Posted by Lieutenant Casela Synthi-er (Counsellor / RTF) in There’s a first time for everything

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Ryder Raauhl (Executive Officer) in There’s a first time for everything

Posted by Lieutenant Casela Synthi-er (Counsellor / RTF) in There’s a first time for everything
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip)
“Well I was thinking, perhaps you should move some of your stuff into my room? Its bigger and well you spend a lot of time there anyway whether I’m there or not” He shrugged, he never struggled with words or conversation especially with Casela, he was the usual confident type but asking her to move in with him after a few months was a big step but in their profession, things tend to go fast a lot. “I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to, I just figured it was… Practical?” He really should stop speaking he thought as he looked to Casela, searching her eyes for her answer.

• Lt Cmdr Raauhl, XO

Practical? Well it certainly would be that. Her father, though, would tell her that in matters such as these, there was no practical, only the heart and what was right or wrong for the two involved. “Practical would be keeping my quarters. There are many things I do, as an operative, that you probably don’t want to be reminded of. Many times I’m called in the middle of the night for RTF or counseling. Fenrir stays with me and not to mention Gen tends to just pop in whenever she needs to.” Speaking of Gen that’s probably something they should talk about if she was moving in with Ryder. “But this isn’t a practical decision. This is about what we want.” She didn’t need to ask him what he wanted. He wouldn’t be asking her, suggesting she move in with him if he didn’t want it. Did she want it? He’s a good match for you, Casela. Why are you hesitating? She pondered that question quite a bit lately. She put the wine down and turned to look at him. “If none of that bothers you, then yes Ryder I want to.”
Lt Synthi-er, CNS

Ryder listened, he understood and finally, he let out a breath “That’s what I want, we don’t have to give up your quarters not right away but I think this is a step in the best direction and anything and everything that comes with it I’m will to make the sacrifice, Fenrir, RTF and counselling sessions even… Gen?” He left her name in the air half asking a question, inviting her to explain further.

• LtCmdr Raauhl, XO

Casela smiled, softly, a little. “I don’t use my quarters anyway. Never had. The corridor is too busy. But if it doesn’t bother you…” She sipped the wine. She was nervous, she had no idea what she was doing. Gen? and that was such a loaded question. “Gen is…well under normal circumstances I would have taken her to Delotha. To grow up with normal children, have a somewhat normal life, to be a normal kid. But Gen is not typical and given her circumstances she is far safer on board Leviathan than anywhere else.” Ryder would know, now, her involvement with the children, that she had brought them there. Taken them when no one else would, and given them a place on Delotha. “I am responsible for Gen. We’ve..” she sighed. “Oh the four gods take it all. She’s mine, maybe not legally, but she is. I care about her. If circumstances were different, I would adopt her. And Gen wants it. She hasn’t said it out loud, but she thinks about it a lot. She doesn’t have anyone else.” She met his gaze. This wasn’t what he had asked for–a family. He just wanted her to move in with him. She wasn’t even sure she could adopt Gen if it came down to it. Who would give her custody of a child. But she didn’t love Gen any less. “She struggles, she’s all alone, but she has me.” Would he understand?
Lt Synthi-er, CNS

He watched her carefully as she spoke, he may not be a telepath but he was good at reading people though their word and facial expression, “Then we should ask her too.” Ryder said finally, “My quarters are big enough and I have also noticed that she seems… lost maybe giving her some stability shed to find her place here. It a lot faster pace than I expected but then again, I do have four lifetimes in me so that’ll be new, and maybe someday once we figure it out we can adopt her… legally speaking, if its possible.” Ryder wasn’st sure how or when but he wanted to show Casela he was serious and Gen was a sweet girl, and his past lives gave him the knowledge, they’d do fine. If Gen accepted them ofcourse.

• LtCmdr Raauhl, XO

Casela blinked, she wasn’t expecting that. But then Ryder never did what she expected, unlike everyone else around her, she could never predict what he was going to do.
Oh this was dangerous. Most people would probably ask him if he was serious, but Casela knew he wouldn’t say it if he didn’t mean it. But there were issues that had to be delt with. He wasn’t going to like what she was going to do next. She briefly considered not telling him, but that wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t the way this kind of thing worked. “Faster…everything about this is faster, Ryder.” It was a statement and a question.

