Lt Sasch Kreshkova - The Biggest Hypocrite
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Karen Morris
Jul 30, 2025, 9:39:48 PM7/30/25
to sb11...@googlegroups.com
((Zvezda - Habitat Section - Lake - 118 OPS))
Sasch gave a satisfied nod once they were in place and the anchor was dropped. She knew from experience that even if you weren’t in the water, being in a ship on the water made a person thirsty. She loved the feel of the well worn deck under the pads of her feet as she moved to the cooler. She slipped two bottles between three fingers on her left hand and used her right hand to close the cooler.
As she turned to hand Ryden his bottle, she caught his curly hair being ruffled by the wind like a mom playfully touseling her child’s hair. He took the bottle with a nod.
Instead of sitting, Sasch placed her knee and the tips of her toes on the wooden bench.
Kreshkova: How are you doing vizh everything, Ryden? You’ve had a lot going on recently.
He didn’t answer right away. Sasch was glad. It meant he was thinking about her question and would give her an honest answer.
Kel: I’m alive. Which feels like an accomplishment lately.
oO Okay, short, but honest answer. Oo But she could tell he had more to say. She waited like a little sister at her brother’s side, waiting patiently for the tale he had to expound to her, knowing that whatever came out would be genuine and heartfelt.
Kel: I keep thinking I should be… back to normal by now. That I should be over it. But I wake up and my chest still hurts... not just the wound, but everything. The noise, the chaos, the look on Commander Fosters’s face right before it all went sideways.
Sasch remained quiet, but her whole face melted into a sympathetic smile.
Kel: It’s quieter now. But I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.
Kreshkova: I’m not just talking about your side.
She wasn’t a Betazoid, but Sasch could sense the hurt he was still shouldering from Sam’s departure. Something in his face changed. It had been mildly frustrated, but now, she could see a sadness there - in those fine lines around his eyes.
Kel: Yeah. I figured.
Sasch waited… They had all the time in the world. But after several moments had come and gone, she felt that maybe a few encouraging words would open the floodgates.
Kreshkova: I’m also talking about Sam’s departure. How are you handling zhat?
Kel: I thought I’d be used to people leaving by now. Starfleet life, right? People come and go. But Sam leaving... it was like someone took the gravity out of the room.
Sasch’s breath caught in her chest.
Kel: He saw me. I mean, really saw me. The messy parts. The scared parts. And he didn’t flinch. And then he just... left.
Ryden hunched his body over. He made himself small. Was it because Sam’s departure made him feel small? Not just like he was no longer seen, but that he was afraid that no one would find him worthy to be seen any longer. But she simply listened. She was simply a conduit - she hoped she was a conduit for healing.
Kel: I didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye. Just a message. A log. Like it’s supposed to mean the same thing. I know he had his reasons, and I respect them… but it doesn’t make it hurt less.
He looked up at her, and something in his look broke her heart - not just because of what he had been through, but because she understood.
Kel: So yeah. I guess the answer to your question is: I’m surviving. And some days that feels like enough. Others… not so much.
During the silence, Sasch slipped down onto the bench next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. It wasn’t a romantic gesture, but a gesture of friendship and camaraderie and caring. The silence started small. Just the size of a spec of a microbe, but it grew. Slowly at first, filling just the little spaces between her head and his shoulder. But from there it expanded to encompass their hearts and then themselves before growing as large as the boat and soon enough the dome …. Until - instead of bursting - it evaporated leaving a lingering tingle surrounding anyone near enough and open enough to care. But Ryden broke the silence.
Kel: So... how are you and Korras doing?
Sasch lifted her head. She would have thought she did so to look at him, because she turned her face his direction, but unknowingly, she needed to give herself a little space. She laughed lightly at his question and smiled what she hoped didn’t look like a dishonest smile.
Kreshkova: Oh…Ya know.
She deflected.
But as she turned her smiling visage away from him to look at the water, she know he knew.
