A Little Break

Posted on Sat Feb 4th, 2023 @ 9:57am by Ensign Ivy Kinsley & Chief Petty Officer Meredith Corden
Edited on on Tue Feb 14th, 2023 @ 9:47am

1,324 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 2: Rendezvous At Starbase 10
Location: Starbase 10
Timeline: M2 MD03 (2268.6.05) 1300

Meredith was glad to be on the Starbase for awhile, even if she had missed much of the action in the ship's most recent encounter. She was dressed in civilian clothes, a nice blue dress in the current style. Neither too much nor too little. It was honestly a good deal more modest then her uniform. She wondered what man had designed those and not for the first time.

At the moment, she was just looking to grab a cup of coffee when she spied Ensign Kinsley. Meredith caught eyes with her from the other side of the room and, being off duty, simply raised a hand in a friendly greeting.

Ivy smiled and motioned for her to join her, "Hi Meredith," she said once she approached. Ivy addressed by her given name as they were no were near aboard ship. Ivy herself was rather informally wearing a white and blue striped rugby shirt and a pair of blue jeans with Adidas Samba sneakers.

"Hi, Ivy," Meredith said, getting her coffee before walking over and taking a seat. "Enjoying the break?" She knew the other woman had been through a lot on the last mission.

"Ah, yeah," Ivy responded, "Certainly need some time to destress and make sense of everything." She sighed before taking a sip from her drink, "Getting off ship is nice too... Beds are nicer and the room is to myself." She chuckled.

"That is always preferable," Meredith agreed.

Ivy nodded, "So what brings you over here? Just trying to kill some time? Or are you checking up on me?" she asked.

"Just killing some time," Meredith admitted. "I didn't even know you were here. I mean...specifically here."

"Oh ok," Ivy responded, "Frankly I don't know what to do with myself... Can only sit around the hotel room so long on my own, you know." Her face was still rather sullen and she had no make up on.

"What would you rather do?" Meredith asked her curiously.

"I don't know honestly," Ivy responded before taking a sip, "I guess I'm just not good company right now... Not since I got back. Still feel like a punching bag, no matter what the doctors try and do."

"Would you like me to go?" Meredith asked gently, carefully.

"No no, of course not," Ivy responded with a smile, "Suppose I could use someone to talk to."

"Then I'm your girl," Meredith said. "So you've mostly been keeping to your room?"

"Yeah," Ivy responded, "I spoke with the Captain after I was discharged from medical, but otherwise I've been keeping to myself. We're such a new crew I don't really have any friends aboard yet."

"I don't really either," Meredith admitted. "But that can be a plus too. People are looking to meet each other."

"That is true," Ivy responded, "Frankly, I don't think I've chatted much with you off duty... Sorry about that, big ship and all."

"It is," Meredith agreed. "So what do you enjoy doing? What relaxes you?"

"Usually running... I ran track and field at the academy," Ivy said, "I've lost a few games of tri dimensional chess in the rec hall with Ensign Dienstag... How about you?"

"Guitar, hiking," and she gives a small shrug. "But I can definitely enjoy a run. And maybe you could beat me at three dimensional chess?"

"That's cool, never really learned an instrument believe it or not," Ivy responded, "I think I'd rather join you for a run. I'd probably still lose the chess game." She laughed.

"That we could definitely do," Meredith agreed readily.

"That sounds great, I hate running alone," Ivy responded.

"Then it's agreed," Meredith said. "When shall we go?"

"Ah... How about tomorrow morning? 0600 ok?" Ivy asked with a smile.

"It's a date," Meredith agreed. "So what have you been doing around the station?"

"Not much, just enjoying the spa, the hotel and places like this," Ivy responded, "Kinda needed a vacation after... Ya know..."

"Yeah," Meredith agreed. She reached for Ivy's hand.

"Thanks," Ivy responded with a sheepish smile, "I'm glad nothing happened except the beatings... I had Dr. Amato check me down there anyway."

"It's horrible," she agreed.

"It was, but I need to remember that I'm still alive and in one piece," Ivy responded, "It could have been a lot worse."

"It could have been," Meredith said, "but it's almost true that things could be worse, even that they are worse for some others. That doesn't mean you don't have a right to your feelings."

"Yeah I understand, I just suppose I should consider myself lucky that nothing worse happened," Ivy explained.

"Have you talked to someone?" Meredith asked.

"Other than that worthless group therapy session with Doctor Quack, I've talked to the Captain and now you," Ivy responded.

"So, I take it the group therapy was not productive?" Meredith asked, a bit unnecessarily.

"Just all of us sitting in the circle giving our interpretations about how the mission went and its conclusion," Ivy responded, "Ended up being a pissing contest while the doctor just sat there watching... Heck even you could tell Commander Heartfilia didn't take it seriously... She just sat there and said nothing the whole time. I should have just did that, almost went to blows with Cadet Larant."

"To blows?" Meredith asked, a little surprised. "Over what?"

"Not supposed to talk about it, but everyone was second guessing and jumping on the Captain," Ivy explained, "I defended him. It's. It like he could have done anything else. People were annoyed he gave the Pirate Captain her mate back and that we weren't able to rescue all of the colonists."

Meredith nodded. "Maybe it would be better to talk to someone privately? It sounds like the group session was more about revisiting arguments and trying to come off best than about dealing with what happened."

"Maybe, just counselors have never helped me in the past," Ivy responded, "But... Talking to a friend helps."

"I am just not sure if feeling lucky is a good thing or not," Meredith said. "I know I can understand it."

"Sorry it's a weird feeling," Ivy responded, "I don't know how else to describe it... I'm almost euphoric that I'm back here versus there... But I'm also different since returning, for the worse..."

"Maybe it'll just take some time," Meredith suggested hopefully. "Sometimes things take awhile to deal with."

"Yeah, you're right," Ivy responded with a sigh as she stared at her empty cup. She paused and the finally said, "The captain was nice to talk to though," she said, "I bumped into him in the corridor heading back to my quarters after the mandatory medical exam."

"The captain is really nice," Meredith agreed. "He's surprisingly easy to talk to."

"Definitely," Ivy responded with a smile, "I always expected him to be inaccessible... What you always hear about starship captains, always busy... But he makes time for everyone, which is incredibly refreshing."

"It really is," she agreed easily. "Though he is really busy. I promise you."

"I'm not surprised," Ivy responded, "Poor man always looks sleep deprived... The bags under his eyes are the only imperfections on his handsome long face." She blushed.

"Have a crush on the captain?" she asked lightly, a little amused.

"A bit," Ivy responded with a shrug, "But I gather I'm not the only one. I've heard he's had a few dates with Vox, but doesn't sound serious. Also seen a few other people swoon over him."

"Well, he is a very handsome man," Meredith agreed. "Lucky Vox." She grinned playfully and took a sip of her drink.

Ivy chuckled, "That he is," she agreed, "But who knows if it'll go anywhere... She does have the exotic factor going for her."

Meredith looked a little uncomfortable. She took another sip of her coffee. "Anyway, running tomorrow?"

"Sorry, just my mind wandering," Ivy responded, embarrassed. She nodded, "That would be great "

"Great!" she agreed.

 

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