Posted by Civilian Jezem (Upstanding Citizen) in Consequences for Bad Decisions

Posted by Civilian Thyr Th’arialat (Resident) in Consequences for Bad Decisions

Posted by Civilian Jezem (Upstanding Citizen) in Consequences for Bad Decisions
Posted by… suppressed (43) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Thyr had lasted about two hours in bed before he got bored, changed ever so carefully into the Orion wraps that were so comfortable when he was hurt, and hauled his sore backside into his living room. He settled in on the sofa and turned on an Orion soap, laying carefully with his injured side up and at rest. He didn’t expect Séan to be back anytime soon, he’d be at the hospital with the counselor girl for quite a while. So, he thought he had no reason to expect company.

~ Thyr

On the screen the dramatic climax of convoluted character arc played out. The characters shouting, on edge, knives and guns raised as the anger and fear they’d secretly fostered busrt to the surface at a wild boil. For several tense moments nothing happened, then one finger slips, a shot is fired. That one spark is all it took for artfully framed violence to play out. Jezem entered the room, carrying a mundane grocery tote filled with fresh finds from the markets. Shivan had been awfully quiet of late so a visit was in order.

“Oi!” Jezem shouted as a woman stabbed another on the screen, “Get your lazy ass up and help me put this produce away.”

Jezem Upstanding Citizen

Shivan jumped and looked up at Jezem, causing him to utter an involuntary “ouch!” Then he thought a string of colorful language. “I wasn’t expecting you to show up.” He said, not moving from his spot on the sofa. He turned slightly so the bandaged wound was against the sofa - not comfortable, but Jezem wouldn’t see it right away. It was on his left side near the back, up by his upper back. Like someone had stabbed him in the back going for the kill, but he’d moved out of the way and caused them to strike off target.

~ Thyr

Jezem raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the cry of pain. The idiot must have spent all on the couch all day and pulled something with the sudden movement. “Was I supposed to call ahead?” He said, tone dry and mocking. Shivan’s never complained about him showing up randomly before. The both of them coming and going as they pleased from either of their living spaces. Something wasn’t right. Jezem’s eyes narrowed, “Well? Are you going to keep lying there or are you going to help me? I bought all this fresh food for you so you don’t gorge yourself fat on processed junk.”

Jezem Upstanding Citizen

Oh, Shivan had missed that dry, mocking tone. It was essentially their secret language. He watched Jezem’s look. The Orion suspected something. Hmm… Séan had closed the wound at least, borrowed an autosuterer from the hospital. Maybe he could lie? No, Jezem could read him better than anyone. He’d call him an idiot for trying. Shivan chose option B: Pretend nothing happened and ignore it entirely. He slowly stood from the couch, picked a light back, and brought it to the kitchen.

~ Thyr

Oh, something is up. Jezem knew Shivan. You don’t live on the same small ship for years and not pick up on what made a person. Their quirks, habits and all the rest. The idiot had gone and injured himself again. Jezem kept this revelation off his face only muttering an annoyed, “About time,” as he carried the remaining bags into the kitchen. “What have you been up to? I called the other day but I didn’t get an answer.” Jezem scowled at the sad, disgusting state of Shivan’s fridge. Take-out boxes, smelly containers of liquid and not a fruit or vegetable in sight. “Ugh.”

Jezem Upstanding Citizen

There was at least, some fresh human food in take out containers from the square outside the hospital. Someone from the hospital had brought him food. So fresh, some of it was still a tiny bit warm. “I’ve been busy. Usual business, that sort of thing.” Shivan replied. He helped unpack the things Jezem brought, his movements slow and careful.

~ Thyr

Jezem’s frown deepened after inspecting one container. Hospital food. Someone that was just here. . . perhaps Séan? If Shivan had gotten hurt why hadn’t the counselor alerted him? Seems Jezem will get to be pissed at two people today. Oh will the joys of colony life ever cease? “Usual business,” Jezem repeated in that same dry tone but there was an undercurrent of something dangerous to it. The hint of a knife’s edge beneath the fabric. Jezem slammed the door shut and rounded on Shivan, “You’re lying” he hissed.

