round 13 JP Cpt Jalana Rajel & LT JG Jerome Milsap: I've Been Meaning To Ask You Part 2

[+ Hutch]

(( Starbase 11 )) 


:: They returned to their table and Jerry popped one of the Rejya into his mouth. Jalana watched him for a moment with a smirk on her lips, before she grabbed one herself and placed it on her tongue. The warmth began to melt the outer layer, a sweetness began to slowly fill her mouth, it had a slightly bitter component harmonising perfectly. Once the smooth layer was gone a saltiness joined in a perfect balance to the sweetness until a hard core was left. Biting down it broke apart and the spicy interior gave it the extra zing. The taste that was put together with all ingredients now mingling was like a song on her tastebuds and she smiled, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the taste of her childhood.::

Milsap: Say, these are pretty good. Now, what did you say they were?

Rajel: The center is pepper spiced heart of a Prenar - a bird that lives in the tropical parts of Trill. The sweet part is chocolate with extract of a, Une - a flower that is comparable to a Terran forget-me-not which gives it that bitter nuance. And the salty part are Guno eggs. 

Milsap: A bird heart, flowery chocolate and Guno eggs. ::shrugging:: Still beats the heck out of Rocky Mountain oysters. What’s a Guno, anyway?

Rajel: A fish. ::Smiling:: I have no idea who got the idea to put all of these together, but it’s a heavenly taste. 

Milsap: Can’t argue with that. On Earth some fish eggs are considered really good, and salty and sweet is always a good combination. Now a spiced heart? That’s a new one on me.

:: She took a piece of a blue … meat? She was not all too sure what it really was, but her curiosity got the better of her and it smelled not too bad, so she took a good bite of it. Just a moment later she coughed and grabbed a napkin, turning to the side to hide that she was spitting it out. :: 

Rajel: This was… ::she grabbed her glass and gulped down half of the water content.:: … anything but. ::She coughed and laughed at the same time.:: 

Milsap: ::laughing:: Glad I skipped that one. ::He speared one of the green cubes with his fork and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully.:: Now this is interesting. It’s like square asparagus, but somehow...minty. Not sure I wanna know how they did that.

:: He put his fork down and took a sip of his tart teakle juice.:: 

Milsap: So, how’s the new rank treating ya so far? 

Rajel: Oh wonderful, I was even visited by the Grim Reaper, though his congratulations have been rather cold. ::grinning:: 

Milsap: ::chuckling:: Yeah, you sure had some good timing, getting promoted just before we found the ghost ship. ::He suppressed a shudder as he remembered the events on Unity. :: 

Rajel: Quite, but that is life. We don’t always have a choice of timing… ::She thought about what he had gone through and how worried she had gotten. She had left the bridge and run to Sick Bay to see if he was alright and had found out that Foster used a Tribble to get the entity leave Jerry’s body. :: … or who has which part in it. 

Milsap: ::nodding sadly:: Yeah, I do regret Petey havin’ to give up his life for me. If there’s any consolation there, it’s that he didn’t have to live long with that thing in his head.

Rajel: I’m sure Petey would be happy to know it was for such a good cause. He saved your life. 

:: Jerry fell into contemplation as he continued to eat. It was still sinking in just how close he had come to death. It made him realize that waking up every morning couldn’t be taken for granted, and when you had something to do or say, putting it off meant taking the risk that you’d never get the chance. 

He looked up at Jalana. Ever since their dance at the holiday party he’d felt there might be something between them, but he wasn’t sure exactly what. He’d been trying to work up the courage to broach the subject with her and discuss it, but the time never seemed to be right. His recent brush with disaster made him realize there was no time like the present. He put down his fork and took a deep breath. ::

Milsap: Jalana, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. I….

Ezirah: =/\= Constitution to Rajel =/\= 

Milsap: oO Great timing you got there, ship. Oo

Rajel: ::Placing her fork down she gave Jerry an apologetic look.:: Sorry. ::She then tapped her badge.:: =/\= Rajel here. =/\= 

Ezirah: =/\= Apologies for the disturbance, Captain. We received a high priority call from Trill for you. =/\= 

Rajel: ::furrowing her brows:: =/\= What is it about? =/\= 

Ezirah: =/\= I can’t say, Ma’am, it’s personally for you. =/\= 

:: That changed Jerry’s annoyance to concern. A high priority call was almost never good news. ::

::She gave Jerry a look, even thought it was not really meant for him, but she couldn’t look at herself right now. Something wrong wrong and she wondered what. She looked up and gestured to one of the waiters. :: 

Rajel: Excuse me, do you have a comm station in your restaurant that I could use? 

Waiter: Of course. Right over there. 

