Sisters
Posted on 14 Jun 2016 @ 3:59am by Commander Jayla Kij
844 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Risky Business
Location: Jayla's quarters
Timeline: MD 0 : Early evening
Jayla sat in her quarters, sipping some tea and reading the latest medical journal. She was on her second day of forced medical leave and though she was bored out of her mind, she had to admit that the rest was doing her some good. She had caught up on the medical journals- she'd had seven back issues to read- and actually moved the furniture around in her living area. She'd spent time listen to music- just listening, too. Nobody ever just listened to music anymore; it was always background to something else that they were doing.
Now, though, she was bored and it was only 1800 hours. She was about to go see what Harvey was up to when the chime rang. She blinked at the door. He couldn't have had the same idea as she had, could he? “Come in,” she said, setting aside the PaDD she'd been reading.
As it turned out, it wasn't Harvey. In walked a woman who looked remarkably like herself, wearing a very similar grin and looking entirely too pleased with herself.
“Jessa!” she cried, launching herself off her sofa and racing to greet her sister in the biggest hug there ever was. “Oh, my goodness, what are you doing here?” she laughed, pulling back to look her over.
“Well,” said Jessa, laughing along with her elder sister. “I've been joined!”
Jayla blinked, stunned. “That's fantastic!” she finally said. “But, I thought they were concerned with your ability to separate your memories from previous hosts' memories.”
“They still are,” replied Jessa. “But, three symbionts were ready to leave the caves and I thought, well, if I can't benefit from it myself, I may as well help future generations.”
“Well, that's- oh, wait, come in, sit down,” Jayla said, dragging her sister over to the sofa. “Anyway, as I was saying,” she continued as they sat, “that's really great! But, it still doesn't explain why you're here.”
“Well, I need a mentor, don't I?”
There was a pause as Jayla processed this information. “And you came all the way to the Gamma quadrant so I can be your mentor?” she asked, touched by the gesture. “Oh, Jessa! Of course I'll do it. I mean, how can I refuse now you've come all this way?”
“Well, as I understand there are a number of joined Trill aboard,” Jessa pointed out. “If you refused, I could ask one of them.”
“No way!” insisted Jayla. “There's not a chance they're getting the job! I want it!”
“Then it's yours!” declared Jessa.
Jayla grinned. “So, tell me about your trip,” she said.
“It was a bit of a nightmare getting here,” she said. “It was fine until I got through the wormhole. Then nobody seemed to want to take me anywhere. A lot of Captains heard I was heading for the Black Hawk and wouldn't talk to me. Finally, I found out you were due at Unity, so I headed here. I just missed you. So I've been hanging around here waiting for the Black Hawk to return. What kept you?”
“A nasty virus,” answered Jayla. “Don't worry, Trill are immune. But, we didn't know that in the beginning. We lost six,” she said sadly. “But luckily the kids survived. Oh, hey!” she said suddenly. “Conveniently, we've got a couple of kids on board now! You'll have a job!”
“Only two?” asked Jessa, slightly disappointed. “I was hoping for more on a ship this size.”
“Well, Hurley has a couple, but he's transferring to another ship,” said Jayla. “And I think the oldest is pre-school age. But, there are two new ones and they'll definitely need a teacher.”
“Well, that's something, anyway,” replied Jessa. “I'd hate to just sit around doing nothing all day. And helping out in the lounge doesn't sound like fun.”
“Speaking of lounge,” said Jayla. “I missed lunch. Wanna go for an early dinner?”
“Sure,” said Jessa. “Should we-”
But, she was interrupted by the com system. =/\=Sick Bay to Doctor Kij.=/\=
Jayla mouthed sorry to Jessa before tapping her com-badge, which was attached to her off duty clothes. “Kij here, go ahead,” she said.
=/\=Sorry to bother you, Doctor, but Lieutenant Davis just brought his son in with a broken arm.=/\=
Davis? Jayla didn't remember a Davis. He must have been one of the new crew. “All right, I'll be right there,” she said, tapping her badge to close the connection again. “Sorry. But, on the bright side, there are three kids!”
“It's okay,” laughed Jessa. “I'll tell you what: I'll head down to the lounge now and you can meet me there when you're done in Sick Bay. Sound good?”
“Sounds good,” agreed Jayla, standing. “I'm glad you're here. I've missed you.”
“Aw,” said Jessa, standing and hugging her sister. “I've missed you, too. Now go take care of that kid and his broken arm!”
Jayla grinned and hurried from her quarters. It was going to be fun having her sister on board for awhile.