“Maybe you can adopt her. I can’t. There are too many loose ends.” She sighed and considered. “I think maybe it’s time to take care of them. I can use my leave time to do it.”
Lt. Synthi-er, CNS

So perhaps he wasn’t engaging all of his brain cells but the suggestion that he alone adopt her took Him by surprise, “I don’t understand? What loose ends?” He had figured Gens adoption was due to the fact that she shouldnt exactly excist atleast not on the levels they understood, “I mean if she is willing and its what she wants but why not both of us, where and why do you need to go?”

• LtCmdr Raauhl, XO

She looked very sad for a moment. “Ryder, I won’t apologize for the things I’ve done, before I came here. I swore an oath to the protection of the Federation at all costs, and I have paid it many times over. But it has left me with assignments that were never finished as finally as I wish. More importantly,” she looks away, up at the trees, into the distance. “Mad Man might not be dead and he knows who I am. And then there is that problem with the Shadow. I don’t want Gen, or you, put at risk because of me.” Better to just say it she supposed. “It never mattered before. But I never had anyone I cared about before.”
Lt. Synthi-er, CNS

“I understand” He said just as sadly, “But you don’t have to do it alone, I’ve lived many life times and have seen many things, done many things and some I’m not proud of either but something I’ve learnt during those years is that problems shared are problems halved. Let me come with you, I can help and when we come back we can speak to Gen. I’ll adopt her if that is what we want, what she wants. I didn’t except to start a family but then again I’m trill so nothing is ever expected or normal.”

-LtCmdr Raauhl, XO

She breathed, slowly, watching him. “You want to go with me? You understand that this isn’t a diplomatic mission? You might not like what you see. I know Star Fleet’s rules, and I have no problem following them, but some times, things don’t go that way.” And there was her oath, to T’Jal, to D9 and she would not break it. “And as I recall you had a plan for the Shadow? Maybe we should start there.” And another thought came unbidden, if Gen why not Alyssa too. Could she do that? Should she do that?

“Would Cobb let you go with me?”
Lt Synthi-er, CNS

“Probabaly not” He sighed, “The thought of you leaving though… I won’t question why you have to go, but it does pain me greatly. I don’t want you to go, and if you do id want to go with you, but you’re right maybe I won’t have what it takes and I have a responsibility here, its not right that you’d have to deal with this… Alone.” Ryder wanted to admit that he’d be abke to do what it would take, but even Casela knew him better, his loyalty to starfleet, to Cobb. Did it out weigh his love for her? Or was it that he knew she’d get it done without him.

“When?” He asked, “When do you go?”

-LtCmdr Raauhl, XO

Casela considered, “That depends. Will Cobb let me go? Would he let me go alone? Probably not, so there’s a good chance he might let you go. If he says no to me going, then…I don’t want to do it that way, but I could get myself reassigned so I can go, but the idea is to stay off the section’s radar.” She paused to consider, “I week at the fastest, but I think that would be wreckless. I need time to gather information and resources.” Casela had seen him work, seen him face down anomalies. He could do the work. “I have no doubt, Ryder, that you can do what it takes, but it will test your resolve and your ethics.” She’d talked to Ch’otok about this. Ryder had the right to choose even if the idea of him going terrified her. Not really aware of it she’d reached for his hand. She didn’t want to do this, but she wanted the possibility of this life he was offering her. She could read his thoughts if she chose and she wanted him to be able to have that same insight. “The idea of you going scares me because I know what he is capable of, but I don’t like the idea of going without you either. If you go, you may not like who I am.” It was a warning, and maybe her way of stopping either of them from moving too fast into anything else without consideration.

“You cant know what I like or who I like, after all, I like… Love you” He smiled, “We are due a shore leave soon we could use that time to go do what we need. Maybe just information gathering for now and then in a few weeks or months time we act, the Captain, for now, need not know as long as we don’t put the crew at risk”

In an effort to lighten the mood and return to their picnic she teased him. “So if I’m moving in with you, does that mean I get the combination to the locker where you keep all my weapons?”
Lt. Synthi-er, CNS

“There never was a combination, I just said that so you wouldn’t go looking for them.” He chuckled, “So you can have your weapons since they’ll be in ‘our’ room.” He paused and then said after a short while, “Hmm, I like the sound of that, ‘our’ room. Almost comes natural, who knew huh?” he loved teasing Casela, it was perhaps his favourite past time. “Will you need help moving in?”

• Lt Cmdr Rauuhl, XO