I Can't Believe She's Gone!

Posted on Mon Jan 12th, 2026 @ 11:11pm by Captain George Charles [Reece] & Senior Chief Petty Officer Emily Charles {Kelea-Salik} & Staff Sergeant Leilani Charles {Kelea-Salik}

Mission: Season 6: Episode 6: Conglomerate
Location: USS Elysium, Tink's quarters
Timeline: MD 3 / 1205 hours
1501 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

George sat on the bink that once was the home of his closest friend, Second Lieutent Slarth, callsign Tink the two of them had been a flight team and friends, since the Academy. And now, she was gone, torn to pieces by those Galatonian animals during the attack. George had been told that Tink had been trying to get some of the shuttlebay crew to safety, when they had been ambushed. Though he hadn't seen her remains yet, he had been told that, her death had been grousome, and more than likely very painful.

As he sat there, going through her things, to place it all in storage, so he could give them to her mother, if they ever got home, George could feel the darkness growing inside of him. The raging beast that had exploded on Hector that night, was stirring, hungry for vengeance, thirsting for blood.

Leilani had given her husband some time to grieve, but their connection was starting to send her emotions that worried her as she headed to find him. Arriving at Tink’s quarters she took a deep breath before she stepped inside, waves of anger and darkness were growing like an inferno. “George?”

Though he hears her, he doesn't move, George continues to sit there, stewing in his pain. In a voice that she had never heard, one filled with deadly resolve, he said quietly, "I'm going to kill them all."

Leilani had never felt such darkness and cold emanating from her husband before, taking a deep breath she walked over to him. “That’s not you talking, it’s grief and anger, and I don’t blame you for feeling like that.” Sitting beside him she gently placed her hand on his. “Look at me Imzadi, please!”

As soon as she touched him, it was like the spell broke. He looked at her and his eyes of murderous rage changed to heartbreak and loss. Tears starte to fall free from his eyes as he leaned over, burying his face in the side of her neck, the sobs of anguish pouring from his body like a deluge.

Leilani simply held onto her beloved husband, offering him all the love and comfort he needed. She hadn’t known Tink as well as George did, but she would certainly miss her. “I’m so sorry Imzadi, I know how much Tink meant to you.”

A short while later, when the sobs had passed and Leilani's love and support had started to calm his soul, George slowly sat up and picked up the itm he had been holding. It was a holoimager. When he activated it, it was an image of their wedding day, with Tink wearing that peach dress and huge hat that she had loved so much. As he looked at the image, George spoke softly. "I knew that she had feelings for me, but neither of us ever spoke about it." He paused for a few beats, then continued.

"Next to you and my sister, she knew me the best. She could see when I was getting close to losing control of my anger, and she always had a joke ready to catch my attention, re-centering me." He let out a ragged sigh as he looked around her room. "And now, she's gone. I gave to learn how to fly with a new REO, one whose mind i can hear when we're flying, so I have to be careful not to injure them, if I let loose when flying against the enemy."

Leilani nodded. “Maybe I can help you with that? There’s always the option of an inhibitor set on low to help you control that? I know inhibitors aren’t nice, I hate them myself, but it’s an option.” She paused. “Right now you just need to take some time to grieve, Tink was a wonderful person and we’ll all miss her.”

The mention of an inhibitor caused the rage inside George to grow again. Leilani knew about his past and how, because of the inhibitors he and his sister had been forced to wear as children, their natural abilities were damaged. He shook his head as his eyes grew dark again. "I'll never wear an inhibitor again!" A shelf on the far side of Tink's cabin collapsed when George shouted, indicating that his telekinesis ability had lashed out uncontrollably.

The shelf collapsing made Leilani jump, before she looked at George apologetically. “I’m sorry! I forgot..” she gave him a concerned look, she had rarely seen George like this before. “Maybe I should call Emily? I have no doubt she’ll be feeling how angry you are.”

George was seething, though his anger wasn't directed at Leilani. After a few beats of tense silence, he nods his head in a jerking manner.

Leilani nodded and tapped her comm badge. =/\= Leilani to Emily, please come to Tink’s quarters as soon as possible.=/\=

Unknown to Leilani, Emily was already on her way. She tapped her comm badge. “I’m already on my way Leilani, I’ll be there soon.”

It wasn't long before she arrived, stepping inside she offered a visibly worried Leilani a gentle, reassuring smile. “When I heard about Tink, I was worried this might happen.” She moved around to her brother. “I’m here big brother, we’re both here for you.”

When his sister arrived, George could feel the combined love and concern coming from both women in his life. Their combined presence, both physically and mentally, was enough to finally calm the raging cyclone that was in his mind. While it never went away, they did help him to get a bit of control back on it.

A heavy, emotional breath suddenly left him deflated between the two of them. "What am I going to do without her?" He asked in a quiet, pained voice.

“As hard as it is to say, you'll cope.” Emily offered as she sat next to George. “Tink wouldn’t want you to mourn her, she’d want you to remember all the good times you had together. I wish I’d known her as well as you did, she was a wonderful friend. You’ve got us to help you through this, we’ll be here for you. Plus you have your wonderful children too.”

Leilani nodded and smiled at Emily. “We’ll always be here for you Imzadi.”

It took several more moments, but George finally calmed down. Standing up, he moved to the nearest shelf and placed the holoimager back in its place. "She would want traditional Ferengi funerary customs. Her remains need to be cremated and sealed in as many disks as they will fill. Then, those disks have to be auctioned off. The proceeds going to her family."

“Well I’m sure there’s plenty of people onboard who would be willing to take part in the auction” Leilani added. “We can get it organised. Do you know if Tink’s wishes are on file? If not I’ll need to get it updated as soon as possible.”

George nodded, handing her a data crystal. She gave me a copy, and she had a copy of mine, just in case something happened to me." He looked to his wife as he added, "I gave it to her before you and I met, Imzadi."

Leilani nodded. “You don’t need to explain Imzadi, I understand” she offered a comforting smile. “I’ll get the official files updated, to make everything legal with Starfleet.”

George nodded somberly. He knew, without these two women by his side, he would be at a complete loss. Looking around the small cabin, he let out a heavy breath. "I guess I should start parking her things into a storage disk." He was referring to the task that had, sadly, become a more than regular occurrence since they arrived in Circinus, where the personal belongings of a deceased crew member was deconstructed by the transporters, and stored in a handheld storage buffer disk, to be reconstituted, hopefully, after they find their way back home and the next of kin are found and informed of the loss of their loved ones.

“It doesn't have to be done right now Imzadi” Leilani offered. “We can sort it later, no one will interfere with Tink’s quarters if we have security seal them off.”

George nodded sadly. "I know," he said with a heavy heart. "Maybe you're right," he then continued after a few beats. "We should take care of her remains first. After that, we can store her belongings for the trip home."

Leilani nodded. “Of course Imzadi.”

“She’s with the others” Emily added. “We lost so many…” she shook her head. “I’ll be glad when we get home again.”

George nodded sadly, then the three of them left the small quarters and locked the door. There would be time fo collecting and healing. Right now, he was grieving.

~END~