Kel: Sorry, I’m... getting something from you. I don’t mean to pry, I swear, it just sort of... bleeds in. You don’t have to tell me anything, but... you feel off.
Kreshkova: Please understand zhat I vas going to tell you today, Ryden, vhen zhe time vas right, but now vizh you asking about Korras and I… vell I need to tell you somezhing ... somezhing important. You see...
Sasch gave a satisfied nod once they were in place and the anchor was dropped. She knew from experience that even if you weren’t in the water, being in a ship on the water made a person thirsty. She loved the feel of the well worn deck under the pads of her feet as she moved to the cooler. She slipped two bottles between three fingers on her left hand and used her right hand to close the cooler.
As she turned to hand Ryden his bottle, she caught his curly hair being ruffled by the wind like a mom playfully touseling her child’s hair. He took the bottle with a nod.
Instead of sitting, Sasch placed her knee and the tips of her toes on the wooden bench.
Kreshkova: How are you doing vizh everything, Ryden? You’ve had a lot going on recently.
He didn’t answer right away. Sasch was glad. It meant he was thinking about her question and would give her an honest answer.
Kel: I’m alive. Which feels like an accomplishment lately.
oO Okay, short, but honest answer. Oo But she could tell he had more to say. She waited like a little sister at her brother’s side, waiting patiently for the tale he had to expound to her, knowing that whatever came out would be genuine and heartfelt.
Kel: I keep thinking I should be… back to normal by now. That I should be over it. But I wake up and my chest still hurts... not just the wound, but everything. The noise, the chaos, the look on Commander Fosters’s face right before it all went sideways.
Sasch remained quiet, but her whole face melted into a sympathetic smile.
Kel: It’s quieter now. But I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.
Kreshkova: I’m not just talking about your side.
She wasn’t a Betazoid, but Sasch could sense the hurt he was still shouldering from Sam’s departure. Something in his face changed. It had been mildly frustrated, but now, she could see a sadness there - in those fine lines around his eyes.
Kel: Yeah. I figured.
Sasch waited… They had all the time in the world. But after several moments had come and gone, she felt that maybe a few encouraging words would open the floodgates.
Kreshkova: I’m also talking about Sam’s departure. How are you handling zhat?
Kel: I thought I’d be used to people leaving by now. Starfleet life, right? People come and go. But Sam leaving... it was like someone took the gravity out of the room.
Sasch’s breath caught in her chest.
Kel: He saw me. I mean, really saw me. The messy parts. The scared parts. And he didn’t flinch. And then he just... left.
Ryden hunched his body over. He made himself small. Was it because Sam’s departure made him feel small? Not just like he was no longer seen, but that he was afraid that no one would find him worthy to be seen any longer. But she simply listened. She was simply a conduit - she hoped she was a conduit for healing.
Kel: I didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye. Just a message. A log. Like it’s supposed to mean the same thing. I know he had his reasons, and I respect them… but it doesn’t make it hurt less.
He looked up at her, and something in his look broke her heart - not just because of what he had been through, but because she understood.
Kel: So yeah. I guess the answer to your question is: I’m surviving. And some days that feels like enough. Others… not so much.
During the silence, Sasch slipped down onto the bench next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. It wasn’t a romantic gesture, but a gesture of friendship and camaraderie and caring. The silence started small. Just the size of a spec of a microbe, but it grew. Slowly at first, filling just the little spaces between her head and his shoulder. But from there it expanded to encompass their hearts and then themselves before growing as large as the boat and soon enough the dome …. Until - instead of bursting - it evaporated leaving a lingering tingle surrounding anyone near enough and open enough to care. But Ryden broke the silence.
Kel: So... how are you and Korras doing?
Sasch lifted her head. She would have thought she did so to look at him, because she turned her face his direction, but unknowingly, she needed to give herself a little space. She laughed lightly at his question and smiled what she hoped didn’t look like a dishonest smile.
Kreshkova: Oh…Ya know.
She deflected.
But as she turned her smiling visage away from him to look at the water, she know he knew.
