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 (48) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
“I don’t feel it so much when I’m with you.” The cold travelled up his implants and made his limbs feel colder. But he was being honest, leaning against her he didn’t feel it so much. He inhaled deeply and then sighed it out slowly. “I feel.... peaceful.” That was surprising to him. He hadn’t been able to say that in a long time now.

~ Aasrel

“I hope that’s a good thing. Come on, let’s get out of the water.” She didn’t seem to be in a hurry though. As they walked she spoke to the computer, and soon there was a fire blazing in a ring of stones on the sand. She sank down onto a blanket, that she’d requested as well, beside the fire.

Bethany

Aasrel moved out of the water with her and then sat down on the blanket next to her. “It’s a good thing,” he said, responding to her earlier comment. “It really is.” The fire was warm and helping to start drying his soaked clothes. “I’m having a really good time with you.”

~ Aasrel

“Good.” Her shoulder bumped his playfully, “I am really enjoying tonight and your company.” She grabbed a stick and poked at the fire distractedly. “I really am, Aasrel. Thank you. This evening has been unexpected and …” She looked at him with a grin, “peaceful. But also thrilling.” She found his hand again. “So what do you want to know?”

Bethany

Aasrel’s gloves were soaked. Water squished out of it when she took his hand. It was cold and uncomfortable, but he couldn’t bring himself to take them off. He took her hand and leaned into her. He pondered what to ask. “You have a friend who… went through what I did?”

~ Aasrel

Bethany didn’t think he could be comfortable in the wet gloves and socks. She nodded to his question. “Retured Admiral Jake Smith. He was abducted by the Borg for almost 3 years. They replaced him with a clone to serve on his ship. They were able to rescue him, his surgeries took a long time. Some of the implants couldn’t be removed. He had been assimilated for too long.”

Bethany

Aasrel nodded. His grip on her hand tightened. “It was only a few weeks for me. But they were being too hasty, trying to assimilate the crew of my ship too quickly. It’s why they can’t take mine off. I… I had more. I pushed and fought to get them removed. I’ve had a dozen surgeries in six months.” It hadn’t been safe, doing that many surgeries. But he’d managed to talk doctors into doing them.

~ Aasrel

Bethany nodded even as her hand held his more tightly in response. “His are mostly internal now. Not all of them, but mostly. The doctor onboard his ship worked a long time to help them all. I am sure you will have more surgeries. You will get there.” She squeezed his hand reassuringly. “The doctor is still around. The surgeries took awhile, trying to find ways to do it. We could ask him. I’m sure he published his work as well. We could do a search for it.”

“I have internal ones, too. At least one of them can’t be safely removed.” He frowned and sighed, “If he’s published his work, it’s likely I’ve already read it. We could ask him though. Maybe if he saw my case specifically he’d know something that wasn’t in his publishings…”

“First chance we have, we’ll ask. Or better, go see him.” With the new secure communications room she could probably reach T’Jal, bit it wasn’t worth the risk…yet.

She could tell he was uncomfortable, but hesitated and then decided it was best to say what she was thinking. He would be used to hearing her thoughts on normal circumstances. “If you want to wring the water out, it won’t bother me. I won’t look if you prefer. It can’t be comfortable.”

Bethany

It wasn’t. The cold was penetrating his fingers and toes and chilling him to the bone. The wetness was irritating his skin. She was right though, Aasrel was used to hearing the thoughts of those around him and what she said didn’t seem to upset him. “It’s… not just you seeing it.” He said. He let go of her hand and pulled off the left glove, squeezing some water out of it, then placing it by the fire. Then his left sock. As he did, he finished his thought, “It’s them being there at all. I have to see them.”

~ Aasrel

As he did she turned her face away, focusing on the lake, peering into the trees, trying to remember. The implants didn’t bother her at all, but she had offered. She reached, without looking and set a hand over his arm. “The reminder is hard. I understand. You survived though, and you’ll get through this too. Jake…he’s very open about his experience. T’Jal said he wasn’t always, but he wanted to help others. If you would like to talk to him too…”

Bethany

Aasrel started with the right sock. The one on his leg wasn’t as visible without socks as the one on his arm. He set it out by the fire. Then he pulled the right glove off. Her hand collided gently with his arm and he guided it down to his hand instead, taking her hand in his. Then he lay the glove by the fire.

