Lt. JG Natasha Cole - Dressed in Strength
Natasha Schell
((Elysium - Main level, Deck 6, USS Artemis))
Natasha leaned forward and listened intently as Alex shared what she was comfortable sharing. Being sure to not interrupt and only nodded when she felt it was appropriate.
Storm: I’m looking for my daughter. Two years ago, my husband took off with her, and I haven’t seen either since. So when you ask about where I’ve put my attention … it’s all been on finding her.
Cole: ::exhaling slowly through her nose:: That is a lot to deal with. As your friendly colleague, I am very sorry that you’ve had to carry this. No one should ever have their child taken from them.
Storm: You’re right, they shouldn’t.
Cole: Now with that being said, ::in air quotes:: Hypothetically if you need a hand to … any emergency extractions. ::end air quotes:: I want to help.
Storm: If and when the time comes, I’ll let you know. But … what about you. Yeah, I’m betazoid, but I don’t need to be one to catch your guard slip a few moments ago.
Natasha started to nod and then realized she had been called out.
Cole: It’s not important, not like what you’ve been dealing with.
Storm: Hey, I’ve bared my soul …::Tipping her head to the side and grinning:: or at least my misfortune to you. I can likely handle whatever it is you’ve got going on.
Natasha let out a sigh, looking back to her PADD. She realized that Alex would likely not let her drop it.
Cole: Yeah… this time of year is a little complicated for me.
Storm: Family can be our biggest support or our worst enemy. Unfortunately, the same can be said of ourselves too, sometimes.
Natasha hesitated, eyes unfocusing just enough to suggest she was choosing her words carefully.
Cole: I call my father ‘the Commander’ Not as a joke. He was one in Starfleet, and he never really stopped being one at home. Everything was structure, discipline, expectations. ::a faint, wry smile:: Turns out that doesn’t leave much room for your kid to be… different.
Storm: Or truly themselves, huh?
Cole: I started my transition around the holidays. Thanksgiving, actually. My mom showed up. No questions, no hesitation. My sibling did too. He… didn’t. Instead of trying, he left.
Alex had reached over and gently placed her hand on hers. She had been subconsciously making circles with her fingertip. Natasha glanced back at Storm, grounding herself in the present.
Cole: So when the calendar rolls around to late November, my brain knows I’m safe … but my body still remembers, gets a little heavier.
Alex gave Nat’s hand a gentle pat and set her hand back in front of herself.
Storm: Bodies do remember and carry the weight, even when we want them to forget.
Cole: And for what it’s worth? Calling him ‘the Commander’ helps. Keeps him where he belongs … in my past, and out of my head. ::a half smile:: Unless you're suffering from simulated radiation poisoning, Thanks for that Ollie.
Storm: Wait … when we were in that simulation at the end?
Natasha nodded, the memory of what the hallucination of her father had said to her egging her on trying to belittle her, made her feel less than insignificant. As much as she wanted to give up, she was not only his kid, but also her mother’s. And her mom didn’t raise a quitter.
Cole: Yeah, I had begun hallucinating him shortly after Ollie had ordered me to hold back outside of Main Engineering.
Storm: So that’s what was going on?
Cole: He was cruel, talking down to me as if he hadn’t left. I was tuning him out till … he accused me of killing his son. That’s when I almost punched a bulkhead, thankfully I had enough clarity to stop and tell him off.
Storm: That makes so much more sense now! ::Holding her folded arms palms up.:: I thought something was going on, but ::Placing her hands over her eyes momentarily before removing them:: I wish I had known.
Cole: ::shrugging:: How could you have known. We had barely just met, but thank you … for listening.
Storm: Even in silence, especially in silence we need to be heard. I wish I had listened better.
Cole: Honestly, I was more worried that you or Ollie would have insisted I get checked out by Counsellor Lux.
Storm: Everyone’s thoughts are so loud that I try to block everyone and everything out. I wasn’t listening - literally. Maybe I should…at least a little.
Cole: I am a work in progmess, a chaotic one at times, but at least it’s not boring.
Storm: I’ve heard enough to know that you are indeed not boring.
Cole: We’ve unpacked quite a bit, interested in a snack?
Storm: Yeah. ::Alex paused for a blink.:: Only if you’ll tell me a bit about your explosive fettish. ::Alex shrugged her shoulders:: Skuttlebutt travels at light speed.
Cole: ::slightly pinching the bridge of her nose, with a small smile and laugh:: A girl callapses a tunnel and hurdles herself into the air on her first away mission and gets labeled a Pyrophilia.
Alex had turned to get the servers attention.
Server: Can I help you?
Storm: Pick your poison and a snack … on me.
Cole: That is kind of you, Thank you.
Storm: I’d like a black hole and an order of fried pickles.
Cole: I will have an order of cinnabon nachos with cream cheese dip, and an old fashion with a blood orange peel. Thank you.
Server: I’ll have that out in just a minute.
Natasha nodded to the server, before looking back to Alex continuing their conversation.
Cole: ::wry:: I prefer my chaos redirected and my explosions purposeful.
Storm: Response
Cole: ::straightening slightly, like the words matter:: There’s a saying in my family, Strength in Adversity.
Storm: Response
Cole: It doesn’t mean charging into fire. It means staying steady when everything around you wants to fall apart.
Storm: Response
Cole: ::steady, thoughtful:: I was taught that strength isn’t about overpowering chaos, it’s about standing in front of it so it doesn’t hit the wrong people. That’s the kind of security officer I’m trying to be. One who makes sure the chaos doesn’t land on those who never chose the fight.
True to form, their server came back with their drink order and snacks, placing them down in front of each of them.
Storm: Response
Tags/TBC
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Lt. JG Natasha Cole
Security Officer
USS Artemis-A
Writer ID A240205NC4