Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in Memory: Deadly Food

Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Nagivation Officer) in Memory: Deadly Food

Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in Memory: Deadly Food
Posted by… suppressed (20) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Dùnna hugged him. “Do not apologize for them. They are grown adults and are responsible for themselves. Helena was raised better and knows it. She can deal with the consequences.” She hugged him again. “Marceau, fais un choix avec lequel tu peux vivre. Pas ce que quelqu’un d’autre veut. Vous êtes parfait comme vous choisissez d’être. Come back before I leave.”

Dúnna

“I don’t want to leave Starfleet,” Marceau said, “It’s not an option no matter what Lucy thinks of it.” He hugged her back when she hugged him and nodded. “I will come back tomorrow after class.”

~ Marceau

Dúnna smiled, “Good, I am glad. You have your epi? Good.” She hugged him and each of the rest as they left. Flenza pointed Marceau toward the ground car he had and Billy drove the other and they all piled in to head back.

Dúnna

“I have it.” Marceau replied. He left with the others. Later that night, he took public transport to get to Lucy’s. He wasn’t back until late.

The next day after class, as promised, he showed up where Dúnna was staying and knocked.

~ Marceau

Helena was in class, but much more subdued than her normal self. She didn’t ignore Marceau at all but she didn’t talk about what happened. After classes she disappeared, returning to the barracks and staying there until her next class. Kenneth brought her meals and she ate in her room. She hated she wouldn’t see her mom before she left, but she didn’t complain or protest.

Dúnna opened the door. “Marceau! Come in.” She closed the door and gave him a huge hug. “How are you feeling?”

Dúnna

Marceau had noticed how Helena was. He assumed it was whatever consequence Kenneth had assigned. He would have to ask Kenneth what exactly it was later. Dúnna pulled him in and hugged him and he smiled. “I am better. And there is nothing with peanuts in my room now.”

~ Marceau

“Good, I’m glad.” All evidence of the previous night’s meal was gone. No huge table or left out dishes, etc. Dúnna wanted to ask if he had spoken with Helena. The two were really close and she knew they had to be at odds at the moment. And she couldn’t imagine Lucy was happy either. Dùnna thought she was very very spoiled and selfish. Not a bad person, but she could see Marceau being walked all over if he wasn’t careful. Instead she asked, “How are your studies going? Did you get all your notes and lectures? Do you need help studying?”

Dúnna

The squad knew sometimes Marceau did let Lucy walk on him. “They are good. I’m passing everything.” It was awkward to answer her. He wasn’t used to anyone asking about his grades. His parents didn’t care and Lucy didn’t want to know, she hated Starfleet. “The squad gave me copies of everything I missed,” he added, “and the instructors are working with me to make sure I get it all.” He smiled a little, “Uh, thanks.”

~ Marceau

“They are good people, your squad. I am glad I got to meet them. I heard you and Helena talk so much. I am glad they are really as you described them.”

Marceau smiled. “They are. I am glad we were all assigned the same squad.”

She handed him a large mug of the hot chocolate he liked and then sat on the couch with him. “How are you feeling? Still tired?”

Dúnna

“A little tired, maybe. But I feel a lot better,” Marceau responded, sitting down with the hot chocolate. “I worry about peanuts in things I wouldn’t expect them in. I don’t want it to happen again,” he admitted.

~ Marceau

“You always will, but you will get used to the worry. You will also learn how to identify things that are safe or not. But you will be okay. It is manageable.” Then Dúnna set her hand on his arm and looked at him. Her worried mother look. He would come to recognize it quite well. “How are you after last night?”

Dúnna

Marceau nodded. He knew the squad would help him too, but he still worried about it. He looked up at her when she set her hand on his arm. Then down and away and shrugged awkwardly. “Lucy and I had a big fight about it and I haven’t had a chance to talk to Helena.”

~ Marceau

Marceau didn’t have a mother or father to ask about these things. They didn’t care and they certainly hadn’t given him an example of a loving relationship. “How do you feel after the fight? I know you really like Lucy. What was said?”

Dúnna

Marceau looked up at her like he was trying to decide how to answer. Would it be strange to answer honestly? Or if he did, would he be judged for how he handled things, like at home?

“She… We fought about her talking to my doctors, we fought about Starfleet again, and then we fought about the squad. She… She wanted me to ask to be reassigned.”

~ Marceau

Dúnna would never judge. Well judgement happened, people were human, but Marceau was her son as far as she was concerned. So guide and support but not judge.

She nodded and sat back, as if it was an easy conversation. “And what do you think of her reasons for all of that?”

“Selfish. She doesn’t like me in Starfleet, she doesn’t want me to leave when I graduate, and she only wants me assigned a new squad because she doesn’t like Helena.. or any of them really, after last night.”

“If you argued then you have different points of view. What are yours?”

Dúnna

“I told her I wasn’t quitting or transferring. That it would look bad and I don’t want to. She threatened to go to the school about what Helena said. I…” Marceau looked really, really ashamed. “I called her something I shouldn’t have. She told me to leave, so I did.”

~ Marceau

Dúnna nodded and sipped her coffee thoughtfully. “When we are angry we can say things we shouldn’t. The question becomes did you mean the sentiment behind the words or did you say them to hurt her the way she hurt you?”

“I meant it, but I shouldn’t have said it that way. I sounded like…” He sighed. It was his father he sounded like. The one person he never, ever wanted to be.

She nodded. “If you meant it, even if you should have said it differently, is that the kind of person you want to be romantic with?”

Marceau was quiet and shrugged. “She will change.”

