Exploring

Posted on Tue Aug 6th, 2019 @ 11:17pm by Chief Helmsman Eden Bowers & Ka'see 'Cassie' Anderson (*)

Mission: Mission 9 - Daucina
Location: Maritime Bazar
Timeline: MD 5 13:00 Hours
1908 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

At an invitation from Cassie, Eden found herself waiting for the woman at the entrance to the bazar. When she saw her she smiled. "Hi." She'd been a little surprised by the invitation, they were friends of course. But Eden had just assumed that everyone would go their own way and do their own thing for shoreleave. It actually felt good to hang out with someone. It meant she wasn't going to think about anything too much.

After the body that had been found the previous day Cassie thought it was important to get the woman off the ship into the fresh air while they figured it all out and tried to work out what to do. "Hello. I am so glad you came." The woman said softly as leaned out to hug the woman. They weren't as close as they could be, the woman found herself closer to Kendra but she had to change it, they were all in this together.

"Thanks for inviting me," Eden said quietly as she was hugged, she returned the hug awkwardly. "Is there a plan or are we just here to browse and shop?" Eden didn't really know what she was looking for, she really didn't travel with many personal items. "I was thinking of buying a skirt if we find one, or some fabric to make one. I so rarely wear them."

"I am thinking we just browse and see where the day takes us?" Cassie offered as a suggestion to the woman. It was a known fact the 2246 group barely had anything and this seemed the best place to stock up and to spend some time with the woman after the events on Deck 7.

"Right, browse." Eden replied distractedly. She turned back to Cassie and smiled. "That sounds like a plan." They walked a little bit before Eden spoke again. "I'm sorry, about earlier." She said, feeling guilty about her reactions to finding Sebastian's body.

"You loved the man," Cassie said with a small smile. "You didn't see how I was when I wasn't myself when we last had shore leave. Your behaviour is nothing." The woman assured with a small smile as she thought back to her Pon Farr experience.

"Yeah," Eden sighed. "I did. Because he loved me, something I thought impossible." She looked out over the stand and just let her grief be for the moment. "But that shouldn't ruin our day of shopping. People have been buying materialistic things for centuries to make themselves feel better." Eden grinned at her. "Who am I to shrug that tradition now?

"You can't. All your ancestors would be annoyed." Cassie agreed and looped her arm through the other girls a little more and started to tug her closer to the stand. "Wow, I love these colours." The cloths on the stand were the kind of pinks and blues you rarely saw anywhere.

"What's your favorite color?" Eden asked curious, smiling at being tugged along. She hadn't really ever had a best friend but she really liked Cassie a lot. She remembered their first meeting, a lot had changed since then.

Cassie stopped and looked at the woman. In her two marriages, she couldn't remember a time where she had ever been asked that at all. "I'm not sure." The woman admitted with a small shrug, it wasn't something that was asked on Vulcan.

"Hmm, maybe you should think about that and decide while we're shopping." Eden thought she might try to find her something she might like. After all, it didn't appear life had been easy for Cassie either and she wanted to show her appreciation for her support.

"Yes, Ma'am." The woman murmured with a bit of a smile. "What are you thinking?" Cassie wondered as she put a lilac colour against her skin. It instantly didn't suit her at all which was a shame as it was a lovely colour.

"Try the blue. I really think it's the perfect color for your skin tone." Eden then chuckled, she sounded like a regular girl and she wasn't, at all. Anyone who knew her for more than five minutes could tell that. She wasn't either girly or tomboyish, she was just Eden. That had always been enough for her.

"Well, we both know how our old uniforms suited me." The woman commented on with a bigger grin at the woman. She used to wear so much blue that it had been a huge fixture in her life. This blue was more teal and a lot more fluorescent that the navy blue of there old uniforms.

"Must have been why the men were always staring at you." Eden teased. Though it was true. "What are your thoughts on jewelry, I never wear it. Never had much occasion to." She picked up a gold chain that had a single knot pendant with a small amber center.

"No they didn't... wait did they?" The woman had only had eyes for Johnathen apart from a fling with someone before the shuttle had crashed. "I think I have only ever worn my wedding band. It is pretty." The hybrid admitted looking at the plain band on her finger.

"Yes they did, often." She smiled a little sadly. "I was thinking maybe I should start wearing something occasionally. What are your thoughts on that?" Eden was determinedly not looking at Cassie. "Like, maybe my wedding band too. I always had it with me, I just never wore it because we didn't want anyone to know. Things were different back then."

