Remembering the Fallen, Pt.2

Posted on Thu May 13th, 2021 @ 1:07pm by Colonel Sehan t'Varis & Centurion Nancy Gable & Lieutenant Xia Idris & Major Ashley Rogers

4,350 words; about a 22 minute read

Mission: Chapter IV: Unravelling the Mystery
Location: Mess Hall, Ourainavassa
Timeline: 238702.17

After the conclusion of the memorial services, the crew headed to the mess hall. Gedak, in his will, had asked for a big drinking session to celebrate his memory, so that was exactly what was going to happen. The mess hall itself had been decorated, once again, with the memorial banners of those lost in the Battle of the Faraday Nebula, and some quiet 1920s swing music -- again at Gedak's request -- was being played through the speakers. An hour or so had passed since the end of the ceremony in the memorial garden, time enough for everything to be prepared. Raven had asked Renee to put together a small buffet, as well as a self-service bar, so that she, too, could join in the celebration of the memory of those who had lost their lives.

The colonel was the first to arrive, and, spotting Renee putting out the last things for the buffet, walked over to her. "Thank you for doing this," she said, putting a hand on the chef's shoulder. "I think Gedak would have loved this spread. What have we got?"

"Well, we still have some stew from the other night at the end of the table. Our Ash hasn't gotten us any more fish, so we have some chicken, steaks made to order, and a salad bar," Renee explained.

Commander Rogers stared at the pot of stew at the end of the buffet line. "Is this still the stew I helped make?"

Renee looked at the Terran. "You're taking it back to your ship with you if more of it isn't eaten!"

Mila laughed as she walked up to the buffet. "I am sure your stew isn't that bad, Commander." She gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder, and proceeded to load a plate with some chicken and salad.

Raven shook her head. "Always on the charm offensive, Mila. Any burgers available, by chance? I could do with a double cheeseburger with some bacon and some fries to go with it."

"I thought I heard steaks," Hatham observed hopefully. He lifted a large glass of blue liquid. "That would be perfect with ale."

Xia walked into the mess hall in the little red dress she’d worn for the funeral. She slid up next to Renee with a smile. “I will hit the salad bar,” she said. Betazoids didn’t tend to be large meat eaters, though they made exceptions for seafood, especially shellfish, though Xia had grown fond of chicken, too. “And maybe some of that chicken.” She looked over to Renee. “I’m going to hit the bar. Can I get you anything?” she asked, gently caressing Renee’s back.

Renee smiled at Xia, feeling a bit guilty that she hadn't had the opportunity to spend more time with her. "If you can snag me some chicken, I'd love to repay the favor later," she said quietly, leaning into the caress.

Major Rogers walked in to see Renee and Xia canoodling and sighed, averting eye contact as she headed straight to the alcohol. The commander walked over. "Looks like Renee has her eye on someone else."

The major looked up. "Don't you have something better to do than to bother me?"

The Terran smirked. "I saw her fix your rank pips. I told you so."

"Shouldn't you be eating more of that stew?" the major grumbled.

"You still have feelings for her," the Terran stated matter of factly.

"Doesn't matter," Ash said.

"In the grand scheme of things, of course not. But you're miserable. That matters," the commander continued. "Either get over it, or do something about it. Looking at you look so pathetic makes me want to kill myself. And by myself, I mean you. Put you out of my misery."

The major glared at her counterpart.

T'Ango had entered the mess hall with almost a smile. Music and drinks to remember the dead were more what she was used to for memorial services. However, the smile fell, when she spotted the tart in the little red dress touching Renee. Her eyes narrowed.

"Are you okay?" Gunnar asked, noting the fur bristling on the back of her neck. Following the direction of her ears, he swallowed a sigh. "If it's the woman in red, we discussed this. Yes, it might be in poor taste given Romulan sensibilities, but some Betazoids see wearing bright colors as the way to celebrate the lives of those remembered." He rubbed a hand lightly along her back, smoothing fur. "From what I understand, Gedak was a colorful character."

"He was," Gable agreed, following them in, but matched T'Ango's disapproving frown. "But you wouldn't seethat dress even at a New Orleans jazz funeral."

"Nancy..." Gunnar's tone carried a distinct “you are not helping.”

