A Little Space

Posted on Wed May 1st, 2019 @ 6:52am by Commander Liselle Qwyyn

Mission: Episode 1: Hell is a four letter word
Location: Deep Space 9 - Food Courts
Timeline: MD 2 - 9h00
1824 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

"You once told me that you needed a little space. Some time alone." Qwyyn read the words. For a moment it was as though he were standing there next to her, speaking them aloud. She thumbed the next page on the PADD. Again she could hear him talking, his voice coming from light years away. "I believe I require space as well. It does not reflect on you, or on the Elysium. You are my pack. And to a Gronkill, this is not a sentiment spoken lightly. Like the Terran wolf, we cherish our brothers and sisters above all else. But it is important that I take the time to learn who I am without my family, so that I might better serve when I am a part of it. I wish you well, Liselle Qwyyn. My body leaves, but my heart remains. In blood and honor. Matias."

The words faded and the screen went dark. Black.

Liselle clutched the PADD to her chest. How many times was she going to allow herself to read this letter?

Until it became real.

She re-seated the PADD in the crook of her arm and was about to start the letter yet again, when she saw --

"No!" she breathed.

She heard something loose in the PADD rattling as her trembling hands struggled to hold it still. There. Across the way. Seated at a Bajoran restaurant. Liselle thought to turn away. But it was too late. His eyes caught her's and time stopped.

Before she could stop herself she was pushing her way through the crowds to close the distance to him. She stood over his table. Her eyes shimmering. Anger? Delight? "Taam. You're. Why are you here?"

~Oh, shit....~ Taam Sor'el thought, thinking his former wife had snuck up on him as he ate what was, at best, a passable hasperat, but closer inspection revealed he was actually looking at her sister, Liselle, ~There's a relief.~

"Well, Liselle, good morning!" He smiled, rising from the table to pull out a chair for her, "Have you had breakfast? You're welcome to join me." Sure, things hadn't necessarily ended on the best note with Liselle, or Merella for that matter, but he was always happy to see either of them, "Please."

Liselle found herself sitting. She didn't want to sit. She wanted time. Needed time. But it was as if she had been pulled down into the chair against her will. "You're here with Merella," she said dumbly.

"Actually, no." Taam answered with a sigh, "I'm here to meet with a man about a ship, looking to add another freighter to the company. Merella and I aren't together anymore, Liselle." He couldn't believe she didn't know, were they still not talking? Had it been that long? ~You get out there in space, you make a few bucks, you fall out of touch.~

"So, you're looking great." Taam complimented, not wanting to dwell on the subject of his ex-wife for too long with his ex-lover, "You're obviously doing well on.... What ship are you on?"

"The Elysium..." she replied, the words spoken distantly. "Hold on a moment. Don't tell me you two separated because of...what happened..."

"No." Taam shook his head, "Merella and I were completely incompatible, you know this. Hell, I think we even knew it. I miss her, but I know this was inevitable. Hell of a ride on the way to the crash though."

Taam knew that Liselle blamed herself for what happened between them, but it wasn't her fault. He'd made the decision, he was married to her sister and knew he shouldn't have ever pursued Liselle. He ruined their relationship, which had been on much firmer ground than his marriage to Merella had ever been, and that was one thing he'd never been able to forgive himself for.

"But the two of you showing up here at the same time --" she cut herself off as she realized what she was saying. "Oh Gods. You didn't know she was here, did you?"

"Wait... She's here?" He asked, suddenly nervous and looking over his shoulder, run ins with his ex-wife were rarely pleasant, ~Why can it never be simple? Show up, buy the frieghter, hire the crew, let it start making money for me, and be on my way. Now I've run into the doublemint twins...~

Instinctively Qwyyn found herself standing up from the table. When she realized what she was doing, she returned to her seat once more. "I'm sorry," she apologized, feeling more than a little silly. "It's just that I can't go through her catching us again -- " Her face turned ghost white. "I - I didn't mean..."

Taam stood up with her, motioning her to sit back down, "Liselle, relax." He soothed, "There's nothing to worry about in that arena anymore. Besides, if you want to know the truth, I really think if she showed up right now, she'd turn all her wrath on me anyway."

"And we're not doing anything wrong anyway." Taam shrugged, "Now, how about some breakfast?"

Liselle felt some of her anxiety leave her as she allowed a small smile. "I suppose she would have to be pretty brave to kill us in front of all these people," she joked. "What sort of wild foods are you into these days?"

