Questions to Answer part 2

Posted on Sat Jun 25th, 2016 @ 7:39pm by Captain Rueben Gregnol
Edited on on Sat Jun 25th, 2016 @ 7:39pm

Mission: Mission 1 - Bridges
Location: SB 7 - Corridor B, Deck 9
Timeline: MD 10 :: 14:30
1721 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

The two ran until Lysina couldn't run anymore. Reuben was cut out for more strenuous activities, but Lysina was simply a linguist, that had clandestinely been on the run for a year. She made it this far, but needed out of Federation space.

Out of breathe, she forced out, "I need...to...rest."

She stopped running, raising her hands above her head. This opened up her lungs so she could regain her breath. The much older man nodded and lent back against a pillar.

"Dinner?" He wondered softly once they could both breath easier. He wanted to hear her news.

The question struck Lysina the wrong way. She saw Jeass' suffering; it was fresh in her mind, now seeing Reuben alive and well. Now, he had the gall to ask her to dinner. Lysina slapped Reuben across the face with all she could muster.

"Damn you!" she yelled. "Damn you! You're supposed to be dead! Jeass lost your child! She almost died herself! Damn you to hell! May the Great Bird swoop down and punish you!" She began to hit Reuben with the bottom of her fists, showing her anger and frustration, only to tear up and rest her head where she had just been hitting, her hands folded under her as the tears flowed.

Catching her breath, she quietly apologized. "I'm sorry, Reuben." She wasn't the violent type, but the last year had worn on her. He received the brunt of that anger and frustration.

"Child..." He said holding her wrist to stop her hitting him. "I... I..." He couldn't believe her. "You're lying. You have to be lying."

The Bolian girl's orange eyes, with tears streaming down her cheeks looked up from where her head rested on his chest. She wiped a tear away, trying to gain control. The last year had been building within her, choosing this moment to gush forth, an unending geyser.

"Yes," she softly spoke. "...Your child...dead...Jeassaho...almost..." Her voice faded, remembering the awfulness of the weeks that followed the incident. Rueben pulled her away stepping back to look at her tearful face, she wasn't lying at all. He wanted to punch some, scrap that needed to punch something.

"What happened? What happened to JJ?" He demanded in a pain filled tone. He hadn't known; he would kill the man he met on Vulcan. They obviously knew and had declined to tell him.

Lysina didn't understand why the man that was there didn't know anything about the incident. She stepped back, shaking her bald head. It was incomprehensible; he had to know.

The orange eyes showed her mistrust, a nonverbal questioning of him and his integrity. "She was badly burned. Her womb became as an oven and the child cooked within her."

"No... She was fine. When they took me she was fine. I put the mask on her as they forced me to leave." Rueben rationalized in his mind.

"What are you talking about, Reuben?" Lysina asked backing away.

For a while she was beginning to relax. She allowed herself to be comforted huddled against him. But now, he seemed to insinuate that he was part of a plot that killed his own child and almost killed the woman he was supposed to love. She thought of running again. But she didn't want to have to survive on her own. If she was forced to, they'd eventually catch up with her. The fear caused her to compromise and stay.

"I was taken from the shuttle Chatty... I didn't want to go. Why would i want to leave my beautiful girl." He said bitterly. "I was just as hurt as JJ and the others," Even now three years on Rueben could see the faces of the other people in the shuttle as he was dragged kicking and yelling away. The last thing he could remember was frantically begging to be allowed to fix the mask over Jeassaho before they hit him, knocking him out.

Lysina heard the bitterness in Reuben's voice. How could it be? How could he allow it to happen? Why didn't he just take her with him?

"I don't know what to believe," she finally softly concluded, "but I have no choice. Reuben, if you're not Starfleet any longer, I need your help."

"Please believe me. Come on you know i wouldn't have left her behind by herself." Rueben hoped she knew how much he had adored the Assistant Chief. "Oh course i am not Starfleet." He lied, not at all proud of himself for lying there but he still thought he was helping the greater good.

"Everyone died except Kea," she explained, still not understanding what someone would want with Reuben to kill people. "Can you get me to non-Federation space?" she quietly asked.

"They were dead before i left." He indicated a window where they could sit and explained to him about Barton's kidnapping and how Rueben asking questions to his friends disappearance had caused him to become the only person who could make him talk and do what the Cartels wanted. "What have you done to need it?"

