Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aasrel Izei (Chief Medical Officer) in Side sim: After-Shift Meetup

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Bethany Kovra Gadi (Chief of Security) in Side sim: After-Shift Meetup

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aasrel Izei (Chief Medical Officer) in Side sim: After-Shift Meetup
Posted by… suppressed (10) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
“Come with me,” Aasrel said, an idea popping into his head. Leading her into the holodeck, he keyed in a program without telling her what it was. Then he stood with her and said, “Computer, start program.”

Bethany walked along with him, finding the silence of the short walk comfortable, and not feeling that uneasy need to fill the silence with awkward small talk. She stepped into the holodeck and stared at the black and gold grid curiously as the doors closed. She didn’t try to peek over his shoulder as he loaded the program. Sometimes surprises were nice.

When he did, the holodeck generated a recreation of Lake El’rond, Betazed, just as it would have looked the year Bethany left it.

~ Aasrel

Bethany scanned the scene, a look of curiosity crossing her face for a moment before her eyes landed on long forgotten land marks of her childhood. “Lake El’rond.” Memories assaulted her. The burble of small waves on the shore, the smell of wood smoke, her squeals of delight, her mother’s voice, and her father’s rich laughter, his strong arms lifting her from the water, the roughness of the towel as her mother dried her off, and the smell of her perfume.

Her heart raced at the same time her throat tightened. She swallowed once. “Aasrel…this is… just how I remember it.” Her gaze continued to scan the scene, but she stayed suspiciously close and quiet for awhile.

When she was able to allow the memory to dissipate she spoke again. “Thank you. This is beautiful and incredibly thoughtful. It invokes a very happy memory, but remembering makes me very sad.” Even though she wasn’t telepathic she apparently did carry with her the Betazoid trait for telling the truth.

Bethany

Aasrel waited for her to take it all in, smiling as he stood next to her. “I guessed what year to use based on your age and the age you said you were when you left.” He nodded, “I’m sorry it makes you sad. I hope it’s worth remembering for the happiness it brings you.”

Bethany nodded. “It is. I have always avoided any program about Betazed. I’m too stubborn. So thank you, for the nudge. It’s a wonderful memory. If I had to guess, it was probably just weeks before … before the occupation. The last time I remember us being happy.” She turned to look at him and smiled.

Aasrel smiled, but it was a little bit sad, too. “I may not be old enough to remember, but I do wish it hadn’t happened. It was a terrible thing.”

“I remember, but at the time I wasn’t really old enough to understand everything that was going on. Mostly I remember being really scared. Everything in the jungle was dangerous, but so was going home. I’m glad you don’t remember. I am also really glad it’s over.”

The area was unfamiliar to him and he was glad he’d gotten it right. Melfi was not close to Lake Elrond, and he’d never been himself. It looked beautiful. Another thought hit him and he looked at Bethany, “I… I hope you don’t feel like I’m trying to make you change your mind about your heritage, or anything. I just… Childhood memories are nice.” He smiled, a little shyly.

~ Aasrel

She set a hand on his upper arm. “No, not at all. It was very thoughtful. Thank you, really.” She looked around and drew in a deep breath. “Have you ever been here? Does it still look like this?”

Bethany

Aasrel shook his head and shrugged. “Sorry, never been.” He seemed to enjoy her touch. He glanced at her hand, then back to her face and smiled. “Maybe we can go when we go on shore leave there.” He frowned slightly. “It may not… Look quite the same. I know a lot of places were damaged or destroyed in the war. But there’ve been efforts to restore everything ever since.” He shrugged again.

~ Aasrel

Her gaze followed his to her hand and she smiled softly. Her hand found its way to his and she held it. “I don’t remember our house after. I know we went back, but we were in the hospital a lot, and mom was sick. Then she was better and we went to Earth.” She nodded, “I would really like that, for you to go there with me. Should we explore a little?”

Bethany

Aasrel turned his arm slightly to avoid her touching the implant. His hands were gloved, like always. He took her hand and squeezed gently, as if checking to be sure it was real. He smiled at her. “Yes, let’s. Show me all the places you remember.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany didn’t react when he turned his hand. They didn’t bother her, but she knew they did him. She wanted hom to be comfortable, but she also didn’t let go of his hand. “Ooookaaay. Ummm,” she looked around, combing her hair out if her face again. “It’s more impressions than specific details. I remember we walked through the woods to get here. There was a path…and the shore was sandy where we were.” She pointed off to the left. “Maybe over there?”

Bethany

Physically, they were fine. Emotionally, it reminded him they were there and that bothered him. He smiled, keeping hold of her hand, and nodded. “Okay, let’s try over there.” He started to lead the way that direction.

~ Aasrel

Bethany fell into step easily with him. She was quiet as she looked around. Taking it in. “It really is beautiful. It reminds me of Lake Lure on Earth. Except this is much bigger. Now I know why my mother loved it here. It felt like home, so she didn’t miss it.” As they weaved through the edge of the trees things started to look more familiar. She paused at the edge of the trees. “There, at the top of that out crop. My mom dived off. Scared my dad because she didn’t surface where he thought she would. She’d swum a ways out instead of coming straight up.”

Bethany

Aasrel looked at the outcropping and then the lake. “I would be scared, too. That’s doable, but it’s a pretty high jump.” He looked at her and smiled, “It really is beautiful.”

~ Aasrel

“I guess my mom was a really good swimmer. My uncles said she was a daredevil. She used to do things like that all the time when she was a kid. She used to compete in diving competitions.” She walked towards the edge of the water and stopped a few feet away. Her hand gripped his tightly suddenly. “There is a sudden drop off several feet out. I fell and went under.”

Bethany

“Your mom sounds cool,” Aasrel said. He squeezed her hand back softly. “Were you okay?” Of course she was, she was here, but he was trying to help her keep talking about it.

~ Aasrel

Bethany nodded. “Yeah. Scared myself and swallowed a bunch of water, coughed a lot. My… my dad was right there. Picked me up out of the water. Told me to hold my breath the next time. Then he showed me how and taught me how to float and tread water.” That was before he hated her. She hadn’t looked at these memories in a long time. They just made everything hurt more. She had adored her father. He had been the hero of all her childhood stories, but he had turned out to be anything else but that.

Bethany

Aasrel smiled and nodded. “Lucky he was there.” He looked at the water. He used to like swimming when he was a kid. He hadn’t been in a long time. He wouldn’t want to go, not now. “Do you still like to swim?” He asked.

~ Aasrel

“Yeah.” It came out a whisper. Bethany made herself push the emotions away. It didn’t matter and things wouldn’t change. She found her center and her perpetual grin reappeared. “Summers in the mountains are spent existing in the water. Swimming, fishing, water sports, lakes or rivers. An icy cold creek will do in a pinch. I suppose I do. I haven’t in awhile though. You?”

Bethany

Aasrel hesitated and then hugged her, hoping it was the right thing to do. It was a quick, gentle hug meant to help her feel better. Then he let her go. Her question made him shift and he shrugged. “Ummm… I used to.”

~ Aasrel

The hug made her smile and she leaned i to it, even though it was short lived. Her hand found his again and squeezed in silent thanks. It didn’t take long for Bethany to figure out that ‘used to’ meant before the Borg. She didn’t miss the shifting of his weight either. “Is that something you would like to do again?”

Bethany