Ensign Rebecca Iko - "This one time"

[Rebecca Iko]

I'll never forget the way her dress felt in my hands that day.

Or any day.

Granted, It wasn’t just my hands. You hug with more than just hands, obviously. 

She was such a beautiful person. She had the most beautiful handwriting, but was the most horrible artist, and when we first met she wanted to kill me. Kind of. 

She was a new XB. Scared. So very scared. 

And we went through the standard alphabet and linked each letter to a number.

"Seven of Eighteen, Primary Adjunct of Trimatrix 5" became Grace. 

Oh she was such a sweetheart. We'd meet after school at the station, and this one time we walked the tracks till it got dark and had to have a shuttle come after us. 

We'd just been walking, talking, holding hands. 

Her hand was always cold. The other one was fine but this one had had stuff done to it. Cold and smooth. 

I never gave her shoulder hugs. She was too tall. We opted for side hugs around the waist. Those were really close too. 

And there was the time she decided to do art over the other graffiti at the station. "Beccy + Grace" enclosed in a lopsided heart and was like "Beccy Beccy look! I can do art!" 

She's always called me Beccy. I don't really know why. It happened one day, made me smike uncontrollably, and it stuck.

And the time I snuck her in the one time my mother was out and we had the night of our lives for our 5th anniversary of dating. 

The exact things that happened that night I'd forgotten about the next morning. Too busy with a massive headache. Someone'd swapped out the synthesol. 

But I do remember having really annoyed siblings for a week too. And she was also kinda annoyed about the massive bite on her cheek… Oops.

And the time I was admitted to medical after trying to protect her and lying on a biobed next to her and we just started laughing about the whole situation we were in.

And when I ran away from home with her once, and then we got stuck in the rain that night and we ended up sleeping at our train station.

And the time I had to carry her to her alcove because she was too tired to get there herself.

She had such beautiful eyes. One was green, and one was the cyan color of starfleet regulation implants, and we would always joke that she could see my "extra beauty" with that one.

And her hair, her hair was black and frizzy, but I learnt to plat it really well and then she'd wear braids all the time. I remember exactly how that felt too. How poofy it looked and how much hair was actually there. 

And the little round borg implant around her left eye that I would always trace with my hand, always followed by a kiss. 

And the time we went to this traditional earth ball thing and she wore the most beautiful black dress and beautiful eyeshadow and makeup which I had no idea she could even do while I showed up in a black leather jacket and black jeans with a white tee. 

But my favourite moments were when we'd be sitting at the train station and I'd rest my head on her shoulder, or she'd rest her head on mine and we'd watch the sun set and one of us would posdibly fall asleep.

And the time we had the biggest hug, and I snuggled my head into her neck. And then I went to leave but I came back and held her hands, one cold, one warm and we just stood there for ages not wanting to let go. And I missed my ride to the academy and had to take the next one which would come the next day. 

That was the last time I saw her. She said she'd be going off to the Borg Reclamation Project. Helping people like I helped her. 

Sometimes I dream that she comes all the way out here just to sit with me. What if Fuzzy braided hair and an eye implant to be rested on my shoulder again… 

I loved her so much 

And I love her still.

Except I don't know how to reach her or how to even tell her. 

I miss you Grace