Black Holes

Posted on Sun Mar 1st, 2020 @ 7:26am by Captain Rueben Gregnol & Chief Helmsman Eden Bowers

Mission: Elsewhere
Location: Starbase 225
Timeline: 2390
1784 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Ona sat on the Bajoran freighter and stared out through the small porthole into space. She was physically present but her mind was light years away. She'd gone and done it. Essentially she'd thrown away her career for something she believed in. It was what her father always taught her. Even if her father had been wrong about other things, she couldn't believe he had been wrong about this.

“A Bajoran freighter of all the ships you could have picked.” Zaza commented from the doorway. He always enjoyed sneaking up on her like that, it gave him a power he didn’t usually have over her which was nice.

"It was inexpensive," Ona replied her eyes on him with complete and utter surprise. "What are you doing here Zee?" Her hands were on her hips unexpectedly as if demanding an explanation for such a startle.

“You actually think you could leave like that?” He asked dropping his bad inside the door of the old lounge. He was annoyed she could turn up in his quarters pretty much say what she did and then leave at the first Starbase.” And he thought it was men who got a bad reputation.

"Yeah, I resigned. That's what you do when you resign from Starfleet, you leave." She frowned. "Did you put in leave . . . or?" She was too tired to argue with him. He'd gotten too close and he knew it, she knew it. What was there left to talk about? She didn't let people in, she'd told him as much.

"I've put leave in." He said with a shrug. More like a sabbatical but either way he was there in front of her instead of on duty in Engineering. He ran a hand through his hair causing it to stick up and become even more of a mess if that was possible, for his Vulcan heritage he didn't have any of the straight hair, his hair was all Betazoid.

"So you just followed me." It wasn't a question. "Well now what?" Ona asked him, still stunned that he was standing there in front of her. No one had ever bothered to come after her before.

"I don't know you tell me? You came into my quarters and told me what you did. What am I meant to do with the knowledge Ma'am." He said coming into the lounge more. He wasn't going to just let her get away with what she had said to him.

"You were meant to go on with your life, your career, not chase after me like some knight in shining armor." She said much more softly. Ona didn't want to argue, she'd just wanted to slip away and do what she felt was right.

”Well, I am here now.” He said with a shrug as the low vibration started and signified that the ship was leaving its dock. It was too late to turn back now.

Ona patted the seat next to her. She didn't know where to go next but apparently he was insisting on still being in her life. She was afraid that he would end up getting hurt because she just couldn't let him all the way in. She thought he would have understood that by now. "You are so stubborn," a hint of a smile appeared on her face.

"You knew that many months ago." The man reminded her with a small smirk as he crossed and sat next to her.

"Maybe I'm a slow learner." She quipped back and then sighed a little bit, leaning on him. Silly man. But if he wanted to come she couldn't stop him. "So are you going to resign too? You know I'm not coming back. If you stay with me you might end up in some pretty bad situations."

"I have taken a sabbatical." The man said with a shrug. They would hold it for a while until he figured out his place in the world. He was hoping he could work out what was going on and get her back to safety.

"Okay," Ona answered simply. He didn't know. But it might be nice to have someone that would watch her back, just how far he'd follow her was up in the air. She had warned him however. Ona shivered slightly.

"You cold?" The woma said seeing her shiver just enough for him to notice.

"Cold, nervous." Shrugged, could be either reason really. "We need to talk about why I left . . . . but not here. I got some quarters because it's a bit of a trip." Ona stood up and offered her hand to Zee.

"Indeed we do." The hybrid took the offered hand without question and allowed her to lead him to a small room that held a bunk bed and not much more.

"You should probably sit down." Ona said to him once the door was closed. There wasn't enough room for her to pace and him to be standing there anyway. It was a closet. 'Have I ever told you where I grew up?"

The man moved and laid down on the small bed taking off his boots and putting his bag under the bed as he did. “Cannot say you did.” He admitted trying to think through everything.

