Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in When Paparazzi Hide in the Bushes

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in When Paparazzi Hide in the Bushes

Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in When Paparazzi Hide in the Bushes
Posted by… suppressed (14) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Roman nodded. “We won’t have need of the room.” Then he turned and left to let Kovan work, heading back up towards his own quarters to check on Rand.

~ Roman

Randy waited for the door to close behind Roman and then went and sat on the bed with Rand. She was doing a great imitation of sleeping. She was hugging her pillow, blanket tucked in around her, face half hidden by blanket and her arms. Randy sat, propped up by the headboard, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, arms folded across his chest. Despite his bulk, he looked very solid and protective sitting there staring at her. “Ya know, ya can’t hide in here forever, Miranda. This is not a thing ya haven’t dealt with a’fore.” He waited, and finally with a deep sigh he bent down and lifted the edge of the blanket to look her in the face. “Sister-mine, ya can’t hide in here. I know ya wanted ta keep it secret…”

“Why do they hate me Randy?” She sounded so d@mn forelorne that Randy wanted to break something, preferably whoever sold those pictures with is fists.

“They don’t hate you, Rand. Most love ya, some are jealous and wish they were ya, and the others, well that’s the Paparazzi isn’t it? And they do it ta make money because of the other two groups.”

“B…but wh…wh…who would do that? I w…w…work hard.” Randy brushed her hair back from her face. “I don’t know, but the picture is over a year old. Whoever it was is probably gone.” Randy wasn’t so sure of that but he was going to tell Rand that anyway. “It’s really not that bad. Excitement that you’ve been spotted, speculation about you and Roman. They got his rank and position wrong, but they usually get facts wrong. They don’t even realize you are serving. We won’t respond at all. The Clan won’t either. You are going to get up and do yer work.”

Rand pressed her face into the pillow making a negative sound. “Yes Rand. Get up. Come on. Get up and put on the part. You said you wanted this, you wanted to be useful. You can’t do that hidin’ in yer room. You are the captain’s yeoman. You run this ship. If we learned anything from your accident, it’s we can’t function as a crew without you.” He tugged the blanket off her. “Come on, go get a shower, dress the part and plaster that polite, but I know better look on your face.” He gave her a long hard look, “It’s that or resign and go home.”

Rand looked at him, devastated. “I don’t wanna go home.” She hated when Randy got all tough on her. Randy knew it was necessary. He tugged her up to sitting, “Then Miranda Arabella Blair Elizabeth Scarlett Farquharson, get off yer arse, clean up, and do what you do best. Hold yer audience in the palm of yer hand. Go,” and he pushed her toward the bathroom.

Rand and Randy

Roman returned just as Randy pushed her into the bathroom. He sat on the bed and waved Randy over. “It was my attacker. My assassin sold our photos to the press. He’s not on the ship. Nothing we can do but make sure she’s okay.” He decided to lie to keep Randy from throwing away his career. It was mostly true anyway. “I am doing what I can, but the images are already sold. At this point ask we can do is wait until it dies down.”

~ Roman

Randy leaned against the half wall and stared at Roman a moment as that sank in. “Let’s not tell Rand that, unless we have to. We don’t know who did it. I told her it was probably someone who had already left the ship. Let her believe they were sent after the person left.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the closed door. “She’s…not okay, and she’s a bit miffed at me. I told her to deal with it or resign. She can’t hide in here.” Randy shrugged. “I told her to put on part, make the role hers. It’s what she did when she first came on board, she can do it again. She’s amazing at it. She can play the part of the perfect Yeoman. She is anyway, and be all business. She can’t not report for duty. It’s not good professionally or personally.”

Roman glanced at Randy. “Not tell her? He’s not on the ship. We’ve confirmed who it is and that he can’t do it again. Why wouldn’t we tell her that?” Then he sighed and nodded. “I’ll make sure she reports as normal. She knows she can’t not, regardless of personal issues. We both know she can do this.”

Randy nodded,”No you’re right. That might help. I’m just so used to…” he blew out a breath. “What bothers me though is the end of the article. It said there was more to come. That could be a tabloid ploy to get people to keep buying, or there could be more.” He glaced at the door again. “She can; she just needs to remember she can.”

Randy pinched the bridge of his nose before crossing his arms over his chest again. “It’s not like we didn’t deal with this sort of thing for years. She’s just…” he sighed, “She felt safe here, and now she doesn’t.”

Randy

Roman huffed an angry little huff. “Those rats don’t leave anyone alone, not ever. Took me years to get out of their way. Now it’ll take forever to do it again.” He shook his head again, “But I won’t let them get to her. I’d rather them harass me than her. And the missing Alden heir would be plenty of big news for them.”

