Reminiscing

Posted on Sun May 29th, 2022 @ 7:35pm by Lieutenant Didrea Zade

Mission: Character Development
Location: Quarters
Timeline: After "Resolving Rivalries"
Tags: Prompt: write a post with no dialogue
1427 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Weary from a day of meetings, Zade slowly walked back to her quarters. A lot had happened in a short amount of time, yet it felt like weeks. Searching for a missing crewmate, the cure for Ithaca, helping to relocate Benedict... and then being asked to stay and rope together the department. The most recent thing was handling things that she really didn't have business being involved in, but it bothered the Captain, and she wanted to stay on his good side. All while heading to Rondac for a mission everyone seemed to know very little about.

Zade stepped into her quarters, the light from the corridor illuminating part of a chair and reflecting off the shiny surface of the coffee table to make distorted circular shapes on the ceiling. The hum of the ship was louder in the corridor, and when the doors shut behind her, the sound became muted and the light dimmed, the circular reflections of light on the ceiling disappearing from existence. She debated turning on the lights, but ultimately decided against it and took the moment to let her eyes adjust to the dim room. There wasn't anything in her quarters worth looking at anyways. All of her things had been taken to starbase, but she wouldn't get the items until the Athena returned from the Rondac mission. The only decoration in the living space were a couple of PADDs on the coffee table and her shoes as she slid them off her feet by the door. Aside from whatever basic décor ships provided to guest quarters, there was no personal decoration.

The sound of her uniform's zipper broke the gentle silence that hung in her quarters. As she made her way to the bedroom, she shrugged off the jacket and folded it, leaving her in a grey tank top and black pants. The bedroom was equally bare, with the things she brought with her from the Colossal stashed away neatly in the cylindrical storage unit she arrived with. She hadn't bothered to unpack for what was expected to be a short trip, but since she was staying for the foreseeable future, perhaps she should try and make the quarters a little less bland. Setting the folded jacket on the edge of her bed, she told the computer to play something from the Earth jazz category before she plucked off the comm badge from the jacket and set it on the nightstand. As a melody began to play, the Trill picked up the storage unit and set it on the bed so she could completely open it.

One by one, the Trill removed items from the unit. Most of them were spare clothes, including an extra uniform, a dress uniform, and some off-duty attire. While she could always replicate clothes, she already had some replicated, so it wasn't worth wasting resources. Her athletic wear was already out of the unit and folded neatly in one of the dresser drawers, and her sleepwear was already folded on her bed, so she gathered the rest of the clothes and put them away in the dresser. Next was a photo of her and Nayisa after graduation, getting their celebratory drinks at a nearby bar. Her Betazoid friend had just cut her strangely light-colored hair, way lighter than would be expected from a Betazoid, into a short and spiky style before the photo was taken. The two of them were smiling as if they had just won a competition. It felt like it was ages ago, and in a way it was. That was the last time they hung out together in person, and despite the efforts to keep in touch through written messages or the occasional video chat, it was difficult at times. Zade knew that it came with the job, though, especially Nayisa's.

The music briefly faded away from her attention as Zade's mind wandered to the day she met Nayisa in the hospital, and the hint of a smile that had formed when she saw the image started to fade into something more somber. It was not the best first introduction, but Nayisa saw the place the Trill was in and showed patience. Their conversations would often last hours, and it ended up helping Zade in several ways. She got better at talking with the implant, which improved her self confidence, and Nayisa was the one who encouraged her to pursue Starfleet. She felt indebted to Nayisa, who basically saved her life and helped restore it to some sense of normalcy.

Pulling herself out of her reverie, she turned back to the storage unit, removing some PADDs that contained stories for casual reading. They were some of her favorite books, most of which were from Trill authors and in her native tongue, but there were also some items from Earth that she had incorporated into her small collection. She stacked them and grabbed the data chip Karav had given her before wandering out of the bedroom to her desk. He mentioned before she left the Colossal that the chip contained a series of tactical simulations to run on the holodeck. She guessed right when she had told him that she'd be too busy to run them; she had her hands full, between Ithaca and Rondac. When she got to the desk, she put the stack of PADDs and the data chip next to the specs of her implant and the backup translator, but then frowned at the accumulation of items. Briefly sitting at her desk, she grabbed the specs and put them in the first drawer of her desk, then took the PADDs of books and put them in the second drawer along with the data chip, which sufficiently cleared the desk and left no traces of clutter. Content with the now cleaned desk, her eyes wandered to the photo again, and she opted to set it on the opposite side of where the quarter's computer was.

As she looked at the photo, she realized that it had been over a year since Nayisa had last reached out. Zade hoped she was doing alright, normally Nayi wasn't away for this long. She tapped the computer to life and checked to see if she had gotten any messages, her shoulders slumping a little when she didn't see any. The younger woman had told Zade that it would be easier for her to reach out instead of the other way around, since she was more prone to moving around and being unable to communicate. Zade understood, but she couldn't help but wonder if she was ok.

A yawn snuck in, and Zade checked the time on the computer before deciding it was time for sleep. Shutting off the computer, the Trill stood and went to the bathroom to wash up. Turning on the sink, she cupped her hands beneath the running water before bending forward and splashing it onto her face. Oh, the water was cool and refreshing, the perfect way to end the day. She splashed a couple more handfuls of water onto her face before turning off the sink and blindly reaching for a towel to gently pat away any excess.

After spending a couple more minutes in the bathroom, Zade stepped out and returned to the bedroom and changed into her sleepwear, a loose-fitting tank top and shorts. While folding up the rest of her uniform, he caught sight of the storage unit again, remembering the last item she brought with her. After relocating her folded clothes to a nearby chair, she grabbed the storage unit and pulled out the item before shutting the bag and putting it next to the chair. Turning her attention back to the item, her expression softened when she stared at it, running her fingers over the bumpy texture. It was a bunch of magnetic balls formed into a square, attached to a reflective circular plate. She had grabbed it from her house prior to leaving for Earth with Nayisa. It was a silly children's toy, but she wanted something to remember them, to remember her by. There was nothing left for her at home, not after that day, and it was a reminder to do what she could to honor their memories.

Sitting on her bed, she put the toy on the nightstand and stared at it for another moment before settling under the sheets, telling the computer to turn off the music.