Posted by Civilian Sisnil Zoi (Intelligence Consultant) in Too Often to be Coincidence

Posted by Ensign Dradvia (Medical Officer) in Too Often to be Coincidence

Posted by Civilian Sisnil Zoi (Intelligence Consultant) in Too Often to be Coincidence
Posted by… suppressed (46) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
“You do help.” Sisnil said firmly. “And I’m sorry. I don’t mean to remind you of your friend.” He’d gone and done it again. He set the med kits down and put his hands on her shoulders. “I like you, Dee. I like your company. You make being stuck here better.”

~ Zoi

She flinched when he touched her, but not quite as much as before. She didn’t pull away, but he knew the gesture was unfamiliar for her. “I don’t mind being reminded of Kryssa. She was the only family, the only person, I had. I miss her. Sometimes I go a day or two without missing her, and I feel guilty.” Sometimes she forgot how Kryssa smiled all the time, how happy she was. Sisnil’s personality wasn’t the same, but his understanding was. She liked being reminded of the good things.

She just wished she reminded him of good things rather than his worry.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil smiled. “Okay.” He picked the med kits back up. “Do you have more to pick up?” He asked. It was difficult to remind him of the good things. Noril was both a lot like Sisnil, and completely different. They built on each other. What Sisnil was good at, Noril was good at the opposite. Where Sisnil’s weaknesses were, were Noril’s strengths. Sisnil was a natural leader, Noril wasn’t. Sisnil was sentimental in ways Noril didn’t tend to be. But Noril had his own ways of being sentimental. Noril was often the one telling Sisnil when to cut his losses and let go.

“I have to do deck 6 too, then I’ll be done. I did the upper decks this morning,” Dradvia told him.

Sisnil nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”

Dee wasn’t like anyone on his crew. Sometimes she was, a little bit, but she was too shy. It wasn’t her fault, he knew that. What the Syndicate had done to her made her that way. Still, he liked her. He wanted to help and protect her the same way he did his crew. He just wanted her to be comfortable and happy and he wished she wouldn’t worry so much about upsetting him. He wasn’t like her old… ‘boss’. He wouldn’t hurt her. Never. “Do you think she’d want you to feel guilty for being able to move on?” He asked gently. “I know… If something happened to Noril, I couldn’t, so it’s hypocritical of me to say, but… I think she’d want you to go some days without feeling the need to think of her.”

~ Zoi

Dradvia shook her head, then looked conflicted and shook it again. “No, she wouldn’t want me to feel guilty. I think she would feel guilty too though.” She took a breath to keep from crying. “She made… she begged me not to forget her. The way she was before,” she blew out a breath, “before we were taken. I was the only person she had too, Sisnil. There is no one else to remember her. No family, no crew. Just me.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

“So tell me about her sometime.” Sisnil said. “My empathy and my telepathy means I’ll be able to understand her from your point of view. We can remember her together.”

~ Zoi

They had made it to deck 6 and she started opening the first locker. She thought about it, “Okay. I… I can’t right now. Not while I’m on duty.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil nodded. “I didn’t mean now. Find me when you’re ready. Or.. or call me I guess. I forget we all have comms.” He was holding more med kits than her, intentionally. As she took out the next one, he took it. “Whatever I’m doing, I’ll be there.”

~ Zoi

She smiled slightly. “It’s odd isn’t it? Immediate contact?

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil nodded. “I mean, obviously we have comms, but older ones that go on your belt.”

~ Zoi

“These,” Dradvia tapped her badge, “do everything. They track us, they read our biometrics, they work as an UT when we are away from the ship. It’s all too easy to keep tabs or lose someone. We don’t scan automatically for bio readings anymore. We scan for the communicator code. Leave this behind and the computer thinks you are still wherever you leave it.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil raised a brow. “Good to know.” He didn’t like being constantly tracked but being able to fool the computer that easily could come in handy.

~ Zoi

Dradvia nodded and stepped back into Medical. The smaller ship meant it didn’t take long to get anywhere. She set her kits down and then took the others from him. She started breaking them down like she had the others. “What other hologames do you like?”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

He sat back down on the biobed. “I mean, I write just about everything we’ve got on my ship.” He said. “So… I dunno, I guess I mostly play the actiony stuff.”

~ Zoi

“What’s the weirdest program you’ve made?” She hoped that wasn’t a loaded question.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

“As payment of a favor, I wrote something rather… Personal for a contact of mine.” Sisnil chuckled, “You don’t want details.”

