SIM:Lael Rosek - Developments Part I (Gorkon)

Previous sim "Closure"	Lieutenant Lael Rosek HCO Officer Starbase 118 USS Gorkon NCC 82293	Next sim "Developments, Part II"
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((Sto’Vo’Kor Lounge, USS Gorkon))

:: Lael sighed as she stared out the window, taking a sip of her tea. It had been a couple of days, the excitement of her promotion dampened by the heavy fight to deal with Janel’s passing. She scowled. Every time she thought of the evil witch that was his mother, she wanted to break something. ::

:: Chythar snuck out of Alex’s quarters and retreated to Sto’Vo’Kor for the late night conversations and non-Sickbay laiden paperwork which he craved. He got himself a mug of raktajino and glanced around the room, his gaze settling on his friend Lael. Since he had coffee in his hands, sneaking up on her was not in his best interest. Instead, he approached and motioned to the empty chair across from her. ::

Skyfire: Seat taken, lass?

Rosek: :: murmurs :: Feel free...though I’ll warn you, I’m pretty crappy company at the moment. Even Dassa ditched me for Tobian.

Skyfire: Do you want to talk about it? Ah may not be a counselor, but ah’m yer friend.

Rosek: :: grimaces :: I got some news after we got back from the other ‘verse that a friend had been murdered just before we got trapped there. ::sighs:: In truth, more than a friend. We were together when I first met Jansen.

Skyfire: And it’s affectin’ ya now, after all this time?

Rosek: ::sighs:: I’ve been sitting on this...keeping it bottled up. For the first little while, it was so Jansen wouldn’t see me upset. After that...well, I had more pressing concerns and it just got pushed to the back burner.

:: CD nodded faintly and extended a comforting hand, pondering over his word choice. He had a sip of coffee before making any reply. ::

Skyfire: It can be wise to bottle it up when situations call for it. After a while, it builds and gets worse. You and Ah both speak from experience. Talking helps.

Rosek: ::nods:: I’m planning to talk to Tobian about it, too. ::smiles wanly:: But it was nice having a friend tonight. You really are a good friend, Chythar.

Skyfire: Ah try to be. ::He cracked a soft smile and sipped his drink.::

Rosek: :: kisses his cheek :: Me on the other hand...not so great.

:: CD cast his mind back to that fuzzy blank in his mind where he had a few beers, but couldn’t remember anything after the first few shots of tequila. ::

Skyfire: Oh, the hot tub thing? Dassa explained a little, though it’s mostly still a blank.

Rosek: :: murmurs :: You were pretty out of it. Dassa was throwing off so much anxiety that I just about had a panic attack. Had to fight to keep my head on straight for your sake.

Skyfire: Ah’ll be honest, lass. That was the first time since my abilities surfaced ah ever got blasted. Hadn’t tested my limits with tequila and shielding before.

Rosek: :: grimaces :: Well, there’ll be no more of that. Thanks to Dassa and Hallbjorn’s little scuffle in the Officer’s Mess before shoreleave, the Gorkon is now a dry ship.

:: He remembered that incident too well. All the PADDwork piled up really quickly as a result. ::

Skyfire: Not a surprise. Next drinking game, if it can be called that, may use root beer instead.

Rosek: ::shrugs:: Or maybe synthenol. ::smirks:: Since you can’t hold your liquor, Doc.

::Or that, he supposed. Still, nothing beats coffee. He had another sip and shifted his position, leaning back with a bit of a grin. ::

Rosek: ::pauses:: Speaking of the hot tub incident, you’ve kind of kept to yourself since then. Even Dassa’s noticed. Are you okay?

Skyfire: It’s not intentional. Just...still a bit confused, Ah suppose. Things have been...complicated…since then...with work and all.

Rosek: ::arches an eyebrow:: Oh? How so?

