Somethings Never Change

Posted on Mon Aug 14th, 2023 @ 1:55pm by Lieutenant Evelyn Stewart & Remy Naal & Lieutenant Commander Keishara Davaris
Edited on on Mon Aug 14th, 2023 @ 10:05pm

2,766 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Year One: Whispers in the Wind
Location: Brighton Colony - Dock 2
Timeline: MD: 009 0900 hrs

Stewart had agreed to take a look at one of the URC convoy ships that was having troubles with its engines when she was at the colony. Evelyn could have left it to Dulay or one of the engineers, but was eager for a distraction. She found that being off the ship and putting as much distance between her and the Captain helped the most with keeping her focus.

After running several diagnostics, she determined that the impulse intake manifolds were misaligned and found herself under the ship, recalibrating them manually. Working on a ship’s engines was nearly as relaxing to her as any mediation. She was so involved in what she was doing she forgot the outside world and didn’t hear anyone approach.

Remy knew Evelyn Stewart was assigned to the Moore, but was stuck onboard for several days while the captain was overcoming an illness. By the time she arrived on the planet, he was deeply engrossed in his work and only had a chance to seek her out after several days. Finding her on the dock, working under the belly of one of the freighter’s he smirked to himself as he approached. She is looking to escape. he thought to himself. He knew her well enough to know her habits. As he approached he saw that the pilot failed to clear the impulse exhausts before starting her recalibration.
Remy smirked and watched knowingly as the safety procedure took affect and Stewart got a face full of plasma exhaust in the face.

Coughing and reacting to the face of ultimately harmless plasma exhaust that would have been days old by then, Stewart reacted and swore under her breath between coughs, realizing her mistake. “God…stupid..”

“You always forget to clear the manifolds that before you start your recalibrations.” Remy offered, pointing out her habits and oversight with a knowing smirk, leaning against the ship.

“Remy?!” Stewart inquired, recognizing the voice immediately. Surprise caused her to try to sit up at the unexpected but familiar voice. Her head smacking off the conduit she was working on. “Dammit!….ugh…God…” she groaned, rubbing at the spot of impact gingerly as she made her way out from under where she was working.

Remy grinned in amusement. “Hey, Evie.” He said as he gave her a warm hug that Stewart was quick to return. It had been about two years since they last saw each other when she was visiting Earth.

When the embrace lingered, Stewart both saw and felt their lips hovering close. She quickly gave him a polite kiss on his cheek in greeting before she pulled back first and went to start packing up the tools she was using. She felt suddenly awkward with the man she was engaged to for two years and continued a friendship and physical relationship on and off for years since then. “What are you doing here?” She asked casually as she cleaned up her mess.

Remy glanced around at the colony. He could tell something was off with Evelyn, but knew her well enough not to address it outright. “I heard that the Moore ran into some trouble with the refugees assigned to you and wanted to personally oversee to the situation of their relocation as an executive of the URC.” He explained.

Evelyn nodded. “Ahh, I see. So another stop on the campaign trail.” She stated more than asked. She didn’t hide her annoyance and contempt for his reasons.

Remy sighed, “I’m not a politician.” He said firmly, his own annoyance with her coming through in his tone as he glanced at her, picking up a spanner to play with.

Stewart held his gaze. “You could have fooled me. Remy Naal, the Starfleet officer who resigned his commission out of a sense of moral obligation.” She said in an exaggerated, almost mocking tone as she continued. “The Starfleet officer who walked away. Next you are going to go around shaking hands and kissing babies.”

Remy just rolled his eyes, and stood up straighter before he stopped playing with the spanner, his frustration starting to build. He put the tool in the kit and looked down into Evelyn’s eyes. He was tired of this same argument they had whenever they met up the last six years. “I left Starfleet, not you. You are the one who walked away.” He said sincerely, holding her gaze.

Stewart looked at him with something close to defiance. “Might as well been the same thing.” She said for what was probably the hundredth time over the years. Holding his gaze for another moment, she had to remind herself of her temper and looked away. She had to remind herself that despite both still being in love with each other, they couldn’t make it work. They tried half a dozen times to move past their issues, but couldn't. There was too much between them.

Noticing she was closing herself off to him, Remy sighed and looked at her. She looked slightly hungover and exhausted. “You are looking good.” He said somewhat sarcastically, seeing her react as she caught on to the implication. He could tell she was drinking too much again.

