Survival

Posted on 04 Jan 2020 @ 11:06pm by Lieutenant JG Lina Sorensen

502 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Epilogue
Location: Lina Sorensen‘s quarters
Timeline: April 2389

Work. Sometimes it was tiring if you had to work on a problem which just seemed as if it did not want to be solved. Sometimes it was exhausting if it meant to climb and crawl in Jeffries tubes on several decks. Sometimes it was boring like filling out paperwork. Of course, that was important – no doubt – but certainly not the reason why anybody joined Starfleet.
Most of the time, her work was what Lina wanted to do. It was both fun as well as passion. Being anStarfleet engineer was what she had always wanted to do. The Academy and her years in the fleet had tried to prepare her for the unknown out there, but she had never thought that something like the last mission could happen.

Lina was not naive. Of course it could be dangerous and life threatening out there, but being absolutely helpless was not really something she had been prepared for. Kobayashi Maru aside.

But right now it was neither of these things. Right now it meant survival. Nothing else.
Lina was quite happy that she was able to do a lot of work as it meant she did not have to think about the last mission. The Chief Engineer had not talked to anyone about that experience. She did not even want to think of it herself.
If she could have it her way, she would just forget about it. And pouring herself into work meant just that – relief and oblivion at least for a while.

She was not able to sleep well or long. Most of the night she kept staring at the ceiling of her quarters. As soon as it was possible without getting her engineering crew alarmed which might have caused a visit from a doctor, she went back.
Lina found herself some work alone, as she kept avoiding others, especially Ensign Nasek. She kept her conversation to a minimum and then took her tools and went off to some remote spot usually in Jeffries tubes. Back there she worked interrupted by moments of despair and crying. Then she pulled herself together again and worked on.

Now she was looking at the ceiling again. The young woman knew that this would not be a solution. She knew that she needed help. And she knew she had to talk to Alora. It was totally weird that she felt so guilty.
After all it had been the Dolmoqour who had done all those terrible things and who had even thought of several ways to kill Alora if she had not been doing what the intruder had told her to do or if she had been openly suspicious.
But she felt guilty for not having been able to do anything against it.
And she did not find the strength or will to talk to anyone – yet.

She just hoped that it would take some more time until all the traumatized crew would have to leave the ship. Without work it would be terrible. Work meant survival.

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