[I-F8] JP- LCDRs Core & Moonsong: End of an Era Part 1

[gemsong120]

((Lounge))

::He hated to admit it, but he still felt under the weather, so to speak. The after affects of adrenaline, pain, time in another timeline. When he'd stuttered his wordings again during his time recovering, he'd contacted his father to take a look at the effects of time travel on a brain - he didn't expect anything to turn up. It didn't. The answer he was instead given was "its a defensive reflex" - whatever that meant.::

::Some would say he'd earned a stiff drink and a half, but he wasn't celebrating, Plus it didn't seem right to drink without Bakari there with him.

::It'd been awhile since Tristam had heard from him - he needed to check in.::

::Bakari, however, didn't travel back a hundred years into the past.::

Core: We haven't spoken since before the incident.

Moonsong: ::She watched his with quiet eyes.:: You have been busy.

::Compared to some, he'd gotten off lucky, but the Rodulan still must have looked a sight - a minor but ongoing headache with some trouble sleeping, which was nothing he hadn't dealt with before, and by no means as bad as his recovery after his last time jump, had etched an interesting shade of purple under his eyes. But this time, it left his skin feeling too warm, his eyes strained and eyelids heavy. He'd forgone the uniform, deciding slacks, a long sleeve shirt and vest were more appropriate somehow.

::More interestingly, however; the facial hair he regularly kept in check was now considerably longer than he'd usually allow it to be, having just let it grow since their return.::

Core: I am . . . hurting. The first time I got thrown back  years into the past I didn't turn out all that great, so I'm waiting for something to go wrong. On top of that, everything we did . . . we're to be "recognized for our efforts" and have a bunch of reporters swarm us as we leave but, in the end, we risked our lives for what essentially ended up being a glorified publicity stunt that benefited no one but the Venture museum.

Moonsong: ::smiles faintly. His feelings had always been clear about the situation.:: Not your sort of thing.

Core: If Starfleet did active sensor readings and actually shared them all with everyone, live "environmental hazards in this system" or "this was in this sector last week keep an eye out", we would have known the rift was around and not have driven right through it. Instead they decide it's not worth it, we got thrown back to the 22nd century and are attacked by planet killing machines, Klingons, suspiciously anonymous telepaths - and here we are drinking.

::Starfleet was always going to be dangerous - there was no way around that. But there was also no way around administration ignoring huge flaws in the system.::

Moonsong: ::her smile faded into a frown.:: Telepaths?

Core: Yeah. I got assaulted on our away mission to grab dilithium. By who, or what, I don’t know. But someone tried getting into my head. It wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Moonsong: ::her face lost all expression and her hands clasped together.:: I do not believe that was an attack.

::He frowned a little, likely the most subtle expression he’d ever used in his life.::

Core: What do you *know*, Raissa?

Moonsong: You… your team was out of range of communications. I tried to reach you.

Core: You mean you tried getting into my head.

::Not exactly the nicest thing he could have said at this moment, but he didn’t exactly seem as over-the-moon delighted as he normally was.::

Moonsong: ::Her mouth tightened slightly.:: I believe there is a difference between getting into your head and sending a message. I know you don’t like it and the range was too great for me to attempt something like that.

Core: I *pushed back*, Raissa. If it wasn’t for my personal beliefs, you might not be capable of *speaking* right now. I got forced to defend myself from what felt like an excruciatingly painful *attack*.

::Raissa took a step back from him. Her face now devoid of expression. A lot of thoughts were swirling through her mind but she locked them all behind a wall.::

Moonsong: I would say you did more than… ‘pushed back’.

::That was like a punch to the gut if he’d ever felt one. He ran a hand through mussed hair.::

Core: I can’t believe this. I attacked you in self-defense over a misunderstanding.

::A painful misunderstanding, but one nonetheless. This would explain why many hadn’t told him what had happened on the Bridge during their time off-ship.::

Tbc . . .

LtCmdr Tristam Core

C238803SB0

&

LtCmdr Raissa Moonsong

Counselor

Unassigned