Posted by Lieutenant Commander Bethany Kovra Gadi (Chief of Security) in Ticking Clocks (TAG Izei)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aasrel Izei (Chief Medical Officer) in Ticking Clocks (TAG Izei)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Bethany Kovra Gadi (Chief of Security) in Ticking Clocks (TAG Izei)
Posted by… suppressed (53) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Aasrel shook his head. “You’re not… keeping me from much. Actually, I’d rather the distraction.” He leaned against the wall with a little sigh. “I don’t think I’ll be sleeping much, either.” If he didn’t find other ways to waste time, maybe he’d sit on her and his own test results, start processing those once he had them all to compare.

~ Izei, CMO

She laughed, “I know the feeling. So how do you wish to be distracted? Shall I regale you with my uncles Appalachian folktales? Perhaps a game of some sort or a meal in the lounge? Or do you want to be utterly bored by the Tactical and security measures of this new fancy prison of ours?”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel looked at her curiously. “Appalachian? Is that a region of Earth? Or a group of people?” He asked curiously. “Why don’t we get a meal in the lounge while we talk about Appalachian folktales?” He offered, combining two of her ideas.

~ Izei, CMO

Bethany turned toward the nearest lift and deck 6. “The Appalachian mountains run almost the entire length of the East coast of the North American continent. It spans a few geographical regions, but those that actually live in the mountains, no matter where, share a common core culture. The future arrives more slowly there, and life is much simpler.” She pressed the button for the lift. “It is both a region and a group of people.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel nodded. “Is that where you lived on Earth?” He asked as they walked towards the lift. “When I was on Earth for the Academy, I didn’t do much exploring or anything. I was too busy studying. And I went home in between years.”

~ Izei, CMO

“Valle Crusix, North Carolina, by the old world government reckonings. My grandfather’s family has lived there since the town was founded in 1842 and we still have just over 1000 permanent residents. Though it gets a lot of accidental tourism. People stumble on it by accident, and then come back every so often, word of mouth has done a lot too.” Stepping into the lift she paused, “Deck 6. I never visited home once I joined the Academy. I visited with my uncles before I left after graduation. They came, didn’t like all all the open space, but loved seeing the ocean and San Francisco Bay. I’ve been back once since then.”

Gadi, CoS

The lift began to move towards the deck. “Sounds interesting,” Aasrel commented. “They didn’t like the open space in San Francisco? What is it like in the mountains?” He asked. “San Francisco was very different than anything on Betazed, but I was raised in the city back home, so it wasn’t a major adjustment.”

~ Izei, CMO

“San Francisco reminded me of ho…of Betazed. From when I was child. The bay and open landscaping. I liked it there. The mountains are heavily forested, the land climbs up to the peaks or down into the valleys for miles. Valle Crusix is in a valley between three mountains, where three rivers intersect. The water is icy cold and moves fast as it comes down the mountains. There are trees everywhere and the town is spread out. Only a few buildings are close together because flat land to build on is small. You see more forest than you do open air. Despite being somewhat spread out it gives the feeling of closeness and security.”

Gadi, CoS

“Where did you live on Betazed?” Aasrel asked curiously. He listened interestedly to her description of her home on Earth. “It sounds pretty, but isolated.” He commented. “Are there a lot of people there?” The lift stopped on deck 6 and he stepped off, heading towards the lounge.

~ Izei, CMO

“We lived near Lake El’nar. Which is very wooded as well, but also has huge open areas. Of course there were large cities near there.” She shook her head. “It seems that way. Valle Crusix only has around 1000 people, but the valley’s on the other side of the mountains have huge cities. The valleys are bigger and grew more. And it’s only a 10 to 15 minutes travel to get to them. So people who live there are small in number, but there is still a lot of people.” She walked with him down the corridor. “Where did you grow up on Betazed?”

Gadi, CoS

“Melfi,” Aasrel replied. “Not Betazed’s biggest city, but it is a large city. My parents still live there. It’s wooded, but there’s no real bays or anything, just rivers.” He looked at her as they walked, “So Valle Crusix is small, but close to bigger areas. That makes sense.”

~ Izei, CMO

“It was more from topography than purpose, but over the years it has changed to be a way of life. I never visited Melfi. Well I don’t know if I did. I was young when we were there. I don’t remember much other than our house, the lake, and then the jungle during the occupation. I’ve never been back.”