:: Now it was his turn to be bad with words. Or rather, at least more elaborate than he had been. Larger sentences weren’t hard for him, it was just difficult because he was still processing the breakthroughs brought on by Izzy and the recent counseling sessions. For probably the first time in a while, he dropped the accent of his own volition, making a note to put that into his log entry before bed. ::

Skyfire: So...I’ve been dodgy since the incident with Shira. Mostly dodging Sickbay and PADDwork. And Dr. Gates, prior to his recall to Earth. And dodging Tobian. And...the list goes on. Someone noticed, and I got caught. When I was trying to avoid people, someone found me. Revelations happened that night which….were unexpected, to say the least.

Rosek: :: lays a hand on top of his and squeezes in a gesture of support :: You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.

:: It was bothering him, mostly because he still hadn’t sorted it out. Now all he had to do was express it. ::

Skyfire: Have you ever made a revelation that upended a deeply embedded belief, which when it did so you realize it was dumb to believe in the first place?

Rosek: ::smiles wanly:: Story of my life. But go on.

Skyfire: It’s not that I hate counselors -- they just invoke anger because they’re an unavoidable element during our time in Starfleet. Different field, same purpose. Unfortunately, my brain and my feelings disagree. ::He had another sip of his coffee, then added with a bitter afterthought.:: Jansen’s probably going to be laughing about this if he finds out.

:: The last time he’d even seen Jansen was just before they got pulled through the nebula. And was two counselors ago. He tried not to tense up at the realization and instead blew a strand of hair from his face. ::

Rosek: ::smiles wanly:: If I find out he laughs at you over this, I’ll break more than his nose.

Skyfire: He hasn’t asked for a slot in the medical rotation, but since he’s been back he has done some counseling shifts. ::He paused again and changed the subject.:: Second revelation happened that night, if you want to hear it.

Rosek: ::smiles:: Of course.

Skyfire: Stripey. He’s...a coping mechanism with the occasional touch of smartass.

Rosek: ::shrugs:: No surprises there.

:: CD sipped his drink and contemplated that one for a bit. Silent, as that was how he tended to work through things. Was he really coming to grips with Stripey being a helpful nuisance or trying to deal with the fact that Stripey wasn’t actually a problem in the first place? ::

Rosek: I take it the meds are still suppressing his colorful input?

Skyfire: Yep. Most of the time. He got a little louder than usual when I was talking with Izzy.

Rosek: ::shrugs:: Not unexpected.

Skyfire: ::raised eyebrow.:: What makes you say that?

Rosek: I remembered that night in the Officer’s Mess...he seemed to be rather vocal. I always figured because you didn’t know me very well. I’d figure the same with a new counselor.

:: Chythar sipped his coffee again and leaned forward with a shake of his head.::

Skyfire: He’s unpredictable in that aspect.

Rosek: ::pauses:: I’ve noticed he doesn’t really crop up around me anymore, does he?

Skyfire: Not as often as he used to.

Rosek: ::smirks:: Must like me then.

:: Here, the CMO gave a shrug. He didn’t have an answer for her. Sometimes Stripey would answer, sometimes he wouldn’t. At the moment, he seemed to be asleep. ::

Skyfire: Maybe. Maybe not. He’s asleep right now.

Rosek: ::huffs:: I still say he likes me. ::grins:: You do.

Skyfire: True.

Rosek: So...what else is going on? ::smirks:: I assume things are good with you and Alex?

Skyfire: Yeah. It’s nice.

Rosek: ::arches an eyebrow:: Nice? That kiss you two had in the hot tub says more than just ‘nice’.

::He paused again and considered his word choice over a swig of coffee to stall. Once it cooled in his mouth, he swallowed again.::

Skyfire: A gentleman never tells, but it is a great feeling to have that support without being consumed by past mistakes.

Rosek: ::grins:: That kiss was so steamy, I was actually jealous. Good for you and Alex.

:: He nodded in thanks. ::

Skyfire: What about you? How’re things?