~ Roman

“It would be, but in certain circles they wouldn’t even mention you except you are associated with Rand. Four years of total silence and they picked up on her before they mentioned you. She’s still a very big deal.” He stood up from where he was leaning against the wall. “I’ve got to get back. Maybe go do diagnostics on the field kits or something.” Randy left.

Randy

“I know…” he sighed. Roman sat on the bed and waited for Rand to come out. He was going to tell her that it was the assassin, and that they might have more old pictures but that they weren’t on the ship anymore and she should be safe. He hoped it would make her feel better.

~ Roman

Rand was in there for a lot longer than normal. Roman heard the water turn off and could hear her moving about quietly. When she came out she looked exactly as Roman knew her when she first came on board. Poised, perfect Officer. Her uniform was always immaculate, her boots were shinned, no tartan sash, her hair braided and twisted into a bun. All normal. What was different was Rand was wearing make-up. Not to inhance her looks but to hide she’d been crying. Her skin was flawless, no red spots or splotchiness. And just enough pale neutral eye shadow to distract from her eyes that were still slightly red. Most noticeable was that careful mask of strict professionalism and quiet attention and that subtle hint of something that made people not notice her.

She tugged at her sleeves and brushed invisible lint off her skirt as she walked out. Expecting Randy, Rand was surprised to see Roman. She had thought he went back to the lab. “Roman?”

Rand

Roman went up to her and hugged her, tightly. “A few more pictures might turn up but they’ll all be old. The seller of the images was my would-be assassin. No longer on the ship. You are safe.” He hated to see her this way, so upset like that. He would do anything to help her. “You have to go back to work, we both do, but everything will be okay.”

~ Roman

Rand hugged him, resting against his chest. Why would the assassin take pictures? Sell them of her? What was the point? They were trying to kill Roman and then her…why sell pictures to the paparazzi? Money? For lawyers? He wasn’t getting out of jail. Why sell them? He was against the old nobility, selling pictures of her didn’t help belittle her. The article was positive over all. Randy was right about that. Rand just didn’t want to be in the news.

Roman was right, she had to go back to work. She squeezed him tightly and then stood straight, tugging her uniform. “I’ll…be in the conference room. I have all my paperwork to finish, I’ll miss Nibbles today, I guess.” Rand had no idea Kovan was working in the conference room, but she couldn’t work in her office. She still couldn’t go in there, and the conference room was a good compromise because it got her out of her quarters.

Rand

“Not the conference room.” Roman said, looking down at her. “Sorry. It’s in use. Something came up without warning.” He really didn’t care why the assassin did it. He hugged her again, “I’ll see you after our shifts.”

~ Roman

Rand nodded, “Okay.” She supposed she would have to work here. Maybe that would give her more time to calm down before she had to talk to anyone.

It was a few hours later when Rand appeared in the science labs, looking quite put together, serene and all business. “Cmdr Alden, I need to speak with you, Sir.”

Rand

Roman had his hands in a jar of alien slime at the time Rand walked into the labs in search of him. When she said she needed him, all businesslike like that, he found himself assuming it was something serious. “Let me wash up.” He turned to the wash up station and washed his hands and arms and then gestured Rand to follow him to his CSO office. When they arrive, he looked at her. “What do you need to speak with me about?”

~ Roman

Rand set her PaDD down on his desk, turned toward him. “This. It came through the communiques. Marked priority 2 directly to me.” On the PaDD was a memo from Star Fleet command ordering her to download the attached files and give it directly to Alden, and specifically ordered not to speak to anyone, not even Cpt Rogers, about this communique. There was a place for him to sign that he had received the file. Rand set a data disk next to his console. “I have no idea what is on it. My codes allowed me to download the file directly to a secured disk, but weren’t high enough to open it.” Once Roman had signed, Rand left the office.

On the disk was a file. It instructed the Sentinel to hold position and in two days, the Landry would arrive and Cpt Rogers would be shuttled over with her things. It directed Alden to take immediate command of the Sentinel and to remain so until a replacement could be sent.

Rand

Roman signed for the file, entered his credentials, and opened the file. Once he read it, he immediately sent orders to the bridge to hold their position and that he was in command until further notice. He gave no other information. Then he went to find Rand.

~ Roman

Rand was making deliveries of special personal items that had been requested. She had to get signatures of delivery for these items. She was on deck 6 crew quarters when Roman found her. She paused in the corridor to wait for him.

Rand

Roman smiled at her, but his look was a little stressed. “Miranda. I am in command of the Sentinel until further notice. Command is sending transport for Captain Rogers. They’ll be sending a replacement. Didn’t say when. I trust I can expect your help until that replacement comes.”

~ Roman

Rand’s eyes widened in surprise. Again? Rand could already feel the exhaustion of those long endless hours. “Of course. I will make sure everything is ready for this evening.” Rand paused…they had to reset the security codes which could be dine anywhere. The key rods had to be re-etched. That had to be done in her office.

Rand