Gadi, CoS

“I don’t blame you. Sounds like you’ve always identified more with your human side.” Aasrel shrugged, “Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same, in your shoes. Melfi is a beautiful city… Honestly, Betazed is just a beautiful planet. It’s fairly spread out, with a lot of nature left in the city. There’s a science institute there, does a lot of research. Attracts a lot of people to work there.” They reached the lounge and Aasrel entered and looked around for open seating. “Where do you want to sit?”

~ Izei, CMO

Bethany shrugged. “Not always. When I was younger I was very proud of my dual heritage. But after…” She shrugged, “There was no point. In my line of work I have had to spend a lot of time hiding my Betazoid heritage. People assume I know things because Betazoids are telepathic. It has made things…difficult at times. Usually I wear colored contacts when necessary.” She shrugged again. “I would have liked to go back, but my father was too ashamed.” She looked around. She usually sat furthest away in a corner. It protected her back, and let her watch everyone else. “Well it’s mostly empty, so anywhere.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel picked a spot near the edge of the room. He used like sitting in the middle, now he preferred to stay out of the way. “Would you still want to go back? Just to see it?” He asked, curiously. He had no plans on returning himself. Not without his telepathy… And suddenly he realized how that might seem to her. That he was as ashamed of himself as her father was of her. There was nothing wrong with her not having it. But he couldn’t help how he felt about himself, and then he felt bad, because there was nothing wrong with other people not having it.

~ Izei, CMO

She pulled a PaDD out of a pocket and set it on the table before she sat. “I don’t know. I won’t lie and say I’m not curious. I would like to see the house where I grew up again. Or what is left of it. Maybe it’s gone. Maybe my father moved back there now? I wouldn’t want to see him. I have cousins, I think, grandparents, but they have never contacted me and my father never spoke of them except as memories after…after I got older. I never tried to contact them either. Would they accept me? I have a temper and a lot of anger and resentment. I have been shunned enough. I have no desire to put myself into a no-win situation that has no greater purpose to it. Better we all forget each other.”

“Not everyone on Betazed shares your father’s opinion,” Aasrel said, looking at her. “I don’t, nor would I have… Before.” He shrugged, “I don’t know how your family might be but I think it might be worth reaching out, if just once.”

She shrugged, “Maybe. After all these years it’s probably not worth it. Besides, I have no attachments, it makes me a useful asset in my line of work.” She seemed weary though. It might be an asset, but that didn’t mean she liked it that way.

“Sounds lonely.” Aasrel commented. Not that he had any real attachments either. He hadn’t really spoken to anyone since what happened to him. He still wrote his parents, so there was them, but he wouldn’t see them.

Her eyes shifted directly to his and she met his gaze directly. “It is. Devastatingly so sometimes.” She surprised herself. That wasn’t something she had ever admitted to anyone.

Aasrel offered her a sad smile. “I don’t know that I could prioritise work over myself like that. Not be able to connect with who I want to.”

“It’s not about my work over myself. It’s about protecting those who can’t. Just like people came to help Betazed stop the Jem’hadar. We couldn’t do it on our own. We needed people willing to help us. So I do that for others. Pay it forward. Besides, no one is linning up to connect with me, Doc. Least of all my family.”

Aasrel nodded. “I don’t remember the occupation of Betazed. I was two when it ended. But… I always used to like the idea of going somewhere like that to help out, medically.”

“I was 6. I don’t remember much from before. Just being home with my parents. Unaware of life’s problems. Most of my vivid memories are the occupation. I remember asking my mom if we could go home for my birthday. I didn’t want to stay in the jungle anymore.” She smiled sadly.

“I’m lucky I was too young to remember any of it from what I hear,” Aasrel said. “I’m sure you were terrified. You were just a kid.”

Bethany nodded, her eyes far away as she stared out the window. Her hands tightened I to fists for a moment and then she breathed deeply and relaxed. “I was.”

Aasrel gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m glad you were safe.”

A server came and she ordered fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. “What about you? When this is all over, and we aren’t criminals anymore. Will you go see your family, go home?” She saw no reason why not. Family was supposed to be your rock when things went wrong. Bethany was jealous of those who had that, though she didn’t begrudge them at all.

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel ordered a blue leaf salad, kimden roll, and a cup of tea. His apprehension was as apparent in his face and body language as it would be empathically. “I, um… I don’t know. Before I was reassigned here I was still writing them. But…” He shrugged. He didn’t want to go back the way he was. Maybe someday, when his body was back to normal and his telepathy worked. But before that happened he didn’t know if he could handle going back. He didn’t want to.

