Every Day

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 5:33am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Emilie Temple
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 1:38pm

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: Sickbay

A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Emilie Temple
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: Sickbay
Timeline:
Fri Aug 4th, 2017 @ 5:01pm


Sitting upright on a biobed in the corner of Sickbay, Emilie was waiting for the Doctor's medical treatments to finish. She had a bone regenerator attached to her right arm, healing the damage she incurred, with a monitoring device on her forehead due to the concussion she also suffered. It was later at night now, the emergency panic of the earlier events finally over with. The Sickbay was mostly silent, except for a few nurses and Medical officers making their rounds on the other patients currently recuperating.

With the marvellous medical equipment doing it's job, Emilie was free to finally relax. She could feel herself drifting off, though she was only allowed short periods of sleep. Not long after closing her eyes, however, she became aware of a presence to her left and wearily opened her eyes. There she saw it again, her husband Nyx, just staring down at her in silence with a blank expression. She had thought the apparitions were gone now they were out of the dark matter, and a frightened chill ran through her body at the sight.

'Not again!' she thought.

However, this time Emilie was not going to be afraid of the ghosts and decided to take a leaf out of Lieutenant Griffin's approach to his apparition... Attack it to make it disappear! So, with her good arm, Emilie reached up and slapped the ghost hard across the face.

As soon as her hand smacked against Nyx's hairy - and very real - chin, he let out out a surprised "Ow!" and Emilie gasped in surprise.

"What was that for?" Nyx asked, rubbing his face.

"Oh Nyx I'm sorry, I thought you were an apparition." Emilie explained, reaching her hand now to sooth his chin too.

Nyx put his hand on hers, his eyes softening. "Oh... You too, huh? That damned dark matter was an ambush. There was something in it that made us see... things."

"So I hear," Emilie replied with a nod, "But it felt so real."

Nyx leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and he whispered, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Emilie nodded and decided to move over in the biobed, giving Nyx enough room to sit down next to her. He paused, wondering if he would crowd her space, but she gently patted the empty room beside her and Nyx obediently followed. As he sat, he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, mindful to avoid the regenerator on her other side.

"It wasn't just me," Emilie sighed as she leaned into her husband. "It made Lieutenant Griffin see his deceased wife. As a Borg Drone."

"Oh no," Nyx breathed out, "That's horrible, the poor guy. I'll have to check in with him, to see how he's doing."

Emilie murmured, "Mm-hm. He was trying to remain calm but you could tell he was angry. We have to find out a way to shut down this trap, Nyx, so no one else goes through that."

"We will," Nyx replied, kissing her head again. "When we can find a way to destroy it from the outside, we will." He looked over to the medical equipment on her arm and frowned, "So, what happened?"

Emilie shook her head, "I got so panicked when the ship went into red alert, I was worried for Katrine. How is she now? She was able to visit earlier but not for very long."

Nyx pulled a small PADD out of his pocket and showed Emilie; it was a constant video stream of Katrine's bedroom, showing their little girl fast asleep in bed. "I've had her on constant watch all day. Apparently, she thought it was all a fun ride. Had the other kids giggling and laughing every time the ship dove or turned."

Emilie chuckled, staring into the screen with tenderness, "Of course she did."

Nyx put the PADD away and said softly, "The school is perfectly safe during an emergency. The ship has protocols for protecting the kids, no matter what happens."

"Apparently," Emilie replied lamenting, "But you tell that to a mother separated from her child during a crisis. Everyone was running, the lights were going out. It felt like the attack on Lucis all over again."

Nyx held her tightly, knowing just how terrifying that day had been, especially as Emilie lost her father. Of course it would have reminded her of that day. He started to feel the pangs of guilt for putting her through that, beginning to wonder if he was wrong to ask her to come to the Pandora.

As if reading his mind, Emilie sighed and leaned her head onto Nyx's, taking a deep breath before speaking. "Can I say the thing I'm not supposed to say and not have you hate me for saying it?"

Nyx smiled a little, reaching out his hand to rest on the side of his wife's head, "I know what it is. You're thinking you wished you had stayed on Earth?"

