Lt Jacin - You’re The Responsible One!?
Emma
((Arboretum, Deep Space 33))
Hobart: Fair. ::gesturing with his chin:: Bar's open. That is, unless you've got a flask tied to your thigh again.
She felt herself blanching at his joke, and merely lifted part of her dress aside to show the flask strapped to her thigh.
Jacin: I was saving it for later.
Nolen stifled a laugh, and started to stand.
Hobart: Wouldn't want to eat into your reserves before the party's even started, would we?
She shook her head and chuckled as he rose, offering her his hand. She took hold of it and stood
Jacin: Thank you. What do I call you now? Nolan? Sir? Best friend in law?
Hobart: ::sigh:: Just don't call me late for dinner.
She shrugged at looked at him, with a new appreciation of his sensitivity as they walked over to the bar.
Hobart: So, what gives?
She took the flute of champagne and drank. Looking out over the room as it began to fill with the crew and various dignitaries.
Jacin: I don’t know. It’s not like I want to be sad. When I first came onboard I was so in awe of people, so unsure of myself. I thought those times had passed, and yet…
Hobart: And yet. ::sip:: Two full pips felt like a huge leap forward, didn't it? All that empty space still weighs on you.
A small laugh escaped her mouth. Perhaps Nolan more than some others onboard would at least understand the issues for someone with empathic abilities on board a small and crowded ship.
Jacin: I’m glad Connor has you as a friend. I know we don’t know each other that well, but I’m glad he has you. Just in case.
She noticed a slight change in Nolan’s stance, as if something had set off an alarm to his emotional state. She was puzzled at this reaction but before she could give voice to her confusion he spoke.
Hobart: Honestly? I'm just the guardrails.
Ayemet smiled as she drank once more. Whether she knew him well or not, or felt that it was entirely possible that he might well leave Connor stripped naked and tied to a targ near a gravity well on his bachelor night, she was both seeing and sensing a different side to Nolan Hobart that she had experienced before.
Jacin: somehow Nolan I suspect that you are way more than that.
He placed the glass down on the bar and turned fully towards her, a brief impression in her mind of the sort of XO he could become; affable, caring, but able to focus in on the issue when he needed to.
Hobart: I mean Connor is head over heels for you. But Connor is… also Connor. Being crazy about you makes him crazy, and it falls to me to stuff the crazy back into the Connor-shaped box where it belong.
She laughed once more, but this time the melancholy was replaced with a genuine warmth. One of the many reasons she loved Connor was his earnestness. For someone whose empathic powers had, for the most part, been a problem to solve rather than a help, it was strange to her that she had fallen in love with someone who felt so strongly and deeply,, but nonetheless she had done so. The thought did occur to her that it was the height of irony for Nolan Hobart to be the one who had to be responsible for her future his and’s sanity.
Jacin: Now that I would love to see.
Hobart: Yeah. I think sometimes, we need someone who can step back and give us advice, who isn't caught up in our feelings. ::picking the drink back up, offering a toast:: To sanity checks.
Jacin: To sanity checks and good friends.
They touched their glasses together and drank, a silence forming between the two of them. Eventually the silence was broken by Nolan’s voice.
Hobart: So, what about you? Do you have a, uh... A Best… Woman? ::frowning, distracted:: That doesn't sound right. ::back to Jacin:: Who's giving Jacin Ayemet her sanity checks these days? Who's planning your bachelorette party?
Jacin: No. no I haven’t. It would have been R’Ariel but she left, and Commander Collins was going to give me away but then err he left too, so at the moment… As for the bachelorette party, well I haven’t really got round to planning that. Maybe I’ll find some interesting bar or a Bajoran shrine or something. I guess it all depends on where we are at the time.
Her voice trailed off and she gave a shrug of her shoulders, a hapless smile on her face.
Hobart/Any: Response
Jacin: It’s life on a starship isn’t it? Any one of us could be moved to another posting at any point.
Hobart/Any: Response
She drank some more and thought about what Nolan had said. Tilting her head she looked at him thoughtfully.
Jacin: You know it really isn’t about a big flashy party. I mean sure I’d like to do something but it’s Connor I’m doing this for. He’s the prize.
She smiled, and tried to close off her emotions. The truth was that she was not close to many of the crew. There was a sense of loneliness to her life onboard . Some of this was by design, some by circumstances, but regardless of the reason once a path was well trod it was difficult to diverge from it.
Hobart/Any: Response
TAG/TBC
Lieutenant Jacin Ayemet
Science Officer
USS Arrow
A239810JA2Q