Karsel`lyn Lylyl-Llytherraias
<<Celtron V, Cafe, 1310, Day 1>>
"Hunt to Kersare, I'm sending Abubakar to get our people back."
Isabel tapped her comm badge, "Acknowledged." She was rather curious to find out what was going on with that whole situation, but it would have to wait. Presently she was still waiting for Mason, Security, and whoever else was showing up to come down. Hopefully they'd be there soon.
Suddenly, a cheerful voice chirped up from Isabel's side, a petite green-skinned officer smiling up at the taller Captain, "Captain. I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't think of it earlier, but I shouldn't have left you alone when you came down with me. I should have stayed with you, as an escort."
Isabel blinked, "Lieutenant, an escort really isn't necessary....And when did you return?"
"Just a moment ago, ma'am. The runabout is parked up the street a block. And regulations dictate that a Commanding Officer always have an escort, for his or her security, while on away missions or otherwise planetside."
She drew a phaser from her pack and placed it on her hip, and handed a second to Captain Kersare, "Here you are, ma'am. I got word about something strange going on down here, and figured it would be best if you were kept armed, in case things get... ugly."
Taking the phaser from Lyn, Isabel nodded, "Thank you." She glanced around a little, "Here I was hoping for some relaxation."
Lyn nodded, "I know what you mean. I could help you relax.... but I doubt you'd be up for something of that nature..." she flashed a quick cattish grin, before it disappeared into a frown.
Isabel smiled and shook her head slightly...Lyn was direct if nothing else. "Did you get the treatment from Doctor Darkhelm?"
She nodded, "Yes, ma'am. Although it may take a little while to kick in, I got the treatment. The headache is gone, thankfully. How are you feeling, Captain?"
"I'm glad the headache is gone. I'm alright, just concerned about the reports I've just received from the High Council," Isabel admitted.
Lyn nodded, "Unidentified Flying Objects and all?" she giggled girlishly, "I thought that in the day and age we're in, we already know that there are little green men.... and women, like me, out there."
"Where are you off to next, Mon Chere Capitane?" Lyn licked her lips a moment, then smiled.
"Let's keep our voices down about the objects...there've only been a handful of reports, and I don't want to cause alarm. I'm supposed to be waiting for Security, Commander Hunt, and whoever else shows up, but why don't we walk around a bit?" Isabel figured scoping things out might be a good idea, plus she'd feel more at easy discussing the...objects..if they weren't sitting within earshot of others.
Lyn smiled, "Gotcha, Captain. Waiting on Security and Commander Hunt both? Mind if I tag along and fly you and whoever around? I'd love to get some more stick time, and would be really happy to take you wherever you want to go."
"You're welcome to join us. We'll probably need a lift to some of the more wooded areas whenever they arrive," Isabel said. Getting up from her chair in the outdoor cafe, Isabel started walking, pausing and waiting for Lyn.
Lyn kept up with the Captain, enjoying the sight of the shapely woman walking in front of her. When Isabel paused, Lyn, almost unwillingly, caught up and walked astride the senior officer. She pointed up the street, "The runabout is up there, and to the right, in a small cul-de-sac. Where you want to go, darling?"
"Let's head to one of the less populated areas, closer to the central area of the planet. That's where there've been reports of trouble." Isabel rather hoped to get a glimpse of one of the objects...which would need some form of name, now that she thought about it.. Time for that later. What she'd really like is to be able to catch one and study it, but only time would tell about that.
Lyn turned up the street, after catching Isabel's hand, and began to lead the woman along with her, turning the corner after but a block's distance, and sitting before them was an obviously heavily modified Danube-class Runabout. Lyn sang a few wordless bars aloud, and the portside hatched popped open and a ladder descended for the pair to climb.
Reaching the hatch, Karsel`lyn held a hand out to help Isabel inside, "After you, Mon Chere Capitane."
Isabel didn't quite know what to say. Lyn taking her hand caught her off guard, then the hatch popping open after she sang... She shook her head slightly, took the outstretched hand and climbed in the runabout, "Very well."
Karsel`lyn spritely hopped inside after Isabel, and herded the Captain into the cockpit. Lyn hopped into her seat, and buckled up swiftly. She looked over at Isabel, "You okay, Captain?"
Isabel nodded, "I'm fine, thank you." To add reassurance, she smiled, then added, "Let's try Zone 22 in Sector 7 of the planet. Anywhere around there that you can find a suitable place to land would work, Lieutenant."
