Running, running, running [Backpost]

Posted on 02 Apr 2018 @ 11:04pm by Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant JG Jazmin Parks

4,276 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Crossing Over
Location: Corridors, USS Black Hawk
Timeline: MD 36 || 1700 Hours

OFF: Don't know if you want in on this post, but I thought I'd shoot it your way in case you were interested.

ON
[Black Hawk Corridors - Deck 22]

Jazmin finally had a few hours to herself. The time since the crew had taken back the Hawk had been a difficult one. Now, with enough security personnel having regained their memories, the Chief back on duty after she had been hurt in the Stranger's invasion, Jazmin had a few hours to herself.

The Chief had told her to get some rest, but sleep would not come. So, Jazmin put on her running clothes (a pair of grey capri leggings, white running shoes and a mustard yellow t-shirt that read 'HAWK' across the back. The hem of the t-shirt was knotted at her waist and her communicator was pinned on her right sleeve.) and started running the corridors.

Three hours later she was on deck 22, just passing cargo bay 3 and her pace had not slowed since she started. The steady rhythm of her feet hitting the floor as she ran was the only sound she made. Her breathing was steady, and her body was drenched in sweat. Four years on the Academy Long-Distance Running Team were paying off.

Her mind however, was not a collected as she appeared on the outside and the thoughts that ran through her mind were strong, angry, and accusatory.

"Dammit Jazmin, how could you have let this happen?"

"There was nothing to be done, the entire crew fell victim." She answered herself.

"If you hadn't been crawling around the Jefferies Tubes, you would have been in a location that would have been more quickly found by others."

"Stop! We both know there was no way to know!"

"Pitiful excuse! The Chief needed us! We swore to protect the others!"

Jazmin picked up her pace, her breathing starting to become ragged.

"I'm not the only security onboard!"

"But, you are the Assistant Chief. The Chief needed you and she ended up in sickbay for it."

"She's fine!"

"Beside the point! You failed!"

"No!"

Jazmin bore down on a group of engineers that filled the corridor. "Make a hole! Make it wide!"

The men stepped aside just in time.

"Failure!"

"No!"

"The instructors were right!"

"No!"

She rounded the corner, hit a container that she did not see and hit the deck, rolling to a stop and rising to her hands and knees, sweat dripping off of her nose. "I refuse to quit." Her voice was a low, dangerous, growl.

At that time, Camila came around the corner and saw her Assistant Chief, Jazmin on her hands and knees. "What's going on here?" she demanded as she turned a cold gaze at the others, thinking that Parks had been assaulted.

Jazmin, thankful that her face was straight down and her hair obscured her face, took a deep breath, then rose, wiping her face as though she were wiping sweat away.

She put a hand on Camila's arm. "It's okay Chief, I tripped." She pointed at the crate. "Honest. Besides, I'd hope they'd know better than to mess with me." She gave her best reassuring smile.

Camila shook her head and steadied Jazmin. "No," she said and looked at the others. "Tell me what's going on here or you're all going to the brig."

Jazmin took a deep breath, the Chief's instincts were too good. She looked at the others. "Don't worry about it guys, just get out and I'll handle this."

The men looked at her skeptically then turned and hurried off. Jazmin looked at Camila, knowing she better diffuse the situation, fast.

"Chief. I know you want to pound me for contradicting you, but honestly, they had nothing to do with what's going on." She looked Camila in the eyes. "Honest." She suppressed a shiver as her sweat started to cool and her body protesteed the lack of movement.

She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing back her sweat-soaked locks and took a deep breath. "Truth of the matter is, I needed to decompress a little so I took a little run," she paused, "eight decks worth. I came around the corner, and this crate had been left lying around. I took a dive." She hoped her eyes weren't too red from crying but thought she did a passable job hiding it. She waited for Camila to say something, hoping the other woman wouldn't yell at her right now.

"Stand down, Lieutenant Parks," Camila ordered but kept her eyes on the Engineers. "Our brig is currently empty, but it's about to get full."

Jazmin nodded, taking her hand off Camila's arm. She snapped to a parade rest position. "My apologies Chief, I was just trying to clear up a misunderstanding.

She focused straight ahead, her mind going warp five. And THAT'S what happens when you lose control. Keep those emotions in check. Remember Jazmin, you didn't make it through four years at the Academy by losing it in public.

"Why am I repeating myself?" Camila asked the Engineers. "What the fuck happened here?!"

The engineers came to attention, the senior ranking engineer, a Petty Officer First Class stepped forward. "It's as the Lieutenant said, ma'am. She came charging through here at a fast run, rounded the corner and hit the crate there. We were about to help her up when you came along. Ma'am." He stepped back in formation, standing at attention.

"Was that so hard?" Camila asked with a glare at them before she turned to Jazmin. "I'm sorry I doubted you, Lieutenant, but part of our job is getting the facts from everyone involved."

