3 hours ago
(This post was last modified: 2 hours ago by Alexander Talion.)
Alex could feel the small internal struggle in Beno, though it was a brief one. When she opened up and told him about someone willing to go to war over this, he was a bit surprised. Beno then expressed her concerns about Cindy's safety, which made him fight back a grin. As she continued to speak, his mind brought up images, reminding him of things about the FO.
Sometimes, when his mind and emotional state were in the right state, the universe felt like it stopped. He understood the cause for it on a medical level and even used it in some of his technology, but it was rare that it happened to him spontaneously. This was one of those times. His mind recalled that he and Beno had a great deal in common. He didn't recall all of the details, but many came to the front of his thoughts. They were both the same age. He had graduated from the Academy only 6 months before she did. They were both in Science, had both been assigned to roughly the same number of ships and he had also been an FO at one time. Apparently, she was a widow, which matched to him being a widower. To both be so young and having both lost a spouse was rather unusual. His wife had been in Science, but had been a few years younger than him. Time was standing still as he was looking at Beno, her face in perfect clarity. The Trill spots reminding him that she was a joined Trill, something he knew very little about. However, his wife had originally been a Human and Ferengi hybrid, who was turned into a human through accidental exposure to a substance that had never been clearly explained. His mind came back to the fact that she was looking directly into his eyes as she was talking to him. She had blue eyes, which reminded him of his daughter, Reyna, who also had blue eyes, just like her mother had.
That was what did it. Sooner or later, there was always some small thing that eventually brought his mind back to reality. It had happened in the blink of an eye, but if Beno had been paying attention, his pupils would have appeared to go from normal to a much wider state. Time resumed to feel normal to him, but his heart had skipped a beat, as it sometimes did in these moments. She was thanking him for the compliment and continued talking about the President and the dilithium. While he listened, he took a slow breath in and let it out just as slowly, quickly regaining control of his thoughts. He wasn't sure why his mind had gone where it had, but he knew better than to try and explain it, so he did his best to simply keep it to himself. It had at least served to remind him that they were not so different. He considered saying something about Jonas being shot in front of them, but couldn't think of doing so in a way that would help in any way. Ever since he had gotten himself shot in his brief facing off with a couple of Borg, his fear response had never been the same, but he had lived through it, so there was that. To bring it up would only feel like he was making it about him, and he actually had no desire to discuss such things about himself. There were lots of things going on, but none of them were about him right now.
Finally, she seemed to be looking for a response from him, so he gave a single understanding nod. Alex had become very calm, as a result of his flash of inner-sight and he felt that perhaps he should pass that on in his own small way. Without thinking about it, he reached out with both hands and placed them on her shoulders. Although he looked more like he belonged in Security, for all his size he was a very gentle man most of the time. When he spoke, his voice was more quiet and personal, "Listen, you've been going hard for a while now. If you're going to keep this up, be sure to grab a quick bite of something. I know how it can be when the Captain is counting on you to help them get things done. Don't let yourself run out of energy before you hit that finish line. I'm sorry if I didn't always seem to be doing what you expected, but I'm right there to support you both, no matter what mission it is we're facing."
He seemed to notice that he had placed his hands on her shoulders like he did and caught himself. He tactfully dropped his hands slowly and looked down to gather his thoughts for a second before looking back to her to resume, "This dithium thing could be very important. Perhaps I should take a look at what has been done so far and see if there's something I can add to the conversation. If this is part of what this is all about, we might be able to help defuse it. You're right, we've seen plenty of worlds fighting about control over such resources or the technology surrounding it."
Alex was half a head taller than she was and he had slowly tried to take a small step back from her. He realized that he had briefly fallen from his normal professionally well practiced mannerisms to a personal one. He had stepped into her personal space, forgetting himself in the process. Easing back from the edge of that proverbial cliff, he didn't want her needing to look up at him. Maybe she wouldn't notice the change in his voice. Maybe...no...he heard the voice of his dead wife in his mind, telling him that Beno was smart, observant and experienced. he should not fool himself. The question was if he should own it or try to ignore it. Owning it only served a purpose if he meant to do it again, but as far as he could tell, this was just another example of why his life was less complicated by keeping it simple whenever possible. Right now, as so often was the case, the mission was where his focus belonged.
Covering the moment with a hint of a grin, he added, "Um...sorry...Let me see if I can give you something to work with by the time you and the Captain have that meeting."