Rosek: ::sighs:: Beyond the obvious? Fine I suppose. Though Anjar is pretty pissed at me at the moment for not telling him about Dassa and Tobian. ::sips her tea and shrugs:: But it wasn’t my business to tell.

Skyfire: Why’s Anjar pissed off about it?

Rosek: ::grimaces:: He’s still mooning over her though it’s clear she’s moved on. ::smiles:: Tobian really is good for her. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time.

:: Chythar shrugged at the reference to Anjar, and nodded at the reference to Tobian. He too wished only the best for his friends, because Tobian being stuck in the past for as long as he was wouldn’t help anyone. ::

Rosek: ::grins wryly:: It’s...complicated. She and I have this mental bond of sorts. I’m his way into her head. When he and I connect that way, I serve as a bridge to her.

Skyfire: Ah.

Rosek: ::grins wryly:: I told you it was complicated.

Skyfire: My relationship to my siblings is complicated too. Differently complicated than what you’ve described, but in a lot of ways very similar.

Rosek:::sighs and runs her hands through her hair:: I'm living a soap opera in space. How did this become my life?

Skyfire: You don’t want me to answer that.

Rosek: ::snorts:: I suppose I don’t. ::sighs and sips her tea:: I take it you haven’t spoken to Jansen since he got back?

Skyfire: Nothing outside of him putting his name on the counseling rotation. Strange, really. Ah s’pose he will find me if he wants to talk.

:: Chythar had a sip of his coffee and listened intently, letting himself relax a bit more than he had before. ::

Rosek: :: nods and pauses :: :: murmurs :: We exchanged Christmas gifts yesterday.

Skyfire: Oh? What’d he get ya?

Rosek: :: smiles wanly :: A beautiful painting set.

Skyfire: :: looked momentarily abashed he didn’t know this before. :: You paint?

Rosek: :: blushes :: Well, I’m not great at it...but I enjoy the escape from time to time.

:: He didn’t really consider his own craft much of an escape, but it was strangely mind-numbing from time to time. Sadly, it hadn’t helped him recover any sleep he lost from the third purple heart. He was still disturbed by it, but managed to keep that from showing through in his features as he sipped his coffee. ::

Skyfire: And had a civil drink with him which dinnae end in fisticuffs?

Rosek: Mmm hmm. It was a nice evening actually. ::sighs:: I don’t know what I’m going to do. I tried going on a date with Nefan Venal, that Kriosian diplomatic officer that got transferred aboard before the last mission. But it was a bust.

Skyfire: Want to tell me about it?

Rosek: ::shakes her head:: It’s nothing to do with him. He’s charming, sweet...a real gentleman. Everything a girl could ask for. ::sighs:: But…

:: The lingering ‘but’. In her heart, she was still stuck on Jansen and couldn’t bring herself to see past that fact. It was a sensitive subject, but one he didn’t quite know how to smoothe over. ::

Skyfire: He’s not Jansen.

Rosek: ::grins wryly:: No. No, he’s not.

:: He sat quietly with his coffee, unable to think of anything else to add to that. ::

Rosek: :: murmurs :: Most of my life has been spent avoiding commitment. I always figured whoever I tried to settle down with...well, we’d end up like my parents. It’s damned hard to break that vicious cycle. I didn’t exactly have a good model for relationships growing up. Mom didn’t really date much and when she did, it didn’t last more than a week. I didn’t really date growing up either. I had lots of flings...one night stands with men and women. ::shrugs:: Never really thought much about it until I met Jansen. Even my brief marriage to Jensar wasn’t about more than lust. ::grins wryly:: Oh, to be young and foolish again. ::sighs::

TBC
---
PNPC Lt. Lael Rosek
HCO/Engineer Officer
USS Gorkon
I238110RH0
As simmed by Dassa Alexander

&

Lieutenant Commander Chythar Skyfire
Chief Medical Officer
USS Gorkon, NCC-82293
O239002CS0
http://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/Chythar_Skyfire
https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/Zephyr/Community_Activities