Lyn nodded, entering the information into the navigation subroutine she had running already. She noted the approximate distance and bearing, and began to lift the craft from the ground. She waited until she was at least 162 meters off of the ground before she whipped the craft about one-hundred and fourty degrees and kicked in one-quarter impulse power, rocketing the craft away from the city as Lyn cried out happily as she was pushed back into her seat, her harnesses slacking up some as her weight let off of them.
She slowed the craft some more, to about twice the speed of sound, and glanced over at Isabel, "Sorry. You know how much I love starting off."
Isabel nodded, smiling, "No need to apologize. Flying is fun, and as it's your job I'm glad you like it. How long will it take us to get there?"
Lyn looked at the panel in front of her, "At current velocity of two-thousand four-hundred kilometers per hour, it will take us about a half hour to get there. I don't want to violate any airspace restrictions by hot-dogging us over there, so I'm playing it safe, ma'am."
"Please do so. I'd rather stay on the Celtronians' good side, which would involve us not breaking any airspace restrictions. We have time anyway, as the others haven't arrived," Isabel said.
Lyn nodded, "Gotcha. Keep the velocity down, and we should be good. At least we'll have time to hang out some and get to know each other.... if that's good with you, of course."
"I enjoy getting to know my crew," Isabel replied. "Where else have you been stationed?"
Lyn frowned, "A number of places. I was with several Fighter squadrons during the War, defended Vulcan for awhile, until they moved me back to the Terra Defense perimeter. Talk about boring..... all because some Admiral got uppity because I slept with my CO."
"They moved me back to the front, after awhile, and I saw action at Cardassia Prime. That was.... an unpleasant time."
"Then," she looked over at the Captain, "I got a real chance and they transferred me to the USS Tolkien, where I commanded VFA 192, the Golden Dragons, and commanded the Tolkien's Aerospace Wing. I loved that time in my life, but of course, things happened and the Tolkien was mothballed."
"I moved on to the USS Ashling, served there in command of a squadron and the Aerospace Wing, but... well.... I was wounded in an attack by a Borg Sphere. Lost the woman I loved to them, too. I....." she choked up a moment, "I... was forced to shoot her several times, as she was being assimilated. N-never again...."
Lyn looked as if she was going to cry now, and had fallen silent as she flew the runabout, the only sounds coming from the small woman were small sniffles.
A look of concern, and pain grew over Isabel's face. She placed a hand gently on the woman's shoulder and spoke softly, "Lyn, I'm so sorry, I didn't know... I lost my husband to the Borg as well, although I was spared having to watch..." Nearly choking up herself at the thought of Derek, Isabel paused to regain composure. "You seem to be a very strong woman, or else you wouldn't be here. Perhaps the Malinche can become like a new home to you..." Isabel was partially afraid of saying the wrong thing, but hoped her words might help.
Lyn could barely speak, a few tears having begun to stream down her cheeks, "I.... I would like it to be a new home. I like it on the Malinche, and I love her Captain. She's a wonderful woman, and she's cute, too. But..... it'll always hurt, as I'm sure the loss of your husband will always hurt you. H-how did he die to them?"
Isabel wiped a tear from the young woman's cheek, "I know it will Lyn, you just have to keep going the best you can." She took a breath, then began, "Derek was Assistant Chief Security Officer...He was sent on an away mission to a supposedly abandoned ship. Next I knew, I was being called into the Captain's Ready Room. Apparently there were Borg aboard the 'abandoned' ship...Derek was trying to help make sure everyone on the team got out and was in the back of the group." Isabel looked down briefly, then back up at Lyn, "Borg got a hold of him and were in the process of assimilating him when one of the remaining Security officers apparently fired upon him to spare him from being taken into the collective."
"Oh god!" Lyn cried more, "I'm so sorry I made you think about it! I mean..... I lost a girlfriend. You lost your husband! I'm so sorry!"
Isabel shook her head, her eyes watering a little, but successfully keeping the tears back, "You don't need to apologize. It was two years ago now...and you didn't realize it had happened. Losing a girlfriend is just as painful as losing a husband."
Lyn switched the craft over to automatic pilot, and after unstrapping, moved over to Isabel's side and embraced the woman, "I'm so sorry, Isabel. If you feel like you need to cry, don't stop on my account. I know it still hurts, like how it still hurts me to know that Alejandra is gone. At least he wasn't stuck as a drone, and one of his crewmates did him a great service by keeping him from that horrid fate."