Jezem Upstanding Citizen

Shivan took a calm step back, as if surprised but (wisely) wary of Jezem when he was angry like this. Especially as not-yet-healed as Shivan was. “Not exactly lying, no. Depends on your definition of usual. Usual now or usual five years ago. Things that happen every day, or once in a while. See? Not lying.”

~ Thyr

“Not exactly lying?” Jezem advanced forward, rage building. Shivan never was much of a liar and this use of semantics further proved that he was hiding something from Jezem. “Why is it that you only use your head when you’re been caught and not before you get yourself injured again!” Jezem pounced, but he wasn’t aiming for Shivan directly. No, the goal was to get behind the andorian and see for himself what kind of injury has him weak and limping around.

Jezem the Upstanding Citizen

The injury must be bad because Shivan was in survival mode. He was on the defensive, and very carefully. Because when Jezem pounced, Shivan sidestepped and turned and punched, hard. It turned out the Orion wasn’t trying to hit him at all, just get behind him, but Shivan’s punch still landed, and solidly.

Jezem didn’t get much of a chance to see the wound, with the way Shivan turned to him and slugged him, but it was definitely a stab wound, some kind of large knife. Definitely illegal. The wound was deep and bad, and painful, though that was helped by the pain meds Séan had brought him. The surface was sutured closed with an autosuterer, but the wound hadn’t been mended with any regenerators. Then there was the various bruising of various severity, about a day old, maybe a little more, across his body.

“Sorry,” the Andorian huffed. The wound had him weakened. “Didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”

~ Thyr

Jezem cursed loudly at the hit as he was sent reeling back. Right before the hit he manged to catch a glimpse of the wound but that was all the time he needed to know that Shivan had badly injured himself and didn’t tell Jezem. Again. He pulled back, putting space between him and Shivan. Breathing heavily as he pressed his hand against the blossoming bruise across the side of his face. Shivan punched like an animal. Wild desperation and without restraint. “Sisters, Shivan!” Jezem said, spitting angry, “Were you out picking fights again?” He recalled the take-out boxes in the fridge and the anger only compiled, “I thought that counselor was supposed to keep you out of trouble not getting you stabbed!”

Jezem the Upstanding Citizen

Shivan raised his hands showing he wasn’t going to hit again. “No, I wasn’t picking fights.” He took a seat in one of the kitchen chairs and set a hand over the stitched closed wound. “He… he needed help. Thugs had taken his girlfriend.” Shivan shook his head. “I wasn’t going to help - honest, but damn that counselor is convincing… And well, it was a fun little mission.” He sighed then, “But yeah, I got stabbed by one of those thugs. I was just a bit too slow.”

~ Thyr

“Then what were you doing? And don’t tell me you fell backwards on one of your own swords!” He said though a part of him wished that was the truth. That Shivan did something stupid but boring. Despite wishing that he knew it wasn’t the case. The weapon that did that kind of damage wasn’t the legal kind. Jezem stepped closer, listening with narrowed eyes as Shivan explained what happened. His hands tightened into fists but was deadly still, “Is that all? Had so much fun you didn’t think to contact me?” Thugs stealing a Starfleet officer weren’t small time. It would have been a calculated move by a group with the resources to pull it off.

Jezem could have helped. Could have prevented the injury all together. And the counselor, who may as well been as big an idiot as Shivan, let him come along despite Shivan needing to keep a low profile. Jezem’s voice was tight when he asked, “If I hadn’t come by today would you have even told me at all?”

