A cup of Coffee
Posted on Fri Apr 3rd, 2020 @ 8:28pm by
Edited on on Wed Oct 21st, 2020 @ 4:11am
1,173 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Episode 9 - Empok's End
Location: USS Tianlong, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD003 0700 hrs
Talas hasn’t slept well at all. What had happened on the station had played over and over in his mind. He knew he wasn’t doing himself any good, he should have had a few more drinks but he hadn’t. Instead after Nassie had taken off he went back and listened to the others, finally calling it a night only to toss and turn.
He took a shower and dressed. Then headed out the door, following others to get some coffee and maybe something to eat. Heading in, he made his selections and then looked around. His eyes landed on Nassie. Should be go over there or not.
Nassie was still nursing her first cup of coffee. She noticed her stalker, had returned. She tried to keep a low profile, wondering if he had seen her. She did her best to keep a low profile.
“Good morning,” Talas said as he stopped by her table. He was certain she would not want him to sit there but then she could tell him to go away and he would. “I wanted to apologize for last night. I was out of line.”
"Yes you where." Nassie said, rolling her eyes a little bit. It was nice of him to say sorry, but it still rude that he did it.
“I deserve that,” Talas acknowledged. “I would like to get past last night if we could.” It was a lot to ask he knew. “I will leave that up to you.”
"Is that all, you wanted?" Nassie asked, noticing he was still hovering over her area. It was clear to her, that he wanted to talk to her.
“I was hoping to sit with you,” Talas confessed. “But if you would rather I leave just tell me to go and I won’t bother you again.”
"Now we come down to the truth." Nassie said, as she motioned for him to sit. "Its a Starfleet Vessel, we dont have assigned seating. Feel free to sit where you like. Even if that's with me." Nassie pointed out to him.
“Okay,” Talas sat down across from her. He didn’t eat right away just looked at her. “Are you ever going to let go?”
"Of what? Your rudeness last night or the loss of our station? Be more specific." Nassie said, thinking about both things.
“Both if I am honest,” Talas said quietly. “I don’t know about you but I barely slept.”
"You barely slept?" Nassie asked, wondering what was his angle. She was not buying into his victim card. Not after that stunt he pulled last night. He better have a good reason, for saying he did not sleep well.
“I kept thinking about what happened on the base,” Talas replied. “Those that didn’t make it off. “ he paused. “And for my chief. The weight of this is laying heavy, being a Cardassian.”
"I am sorry for your loss." Nassie said, being a little compassionate. She was still annoyed, but clearly he was hurting too.
“And I felt like an ass over last night,” Talas admitted. “You don’t know a thing about me I had no right to treat you like you couldn’t take care of yourself. I reminded myself of my father and it wasn’t pretty.”
"What does your father have to do with this?" Nassie asked, wondering why he was blaming his father.
“It is a long story,” Talas replied. “I don’t care for the way he treats my sister is all.”
He smiled at her. “Can we move forward, please? And forget last night.”
"No, we can not. But we can start a new day." Nassie said, feeling annoyed he wanted to burry his mistakes, instead of facing them. And resolving them.
"Okay," Talas murmured as he took a drink from his glass. "Have you heard anything new this morning?"
"No have you?" Nassie asked, she was curious he heard anything.
“Not a word,” Talas shook his head. “The first thing I did was to try and track down some information but I had no luck.”
"Let's hope no news, is good news." Nassie said, as she took a bite from her eggs and bacon. She was very hungry.
Talas watched her for a moment and took a bite. He sat for a moment. “I am surprised at something.”
"What is that Talas?" Nassie asked, trying to engage him, in this chat banter they hard started up today. Maybe she was wrong about him, and he was not a total jerk.
“Everyone I talked to had the when attitude for going back to the station,” Talas explained. “It made me feel better. I guess I expected some to be defeated. I am glad to be a part of this crew.”
"I believe we will be retaking Empok Nor, just a matter of time." Nassie said, trying to reassure him. He seemed a little shaken in their resolve. She wondered, if he doubted they would be able to retake the station.
“So do I,” Talas nodded. “The sooner the better. I just thought after having gone through that some wouldn’t want to return. For me, I am ready now.”
"I barely arrived on the station, before we driven off the station. Never really had a chance to settle in, can not wait to settle in." Elloma said. She did not have a personal connection to her last assignment. "That might sound silly, but I want to explore the station, learn about it. I felt cheated out of that."
“It doesn’t,” Talas murmured. “I feel kind of the same. I was looking for a home and I had a good feeling about being there and then it was ripped away from me.”
Nassie wondered if he was always dramatic? Seemed a little dramatic of a response. "Ripped is a little dramatic." She suggested to him.
"It kind of was," Talas said with a slighty smile. "Take away from us sounds a little better." He looked at her. "I am not normally this...this dramatic, I can't explain why I seem to be at present."
"Me either, wonder why it is? Maybe its the attack, maybe its me. Not sure, but something has you on edge." Nassie said to him, trying to figure it out in her head.
“Maybe I am just waiting for them to come after us,” Talas said after thinking. “I need to let that go.”
"You need to let it go. The Federation is to well protected, they got lucky on a station, but this ship is heavily protected." Nassie pointed out to him.
“Your right,” Talas nodded. “I am putting it behind me and will focus on our return.”
"Good idea." Nassie said, as the scene starts to fade away.
A Joint Post by
Ensign Nassie Essu
Operations Officer, Empok Nor
Ensign Talas Ruhrie
Communications Specialist, Empok Nor
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