She smiled as he guided her hand and wrapped her fingers around his palm. She could feel his weight shift and movement in her peripheral vision.

He hesitated before answering and then, “I don’t know. Let me think about it.... It’s not like we can contact him soon anyway.” The idea of talking to someone who’d been through it, and for longer than him, was more appealing than to some counselor. But he still just wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about it at all.

~ Aasrel

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to push, just offer. I don’t want you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with or do things you don’t want.” His hand was slightly damp from the glove, but with it off and the fire, it wasn’t noticeable for long. “Will you go back to Betazed when you retire? Or do you plan to purchase some exotic getaway on some pleasure planet somewhere?” It was a change of subject.

Bethany

“No, no, it was a polite offer,” Aasrel said, trying to make her feel better. “I’m just not sure I’m ready to talk about it.” He looked at Bethany. She was still looking away, towards the lake and the trees. “You.. um, you don’t have to keep looking away.” If she did, she’d be looking away forever while his clothes dried. At her question, he shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it depends. My family would want me to go back.”

~ Aasrel

“I can sympathize with that.” She turned her head, and when her eyes landed on him, she grinned. “Much better view this way.” She thought about it. “That’s nice. That they want you…to come back. But what do you want? I suppose my uncles would want me to live in Valle Crusix, since they have no children, but it was never home for me.”

Bethany

Aasrel shook his head. “I don’t know what I want. I guess it depends on where my life is when I retire. How I feel about things. I mean, I can’t bring myself to visit Betazed. I don’t want to think about living there right now.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany looked at him genuine caring curiosity. “Because…of what happened, or…” She hesitated. Did she want to know? Better to set realistic expectations now. “Or because you’re like me now?”

Bethany

Aasrel squeezed her hand. He couldn’t not be honest with her. “Both. But not because I think less of you or people like you.... us. Because of people like your father.” He looked at her, meeting her gaze, and kept squeezing her hand. “Please believe it’s not because I think less of you.” He wished desperately that they both had telepathy. She would be able to feel his sincerity.

~ Aasrel

That was not the answer she hoped for, but it was honest. That was more important. “I believe you.” She let out a sigh. “There are a lot of people like my father?” She had heard, in news and Intel reports about the Enlightened Mind Movement. Perhaps it was better to stay away. It was a nice fantasy while it lasted. Maybe, maybe after she had her eyes changed. Then the people on Betazed would just think she was an unenlightened human. Then again, bringing her in the guise might cause problems for Aasrel and his family. That would be a poor way to repay him for helping her. “It’s okay. My father made it very clear I would never be accepted. Thank you for the program, though.” She hated how much her father’s rejection hurt. It was alright, she’d get angry later and work through it, and put it away again. No amount of disappointment would change it.

Bethany

“They’re… A vocal minority,” sighed Aasrel. He frowned and sighed, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean to ruin the good time you were having.” Him and his stupid self confidence. He’d known how she’d take it and he’d still said it. “I still think going there with you would be a lot of fun. My family would accept you.” He said, and he seemed confident of that. Then he realized that implied she might meet his parents and flushed red. “You know, if… if you wanted to meet them. While we were there.” He said, a little awkwardly. He sighed, “It’s really not a Betazed problem, it’s a me problem. Promise.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany turned so she was fully facing him. She smiled and shook her head. “You haven’t ruined anything. I believe you. I do. You are not part of that minority.” She set a hand on his cheek and leaned in, kissing him with at least the same longing as earlier if not more.

Bethany

“But I-” Aasrel started, but before he could say it, she was kissing him again and he kissed her back. When the kiss ended, he leaned against her again. “I don’t want my… issues with myself to prevent you from reconnecting with your past. With your heritage.”