~ Izei, CMO

“Because we’re traitors now? You know once this mission is over, our names will be cleared. Everything will be set straight.” She looked at him for a moment, and despite her lack of empathy he got the feeling she was picking up more than a human should. Jake had been hesitant to go back and see his family as well, even after the noticeable implants were gone. She wasn’t sure she should ask though.

Gadi, CoS

“No, I know they’ll clear our names and all that. My family will understand why I couldn’t tell them. I have no problem with this type of work.” Aasrel replied. He caught her gaze, she was giving him a look like she knew there was more to it. Like she was picking up more than a human typically would. He hesitated for a moment. “I… I can’t go back.”

~ Izei, CMO

“Do you want to?” Bethy asked quietly.

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel hesitated and then responded, “Of course I do. They’re my family. We… We were always close.” He looked at Bethany sadly, “There’s my mom and dad, and I have an older sibling and a younger sibling. A brother and a sister.”

~ Izei, CMO

She reached over and touched his hand lightly. “When this is over, we’ll find a way so that you’ll be able to see them.” She sat back. “What are they like? Your siblings?”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel smiled, hesitantly and sadly, looking down at her hand lightly touching his. “Thank you. But I… I can’t go back… the way I am. I… I don’t…” He let himself trail off and then changed the subject.

He leaned his elbows on the table. “Masas, my older brother, is a Starfleet officer too, he’s in Science, and Keyana is back on Betazed, in Melfi. She’s my younger sister.”

He set a PaDD, his personal one, and after several taps pulled up a picture of the three of them and turned it towards her. They were clearly siblings. Masas was several inches taller than Aasrel, but they had the same sort of look about them. Masas was bigger than Aasrel and had a buzz cut, making him look tougher. Keyana looked similar, but her eyes looked different. She had long brown hair, tied back in a pony tail. She looked about the same height as Aasrel, judging by the photo.

~ Aasrel

Bethany looked at the picture and smiled. “You look happy. Your sister looks mischievous. Did you like having siblings?” she asked with genuine curiosity.

Gadi, CoS

“I was,” Aasrel sighed sadly. The picture was clearly taken before his brush with the Borg. No metal plate in his head. No mechanical eye. His arm was around his sister and he was smiling. He considered her question. “I did, yeah. I looked up to my brother. My sister and I used to play, when we were kids. I joined our school writing club so I could support her.”

~ Izei, CMO

Bethany smiled, “You write? For your sister? She must be something special for you to join just for her.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel nodded. “I wanted to do what she liked. Be supportive, you know? Masas and I were into space and science and stuff and Keyana… really wasn’t into any of that. I didn’t want her to be left out.”

~ Izei, CMO

“That’s really sweet. I’m sure she appreciated it. Having someone to share her interests. So you and your brother both wanted to go into Star Fleet?”

Gadi, CoS

“Not initially. Or at least, I didn’t. I wanted to be a doctor, but I wasn’t sure what I’d do. I ended up doing Starfleet because he did.” Aasrel told her. “Didn’t you have siblings? Or was it just you?”

~ Izei, CMO

Bethany shook her head. “No, no siblings. Like I said, I think I had cousins on Betazed. My uncles, only one ever got married, but they had no children. So it was just me.” The server came back with their food and set it down.

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel nodded as he began to eat. “Sounds lonely. Did you have any close friends? Or… ever date anyone?” He asked, and then shook his head and shrugged, “Sorry, not my business. I was just curious.”

~ Izei, CMO

“There were a lot of kids in the community. I went to school with them.” She grinned, “Yeah, I dated some. His parents weren’t thrilled about it. Thought I would convince him to move away with my wild alien ways.” She waved off the apology, “Nothing wrong with being curious.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel gave her a look. “Going to school with someone isn’t the same as befriending them.” He smiled at her story. “Going to whisk him away to Betazed, were you?” He seemed to find that amusing.

