[AU] Boiling Over

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 6:14am by Cailus Griffin & Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri-Smith & Lieutenant James Smith & Lieutenant JG Vecon Fick
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 4:58pm

Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Observation Lounge
Timeline: [backpost] before the crew fractures

A Mission Post by Lieutenant Kalin 'Shae' Brennan-Griffin PhD & Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri & Lieutenant James Smith & Lieutenant JG Vecon Fick
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Observation Lounge
Timeline: [backpost] before the crew fractures

ON:

Shae used the small towel draped over her shoulder to wipe away the sweat forming on her brow as she padded into the Observation Lounge for some water; she was already borrowing against her rations for tomorrow, but it couldn't be helped, not with the state she was in. She gave some thought to talking to the Captain about lifting some of the allotment restrictions when she was like this, but as she signed off on the ration inventory and took a bottle of water (and a pack of rations for herself and Cailus to have for dinner) she decided against it knowing full well that resources were tight enough as it was, she didn't need to make things worse for everyone else simply for the sake of her comfort.

Oh, but what Shae wouldn't give for a nice run right now, just letting loose in the halls to work out some of this pent up agitation! Alas, she could not, she had already burned through her energy credits for the week on cold showers maintaining her body temperature, she couldn't afford to take another shower to cool down after a run unless Cailus offered to sacrifice his own hygiene for her, which she knew he would in a heartbeat, or he would simply offer to shower with her, but that would strain her self control too much.

'Just one more day until I start to feel normal again,' she thought as she wiped more sweat away, just one more day, she could make it!

Krysia arrived in the observation lounge with baby Aurora to collect the allotted rations for herself, James & Aurora, she spent less time outside her & James' quarters than she used to thanks to having Aurora but she didn't mind. Even a short break to get rations was a break, she nodded politely to Shae as she signed off on what she had.

Shae's eyes glazed over slightly when she saw baby Aurora, smelled the newness of her, and the familiar scent of Aoife; they had managed to get some of Aoife's things from their quarters before losing deck 3 entirely, and little Aurora was currently wrapped in one of Aoife's old blankets, and it wouldn't be too much longer before Aoife's scent was completely gone, replaced completely by this new, innocent, and beautiful little light of life. Shae was happy for Krysia, truly she was, but she was also in pain; she missed Aoife so much, and she feared for her daughter's well-being, not knowing if Aoife was able to adapt to the loss of her parents or if she had crumbled emotionally from the stress of being abandoned a second time. Shae wanted to believe that Aoife was strong enough and her family loving enough to help Aoife through it, but the not knowing was killing her.

But there was more to the ache within Shae than simple longing; during these hormonal surges, she was not her usual self, her wilder primal side came more to the fore and suppressed higher thought that helped mitigate emotional reactions. Basically, her instinct wanted what it wanted, and not being able to be with her child caused an intense swell of jealousy to rise within her; she wasn't angry at Krysia, at least not really, and what was left of her higher thought processes knew that is was okay to be a little jealous as long as it didn't get too personal, but the aggression of her instinct was pushing her emotions further than what she normally experience, causing Shae to growl as Krysia came to collect her rations. Why did Shae and her mate have to suffer when this careless twit got the family she had been dreaming about? What right did they have to be happy?!

Krysia looked curiously in Shae's direction, she couldn't read Shae so it was no good trying to sense her emotional state all she could tell was that Shae was now growling at her and she didn't know why. Perhaps it had something to do with having Aurora with her when Shae herself was separate from Aoife she wasn't sure but her protective instincts as a mother made her want to grab the rations and depart with her little one as soon as possible.

Shae could practically taste the adrenaline in the air and Shae's growl deepened; good, Krysia should be afraid, she should be ashamed and filled with sorrow! But in the recesses of Shae's mind, she knew this was wrong, and they should both leave before something happened that could not be undone or forgiven, but as Krysia grabbed her rations and tried to calmly remove herself from the situation, Shae simply reacted and put herself between Krysia and the door, her lips pulling back to bare her fangs with a snarl.

"How dare you..." Shae said as a low guttural growl continued to reverberate through her. No, this was wrong, stop! "What right do you have to play the happy little family?"

For the first time ever Krysia felt afraid of Shae, she'd never had cause to be afraid of her before but now she felt very afraid. She looked around for some avenue of escape for herself and Aurora but there wasn't anywhere to go, backing up as far away from Shae as she could get she gently placed Aurora on the floor in a corner before standing ready to protect her child. She wasn't even sure she would win a battle between herself & Shae but if she had to she'd give it all she got to defend Aurora from harm. "I know you're not yourself at the moment Shae..." she looked around hoping someone would come through the doors to stop whatever was about to happen, "Let's just drop this and get out of here."

