The Quiet

Posted on Fri Oct 23rd, 2020 @ 3:43am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Emilie Temple

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Deck 2 - Senior Crew Quarters

ON:

Nyx dragged himself down the corridor - feeling emotionally and physically drained. Every step towards his quarters only grew the dread inside of him. All day, he had been receiving messages from Emilie, and he knew how upset with him she was. After a long and arduous mission, the last thing he wanted to do was fight with his partner over the choices he had made. He wanted to avoid this argument altogether. He just wanted to be at peace with his family, and slide into bed that night with the feeling - no matter how difficult the day had been - that at least they had made a difference in the Expanse. He resented the fact that he would have to exhaust his remaining energy justifying his decisions, and so had been ignoring Emilie's messages in turn. Of course, this only made the situation worse and Nyx didn't want to face criticism for that too.

He just wanted to avoid.

After rescuing a facility full of scientists who had helped destroy a planet, moving an entire alien species in near-violation of the Prime Directive, and exposing a corrupt Starfleet Admiral who was impersonating someone else, Nyx's capacity to tolerate any more dire situations had reached it's ultimate peak. But then, they had received the most disturbing news.

Aoife had collapsed and been rushed to Sickbay.

The day had been won; the Hesians had been saved and those responsible had been arrested. However, right under their noses, while they were busy trying to stop all of this other madness from happening, one of the Pandora's most innocent and beloved family members was suffering. No one knew what the outcome of Aoife's episode had been, but the feeling of dread was no less severe. Everyone was hopeful for a positive turn-around, but news from Sickbay had been tight. Whatever had happened to Aoife, it was for Shae and Cailus to absorb first. A gut-punch no one saw coming.

Nyx knew that Emilie knew; she had been in the Daycare play centre when it happened; she had seen how sudden and serious it was. Nyx would find out soon after, when the Medical team had asked for Shae and Griffin to come to Sickbay immediately after the senior crew meeting. After the long and arduous day, it had taken Nyx all of his strength not to succumb to fatigue in the turbolift - as he continued to feel great swells of emotion whenever his mind cruelly reminded him of everything that happened. He couldn't bear to think about what Shae and Cailus were now feeling, the depth of their panic and confusion. It was a parent's worse nightmare to see their child fall ill and be unable to help.

The door swished open on the Temple family quarters and he took in a deep breath. Emilie was sitting by the kitchen table, face stricken and cheeks stained with tears herself. She looked up as Nyx entered and the two managed to find some strength - rushing to each other. They quickly closed the gap as Nyx pulled Emilie to him and held her as tight as he could. Emilie returned the grip, sliding her arms around his torso and holding onto him for dear life.

No words were spoken.

They stood there, holding each other, letting the quiet sink around them while they waited for news.

[Later]

It was deep in the evening ship-time; The Pandora was orbiting the dark side of Hesiod Blue now; it cast a shadow over the ship and dimmed the usual bright blueness of the planet outside.

Nyx and Emilie were fully clothed laying in bed. On Nyx's side, Katrine was snoring loudly, cuddled up to her father. Emilie was holding the baby in her arms, as he too was sound asleep. They had spent the last few hours here together, neither parent wanting to be any distance from their two children. The Borg could have come knocking and Nyx and Emilie would have told them to wait. Katrine still couldn't fully understand the situation. She just wanted to go see Aoife, under the assumption that the little fox child would be sitting up in bed, chirping to her mum and dad in her usual fashion, eager to get out and play again after what was surely only a momentary illness. After a number of attempts, Nyx and Emilie felt like they had finally explained how serious the situation might be, though they still weren't entirely sure.

"We'll see." Katrine had said in an oddly cheerful tone, "But I think she'll be fine."

They couldn't do anything but wait for news, and neither parent wanted to dissuade her sense of hope.

Wearily, Nyx looked over, careful not to move too suddenly and wake Katrine, and saw Emilie staring down at their son.

"You need a break?" He whispered.

She looked back and gave a faint smile, "No. Not yet."