Emilie just nodded, a small frown growing on her lips, "About the third time the ground turned on it's side, yes, I wished I hadn't come here. Do you hate me?"

"Never." Nyx replied, moving slightly to kiss her on the cheek. "And it's understandable. I mean, we've had a pretty rough introduction to the region. It's enough to make anyone reconsider this life."

"Not you lot though," She said quickly, "You Starfleet folks get knocked around and you're up the next morning ready to try again. I guess I don't have that in my nature, I don't have that resilience."

"You do," Nyx answered gently, "In your own way, you do. Maybe it takes you a bit longer because you've come from a civilian life? You went from living on one peaceful, quiet planet to another and this is your first time living on an active starship. The officers have had Academy training, and years of experience dealing with a life of service. But, you have also endured your own challenges, you've been knocked around and managed to stand up again. You're tougher than you give yourself credit for, my love."

"Maybe," Emilie sighed, thinking this over. She was so pleased to hear his words of encouragement and support, even if she wasn't quite believing it at the moment. Still, she loved him for saying it.

"And this ain't exactly natural," Nyx continued wryly, "We're in an oversized tin can in the middle of deadly, cold space. Any one of a million things could kill us. Especially all alone in the Inconnu Expanse like we are, it's actually crazy when you think about it."

She pulled back and looked at him, "That hardly helps, Nyx. How am I not better off safe on Earth?"

Nyx thought about it for a moment, before giving his best 'I have a speech' smile. He began, "Sure Earth itself is probably more protected. But that's only because of the work we do in service that keeps it that way. Without Starfleet, exploring and peace-keeping, we wouldn't be safe for long. Who knows if the Pandora manages to stop an invasion that could have destroyed Earth?" He gave a laugh, "I mean, probably not, but it's why we do this every day. Why we get up in the morning and try again."

Emilie nodded but she bit her bottom lip hesitantly, "But I'm not part of that, I'm just a school administrator and Captain's wife. I'm not responsible for keeping Earth safe."

Gently, Nyx pulled Emilie towards him, planting a soft yet passionate kiss onto her lips that lasted several minutes. Then, he held his forehead against hers now, eyes closed. He said softly, "It is because you are here that I can do my job. You are my reason for getting up in the morning, the one I fight to make a better galaxy for. I sit in the chair, I give the orders, I do it all for you. And for Katrine, of course. The Pandora sails because you two give me a reason to sail. You make me a better Captain, and a better person for the crew. Every single day of the week."

"And," He smiled, "You bring light, joy, and compassion to this ship. You have this ability to reach people, make them feel at ease. Sometimes we need someone to remind us to be people and not just Starfleet officers. I'm counting on you, my love, to keep us grounded when the space around us gets rough."

This time, Emilie leaned in and firmly placed her lips on his, using her hand on the back of his head to hold him tightly against her face. It was the kiss of a couple who loved each other deeply and intensely; where this love was shared honestly and equally whenever either person required it. They had moved each other with their commitment and loyalty before, and this was another moment where their bond to each other was proven.

Finally, she rested back again and smiled, "Thank you, Nyx."

The couple sat for a moment, leaning into each other and enjoying the comfort of each other. The Sickbay continued in it's quiet hum, the medics giving the Temples their time alone. Once again, they had faced a challenge and come through it stronger together, husband and wife satisfied that they had made the right choice to be together on the Pandora again, despite the challenges and dangers.

However, there remained one final pressing thought that had been running through Nyx's mind since the conversation began and he just had to ask.

"Em?" He spoke, and he waited with baited breath until she gave a responsive murmur. He frowned, "The dark matter made us see our deepest fears."

"Yes," she replied warily.

"But you said you saw me?" He asked, a little hurt.

Emilie laughed lightly, "It wasn't just you, you. The ghost was screaming in terrible pain, this horrid expression on your face. It was a shocking vision. And then at one point you suddenly grew old and deformed." She shivered hard, "It'll be a while till I get that image out of my head."

Nyx nodded along, "I know." He replied softly. "I saw the same thing."

His wife looked to him with a concerned grimace, "That's strange. What do you think that means?"

Nyx held her tightly again, closing his eyes. "I really don't want to find out."

OFF