Jezem Upstanding Citizen

“W-well, you’ve been busy with Argam’s business, and I took care of it. I didn’t really think you’d care. The thugs, they were organized. Definitely not small time nobodies, but also not… Our old allies. I wiped their memory anyway. Gave ‘em a little something that’ll have ‘em wondering where the last two weeks went.” Shivan had, that morning actually, told Séan he didn’t think Jezem would care all that much if he died. “I… Yeah, I’d have mentioned it. Why… Why is it so important?”

~ Thyr

“Argam’s business isn’t my full time job!” Jezem snapped, annoyed by the weak excuse, thinking of every time he dropped whatever was going on in his life to help Shivan. All the time and money and effort he gave to see him recover and build a better life. Every meal he cooked every fridge restock to ensure Shivan would have good food to eat. Did none of it matter? Shivan didn’t need him. He had Erin to bankroll him, the counselor to bring him food. Where did Jezem fit in? Apparently he didn’t matter enough to be filled in when Shivan dedcided to follow the counselor on a job. Someone gave that wound medical attention, must have also been the counselor.

Jezem looked away. Shivan didn’t need him. Sisters he was tired. He could see it now, Shivan casually mentioning going on a job and getting hurt. A mention because why did he deserve the full story? “It’s not important,” Jezem said as his tight fists relaxed. “Do whatever with the food. Eat it. Give it away. I don’t care.”

Jezem the Upstanding Citizen

“Of course I’m gonna eat it. I love your food.” Shivan gave Jezem a look. “I want you here. I… I just don’t want to be a bother, Jezem. You have a life, someone who cares about you. You can’t go chasing after me all the time. I just… I wanted to handle something without foisting it off on you. I wanted to do something without being a useless sack of…” And then he used a particularly rude Andorian word that meant something worse than the word a human might put there. “I just… I thought you didn’t care. I thought I was just an annoyance to you. Something to needlessly take up your resources.” He uttered the most awkward, but probably the most genuine, words of his life: “I’m… I’m sorry. I should’ve told you.”

~ Thyr

“It’s not up to you to decide what is imporant to me or not!” Jezem snapped, “You don’t decide what is or isn’t worth my time!” Sisters knew Jezem actually cared about this buffoon. Doing everything he could for this man and even after everything he’d done this idiot still couldn’t see that. Refused to believe that Jezem meant every bit of help he gave. “Yes. You should have,” He said, feeling all his anger and rage turn inward. Sisters he was pathetic. The old him never would have cared. Never would have gotten this worked up over someone else. He should have left Shivan on the streets the day he showed up to Oed V. “Let me grant you your wish, because I’m done playing this game. I’m done with this.” He’d done his duty as Shivan’s former captain now he can move on.

Jezem turned, leaving the bags on the table. He’ll see himself out.

Jezem the Upstanding Citizen

Jezem never would have cared. That was partly why Shivan didn’t think he did. “No!” Shivan stood so quickly he thought he might reopen the wound but it didn’t. It hurt though. “P… Please. Don’t. Jezem. I need you.” How pathetic was that? But if he lost Jezem… Well, there wouldn’t really be any reason not to just turn himself over. He didn’t have anything else. Except the counselor. But Séan wasn’t enough. He hadn’t known him long enough. “What do I have to do? For you to stay?”

~ Thyr

Jezem could laugh, “You think I’m stupid?” He asked, “You think you can just say ‘sorry’ just so we could do this all over again?” Jezem felt numb. He was so, so tired. All he wanted to do was go home and wallow like the sad, pathetic person he’d become. The person who can’t even get his former crew to trust him. Or be trusted to lend a hand in a dangerous situation. Shivan said he needed Jezem but only after Jezem said he was done. If he couldn’t accept that Jezem was genuine all this time then what would make his continued help any different? Jezem turned towards the door, showing Shivan his back, “Figure it our yourself,” He said, “I’m going home.”

Jezem the Upstanding Citizen

“Jezem…” But he was gone, the door slammed behind him. Shivan finished putting the food away, then plopped on the sofa, turned off the TV, and spent a good, long while crying quietly.