~ Izei, CMO

“When we first got to Earth, I was…very shy and skittish. I was afraid to be away from my parents and then mom got sick again. Well, making friends didn’t seem important. I did though, eventually. Good friends too. Especially when things at home were…bad.” She breathed deeply. “I am not sure where she thought I would take him. That is what they thought my dad did to my mom. Whisked her away, charmed her with his exoticness.” She chuckled once, “I suppose he did.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel nodded. “Things were difficult for you. I’m glad you did have some friends.” Then he raised a brow. “Am I ‘exotic’ then? Ready to charm some poor girl and whisk her away?” He made it sound truly ridiculous, just to be funny about it.

~ Izei, CMO

Bethany laughed, a true light hearted laugh. She hadn’t done that in a while. “Well you do have those mysterious onyx eyes, and my uncles did warn me about a man that could make me laugh.” She leaned toward him slightly and propped her chin on her hand. “And you were convincing me to actually visit Betazed a few moments ago.” She grinned and winked at him, just for fun.

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel grinned, more relaxed than he’d been in months. He was able to forget, for just a moment, that one of his ‘mysterious eyes’ was mechanical. “Was I?” He asked, leaning forward and folding his arms on the table in front of him. “Maybe I should take you to Betazed.” He said, meeting her gaze and grinning again.

~ Izei, CMO

Bethany stared into his eyes for a long moment. Obsidian gaze meeting his onyx one. “At least there would be one familiar face among the masses. I’d like that.” She raised her brows giving her a teasing look. “It’s a date, Aasrel.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel smiled, laughing a little. “Once this mission is over, then. We’ll take a little leave and go.” It had been recommended he take leave months ago. He’d refused, not wanting to go home. He wasn’t sure whether Bethany was serious or not, especially about the ‘date’ part. Times like this really made him miss telepathy.

~ Izei, CMO

Bethany was grinning enough that Aasrel could tell she liked his response. “I’ll hold you to it.” She picked up her fork and began to eat. After a moment she glanced up at him. “You know, it will be really awkward to go on a long shore leave together if we don’t know each other. We should probably go on a few dates before that.” She picked up her drink and took a sip, grinning over the rim of her glass.

Gadi, CoS

“Hmmm… You’re right. How about tomorrow night for the first one? Assuming we don’t have anywhere else to be, that that is.” He took a bite of his food. “Or if you want a little more time to think about going on a date with me… In three nights?” He swallowed his bite and then grinned at her.

~ Izei, CMO

“Don’t think you can back out of it now,” she laughed softly. “Oh, I think we are past the point of needing to think about it. I am letting you whisk me off to the exotic fairytale land of my childhood after all. Tomorrow night works great for me.” She looked at the clock, “Well tonight, now.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel smiled and shrugged, trying to picture his homeworld as an ‘exotic fairytale land’. “I suppose I am.” He looked at the clock when she did. “Tonight it is.” He looked across the table at her, “You getting tired?”

~ Izei, CMO

She used her fork to pull a chunk of meat off the chicken and sighed as she did. “Not really. I should be, but I’m not. You?”

Gadi, CoS

“A little, but I won’t be able to sleep.” He shrugged, “I wasn’t going to be busy tomorrow anyway.” He was nearly done with his food as he took another bite of the salad.

~ Izei, CMO

Her food was nearly gone as well, which was surprising. She hadn’t had much of an appetite lately. She rarely did on an op. “I get to play in the electronic warfare room today.” Her voice sounded eager and she grinned with an obvious mischievousness. “Have to make sure everything is working and ready to go.”

Gadi, CoS

“What’s that?” Aasrel asked, eyebrow raised, as he drank from his tea. “Us doctors don’t play with the fancy equipment unless it’s made to do something to a body.”

~ Izei, CMO

“It’s a room with independent computer core that allows me to hack into other ships, disrupt comm and sensor signals, send out sensor decoys and such.” There was an eagerness to her voice. Bethany loved doing stuff like that. Often it allowed her to neutralize a threat with very little violence. “Medical tech is always growing too, isn’t it?”

Gadi, CoS

She seemed into it and Aasrel grinned at her eagerness. “You like causing trouble.” He said. Then he nodded, “It is. New ways to regrow or repair organs and tissue, new prosthetic technology, new ways to scan and diagnose, making things safer. We already know so much about how our bodies work, there’s not too much left there to discover.”

~ Izei, CMO

She laughed, “Oh, I do. Trouble can be fun. You’ve been warned.” Bethany winked at him. She picked up her glass and looked thoughtful. “I don’t know about that. I mean we are such complex beings, even just physiologically. Our understanding of things is always expanding. Could just be a lull. We think we understand how life and the universe works, and then we discover something new or encounter a new unknown.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel leaned forward again. “Then I look forward to trouble.” He finished off his food and then his tea. “It’s true, we could discover something groundbreaking tomorrow. I am still studying the paracortex and psilosynine. I just don’t see too many more advancements in tech. Maybe I’m just not an inventor.” He shrugged.

