"...and we should check our supplies once we get there and restock what's needed." Mark paused in his recitation from the PADD for another furtive glance at the Ops officer seated restlessly across from him.
Ever since the ambassadors had come aboard Prometheus, Naeve Sevril had been distracted and preoccupied, her thoughts evidently far from her duties. Although he couldn't accuse her of negligence, her work had been merely adequate over the past few days. Her behavior frequently left much to be desired, but he had never had cause to complain about her work, which had been the only thing stopping him from going to the Captain about her attitude long ago. She had performed her duties diligently, albeit with a chip the size of San Francisco on her shoulder--until just recently-- and he was quite curious as to what had caused such a significant change in behavior.
"Am I boring you, Mr. Sevril?" He asked, as she stared listlessly at her own PADD.
His words caused a rise as her head whipped up and her spine did the same.
"Excuse me?" she asked stiffly.
"You seem rather preoccupied. I realize going through the cargo and supply manifests isn't the most exciting of duties, but it needs to be done nonetheless."
"I know that." Her tone was more waspish than she had intended and she immediately softened it. "Sir."
Mark studied her thoughtfully for a moment, noting the dark circles beneath her eyes.
"Is there something the matter?"
"No." she replied, a fraction too quickly.
"Well, whatever isn't the matter has been affecting your work." he said dryly.
"What do you mean?" Her eyes turned a deeper shade of green, one that he had come to recognize as indicative of growing anger.
"You know exactly what I mean, Lieutenant Commander. If you have personal issues that you choose not to discuss, that's your perogative. But if those issues cross over to your work, it becomes my concern as well." He said calmly.
"They won't." She said flatly. "I...I'll take care of it."
Recognizing her current prickliness was a direct result of whatever was bothering her, he took pity and softened his tone slightly, curious as to what disturbed her so.
"Is it the ambassadors that are bothering you? Or is it something else?"
"I'd rather not discuss it. Sir."
"Very well." He shrugged casually. "Suit yourself."
They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as he finished perusing the data on PADD. With a cursory glance, he added a few notes and signed the bottom of the last page. Sighing, he flicked the power off as he handed it back to her. Naeve accepted the PADD without a word, her eyes downcast. Although she remained composed, her inner turmoil was evident in the way her knuckles whitened as she clutched the PADD.
"Is that all?"he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Then you are dismissed."
Naeve fairly leaped out of the chair and fled from the room, leaving an intensely curious Mark O'Conner behind.
Hurrying to the turbolift, Naeve was furious at the tears which had suddenly filled her field of vision. What was the matter with her? She stabbed savagely at the button to summon it and it obeyed quickly, as if sensing her roiling emotions. As the doors opened, she nearly collided with Mirana Keset, sidestepping the doctor just in time. Nodding curtly at her, she stood with her eyes fixed on the panel in front of her, trying to control a tear which was threatening to break free from its brethren and make a run for freedom down her cheek.
"Are you OK, Naeve?" Mirana asked with obvious concern as the 'lift ascended.
"I'm fine." was the terse reply.
Mirana had never seen her friend this way before. Normally carefree and in good humor, the other woman looked as if she would fall apart at any moment. However, her unapproachable stance and expression kept the doctor from placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.
"No." Naeve said savagely. "I dont want to talk about it and before you ask, there's nothing you can do to help. I appreciate your concern but I just want to be left alone."
Without waiting for a reply, she fled the turbolift the moment the doors opened, leaving the doctor behind to recover from the outburst.
**********
Ariada D'all stood outside Daniel Ryan's office, her face against the glass as she looked into the room. Not knowing he was being observed, the slight, sandy haired CSCio sat back in his chair, hands clasped and cradling the back of his head as he studied his computer console. She watched him thoughtfully, willing the Ambassador's words to go away but they would not be silenced. He looked up suddenly, surprise quickly giving way to pleasure as he smiled at her. Abruptly she stepped away from the window, attempting to reciprocate but her smile more closely resembled a grimace. Something brushed against her shoulder and she whirled around, pulling away from the unexpected contact. Ensign Thad Cleiy removed his hand uncertainly as he took in her expression.
"Are you alright?"
Thad was one of the botanists in her division and a man she had considered a friend. At least until today. The Deltan Ambassador had twisted her world with his words and made it ugly. He had caused her to regard Daniel and now Thad with suspicion and she was angry at him for that.
"I'm fine."she lied.
The scene had roused Daniel from his seat and he now stood in the doorway, his eyes slipping from one officer to the other.
"What's going on?"he asked curiously.
Ariada looked at the two men, thier faces revealing nothing but concern and puzzlement and found she could not meet their eyes.
"Nothing. I...I just have a bad headache. If you'll excuse me." She brushed past them, careful not to touch either man, and hurried to the safety of her own small office without a backward glance. She did not dare to breathe until she was resting against the back of her own door. Shaking slightly, she locked it behind her and closed her eyes.
*******
Naeve stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her damp hair, and shivered as the cool room air hit her. She was tired. She had spent much of the remainder of the day apologizing to everyone she had snapped at--including Mirana Keset. Guiltily, she vowed to never let her personal life interfere with her work again. O'Conner was right. To be a good Starfleet officer, she would have to be able to separate the two when necessary. Sighing, she purposefully crossed the room, reaching for a fresh uniform which lay neatly folded on her bedside table. Once she slipped into it, she quickly braided her still wet hair and reluctantly reattached her commbadge. Stealing a glance at her chronometer, she noted the time with relief. They had been in orbit around Nekkar VII for over an hour and the ambassadors should have been leaving Prometheus right about now.....