Stewart looked at the executive, not hiding her annoyance of his question. “I had a late night.” She said, not confirming or denying anything. She watched him nod knowingly as if he got the confirmation he wanted, regardless.

In truth, she was drinking heavily ever since they found the Romulan refugees being smuggled. First in the DMZ, but after being sent to see Koaruh under Greco’s orders, she mostly drank alone in her quarters. She drank even more since the situation with Stryvek in his quarters. Evelyn struggled to keep the Vulcan out of her mind and found drinking to be the only way to fall asleep.

Seeing the concern in Remy’s eyes, she tried to push him away. “It isn’t your concern what I do anymore.” She said matter of factly.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t care.” Remy countered sincerely, waiting for her to open up.

Evelyn visibly flinched for half a moment at the sincerity and authenticity in his voice. Remy Naal was a good, genuine, compassionate man. He made the right decision in joining the URC. She knew that and it was why she was still in love with him, even if she tried to deny it. Letting out a breath, she changed the subject altogether. “How’s the Old Man?” She asked matter of factly.

Remy bite his lip and folded his arms. If she was going to close herself off, he would do the same. He considered the question, he knew what she was doing in keep him from pushing her. He shrugged as he looked out at the open fields, just as he knew her weaknesses, Evelyn knew his. “How would I know?” He deflected.

“You saw him.” Stewart countered, watching Remy.

“You talk to him.” Naal countered.

“He’s your father.” Evelyn countered with a finality and disapproval in her voice as she held his gaze.

It was Remy’s turn to let out a deep breath as he considered how his father looked at the briefing on Earth a month ago. “Tired.” He admitted. “He looked tired.” He said more sadly. His feelings when it came to Evelyn and his father were complicated. He loved his father and knew he loved him, but there was no doubt that Evelyn was the type of person Julien Naal wished his son would be. He was a mentor to her in a way he couldn’t be for Remy, not after his parents divorced in any case.

Evelyn simply nodded at this. “He shouldn’t be out here.” She said in agreement at the situation, finishing putting the tools back in the kit and closing it. The mood turning somber. “So what exactly brought you all the way out here in the docks then?” She asked to change the subject.

Remy smiled and walked back behind her. “Well, I was hoping you’d maybe join me tonight for some dinner. Maybe a tour of the ship. Return the favor from last time.” He said playfully of when they last met up and they went to dinner and ended up in his apartment. Remy went to lean down to kiss at a spot he knew at the back of her neck she enjoyed as he went to bring his hands to her waist to hold her close but stopped when he saw her stiffen.

“I’m good, thanks.” She said curtly. The rejection and implication clear. Her needs were being satiated elsewhere.

Remy gave an embarrassed smile and simply nodded. He never knew Evelyn to reject him but accepted it. Her choice of words telling as they were deliberate. “I understand. I still would like to catch up. Let me know what works for you, alright?” He said sincerely, looking down into her eyes.

Evelyn looked up into his handsome face, and more specifically his blue eyes and simply nodded. “Yeah…no problem…” she said and turned back to packing up.

Remy walked away, heading back to the colony, nodding at Davaris as he walked past.

Keishara nodded at the man in reply with a slight frowny stare. Nevertheless as they passed each other she walked up to Evelyn. "So, Evie..." she emphasised the name to tease slightly. "I wasn't sure if I was going to need a security team to break that tension, or a counsellor to mend his heart."

Her empathic skills came in handy at times, other times were just a pest in telling the feelings of others without even her consent.

Stewart whipped around at the sound of Kei’s voice. “How long have you been standing there?” She asked slightly defensive. Evelyn made a point of being private about her past relationships. No one needed to know she was involved with the URC executive. She wouldn’t deny their past relationship, but she wouldn’t draw attention to the facts either. It was ancient history.

"Not long." Keishara was honest. "I was coming to see what you were up to and thought I'd leave whatever that was to you two." She walked a little closer. "I don't need to hear what you've said to know who you both felt when you talked to each other." She then pointed to thumbs back at her. "Empath you know, not always the greatest natural ability."

Evelyn just shook her head. "It was nothing." she said dismissively about the exchange. "There are no feelings."

"Whatever you say." Keishara didn't care enough to push the subject. She knew there were some, at least from him. A lingering there that wasn't quite gone yet. Evelyn, well her feelings had been a bit all over the place and quite a few of odd feelings thrown in for good measure. "Want me to pass you parts and equipment? Keep you company?"

