Guest Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 ((Bear's Den, USS Ursa Major))::Sidney motioned to the seat at the table.::RILEY: May I have a seat? Or is someone sitting here?REYNOLDS: No... I mean, no one's sat there...::Sidney couldn't help but notice the silence, or was it just perceivedsilence? She honestly didn't know... Quinn had to hate her....she was sureof it, she just hoped the woman would forgive her for her short-sightednesson TE-IV. Sidney's discomfort could be seen in her face and in the drop ofher shoulders as she didn't quite slump in the seat. Her eyes shifted tothe floor.::RILEY: Congratulations on your award.::Sidney's bright green eyes looked up at Quinn. She noticed the engineerlook away and down at the floor.::REYNOLDS: Thanks.RILEY: It's good to see you back on your feet Quinn...REYNOLDS: ::Awkwardly: : Well, you know. Any excuse to get out of sickbay.::Sidney smiled only slightly through her melancholy expression.: :RILEY: So it seems to be for most...REYNOLDS: Hayd... The doctor thinks I'm healing up as well as can beexpected. It shouldn't be too long before I can go back on duty.RILEY: ::nods:: I'm glad to hear that...::There was another pregnant pause. A pause allowing just enough time forthe Terran/Deltan to panic slightly.::RILEY: oO I shouldn't have come over here....She doesn't want to talk tome.Oo::Thankfully it was Quinn who broke the silence, broaching the subjectSidney had on her mind. She felt her stomach knot up at the mention of theword mission.::REYNOLDS: I don't think anyone was expecting the mission to turn out theway it did.::A look of mild shock crossed Sidney's face before she crossed and thenuncrossed her arms. It was like Quinn had read her mind, Sidney's brightgreen eyes focused on the design of the floor.::RILEY: oO Except Wood...and Sharpe....Oo::If she could have taken the injury instead of the Chief Engineer shewould have. Why did someone else have to be hurt because she had to followregulations to a "T"? Why did she always have to go "by the book"?::REYNOLDS: Are you alright, Commander?::Sidney looked up at Quinn slightly startled out of her mentalself-degradation. Her eyes bore the guilt she felt. When the words came,they were laden with the heavy New Orleans accent of her youth, an accentwhich showed itself mostly in her most emotional moments. The words wereslow, deliberate and came with sincerity.::RILEY: Quinn... I'm sorry.::Sidney paused and watched the woman's hazel eyes for a moment before shecontinued. The flicker of emotion that crossed them was hard to decipher,for either woman.::RILEY: You have to know...I didn't know. I would never do anything Ithought was going to hurt anyone on the crew. Y'all are all a part of myfamily. I just...I'm sorry....::Sidney looked at the floor and Quinn chewed her lip, unsure how toanswer. Forgiveness *was* what was sought, but what with the throbbingpain in her abdomen, head and especially her leg, the engineer really wasn'tsure if she was in a forgiving mood. With a sigh, she drained the champagneglass completely, grimaced and placed it down on the table, stiffly rubbingthe back of her neck.::REYNOLDS: I don't... Know...RILEY: My intention is not to make you uncomfortable. ..I...I just couldn'tlet this go without saying something...REYNOLDS: Commander... I'm not a security officer. I don't see the thingsthey see. But...::The words were like a slap across Sidney's face. A slap she knew shedeserved, but one that still stung non the less. Her eyes were blank asshe looked up at the woman she had hurt so badly.::RILEY: I am sorry...::And suddenly, fuelled by anger over apologies that did nothing to make herfeel any better, Quinn couldn't stop herself from telling Sidney Riley whatshe really thought. No forgiveness, no "that's life in Starfleet"platitudes. Though she spoke softly, Quinn was unable to entirely keep thebitterness out of her voice.::REYNOLDS: I don't understand why you didn't listen to them. Starfleetofficers had been kidnapped on that colony before. The ship originallybringing medical supplies had been destroyed enroute. And we hadsuspicions that the outbreak was a deliberate act of terrorism before weeven set foot on the planet. To blindly trust that there was no threatbecause we were on a mercy mission seems... ::She reigned herself in alittle. But only a little.:: Naïve.::SLAP! Across the other cheek, this time much harder, as all theaccusations which had been dancing around in her mind since TE IVwere fully vocalized out in the open. Sidney's mind tried to regroup, orrather reboot, as it worked through the million and one thoughts whichflooded through in one single moment.::RILEY: oO I am to blame...it's my fault...you knew it was anyway....Oo::Sidney looked up at Reynolds, her normally bright green eyes held a blankexpression. Her skin pale and cold. Her mind still tried to catch up, tothink of something to say. She wanted to offer comfort to the woman whomshe had *SHE* had hurt so badly. But what could she say in a situationlike this. She'd never really *failed* at anything in her life, not thatshe could remember, never made a mistake this big. The Engineer startedtalking again and Sidney just listened.::REYNOLDS: I nearly died. I'm still in pain. And it might have been becauseyou sent our security officer to sit in the shuttle like a naughty schoolboywhen he tried to do his job.::And instantly, Quinn regretted opening her mouth. Not because of anyeffect it might have on Sidney - she was too angry to consider anyone else'sfeelings - but because she had essentially just scolded her immediatesuperior and the First Officer of the Independence. ::::Sidney blinked back tears, she may have been a Starfleet Officer, a FirstOfficer, a command officer, but she was still human, or 7/8 human tobe exact. Still her 1/8 Deltan side was not even remotely Vulcan, and inmany ways friendship and forgiveness were something that was more importantto that side than the human side. She felt as if her crew, her *family*connection to Quinn was broken, possibly.... mostly likely, in her mind,permanently. She felt her emotions bubbling to the surface, and tried toreign them back in.::::Her mind momentarily drifted back to her step-mother, Cheyenne, and thescoldings she had received as a child for showing too much emotion. Sidneycouldn't remember a time she felt so weak, such a failure. The properwords did not come and she looked up at Quinn as she leaned heavily on thetable.::REYNOLDS: Look... Forget I said anything. We don't even know what reallyhappened down there yet.RILEY: oO How can I forget this? Oo::It was then that words finally came her mind having rebooted to apoint it could function at a basic level. Her emotions were more undercontrol, at least she wasn't going to bawl at what was supposed to be acelebration. When her words came out they were deliberate,without accent....they were words from her own survival mode.::RILEY: No...I...I am sorry Lieutenant. The only way I can justify myactions is to say I followed regulations. I know that is not anycomfort....I know...::Her voice began to choke up and she pulledback.::...I would never do anything to hurt anyone on the crew. ::Sidneylet her blank expression fall over the room.:: I seem to have put a damperon the evening...if you will excuse me Lieutenant.. .::Sidney stood rather quickly, turned and headed for the doorwithout waiting for a response from the Terran/Deltan Engineer. Her flightor fight response kicking in, she walked briskly to the transporterroom. She needed to go home...to the Independence. If she could just getback home...then things would not be okay, but would be better. She walkedpast the celebrating officers not meeting anyone's eyes. The brightcolours a blur as the tears welled in her eyes.::::It wasn't until the blue shimmer of the transporter took hold thattears began streaming down her face.::TBC...-- Lt. Commander Sidney RileyFirst OfficerUSS Independence- A&Lieutenant Quinn ReynoldsChief Engineering OfficerUSS Independence- A
Ilene Torza Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 Excellent post by two excellent writers. I love the realism of both the description and the dialogue. I can feel each party's pain and frustration and I can really picture the encounter from each person's perspective. I've tried hard to come up with something to suggest to make it better but I'm at a loss. Perhaps someone else can think of something but I really do love the whole post and wouldn't change a word. Well done!
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