Reflection and Remorse (part 1)
Posted on Mon Mar 12th, 2018 @ 10:01pm by Lieutenant Commander Mira Jayde & Lieutenant Commander Jason Smoak
1,276 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Ghost of a Chance
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: 2200 hours
ON
Jayde needed to think, to deal with Jason being on the Hyperion. She knew he was right, that he'd been doing his job. And she knew she was overreacting. But she couldn't seem to help herself and that bothered her, too.
So she scheduled an hour on the holodeck. It was her favorite setting: a forest back home on Bajor. Tonight, she'd set the time for full moon and chose to spend her time swimming in the lake. The full moon gave her plenty of light to see by and, as she was alone, she didn't bother with a swimming suit.
What she didn't count on was not being notified by the computer that her time was up.
The doors to the holodeck opened as Jason stepped in. He wore a pair of red Hawaiian swim shorts and no shirt. Under his arm was a long surf board with a rope attached to one of the fins that trailed down to his ankle. He paused slightly as he looked around with a raised brow. "This isn't the surf side?"
Jayde heard the voice and swallowed a mouth full of water. She began to cough as she made her way to the far side of the lake, hoping to get to her clothes before he changed the program. Why had she not been warned that her time was up? Why hadn't she noticed who had the holodeck after her? Fate had a nasty sense of humor.
Jason looked around before spotting a glimpse of Jayde in the water before she made her way out. He shook his head slowly before letting out a bit of a chuckle. "Computer: Run program Smoak 4 keep all flora and fauna related to the program, but removed all the people."
The scene quickly changed from forested area to a beautiful sandy beach at sun rise. The waves from the water hit the shore and pushed the water up onto the sand, stopping just short of Jason's feet. It was obviously a more tropical setting based on an area somewhere in Hawaii.
Jayde was just climbing out of the water when the scene changed. The ground gave way beneath her and she dropped under the wave, to come back up a moment later, coughing and sputtering. She had no idea where her clothes were. Probably under water. Not far. Not fair at all.
She set out at an angle to the beach so she would come ashore away from Jason. Hopefully, he would be in the water and not see her until she could replicate some clothes.
Jason closed his eyes and inhaled. Even though it was artificial, it was close enough to the smell of home. He wasted no time sticking his surf board in the sad, with the fins upward, and crossing his arms over his chest. He took another moment to look around and noticed Jayde in the water. He smirked, feeling slightly mischievous, as he leaned against the board and said softly. "Computer: Decrease the waters temperature by 30 percent."
The water suddenly grew chilly. She wanted to keep swimming, but she knew it was not the wisest course. She angled toward the shore and swam until her feet touched the bottom and stood. "If you were a gentleman, you would turn your back until I got out of the water."
"You and I both know we've seen plenty of each other out of uniform." Jason said loudly, but than nodded his head and turned away. "But... as you wish."
Liang blushed, her entire body turning a dark pink. She sloshed out of the water and looked around for something to wear. There was nothing. "Computer, replicate clothing."
A Hawaiian shirt materialized at her feet. She quickly slipped it on and buttoned it up. The computer had Jason's sense of humor. Fortunately, it was long and hung down to her thighs. It fit her like Jason's shirts used to and she blushed again, remembering. It had been a long time since she'd remembered how good it had been before she learned of his betrayal.
Jason turned back to see her. He paused for a moment, watching her a bit, before saying. "I always said that was a great look on you."
Her first thought was to pull off the shirt and throw it to the ground, but that would be a bad idea. Nor could she storm out of the holodeck as the shirt was only replicated for the holodeckt.
His words brought back another flood of memories and she turned her head to look out at the waves rather than at him.
"It's not the first time you've seen this program, is it?" Jason replied, raising his leg and removing the strap connected to his board. He walked over to her and stopped at her side, turning to face the same waves.
"Yes." She avoided beaches, preferring mountain lakes and wooded areas. Besides, Jason liked beaches.
Jason stood there quietly, probably remembering the same things she was, but feeling other things because of it. He finally cleared his throat to break the silent tension. "Despite what you may think... It's good to see you've done well."
She looked at him sharply, not sure what to make of the comment. "I survived."
Jason sighed and shook his head slightly before replying. "You always do." He turned away and began to walk back toward his board until he stopped and turned to face her. "Is this how its always going to be? No matter what I say you throw a dirty look at me like I did something wrong by simply saying something?"
He had a point, but she didn't want to admit it. "What do you want from me?" she asked. She had no idea what to make of him, or why it still mattered.
"To understand that I had no choice. That you weren't the only one who lost something that day." Jason answered, shouting slightly. "That maybe you don't know everything that happened that day."
"And what did you lose?" she asked, turning to face him.
"You." Jason said quickly and firmly.
She felt his words like a blow. It wasn't true. Couldn't be true. "No." She turned and ran for the arch.
"Computer: Lock doors." Jason said as he ran toward her. He took her hand and turned her around. "No. You need to hear this." His grip was strong but not enough to hurt her. He didn't yell or shout, but he spoke calmly to her. He wasn't mad at her, because she had every right to be angry, but he didn't want her to think he was as cold as she thought or led herself to believe. "Do you think I enjoyed turning on the people I came to love like family? To the woman I was engaged to? I couldn't do anything, but I did try. That warning, the alarm you guys got before they showed up. Who do you think sent it?" He said firmly. "I did it to give you all a chance to get away. I put a huge mark on my career because I loved you, but I don't regret that mark because its there for a good reason."
No. It wasn't true. "You infiltrated our unit, pretended to be one of us, lied to us. Then you betrayed us and ran away." She choked back a sob. She would not cry. Not in front of him. "I saw it. Your service record. Special Agent Smoak."
(To be continued...)
Lieutenant Commander Mira Jayde
Executive Officer
Lieutenant Commander Jason Smoak
Chief Security/Tactical Officer