"I am accused of killing Ambassador Th'zilrac," she defensively replied. Lysina didn't wish to relive the event. It was a horror for he to live it, much less relive it. Her orange eyes reflected the fear.

"What?" Rueben couldn't remember the Ambassador but still it had to be bad for a Bolian to commit murder.

Lysina became forlorn and withdrawn. Tears flowed again as she relived the event. Quietly, she spoke, "He attem...," full of shame and remorse, she couldn't vocalize what had happened.

"He attempted something he shouldn't have... thats all i need to know Chatty." He said softly patting her shoulder. "Well i kind of have a ship?" He admitted pointing outside the window.

Lysina grew quiet, confused by Reuben's faith in her, even after she had distrusted him. "You believe me," she softly asked, looking into his face.

"You believe me now?" He questioned leading her to the window to show his ship.

She was suddenly ashamed of how she treated Reuben. She knew that three years ago, he was trustworthy and stable. "I'm sorry, Reuben!" she sincerely said, he head bowed. Curiosity arose within her. "What are you doing now?"

"Same as i did for Starfleet." he admitted, he was still XO just instead of having lots of regulations and equipment behind him he had Barton and his rules.

"I still don't understand," Lysina admitted. "Why didn't you bring Jeassaho?"

"Becasuse they made me leave her. I wish you were telepathic so you could see what happened." Maybe he could show her his personal logs from the first few weeks. Maybe he could have one ally "Do you think she will ever forgive me if i can ever get back to her?" He wondered running a hand through his hair.

"She thinks you're dead," Lysina reaffirmed. "My thought is that she'll react pretty much the same way as I did, but harder. She lost a lot that night."

Rueben slowly leant over and put his head in his hands. Thousands of thoughts going through his head, mostly about the fact could never go home, Jeassaho would never ever let him back in especially if what Chatty said was true. "I'm never going to be able to go home." he sighed sounding miserable.

Lysina took note of Reuben's disparity. The way he reacted, it must be true. Why would a cartel ship want him that badly? Although she still had questions, Lysina believed his story. No one could be that miserable as an act. She reached out and touched Reuben's shoulder.

"By the Great Bird," she softly consoled, "if it is meant to be, it will happen."

"I want to go home," He said softly. He had never wanted to get involved he had asked the wrong questions in the wrong places looking for Barton and then the people who had held Barton had come looking for him.

"You can't leave?" she asked, not fully knowing his circumstance.

"Can't leave...They wanted me because i asked the wrong questions in the wrong places looking for Barton and three years on i am still running and hiding leaving my family, friends and my commission behind. You know i was five days from being married, Jeassaho wasn't even meant to be on that shuttle, we had, had a stupid argument and she swapped with the duty engineer to fix the argument." He sighed softly looking up finally.

Remembering the times they had, no letter the shortness of the time, Lysina knew his heart. She reached up and kissed his temple. It wasn't a provocative kiss. Hopefully, his interpretation was that he had her support. She would do what she could do to help him.

Pulling her hood up so no one could identify her, Lysina asked, looking at the ship docked outside the window, "Care to show me around my new home?"

Rueben smiled grateful for her support however fleeting it was, at least this young woman thought him a source of good in the universe.

"Are you sure you want to come with?" He wondered softly, he didn't want anyone else in trouble with him.

That's when Lysina caught sight of the strangest sight. She pointed at the statue attached to the fore of the ship. She began to chuckle. "What, pray tell, is that?"

"Don't... Just don't." Rueben begged trying to not laugh himself from this angle it looked more ridiculous than it did when they had actually been closure.

Lysina needed the laugh. She hadn't had much occasion to do so over the last year. She calmly turned to Reuben, truly believing fate had brought her here.

"I need your help more than you probably need mine," she quipped. "Maybe I should be asking you if you're sure." He nodded, he was sure, he needed someone who knew the old him, knew that he was good guy under all the badass and leather jacket.

"Never been more sure in three years." He assured hoping he was right, he didn't need anyone else watching him, he just hoped she wasn't another intelligent spy.

OFF::

Rueben Gregnol
Executive Officer / Chief of Operations
SS Mary Rose

Lysina Chawat
Linguist/Communications Officer
SS Mary Rose