"Understood Chief, sorry I didn't think it through. It won't happen again." She slowly let out the breath she'd been holding in. "You want to make Chief Jazmin? Keep taking notes from her." she thought.

"I hope it doesn't," Camila said. "Now then, are you hurt?"

"My pride more than anything, Chief. Banged my shin good on that crate, but it's nothing."

"Do you need Medical or want to walk it off?" Camila asked as she looked the other woman over.

Jazmin smiled, "I can walk it off, Chief. I took worse knocks than that in my survival training." She appreciated Camila's concern. "I think I need a shower," she gestured to her sweat drenched clothes, "and a double espresso. Care to join me." She paled just then, "For the coffee, that is." The last thing she wanted was to have the Chief think she was hitting on her. Even if she was gorgeous.

The ombre haired woman couldn't help but laugh. "A coffee sounds good, Jazzy," she said, trying a nickname on the Assistant Chief while off duty to see how it fit.

Jazmin breathed a sigh of relief and laughed along with Camila. "Jazzy, hmm?" She let it roll around in her mid a bit then on her tongue, "Jazzy, Jazzy. I think I like it." She headed towards the turbolift, a slight limp evident and she could feel the swelling on her shin already. "That's gonna leave a bruise for sure."

"Then I'll meet you in Talons in thirty," Camila said as she headed for the turbolift to head back to her own quarters to change.

Jazmin hurried to her quarters, normally after such a run, she preferred to take an extra-long sonic shower, but today she settled for a shorter one. She fixed her hair, applied a little makeup and put on civilian clothes. She still had time left before returning to duty and the last thing she needed was to put on that uniform right now. Despite the run, she still hadn't worked through her feelings of failure.

She put on a long, casual blue-striped dress that was off the shoulder, showing her smooth, tanned skin, a pair of low heels (anything to give her some more height). She looked at herself in the mirror, satisfied that everything was in order, added a few think gold bands around her left wrist and headed for the Talons. Gaining second looks from male and female crew as she hurried along, not wanting to be late.

When she reached the Talon, she took a table by the window and ordered a double espresso, two canolis and waited.

A minute later, Camila walked in with black stretch pants, black running shoes, and a black shirt with white letters which read "There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom!" on the front under a strange alien with a crested helmet on its head. "Hey, Jazzy," she said as she motioned for the counter person ring up a Raktajino for her.

Jazmin studied Camila's shirt, she had no idea what it meant, so she filed it away in her brain to look up at a later time. She smiled broadly and slid the plate over towards the other woman. "Canoli?"

"Come sapevi che amavo I cannoli siciliani?" the Security Chief asked before she heard the words coming out of her mouth. "Er. I mean how did you know I loved cannolis?" she asked a bit sheepishly.

Jazmin smiled softly, she just had to learn Italian, it sounded awesome when Camila spoke it. "I really had no idea, a dear friend of mine who introduced me to espresso told me that you really can't enjoy it, unless you have a canoli as well. I'd eat one very time I had an espresso, but then I'd have to run twice as much to keep my weight where I want it."

Camila accepted one of the cannoli with a smile. "If you lose any more weight, you'll be able to fit under doors, Jazzy," she said. "You could stand to put on a few pounds." For that matter, the ombre haired woman looked like she could put on a few pounds, too. Judging by the dark circles under her eyes, sleep was also required.

Jazmin shrugged, then took a bite of her canoli, the crisp shell snapping and the wonderfully sweet ricotta filling oozing out. She closed her eyes, letting herself enjoy the pleasure of the bite, before chewing and swallowing. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, but the first bite is always the best. No matter how many of these I eat."

She set the pastry down and wiped her hands on her napkin. "Okay, you've learned my favorite food. What's your guilty pleasure?"

The Chief took a bite of her own and savored the rich flavor and texture of it before she swallowed. It wasn't nearly as blissful as Jazmin had made it seem, but she had to admit it was very good. "I used to play electric violin, but I haven't in a while," she said. "But that's not really a guilty pleasure. I quit drinking and I'm not seeing anyone, so I guess I really don't have one."

Jazmin smiled and nodded. "I can understand. I mean, I drink on occasion, but never have been a huge fan of it." A flash of sadness crossed her face, gone almost immediately, but still noticeable. "I haven't seen anyone myself since the Academy. So yeah, I think it's a bit lonely. But you must have something that you enjoy, that's only for you, or that you want to..." she stopped, suddenly, acutely, aware that she may have overstepped her bounds.

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, and sipped her espresso. "What about holodeck time? Personally, I use most of my time for training, but every now and then I indulge myself."

She leaned forward slightly. "Look, I know that being Chief doesn't probably give you much time for yourself. I mean, I'm just the Assistant Chief, and it's more work than I ever dreamed. Totally worth it, but still a lot of work. To top it all off, I think we're both a bit stressed out over the latest incursion. I'm feeling like I failed you, and you look like you haven't slept in a week. I know that in light of all that, I really could use a friend to spend my off-time with."

