Posted by Lieutenant Mykl Najjar (Chief Medical Officer) in Quarters - Najjar

Posted by Lieutenant Mykl Najjar (Chief Medical Officer) in Quarters - Najjar

Posted by Captain Kastarak (Commanding Officer) in Quarters - Najjar
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Mykl and Pic were playing a game of Pogar when her console beeped with an incomming message.

“You’re cheating, aren’t you?” she accused. “There is no way you are that lucky!”

He shook his head in the negative and laughed silently, signing that she was a sore loser.

Getting up to access the message, she looked back over her shoulder. “Don’t even think about looking at my cards while I’m over here.” Pic set his hand down and scooted back from the table. While he got a glass of juice, she pushed the necessary keys to bring up the communique.

“From the Royal House of Najjar
King Azizi sends his regards”

“Daughter,
It is my sorrowful duty to inform you of your brother’s death. Fadil was found in his room this morning, the victim of foul play. The doctors believe he was poisoned, but we still have much to investigate. Your mother is in deep mourning and refuses to speak or see anyone except her handmaid, Zayna. Eshaq is a great help right now. He is securing the house and only the most trusted are allowed near the family. We have also resorted to having ‘royal tasters’ even though the food is scanned in the kitchens and once more at the table. I don’t know if you are too far away to make it home for the burial, but try if you can.

I will write more later. I thought it important to let you know immediately as you could also be a target. Until we know more, please be careful. Your mother and I love you more than the grains of sand in the desert."

Your Father

Mykl made a choking sound as one hand raised to stifle the scream at the back of her throat. “NO..NO…no…”

Pic nearly dropped his glass. He was halfway across the room before he registered the look of shock on Najjar’s face. When he reached her, he pulled her body into his and turned her away from the screen. Suddenly, she was sobbing, clutching at the blue vest he wore. He focused on the open communication and read it over her shoulder. His hold on Mykl changed, it was subtle but definite—his arms went from comforting her to protecting her. No one would hurt her—he would see to that.

Lieutenant Mykl Najjar
Chief Medical Officer USS Chernov

Mykl’s grieving was a terrible thing. She and Fadil had been very close their entire lives and to think she would never see him or hear his laughter again was soul wrenching. Eventually, Pic was able to coax her over to the couch where he continued to hold her while she sobbed.

There weren’t many times in his service to her, where he had felt so inadequate, so helpless to ease her pain. But her loss settled on his shoulders like a weighted mantel. He knew Mykl had never experienced the death someone close before and had no idea how to navigate the onslaught of emotions she was dealing with now and those she would undergo in the days to come.

After a long time, when her cries had faded to soft inhaled hiccups, he pulled away and signed he needed to get up. She nodded and covered her face with her hands. A moment later, he returned with an icy, damp cloth for her swollen eyes, and a cup of jasmine tea, hoping to calm and soothe her. He immediately took his place back at her side on the couch, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began to softly wipe her face

Lieutenant Mykl Najjar
Chief Medical Officer USS Chernov

they hadn’t moved in over an hour and Pic’s arm was falling asleep. Mykl had finally gotten the hiccups under control from weeping and was settled tightly against his side. He’d managed to coax a half cup of tea into her but was having no luck getting her to take more. %Why don’t you take a shower? It will help you relax and then I’ll stay with you while you lay down. I’ll even make a hot toddy to help you sleep.%

She was worn out. Her face felt swollen and on fire at the same time and she needed to send a message back to her father so he knew she’d received the news. Thinking about what she’d say made her eyes tear up again and they burned the red, swollen tissue of her sockets.

There were no words spoken, but Mykl nodded and slowly made her way off of the couch. She didn’t notice how Pic kept flexing the arm that had been around her shoulders trying to reestablish blood flow, she just walked silently into the bathroom and began undressing.

Leaving a pile of clothes on the bathroom floor, she stepped into the sonic shower and put her forehead against the cool glass side. It felt good and delivered a bit of relief to her inflamed skin. By the time Pic knocked, she was sitting on the floor in the corner just letting the shower run. When there was no answer, he stepped into the bathroom and saw her staring off into the distance of past memories. With the grimace of a caregiver who is failing in their duties, he handed her another iced cloth for her face.

Lieutenant Mykl Najjar
Chief Medical Officer USS Chernov