Juliet barely managed to contain the growl bubbling up in her throat as she turbo lift deposited her on the given floor and she stepped out. She didn’t nod it even acknowledge anyone she passed. She had never been accused of shirking her duties, much less completely ignoring them. She protected the Captain of the ship as she promised she would since arriving. He’d known that. He’d understood. He’d even thanked her.

But not the Commander.

He’d told her she’d neglected her RTF duties. He’d told her she should have left the CO to himself and assisted all the others on the deck in containing the anomaly. Then he’d gone so far as to dismiss her to look after Conrad until the situation was contained.

She paused a moment in her stream of thoughts. Captain Conrad…
“Captain Mackenzie!” She reminded herself.

As she rounded the corner, a mental shake ran through her. She had didn’t so much time with him in the runabout that she’d forgotten he was a ranking officer, equal to her CO, hitching a ride to another base. Sure, they had shared things. Folks often did with time stretching on like it had. She knew his favorite color, deep stormy blue. The color she’d wished her eyes were, instead of the deep sapphire jewel blue that granted her her nickname. And she knew he prefers cookies and cream ice cream. And that he laughed at how she preferred plain vanilla.

They had discussed many things. But it has been a fleeing friendship, so she’d figured. She thought she’d only see him in passing till he disembarked. But now, here she was, relegated to be his watcher till things calmed down. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to tap the come panel that would alert him to having a visitor. She then took a deep breath, squashed her shoulders, and told herself it wouldn’t be for long. And hopefully the good Captain Mackenzie wouldn’t feel slighted and send her away.

Ensign Juliet Anders
RTF/Security