[G-QTRS] JP by Lt. Evan Delano and Lt. Alora DeVeau - Lessons and Distractions (Part I)

[Amanda Nordstrom]

(Delano’s Quarters)


****


::The nightmares hadn’t lessened, but, Alora reasoned, it had only been
a week or so since everything had happened. Still, she really wished
they would stop. They were taking their toll as for the last couple of
days at least she had a cloud of fatigue following her everywhere. At
the same time, she needed to keep busy. What had happened, what had been
done, was on her thoughts every single day, but when she had something
to do, she could sometimes be normal, even if only for little while. One
of the things she hadn’t done since before the Kindred’s arrival was to
meet with Evan. That, she felt, should be resolved. She enjoyed her
conversations and she’d learned a lot just since she started.


As always, pale steel doors greeted her and there was a fleeting thought
of whether or not she’d be able to change the colour of her doors.
Perhaps she would look into that. For the moment, she had another task
and set about asking the computer to chirp her arrival to the occupant
inside.::

Delano: Come in.


:: The door slid open and Evan looked up from his desk. His quarters
were even more Spartan than usual, as he was in the process of moving
most of his belongings. ::


::A smile greeted Evan and she lifted a hand in a small wave.::

DeVeau: Hey.


:: Evan tensed as he briefly remembered why he hadn’t met with Alora
recently. He had to suppress memories of helplessness before the remnant
emotions threatened to cause something more present. ::


Delano: Hi, Alora.

DeVeau: How are you?

::So many people had been affected, but she wasn’t sure how in all the
cases - as she wasn’t sure how Evan had been involved. While Alora had
gotten images from the other Kindred, many of them were jumbled, her
mind unable to deal with the barrage of information. Some, however, had
been so detailed, so graphic, and so overwhelming for all of her senses
because it had been the Mother herself who’d performed them. With a
small shake of her head, Alora dismissed the thought and tried to
concentrate on the man in front of her.


:: Evan shrugged and tapped his console to shut off the screen. ::


Delano: Glad that things are settling down now that we’ve mostly
finished repairs. ::break:: I’d ask you the same, but I’m betting you’re
tired of answering that question.


DeVeau: No. It’s okay. I’m...doing well considering.


:: Evan nodded and forced a smile. It was a poor imitation of the real
thing, but Evan still wasn’t feeling like himself, and a small part of
him still associated Alora with what had happened to them. He knew it
wasn’t her fault, of course, but emotion had a way of eschewing logic. ::


Delano: What can I do for you?

DeVeau: I was just wondering if we could meet. It’s our usual day and
time so I thought I’d come over.


:: Evan blinked a few times, his expression growing distant for a brief
moment. ::


Delano: I suppose it is. With everything that’s been happening, I must
have lost track of the days.


DeVeau: Yeah, it’s easy to do that.


::Yet Alora had noticed because she needed thing to be normal again.
Without normalcy, she might just go crazy. Even though she was on light
duty, it still wasn’t the same. Her work wasn’t as intense and
challenging because others were supposed to be picking up the slack
while she healed. The problem was, Alora felt like she needed those
regular duties to _help_ her heal.::


DeVeau: But it would be nice to get back into the routine.


****************

Lt. Evan Delano

Chief of Security/Tactical

USS Garuda


&


Lt. Alora DeVeau

Chief of Science

USS Garuda