~ Izei, CMO

She slid her empty plate out of the way and leaned toward him again. “Oh I think we can make all kinds of trouble together.” She was pleasantly surprised by his flortation and confidence. He had been very stand-offish and taciturn on their few previous encounters. In her mind she labeled that his ‘doctor mask’. She liked this other side of him. “Well that is why we have doctors and medical engineers. Advancements require both types of expertise. My understanding is there is still a lot about the way the Betazoid paracortex works that we don’t fully understand. Or maybe that was just human doctors that didn’t.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel smiled. “I hope so.” He stacked his empty plate on hers. “Betazoid doctors don’t understand it, either. I’ve looked everywhere. Read every published study I could find. It’s.. a very complex thing that our brains can do.” He took their empty dishes and put them where they belonged, then returned to his seat.

~ Izei, CMO

“New studies are being done all the time. Something will come up. You’ll find the answer, either yourself or through someone’s research.” Bethany stayed leaning forward even as he got up and then returned. “So why medicine?”

Gadi, CoS

“I hope so,” Aasrel sighed. “For both of us.” He thought about her question for a while, closing his eyes as if remembering. He opened then again and looked at her. “My older brother was more into the hard sciences. Chemistry and that. I wasn’t. I liked anatomy and physiology and learning how things can go wrong and how to fix them. And of course, I liked the helping people get better part too.”

Turning his gaze away from her, he shrugged miserably. “Honestly? I would’ve quit once I recovered if I knew what else to do with myself. I just can’t bring myself to care anymore.”

~ Izei, CMO

Bethany reached out, purposely placing a hand over his right. The one with the Borg implants. She was careful not to touch them, incase they hurt or felt uncomfortable. She didn’t hesitate to hold that hand, and despite the roughness of her work, hers was warm and very real. “I cannot say I understand what you are going through, but I have…family…well friends that are more like family, that do. They were freed from the Borg. They said the hardest part was finding themselves again. They felt like it had been stolen, but really it had only been repressed. I know it can’t be easy and that I couldn’t possibly understand, but if you ever need someone to listen or want to explore what makes you, you, I will do that with you. If you want.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel could tell when the implants were being touched, by the feeling it caused in his arm, but they weren’t painful unless grabbed and pulled the way he did when he was upset. He looked at her hand over his, then up to her face. Her hand was warm and gentle against his right, just barely avoiding where the implants dug into his skin and connected to his bones. He smiled, sadly, a look of hopeless resignation on his face. “Thank you, Bethany. But I… I can’t see it anymore. Can’t see myself regaining what I lost. My telepathy is part of it but not all of it.”

~ Izei, CMO

Her hand tightened over his. “That doesn’t mean your life is over. Eventually, physically, you can go back. But here,” her other hand touched his temple, “and here,” she laid a hand over his heart briefly, “You will remain changed, but it doesn’t have to be the end. Every moment, every event, every choice changes us. You get to decide how this changes you. Please don’t give up.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel gripped her hand when she tightened it over his. “Physically I can’t. I’ll always be stuck with this eye, these… things won’t come off without an amputation and then I’d need more prosthetics.” His voice was bitter and sad. “They took everything away from me.” He was quiet for a moment, and then looked at Bethany. “If you can try too… Then I will try. I won’t give up if you don’t. No more ‘I’ll be dead’.”

~ Izei, CMO

Bethany held his hand tighter. “They didn’t take everything. They tried, but they failed. Hold on to that. Like you just said, medical technology and research grows everyday.” She smirked, “Oh you drive a hard bargain Aasrel. I knew you were trouble.” She nodded and squeezed his hand again. “We’ll both try. Besides,” she leaned forward a bit more, “I like your eyes.”

Gadi, CoS

Aasrel smiled. “The best kind of trouble.” His smile widened with her compliment and then faded slightly, as if he couldn’t imagine that were true. He couldn’t even look in a mirror anymore. Avoided his reflection. He squeezed her hand back gently. “Then I look forward to our date tonight.” He mimed holding up a drink. “To living again, for both of us.”

~ Izei, CMO