~ Aasrel

She smiled, “Anything that might prevent me from my heritage is my issue, not yours. I never expected nor wanted to reconnect with it. I had no reason to. If anything, you have given me a reason.” She kissed the corner of his mouth and grinned. “So, you want me to meet your parents, huh?”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled. “Telepathy or no, I’m glad you’re finding reasons to reconnect with it. There are parts of the culture besides telepathy. And of course, the planet is beautiful.” He put his hand back over hers - his bare hand now, his gloves were still drying and looked at her. Then he flushed again and grinned. “I meant more as a… Well, you know… Argh, forget it! Yes, I do! They’d love you. No matter what I introduced you as.”

~ Aasrel

It was different, his bare hand without the glove. Bethany focused on the feel for a moment. She didn’t know how often that would happen, but even if it was only once, she cherished the significance. “No matter what you introduced me as?” She couldn’t contain her grin as she repeated the statement. “Maybe we can work on defining the what between now and then. I would like to meet them, when you’re ready. Your siblings seem wonderful. What are your parents like?”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled. “I’m hoping it’ll be as ‘girlfriend’. But I don’t know if it’s too soon for that… No telepathy makes this whole dating thing way harder.” He thought for a moment, thinking of his parents. “Very polite people, genuinely nice people. Never a bad or judgemental thought about someone, unless they deserved it.” Like her father, he thought, but he didn’t think she’d appreciate that, so he pushed it away. “My mom works for the city of Melfi and my dad was a Starfleet officer himself. Now he stays home. When I was younger, he’d be gone a lot, but use all his leave time to come see us. My mom always had a lot of time for us, her job wasn’t very demanding. Now that we’re all grown up and my dad’s retired, they’re taking more time for each other.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany grinned, “I can think of a few people on need of judgement. What did your father do?” She paused and then looked at him. “He was away during the war wasn’t he?” It was a logical deduction given the time frame. “That must have been very difficult on both of them. To be separated. Is that why your mother didn’t live on his ships with him? Because of the war?”

Aasrel paused and thought. “I don’t know. They and my older brother don’t talk about it much.” He frowned. “Maybe I should ask them. Or maybe I shouldn’t, it might not have been a pleasant time for them.”

Her finger tapped against his in thought, “Maybe you should ask, but respect if they don’t want to talk about it. I… and this is me, but I think it is important to talk about it. A lot went wrong and major things went right. It’s important to not lose those lessons.”

Aasrel nodded. “I’ll put it in there the next time I write them.”

“They sound very nice. I hope they are enjoying their together. That’s the goal of marriage after all. To be able to focus on the person that matters most to you?” She circled back though, “I suppose telepathy would make it easier. You wouldn’t have to guess about anything.” It seemed confusing to her. She thought and felt many things in a single moment, evaluating situations and encounters. How did you decide what was the thing in a person’s thoughts that was relevant. She took his other hand. “So what can we do to make this whole dating thing easier?”

Bethany

Aasrel nodded. “I hope they are, too.” He smiled and gave her hand a little squeeze. “A lot of honesty, I think.” He said, meeting her gaze. “A lot of honesty and communication.”

~ Aasrel

“I think that is important in any relationship. I am not used to openly sharing whatever I am thinking. I won’t lie. I’m just used to keeping things to myself. So you might need to nudge me, okay?”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled and nodded. “Of course. Humans aren’t quite as open as Betazoids tend to be… I learned that in the academy, the hard way.” He grinned bashfully and shook his head. “That’s a lesson you don’t forget.”

~ Aasrel

Bethany chuckled, but it was dark. “I learned from my father to keep to myself. My uncles, my human uncles, on the other hand were always open and honest with me. But in general Humans consider a great deal more to be private. Our idea of manners and courtesy is also different from Betazoids.” She looked at him, “What happened?”

Bethany

“It was my roommates friend. I… empathically felt his affection towards a girl and commented on it without thinking.” He looked like he was going to slap his own forehead. “He was very offended.” He squeezed her hand gently. “Well, whatever your father thinks, I like your openness.”

~ Aasrel

“Ah…yeah. I never understood why people are so hesitant to say they like someone. I spent my teen years on Earth, but I still don’t get the shyness.” She shrugged, it was a trait she had retained from her childhood. “I will always be open. On my own I tend to be a very quiet person. The opposite of what I let people see. Part my childhood, part the training.”

