Unknown Stars

Posted on Sat May 25th, 2024 @ 5:50am by Ensign Ilan Ocara & Sergeant Bryana "Bri" Locke

Mission: S1 Episode 8: Resolutions
Location: Gamma Eridine II
Timeline: Date 2371-12-05 at 2115
2693 words - 5.4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Bryana felt trapped.

It wasn't just the tiny living cubicle that she and the other fifteen people were forced to call home. The claustrophobia was unbearable, leaving her sleepless. In a desperate attempt to find solace, she dragged out her survival gear and set up her tent near the housing blocks , using it as a distraction from the uncomfortable sea of emotions within her. Every time she struck a tent stake with her hammer, her mind cruelly brought back the memories of when she'd gone camping with her grandpa.

Clang! Laughing around the campfire.

Clang! The sound of his gravelly voice telling a ghost story.

Clang! The deliciously sweet and savory treat of smores.

Suddenly she had something new to distract her from her feelings as pain exploded through her hand as she smashed it with the hammer end of her survival axe. "Fuck!" she cried out, using every last shred of her sel control to not fling that axe away angrily, instead holding her injured hand to her chest as she stood and started walking away, trembling with the anger that was boiling up inside of her, feeling the unpleasant stinging of tears in her eyes as her vision blurred. She sniffled and swallowed hard, shaking her head as she tried to will it all away. In doing so she bumped hard into the shoulder of someone else.

That was just what the simmering anger needed to ignite as she spun around to confront whomever it was that she'd run into. Hoping it might being someone she could physically take out everything she had pent up inside of her "You fucking blind?!"

“Uh you’re the one that ran into me.” Ilan pointed out, much less hostile than the woman that she had shared the collision with. Bumping into people around the community area was just a day to day occurrence at this point and most people just murmured apologies and moved on, they’d been here long enough that for most, the anxiety had lessened significantly and people were starting to accept they were living a new life.

Ilan brushed her dark hair back behind her shoulder and crossed her arms, eyeing Bryana up and down now that she actually got a good look at the older woman. “Are you okay?”

Bri felt a sense of impotence as her anger began to die down. She trembled and sniffed, trying to hold on to the last embers of her frustration before it turned into nothingness. "Everything is just peachy, right?" she drawled in a heavy accent, still holding her hand, which she had injured. She looked around and shrugged, "It doesn't matter anyway. There's nothing I can do about it."

Bri's gaze then shifted to the compound as her thoughts turned to the rooms within, how small and coffin-like the rooms felt to her. She turned to Ilan and said, "I can't stand being stuck inside those shoe boxes anymore. I think I might have to build something of my own - something bigger with more space."

Ilan opened her mouth to say something and then realized Bryana was cradling her hand. She took a step closer, her green eyes softening with some concern. “Are you hurt? Let me see.”

She held her hand out but didn’t grab Bry’s hand.

"No...maybe. I just banged it with my hammer and got distracted thinking about things." She frowned, looking down at it, the impact site an angry red color and a little swollen before moving it to rest in the hand of the other woman. "It hurts, but I don't think anything's broken."

Ilan cradled Bry's hand gently and looked it over. She wasn't a medical professional of course but she had the basic training that even the NCOs were required to have. "Mm... I don't know. I think we should head to the medical bay and have a look at it."

Bri frowned as she watched Ilan as she examined her injured hand, frowning at the gentle attention since she wasn't sure how she should be reacting as she just left her hand in Ilan's. "Ummm, if you think so...It feels fine, just hurts when I try to close my hand into a fist."

“Well better safe than sorry, don’t you think? Last thing you want is to be dumb and end up with a ruined hand down here.” Ilan could be nice when it suited her and she could be very Terran when it suited her. Right now, it suited her to be nice.

“Come on.”

Without leaving any more room for protest, argument, or conversation Ilan turned and headed toward the small medical bay. It wasn’t like it was manned all the time now, but she knew if she couldn’t figure out Bryana’s hand on her own there were a few people she could call to help them.

