Drinks

Posted on Sun Aug 25th, 2019 @ 10:30am by Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Commander Liselle Qwyyn

Mission: Mission 2: Heaven On Earth
Location: Liselles Cabin
Timeline: During Shoreleave
1102 words - 2.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Carrying two bottles of red wine, Phoenix arrived at Liselles cabin and hit the chime. They had been back a couple of days and both were out medical.

As the doors parted, Phoenix could see that Liselle's eyes were focused on something in some hidden corner of her quarters. She spoke without diverting her attention. "Look, I appreciate the offer to talk about everything that's gone on, but right now I just want --" Qwyyn stopped suddenly as her eyes found Phoenix. "Captain. I -- I'm sorry, I thought you were another counselor sniffing around. I'm -- I'm..." Liselle's words died even as a relieved smile painted her features. Of all the people in the galaxy, Phoenix Lalor was just about the only one that Qwyyn could actually stomach seeing right now. "Please, come in! It's kind of a mess in here right now..."

Phoenix held up the two bottles. "Tell me you have wine glasses and I won't care about the mess" She stepped in. "And we are off duty remember?"

Qwyyn gave her an embarrassed glance before heading over to the cabinet to fetch a set of wine glasses the ship's former commanding officer had once given her. She joined Lalor at a nearby couch, setting the glasses on the coffee table. "Sorry, Phoenix. I've just been feeling a little...weird...lately. I mean...you know what I mean." She cleared her throat awkwardly.

Phoenix sat down and placed the two bottles on the coffee table before opening one and poured them both a glass. "Hardly surprising." Phoenix said softly. "We went through a lot. You more than me for sure." She held out a glass to Liselle. "But that said, we survived right?"

"Yeah, we did. I think so. I guess so," she added softly. Finding the edge of a seat, Liselle leaned forward to take the offered glass. "I still can't believe everything that happened. How are you doing? How has Miran been?"

"Miran is fine. She hasn't said much but she seems ok. I am... healed physically." Phoenix said. She studied her best friend. "Physical hurts are the easiest to heal, its the other hurts that take some time."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll bounce back. We always do." She raised a half-hearted fist to the air. "Counselor so-and-so to the rescue! And then everything will be back to normal. Like none of this ever happened."

Phoenix reached out and took the half raised hand."Who are you trying to fool here Lise? You? or me? Cause it ain't working. For either of us. Gods Lise, I want you to be honest with me please, I am struggling and I know you have to be as well."

Qwyyn was about to protest, but she found that she was unable to. She knew she couldn't hide. Not from Phoenix. "I just..." Her hand fell back to her chest. "I just have so much anger. And I don't know what in the four hells I'm supposed to do with it!"

"Yell, punch something, talk about it," Phoenix said softly. "I am angry too Lise. Hell, I can pretty much put money on the fact that all 5 of us are pissed at the situation. And bottling it up won't help." She waved to the wine. "Wine however seems to help."

She couldn't help but choke a laugh at that. "Yes, sir," she teased, and toasted her glass to Phoenix. When she had finished gulping a drink she let the glass dangle over a knee. "It was Gary they were after."

Phoenix nodded. "Yes, I figured that, just as I figured the rest of us were either bait for him or opportunistic captures." She drank her own wine. "I will say that I didn't know his past that well. Maybe I should have looked into it, but when have i had the time? But I blame the rogue Romulans not Gary."

Qwyyn took in a breath. And another drink of wine. "I'm still working on that," she said flatly. "I mean what in the world could he have been into for them to risk boarding a Starfleet shuttle like that?"

"What makes you think he was into something?" Phoenix asked as she sat back on the couch. "Did they say something?"

Liselle shook her head as her mind sank into the memories. Her eyes lost focus. "Everything they did to me, they did in order to upset Gary. Everything. It was him they wanted to torture. He was the one they were after, but they used me to do it," she said. "But I never got the story of why they wanted him. Or if I did, it's been repressed behind a lot of other memories. It had to be something terrible for them to go to such extremes."

It made a lot of sense now. Phoenix nodded and sipped wine. "Are you going to be able to work with him moving forward?"

Qwyyn blinked. "Yes, of course." But her eyes lost their focus as she spoke the words. And then she swallowed another gulp of wine. "How do you do it? How do you get past these things? You've been through so much, and you never seem to let any of it get to you."

"Training." Came the soft reply. "Growing up in the court of Erisia, you learn to hide a lot."

Liselle set her jaw. "I want to learn," she stoically. "Starfleet combat training didn't do me a hell of a lot of good down there. I need to be better prepared. Next time, I want to be able to fight back. Properly."

Phoenix put down her glass and then put her arm around Liselle's shoulder. "Lise, growing up how I did is not something I wish for anyone, not anyone. You are strong believe me. Hell, had I gone through what you did, I would be catatonic."

"Everything I know about keeping it together I learned from you," Qwyyn said. She looked up from her glass and into Phoenix's eyes. "I'll talk to Gary. And I'll get things sorted. Somehow. I promise."

"When you are ready to do so, I know you will" Phoenix replied and smiled at her best friend. "We survived Liselle. We survived Andromeda, we survived Romulan Prison camp, and we can survive whatever secrets are waiting for us around the corner."

"That's a promise I intend to make sure we both keep," she said, and she raised her glass to her friend. "Promise?"

Raising her glass to meet Liselle's Phoenix smiled. "Promise and we will kick arse on whoever stands in our way!"

OFF