Pity Party

Posted on Mon Nov 17th, 2025 @ 11:32pm by Commander N'Garzi Zora & Lieutenant Alexis Ryan

Mission: Aeon's End
Location: Main Science Hub
Timeline: MD3 (Around the same time as "Alea Iacta Est")
1706 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

In the grand scheme of things, the Science hub hadn't taken much of a hit. What had been initial fears about unstable power supply had been swiftly rectified by the adjacent priority of stabilising Main Engineering, and since Deck 5 had been a focal point for initial repairs, the flow-on effect had been circumstantially beneficial. It was a sliver of good news amidst a whole barrage of uncertainty, and there was definitely something to be grateful for in having a reliable place to coordinate sensor repairs from, but knowing the state of affairs elsewhere made it somewhat perverse to be working in a space that could just about pass as normal.

As pivotal as it was, the area was eerily quiet.

A good portion of that was owed to the necessity of deploying personnel to problem areas. With both internal and external sensors throwing back garbled nonsense, there had been a swift division of labor and Ryan had confindently placed responsibility for the external repairs in Bailey's capable hands. Meanwhile, the crew that had been reassigned to assist with internal repairs were primarily stuck inside the tube network at the moment, feeding reports back to the Science Chief's terminal whilst she worked through the balance of priorities between physical damage repairs and software degredation. She wasn't exactly alone but there was a palpable distance between her and the remaining staff, and it took very little by way of observational skills to notice that they moved through the space with the caution of those trying not to wake a sleeping bear. By comparison to the flurry of activity elsewhere on the ship, the hub was a veritable ice box.

Zora walked into the science lab carrying a small tray and a smile. She didn't need to hone extra perceptionary senses to feel the atmosphere in the room; the cause of the tension however, eluded her. Their situation was tense, the ship was lost in time and space, and so the mood onboard the ship was off by its usual standards, but she wasn't sure if this was it. It seemed to be radiating around Ryan, or from her, might be more accurate. But she had learned a long, long, long time ago not to jump to conclusions. It was always best to let everyone else do the talking.

"When was the last time you had a break?" Zora asked, offering the tray of hasprat and tea in Ryan's direction.

There was a moment that hinged on the anticipation of a collective held breath. It lasted just long enough to create an awkward silence, as if the Science Chief either hadn't heard or wasn't inclined to respond. When she did reply, Ryan failed to break stride, her gaze focused intently on the scrolling reams of data being processed on the display in front of her.

"Couldn't tell you, my alarm clock's currently kind of confused."

Something in her peripheral finally clocked that she was being handed something. The lapse in concentration at least redirected the Lieutenant's attention long enough for her to properly acknowledge both visitor and tray, eyes flitting from one to the other before she turned back to her work.

"Replicators are back online then."

Her tone wasn't exactly snarky. Given the implied dismissiveness, it was easy to expect a level of disrespect, but for the most part, the Science Chief just seemed distant. A certain degree of impassiveness kept her expression neutral but her eyes told a different story.

"We're making progress with internal sensors." The situation update was offered despite every clear indication that it wasn't the purpose of the El-Aurian's visit. "Another hour or so and I might be able to tell you what floor you're on."

"Well, I don't need internal sensors for that," Zora replied. Her tone was even, almost distant. Whether consciously or subconsciously, she was matching Ryan's mood or aura. Coming in at full warp would only piss the science chief off. She was smart enough to know that now was the time for manoeuvring thrusters only. "An hour is the perfect time for a break," she said as she thrust the tray towards the red-headed woman.

In another universe, which there now seemed a slightly improved capacity to encounter one day, Alexis Ryan's next response was not one of her proudest. Perhaps it was their relative proximity to subspace turbulence that permitted a loud enough warning to stay this version's tongue even as frustration flared. There wasn't quite enough control to spare to avoid the long stare Ryan afforded her superior officer, and for an uncomfortable moment, those left stranded in the room with the pair feared a second round of explosions so soon after the initial near-misses. Sanity prevailed, however, and with the visible weariness of someone agreeing to concede, Ryan took the tray and rose to her feet. If there was a discussion to be had, and clearly there was because she didn't buy the room service angle, far better it be conducted in her office.