"There aren't." Stewart insisted quite harshly. "We are friends, nothing else." she added defensively as she went back to work. She had made a point of avoiding most people the last several days and wasn't in the mood for Kei's judgement.

Kei sighed, an internal shake of the head also. "Okay. Do you want me to stay or not? I mean I can go back and deal with Commander Greco but I think he'll be the colony's first murder if I do... he keeps glaring at me for things I say."

Evelyn sighed and realized she was being irritable, hungover in actuality. "No, it's fine. I'm sorry." she offered for her outburst. She actually felt pity for Kei, being stuck beaming down to the colony and spending her day doing administrative tasks with Greco all day. "Hand me the spanner." She said as she got back to work. "And he probably gives you looks because you aren't exactly the most diplomatic officer. You might want to work on that if you plan on being First Officer yourself someday."

"Not my fault most people are idiots." Kei said handing Evelyn the spanner with a shrug. "I think spending too much time with Stryvek has rubbed off on me... well his bluntness anyway. That, and I've never been much of a people pleaser." She watched some birds fly overhead. For a brief moment the sun's shadow flickered. "I've no real ambition for that at the moment. First officer is a dirty word. Quite like being security chief... I mean I have been doing it on the Moore since it's launch."

Kei's mention of Stryvek proved to be a distraction as she remembered the mind meld the Vulcan and El-Aurian shared from his memories. She thought about how Keishara's impression of the man was far different from the reality and how Evelyn knew him to be. "Trust me, he's influence on you is not as strong as you think." She commented before taking a breath to focus on what she was doing. Tapping a few commands, she opened the manifolds. "And look where you are now. Security chief was a dirty word and if wasn't for Greco you'd be first officer. May not be what you are looking for but its where your career is heading."

"I suppose. I'll hold on to my yellow uniform for as long as I can." Kei smiled as she thought about past events in this lovely colour. "His influence is strong enough after 14 years protecting him and the crew. Small things mind you, still very much me but during the Dominion War and his stupid ass almost getting himself killed." she chuckled strangely. She didn't mention she had to push him out of the way of a plasma grenade that went off in front of her instead causing a lot of physical damage. "Ended up he saved mine... but anyway..." Kei shook her head of the memories of the mind meld he had used to keep her in that present.

Evelyn shook her head as she worked. "You'd think one would be more appreciative of a mind meld used to save their life." She commented as she recalibrated the manifold manually, not really focused on either the task or the conversation.

"I'd have been more appreciative if he hadn't made himself such a target in the first place that caused my life to hang in the balance." Kei said in reply but frowned for a moment as she thought. "How do you know he used a mind meld? That wasn't in the report."

Stewart realized her mistake and did her best to recover. "He told me." She lied quickly. She focused her attention on finishing the repair, not meeting Kei's eyes.

"He promised he wouldn't..." Kei muttered to herself quietly. She would need to go and see him about that. The things he'd seen in her mind were incredibly private, disturbing, but disturbingly private to her. The things she vaguely remembered as her mind held on were flashes and few and far between as years moved on. "I see." she said loud enough for Evelyn to hear her.

Evelyn glanced at Keishara. For an empath, the woman was terrible at hiding her feelings. Stewart realized the depth of her mistake and that she had to cover her tracks. "Listen Kei, I told you I grew up on Vulcan. There are very few who understand the significance of their culture. We have been spending time together and it came up, but not anything more than that. Vulcans take any sort of merging of the minds very seriously." She said to attempt to reassure her friend.

"Yeah... sure." Kei was lost in her own thoughts and not really listening to Evelyn now. Her mind was running in circles and she was biting the inside of her bottom lip. She heard spending time together, not understanding Vulcan culture as well as Ev and that they take the merging of minds seriously. The only question was, to Kei, if it was taken so seriously why was her privacy around a serious topic spoken about so openly with another when he'd said he would never reveal their connection all the way back in 2373.

Keishara looked to the distance. "I need to go... stuff. Stuff to do. Karla has asked I look over the plans for the festival again." she steeled herself.

"Yeah, sure...." Stewart watched Kei steel herself and walk off towards the colony. Noting the security officer's demeanor, she realized her attempts at reassurance fell on deaf ears. "Shit..."

 

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