"Don't you go all xenocultural mediator on me, Arnason," Nancy warned, looking him up and down. "You may be in a Starfleet uniform, but it would only take that a shave for it to be your double."

The familiar bickering broke T'Ango from sour thoughts. She shook her head, chuckling. "It's him. I seriously doubt anyone could've dragged him out of bed and replaced him without waking me."

"I doubt the Terran Empire is all that big on xenocultural mediation anyway," Gunnar remarked, half under his breath. "But in the interests of honoring traditions, maybe we should go get drinks?"

"Did I hear drinks?" Freya entered the mess hall, this time wearing her everyday duty uniform, but with her katana strapped to her belt. Interestingly, despite the captain rank badges, she was wearing science blue rather than command red. "This is a proper Viking funeral then. Where's the bar?"

"A proper Viking funeral would involve a body of water, a ship, fire, and for an important person, a human sacrifice," Lt. Arnason noted, voicing what was going through his counterpart's mind, but would have otherwise been left unsaid. "The modern version would probably be bodies shot into space and lit with disruptor fire." He smiled. "But personally I'm willing to consider sufficient alcohol as an acceptable substitute."

Mila nodded at the Terran as she finished filling her plate. "Sounds about right. There's good food to be had over on the buffet, too, but unfortunately no fish. Ran out of supplies and couldn't get any fresh stuff in time, I think. And the chef refuses to use replicated ingredients for most things, which I wholly support."

Xia walked over to the buffet and filled a plate with chicken for Renee, then made herself a chicken caesar salad from the salad bar, with chicken from the buffet. “Oh! Chocolate pudding!” Xia said, filling a bowl. She sprayed a bunch of whipped cream on top of it. She grabbed a couple meads to go with it, and somehow balanced it all -- with a little help from her telekinesis.

“Here you go, love,” Xia said as she returned to Renee.

Renee could feel the gaze of both Ash Rogerses on her, and a part of her felt self-conscious, but neither of them had any say in her life. She leaned into Xia and thanked her with a smile. After all, this was still a funeral, no need to make a scene.

Freya and Mila were both watching their respective Ash Rogers' reaction to the Betazoid being so intimate with Renee. "There's some history there, isn't it," the captain whispered, in Norse, to which the scientist nodded.

"A lot of history, yes," Mila replied, in the same language. "It's caused some tension in the past, but so far, everyone has been okay with working together. I won't break the Major's trust and tell you what I know, but I can say this much. They were both in the Section, and they were once engaged."

The captain smiled. "You forget that I, too, was once Section. Or will be, in your timeline. I know what it can do to people."

Commander Rogers looked over at Renee with a raised eyebrow. "Well, I see why neither of us stands a chance..."

Major Rogers squeezed her glass and gritted her teeth. She should not feel jealous, she should not think she has any right to feel anything towards Renee.

"You should do something about that. I don't think shattering that glass will be a good look on you," the Terran taunted.

"Do what exactly?" the major grumbled. "I walked out on her. I had my chance."

"You give up too easily," the Terran smirked. "If I were you -- and I am -- I'd walk right over there and make myself feel better. In fact, hold this." She handed the major her drink and walked towards Renee and Xia.

"Hello." She extended a hand to the Betazoid. "I'm Commander Ashley Rogers of the Terran Empire. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

Renee glared at the Terran. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm doing myself a favor," the commander smirked. "Take that as you will," she said as she grinned at Xia.

“A pleasure in return,” Xia replied, a touch surprised, taking the Terran’s hand. Certainly a much better meeting than her last with Ash.

A short distance away T'Ango's ears had flattened back at seeing Xia 'carry' food and drinks to Renee. Not just a mind-thief, but one of those mind-thieves...

"T'Ango..." The caution was pitched low, for her ears alone even as the hand gently smoothing the fur on her back moved to her shoulder. It was the lightest of restraints; a reminder that however much this mate-stealing mind-thief set her teeth on edge, causing a scene wouldn't be wise right now. She might almost suspect Gunnar had read her mind, except she knew how well he knew her, and she could feel the slight tension in his hand, even as he tried to soothe her. Her people had deep cultural prejudices toward telepathy, but he had had his mind forced, which had left him sensitive to any mind touch.