She lead the way.

And, when she sat at her desk, currently littered with a dozen different padds, Alexis made a stubborn point of setting down the food without touching it and gestured to one of the empty seats.

"What can I help you with, Commander?"

Straight to the point, Zora should have expected that. She went over to the chair but decided to perch on the back, balancing carefully so as not to tip the whole thing over with her underneath it. She stared Ryan dead in the eye. She wanted to do this slowly, but the science officer had tipped her hand and decided that the play was better as a direct attack rather than a subtle ambush. Fine. "Alexis, it's not your fault."

It was nearly enough. And what irritated Alexis more was that they both knew it. The ripple of tension that twitched an eye to a momentary squint, the unconscious clenching of her jaw, and the very intentional swallowing of her first impulse that sat way too close to the surface to be comfortable. In the past, it would have been more than enough to set her off, and there was fresh provocation to the realisation that no amount of intentional intervention could surpress a natural inclination to grab the universe by the throat and shake it until it gave her answers.

She was angry, in a way that she'd managed to avoid for years now.

"It's my responsibility, there's no reason to be pedantic about the syntax."

"And there's no reason to wallow in self-pity," Zora retorted, just as bluntly. She wasn't sure if tough love was the best course of action but she had committed now; there was no turning back. She felt the anger and rage radiating from the science chief and she knew this would be no good for anyone. They needed everyone at their best right now, so Zora had to talk her down, one way or the other. "You offered a solution, the Commodore gave the order. Now we're here. The question is, how do we get home?"

It was one thing to be reprimanded for a loss of composure after the event and quite another to be accused pre-emptively. It was hardly surprising, Alexis thought bitterly; eventually, the universe didn't seem to give a damn about your intention, or your endeavour, not once it had slopped on the tar to brand you. She might have fought tooth and nail to deny that a certain cross-examination's casual assertion that she was a terrorist at heart had left any lasting resentment but the scope for anyone to actually believe her was narrowing by the day.

Fraud. The word sat heavy, unspoken but stubborn.

"It's a hell of a question," she eventually trusted herself to respond with. "But it will need to wait its turn, rewriting entire blocks of sensor coding takes priority." And then you'd better ask someone who can actually provide a decent answer.

"Okay," Zora said slowly, with a slight nod of her head. "And what resources do you need to get that done quickly and safely?" She asked. She wasn't the most technically minded and never pretended to be. Now wasn't the time to fumble her way through the science of it all; they had experts for that and she was going to utilise every one of them until they were back where they belonged.

Alexis sighed. It was, by most definitions, a good sign, since any indication of resignation came with an implication of purged tension.

"Ironically, more time." The first glimmer of wry humour didn't make it as far as a smirk but it lit up the Science Chief's eyes just enough to belay her exhaustion. "I have most of my team working on the physical repairs, Kyan has people unscrambling other systems, but..."

She shifted in her chair.

"The sensor coding is the direct result of the work I did at the shipyards. It's just more efficient if I patch it."

"Time is the one thing I don't know if we have in abundance," Zora replied solemnly. She ran her hands through her hair, pushing the loose braids out of her face, physically and mentally trying to see more clearly. "We're not going to repair the ship completely, not without a spacedock, but how long until we can repair it enough to get back? Ballpark."

"Internal sensors are just about ready. We isolated a faulty relay we'd missed and dispatched a repair team. Once they isolate the problem, I'll be in a position to roll out a software fix. Reliable external sensors are a bigger ask, Bailey's been working on..."

As much as she would have vowed and declared to have been on top of her nerves, there was no disguising the way Ryan jumped as the small office was plunged into limited lighting at the insistence of an emergency alarm. Even after a day of unreliable alerts, the ongoing persistence was enough to knit the Science Chief's brow into a tight frown. Rising swiftly, she swapped glances with Zora before the pair turned, in unison, towards the door.