Cassie blinked one and then twice looking at the woman as she purposely avoided her the Vulcan Hybrids gaze. "When... what?" The woman asked stunned to the core that this woman had married the Captain but no one had known. Why hadn't she said anything to any of them before?

"We sort of got married in a secret ceremony. He didn't want anyone to know. He was the Captain of a starship and things weren't as loose as they are now. We couldn't tell anyone. I could have cared less about my career but I didn't want to jeopardize his." Eden responded, hoping Cassie wouldn't be mad that she had never told her.

Cassie looked at the woman as if she was seeing her truly for the first time and slowly moved to wrap the woman into her arms in a hug that spoke volumes. "I am so sorry for your loss." The woman whispered thinking that to the words that obviously wasn't said that day back in 2243 when they had stood on the transporter pad.

Eden shook her head. "It was a long time ago, and it was yesterday but either way it's in the past. Not much I can do about that except continue to try and live." She sighed again. "Seriously, let's try to have fun, I'm tired of being sad."

Cassie squeezed her a little more before she let her go and nodded. "You should have told us." Was all she said leading the way to another stall that sold crystals and other things that Cassie had always thought of as trivial.

The other woman shrugged. She hoped Cassie understood why she couldn't have told her back then. But maybe she should have mentioned it since waking up in sickbay in the current timeline. "Those are pretty." Eden said, watching her friend admire the crystals.

"They are from earth." The woman said thinking they would look lovely in her quarters with candles for her meditation. It would be the perfect imagery that the woman needed something other than the flames. "I am thinking with my candles and stuff they will help me focus a little more. I seem to be struggling recently, feel something big is about to happen and I can't seem to shake myself free of the feeling."

"Hmm, well maybe that's a good idea. I don't know much about meditation." Eden shrugged. "I guess you could teach me, I mean if you're into teaching people about it. I understand it can be very personal." She watched to see what Cassie would say.

"Of course I can if you need to discover some inner peace I am all for helping," Cassie assured quickly. Not many people asked for help or advice because they believed it was personal but Vulcan's didn't actually mind helping others achieve what they did.

Eden nodded, appreciating this. "It can't hurt and honestly I could use a little clarity. Been a rough . . . . well, life I suppose." Except for her friendship with Cassie, things didn't appear to be looking up much. Eden wandered off toward a booth with actual books. Course they might not be in a language she could understand, but she loved books.

Cassie smiled at the woman not able to believe that this woman had captured Sebastian and married him. What was under the surface that the woman had never shown to anyone else other than the Captain? "You Eden surprise me more and more," Cassie said joining her at the booth.

"Oh?" Eden looked back at her with a small smile. "Why is that?"

"You captured Sebastian Deaureux and married him. Do you know how many women and men would be very jealous of here." The hybrid teased her slightly. She had been close to the man having known him from before she even joined the ship and even she hadn't gotten the hint of the relationship being marriage serious. She had always assumed he would go back to the Yorktown Commanding Officer and they would fix whatever had broken the ten-year relationship between them.

Eden gave her a look as if she wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. "He initiated it. He kept finding me in places. First, it was the mess hall, I had papers spread all over the tables . . . some of my murder mysteries that I liked to research. Then I was climbing shelves in the cargo bay and he caught me. After that, it was the library and I had books and PADDS all over me. He always seemed to come back to me."

"You seem so quiet yet you were sleeping with the Captain. You are a sly one Ed." Cassie teased grinning now as the woman was sure what to make of her.

She smiled. "He wanted to keep things quiet and who was I to disagree? I had the best man on the ship and I was only an ensign. We worked things out. I'm surprised few people saw me, and if they did I guess they just kept their mouths closed about it." She shrugged. "Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"We've all got our secretes Eden." Cassie wasn't offended at all. "And there is nothing of only an ensign about you," Cassie assured her softly. She forgot sometimes that not everyone saw themselves the way she saw them and that they needed boosting sometimes.

"Course not, I'm a hundred and eighty something years old now. I've had some time to gain some experience and confidence." Even Eden couldn't hold a straight face for that one, she giggled and reached for Cassie, giving her another hug. Then just as abruptly as she'd been affectionate she turned and went back to browsing through the books looking for her next treasure.



Eden Bowers
Chief Helmsmen
SS Mary Rose

Cassie Anderson
Biologist
SS Mary Rose
(PNPC Gregnol)