Forcing her ears to relax, T'Ango straightened. If Gunnar could work with this woman, she could too. After all, she'd learned to work with, even befriend, ethical Betazoids, ones she could trust not to enter a mind uninvited. It was the fact that this one was with Rogers' mate -- ex-mate, whatever, it still have set her teeth on edge -- in T'Ango's opinion made her inherently untrustworthy. And speaking of untrustworthy, what was mirror Rogers up to now?

The captain walked up to T'Ango. "Don't worry about the commander," she whispered. "If she causes any real trouble, she'll be off this ship and into an agoniser booth faster than she can think. I may not be a fan of Terran discipline, but it still applies. At least to the Terran members of my crew. It's the opposite of sophisticated, but it works."

It's not Rogers I'd like to put in one... The thought was cut short by the way Gunnar released her shoulder, dropping his hand rather than leaving it where tension might be visible. She knew how that casual reference to torture affected him and felt immediately ashamed. Truthfully, she wouldn't want either of them in an agonizer. "She's your subordinate, Captain," T'Ango answered, lifting her head proudly. "But if the commander gets out of line, I'll face her in a challenge ring, not ask you or anyone else to handle it."

Freya nodded. "Settling personal differences in hand-to-hand combat is a time-honoured tradition on Terra. I can guarantee that the commander would rise to your challenge." Her eyes went up and down, sizing up the Dosadi in front of her. "Knowing the commander, and having read your dossier, I think that would be one hell of a bout to watch."

At that, T'Ango grinned. "My Rogers has always been a very worthy opponent."

Behind her, Gunnar glanced briefly upward, as if for strength. He could almost hear her considering how fighting a Terran Rogers would compare. And now he had to think about it too, specifically how much more damage he ought to be prepared to patch up if they did spar.

As if on the same wavelength as Gunnar, Gable shook a finger at the Dosadi. "No one is challenging anyone," she stated firmly. "Not until medbay has more open beds."

"Aww..." T'Ango mock pouted. She eyed the Terran Rogers, then flashed a grin. "You'd only need one."

The Terran looked up and noticed she had an audience. Her counterpart looked like she was about to murder the glass she was holding. The Dosadi and their Arnason were whispering, and her own captain seemed to be interested in what is happening -- or what wasn’t happening. "Renee, it would appear that you have a lot of people prepared to defend your honor," she said subtly, lifting her glass to her lips, and turning her back to the crowd.

Renee looked up at her friends and her ex and rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable..."

The Terran smiled. "You should be flattered that they all care about you so much, even your ex."

Renee's eyes narrowed. "So what does their reaction say about you?"

The commander looked at Xia and then back to Renee. "I'm not seeking their approval, but they're quite a stubborn bunch, judgemental, but their hearts are in the right place." She then turned to everyone and gave a little wave.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Renee asked.

The Terran raised an eyebrow and lifted her glass towards the motley crew. "Where I come from, this kind of loyalty to friendship is unheard of. I find it fascinating. Not to mention, I don't know what you saw in your version of me; she's no fun at all."

"Don't listen to her," Hatham said loyally, handing an ale to his Rogers. "You're plenty of fun, especially in a boarding action. Heck, you're practically Romulan. Iif you wanted to date my sister, I wouldn't even feel obligated to kill you.”

Major Rogers looked at Hatham, touched by his gesture of friendship, but unsure whether she would laugh or take the man seriously. "So, after the rescue, you're saying I have a chance?" She grinned.

"We'll see." Hatham pursed his lips and tipped his head side-to-side. "She'd have to get past the round ears, but who knows?" He returned the grin with a wink.

"If that's all she has to get past, I'll consider that a win," the major smirked. She raised her ale to Hatham. "Thank you. And if this gathering goes sideways, you have my permission to get rid of the commander whatever way you see fit."

Mila looked from one to the other. She knew them all by now, some better than others, but the way they were so casually joking about these topics still felt strange to her. "You, all of you," she said, with an incredulous note to her voice. "You are all insane."

Freya chuckled. "I can only speak for the commander and I, but I assure you, we are not at all insane. We are Terran. As for the others?" She shrugged. "I doubt even Odin's ravens could figure this lot out."