Kel: Sorry, I’m... getting something from you. I don’t mean to pry, I swear, it just sort of... bleeds in. You don’t have to tell me anything, but... you feel off.
Kreshkova: Please understand zhat I vas going to tell you today, Ryden, vhen zhe time vas right, but now vizh you asking about Korras and I… vell I need to tell you somezhing ... somezhing important. You see...
Her mouth formed the sounds she was trying to say, but her lungs were being forced more and more open as if she should be inhaling instead of exhaling. Her face contorted as she squeezed the air from her lungs.
Kreshkova: … I’m being transferred.
Kel: ?
Kreshkova: Da. To a newer installation in zhe gamma quadrant. To a ship called zhe Zhor…zhat didn’t sound right. Sore. Sorry. Shor…No. Not zhat eizher. To Zhe ::Sasch pursed her lips and exaggeratedly stuck her tongue between her lips and blew until eventually a “th” sound was produced:: Thhhhh-or.
She laughed. It was so serious, but at the moment it felt so silly. She smiled a genuine smile for all of a second, before she remembered why it felt like someone had a hand inside her throat and was squeezing her windpipe.
Kel: ?
Without thinking, she prattled off Korras’s phrase.
Kreshkova: It’s an excellent opportunity for me.
After which she felt like the biggest hypocrite in the galaxy. She had spat those very words back into his face. She did everything she could to keep a pleasant look on her face, but the situation which had easily taken a back seat to Ryden’s was now at the forefront with no place to hide and nowhere to run. Sasch stood up and turned to face the opposite direction. She placed her knee on the bench facing the port side of the boat and letting the wind whip her ponytail every direction, mirroring what was going on in her own heart at the moment. She pretended to look over the water. She held onto the railing with the same hand that she held her bottle in and wiped quickly at her eyes with the other.
Kel: ?
Kreshkova: But because I vill be so far avay ve’ve - Korras and I - haf decided zhat … vell, ve’ve said zhat … ve’ve chosen to conclude our … vhat … relationship?
Kel: ?
~*~
Tags / TBC
~*~
Lt Sasch Kreshkova
Helm
SB 118
OPSO240103SK2
It is an honor to fly starships through the deadly, beautiful, vastness of space. ~ Sasch Kreshkova
Kel: ?
Kreshkova: Da. To a newer installation in zhe gamma quadrant. To a ship called zhe Zhor…zhat didn’t sound right. Sore. Sorry. Shor…No. Not zhat eizher. To Zhe ::Sasch pursed her lips and exaggeratedly stuck her tongue between her lips and blew until eventually a “th” sound was produced:: Thhhhh-or.
She laughed. It was so serious, but at the moment it felt so silly. She smiled a genuine smile for all of a second, before she remembered why it felt like someone had a hand inside her throat and was squeezing her windpipe.
Kel: ?
Without thinking, she prattled off Korras’s phrase.
Kreshkova: It’s an excellent opportunity for me.
After which she felt like the biggest hypocrite in the galaxy. She had spat those very words back into his face. She did everything she could to keep a pleasant look on her face, but the situation which had easily taken a back seat to Ryden’s was now at the forefront with no place to hide and nowhere to run. Sasch stood up and turned to face the opposite direction. She placed her knee on the bench facing the port side of the boat and letting the wind whip her ponytail every direction, mirroring what was going on in her own heart at the moment. She pretended to look over the water. She held onto the railing with the same hand that she held her bottle in and wiped quickly at her eyes with the other.
Kel: ?
Kreshkova: But because I vill be so far avay ve’ve - Korras and I - haf decided zhat … vell, ve’ve said zhat … ve’ve chosen to conclude our … vhat … relationship?
Kel: ?
~*~
Tags / TBC
~*~
Lt Sasch Kreshkova
Helm
SB 118
OPSO240103SK2
It is an honor to fly starships through the deadly, beautiful, vastness of space. ~ Sasch Kreshkova
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