holding a living creature, but that didn't change the protective hold from lingering a few more moments before she was forced to set it down and retreat from the room. Despite the lack of routine, some things were still very much on schedule, and being late was simply unacceptable no matter how unsettled she felt.

As her fingertips left the warm softness of feline fur behind, and her mind left the containers of her belongings with it, Ash MacKenna stepped out into the corridor of a station she still wasn't entirely certain she was welcome aboard.

((Short Timeskip, Arboretum, DS33))

When in doubt, the Starfleet uniform was one thing that she could always turn to. Her collar, crisp and dark as the void that embraced the Arrow beyond the windows of the Arboretum,  it was her red hair that offset her form from that of the shadows themselves. She snuck into the room, her eyes taking in those who were already there, as well as those who were not. Both were noticed and noted.

She caught the glance from her fiance and the man at the front of everything, returning his smile with the slightest of her own as she moved through the room to the back. While she couldn't exactly stand on a wall and pretend not to be there, she could stand behind everyone and everything and make like a tree. In her stillness, she was actually quite sure that the trees might move more than she did. 

The captain's voice, with the melody it created in her mind, sang out into the veritable crowd of Arrow officers. Some were dressed in uniform, while others had taken the opportunity to enjoy a more formal, or less formal depending on how you looked at it, dress. Few were as she was, having snuck from the ship to the station and then to the ceremony without much change. After all, she could only cope with so much change before her mind tore itself apart. This was one of those things she chose in order to simply keep herself sane.

At least that was how it felt.

Listening as the captain ran through the awards, she considered all that had transpired over the past months. A glance up at the ship revived her feeling that something was wrong, but as was often the case, she forced her mind to make an attempt to enjoy the view rather that worry about it.

But who knew; perhaps she should have worried instead.

TBC

--

Commander Ash MacKenna

Chief Intelligence Officer

USS Arrow

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