Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in Unpacking More Than Books -

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Unpacking More Than Books -

Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in Unpacking More Than Books -

(snip)

Karilan stopped eating and thought for a long moment. “Well… I really want to say no; but I think that would be me lying to myself. Star Fleet had always been a goal… but once I made it into the fleet I have to say I was not a fan of the utter regimentation. I loved the work… but all the rest was irritating at times. But back then, I would never have considered not being in Star Fleet. When I went to the Daystrom Institute, I think I 3as trying to find a balance between the pure application of learning I received at the Academy and the desire to do more… creative… expressions of myself.” and they laughed. “So in short, I probably would have stayed if she had not passed. But I learned with her passing that life is too short to not do.”

Karilan

Eela nodded. “I can understand that. It’s not unlike when I turned down being promoted after my accident. Yes, I could have stayed in uniform, and yes I agree that I could have made a great member of the brass. But when it came to Starfleet I knew that first day I sat down in as a captain in that centre seat that that is where I was meant to be while I was in uniform.” She gestured with her fork. “Don’t think the irony of my becoming an administrator here is lost on me.”

“Its not lost anyone that knows you, Eela.” they said with a grin.

“I was just thinking of your love for finding creative engineering solutions, like for making my nook accessible. You know, there’s definitely a place around here for a lot more of that,” Eela said.

~Eela

Karilan shrugged and said “One would think. But between the Star Fleet Engineers looking at me like I betrayed them somehow by leaving the uniform and the civilian sector just wanting to say ‘We have a Daystrom Awardee on staff’, I have been hard pressed to find an outlet that would just let me create. But I am not giving up. My best friend once said to me: Maybe I need to call back some of the pieces of myself I’ve left behind, allow them to propel me into new things.” and they grinned.

Karilan

She chuckled. “I have no idea what it would look like but I see you doing something uniquely your own without joining something others are already doing.” Eela shrugged. “You have a thriving business already, Karilan. You don’t need to do anything, but that doesn’t mean you should have some fun and play a little.”

Her attention was drawn by someone being focused on her. Eela turned her head in that direction and gave a tiny smile at a woman who just discovered that yes, her guess was right. It was Eela sitting at the table. With a subtle nod, Eela focused back on Karilan, amusement in her eyes. “I think that’s a record for how long I’ve gone unnoticed in public,” she said quietly, breaking into a grin. Karilan had been right that it was going to be fine. But that wasn’t the point. It was one of a series of firsts she had to experience after her life got tumbled around. Sometimes it was simply a matter of confirming that, yes, she really was standing on her own two feet again.

~Eela