Bri frowned as she looked around before following after Ilan at a more reluctant pace, but she knew the other woman was right, they didn't need someone lame and not able to do anything to help out. "So how are you settling in?"

“As well as anyone else I imagine.” Ilan shrugged and then looked back at Bryana. “Maybe not you but… most everyone, I guess. I’ve been trying to get out and take more walks and that has been helping with feeling so confined. I took a long walk along the river the other day and found some nice scenery,”

"I guess one of the perks of this place not having any large critters roaming about you don't really have to worry something's gonna pounce ya." She tried to sound a little more amused than she felt but her tone fell a bit flat while shaking her head a little.

"Notice if there was any fish?"

Ilan frowned at the question as they entered the thankfully deserted medical bay. She went for the tricorder and indicated for Bri to take a seat on the biobed. “Yeah I think I did. Why? Do you know how to fish?”

"Yeah, used to..." Bri trailed off as her thoughts turned towards her dad, remembering that he hadn't exactly been a young man when she'd left for her assignment on the Vengeance. Seventy years had been bad enough, but now she'd never get to see him or any other member of her family again.

She felt Ilan's gaze on her and she became self conscious as she cleared her throat. "I learned how to fish with my dad and grampa, how to dress it...he didn't have any sons so he started teaching me things that a boy would have learned."

“That’s always been such a weird concept to me that people would teach their sons and daughters most of the same things. Sure there would be some different stuff but like in general… makes no sense to me.” Ilan shrugged slightly.

Bryana blinked a moment as her attention turned fully to Ilan, it was a little odd she thought but then again who was she to judge odd, she was supposed to have been learning how to take care of the house and children while her husband dealt with the important task of running the business side of life. That wasn't a life she had ever been remotely interested in. "I guess, my family wasn't exactly normal since there were no sons, but other people I went to school with thought I was weird for knowing how to do all the things a boy would,"

She shrugged and shook her head. "Honestly I think that kind of stuff is just really important to noble types cause they gotta do things a certain way."

“Well yeah, for noble types. But you aren’t nobility.” Ilan noted and then frowned, looking at Bryana again and tilting her head. “Are you?”

Again Bry blinked as she was trying to figure out if Ilan was joking before smirking a little. "You know damn well that I'm not one of them, for one thing I've got at least a pocketful of sense."

“Well I didn’t think so but you’re talking about life lessons like you are.” Ilan pointed out and shrugged. “Looks like your hand is just bruised but not broken. I can find an analgesic in here somewhere I’m sure…”

"I thought about it once, when I was little, we had some nobles come to my school for an inspection, at the time they used a lot of words I didn't understand, but basically they called my school a shithole, don't know why they were there but the school survived after they left so I think they were going out to rough it or something." Bri replied and looked down at her hand, working it a few times.

"Save it, we should leave stuff like that for when we really need it, but thanks."

“Hey it’s not like we can’t replicate more if we need to.” Ilan reminded her and shrugged, but didn’t seem like she was going to push the point. “But if you don’t want it then suit yourself.”

Bry frowned and fought back against that ingrained idea that they need to conserve every little thing before she nodded once more. "Go ahead and give it to me, I need to finish setting up my tent."

With that she looked away from Ilan and out towards the lush vegetation beyond. "Do you have any family back home?"

"Oh of course. My parents, brother and sister." Ilan smiled though it was understandably a bit sad as she spoke of them - especially now when getting home seemed like an impossibility. She loaded up a hypospray with a small dose of medicine and pressed it into Bri's neck. "There you go. I'm sure you'll be feeling better soon but you should probably take it easy with your hand."

"Are you close with your family?" She questioned, the Marine's attention going far away since it seemed to her like everyone here was accepting that this was their fate and they'd live out their lives here and their families would only know that they'd been left behind on an alien planet to live out the rest of their lives.

"Yeah, I am. We all work in the same business as it were, so we are all very close being around each other all the time. I imagine it would be pretty miserable if we weren't." She chuckled and put everything away neat and tidy as it had been - the nurses could get very upset if things weren't just so.