“Do you want to fix it? Relationships are hard and you both are studying and will grow a lot and have different opportunities after you graduate. Do you think Lucy can make the step to support your dream?” She had heard Marceau talk about the work Lucy would be doing and how exciting it was and how supportive he was of her dreams. At least as far as Dúnna’s knowledge of it went.

Marceau hesitated and then nodded. “I think she can.” He could support hers, and she was a better person than he was. “I want to fix it.” He loved Lucy. They fought sometimes, but they’d work it out. The rest of the relationship was worth it to try.

Dúnna smiled. “It will be hard, especially after a fight. People fight. Torben and I have had some big fights, but we were worth fixing it. And you are worth it that work Marceau.” She was trying to tell him that Lucy should put the work on too. That he should be of value to her so that she tried, not just him trying. Without over stepping.

Marceau didn’t know Lucy wasn’t trying to fix it. Not meaningfully. She would beg him to stay with her, yes, but she wouldn’t want to change or address what caused their fight. He hadn’t realized that yet. “You and Torben fight?” He hadn’t been at their house that long, but they seemed so nice to him as a couple. Loving to each other.

Dúnna nodded, “Oh yes. Not in a very long time. Not since the children were little. We are two different people after all. We are not going to always see things the same way. Fights happen. It depends on what you do after that matters. Sometimes compromise is possible..sometimes it is not and one person has to give way. You have to decide if the compromise is good or if giving in for the other person is a choice you can live with.”

Marceau nodded again.

“As for Helena, I have never seen her lose her temper like that, but she knows better and knows her actions have consequences.”

Dúnna

“If Lucy goes to the school Helena will lose her place in the Academy.” Marceau replied, his answer immediate. “Helena is part of my squad. It was… misguided loyalty that made her do that. She deserves consequences, not to lose her future.”

~ Marceau

Dúnna laughed, “Misguided, no. Poor word choice, yes. Did she actually threaten Lucy? No she didn’t. She told Lucy their reaction if she threatened you. It is semantics and Helena should not have walked that line.” She looked at him a long moment. “Marceau let me ask you something, and you don’t have to tell me but you need to be very honest with yourself. Why is Lucy going to go to the school? Because she is truly afraid Helena will hurt her? If so, let her go. OR is she going because she wants to win, she wants to put Helena in her place because she is jealous? And if that is the case, you are facing a very big problem.”

Dúnna

“She knows Helena wouldn’t do that. Helena wouldn’t hurt anyone.” Marceau said. “What is the problem? That Lucy is jealous?”

~ Marceau

“So for Lucy this is about establishing power and who is in charge. That won’t end well for her. Helena and your squad won’t bow to her. And if you allow Lucy to try and support her you will lose your spot as leader and respect in Star Fleet.” She sipped her coffee, “And yes, Lucy is very jealous, Marceau. She is even jealous of me. She is jealous of your whole squad. Most especially Helena because Helena understands you in a more complete and deeper way than Lucy can. Helena, as you have said, is your best friend. Jealous women are often irrationally jealous of best friends and it’s worse when that friend is female.”

Dúnna

Marceau nodded and sighed a long, miserable sigh. He wasn’t sure what she meant by Helena understanding him differently than Lucy. Dúnna was right of course about the squad’s respect. Who had thought he would be a good captain anyway?! But it meant if he wanted to keep it he had to do something. “I will try to talk to Lucy again…”

~ Marceau

Dúnna set her cup down and placed her hands on either of his cheeks. “Oh Marceau. I don’t want to make this harder for you. Just give you a little outside perspective. It is so hard when we love someone and they do something that really hurts us. It does happen but it is not okay and they need to know that.” She kissed his cheek. “Now come, we will make some Laufabrauð before you go back to the Academy.”

The rest of the afternoon was much lighter and fun and comforting.

Dúnna

Marceau nodded again, and then smiled and followed her to the kitchen. He had loved laufabrauð in Iceland and liked helping her make things. The rest of the afternoon was more fun and comforting and seemed to help Marceau relax.

Later, he went back home to Lucy and they had another long, much calmer talk. The next day, Lucy met him for lunch and apologized to the blackjack squad.

~ Marceau

The squad informed Helena of Lucy’s apology. Helena was still on house arrest and would be for awhile. Helena didn’t comment on their news. Orders. And she knew Kenson would follow through if she didn’t behave. She supposed shebwould have to apologize at some point and it made bile rise in Helena’s throat to be swallowed back down. She wasn’t sorry. She was sorry it had upset Marceau, she wasn’t sorry she said it to Lucy. She had meant every word. It would be awhile though. Kenneth had her on house arrest and then campus for 2 months, and then she was forbidden to be around Lucy until Kenneth cleared her. So even of they were out and Lucy showed, Helena had to leave.

She supposed it didn’t matter much. Marceau hadn’t come ro talk to her. She supposed that was best. She didn’t know what to say to him, and what she should say was a lie.

Helena

Marceau came to see her after class the day of Lucy’s apology. He hadn’t had time before then between dealing with Lucy and seeing Helena’s mom before she left, and he’d wanted to figure out what to say about it first… Not that he knew even now. He’d asked Kenneth what her punishment was and only nodded when Kenneth told him. It would be difficult for him to divide time between Helena and Lucy, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

He knocked on her door and waited quietly for her to answer.

~ Marceau

Helena was sitting at her desk studying. There was nothing else to do, so she was pouring over her language notes. She could always use more practice. At the knock, she let out a quiet but sad and frustrated sigh. She knew that knock. She wasn’t ready to talk to him, but he was her CO and she couldn’t ignore him. She stood and walked over to the door and opened it and stepped back to let him in.

Helena