[ussgeorgetown] Unjoined by Nan Ecitsuj and Jassa Kost
- From: TKilyle@xxxxxxx
- To: ussgeorgetown@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 11:42:41 EDT
Jassa stared at the darkened comm screen from her bunk. It was the same
position she'd been sitting in for the last few hours, knees pulled up to her
chest and her chin resting on top of them. She didn't know whether she wanted
the damned thing to indicate an incoming message or not. She moved her head
slightly, her blue eyes resting on the holopic on her night stand. In a
sudden burst of anger, she slapped the picture to the floor.
"Damn you, Torias! Why do I even care?" she sniffed angrily. She brushed
the tears from her eyes with the heel of one hand then got up stiffly. "I
can't just sit here any more."
It's only four hours into alpha shift. I hope the chief will let me work
early. May as well. It's not as though I'm doing anything useful otherwise.
~~~~~~~
Nan had two PADDs in front of him when Jassa came in. He greeted her with
one of his usually bright smiles and waved her in closer from her spot in the
doorway. "Good morning, Jassa. A bit early for you, isn't it?"
"Well, yes, it sort of is but I didn't have anything else to do so I thought
I'd see if I could log on early,"
Nan's smile was still bright but his bright black eyes narrowed slightly in
concern. It was obvious, and had been so for a number of days, that all was
not well with his top assistant. She was a bit pale as he reckoned things
and that made her spots stand out more than usual. There were smudges of
shadows under her eyes as well. He waved a hand toward the chair across from
him.
"Have a seat, Jassa," he began. He indicated the two PADDs in front of hi,.
"Do you know what's on these PADDs? No, I'll tell you. This one has the
start of my officer candidate course and this is a very interesting
conglomeration of information that somebody, who shall remain nameless,
obtained on the
G'Tal transporters. Those would be those huge reptiloids our Marines got
into a skirmish with."
With a half hearted attempt at good humor, Jassa shook a finger at him.
"I'm not doing your homework, Chief."
"I should think not, Jassa, and I'm not asking you to but since you are
volunteering for extra, how would you like to be in charge of this
information?
I want to see to it that those fields those things have don't get by ours. I
don't like that we can't shoot through the portable ones they seem to have,"
Nan told her. "It's all in there, including the vids of the skirmish
itself."
Jassa picked up the PADD, her fine brows drawing together in concentration.
"You want me to do this? It's probably going to take a bit of help from
Sciences, you know."
"I do and I know that," Nan told her. He set his hands on the desk and
looked her straight in the eyes. "I trust you, Jassa. There's no need for me
to
stand over your shoulder telling you what to do. I expect regular reports
and that you ask for help if you need it but I know you can work on this
without me holding your hand."
"That's okay, Chief, I know you'd much rather be holding Lieutenant McKay's
hand anyway," Jassa replied, attempting the good humor again but her heart
wasn't in it. She squashed down the sudden mixture of anger and sadness that
sprang up. It wasn't fair for her to be envious that her boss was happy. She
got up to leave. "I'll...ahh...go and get started now..."
Nan stood up and took two steps, bringing himself in front of her. "Sit
down, Jassa. We need to talk."
Jassa sat back down in her original place, her hands fidgeting with the
PADD. What was wrong now? Didn't he just say I could work without help? He
can't possibly be mad that quickly. "Yes, sir?" she asked expectantly.
Nan pulled the other office chair around to sit in front of her, rather than
across the desk. "You may tell me to shut up and mind my own business,
Jassa. I've long since ceased to be offended by it for the most part but I
can't
let you leave when it's obvious to me that you have a problem. I'd like to
think I'm a decent listener despite all the talking I do."
"You don't want to hear this, Chief. Why should I drag you through my muck
if you're so happy?" Jassa asked.
"It pays little justice to a Story if you skip over those parts that you
don't find agreeable. They are still part of the Story," Nan told her not
unkindly.
Still looking down at the PADD, Jassa began to speak, in a voice so soft and
strained that it might have almost been hard to hear. ""I'm not Joined, you
know. I never really wanted to be. Torias always wanted it though and he
finally got a symbiont. He's no longer Torias Erdeen--he's Torias Tel and
that new Torias has decided that if I can't make up my mind to apply for a
symbiont then we have no future together. We had an argument a few days ago
via
subspace and I haven't heard back from him since."
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Jassa. I wish I could help you but there's not
much for me to say other than the man is a fool for letting you get away from
him," Nan said softly.
"It's alright, Chief, I know you mean well. It helps seeing you and the
lieutenant so happy, though. I'm a sucker for sappy, romantic endings. But,
thanks for letting me spill all this on you. I didn't want to go whining to
one of the counselors," Jassa told him, brushing a tear from her eye a gain.
"Any time, Jassa, and I thank you for the kind words. Now, go work on that
project. You don't have to stay here and do it. Take a walk while you
think. Do something, alright?"
"Aye, sir." Jassa sketched Nan a mock salute and left the office, PADD in
hand. Biting back an audible sigh, she let her feet carry her toward the Ten
Forward lounge. The view, she knew, was spectacular.
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