Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Sharah Fayth (Chief Science Officer) in Queen of the Arboretum

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Joseph Rainns (Chief Of Security) in Queen of the Arboretum
(snip)

“I love you too Sharah.” His voice was distinct as ever, cutting through the clutter of whatever else was in her mind. Joseph stood behind her, smiling. “I’m glad to see you are coping well with the current situation imzadi.” He said bluntly. It had been a rough few days for the COS, he had hardly time to see Sharah, and the stress of the ships current predicament weighed on him heavily. Although in his heart of hearts, he suspected they would find a way back. In the meantime, he wanted to finally have a moment with his love. He was mentally exhausted, and the ragged edge in his voice betrayed that.

Lt. Jg. Joseph Rainns- COS

Sharah turned a smile spreading across her face, simply because he was there. Although she was always aware of his presence, he had managed one of those rare moments to surprise her. A skill that he was quite good at. “Only because I know you are here, with me.” Though she was sure they would find a way, it was a difficult situation. She stood up, hugging him, despite the dirt on her knees. She knew his shift had been over but they were all working extra these days. She’d been passing time until he was done. She took a half step back and looked at him. She heard it in his voice. He was exhausted, mentally. She left her tools for the moment. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Lt jg Fayth CSO

Joseph looked at her with tired eyes, and grasped her tightly as she hugged him. “What’s there to say? Half the ship is loosing their mind over what has happened and the other half is trying to keep everything calm and collected, only so long before we snap to.” He shook his head. “I picked an unfortunate time to join this crew I guess.” It was a joke, and Sharah could feel Joseph’s gratitude to be with her, but she could also feel the pain that if he had not simply stayed on Challenger for another two weeks, he would’ve avoided this fate. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep it together on my end.” He said after a moment of silence. “This situation is so…taxing on me.” He let go of Sharah and simply took a seat on the floor. “I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off all the time these days.”

Lt. Jg. Joseph Rainns- COS

His thoughts were like a slap to the face. Where as Sharah’s thoughts ran along the lines of if he had waited those extra two weeks they had asked him for, she’d be here, alone, never to see him again. The thought nearly broke her. It was what she had dreaded to hear him say since he told her he was coming to Ark Angel with her. His choice of her over everything else had ruined his plans for his career. Out here, billions of years away from home, there would be no captain’s chair for him. Not that he won’t have earned it, but no ships needing captains, just the Ark Angel. Not that he wasn’t in line if something happened to Andone. And now he was away from his family too, because he choose her, and she didn’t feel like she was much of a consolation prize. She gathered it all up and locked it away, hoping he didn’t pick up on it. She wasn’t in her spot though, his mind was taxed and he didn’t need that burden as well. Though he’d probably argue with her about it. “Then don’t run around. Don’t police the crew. We have doctors and counselors to take care of their mental and physical health. You only have to worry about your department, or..well I mean I know the safety of the crew is on you. But the day to day, you could try running some training exercises, first contact, combat, give their minds something to focus on.” She grinned, sitting down next to him, holding his hand. She tried to make a joke, “You could make them run parkour. It would physically wear them out.” She looked at the ground in front of her, “I know this is a horrible time to be here. I’m glad you are though.”
Lt. jg Fayth, CSO

Joseph felt Sharah’s pain, and he knew why. He shook his head. “Sharah I don’t regret coming here, if I had to do it all over again, I would do it the exact same way.” He looked over to with a tired smile. “My mind just goes places sometimes, and its been there a little bit lately.” He gripped her hand tightly. “You are so much more than a consolation prize dear, you are the trophy itself.” He put his free arm around her. “I can’t stop policing dear, if I don’t do it, nobody else will, and I am not going to let law and order fall apart on this ship.” He thought about her suggestions for a few moments. “I may have to take that into consideration though, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to get the JO’s on this ship ready for whatever craziness is in store for us.” He looked down to her. “But no matter what happens I want you to know that I would rather be stranded out here with you than be in the Alpha quadrant without you.”

Lt. Jg. Joseph Rainns- COS

She held his hand and nodded, “I know you wouldn’t change it. And your mind is entitled to go there. This is a hard situation. And though I wouldn’t change being here with you, I would never have wished this fate on you.” She allowed his arm to pull her closer to him and she felt the pressure of his grip against her hand. She remembered the last time they had sat in an arboretum like this. He’d been ashamed of how hard he’d been gripping her hand, declaring how important she was to him, despite his doubts of only hours before hand. She smiled, they always seemed to come back to this. “I’m sorry for my self doubt, Joseph, please don’t think I doubt you or us, it’s just my mind goes there sometimes too.” She ran the fingers of her free hand through his hair, it always relaxed him, and he needed to relax. “You will be my husband, the father of my children. You are and always will be my Imzadi, even to the ends of known existence.” It was no mistake that she told him the same thing they had told each other that day in Challenger’s arboretum. And she meant it just as much now as she did then, even more so. “Joseph, Imzadi, I don’t sit in my spot while we’re on duty, it creates distractions we don’t need, but that doesn’t mean, when things are hard, or you need a break, for just a moment or more, I know you can’t reach for me, simply think it, and I’ll hear you. We all need a way....” She lifted her head from her shoulder and looked at him. “You heard me. I wasn’t in my spot, but you ‘heard’ me. What I was thinking and feeling.” At least a little bit that was something to be happy about. His telepathy was getting stronger, or simply their connection, or both. She smiled at him, taking in the moment simply for the joy it brought. She kissed his cheek, still running her fingers through his hair, and settled back against him again. “I’m always here for you, however you need me.”
Lt. jg Fayth, CSO

Sharah was right, Joseph did need to relax, and just being near her certainly helped in that manner. He simply held her in his arms as she talked, closing his eyes, basking in her presence. He opened his eyes when he felt her look up at him. “I was able to hear you when you directed a thought towards me, even on the night when your voice echoed in my mind.” He replied calmly, relaxing a little. As she settled back to him, he closed his eyes once more, “I know you are, and will always be, as will I for you.” He said in a hushed voice. Sharah would feel some anxieties creeping back within him. “It’s just this crew, some of them are starting to lose it, and I feel as though I have to provide the law and order around here, if I let myself fall into madness like the rest, we won’t have a ship to get back home with.” He looked down at Sharah. “We, or at least humans, like to think we are morally evolved from our past selves. I think that illusion is starting to crack now that we are stranded in the middle of nowhere.” He shook his head, “And if I crack, this ship will descend into total chaos, and I can’t let that happen.”

Lt. Jg. Joseph Rainns- COS