~ Thyr

Like a true independant cat. M’rahjo Ko came and went. Popping up multiple times a day only to vanish entirely for a few. She clambered into Shivan’s apartment, prefering to sneak in to test the andorian’s security system and because it was funner that way. “Hey, big blue guy! I hope you got food because I’m huuuuuungry!” If he didn’t have anything then she’ll just pop on over to Jezem’s. He always had good food to eat. “Yoooo, hello?”

M’rahja Ko

“Go away,” Came Shivan’s muffled reply. His security worked as it should and detected her, as it always did, but he did nothing about it. If a Syndicate assassin had come for him just then, he’d probably have let them. “Food’s in the fridge. Help yourself.”

~ Thyr

“Don’t mind if I do,” She purred before doing just that and headed over to the fridge to help herself to whatever looked tastiest, “You sick or something?” She called back. Shivan sounded all muffled and congested, not his usual self.

M’rahja Ko

“No. Still recovering, not sick.” Shivan didn’t move from his place on the sofa. From what was in the fridge, he hadn’t been eating that much since Jezem came by. “Seen Jezem lately?”

~ Thyr

M’rahja picked through the fridge, smelling each item as she opened it. They all smelled old. She picked up a carton of over ripe fruit that should have been eaten at least a day ago and the least bad smelling container of food. She brought it with her to the living room, “Not lately, you should start eating your food by the way. It’s starting to go bad.” She eyed Shivan on the couch, “You look like worse than a drunk klingon. What’s your deal?”

M’rahja Ko

“Stabbed. What’s yours?” Shivan replied without moving. He finally rolled over and looked at her. He looked terrible, but she couldn’t tell that he’d ever cried. “Go get me the Orion pasta in there.”

~ Thyr

“Hungry,” M’rahja said without missing a beat. She glanced again at the injury, “Yeesh, looks bad.” Shivan must look awful because she didn’t complain or say ‘you’re not the boss of me!’. She went and grabbed the pasta along with a fork for him to eat with. After the food handover she hopped onto the opposite side and dug into her food. Boss must be busy nursing this one back to health. M’rahja assumed Jezem will be back soon what with Shivan asking if she’d seen him or not.

M’rahja Ko

“I was helping the counselor with a little matter. Got hurt in the process. Counselor’s been seeing to me as repayment.” Shivan commented as he ate out of the slightly old food container. “Hmmm. Might be the last time I get such good food. Better savor it.”

~ Thyr

“That guy? Not the boss?” She looked up from her food, confused. The boss had all the time and resources in the world to play nurse. “You’re acting weird.”

M’rahja Ko

“Captain,” Shivan corrected her for what might’ve been the millionth time, “and no, he’s done with me.” He gave her a look - dark and shadowed, but also sad and defeated. “You should be, too. Go find Jezem. Bother him.”

~ Thyr

“What? You two have a fight or somethin’?” Her ears flicked back at that look, wasn’t the kind of look that promised happy things. “You’re not the boss of me,” She said, but without her usual high-pitched bluster. This was more defiant, “I wanted to come here so I’m here. Look, I’m sure you two will patch things up.”

M’rahja Ko

“Last time he said he was done and vanished we didn’t speak for five years. And that time, he wasn’t done with me.” Shivan shrugged. “Stay if you want. But mind your own business while you’re here.”

~ Thyr

“Yeah but like, he’s still living here.” She knew the board details of their past. Syndicate pirates and all that. “So you ticked him off. He gets ticked about anything. Just do your, you know,” she mimed punches, “fighting thing and make up like you always do.”

M’rahja Ko

“He’s not interested in fighting this time, M’rahja. Besides, I’m still hurt. I’d lose that fight.” He finished his food and set it aside. He’d considered it before - departing this place. He hadn’t wanted to come here in the first place. Now that Jezem seemed done with him permanently, the idea came back to Shivan’s mind.

