Life Of Riley

Posted on Mon Aug 24th, 2015 @ 6:16pm by Lieutenant Riley Sukotav & Lieutenant Raj Amani

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Riley's Quarters

Raj had returned to the brig and after some paperwork, Riley was once again a free man. Security had escorted them out and they now found themselves in a turbolift moving back up in the direction of the officers’ quarters. A man in the science blue had shared the lift with them for a few decks and while he greeted Riley politely, he’d kept his distance. Finally, they reached his deck and stepped out and Raj turned to face him.

“Are you ready to get home?” he asked.

"Yes," Riley answered, his thoughts still on his fellow science officer, the one who'd just thought of him as a psychotic. "I'm off duty for a while, aren't I? Any idea how long?"

“I requested two weeks but we’ll see how it goes. You may be bored stiff and ready to get back to work before then.” Raj smiled as they began the walk to Riley’s quarters. “And don’t worry about that guy. He’ll get over it.” Raj had also suggested that Tess inform the science staff of the particulars, just so they could avoid such suspicions once Riley was back at work. “For now, you have time to settle back into things. We’ll also be meeting daily to help that along.”

"Well. Good thing I like you, if we're going to be meeting daily." They came to his quarters and Riley paused before opening them. "Where is she, do you know?"

“Reva? Or Six?” It had to be one or the other of them, Raj assumed.

Riley debated a moment as he entered his place and saw the detritus left by Security and Sciences after their investigations. "Either, both," he answered.

“Reva is somewhere on the station and Six is still in Piper, though she will be released tomorrow.” Raj watched as Riley looked around, orienting himself to his space. “Security and Science both went over this place in detail. There is no sign of the rifts here or elsewhere on the station.”

"Could you find out if she - uh, Six - would see me?"

“Certainly,” Raj answered. “It might be best if the two of you met in my office.” He took a seat, not wanting to interfere as Riley wandered the rooms.

Riley started righting things that had been knocked askew, though when he came to the image of Reva and him, he turned it facedown. "That'd be good. What should we be discussing? You and me, I mean. Besides that my head got scrambled?"

Raj didn’t miss the fate of Reva’s picture. “That, and perhaps what happened with Ensign Madhava. Beyond that? Adjusting to being back out, dealing with public opinion….anything you like, really.”

Riley chuckled, "Back out? It's not like I was in the Brig that long, Counselor. I don't need any re-entry programs. But, I did try to kill Six, my friend. That is a bit distressing. We'll probably be talking about nightmares for awhile to come."

Raj nodded. “Granted, but even a short stay can have some impact. You bring up a good point too. Nightmares are likely. Just don’t take them too much to heart. Your subconscious has a devious way of twisting everything to its worst at times.”

"Yes, it can worry a bit more than the awake mind," Riley agreed. He fussed with a pillow on the couch. "I told Reva there'd never been anyone but her, but for her.... It seems anyone will do." He slapped the pillow against the arm of the couch and sat down.

“Maybe that is something the two of you should discuss,” Raj answered. “Find out what’s really going on. Sometimes outside influences can wreak havoc you know.”

"They've already wrecked plenty here," Riley said. "So much has happened, been said," he looked at Raj, "Not just between Reev and me, but overall, the past several days. I met a woman, Nemi." He stopped, considered, then said, "Of course, that was just before I went nuts and tried to kill Six. I doubt she'll ever speak to me again."

“I see.” Raj nodded. “Riley, perhaps it might be better if you avoid any other entanglements until you work through the Reva situation. Settle one thing before you jump into something else so that when you do move on, it’s not confused by the current situation.” Raj stood and loosened his collar. “Are you hungry?”

Riley shook his head. "No. My stomach seems to have shrunk. If you are, though, feel free. There's probably beer in the fridge - or should be. It's an Archadian hefeweizen." After a second, he stood and headed for the fridge. "That sounds good. Do you want one?"

“Certainly.” Raj moved on into the kitchen and detoured to the replicator. Moments later, he held a large plate of french fries covered in cheese and bacon. “Dinner of champions,” he grinned at Riley. “I’ll be here tonight, in case you have any issues but I’m lifting the watch as of tomorrow.”

"Oh. You're staying?" Riley opened two beers, passed one to Raj and snagged a fry. "Gotta warn you, Reev complains that the couch is lumpy," he laughed, then frowned.

“I'll take my chances,” Raj laughed. “Tonight, you need to kick back, relax, and find a little distraction or try to. We have beer and junk food. Movie maybe?”

"Yeah," Riley agreed and immediately thought of how, whenever they watched a movie, Reva would go get the blanket and pillows, letting him pick what they watched. "Why don't you pick something?"

“Sure.” Raj sat down on the sofa facing the view screen. Once it glowed to life, he scrolled through the list and finally settled on one. Tonight, a little comedy was in order. “Ever hear of Monty Python? My roommate at the Academy was a huge fan.”

"Life of Brian?" Riley nodded. He settled in, feet up on the coffee table and let the movie's quirky humor replace his thoughts for a while.

***************
Lt. Raj Amani
Support & Distraction

Lt. Riley Sukotav
Supported; Not So Distracted