She blushed, unable to help herself. "That is, of course, if you consider me a friend." Jazmin leaned back, aware that it was the most she had said to any one person in a very, very, long time. She liked the other woman, like spending time with her, she inspired Jazmin, and pushed her to excel, both personally and professionally. No matter what happened on the Hawk, she would hate to have Camila think any less of her.

Camila took a sip of her Raktajino and gave the other woman a sad smile. "There used to be," she said. "There might be again at some point, but right now, I just need to focus on putting one foot in front of the other without falling down. Being a Chief is a hard job and I'm going to do my best not to dump it on you. In fact, I owe you an apology for how I treated you the first time we met."

She sighed. "When the Consortium made it's presence known, we had a very hard time. Officer turned against officer. Ship turned against ship. Most of the time, it was just Command that had been compromised with a few select senior officers. I had to arrest the Chief of Security because he was one when I first came to the Black Hawk, then I got into a fire fight with another officer. It was just one thing after another. When the final battle happened at Deep Space Eleven, I felt broken."

"The Black Hawk was at her final resting place on New Bajor, none of us knew if we'd get another ship and I had caused a lot of damage on DS 11. After our imposed shore leave, I went back there and would have stayed to put things right. That and drinking myself to sleep every night so I wouldn't hear the screams or see the faces of friends who had become enemies."

Camola looked down for a moment, then back up to Jazmin again. "So yeah, I could use a friend. I probably won't be a very good one, but I can try. Captain Geisler saw fit to give me another chance when he pulled me back from DS11 when he got a new ship and I'm grateful for it, but I still don't think I've earned my place. Want to hear how I got made Chief in the first place?"

Jazmin nodded, "Of course. I don't know if you remember but you were a cadet instructor in one of my classes at the Academy. I knew it then that you'd make Chief." She smiled and crossed her arms. "I'd love to hear it."

Jazmin paused, and ordered a chamomile tea. When it arrived she smiled at Camila. "Sorry, but I figured if I had a third espresso, I'd be bouncing off the walls. Please go on."

"You're fine. I was still the Assistant Chief at the time," Camila started after taking another bite of her cannoli and a drink of her Klingon coffee. "I had some holodeck time scheduled and I had been working on a program for a while. A fountain with lights, dancers, holographic tentacles and more. So here I am, playing my violin while people are dancing around me, tentacles are coming up from the fountain and I hear clapping when I stopped."

"I didn't hear anyone come in and I hadn't programmed it for applause, so I looked around. It was the Captain," she said. "He had came in and I missed him. He pulled me aside and promoted me to full Lieutenant, which confused me because I didn't have that much time in. Then he told me he had to because he was making me his Chief of Security. While I was wet and dressed like a pirate."

TAG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrutzRWXkKs What she was playing

OFF: I absolutely adore Lindsey Stirling, in fact she's one of my favorite artists to have on while I'm writing. I may have written my entire last novel with her as my soundtrack.

ON

Jazmin laughed, picturing the other woman dressed as a pirate and soaking wet. It was an image that she filed away in her mind. She leaned forward. Oh my, you must have been mortified! I don't think you would have put anything but your whole heart into that performance. He must have known you'd put just as much into being his Security Chief.

She leaned back, sipped at her tea and gave a strange smile, her eyes growing distant. "So you play the electric violin." She said it like she was speaking from far away, which she was, remembering her youth before the Academy. Her smile grew warmer, as she remembered how much joy she had in her life back then.

"I suppose it's only fitting, since you shared something so personal that I do the same." She tilted her head. "I want to really, for the gift you just gave me because I don't think you share that story with just anyone." She picked at a large crumb on the plate. "I never planned on joining Starfleet. It was sheer coincidence, or maybe destiny, that I popped onto the sensors of a couple of Starfleet recruiters." She shrugged, having accepted her life choice a long time ago and having grown comfortable with it. "Care to hear my story?"

"I wouldn't call it a gift, but thank you," Camila said. "Sure." She motioned for another two cannolis to be delivered to the table.

Jazmin's eye sparkled as she eyed the plate of cannolis. She picked one up, taking a slow, sensuous bite, enjoying the experience of such a delicate, yet rich pastry. She giggled for a moment when she saw Camila watching her and took a deep breath.

"Okay," where to start? "Ah yes, my dream hasn't always been to be a security officer. No, my dream was dance." She sipped at her tea before continuing. "When I was 16 I was accepted into the New York City Ballet Company. For two years I studied with them and it was all like a dream. A dream that took a lot of dedication and hard work."

Jazmin remembered the long days of practice, the sweat and tears and tired achy bones. For more than a small moment, she missed it. Then remembered that a cannoli was definitely not an allowable treat as a professional dancer.