:: She looked to the terminal and nodded with a quick thanks. :: 

Rajel: =/\= Relay it to the Comm station near my signal. I’ll take it here. =/\= :: While she said that she stood up from her chair, nervous. Something in her stomach had turned. There weren’t many people who would call her from Trill, which made it only worse. :: Excuse me for a moment, please. 

Milsap: Sure, take your time. I’ll be here when you get back.

:: Jerry waited a few seconds before deciding to follow Jalana. He had no intention of eavesdropping, and he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d do if there really was an emergency, but something told him he just needed to be there. ::

:: Jalana walked over to the Terminal and gave Ezirah the ID just in case and just a moment later she looked at her mother’s face. Immediately her stomach plummeted down into the core of the planet. Her mother’s eyes were red as if she had been crying, shadows under her eyes were a clear sign of not having slept in a while. :: 

Rajel: Mom, what’s wrong. 

Laxyn: Your father… ::Her voice broke off and Jalana could see how hard it was for her to hold it together. :: 

Rajel: What is it mom? 

Laxyn: He had a severe heart attack. 

:: Immediately she felt faint and thought her knees would give in. Quickly she grabbed the sides of the terminal. Thousand questions came to her mind, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments. What to do first, for how long, what to never do.. Forgotten all the years in which they hadn’t spoken. What if… :: 

Rajel: How is he? 

Laxyn: Still at the hospital. They sent me home to rest. But… 

Rajel: I know. ::She didn’t have to think twice. They were at shore leave. She was not needed here.:: Prepare an extra room for him. I’ll be there soon. 

Laxyn: Sweetie, you are busy. 

Rajel: I’ll be there soon. ::She repeated. Her mother looked at her for a longer moment and then sighed with a nod. Jalana nodded as well and closed the connection.:: 

Milsap: ::He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but asked anyway.:: Everything all right?

:: She had not heard him coming and jumped slightly. Her fingers were shaking and she formed fists with them in an attempt to hide it. :: 

Rajel: I … I have to go. 

Milsap: Back to Conny? I’ll come with you.

Rajel: No… to Trill. My father.. 

:: She raised her hand to cover her mouth as she felt the tears coming. She knew that medicine was far enough to help him, it had come so far. But if it really had been severe he could still.. No he mustn’t. :: 

Milsap: What happened?

Rajel: Heart attack. I have to … I have to go and… ::She began to shake all over.: 

:: Jerry’s face fell. He knew the call would be bad news, but not that bad. ::

Milsap: Is he…?

Rajel: What? No… no he is not, but they don’t know yet… 

:: Before he even realized what he was doing, Jerry stepped up to Jalana and gently grabbed her shoulders. :: 

Milsap: Is there anything I can do? 

:: As he grabbed her, Jalana’s head temporarily stopped spinning, the thoughts backed off into the background and there was almost calmness and silence in her mind. She looked at him, into his eyes and it took her a moment to realize what he had said. :: 

Rajel: I… don’t think so. I just have to leave right away, he needs me. 

Milsap: Are you sure you want to go alone? Will you be ok?

Rajel: ::Confused:: I’m not the one who is sick, Jerry. 

Milsap: ::in a calming voice:: I know, but news like this has a way of throwing us off our game. You’re bound to have a lot on your mind right now.

Rajel: I… There are hundreds of thoughts in my head, things I have to think of, to do so I can leave. 

Milsap: Talking it through might help you sort things out. Tell me what you need to do.

Rajel: T’Mar, I need to tell her. I need to pack. :: Okay maybe not hundreds of things to do. But two that were very important. Three. :: I need to find a ship with Slipstream that docks here.. I can’t fly for days until I get home. 

:: Finding a ship with a slipstream drive? That at least was something Jerry could do. ::

Milsap: ::grinning:: Well I can help with that last one. Let me worry about finding a ship while you take care of your other business.

:: She looked at him in surprise to even offer that. Why did he do that for her?::

Rajel: That would be a big help. .oO What now? Oo. 

Milsap: Might be a good idea to head back to Conny after all. She’s got everything we’ll need to get you ready and on your way.

:: She nodded, yes, that was a good idea. Down here they couldn’t do anything. She raised a shaky hand to her communicator. :: 

Rajel: =/\= Rajel to … uh.. Constitution. Two to beam up, into my quarters. =/\= 

:: There was no question, no inquiry, no hesitation. The next moment Jerry and Jalana were engulfed into the blue light and were transported from the restaurant’s comm station, to her spacious quarters. :: 

-------

JP by

Lieutenant JG Jerome Milsap
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Constitution-B
C239208JM01

& 

Captain Jalana Rajel
Commanding Officer
USS Constitution B
Image Team Facilitator
A238906JL0