Extract from Vance Adams' Journals: Sumarian Sunrise

Posted on Tue Oct 22nd, 2024 @ 9:46am by Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami

1,050 words; about a 5 minute read

Captain's Log - Vance Adams

Date: [Redacted]

I’ve always believed in keeping a crew tight. Trust is the glue that holds us together when we’re out here in the void, running cargo and skirting Federation borders. But trust isn’t something that happens overnight, and even after all these runs, there are cracks.

Adrianna Reggimi– she’s new to the ship. Brilliant translator and one hell of an asset. Joined us about a month ago. Quiet, sharp, and always keeping to herself. She’s tough as nails, doesn’t take any crap from the rest of the crew, and there’s something about her that just doesn’t fit. She’s… different. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve found myself watching out for her more than I should and I know that the crew have taken note.

I’ve mentioned her before in my logs, way back when she first became part of the team. Back then, I’d noted that there was something about her from the moment I saw her, something undeniable. She was going to be my future wife– still convinced that she will be. I just knew it, like the stars know their place in the sky. I didn’t even question it– just filed it away in the back of my mind like a fact waiting to happen.

The crew had decided to “initiate” her, as they do with every new recruit. I turned a blind eye, like I always do. It’s usually harmless enough– roughhousing, some teasing, occasional prank– but this time, things had gone on for longer than the usual week, almost costing us our run. Plus, things went south. Fast. One of the boys rigged a glitter bomb in her quarters, and I don’t know if they were showing off or just being careless, but the damn thing exploded. A shard of it hit Adrianna in the abdomen.

It was bad. Real bad.

We’re out of medical supplies. No painkillers, no anesthesia. Our doctors had to knock her out using a Vulcan nerve pinch. She’s holding on, though– even with an infection starting and no chance of antibiotics or painkillers for at least another day or two. She's tough. Still quiet.

She's currently in my quarters, taking up residence in my bed. Some perks to be a captain mean that I've got a more comfortable bed and room for the medical monitors. I’ve been staying by her side since it happened, keeping her talking, keeping her from focusing on the pain and keeping her out of dipping into a worse fever. I know the crew feels guilty, but they’re keeping their distance– my orders.

She’s been different with me since the accident– softer and more open. It might just be the pain, or maybe she’s letting her guard down, but I don’t care. I find myself sitting closer to her, our conversations lingering longer. Hell, I've even started to try and learn Italian since she keeps fading back into her native tongue. I've never been good at languages though.

There’s this tension between us now, more intense than before. When she looks at me, it feels like she’s daring me to break whatever fragile wall she’s built around herself. Her voice is lower, softer. Sometimes I catch myself staring at her mouth, wondering if she feels this pull the same way I do.

She told me a bit about her family while I was changing her dressing. I thought she was alone in this world, but apparently not– she's really close to her family, especially her mother. Ade has eight older brothers, and she’s the youngest and only girl. Gawd, her poor mother. Said she had to learn how to take a hit early, how to be tougher than any of them.

There was something about the way she talked– like she’s always had to prove herself. I wonder if that’s why she’s here, so far from home, trying to outlast whatever life throws at her. I can’t help but admire her, but it’s more than that now.

Earlier, I noticed a series of small tally mark tattoos on her hip. I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed them before, but I suppose it's in a place usually hidden by clothes. She told me she adds one every time she escapes death– her family does the same. She’s already got four. She even joked that when she pulls through this, she’ll need to tattoo the fifth line and that I should be the one to do it. I laughed, but the thought of her being that close to death makes my stomach turn. Ade wants me to do it. I won't be denying her, although there may be an ulterior motive– getting that close to her.

When she told me about how she got the first four– her eyes were like a Sumarian Sunrise. They seemed to change like the rainbow in the drink, going through all the emotions of a near death experience. One of them was only an accident, but apparently she still holds it over her brother, Giovanni.

I keep asking myself when I started falling for her. Was it when I first saw her in the bar– when she saved my life without even knowing me? Was it before the accident? Or was it the way her eyes softened when she finally let me in a little? She’s always so damn hard to read, but in these quiet moments, it feels like she’s letting me see the real her. I think I'm starting to understand her humour and demeanor. I should know better, should keep my head on straight, but I don’t want to.

There’s something I can’t shake, though– there’s more to her than meets the eye. She’s too well-trained, too composed under pressure. She's the only recruit that I didn't run a check on-- my heart and crotch got in the way. Perhaps I should though.

In truth though, I don’t care. I can't care. Right now, all that matters is keeping her alive.

Vance Adams, signing off.

End log.

 

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