~ Zoi

Dradvia’s hand paused as her hand passed over him with the scanner. Her face turned slightly pink. “I believe you.” She was quiet after that. She didn’t know what else to talk about. Asking him about the latest movie in the mess or new book that came out seemed a little… pitiful.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil chuckled lightly and smiled at her. She really was… cute. “Wanna know about a little less… embarrassing of a program? I wrote a trial run holo-game for a very intricuit heist the Syndicate put us on.”

~ Zoi

She blew a raspberry. “That’s not a game, that’s work. I mean I’m sure it was fun to make for you though.” She waved her hand for him to continue while she fiddled with the setting on the tricorder.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil laughed. It was only with her he laughed so much. “It was fun, yes. It was also fun drilling practice on it. It required very precise movements, with me reading from an electronic life signs sensor on a map to guide them.”

~ Zoi

She smiled, she liked when he laughed. It was so much nicer than the brooding angry person she first ran into. Dradvia shook her head, “I don’t think I would be very good at missions like that. I’d get nervous and sneeze or trip and give it all away.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

“That’s why you’re the doctor. When I trip and get shot, you’re there to patch me up,” Sisnil said and grinned at her. He did still have his broody moments, but his mood was improving some. It was always better when Dradvia was there.

~ Zoi

“Some how I think whoever patches you up, would never trip and give you away.” She mentally winced. She’d mentioned his crew again. Maybe they didn’t have anyone to patch them up?

Sisnil grinned, thinking of Eli. “Well… I don’t know about that. He might. Then again, he’s not a doctor. More like a battle medic. If that.”

“I think they are some of the best doctors. They get hardened after all they have seen, but still manage to retain their compassion,” Dradvia said.

Well he did now, “But you’re stuck with me for a doctor now. So I promise to keep you patched up. But no getting shot.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil gasped playfully. “No getting shot? You’re no fun,” he said, and mock-pouted.

~ Zoi

“You can do the shooting. I mean, you’re a pirate, you know how to dodge, right?” She grinned at him. Relaxing just enough to have a little fun.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

“Dodging is half the fun,” Sisnil said. “All my programs that involve shooting use complex and realistic algorithms so the targets shoot back. Same rules apply, you get hit, at all you lose.” Sisnil grinned, “Know why I make them that way?”

~ Zoi

“No,” Dradvia shook her head. She had no idea. Her basic tactical/security course was a long memory ago.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

“Because if you’re shot, you’re hurt, and if you’re hurt you’re slow. If you’re slow, well… There’s a lot higher of a chance you’re not making it back. Not with a small crew like mine.”

~ Zoi

“So, training to stay alive.” She didn’t want to touch that. The amount of danger he was always in. What might happen to him. He liked adventure and the thrill. The adrenaline rush and the risk. “Well keep practicing so you can perfect your dodge.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Her concern was adorable. “Yeah, but, it’s fun too.” Sisnil nodded, “I will.” He said, and then looked at her. “Don’t worry, Dee, nothing like that’s gonna happen here. I may as well learn to knit. Paint the walls so I can watch it dry.”

~ Zoi

Dradvia raised her brows, “I don’t know about that. A lot of people aren’t happy and there is a lot of unrest and high tension.” She shrugged. They had heard a lot at the Academy. There were rumors of increasing conflict with the Romulans. “It’s safer than most places, I guess.” Which was why she was in Star Fleet. Not because she wanted to serve or give back to those that saved her. No, she was there because it was safer than being on her own.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil snorted, “I still think the Syndicate would think it hilarious to humiliate Starfleet by assassinating me while I’m here.” He said “What would be safe for me, would be to be back on my own ship, with my crew.”

~ Zoi

“I know. As soon as I get a chance, I’ll try to send Noril a message. Hopefully your crew will be able to handle everything else.” Dradvia didn’t know what else she could do, and had to hope his brother and crew did. She wished there was a way to get back a message, but that ran too many risks. At least it felt like it.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil nodded. “I trust you. Tell him where I am please.” He trusted Noril’s abilities and judgement. He smiled at Dradvia, “Until then, at least you’re here.”

~ Zoi

“I can tell him Star Fleet has you, but… I can’t tell him where.” She looked sad over it. “There is too much risk if someone is waiting for you to contact your brother.” Like he said, the Syndicate would find it very amusing to come on board and kill him.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil seemed upset, but not with her. He nodded in understanding. “Okay, that’s fine.” It would take longer, but Noril could discover his location once he knew Starfleet had him. Noril wasn’t quite as good with computers as Sisnil but finding that information should be within his abilities. He reached for Dradvia’s hand. “Hey… Thank you.”