Shae scoffed at the woman and the way she tried to stand guard over the child; did Krysia actually believe that Shae would hurt a defenseless child?

'Of course she thinks that; I am a monster after all..." Shae thought to herself, unable to stop herself from advancing on Krysia.

"Foolish woman," Shae said with a sneer as her hands curled into fists at her sides. "Answer me! What right do you have to happiness while everyone else must suffer?"

"No one has to suffer Shae!" Krysia hoped she'd be able to get through to Shae, "we all have a chance at happiness I can't change what's happened here but I can carry on and live what life we have here. I know you're missing Aoife, I can only imagine how painful it must be being away from her."

Nyx was further down the corridor, shuffling sleepily on his way to his quarters when he heard the raised voices in the distance. He had often wondered how long it would be before tensions broke out between the crew. It was only a matter of time with everyone thrust together in such small proximity, with no rescue on the horizon. The smallest incident could spark a full-blown fight and as he charged into an urgent sprint towards the sound of the argument, he wondered which officers had broken first.

"What kind of life can we hope to have here!" Shae snarled back. She had yet to raise a hand to Krysia, but she was dangerously close, close enough that Krysia could feel the heat radiating off of Shae. "One day we will have no food, no power, the shield will collapse. Even if we find a way to forestall that fate and survive, it's a bleak future waiting for us, growing old with no hope, and your child will have only me for companionship after everyone else has passed on, and eventually I'll have to watch her grow old and die too, old and alone.... How could you possibly be content with that!"

Temple didn’t so much as enter the room as he leapt into it; immediately coming to stand between the two Officers. He had caught the end of Shae’s last words and while it wasn’t dissimilar to his own concerns once upon a time, he was surprised by the ferocious tone and raw anger in Shae’s voice. Even as he stood in front of the Chief Science Officer, he was taken aback by the look of wild rage in her eyes. Instinctively he held up his hands to Shae. “Hey now, let’s take a step back here.”

Shae was torn; even in the state she was in, she respected Nyx's authority, but he was keeping her from her quarry, a senseless woman who deserved what was coming to her! But her instinct wanted what it wanted, and her anger had bloomed too much to be denied satisfaction. She grabbed Nyx and threw him aside so she could step closer to Krysia, invading her personal space.

"Answer me woman! How can you be happy knowing your child is doomed to spend her days alone?" Shae barked at Krysia, the strong bellow startling baby Aurora from her slumber, causing her to cry.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the deck, Cailus was attending to the dreary business of inspecting inventory when someone found him, alerting him to the growing disturbance in the lounge. It was pure luck that he’d been nearby, and thus was able to get to the lounge in time with a dead sprint.

A passing glance when he arrived was all Cailus needed: Krysia and her baby girl were backed into a corner, Nyx was hurrying to get off the floor and Shae looked utterly wild. Her typically tidy white hair was askew and sweat was building on her brow, but worst of all was her aggressive, rage-filled tirade at Krysia, so unlike Shae’s usual gentle self.

Things could only get worse.

Thus, acting without hesitation or conscious planning, Cailus strode over swiftly and seized his wife by her shoulders, lifting her up high then slamming her into a bulkhead with violent force. “Shae!” he thundered as loud and powerfully as he could. “You’re losing control! Snap out of it!”

Caught by surprise by the suddenness and strength of Shae’s movement against him, Nyx couldn’t help but gasp a little as he headed towards the carpeted floor. However as he dropped his shoulder and turned the nose-dive into a less than elegant roll, he sprang back up again with his weapon drawn - just in time to see Griffin’s own sudden and strong movement against Shae. Apparently it was 'Attack Each Other Day' on the USS Pandora. Though confused by all of this, the Captain kept his phaser trained on Shae just in case she did not heed the warning.

Krysia took the distraction to quickly pick up Aurora and cradle her screaming child to calm her, she had to admit her own nerves were just as ragged she'd never seen Shae like this before. She remained standing where she was seeing Nyx with this phaser drawn she was hoping he wasn't going to have to use it.

The sudden slam to the wall was enough to jar Shae back to her senses, although she continued to growl as Cailus held her to the wall; she even tried to push back against him, but he had too much leverage on her, and after a moment her struggle became enfeebled by fatigue from the heat of his body pressed against hers. A moment longer and her growling ceased and she started to go slack, but Cailus would know she had given up the fight when she finally issued a small canine whimper to admit her defeat and submission to him; had he been anyone else, she might have tried to fake this reaction, but she would never try to deceive her beloved mate.

