Is This Seat Taken?

Posted on Thu Jan 31st, 2019 @ 6:21pm by Commander Brielle Jayde & Commander Vox Templar

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Deck 5 - Main Lounge
Timeline: Shore Leave Day 1

Vox Templar entered the lounge and walked over to the bar. He placed his order and then leaned on the counter as his eyes scanned across the room. They finally caught the image of the reclusive tactical officer. He had never actually talked with her much since he had returned to the ship. That bothered him to some degree. He prided himself on having a report with the senior staff. He picked up his whiskey on the rocks and sauntered over to Brie as she sat there. He made sure that his body was within sight of her and uttered, "Hello, commander. Mind some company?"

Brie had found some time away. Not that it was much, but enough to enjoy herself a drink in the lounge that didn't include finishing Ossan's juice. She was exhausted, and it likely showed on her face. Parenthood was stressful when you were on duty more than you saw your kids, and still had an infant at home too. Granted, Aysel was almost to the toddler stage. But the break was much needed, she just had to not fall asleep in the lounge. She'd heard someone behind her and looked over hearing the voice. "Vox? Of course, take a seat," she said, sipping her margarita.

"Thank you, Brie." He smiled and pulled out a chair, sitting down softly as he observed her drink of choice. "Margarita, eh? Nice choice for a little alone time." He nodded over to the large windows. "The view never gets old, does it?"

Taking another sip, she shook her head. "Never does. Partly why I'm here. Granted, the windows in my quarters are nice but, this one gives so much more view." She looked over at him again. "What brings you down here anyways?"

"We haven't really talked much outside work. It's important to know the people you risk your life with. It's something I learned long ago." He smiled cordially and took a sip of his drink. "How's the family life?"

"Busy as ever. Toddler and infant will do that to you though. But, at least everyone is sleeping through the night unless a nightmare happens. This whole opposite shift thing is starting to get to us though."

"Yes, I can imagine how that can be very stressful on a family." He lowered his voice a touch and continued, "I don't know how Stacey dealt with my absence when I was reported missing." He took another swig. "And I know that played a factor in our falling apart. This job isn't exactly conducive to normal relationships." He smirked again at the truth.

Brie nodded, finishing her drink and ordering another before speaking. "Do any of our jobs let us have normal relationships? Granted, Intel makes it more difficult, but.." She sighed. "I wasn't really part of the ship's family long enough at that point to really know how she took it."

Vox ordered another drink from the waiter before he sneaked away from the table. Then he finished the one in his hand. "Oh, it was really rough, from what she told me. And as her position on the ship grew, she had more stress." He let out a soft sigh. "I don't think the real movers and shakers in the fleet have normal lives. Maybe if you were stationed on an outpost or a starbase..."

"That'd be a bit more stable, but always the chance of being shipped out if something happened. No guarantee that families would stay together." She sat back and looked back to him. "I guess I never did ask. How are you doing after all that happened?"

Their drinks arrived and he took a big gulp, feeling it all go down with a burn. "As best as can be expected, I suppose. She's happy on Alpha Centauri and I'm glad she's happy." He licked his lips and looked back out at the stars.

Brie nodded and just sipped at her new drink. "One place I've actually never been. My twin sister lived there for a bit, between postings." She shrugged. "She said it was nice." Her eyes followed to the stars. "Best place to get lost in thoughts, isn't it?"

Vox nodded and offered a faint smirk as he took another sip. "It really is, Brie. We weren't meant to see stars like this. It's very fascinating." He turned back toward her. "Alpha Centauri is beautiful. It's very similar to Earth in many respects."

"Never thought of it like that, the stars thing anyways." She glanced over when he looked to her. "Might be why my sister liked it I suppose." She sighed, "I didn't realize I even needed to have any away time until I got here and started looking at the stars."

"It can be an unconscious thing, many times. We naturally seek out things and don't even realize why until later." He looked down at his drink for a moment. "I suppose with all that's on your plate, it's no wonder, to be honest."

Brie looked down into her own drink, "You... have no idea, Vox."

He took another swig and leaned forward on the table. "Maybe you should give me one, Brie."

"All we've done lately is fight...the few times we are off duty together. It's been bad." She just kept staring into her drink and didn't look anywhere else.

He gave her a longing look. "Take another sip. It helps ease the nerves." He took one himself and as he felt it go down, he sensed it starting to make him feel better. "What do you fight about, just work? Or is it family stress too?"

Finally looking over, Brie took a sip and sighed, "Everything. Even the tiniest thing is setting him off right now. We don't argue in front of the kids but they know something is up. Aysel is fussier than normal, Ossan just sits and watches us. We barely speak to each other when the kids are around. I don't know what to do. We can't even try to talk it out without yelling."