~ Thyr

“Oh, well, maybe he knows that so he didn’t? You two are so weird. Like, can’t you talk to each other like normal people? Is this a Syndicate pirate thing all the fighting and throwing things and what not? Like one of those soaps you love so much.”

M’rahja Ko

“Don’t say that out loud!” Shivan hissed angrily. “What part of secret don’t you understand?” Then he shook his head. “You don’t understand. It’s not a “pirate” thing or even a “guy” thing, it’s just a.... Jezem thing.”

~ Thyr

M’rahja started, ears flicked back as her hair raised on end, “Sorry I forgot there were spies everywhere eavesdropping. You’re so paranoid, like, don’t you know how to live?” Pirate thing. Guy thing. Jezem and Shivan thing. Still weird. “So is the shop closed until you heal up?” Can’t be good for buisness to be closed all the time because the owner keeps getting injured. M’rahja had lots of rules and one of them was never buy weapons from the guy missing fingers.

M’rahja Ko

“Selling no, custom orders yes.” Shivan said. Thankfully he wasn’t missing any fingers… Yet. He glanced at M’rahja, “If you were hiding out from people who would slaughter you in the most horrific way you can imagine, likely after days of the worst torture you can imagine, you would be paranoid too.”

~ Thyr

“Yeesh,” M’rahja said and took another bite of her food, “Like, that’s a dumb way to die. If I have to go out I’m talking out everyone with me, you know? Oh, you thought you could capture me and do whatever? Think again sucka! Eat a collapsed anti-matter reaction boosted by polarized sub-harmonics and here’s some leftovers for all your friends too!” If you’re gonna die young you gotta die with style. Only dumb adults were afraid of death. Big explosions. That’s the way to go out.

M’rahja Ko

“Even if the damage you do will be refunded in full and more to those who you care about?” Thyr asked, a dark look in his eye. “I do that and I die, you die, Jezem dies, the counselor dies. Probably the counselor’s girlfriend, too. Maybe a few of my customers. Erin, if they can get to her.”

~ Thyr

Her tail flicked back and forth as she ate, “I dunno, I’d be dead so it’s not like I’d know who else dies or in what fashion. Dead is dead, yaknow?” Sure maybe she’d feel a little guilty but learning to dodge assassins was a pretty good skill to develop.

M’rahja Ko

Shivan gave her a look. “Never go into business with my old employers. They value loyalty above all. A trait you clearly lack.” He sighed and leaned back on the sofa. “I mean, I could just turn myself in to them. I’d die horrifically but you… Jezem… Everyone would be safe. My debt would be paid.”

~ Thyr

“I’m a fully independant girl. Well, aside from you and the boss. But I don’t count that. And loyalty feels like such a scam, like, oh, devote yourself to this person even if it gets you hurt. Like, um, no? Survival of the fittest and if they can’t help themselves then why do I gotta pick up their slack?” M’rahja made a face, “Like, look at you. How long were you loyal to your former org? That’s how they repay you? Dude you need to get off the couch and touch grass. Go watch a butterfly fly about or something. You’re giving ‘I got nothing left to live for’ vibes and you need a perspective check. Something.”

M’rahja Ko

Shivan shot her a look. “Loyalty got me all the help Jezem gave me.” He replied. “I’ll touch grass the day you learn to give a damn about another person.”

~ Thyr

“If you’re so loyal then why’s he ‘done with you’?” She asked. The last part didn’t bother her. She owed Shivan and Jezem for getting her out of a tight spot. They did go out of their way for her so she supposed what she owed was pretty significant. M’rahja’s ears flicked with annoyance. Things like this were so uncomplicated when working alone.

M’rahja Ko

“Cause I’m an idiot. Why do you ask so many questions?” Shivan replied. He didn’t miss her ears flick. They were a bit like antenna. His own sat further back near his head in annoyance.

~ Thyr