"Shortly after my 18th birthday, we were performing La Bayader in San Francisco and it was my first time in a lead role. It was like a dream. To think that I could have come so far..." She took a sip of her tea, noticing it was now cold and ordered another. "Our first performance was flawless and I was too excited to go back to our hotel, so I took a long walk to unwind.

"It was probably around midnight when I heard a woman screaming. I don't know what came over me, when I was little I would have run the other way but this time I ran towards the cry. There in an alley, an old woman was getting assaulted by a young man. He had her purse and she was not about to let it go, even as he punched her in the face."

She took a bite of cannoli, the memory still angering her even after all these years. "I snapped." She laughed. "I mean I snapped hard. I charged the guy and he was on the ground before I knew it." Jazmin rubbed her left eye as she remembered. "Granted he clocked me in the eye and it was swollen shut from it. But the creep was down and it was all I could think about that I had protected someone. I did that. And it felt good."

She laughed again. "Of course the director of the company wasn't happy with me for it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Two Starfleet officers heard the commotion and arrived. They told me that they had seen the whole thing as they ran towards us. Told me I might have a future with Starfleet if I wanted to do something for others, if I wanted to make a career out of protecting others.

"So, I got my eye taken care of the next morning, finished the performances in San Francisco and was on the Academy doorstep two months later. I passed the entrance exam, although no one could believe that a little think like me wanted to pursue Security."

Jazmin shrugged and sipped at her tea. "I've never wanted to go back."

"That's very impressive," Camila said. "You should be proud of yourself for stepping in like you did. It's horrifying that things like that happen, but the fact that you stood up for the other woman makes you truly stand out. I'm proud to have you in my department, Jazzy."

Jazmin smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, that means a lot to me. I know I'm overly critical of myself, but hearing that from you makes me think that I'm not in the profession."

She drank the last of her tea and leaned forward. "Now, you know I've got your back. You say that you don't think you can be a good friend, but I disagree. Friendship is a two-way street and I want to help. I can see it in your eyes that you aren't sleeping well. Is there anything I can do? You name it."

Jazmin took the other woman's hands in her own and gave what was hopefully a reassuring squeeze. She didn't know how Camila would react to the gesture, but Jazmin wanted her to know that she could be counted on.

Camila returned the squeeze before she drew her hands back. "Turn back time," she said simply.

Jazmin leaned back, she hoped that she hadn't overstepped her bounds, but if so, Camila didn't seem as if she had. The fact that the other woman was grieving was obvious. Dealing with loss, survivor's guilt, all those things Jazmin could relate to. First the loss of her parents as a child, the foster system on an alien world, and then the loss of Kelly. All those things were gut punches and although she had dealt with them a long time ago, they could still hurt as fresh as if they had happened yesterday.

She shook her head, her voice a whisper. "I wish I could, Camila. I truly do." She hoped her voice wouldn't break and she felt here eyes start to tear. "I tell you what. You feel like yelling, or screaming, crying, or punching someone, I'm your girl. We can take over a holosuite and process.

"You need a sparring partner because you want to just hit someone, hoping you'll feel better, I put the gloves on and go a couple of rounds with you. Want to run until you can't run anymore and collapse in a heap, I know the fastes way from deck to deck and I'll keep pace with you.

"You want to have meal, or coffee and talk and cry, and remember the good times and the bad, the finished plans and the unfinished ones, call on me.

She took a deep breath, thankful that her own sadness had passed. The last thing Camila needed was for her to unload her own baggage. "I have a thought. You haven't played in a while, I haven't danced either. What about we just blow off some steam in the holodeck. I just love dancing to a live instrument."

She paused again, "Then again, you may feel like I'm smothering you, or pushing you into something you don't want to do. If you need space and want me to just drop it all, I can do that as well."

"Woah, calm down, Jazzy," Camila said. "I appreciate all the offers, but one thing at a time. I still have a department to run and trying to get back into things yet again. I'll let you know once I figure out what I want to do and then I'll get ahold of you, okay?"

Jazmin blushed fiercely, "Oh God, i can't believe I did it again. I'm sorry, I end to get caught up and then I go charging ahead." She cupped her face in her hands. "I'm so embarrassed. The last thing you need is for me to be trying to...ohh boy, there I go again." She composed herself. "I'm sorry. Whatever you decide you need, or want, I've got your back. Even if you want me to butt out."

:Maybe start with cutting back on the caffeine," the blonde Chief suggested. "I know you mean well, so I'm not offended. Just slow down before you miss the important things."

Jazmin gave a half-hearted smile, lifting her much of chamomile tea. "Less caffeine it is Chief." She took a quick sip. "Now, I don't know about you but I'm starving, should we get lunch while we're here?"

"That sounds good to me," Camila said. "Let's eat."

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