"Well, this morning I'm trying something called sourdough pancakes with chili." Taam answered, "There's a new Tex-Mex place and I figured why not?"

She cracked a unexpected smile. "Sounds completely alien. Count me in." The smile began to fade for a moment as Qwyyn's eyes took on a faraway look. Finally they fell on Taam again, and the smile reasserted itself. "It's funny. I haven't seen you since before I was joined. And yet seeing you again feels so utterly familiar. Normally there's a very clear difference in my mind between Liselle Qwyyn and Liselle Swii. But it's different with you. I don't know that I've experienced this before."

"Well, that can be a really good thing." Taam replied with a smile, roguish as always, "Means that we meant something to each other to the point where you shared it with your constant companion there."

Liselle looked away from him. Something washed over her then. Pain? Guilt? "We...never really talked about...what we did..." she said in a small voice. She forced herself to look back at him, and was horrified to find that her eyes were burning tears. "Everything happened so fast. One minute we're...doing what we did...and the next thing I know I'm off getting joined, and throwing myself at Starfleet."

"Look, Liselle, if anyone is to blame for what happened between us, it's me, okay?" Taam sighed, handing her a napkin for her eyes, "I got into something I never should have, then handled the entire thing wrong. I'm sorry you got caught up in my extended adolescence."

She rolled her eyes at that, but smiled nonetheless. "Oh, I think there was plenty of adolescence from the both of us." Liselle watched her finger as it drew invisible circles over and over again on the tables surface. "Do you think Merella is ever going to forgive me?"

"Just my opinion, she already has." He answered, "Me on the other hand...."

"I know how she reacted with me when she found out..." Qwyyn said quietly. "What did she say to you?"

"Not much, really. In fact, just two words." Taam replied, "Get out."

"We never talked about it afterwards. Not me and her. Not you and me." Liselle's eyes darted to one side. "Everything just sort of stopped. Like we were all strangers."

"Merella didn't want me around, and I didn't want to be the reason you and your other half never spoke again." Taam lamented, he'd gone over this in his mind time and again, "So, I left. Hit a lucky streak at the tables, won a freighter, rest is history."

"The rest is history," she echoed. "Except now we're all here together again. She's going to lose her mind when she finds out." Hearing the words spoken aloud was enough for Liselle to realize what a powder keg they were sitting on. She rose up from the table. "I -- I should probably go."

Taam thought of asking her to stay, telling her to wait, something, anything, but he was damned if he could think of what. He watched for a second as she rose before settling on, "You don't have to go."

Those words caught her. He had said the very same thing to her that night. After they had laughed a little too much. Had a little too much to drink. Let a friendly goodbye kiss linger just a little too long.

You don't have to go.

"Taam," Liselle said quietly. "I can't do this to her again."

"Do what?" Taam sighed, "Liselle, Merella and I are long over. And we're not doing anything. But, if you feel better leaving, I understand, and I won't stand in your way. Hopefully we can see each other again one day under better circumstances."

"I know. You're right. It's just --" her eyes searched the table for the words that would express exactly how she was feeling. And they fell upon the PaDD, still gleaming bright with its letter from Matias. "Actually. Maybe you're exactly what I need right now."

"How so?" Taam replied, after stopping for a second to review and make sure she hadn't said he was the last thing she needed right now, ~Probably a hell of a lot more accurate...~

"Taam," Liselle said uncertainly, "I'm about to take on the Zhin'Tara. I'm actually leaving tomorrow morning to return to Trill. The thing is, one of the participants dropped out at the last minute and... Taam, I don't have a lot of friends. There's not many people in this world that I would trust to take part in this ceremony for me. I thought that...maybe..." She stopped suddenly, backing away from the barely made suggestion with an emphatic wave of her hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. That wasn't fair of me."

"I'll do it." Taam answered, he owed her one, ~At least one...~ "I'll leave Janoris in charge, she can complete the deal and I'll go to Trill with you. Wouldn't miss it for the galaxy."

Her eyes widened, and she actually found herself choking out a laugh for the relief of pent up tension she felt. "You...you will?" she breathed. She thought of questioning him further, to ensure that this was something he was truly wiling to do, but she fought that instinct. Truth be told, she needed him to do this. Frankly, she couldn't afford to not have him along. So instead she smiled and said, "Thank you."

OFF

Commander Liselle Qwyyn
Chief Flight Control / Second Officer
USS Elysium

Taam Sor'el
Freighter Captain/Entrepreneur