Sidelined

Posted on Sat Jul 11th, 2015 @ 7:57pm by Ensign Six of Ten & Vic

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Java - The Promenade

* Java - The Promenade *

“So, I’ll be home in a couple of hours. That should give you time to finish up what you need to do, then we’ll get everything unpacked and settled in.” Suresh reached across the table to squeeze Six’s hand. “Marat will be around in case of trouble. Good luck with Vic.”

“It will be fine, no worries,” Six replied. She stood and leaned in for a kiss, then sat back down, watching Suresh as he vanished into the crowd on the Promenade. Once he was out of sight, she scanned those sitting at the Promenade-side tables, soon spotting Suresh’s man. He was with a woman and they were deep in conversation, or so it seemed. She could see that she was directly in his line of sight, however, so he wouldn’t miss a thing. The red-haired waitress appeared to refresh her coffee and Six thanked her. As the waitress moved away, she could see Vic approaching just down the way.

Having received both a cancellation and then an invitation from Six had put Vic on uncertain ground. Hence, as he walked towards Java and spotted Suresh heading away from the place, he was doubly on edge. He entered, waved at a barista he knew and took a seat across from Six. "Hi."

“Hi Vic.” Six smiled as he sat down. “First, I want to apologize for all the craziness the last two days. A lot has happened and you deserve an explanation.” She sipped from her coffee cup and lowered it. Vic’s uncertainty was coming through loud and clear and it made her feel bad that he was getting caught in all this.

The barista brought him a frothy iced concoction and smiled at him as she set down. He returned her smile with a nod and had to force himself to look at Six as she walked away. "I get the feeling you're more serious about Suresh than you were ...what, night before last? when I saw you in the Nexus."

“It’s sort of complicated,” she began. “It all started in science that same morning actually. I got a lecture about being seen with a criminal, how I was ruining my life, my career prospects, all that. I was basically given an ultimatum - give up my personal life or my job.” She moved her coffee cup aside, then back, clearly a nervous gesture. “I spent nineteen years with no free will, no thinking on my own. I am finally a real person and I didn’t take well to being told what I could and couldn’t do when I was off duty.”


"That must have been Rutheridge lecturing you. He can be...uptight. Did you tell him off?" Vic chuckled, imagining her doing just that.

‘It doesn’t matter,” Six answered. “It’s a common feeling among the Fleet isn’t it? Everyone sees one thing and goes with it and that’s it. End of story.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, Vic. Suresh was just part of the picture. It’s also about me. If you were dating someone like Seyla, would anyone say anything to you? Or if Darwin were...he’s Fleet. Would anyone tell him he couldn’t see her? But given what I used to be, there’s still this fear that I am, deep down, likely to turn on them.”

"Woah, hold on," he broke into her impending rant, "You're conflating two things. Seyla's a businesswoman; she's above-board and her employees are well-kept. Suresh, though... gods, he killed people. Like Oralia's first boyfriend, Connor, and her brother, Chance! And he ordered even more killed, or enslaved, or who knows what! Suresh isn't a businessman; he's a thug and a menace. So if Darwin dated Seyla, nothing would be said... by the way, he has dated her, Six. So this isn't about you being former Borg. But beyond that, what did you do when Rutheridge gave you an ultimatum?"

“I took a day to think about it and I really did, Vic.” She frowned for a moment. “I thought long and hard about this but the question is, where would it end? What would be the next thing they don’t want me doing? The strange thing is, this has sort of caused the one thing they didn’t want.”

He rocked back and stared at her. "Did you ...quit the Fleet?"

“As of yesterday, yes,” she answered softly, then braced for impact. She could feel his disapproval coming in waves. “But you are civilian, Vic. Don’t you prefer doing what you want whenever you want to?”

Vic sipped his high-octane mix before shaking his head in disbelief. "Wow. I really thought it'd be Reva getting in the shit with her rebelling against authority issues. But... that takes the cake, Six. There are levels of rebellion; you've definitely taken the nuclear level," he said, his disapproval showing. And why wouldn't he disapprove? Even though this Suresh was a 'good guy' and in Jackson's graces, he still had nearly cost his friend his wife. "You quit the Fleet because of this guy?" His tone implied he wanted to yell, 'Are you nuts?' at her.

“Only partly,” she admitted. “As I said, it’s complicated.” She rubbed her forehead and muttered. “I’ve already been lectured by just about everyone I know.” That excluded Darwin and Bryce but they were part of all this. “And believe me, I appreciate my friends’ concern. Not that I have that many.”

"But maybe you should be considering, or reconsidering, their concern and the lectures, Six. Look, I realize mobs can be grossly wrong-headed, but when a gaggle of individuals are all in agreement on something, they just might be right," he looked at her intently. "Have you considered that you might be ...overreacting?" He really wanted to say 'hormonal', since she was a young woman, but he knew from experience that no woman took that phrase kindly.

“When I am told to choose, I don’t see it as an overreaction,” she answered. “Maybe I should be where I am happy? Is that such a bad thing?”

"No, being happy is important. But... you've given up a Starfleet career. For... what? To date a guy known as a criminal and a killer?" He stopped and shook his head, "I just can't understand that reasoning."

Six’s hands clenched in her lap and she sighed aloud. Darwin was right - she was having yet another day that was turning into a rough one. “Look, I came to apologize for getting you caught up in all this. You’re a wonderful man Vic and I can understand how you feel. But what’s done is done. I just wanted you to know that I have begin my civilian days. I’m sure you’ll hear about it here and there anyway.”

"Yeah, I will. This'll be the talk of the Station," he didn't sound happy. "But for the record, I'm not caught up in this. You've chosen your path, Six. Now I'm going to walk mine." He stood and said, "See you around," before heading out. That was some crazy he didn't want to be involved in.

She watched him go and then banged her fist on the table, making her cup and saucer rattle. Two tables over, Marat started to get to his feet, but she waved him off. She sat another few moments, thinking over the conversation and realized she was right. What was done was...done. It was a shame that Vic didn’t know what Jackson knew. It might have eased the situation a little. Maybe.

She still had an hour before Suresh was due home. She wanted to find somewhere and scream but that wasn’t likely to happen. The next best thing occurred to her….Raj. That wasn’t a bad idea at all and she decided to contact his office when she got home. With one more look around, she stood and began to move along the Promenade to the turbolift. She hoped she hadn’t interrupted Marat’s conversation, but it came with the territory...like so many other changes.

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Ensign Six of Ten
The Last Revelation

Vic
Not Havin' Any of That Pie