Part II - Nope! Not going there

Posted on Mon Oct 7th, 2024 @ 8:56pm by Lieutenant Fang Lee & Lieutenant JG Zai

1,050 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Location: Cheif Engineer's Quarters | USS Arcadia
Timeline: Current

Previously on Nope! Not going there.....

Fang had been getting ready for his shift when the door hissed open. His eyes widened as he took in the image of Zai barefoot and wearing nothing but Jeans and a towel draped over his shoulders. His wet hair hung half way down his back. His normally lavender eyes were deep shade of purple hinting at the simmering emotions brewing behind them. He knew that look and the rapid blinking brought Fang's attention to Zai's long eyelashes. He shook his head slightly and swallowed finding himself slightly speechless.

His eyes were next drawn to a tattoo that matched his own. One that he and his unit brothers had gotten during the Klingon War commemorating their special engineering warrior unit. Fang's eyes traced the tattoo located on Zai's left peck muscle; a large circle of vines and within it are four animals representing the elements around a yin yang symbol. There was a Dragon for Fire to the south; Dolphin for Water to the West; Eagle for the Air to the North; and Wolf for Earth to the East.

His body seemed to betray him as his attention shifted to his own rapid heartbeat. His body, that had been normal a second ago, was flooded with warmth. He could feel the hair on is arms rising and a mild fluttering in his chest.

His hands twitched as if they wanted to move of their own accord so he balled them into fists tearing his gaze away and turning towards the chair that held his uniform Jacket. He slipped it on taking a moment to get back the use of his speech muscle. "Zai, you're out of sickbay. What can I do..."


And Now, The Conclusion...

Suddenly Fang stopped speaking. He looked over at Zai whose hands clenched and unclenched. His body was trembling with rage, that was for sure, but there was something else. When Fang met Zai's gaze he felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. His breath seemed to leave him all at once and
it left him gasping. His whole body froze.

Fang's mouth dropped open as if to say something but even though his mind was working and speaking no sound came out. Fangs breathing became shallow. He felt as if the very ground were opening under him and staggered back a little using the chair to prop himself up.

Fang had seen Zai upset, he'd seen him angry, and focused, and a thousand other things but never had he seen Zai's eyes glassy and filled with unshed tears. Fang had the sudden urge to rub his heart it felt like a dagger was being repeatedly pushed in and out of his chest. He tried to say something again but his vocal chords would not cooperate.

Zai had been through hell on the Klingon ship when their team had been captured, he'd been hurt many times but never, ever, in all the time Fang had known him had he cried. The tears were there, they weren't falling yet but they were there.

A sound filtered through the tunnel that had formed around Fang's ears. It was Zai, he was speaking.

"You know," Zai began.

The calmness in Zai's voice made the hairs stand up on Fang's neck.

"I now understand what the people of our planet were saying about Prince Xingtian."

Fang's eyes began to tunnel and fill with dark spots. He made a strangled sound, at least he thought he did at the mention of Xingtian.

Zai went on, "our people said that he'd suffered a betrayal unlike anything. His one friend, the one person he'd considered his whole world, some say he was even in love with Prince Ainar, well Ainar betrayed Xingtian. It's said, in my tribe, that Ainar promised to take Xingtian off Capella with him. When Xingtian showed up Ainar sent Starfleet personnel to kill our Prince. The royal of your tribe betrayed him by giving him hope, making him feel safe and cared for and then tossed him out like yesterday's trash. I used to wonder about that a lot and now I can understand how betrayed he felt by the one person he thought was in his corner."

"Zai," Fang's voice was shaky. There was so much going on inside him. Zai had no way of knowing that Fang was Ainar. But that last bit, Fang hadn't know about that last bit. He had so many questions. Starfleet tried to kill Xingtian?

"Instead of talking to me telling me your thoughts you just send me this impersonal letter and I get that your the Chief now but... all the years of friendship...they don't warrant a conversation? You toss me out like trash, just as Ainar did to Xingtian."

Fang's eyes opened and he stared horrified as tears streamed down Zai's face.

Zai wiped the tears with his sleeve. "Fine, have it that way. I guess to your tribe friendship means nothing. I should have learned from Xingtian's story. First tribe is not to be trusted."

Fang swallowed repeatedly. "Xingtian ... is he alive?"

"Why do you care? Want to call home to have him finished off? I can safely say that Prince Xingtian is dead. He died of a broken heart. I sympathize with the poor bastard. But I have finally learned form his lesson. Maybe it's time we part ways. Starbase two is close by."

Fang watched with horror as Zai turned and walked out. He tried to step to go after him but his legs, feeling very much like jelly, collapsed from under him.

He lay on the floor curled into a ball. Xingtian was dead? The betrayal? Starfleet offers tried to hurt Xingtian and then lied to Fang about Xingtian not showing up in time? He'd hurt Zai by that damned letter that was not supposed to be sent but just filed!

His body shook violently until his stomach felt as if every meal he'd eaten in all the years after leaving Capella had now decided to come up. Crawling to the bathroom he just made it to the toilet before he threw up his body heaving endlessly. The room spun wildly and he clutched the toilet bowl for dear life.

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