Krysia breathed a small sigh of relief as things appeared to be calming down, her eyes diverted to the door as James came racing through the door no doubt having heard what had happened.

Satisfied that Shae was no longer a threat (and, though he didn’t show it, disgusted at himself at what he’d just done), Cailus gently lowered Shae down, although he kept a comforting hand on Shae’s shoulder. A sudden awkward silence had descended, broken only by Aurora’s panicked cries, and Cailus turned back to everyone.

“Kaleri, Captain,” Cailus said quietly, “are you alright?”

Once Cailus had lowered Shae to the ground and released her, she suddenly realized how nice the cold metal of the bulkhead felt against her heated skin, so she relaxed against it, still breathing hard and trying her best to ignore the headache that was forming.

Smith came running into the room after being notified of the situation, things seemed like it was under control, but the tension was thick. Locating Krysia and Aurora he made his way over to where they were standing. Looking them both over he said, “Are you both ok.” Before she could really respond back he turned his attention to Cailus, “What happened here, why did she attack Krysia and Aurora.”

“She didn’t,” Cailus insisted with a touch more force than intended, glaring at Smith before forcing himself to relax. He glanced at Shae with a sigh, recognising how she was trying to cool off that intense internal heat. “I cannot say more, but please be aware that there are extenuating circumstances. Shae has external factors affecting her judgement at present, factors that cannot be effectively mitigated here, in the Bubble. She isn’t responsible for her actions, but it is temporary. This will not happen again, I promise you.”

Krysia had stood silent for a moment trying to settle Aurora, now she was settling Krysia looked towards James, "It's okay James" she looked towards Cailus, "We're fine thank you" she looked towards Shae then at Nyx, "I'm not going to make a complaint against Shae, Captain, what's done is done and it's evident she's not herself, I'd rather just forget this."

Nyx hadn't yet lowered his weapon, having seen and felt what the officer could do within a split second. "External factors?" He asked. "Seemed pretty damned internal from where I was standing. And I used to be standing over there." He let out a long breath. "If you are not in control of yourself, Lieutenant Brennan, you will need to be detained in your temporary quarters until you can manage your outbursts."

"I was isolating myself," Shae said wearily, her eyes drooping closed for a moment and she just breathed. "It's embarrassing, but normally I'm just uncontrollably aroused when I'm like this, and since I'm only drawn to Cailus in that way, I didn't think it would hurt to take a short walk to get water and food, I didn't... I didn't expect to react like I did," she tried to explain in her defense.

“And it will not happen again,” Cailus emphasised, adding his voice to Shae’s as he locked eyes with Krysia, James and then Nyx. He was still very conscious of the Captain’s phaser, which was directed at Shae (and therefore Cailus as he stood in front of her), but he ignored it. “I give you my word.”

Sasha poked her head around the corner to see what the commotion was all about, having spent most of her afternoon trying to find Fick to see if he was okay. She was aghast at what had occurred in that room, but remained quietly still in the corridor while the others talked it out.

Krysia’s heart was still going like mad but she was doing her best not to show it as she lay her head on James’ shoulder, Aurora was finally quiet again as well. She handed the rations she’d collected before everything began to James to hold. “Let’s go home...” she looked towards Shae, “I just want to get out of here.”

James nodded in agreement, “I’ll get both of you home safely.” James looked around at those still assembled and wondered what was happening to their friends and colleagues. Sighing Krysia, Aurora and James left and headed back to their quarters.

Though Shae's eyes were still closed with her cheek pressed against the bulkhead to leech some of her body heat into the cold metal, she was still quite aware of when Krysia and James passed her by; she could hear them and smell them, and Shae growled low as they went past. There was no anger on her face, no rage, her reaction was simply like a canine warning strangers they were getting to close where they didn't belong. Cailus' hand was still on her shoulder and feeling his grip tighten slightly forced her to recognize what she was doing so she could stop herself, and her growl turned into a soft whine.

Krysia couldn't help but tense up as she went past Shae, she'd had the horrible feeling that things were going to get physical between them for a little while and she had no doubt Shae would have won. She moved closer to James holding Aurora close to her as they exited through the doors

Nyx shook his head at Shae as he returned his phased to its holster. “I will give you ten minutes to calm down and allow Krysia to get back to her quarters, then I want you to seclude yourself until whatever this is has passed.” The Captain started to speak but then just shook his head again, before walking out of the room.

Shae hung her head in shame, utterly humiliated that she had lost control and allowed people to see her like that. With Cailus' hand still on her shoulder as both a deterrent and a comfort, together they made their way back to their quarters, where no doubt they would have a lot to talk about.