With an understanding nod, Nyx sighed, "Okay." They stayed like this for a few moments before, before Nyx spoke again, "We're still going with William for his name?"

"He looks like a William." Emilie answered with the slightest shrug, staring down at the baby, "And I like that it's a name from both our families."

Nyx gave a little smile and rested back against the bedhead. Katrine stirred a little but kept on snoozing. He was feeling comfortable at least, in a quieter place then he had been before. He believed that Emilie would be receptive to hear his apologies, and perhaps they could still avoid the fight neither seemed to be in the mood for anyway.

"I'm sorry I didn't respond to your messages today." Nyx said softly, "It was incredibly difficult with the rescues and the Hesians."

Emilie was confused by the statement at first, furrowing her brow as she tried to remember what else had happened this day. It felt like last week. Finally she gave a small frown. "I know. It's okay."

Nyx felt comforted by this, but he pressed, "It seemed like you wanted to talk to me about something quite urgently?"

"It's... not important." She replied with a sigh.

"Please, tell me." Nyx said, turning to her. "Never not tell me."

Emilie wanted to reach out and hold his hand but they were both consumed with holding William, so she just gave him a smile instead. She decided to say it, "I found out from a Crewman that you had let Sasha Vieers out onto a mission."

Nyx flinched. "Yes. I did."

"Why, Nyx?" Emilie asked. Though she felt a flush of annoyance at his admittance, she was still too tired to be upset. "You know what she's capable of."

"She also has tremendous skills." Nyx offered, "I needed someone with the ability to infiltrate Pithos and find out what was happening without being detected, just in case the Away Team had been detained."

"You have other crew." Emilie replied quickly. She was carefully watching William to ensure their voices were not disturbing him. So far he still seemed sound asleep.

"Yes, but they don't have her training." Nyx explained, trying to keep his voice down, "And I needed someone... expendable."

Emilie sighed loudly, trying to understand, "You used her?"

"I guess." Nyx nodded, "Well... yes, yes I did. I'm going to have to answer to this when I get back to Earth and front whatever inquiry there'll be from Starfleet. I'm already prepared to face the consequences there."

"I'm not putting you on trial, Nyx," Emilie explained, her tone was clear, "Please, that's not fair. I just worry about things that happen on the ship. They're my crew-mates, too."

"I did what I had to do." Nyx responded hoarsely, "And I'll answer to Starfleet for what I've done."

"Wow." She breathed out heavily in response.

"What?" Nyx whispered, getting annoyed.

"We've had this discussion before Nyx, after what happened with the Ravagers?" Emilie started, "You know, about how your choices effect the crew and your family?"

"I was thinking about the crew." He protested, "About getting them home. And you guys were all okay on the ship, right?"

"Not with that maniac on the loose." Emilie rebutted, "Who knows what she could have done."

"She ended up being entirely sidetracked from Pithos and doing something else, so I don't see why you're upset over nothing." Nyx retorted, shaking his head.

"I guess you don't see it." She replied, shaking her head too.

Without realising it, Nyx and Emilie were suddenly having the argument they had successfully avoided before. It almost hadn't mattered what had happened on Hesiod Green, that had eclipsed almost everything else, but now here they were. As soon as they registered that they were knee-deep into the murky waters of marital disagreement, the couple retreated back into their own thoughts. Emilie soothed William so that he wouldn't wake up screaming, and Nyx focused on ensuring Katrine stayed asleep too. They both stopped talking and remained painfully silent for a while longer. Emilie was fuming that Nyx had been so manipulative - she didn't know why Nyx continued to make decisions on his own like this. Nyx wanted Emilie to support his decisions and understand the choices he had to make as a Captain - he didn't know why Emilie couldn't see that he was just doing it to protect the ship and help his crew.

They both fundamentally disagreed with the other, but neither could say this out loud right now. So it was just hanging there, in the silence. The quiet fell over them in unspoken words of an argument they couldn't fully have but knew they also couldn't completely ignore forever.

OFF