~ Zoi

She stared at his hand holding hers. The swirl of emotions was too confusing to make sense of. She smiled sadly at him. “I know it’s not enough, but…” She focused on closing the tricorder and putting it aside. “I’ve given my word, a promise in my duties. It doesn’t mean anything to you, and it means nothing to anyone else, except as a way to control the lower ranks. I wasn’t filled with young awe and delusions of grandeur and honor and duty. I didn’t make it blindly. On the surface they don’t really mean much, and I don’t think, in a deeper way, I feel about them the way other people do. My word means something to me.”

It was Dradvia’s way of keeping control in a universe that took everything from her. She could control her actions and that was it. These are things she will do and won’t do. She didn’t take any oath blindly. She analyzed every word, every phrase, mulled over the endless possibilities, making sure she could live with the consequences of her choice. So she could control her own small bit of a blink of existence she had to live in.

Not putting others in danger through her actions was a huge one for her. Giving Sisnil’s location away could do that. Yes, every Star Fleet officer was told there was inherent danger in their service, but she wouldn’t consciously tease that danger. It wasn’t just about the crew though, if she did tell Noril, she put Sisnil, Noril, and their crew in danger too. She wouldn’t do it.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

And Sisnil understood that. Even in his world, his priority was the safety of his crew. He wouldn’t send them on a suicide mission. For Dradvia, this seemed no different. This was why he was not upset with her. Instead, he smiled again. “To me, words mean little. Actions mean everything.” He looked at her, “But because you are the way you are, your words carry weight others’ do not.”

~ Zoi

Dradvia understood that. She didn’t trust people’s words either. She knew her word didn’t mean much to most people, but it did to her, and that’s all that mattered. She smiled sadly again, setting aside another tricorder. “I suppose that’s something. You have seen more reasons than most to distrust people.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

Sisnil shrugged. “Having seen more reason than most to be distrustful also makes it easy to tell who to trust, in my opinion.” He commented as he watched her use each tricorder.

~ Zoi

She focused in her work for a minute before answering. “I suppose that’s true. I always looked at it of more, knowing which potential lies to risk and which to run from.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

“There are a lot of lessons to learn from it. And no way to tell which one is the right one.” He shrugged, “My philosophies haven’t failed me yet.”

~ Zoi

Dradvia touched her ja’risia with the tips of her left fingers for a brief moment. “I hope they never do.” A thread of concern and worry and something a little deeper flashed through her. She closed the current tricorder and looked at him, “Two more tricorders and then I can repack the kits.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

“Okay,” Sisnil said. He grinned confidently, “Don’t you go worrying about me, Dee. I’m the best pirate there ever was.”

~ Zoi

“Really? The best ever? Prove it. Regale me with tales of your piratey superiority,” she teased him slightly.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

“Oh, how about… Our first Syndicate job.” Sisnil told her the tale of a heist the Syndicate had set them on, featuring him pulling off a last minute save that saved his brother and the Syndicate member they’d been working with that day.

~ Zoi

Dradvia waved the scanner around, using it to sweep away his tale. “Pfft. That story outline is a dime a dozen.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

“It happened!” Sisnil insisted, as if offended. “I swear to you, Dee, it happened like that. Noril would tell you if he were here, heck John would tell you if he were here.”

~ Zoi

Dradvia took a half step back at his vehemence. “I believe you,” she said earnestly. She didn’t think he was lying, she… she was… What? You were what Dradvia? She was going to say every pirate had done something like that. She was going to… Tease him. I was teasing him.

Everything in her told her to stop. If he got mad… Sisnil isn’t like that. She had no business teasing him. But she couldn’t seem to help it. “I do believe you, but every pirate has a similar story. That doesn’t qualify as the best ever.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

He hadn’t meant to scare her. He toned it down intentionally. “That, my dear Dee, is survivorship bias. The pirates that don’t have a story like that, aren’t here to say so.”

~ Zoi

Her eyes flickered to him at the endearment - confusion and curiosity. “That proves my point. Not having one proved they are not the best. Having one doesn’t award that title. But I will grant that it does put you in the running, by default.” She needed to stop. She was making herself uncomfortable, but she couldn’t help herself.

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer

The term of endearment wasn’t the only sign of affection. There was a twinkle in his eyes, his smile seeming to light up while face. “Alright then, I’ll have to show you how good a pirate I am sometime.” He said and laughed. He could feel she was uncomfortable, but she wasn’t stopping, so she must be okay?

~ Zoi

That made her nervous, but not scared. “Well, it will have to wait. I have kits to update.” She hedged. “I’ll have ro make due with stories.”

Ens. Dradvia, Medical Officer