"Have you tried going on a date, just the two of you? Sometimes married people need to be remembered that they have to date." He downed his drink and ordered them both another without asking and then let out a chuckle. "You gotta keep that spark alive."

Brie nodded, both in thanks for the drink and to answer the question. "Many times. We've tried staying apart for a few days, date nights, nothing has worked."

Vox shook his head in disbelief and blinked a few times, raising his glass to his lips. "That's gotta be rough. It sounds like you need some excitement in your life."

"Even that, it ends in arguments. I don't know what happened. We had this instant connection after Zimm died... but now? It's like nothing is the same."

"It's this job. It can make people grow distant. And when you add in the human nature to have needs satisfied, it can get out of control, to say the least."

Brie downed the rest of her original drink and shook her head. "His anger comes from his Klingon side too. He hasn't been physically violent but... he's had to hold himself back. At least it seemed that way."

Vox nudged the fresh drink in front of her. "And I take it that you're not into the rough stuff to that level of intensity?" He cleared his throat, unsure where of the direction of this conversation should be going.

Pulling the drink closer, "Err... Aysel was conceived that way but... I mean as in hurting me. He gets so angry, his fists get clenched, then he walks away so he doesn't actually hit me." She took a sip of the drink.

Vox offered a slight shrug as he tipped his glass at her. "Totally not judging but some people would say that's why most species stick to their own. It avoids the conflicts that can arise with inter-species mating problems."

"Yet I seem to attract them. Was married to a Bajoran and a half-Klingon/half-Ferengi. I never argued with Zimm, not like this. There..." She turned away, biting her lip. "I came down here to... think on things..."

"What things are those?" He asked the question with a piercing gaze, his eyes studying hers for answers.

Knowing he was looking at her, Brie turned back, "Whether or not there is even any love left in the relationship. Whether or not it is worth the continual fighting."

"That's one of the hardest questions in the galaxy to answer. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Sometimes... other events happen because we don't know which path to take anymore."

"It's been going on longer than I even want to admit. I've hidden it away, not let anyone else be bothered by it. Hide away in my work all the time, take the kids to the holodeck without him." She down half her drink.

"You can't hold it all in forever, Brie. Eventually it explodes..." He finished his drink in one big gulp and ordered them another round. "How can someone so good looking be so burdened all the time? It must be such a heavy weight."

Blinking at the statement, Brie just stared into her drink again, only responding after a long silence, ignoring the first part of his question for the time being. "I thought the stars would help me make a decision on what I've been debating for weeks, but I'm still not sure."

"Maybe you should just sit down with him and listen to each other's point of view." He gazed ahead for a moment, unfocused on anything in particular. "Then you know where he stands. You both deserve to be happy. If that's together, wonderful, but if not, why torture yourselves until death?" The next round showed up and he got the faintest smirk at the corner of his mouth as he took the drinks and placed them on the table.

Downing the drink in front of her, she pulled the next over, already knowing that the drinking was a bad idea, but didn’t care. “Been there, done that. It’s been going on months, Vox, but I don’t see an end in sight unless one of us leaves.”

Vox nodded several times and grinned as a typical remark came to mind. "The airlock is the easiest way to dispose of a body, but a method of vaporization is helpful to avoid any trace..." He sipped his new drink and licked his lips as he curled an eyebrow at her.

“Vox,” she said with a gasp, “That is not what I meant and you know it.” Her words were slightly slurred but she was still thinking mostly clearly. “Wha... what’s with the look,” she asked as she finally looked at him.

He let out a friendly chuckle and waved his hand dismissively. "I was just joking, of course. That's obviously a last resort." He completely sidestepped her question and fixed his gaze back out of the window. "I guess after a few more drinks, you should spend some time asking yourself some hard questions..."

Brie watched him look back out the window and sighed, “What do you mean?”

"Just that you should think about when the last time you two were truly happy, and whether you would be happier together or apart. That sort of thing..."

“That is exactly why I came down here. Know what I figured out?” She downed half the drink she had, “That I can’t see us ever getting past this arguing, ever.”

"'To thine own self be true,' Brie." He nodded at her fresh drink on the table. "The hard choices are always shit, but in the end, it saves you."

Nodding, she quickly down the drink, her head starting to spin, but it was a good spin. “I just have to ready myself for another screaming match.”

Vox had reached a point where he felt really good. He let out a long, contented sigh and fixed his eyes back onto hers. "Just stay firm in your stance and it'll be over quicker. Don't worry, it's only up from here." With that, he stood up and slowly walked by her, patting her shoulder gently on his way down the steps and out the door.

Brie watched him as he left and then stared back out at the stars. He was right on everything he’d said. She would take a bit of time here still to clear her head and then head back. She’d deal with this tomorrow.