Hovering Ghosts

Posted on Sun Mar 24th, 2013 @ 6:52am by Lieutenant JG Saia Roswell

965 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Romulan Ale.. I mean Aide

Saia looked at herself in the mirror. She seemed presentable enough. It took almost the full 24 hours, but she had managed to compose herself enough to get back to duty. When she walked in the lab, she looked over PADDs and over the duty roster for the day. She delve into work and then she got a comm from Nara telling her to have lunch.

"I'm not hungry."

"No. You don't have an appetite. Eat."

Saia sighed and tapped off her commbadge and made her way to the messhall, making sure to let those in the lab know.. She used her padd to randomize numbers and chose the menu items that way. She took her eclectic tray to an open table somewhere in the middle. Too close to the door or in one of the corners made her look anti-social and might cause someone to suggest she see a counselor. She couldn't do much for looking exhausted, so she did what she could.

"Security, I'm heading off shift. John is your go to, and Ask Rose to have the phasers in locker 12 pulled and rotated." Hayden closed the comm channel as he stepped into the mess hall. He noticed the only chair left was at a table in the middle. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Go ahead." The young Trill spoke softly and tiredly, but didn't look up until she heard the chair move and she glanced over. Reassured by the uniform, she went back to picking at her food, unsure what it was she had her fork in. She wrinkled her nose and put a small bite into her mouth.

"That looks interesting what exactly is it?" he asked.

"Menu item five hundred thirty six." She bit her lip to try to not express her distaste for it. She tried one of the side dishes.

"Feeling a little adventurous tonight?" he asked. he nodded to server which returned a short time later with a plate pasta for Hayden.

She paused and put the fork onto the tray a moment, "I just didn't know what I wanted." She smelled the pasta and looked over and then sighed before sitting back, pushing her tray away.

"Rough day at the office?" he asked.

For some reason that made her laugh. Hysterically. It was a loud, continuous laugh with just enough self-awareness that she covered her mouth and hid her face.

"well things are looking up already." He smirked. "and here i thought security were all kill joys"

Tears were forming and the chuckles deteriated into sobs but she kept her hands over her face.

He paused. "Hey I didn't mean to.."

She calmed in a minute or so and muttered some curses before shaking her head and smoothing her hair and using a napkin to wipe at the tears, "You didn't." She let out a cover up chuckle.

"You sure your ok?" He wasnt sure what was going on, but she seemed to need a friend at the moment.

She shook her head, "Oh, sure." She smiled at him, "Don't I look it?"

"Truthfully, not so much." He replied. "I know you were the last aboard from the planet. I'm here if you want to talk."

She shrugged, "Sickbay got me back to new." She asked the nearby waiter for the same thing the fellow beside her had. "I have mixed feelings about the bastard dying, but anyone knows that's just Stockholme Syndrome."

"Thats nothing to scoff at. Not something im foreign to in my line of work."

"Well, I'm sick of it." She snapped before she could even think of what she had said.

"Now that Is the most honest thing I have heard on this ship in a long time. I wish i could say something to make it easier. Truth is, I'm not sure there is."

She muttered "Of course not," and dug into the pasta only to play with it with her fork. "People think this is fixable. Maybe it is. Maybe we just take as much as we can and we die."

"I made that same argument myself a few times." he nodded. "It never really leaves us."

"It sure doesn't, does it, little one?" Saia's face grew white hearing the disembodied voice. She clenched her teeth and glanced at Hayden who didn't react. She's the one that heard it. She replied, "Damned ghosts hover."

"That they do." Hayden nodded.

Saia laughed out, "Yea, what ghosts do you have?"

"My Unit was captured by Rommies shortly after I had got my First Force wings. I spent three days 'Discussing the finer points of diplomacy with their commander."

She snorted, "Three days? I still win."

"three days under a memory sifter." He nodded. "Luckily one of my squad mates evaded capture and blew their camp to hell and back."

"They still use that?"

"It has evolved over the years."

"Ok. So maybe we're a little more nose to nose." Saia pursed her lips.

"It's not about who is keeping score. There are some people out there though that have an idea what your going through."

"You've no idea, bud." She shushed the air as the voice said warningly, "Careful little one."

"No I suppose I don't. Not really."

She trembled, but realized he didn't seem to notice her hush no one, or perhaps him. She swallowed, her head tilting toward the side the ghost haunted her from as he whispered, "Good little actress." She put her hands to her ears and her head curled to the table.

"Saia. Are you alright?!" Hayden asked as he sprang from the chair.

She waved her hand, "Yea. Yea." She uncovered her face and scowled into the plate. "My lunch is about over." She looked over and gave a pleasant smile, "Thanks for the company."

 

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