Bethany

Aasrel shook his head, “I don’t get it either.” He smiled at her and nodded. “I hope my openness doesn’t bother you. I dated a human once… She would sometimes be annoyed and say I was being too open.”

~ Aasrel

“No, I don’t see that being a problem. Some things they say about Intel are true. Too many secrets, too many lies, too much, well everything. The wrong everythings. I haven’t had many long serious relationships, but for myself, I want my personal life being as far away from that work as possible. Openess is very welcome.”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled. “Then for however long this relationship lasts, I hereby promise to always be the opposite of your work. While also hoping intel doesn’t take you someplace far away.” He was just a doctor, a doctor who didn’t have much to care about anymore. At least her work did something. He used to love his job. Now he could barely drag himself out of bed. He didn’t want to think about that, though. He wanted to focus on their nice date. He leaned into her again and sighed. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

~ Aasrel

She leaned in, resting her forehead against his, eyes closed for a moment. “I really would like this to last, not for however long, but just last. I really like you, Aasrel. I hope this becomes much more than just a couple of dinners.” She stayed still and gripped his hand. Then sighed heavily. “I wish I could say Intel won’t move me. This assignment wasn’t supposed to be like this. I’m supposed to be done, mostly. But damn FedSec has dragged me into this chaos.” She sighed again. “It’s a heavy conversation, one we should have. I just don’t know if right now is the time.”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled, blushing lightly. “I really like you, too.” He sighed again against her and shrugged. “This is the first time I’ve been on anything like this. I think because they thought my being a traitor would be believable. Because of what I went through, I guess. I dunno…” He shrugged again and shook his head. “I don’t want to have it now. I want to focus on being happy.”

~ Aasrel

“I was hoping you would say that.” The fire crackled and there was the universal smell of wood smoke. It tickled at her senses, but she knew it was neither correct for Earth nor Betazed. But it was a peaceful setting. Her voice turned low, softer, warmer. “So, what can I do to convince you to say I’m your girl friend when I meet your parents?”

Bethany

It was a peaceful setting, and Aasrel looked relaxed, more so than he ever did in public. His gloves were beginning to dry, but he hadn’t even checked them. His hand remained in Bethany’s, just liking the warmth of her hand there. The smell of the fire wasn’t quite right, but it was still nice. “Hmmm…” He said playfully, pretending to think. “Kiss me some more? Promise to go on another date with me soon?”

~ Aasrel

“Promise,” she whispered against his lips as her free arm went around his shoulders. She kissed him slowly, letting it stretch and linger while the programed sun began to make way for three moons in the artificial sky.

Bethany

Aasrel kissed her back, slow and lingering, letting himself relax into her. He set an arm around her and sighed contentedly. In a break in the kiss, “I hope for more days like this.” Then he went right back to kissing her.

~ Aasrel

She liked the way his arm felt around her; the warmth drawing her in closer. His acceptance and openness made her feel comfortable, and being there with him like that made her feel exhilarated. It was an addictive feeling, and she mumbled her agreement to more days like this. She let go of his hand, her palm smoothing up his arm and over his shoulder, wrapping around him and pulling herself closer.

Bethany

Bethany felt like the only thing connecting Aasrel back to himself again. Like she was pulling him back together, despite the cavernous hole in his soul where his telepathy used to be. When she let go of his hand he moved it up, resting it gently on her back just above her waist. For a few wonderful moments, his implants didn’t exist to him anymore.

~ Aasrel

If she was pulling him back together, Aasrel was holding out a piece of herself she had long thought lost. A part she had fully rejected and memories she didn’t know she actually missed. Bethany was aware of his implants, in the sense that they were a part of him, and she noticed details. She didn’t notice them in the sense they didn’t bother or make her think of him differently. They just were. For long wonderful moments it was just them and none of the worries and concerns of the world’s around them.

Bethany

Aasrel didn’t like the implants touched, that much was clear. If she came too close to touching them, he’d shift them away. They were like long metal pieces attached to his limbs, both for utility, like the assimilation tubules, and as a support or skeleton for Borg exoplating.

