Knowing Me, Knowing You

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 11:53pm by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Commander James Smith
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:15pm

Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Deck 2 - Starboard Side

A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant James Smith
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Deck 2 - Starboard Side
Timeline:
Tue Oct 9th, 2018 @ 3:18am

As grudges go, Nyx usually preferred to maintain a quiet avoidance rather than outwardly hate someone. He reserved hate for the murderers who destroyed his colony. For anyone else that he'd argued with or vehemently disliked, he would simply learn to move on with his life and not seek those people out again. He was never quite sure what to do about people who disliked him, as he could usually avoid them or just get on with doing his job. He never usually chased others for acceptance. The bubble had changed all that. The bubble had kept his problems, his arguments, his words, his grudges, all contained and swirling around him without any release. It was like staying in the bath too long.

Nyx knew that his treatment of James and Krysia had created the crack in the unity of the crew, which had only continued to spread and feed the eventual rebellion in the bubble. It didn't matter that the Captain hadn't intended to drive his friends away, or cause some of his crew to stop listening to him. It didn't matter that he was reacting in the heat of the moment, or doing what he felt was best. It also didn’t matter that this entire scenario hadn’t taken place in reality: it had felt real to them.

He just wasn't sure if James or Krysia would be willing to listen to him. So he chose to approach James first, hoping that his old friend would at least grant him an audience.

James was busy tidying up; he had just returned from his check-up as Krysia was leaving for hers. He had done his best to carry out his duties since coming back from the bubble. Hearing the knock on his door he walked over and pushed it open. He was surprised to see Nyx standing there: they hadn’t spoken yet in private since they both awoke from the bubble. Looking at his old friend he said he sighed, and stepped aside, “Please come in Nyx.”

"Thank you." Nyx replied with a wry frown as he entered the room. "How are you Smithy, and Krysia?"

Smith sat down, “I’m doing ok, and she is coping.” Looking at his old friend he smiled a little, “Nyx I’m sorry.”

Nyx nodded, “Me too. I reacted strongly to your situation because I didn't want the crew to fall apart.” He could only shrug. "So much for my first command, hey? First sign of trouble and that’s exactly what we did."

It was hard to talk about events that both did and did not happen at the same time. It was like a scene straight from a Douglas Adams novel. And yet the feelings that had occurred had felt real to them both, so it was necessary to talk about them.

“These commands have a way of testing all of us. It’s what we learn and deal with our mistakes that truly defines who we are.” Smith started to chuckle a bit “Do you remember our first training simulation at the academy.”

"Hey I set a record for reaching the primary target." Nyx protested, smiling cheekily. "Even if I managed to crash immediately afterwards."

“Yeah you killed all of us but we had fun during those training assignments.” Smith looked at Nyx, “I’m hoping things will get back to normal.”

"I know." Nyx sighed loudly. "It’s going to take time and a hell of a lot of healing. But I think we’ll get there.”

James nodded, “I agree time will heal, but those memories, you being killed, the birth of my children and grandchild it’s hard to forget. For me it was like losing everything I care about all over again.” James chuckled a bit, “Of course I’m happy to be out of that bubble and to have you still among the living.”

“It does feel a little like I’ve come back from the dead.” Nyx admitted. “This morning I received a preliminary report from Lieutenant Mindo and he’s given a detailed analysis of the bubble. He strongly suggested the wave created an alternate reality within the transporter buffers, hence why everything felt real to us. I’m still not sure how to process that information to be honest.”

Nodding James said, “ I’ll go over the info as well and have my staff develop a plan to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.” James chuckled, “It’s hard to believe ho much this really challenged us as Starfleet officers.”

"Indeed." Nyx smiled. "Well let's not dwell on it. How are you and Krysia coping?"

“We are doing ok, working on getting things back to normal and enjoying ourselves, it’s good to finally have someone else in my life that I truly care about.”

Nyx nodded, "I hear that." He readjusted in his seat a little. "You two spent a life time together in the bubble. I guess if you want to find some positives from out of all this, it's that at least you get the chance to do it all over again. You get a do-over."

Nodding Smith smiled, “ True I plan to make every moment count, and I plan on asking her to marry me, also I know it’s a big thing to ask but I would be honored if you would agree to marry us. I’m going to talk to Krysia about it but I’m sure she would love it as well.”

"I'd be delighted." Nyx nodded with a smile. "Anyway, I should get back to my rounds. I'm on a Reacquainting Tour of the Pandora." He laughed.

Having said goodbye to his friend, Nyx continued on his walk. He was relieved that there wasn’t a lasting damage to his friendship with Smith, and he hoped to mend bridges with Kaleri as well. Through his failing and triumphs, he would always try to better himself. To not hold grudges. To be the Captain that the Pandora required. He still wasn’t sure if he was going to stay on the ship once it was recalled to Federation space but he also wasn’t ready to give up on this crew, who had become his family.