Raven walked over. "I see we are all making friends." She glanced over at Xia and Renee, and looked back at Ash. "Well, most of us, anyway. Do me a favour, Major. Don't go murdering our communications chief out of jealousy. We do still need her."

The captain shrugged. "I am sure we can spare one of our junior comms officers. Jealousy is as good a motivation for murder as any, in my book."

"Good motive, maybe, still murder," Raven replied with a groan. "And I will not have my crew willy-nilly murdering each other. What are we, twenty-third century Klingons?" She looked at Gable. "Don't answer that."

"Okay, but you aren't." Gable shrugged. Klingons never killed each other 'willy-nilly'. There was a protocol and dueling was permitted only for to insult or advancement. Anything else was execution and reserved for superior officers.

Xia leaned into Renee. “I am getting decidedly unwanted vibes, and not just from our Ash,” she said quietly with a frown. She wasn’t getting any hostility from the Terran, however. “It might be better if I left,” she considered, poking at her salad.

Renee smiled sadly and gave Xia a chaste peck on the cheek. "It doesn't matter what they want. I'd like you to stay."

Mila chuckled. "Guys, I think you're scaring her off," she commented.

The captain furrowed her brow. "Wait, you heard that?"

The science officer laughed. "You never read in my dossier that I can turn up the sensitivity of my hearing? I'm surprised."

The Terran smirked at the scene playing out in front of her and glanced over at her counterpart, whose reaction was quite transparent.

The Major grumbled. "I won't murder our comms officer... I won't murder our comms officer...."

Commander Rogers chuckled as she walked closer to the major. "I think if you murder Xia, Renee might actually murder you."

The Terran then looked over to the captain. ""This is such a delightful universe."

Freya shrugged. "I like it. Much more interesting than ours. Far more unpredictable."

"Indeed," the Counselor remarked. He'd been amazed to see any version of Rogers command such loyalty. It was almost unimaginable for his own Rogers, but clearly a possibility and Arnason wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. Perhaps she didn't either; that might explain why she seemed so intent on tormenting her other self. How her advance on the comm officer fit in, he wasn't sure... though the woman was undeniably physically attractive and presented as a wanton tart, which put her right inline with his Rogers usual fare. Xia was fascinating in her own right, though not (entirely) for the reasons he ascribed to Rogers. She was telepath and he suspected her mode of dress was calculated distraction - 'look at my body, not my mind'. It was an old trick, but often effective; one he'd used often enough himself before reaching a position where it was more advantageous to have people value and/or fear his mind. On that point he couldn't help but feel a touch of jealousy - telepathy would make his job so much easier - though he had to consider now, in light of a little red dress wholly inappropriate if not outright insulting to crewmates in this setting, if reliance on telepathy had stunted her social awareness. ...Or if it was secondary effect to a lack of early socialization; he knew the history of this universe and the attention-seeking dress might also be a symptom: such displays weren't uncommon in those deprived of affection in childhood. If the latter, he was glad she seemed interested only in women; the combination of broken and powerful was one he tended to find compelling, and that would be best avoided.

The interplay was fascinating to watch though. He smiled at Freya. "I think the buffet line could use some popcorn."

Xia’s voice drifted into Ash Rogers’ head. You couldn’t kill me if you tried, Xia said sweetly, telepathically. Smiling at Ash, she popped some chicken caesar salad into her mouth. If Ash was going to be an ass about Xia sleeping with Renee, then Xia was going to push her buttons. After all, Xia had offered to make room, or step aside. It was Ash’s own damn fault.

The Major narrowed her eyes at Xia. "I believe, Lieutenant, that it's only appropriate to verbally respond to your little telepathic retort." Ash raised her voice, so that the others around her could hear without straining. "I already said that I won't kill you. You're one of my officers, and I will lay down my life to keep you alive, regardless of my private or personal thoughts and feelings."

Renee glared at the Major and then at Xia. "What the hell was that about?"

Major Rogers shrugged. "Ask her." She then looked at Xia. "Stay out of my head. It's not a good place to be. That's not a threat, that's just a statement of fact."

The mind-thief had entered Rogers head? T'Ango's ears and whiskers flattened back even as the hackles Gunnar had just smoothed rose straight up. It was all she could do not to let claws flash out like an angry kit. Her Rogers could handle it herself, and had, but if that person touched her mind, or worse, Gunnar's, she would flay her alive.