== Tag...There, I added a bit more thought and subtext to the moment. Let me know if you want to leave it here or continue the conversation. ==
Sometimes, when his mind and emotional state were in the right state, the universe felt like it stopped. He understood the cause for it on a medical level and even used it in some of his technology, but it was rare that it happened to him spontaneously. This was one of those times. His mind recalled that he and Beno had a great deal in common. He didn't recall all of the details, but many came to the front of his thoughts. They were both the same age. He had graduated from the Academy only 6 months before she did. They were both in Science, had both been assigned to roughly the same number of ships and he had also been an FO at one time. Apparently, she was a widow, which matched to him being a widower. To both be so young and having both lost a spouse was rather unusual. His wife had been in Science, but had been a few years younger than him. Time was standing still as he was looking at Beno, her face in perfect clarity. The Trill spots reminding him that she was a joined Trill, something he knew very little about. However, his wife had originally been a Human and Ferengi hybrid, who was turned into a human through accidental exposure to a substance that had never been clearly explained. His mind came back to the fact that she was looking directly into his eyes as she was talking to him. She had blue eyes, which reminded him of his daughter, Reyna, who also had blue eyes, just like her mother had.
That was what did it. Sooner or later, there was always some small thing that eventually brought his mind back to reality. It had happened in the blink of an eye, but if Beno had been paying attention, his pupils would have appeared to go from normal to a much wider state. Time resumed to feel normal to him, but his heart had skipped a beat, as it sometimes did in these moments. She was thanking him for the compliment and continued talking about the President and the dilithium. While he listened, he took a slow breath in and let it out just as slowly, quickly regaining control of his thoughts. He wasn't sure why his mind had gone where it had, but he knew better than to try and explain it, so he did his best to simply keep it to himself. It had at least served to remind him that they were not so different. He considered saying something about Jonas being shot in front of them, but couldn't think of doing so in a way that would help in any way. Ever since he had gotten himself shot in his brief facing off with a couple of Borg, his fear response had never been the same, but he had lived through it, so there was that. To bring it up would only feel like he was making it about him, and he actually had no desire to discuss such things about himself. There were lots of things going on, but none of them were about him right now.
Finally, she seemed to be looking for a response from him, so he gave a single understanding nod. Alex had become very calm, as a result of his flash of inner-sight and he felt that perhaps he should pass that on in his own small way. Without thinking about it, he reached out with both hands and placed them on her shoulders. Although he looked more like he belonged in Security, for all his size he was a very gentle man most of the time. When he spoke, his voice was more quiet and personal, "Listen, you've been going hard for a while now. If you're going to keep this up, be sure to grab a quick bite of something. I know how it can be when the Captain is counting on you to help them get things done. Don't let yourself run out of energy before you hit that finish line. I'm sorry if I didn't always seem to be doing what you expected, but I'm right there to support you both, no matter what mission it is we're facing."
He seemed to notice that he had placed his hands on her shoulders like he did and caught himself. He tactfully dropped his hands slowly and looked down to gather his thoughts for a second before looking back to her to resume, "This dithium thing could be very important. Perhaps I should take a look at what has been done so far and see if there's something I can add to the conversation. If this is part of what this is all about, we might be able to help defuse it. You're right, we've seen plenty of worlds fighting about control over such resources or the technology surrounding it."
Alex was half a head taller than she was and he had slowly tried to take a small step back from her. He realized that he had briefly fallen from his normal professionally well practiced mannerisms to a personal one. He had stepped into her personal space, forgetting himself in the process. Easing back from the edge of that proverbial cliff, he didn't want her needing to look up at him. Maybe she wouldn't notice the change in his voice. Maybe...no...he heard the voice of his dead wife in his mind, telling him that Beno was smart, observant and experienced. he should not fool himself. The question was if he should own it or try to ignore it. Owning it only served a purpose if he meant to do it again, but as far as he could tell, this was just another example of why his life was less complicated by keeping it simple whenever possible. Right now, as so often was the case, the mission was where his focus belonged.
Covering the moment with a hint of a grin, he added, "Um...sorry...Let me see if I can give you something to work with by the time you and the Captain have that meeting."
== Tag...There, I added a bit more thought and subtext to the moment. Let me know if you want to leave it here or continue the conversation. ==