Ona glanced down at him and a cross between rolling her eyes and smirking at how comfortable he looked. This man was in serious danger of chipping away at her walls that she'd so carefully put up. He was sexy and funny and so warm towards her it drove her slightly insane on a number of occasions. She tried her hardest to ignore him all stretched out. "Juhraya. After the Federation gave the colony to the Cardassians. My father was a stubborn man and refused to leave. He couldn't believe that his Federation would abandon us like that. It wasn't too bad, the Cardassians mostly left us alone. We were on a plot of land they didn't want, until they did."

The man smirked when he noticed her watching him. She complained often about how nothing ever ruffled him but that nothing had ruffled him when he had reported to the Executive Officer to request what he did.

“I am sorry to hear that.” Zaza really felt for the woman. The Cardassians shouldn’t have been allowed to get as much as they were allowed.

"Despite all that I joined Starfleet, it was sort of my father's dream that he never got to fulfill. I suppose not doing it for your own reasons is stupid." She shrugged. "But now that I no longer have a father and I've gone through with what I said I would to honor his memory. I'm done." She didn't want to go too deep into detail, not yet.

Zaza got it. He really did but that didn’t change his reasons for following her, it didn’t change the fact that they were going to sharing the small space for awhile. “You are not done. You are just ending a small part of your life.” The man said lying on his side. The Executive Officer might have thought him insane for asking for the leave but for the Hybrid who would live long after the human left this world it was worth it.

"Yes, and starting a new part. Then you come along. And now you're in my bed." She stood there with her hands on her hips but there was just a hint of a smile, which really was her preferred way to show emotion.

“I am on your bed.” He said grinning as he bounded up and pressed a kiss to her forehead before lying on the floor. “Much better. Cannot complain about this right?” Her asked running a hand up her leg from where he lay.

"I didn't mean you had to move," she said, surprised by the sudden movements. But she didn't pull away from him when he touched her, far from it. "We can share," she said with a soft sigh, reaching for him as she scooted over.

“I do not think we have much choice now. How long is our trip?” He didn’t care where they were going but he did wonder how long he had to talk her around and get her to stay in his life.

"A few days. We can share fine. I don't move around much in my sleep. Could sleep on top of you," she joked.

"I would like that." The man said with a small smirk as he pulled on her leg making her knee give out and she have to come down to him.

Ona let out a huff of surprise. "You're incorrigible," she chuckled. "I think you're the kind of man my father warned me about." She hated that every time she was close to him she couldn't resist him and leaned over for a kiss.

The man guided her down. "You did say you wanted to sleep on top of me." He reminded with a wink as she leaned over and kissed him. "Mostly likely am. I would warn my daughters about men like me." He teased as he stroked her hair from her face.

"You deserve a couple of cute little daughters climbing around all over you. Come," She stood up again and offered her hand, pulling him to his feet and then into the bed with her.

“No.” The man said pausing as she pulled him toward the bunk bed. “I need a shower.” He assured trying to not think on the children he could have if he went home to Vulcan or even Betazed.

"Oh please, no you don't. But you might need one after I'm finished with you," Ona hinted, she kissed him again, not taking no for an answer.

The hybrid raised an out brow surprised at her words. She never spoke like that towards him, it was always him saying something like that. “Hmm, you drive a hard bargain.” He admitted.

He still seemed to be on the fence though. She pulled back from him a moment and gave him an expectant look. "Well?"

"How can I refuse a direct order from my superior." The man teased as he ducked to climb under the bunk with her. It was cosy but seeing she looked exhausted it would do for now.

Ona pulled him as close as possible. Sometimes a little stress relief was in order. And despite her not wanting him to initially follow her, it was nice to have someone along she could lean on and do other fun things with. She grinned and just let everything go.

OFF::

Zazkeal 'ZaZa' Elms
Engineer
(PNPC Gregnol)

Ona Silang
Flight
(PNPC Bowers)