As if in response to her thoughts, her commbadge chirped. For a moment, Naeve remained immoble, unwilling to move. It chirped again, more insistently this time.
"Yes?" She asked cautiously.
<< We're beaming everyone over now.......the Loronian ambassador has been asking for you before she goes. >>
"I'm sorry." Naeve said breezily. "Unfortunately, I'm unable to see her off. Please send my regrets."
<< Yes, Sir.>> was the puzzled reply.
Naeve slid to the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees as she closed her eyes. A few moments later, her computer console beeped, indicating she had recieved a new message. Curiously, she got to her feet and padded across the room again, activating the screen, which promptly displayed an image with the Loronian royal crest in the center. Below it was Kiera's electronic signature. Naeve's finger hovered uncertainly over the delete key, but she forced herself to activate the recording, clenching her jaw stoicly.
Kiera's image flickered and solidified as she looked disapprovingly through the screen at Naeve. Even though it was only a recording, the Ops officer mentally cringed.
"I admit I am disappointed in you. For all your talk about Starfleet, this ship and your duty, I would have expected you to at least have the courage to see me off. Don't think the Queen won't hear of this, for she will. Remember what I said to you, Naeve. Remember our conversation well. " The image paused for a moment, a small smile on her lips. "I've wasted enough of your time. You've made it quite clear how busy you are. Remember your duties, my daughter. To me. Not just to Starfleet." With that warning, the image winked out of existence as if it had never been.
Naeve stared at the blank screen for a long time before getting up again.
**********
Colin Becker sighed wearily as he pushed away the PADD he had been studying and closed his eyes. He rubbed his temples, attempting to chase away the tension headache which had begun to form over the past half hour. But at least the main cause for his headache had just been transported away.
It had started even before the ambassadors had arrived. Naeve Sevril had nearly decompensated at the news that the ambassador from her homeworld would be among thier guests. Prefering to run the other way, she had resented the idea of having to confront her in person. Well, that was too damn bad. She was a command officer and quite vocal about her ambitions at a captaincy. With her strong and sometimes forceful personality, it wouldnt hurt to polish her diplomatic skills a bit. Not that it had worked. She had been preoccupied and withdrawn from the moment the ambassadors had arrived, retreating within rather than meeting the challenge headon. And she wasnt the only disgruntled officer under his command. Mark O'Conner had also made it clear that he was not enjoying the current mission, and that he was less than delighted with his role as the Deltan ambassador's liason.
Of course, noone had bothered to think of his perspective on things. Noone had asked if he enjoyed playing darts with the ambassador from Alpha Centauri-or listening to his terrible jokes. Or to the Haalian ambassador's tales of his brave deeds during the Dominion War which included single handedly defeating a Jem Ha'dar warrior. In unarmed combat. Noone asked if he enjoyed apologizing to the Saurian ambassador for the fight between thier respective staff members. Or about the Aquatian who dropped his commbadge and got lost wandering through the lower decks, necessitating a shipwide search and rescue. Instead, he was forced to listen to a barrage of complaints from nearly every department and had responded by dressing down his senior staff this afternoon. He had made his displeasure known and they had slunk off to convey it to the rest of the crew.
There now remained one last issue to be resolved. The issue in question sat nervously before him, waiting with uncharacteristic patience for him to finish perusing the data on his PADD so intently. It had taken him 15 minutes before he chose to acknowledge her and he did so now, his very demeanor conveying his disapproval.
"Lieutenant Commander." he said coldy.
"Sir, I'd like to apologize for my recent behavior." she began hurriedly.
"Oh?"He refused to make it easier for her.
"Yes. I realize my work has not been at its best...I'm been distracted and perhaps a bit volatile---" The words came out in a rush.
"Yes, you have been." he interrupted, agreeing.
"I...I know." she said quietly.
Taking pity on her at last, he offered, "I understand your distress during this mission. Not all familial relationships are congenial. I'm sure if you took a poll, half the women on this ship don't get along with their mothers. Her arrival was unexpected and obviously a shock to you."
When Naeve did not respond, he continued, "But whatever issues you have with your mother is a private matter. She also happens to be your world's ambassador. As a representative of this ship and it's second officer, you had to deal with her in an official capacity whether you liked it or not. Sometimes we need to put our personal feelings aside, Naeve, difficult as it may be. The ship wont stop running because of its officers personal problems. If that were the case, none of us would have gotten Prometheus out of spacedock on day one."
"You don't understand, Sir. About my mother. It's more complicated than that. There are....deeper issues."She stopped abruptly, unwilling to elaborate.
"It is your perogative to keep those issues to yourself, of course. But you should not have let them affect your work or your professionalism as deeply as they did. You failed this challenge, Lieutenant Commander, but improvement will come with time. You have a lot of potential, but you have a lot to learn."
"Yes, Sir." The words were spoken barely above a whisper.
Colin gave her a moment to speak, to tell him what had upset her so, but Naeve remained silent. Realizing she had no intention of confiding in him, he sighed.
"You are dismissed."
Naeve mumbled an appropriate reply, stood quickly and made a mad dash to the door without another word, clearly relieved the interview was over. It was days like these that he wondered why he had agreed to take on a captain's duties in the first place. Naeve Sevril would have laughed out loud at his anemic attempt to counsel her if she had been able to glimpse just one portion of the personal turmoil he kept hidden in the dark recesses of his mind. Sometimes he thought the doctors themselves were crazy to let him out of Mars Psychiatric facility and hand him a commission.
He smiled self deprecatingly as he crossed the floor to his observation window, seeking comfort in the view of the stars.
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