Decisions...decisions
Posted on Wed Sep 16th, 2020 @ 6:28pm by
Edited on on Wed Sep 16th, 2020 @ 6:32pm
1,554 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Episode 10 - New Home, Same Pioneers
Location: Mess Hall
Timeline: MD007 1630 hrs
Jayden grabbed a tray and got some food, not really being choosy about what he ate. He had been working on a station issue and needed to get back to it after his lunch break.
He saw Zaire sitting by himself and headed over taking a seat. “How’s it going?”
Zaire looked up. “I am not certain.” He shook his head. “I am a bit confused at the moment.”
“What is the problem?” Jayden asked him as he took a drink. He knew he should be eating so he could get back but he wanted to help where he could.
“I think Kalina is avoiding me,” Zaire explained. “I am making a subspace call to my parents later on this evening to find out if this is legitimate but I sent her a couple messages and no answer.” He was concerned.
“It is a lot to take in,” Jayden replied. “She probably needs some time to come to terms with it. Women aren’t like us, they process things differently.”
“I have given her time,” Zaire responded with a sigh. “We both have known our whole lives that this would come one day.” He took a drink from his glass and continued. “Well, not to each other but that we would be in an arranged marriage.”
"Then wait until she is off duty and go to her quarters and talk to her," Jayden suggested. "The best way to know is for a face to face discussion.
"What if she doesn't want to talk to me," Zaire persisted. "I don't want to push her away either." He sighed loudly. "It is a double edged sword, I am damned if I do or it I don't."
"I'd rather take the chance,' Jayden said. "This is your future, Zaire!" He felt kind of weird because he had talked to Kalina and now here he was giving Zaire advice. He hoped he didn't end up the bad guy.
“You don’t know a lot about Betazed women,” Zaire sighed. “They don’t like feeling pushed or being confronted. I need to handle this carefully or be patient.”
“I hope you have more than I do,” Jayden said with a smile. “I am not the most patient person in my personal life. Only at work and I have had to learn that.”
“It isn’t helping that I have my own concerns,” Zaire sighed. “And there is that call to my parents. I have this feeling it will not go well.”
“I haven’t talked to mine in a while,” Jayden said with a nod. “I send them messages once in a while but they are colonists and busy with their lives.”
Some probably thought that was weird but it was the dynamics of his parents. Jayden didn’t want to be that kind of parent, he wanted to have a close relationship with his children.
“My family is close,” Zaire said with a smile. “Sometimes too close, A person can feel like they are suffocating.”
“Polar opposites for families,” Jayden said with a laugh. “My parents live in their own world. They love us but their belief is to raise us and then send us out of the best, so to speak, to find and live our own lives. They did their duty.”
“I can’t even imagine that,” Zaire felt kind of bad for Jayden. To be sent on your way like that. His family could make him crazy but they were always there for each other. “How did it make you feel?” He didn’t know if Jayden would share or not.
“Feel?” Jayden thought for a long moment. “At the time I was so anxious to head for the academy it didn’t faze me in the least.” He stabbed some food on his plate and looked over at Zaire. “I won’t be like them if I have any children.”
Zaire nodded at his reply. “It’s funny the things we don’t want to pass on to our children. I don’t want to be too controlling.” He smiled. “I think I may be a bit of a pushover.”
“I didn’t have a bad childhood,” Jayden said with a smile. “Our parents saw that we had what we needed and got an education. Other than that our time was free for us to do what we wanted.”
Zaire grinned. “Maybe we should have done a parent switch for a week. My mother had schedules, even fun time was on it.” He laughed softly. “How does one schedule fun?”
“That is kind of...different,” Jayden agreed with a nod. “I don’t know you that well yet, but you don’t seem to be the type who would be happy with that kind of schedule.”
“I am so not,” Zaire nodded. “I would sneak out and my brother covered for me.”
Jayden laughed. “That isn’t anything I ever had to do, we learned early how to replicate food and to be home before it got too late. Just like any other world there were dangerous animals to be wary of.
“No curfew?” Zaire said with a raised eyebrow. Children needed structure.
"You have to understand," Jayden explained. "My parents are dedicated to their careers. My mother is a botanist and my Dad used to be an engineer in Starfleet but he left so that he and my mother could help colonize Aquilae 5. It was a full time life for them."
"What did they have kids for," Zaire asked him with a frown. "It sounds like they really didn't have time for you."
"I think they loved the idea of having children," Jayden said with a smile. "There is a lot of truth to the old saying that anyone can be a parent but it takes someone special to be a mother or father."
"I never heard that before," Zaire replied. "But when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Having a baby is a lot different than raising a child."
"Like I said it wasn't bad," Jayden said with a smile. "Being independent at an early age is what led me to operations. I almost went into engineering but I realized it was more because that was my Dad's field. I like what I do and I am good at it."
"It was the same for me," Zaire murmured. "I was in high school when I realized that I really liked science and then I started looking into going to the academy. It wasn't easy, up until then I was an average student and I knew not just anyone could get in so I got serious and worked hard the rest of high school. My parents didn't believe I would even get accepted but I proved them wrong."
"It's good you landed here," Jayden replied. "The science chief has a great reputation and you will learn those hand on skills from him needed to be promoted. I work under Lieutenant O'Flannagain," He grinned. "She is the commander's wife. She expects us to give one hundred percent but is fair with us. "
"That's good to know," Zaire said, then he grinned. "After spending time on a transport getting here I would have been happy no matter who I was working under."
"I have never experienced that," Jayden replied with a sigh of relief. "I hear it is crowded."
"That is an understatement," Zaire said quickly. "I shared a room with someone who talked nonstop and there was barely room to walk. When you ate, it was like sharing a meal you were so close together. It is my hope that I never have to travel on one again."
"It sounds miserable," Jayden said sympathetically. "I came on a shuttle with a couple other people. It was a long trip but we had room to breathe." He imagined what it had to be like and silently thanked whoever planned his trip to the ship.
They fell silent after that and finished their meals. Jayden almost forgot he was supposed to be hurrying so he could finish up the job he was in the middle of. He picked up his glass and finished off his soda and then looked over to Zaire. "I hope things work out for you and Kalina. I know it seems hard now but what is meant to be will happen."
Zaire nodded in return. "Thanks a lot for that and for eating lunch with me. It helped to have you listen and then to get my mind off my problems and on to something else for a change." He stood and picked up his tray. " He felt like he had made a friend on the ship already and that made him feel good.
"Anytime," Jayden replied. "You need someone to talk to or to hang out, let me know and maybe we can lift weights together or something. "See you later." He dumped his dishes and headed out the door to finish his shift hoping in some way he had helped Zaire out.
A joint post by;
Ensign Jayden Robertson
Operations Officer, USS Pioneer
Ensign Zaire Byrne
Science Officer, USS Pioneer
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