Revelations

Posted on Sat Oct 26th, 2024 @ 7:17pm by Lieutenant Fang Lee & Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami

1,547 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Location: Various - Via Subspace

ON:

Adrianna had just finished shift. She still had in the back of her mind that Vance may call if he found any information. She hadn't been expecting it so soon. In fact, she didn't think he'd call until maybe tomorrow, so she was getting ready for a date with Jason. She answered the video call, "Buonasera, Vance. Calling so soon?"

Vance smiled as the video shifted to Adrianna. "I am. I have some news. I found the entry pertaining to Zai and Lee Fang."

Adrianna smiled, as she paused getting ready and turned her full attention to him. Her heart stopped a little when she saw his familiar eyes staring back at her, but she'd made up her mind. Pushing the feelings down she smiled, "what did you find?"

"Apparently I knew everything about their background. They knew one another on Capella."

"Oddly doesn't surprise me," she shrugged, "they seem inseparable, even if they both refuse to acknowledge the feelings there. Any information of note?" Feeling the information may not have had much of note, she continued getting ready, putting on a tinted lip gloss.

"Actually... a lot. It's..." He paused. "It brought back memories. When I read it I cried...and I remember doing so as I wrote it." He paused. "What are you up to?"

She paused, ignoring his question for the moment, clearly focused now. Vance crying? That was something unheard of and it concerned her. "Wait-- why? What happened?" He had her full attention again, stopping getting ready, to look at the screen, concern in her eyes. It was almost as if he hadn't asked her what she doing. The woman was focused, so focused in fact, her lip gloss was still in her hand as if to be used any minute.

"Um...Well the gist of it is...how secure is this channel?" He looked around as if he wasn't in his quarters.

Adrianna held up a finger for a moment. She tapped the screen a few times. There was a slight delay and then she nodded, "go ahead."

He sighed. "So the gist of a long story is. Lee Fang is the Seventh Prince of the first tribe of Capella Ainar. Zai is the Fifth Prince of the eleventh tribe of Capella Xingtian. They met when they were kids. Both ran away from bad family environments. Lived for nearly two and a half years in a forest just themselves. Zai was about 11 and Fang 13ish when they ran away. Anyway eventually they were dragged apart and Ainar, Fang made a deal with Starfleet, he would do what they wanted to help them take Capella if they got him and Xingtian off Capella. The day of the extraction a Klingon posing as a Starfleet Officer told Xingtian that Ainar had sent him to kill him and Stabbed Zai. At the time Fang was 17 and Zai 15. Zai made it out alive became a warrior, save a crap load of his people and eventually got off Capella swearing that he would destroy the man he'd loved and who'd betrayed him. Problem. He joined the Academy to do that and well...realized that he loved Fang too much so every trap he set for Fang Zai walked into himself almost dying several times because the idea of harming Fang, even though he thought Fang harmed him back on Capella, was too much. So failed villain. Anyway he decided his penance was to be beside the man he could never have. Apparently I found out that it was NOT Fang slash Ainar who ordered the Starfleet officer to kill Zai but the Klingon trying to cause problems, a General who...we saved and was later destroyed by Zai commanding a Klingon ship." He sighed. "Zai swore he'd love and protect Fang from a distance as penance for every thinking Fang could harm him." He smiled a little. "Quite Romantic. If you don't take into account all they went through, and Starfleet and the Klingons wanting to use them both for their gain but Lee Chan, the Mission CO at the time of extraction adopted Fang and raised him like his son through the Academy made sure that he could choose what he wanted."

"I'll send you a link first thing tomorrow. I need you to send everything you have on them," Adrianna commanded as if speaking to a subordinate. It was habit, it was work. "I need to read it. I don't remember reading it, and if I did, it must have been a long time ago-- long enough for it to not click with me when I found myself on a ship with the pair of them. Madonna-- that would have been helpful to know."

Shaking her head, she offered an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry-- you don't work for me. I should have said please. If I send you an encrypted link tomorrow, please may you send over the entry?" She paused, "and thank you for this-- I really appreciate it."

He grinned. "Sokay. I did write in my journals that you were a bossy one. Somehow I seemed to like that." He grinned. "Still do now then I could use a favour back."

She chuckled, "Si, sounds like me, but your word was always final. Gawd knows you were right most of the time." She grinned, "thank gawd this call is encrypted. You cannot replay me saying that you were right about something."

She chuckled and went back to getting ready, "as for an IOU, I suppose. What do you need?"

"Tell me why you're all gussied up. I mean you look amazing but is that for the call or is there some fancy shindig on the ship?"

She looked back to the screen. It was on the tip of her tongue. She sighed and looked to the floor before looking back at him after a soothing breath. "Before you showed up, I'd finally started to consider putting myself out there. My mother and her now puttana friend tried to set me up with this guy. I thought they'd be more focused on my brother's because most of them are still single and they're old than me, but-- well, the word 'nipoti' was thrown around. Sorry-- grandchildren. And me getting older and-- long story short, we went out a couple of times and then you showed up. My world-- merde-- my world came crashing down and I put things on hold. The guy was really understanding. Anyway, he asked me on a date tonight and I agreed." There was a guilt in her tone, she couldn't hide it from Vance. At his prime, he knew her better than anyone, well, aside from the obvious. She could feel herself rambling and so paused. She could feel emotion rising up in her and she cleared her throat and tried to focus

"It's been hard," she softened a little, suddenly feeling very vulnerable, "the man that I fell in love with-- the man I was going to throw my life away for-- Amore mio-- you are not him, and you do not owe me anything. And it would be wrong of me to try and push myself back into your life as if nothing had changed between us."

"I spoke to my mother, she's the only person that knows our situation fully. The only one. I realised that she had a point. I cannot hold out hope that your memories will come back in full, and even if I did, I cannot hold out hold out hope that you wouldn't remember the betrayal of me being Starfleet and still love me when the dust settles. I want to be loved again. I miss the connection. I miss being loved."

He sighed. He looked down at the ground sadly. "I see. From the journals...I'm gathering that I wanted you to be happy. If this makes you happy. I mean you're right I’m not the same Vance...but he...I...Knew. Zai told me apparently before the Klingon mission. It was his idea that we both retire together start over, build a new left, he said it was a chance he'd never have so he wanted to make sure we got our chance, apparently that's why he was so harsh when I woke up and couldn't remember. He tried everything to get me to remember that's part of the reason I left." He sighed. "Anyway...having met you, all be it briefly, I understand why I liked you." He stopped.

"But above all else I want you happy. He cleared his throat. "Anyway I'll send you what I have. I should go." Suddenly he sounded hurried. "You look ... beautiful. How could he not fall for you." He coughed looking away from the screen.

"Vance--" she went to speak, but she could see his upset and equally it broke her heart. She knew though-- she knew that he was holding onto familiarity, not her. It was obvious, but she just seemed ashamed of having to decide between the men.

Wait-- he knew she was Starfleet? Adrianna was caught off guard for a moment. He knew and still wanted to be with her. How? Why? Her mind started spiraling.

"Have...a good time." The Screen went flat

OFF:

 

RSS Feed