Raven's and Freya's eyes narrowed simultaneously at the mention of telepathic messages. Finally, the colonel took a step forward. "Right then, show's over. This is a damn wake. We're supposed to drink to the memory of our fallen comrades, not bicker like we're in some soap opera." She turned directly to face Xia. "Lieutenant, your skills are highly valued on this crew. But I warn you. No telepathy on people without their consent. Break that rule again, and there will be consequences."

She turned around to look at the Major. "And you. I don't give a fuck about your history with the chef, or any personal rivalries with any other crew that may be related to it. You are my second in command, and I expect you to act like it. Deal with your personal problems on your own time, not in the middle of the mess hall for the entire crew and our guests to watch and gossip about for weeks."

She walked into the middle of the room and grabbed a bottle of beer before raising her voice. "Let us not forget why we are here today, people. We are here to honour and remember the fallen. So, anyone found in the mess hall but still sober will be on basic rations only for the next month. That is an order. Got that?"

The Major downed her drink. "No problems from me.” She knew she had to get her head back in the game, and not let Xia or the Terran get into her head.

Freya chuckled. "Now that is an order I can get behind." She raised her glass. "Hail the victorious dead!"

The Commander watched her counterpart closely. This was not a comfortable situation for her. The Terran then raised a glass to her captain's toast. "Here here."

Whew. Gunnar let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Between firmly reminding himself that his reaction was his issue, not one a Betazoid would normally even consider, and worrying that he might have to stop T'Ango from ripping a throat out, it had been a tense several moments before Raven intervened. His opinion of the colonel rose considerably there. "Aye." He grabbed a drink and handed one to T'Ango, hoping it would help unruffle the fur still nearly on end. "To the honored dead!"

"To the honored dead!" T'Ango echoed. She could hardly not second that. But as long as the mind-thief was here, she wasn't letting her guard down entirely.

Renee looked over at Xia, "What did you say to Ash?"

“Just that she would find me a lot more difficult to murder than she thinks,” Xia said with a scowl. “And now I am even more unwelcome.” She sighed. “Everyone is so afraid of a little telepathy. Starfleet isn’t this xenophobic.” She tossed back her drink. “I suppose I should leave, then. I shouldn’t be getting drunk, like the colonel wishes, and I have no desire to be on rations for a month.”

Renee put a gentle hand on Xia's shoulder. "Please stay. I'll make sure my idiot friends," she emphasized as she glared at the group, "are more polite." I'm sorry for them, but when this gathering ends, I'd like to make it up to you. Renee smirked at Xia suggestively.

Xia smiled at Renee. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Major Rogers watched as Renee threatened everyone and shook her head. The last thing she wanted was for her friends and for her crew to be forced to take sides in something that she created. It's not fair to anyone, and Raven was right, detrimental to the operations of this ship and its mission. Ash had gone through too much in her life. If she could survive torture at the hands of the enemy, she could make an attempt to be happy for Renee. Xia was not on the same level as everything else she had been through. Ash then unintentionally made eye contact with her Terran doppelganger. She was irritated that the other her was right, and that the commander knew it too, judging by the smug look on her face.

"We are here to celebrate the life of our departed Ferengi comrade," Ash said, owning the mantle of being the second in command. "When I first met Gedak, I may have threatened to kill him. In fact..." she paused, thinking of all of their interactions, "I may have threatened to kill him every time we interacted. But he always paid us on time, always found us the best deal available, and I'm going to miss him."

“And he never bought the cheap stuff when you asked for the good stuff,” Xia added, lifting her glass.

"Never tight with the latinum when it came to good weapons," Hatham agreed, raising his glass.

"Or medical supplies," Nancy added, raising hers as well.

"Or a listening ear to your worries," Raven chimed in, smiling wistfully.

"And most of the fresh ingredients in my kitchen,” Renee pointed out, "We can't pin our hopes on Ash playing nicely with people on different planets to get us fresh seafood all the time."

Major Rogers looked at Mila and shrugged. "I think the Lynns have more to do with that than I did, but I'll take the win."

Commander Rogers smirked. "Or you can just take what you need from those that have it." Noticing the silence in front of her, she added, "A joke..."

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