The first time she gave a nano second mental pause trying to figure out why he shifted away before she realized why. After that she was careful to not accidently bump them.

Aasrel broke the kiss off at last, though he did not pull away. His arm stayed around her, his hand rested still against her back. He looked at her for a long moment, as if simply taking in the details of her face. He knew she wanted to change her eyes, to make them look human. He liked them the way they were. They were beautiful. “Should we stay here, or free up the holodeck for someone else?” He asked, voice soft and quiet. Either way was fine with him. But they had been in there a while.

~ Aasrel

She stared back at him, quiet and breathless. She flushed a little at the intensity of his stare. She kept her arms around him and sighed. “I suppose we should free it up. Now that we have two people are eager to get their time in. I really don’t want to end the evening though.”

Bethany

Aasrel grinned. “I don’t either. So… My quarters or yours?” He kept his gaze locked with hers, his arms still around her. Her blush was cute. All of her was cute, though. “And next time, I’ll show you my other program.”

~ Aasrel

She liked his quiet unabashed confidence. The way he held her gaze without hesitation. As if there was nothing frightening or disappointing to be found in her gaze. “Mine.” Aasrel may not be aware but though Bethany shared her coffee, she rarely let anyone into her personal space for more than a brief conversation. There were exceptions, but they were extreme. So the statement was more than making a simple choice. “Good, I hope it’s soon.”

Bethany

To Aasrel it was little more than a simple choice. He was a little glad she’d picked hers, just because his were the place of his misery. The place he went to wallow in self despair. It was dark and kind of messy and just depressing in there.

He smiled. There was absolutely nothing disappointing to him. Nothing frightening. Where he typically avoided eye contact these days, because he hated people looking at his eye, he seemed completely oblivious to his usual feelings. He grabbed his still damp, but much drier, things from next to the fire, and put them back on before standing. “Computer, end program.”

Bethany stood in a fluid movement. When the program ended, she took a deep breath. The damp in her clothes was gone as the water disappeared. “Better?” she asked him. She walked across the grid and grabbed her socks, shoes, and jacket where she had dropped them.

The dampness disappeared with the water. He stretched his hands in the gloves. “Definitely.”

The scene of Lake El’rond disappeared, leaving an empty holodeck. Aasrel gestured to the door. “Lead the way.”

~ Aasrel

She lead the way to the lift and up to deck 4. Her quarters were past sickbay, almost on the other side of the deck. She pressed the controls and the doors slid open. Her quarters were standard. All one room. Her uniform was tossed at the end of her bed, a duffle sat open on her desk, and a crate was cracked open but not unpacked. On a side table by the couch was an actual coffee machine, with various insulated cups and paraphernalia beside it. “Come on in.” She stepped through and out of the way so he could enter and allow the door to shut.

Bethany

Aasrel stepped in behind her, looking around slowly, taking in the space. “Nice setup.” He commented. “Ah, the famous coffee maker. Maybe one day I’ll be up early enough to take advantage of it.” Probably not. He could barely drag himself out of bed. He stood politely near the door.

~ Aasrel

She shrugged, “Standard quarters. Though I am glad to not have to share the bathroom anymore. I haven’t really unpacked yet.” Bethany laughed. “Well, let’s fix that.” She tugged his hand, “You can sit down. Anywhere you want.” She moved over to the coffee machine. She dug into the crate and pulled out a mostly full container of coffee. She began scooping the dark rich grounds into a filter and placed it inside and then flipped it on. “Don’t worry, this one is decaf.” She sat down on the couch while it brewed.

Bethany

Aasrel sat down on the couch. “I was promoted to CMO recently. I’m still not used to department head quarters,” he commented. When she sat on the sofa, coffee maker on, he reached his hand over next to her for her to take. “Good. Caffeine will keep me up all night… More than I already am.”

~ Aasrel

“Same.” She turned so she was sitting sideways with one leg tucked under her. She folded her arm across the back of the couch and leaned her head on her hand. She smiled and took his hand when he set it next to hers. “When this all started, with my health, I thought I was drinking too much caffeine, so I stopped. Now, it works better to keep me awake. I have enough trouble sleeping, I don’t need to make it worse.”

Bethany