“Were you close to anyone else in your family? Siblings or cousins or the like?"

"I have two younger sisters, but we weren't close...I was kind of an embarrassment for them since I didn't like girly things." Bri replied and shook her head a little as she thought about who would be left back on Terra. "I'm pretty close with my granpa since he's been too stubborn to die given all the prognosis' the doctors gave him, my dad when it came to farm work and stuff he wanted to do with a son..."

“How old is your grandpa?” Ilan asked curiously and leaned against one of the small counters in the small room.

"He'll be ninety six this year, the first I haven't been able to attend," The Marine frowned, picking at her thumb nail as she let the reality slowly soak in. "Even if I couldn't make it back to Terra, I'd call and wish him a happy birthday."

Reaching out, Ilan placed a hand on Bri’s shoulder. She wasn’t going to offer the placating words of maybe they would get home or that maybe they’d find a way to contact their families like so many might have. While she still hadn’t given up on the prospect, Ilan was a realist and always had been despite her generally exuberant and upbeat take. She gave the other woman a squeeze and smiled.

“Well, I’ll make sure to share a toast with you to him and his health on the day.”

Bri chuckled but nodded. She looked over at Ilan and gave her a warm smile. "Thanks, I know he'd like that...you two would probably get along, most people think he's a grump, but he likes living life to the fullest and finding new and interesting things to do,"

"His biggest worry was that he'd run out of interesting things before he turned a hundred."

“Definitely sounds like my kind of guy.” Ilan laughed and let her hand slide from Bri’s shoulder. “Come on, how about I help you set up that tent of yours? Or at least try to cheer you on while you do it.”

"Yeah, sure we can do that...think I might be able to teach you how to set it up if you want to learn." The brunette smirked as she moved to stand, taking a deep breath before she flexed her hand to make sure she'd have the strength needed to finish setting up the tent. "Also sometimes cheering on is just as good too,"

She turned and headed for the door to take them back out to the spot she'd chosen for her tent as she picked up the hammer and stake before turning her attention back to her companion. "So you've never taken the wilderness survival course?"

“I did, I just didn’t do it very well.” Ilan replied with a chuckle and moved to stand near Bri, but not interfere with her work. She had never really liked the thought of sleeping outdoors if there was another option.

“I’m built for science and fun.”

"Mmmm, well, I can't speak fully to the science, but I know you like fun." The marine shot a playful smirk to the other woman as she set about finishing her work from before. It didn't take much since she'd more or less been most of the way through. Few more stakes, a taut tension line and Bri had the tent all set up.

"I like satin sheets as much as the next girl, but sometimes I just need be outside, under the stars."

"Yeah, that was never for me. Way too many bugs and creatures and I need to sleep on something soft or I end up waking up wanting to murder people." Ilan chuckled and shook her head. "But to each their own, I know a lot of people find enjoyment in it and there's really nothing wrong with that."

"Well, there is always something to be said for the creature comforts and I don't think I'd want to see you ready to murder people, something tells me that'd be a different level of scary," Bri shook her head and shifted to sit back on the ground and look up at the sky.

The green eyed beauty laughed again and shook her head. "It could very well be. Well, I'll leave you to your tent and stargazing, Bri. I hope you find some peace out here, really. I know things have been very hard for everyone."

"You know you can join me, I promise I won't make you sleep outside," Bri looked over at Ilan and smiled warmly. "Always nice to have company and to take a moment for the little things, granpa's wisdom."

“Mm… well I guess I can stay and look at the stars for a little while.” Chuckling, Ilan moved to sit down next to Bri and leaned back on her hands so she could look up. “So different, yet so similar to the ones at home, don’t you think?”

"Yeah, they are...I think if I can come to terms with the stars, I can come to terms with being here," Bri admitted as she stared up at the night sky of the alien world, finding a small measure of comfort in them and in having Ilan close to her.

She was still struggling but at least she had someone that felt familiar.

END