Ensign Jace Ryen - First Week Impressions

[alongtheway]

((Jace Ryen's Quarters, USS Ronin))

The door slid shut behind him with a soft, final hiss.  For the first time in what felt like days, there was quiet.

Jace stood there for a moment, just inside his quarters, letting the stillness settle around him.  The week replayed in fragments. 

Faces.  Voices.  First impressions.

Lieutenant Kessler was firm, composed, the kind of presence that didn't need to raise its voice to command respect.  Jace had found that reassuring, and in a way, reminded him of his father.

Then there was Lieutenant T'Fearne.  Her precision, her intelligence, and, of course, something else he hadn't quite found the right word for yet.  ::exhaling softly::  Beauty.  That was the word he was looking for.

Commander Kel.  The Second Officer was so kind to him, welcoming Jace to join them for a meal.  Not every commanding officer would do something like that.

And many more faces that he had met this week.  He allowed himself to think of each one, thinking back to the conversations they had had not only to help him remember each of them, but also to be thankful for every one of them.

Jace moved further into the room.  His gaze shifted to the small plant resting on the table.

It was his pearl of hearts that he had brought from home.  It had even joined him during his time at Starfleet Academy.  Still alive and thriving, ever there with him.

He reached out his hand and gently brushed his finger along one of the leaves.

Ryen:  You are adapting better than I am.

He whispered the words with no bitterness, only honesty.

As he sat down on the carpet in front of the plant, his mind began to drift to home.  He hadn't really realized it yet, but he was definitely homesick.  

He thought of his mother's voice, how it was always so calm and reassuring.  She always had the logic that he needed.

His father was so strong and present in his life.  He showed him the kind of strength that didn't need to be proven.  He showed it in so many ways, but in this moment, Jace thought about how he always put others before himself.

Ryen:  What would you say to me right now, Dad?  Would you say you were proud?  I sure hope so.

His mind leaped to the river back home near their house.  How he would walk its banks and just watch the water and the fish.  It was so clean, almost as if it cleaned his mind and helped him relax.  Montana, he could almost smell it.

He smiled at the plant in front of him.

Then there she was in his mind.  The girl he loved back home, and how they could have been.  But they chose two different lives.

And then, the boy.  A love that should have been, but he never allowed himself.  That still hurts just as much today as it did back then.

He pushed himself away from the table and onto his feet and made his way to the viewport.  It was beautiful.  Space stretched endlessly, but there was also Lolagi IV.  He hadn't visited yet.  Maybe that was the logical thing to do: visit the planet and breathe some real air.

But he hadn't made a friend aboard yet.  Sure, he had met many of his fellow officers, but none of them was yet a friend.

Ryen:  It would be illogical not to try.

He considered the possibility of visiting the planet.  But who would he invite, and would they accept?  

No friends yet, but tonight as he looked out the viewport, the stars kept him company, and he wasn't truly alone.

--

Ensign Jace Ryen

Security Officer

USS Ronin NCC-34523

R240303JR2