Isabel hugged Lyn back. Part of her did want to cry, but she'd not allowed herself to do so in front of others for years. "It will always hurt, but I try to remember the good times instead. The poor man who shot him felt so guilty for doing so...but you're right, he did the right thing." Reopening these old wounds was difficult...
Lyn rested her cheek on Isabel's shoulder, "I..... I'm sorry, Isabel darling. I'm sorry about how your life was ripped apart. I... I tried to kill myself after I came to after surgery, after the incident with the Borg. I hate them. They are repugnant to me, and I spit on them and their 'perfection'."
"But please, Isabel, if you ever need someone to talk to, about stuff like this, my shoulder and ears are always open to you."
She lifted her head from Isabel's shoulder, and looked into the woman's eyes, "Wow..... you're beautiful......"
Isabel blinked and moved back a little, caught off guard by Lyn's comment. "Thank you.." She didn't want to offend her, but it was a little much for her, "To be perfectly honest, I try not to think about what happened too much....but if I need someone to talk to, I'll let you know," she smiled warmly.
Lyn smiled back, "It's nice to have a friend. It almost makes me feel..... I don't know... giddy? I think that's the word, but I'm not sure."
"And I don't like thinking about what happened to Alejandra, either. But sometimes, it just pops up in my mind, and it hurts. But I have to move on, as I know Alejandra would want me to. But.... it's hard to find a woman who'd bother with one like me. Most women don't like naught but men, so I'm stuck with slim pickings, if you want to put it that way."
Lyn frowned and returned her attention to the pilot's console, "Land fall in eight minutes." She slid into the seat again, and strapped in slowly, almost listlessly. It was obvious that the pain of the memories was still there.
Isabel nodded, "Giddy works." Listening to Lyn, Isabel realized it was probably true - most women did stick with men...she herself hadn't really considered anything else, although she didn't see anything wrong with it. "You may still find someone Lyn; love has a way of coming when you least expect it, if your heart is open."
She noticed the way Lyn moved now, her spirit somehow drained, "It will be alright, and you have the support of everyone here," Isabel smiled.
Lyn nodded, "But.... so often, I fall in love, but that person doesn't return it. I... I've had women who've accused me of trying to steal their men, when all along I was much more interested in them instead."
"I've.... always been accused of being a man-stealer, a slut, a whore, and so many other rude things, so it's been almost impossible to even make friends, much less find a love who actually loves me back."
"It will come," Isabel said reassuringly. "I wouldn't accuse you of those things, and I would consider you a friend Lyn. I'm sure there are plenty of others on the ship that would feel that way too, have you talked to any of the them?"
Lyn shook her head, "No, not really. I've only spoken to you, and to Two. Two seems.... well.... very closed-in. Poor girl, she's lost so much to those damned Borg. I don't know if a friendship could be possible, since she doesn't have the emotions to build one with. But, like I told her," she guided the runabout into a small clearing in the woods below them, "I would be there to help her with anything she needs help with."
"And I'm flattered that you would think me a friend, Isabel, and I'm glad you wouldn't accuse me of things, either," she sighed, shutting the engines down. She unstrapped herself from the seat, and slipped back into the runabout, reappearing in the main cabin with a pair of compression phaser rifles, handing one to the Captain when she came back herself.
"It's good of you to reach out to Rebekah, I think she could use some friends. And of course I think of you as a friend," Isabel smiled. After undoing her harness, Lyn reappeared, and Isabel took to offered phaser rifle, "Lead the way Lieutenant."
Lyn nodded, cradling the rifle, and sang the requisite bars of song, and the hatch once again opened. She hopped down the three feet to the ground, her rifle coming up to her shoulder as she swept it back and forth, "Looks clear, Captain."
Isabel nodded and also dropped to the ground, looking in all directions. "Here we are..." They were in a clearing, forests surrounding them starting at the edge of the clearing. "Now we just need to wait for the others to arrive. Let's take a little look around, but not go too far."
"Okay. Follow me, ma'am, but tell me where you want to go."
Isabel pointed to a break in the trees slightly to the left of them, "Let's try over there."
OFF: TAG Security, Intelligence, Hunt, whomever,
A JP with
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche
~and~