Brother Bringing News

Posted on 19 Dec 2020 @ 8:19am by Lieutenant Zayna Ryler

1,276 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Interlude
Location: Zayna's Quarters / Shops
Timeline: January 15 2390 || 1400 Hours

Note: for understanding of what is being talked about in this post, please see my very first post titled "You Can't Go," if you wish.

Zayna was getting herself ready to just maybe enjoy some shore leave. It'd been a long time, and given where they were, she shouldn't have to deal with always looking over her shoulder for her ex-fiancée. Last she'd heard, he was still wanted and hadn't been found. Which, given his skills, unfortunately, didn't surprise her. But, she wasn't going to let that ruin her time.

As she was double-checking she had everything to go wandering, her comms went off. Hoping she wasn't being asked to do any work, she slipped into her seat and answered.

"Hey Zay, long time no talk."

Shaking her head, the science officer laughed. "Erik. How did my older brother find me anyways? And haven't you made captain yet?"

The man on the other end of the channel, who would almost look like a twin to Zayna if he weren't six years older, shrugged. "Haven't wanted that yet. I could ask you the same, Lieutenant." He turned his neck so she could see the three full pips on his collar.

"Ah, finally made commander though. Congratulations. But, how'd you know where to find me? You're not in the Gamma Quadrant are you? Otherwise, this is a very long distance call." Zayna sat back, realizing that it had to have been a while since they'd talked, as last she knew, he was a Lieutenant Commander.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." Erik laughed, "Actually, we are. And I just heard you got into drydock. We're stuck here for repairs too. Feel like catching up, in person?"

Smirking, Zay thought about her plans and then shrugged. "Sure, I didn't have much planned anyways. Maybe some shopping. Meet you in say, ten minutes?"

Nodding, Erik cut the channel. It was nice to see her older brother again, it'd been years since they'd done anything but talk on subspace.

Looking up ahead as she got to the shops, Zayna spotted her brother, who was an inch or two taller than she was, up ahead. He'd changed in the ten minutes, which was fine considering it sounded like they were both on leave. The moment she got to him, he wrapped her in a tight hug only a brother could give.

"Been a long time, sis."

Returning the hug just as tightly, she nodded. "It really has been. And you're still calling me 'sis', that's cute. You do know I'm 39, right?"

Pulling back, Erik nodded, "and I'm 45, what difference does that make? We're brother and sister who haven't actually seen each other in person in years. Not sure how we both happened to be dry docked in the Gamma Quadrant at the same time." He looked around through the crowds. "Shopping or eating? Because I'm starving."

Zay laughed. "Okay, okay, we can eat first. It'll give us time to sit and talk while I watch you stuff your face like you always do. Though," she said looking him over, "you are a lot more fit than I've seen you. Any reason?"

Erik shook his head, "We can talk about that while we eat. Come on, I saw some place that has the best looking sushi I've seen in a long time that isn't replicated." He led the way without another word.

"Alright, alright, never keep Erik Ryler from his sushi. I've learned that lesson too many times." Zayna kept up with him and was glad the place wasn't too busy, as they were seated right away. Once they'd both ordered, she looked towards her brother again.

"Now, Erik, what is going on? Why did you want to wait until we were here to talk?"

Sitting back, Erik sighed softly. "They're offering me a first officer position, Zay. An important one. I know I've been working towards command but..."

Taking a sip of her water, she raised an eyebrow. "But...what, Erik?"

"There's a reason I called you, beyond the fact that I knew you were docked. Actually, I'd known that for a bit. They want me to take on the first officer position...of one of the ships looking for Oren."

"Wait. They are still actively looking for him? I thought they'd stopped that. I don't understand. Why wasn't I told this?"

Erik put up a hand to stop her for a moment. "Because of that, Zayna. They knew how you'd react. No, he hasn't been found, and is still at large. The reason the search is resuming is he's been firing on Starfleet ships. He's been seen out here, on and off." Before she could speak, Erik shook his head, "You're safe. He's not allowed anywhere near here. But he's lost it, sis. Fires just enough to cause issues then make a run for it."

Zayna pinched the bridge of her nose, the same old panic setting in. "My captain, or someone, needs to know he's back out here. I thought I'd gone far enough away that..." She took a slow deep breath and then let it out as their food got there, trying to wipe the panic off her face. "Erik, you know his skills...what he can do..."

"That's why they're looking for him again. He went quiet for months. Probably hiding in the shadows or something," he stated as he took a bite of his food. "Someone must be feeding him information, as he obviously found out at least what quadrant you were in. We can't track the bloody shuttle he's on, which you'd think we could."

"He's probably rigged it so it can't be." She picked up some of her sushi and ate one whole piece, though she wasn't that hungry anymore. "I'm still dealing with the aftermath mentally, and physically, from what that man did to me. I try to get through it each day, focus on my work. There are some days though..."

Erik reached out and took his little sister's hand. "Mom and dad told me what you told them, about what the medical tests showed when you were on the Kumari. Had any of us known he could do this, we'd have kept you away from him."

Zayna shook her head, "No one knew. Now I shy away from anyone who might even want to get close. I know I shouldn't, I should try to get past all of this."

"That is completely natural, Zay. It is going to take time. But, I was waiting to talk to you before taking the assignment. We've been ordered not to kill him unless necessary but..."

"Take the posting, Erik. You won't get another chance for a while for a first officer spot, and you've earned it. Just..." She sighed heavily, "don't take revenge for me. If you do find him? Be careful how he's locked up. He got out once before..."

Erik gave his sister a smile, "He won't get away again, I promise you." He squeezed her hand and finally let go. "Let's finish this and then go to those shops, find you something nice. You deserve it after all this. I don't leave for a few days once I give them my answer, we can spend some time together, okay?"

All she could do was nod before slowly continuing to eat. She was glad her brother was here, and he'd be taking on that spot, even with what the mission was. But, in her mind, she was going to always be looking over her shoulder again until he was caught.

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