Simon

Posted on Sun Jun 9th, 2024 @ 10:54pm by Ensign Noah Balsam
Edited on on Mon Jun 10th, 2024 @ 3:04am

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: Junior Officers' Quarters
Timeline: Mission Day 5 at 0300

[Junior Officers' Quarters]
[0300 Hours; Mission Day 5]

Noah was awoken with a startle by the incessant beeping and then the bright bathe of his desk emerging its comm screen. It was a thin piece of transparent aluminum, now glowing to life save for around its bezels. "Incoming subspace message for Balsam, Noah Hyman, Ensign." Noah, who'd propped up on his elbows, blinked the sleep out of his eyes. The startle had his heart racing against his breastbone and he reluctantly swung his legs off his bed- after he untangled them from his bed sheet.

"Computer," he sounded groggy. "Time?" He blinked and squinted at the screen. He sat on the edge of his bed and wiggled his toes against the cold carpet. Then he tilted his head and stared at the Federation emblem blazoned in light blue on his screen.

"The time is 0302." The computer's dispassionate femme returned. Noah couldn't help but scowl, his finger in mid-pick of some sleep crust from his eye.

Noah nodded. "Either I forgot to turn on do not disturb or there's glitch 743 in the new LCARS update." He grimaced. "I hope the Captain's not expecting any mail today..." The lanky one stood up and crossed the few steps to his desk. Rather than sit, he just leaned across his desk and tapped several keys for the timestamp and communique's point of origin.

Stardate 94161.1. Almost three weeks ago. Point of Origin: Mahmoud Azjinn Dome, Rigil Kentaurus, Alpha Centauri Colonies.

"Simon," Noah said with a double blink of surprise. He stared at the symbol of the Colonies- a yellow circle, an orange circle and a red circle forming a triple crescent stack. Noah stabbed the play button with his finger. The screen blinked.

"OK freak, you need proof I'm alive. Here I am." The man onscreen had a family resemblance, though both clearly older and looking like maybe life has haggard him. He had an oval face with a five o'clock shadow- Noah's searching eyes noticed his brother's face showed he'd gained a little weight, probably not enough that anybody close to Simon would notice. But Noah hadn't seen him in ages. The figure walked to the center of the screen, his arms out. He turned around like he was being frisked and then back, dropping his hands to his sides. It was mere seconds before Simon was shoving them into pants pockets. "Now call Mom and get her off my fucking back. I'm fine.. Okay?" Noah panged with a touch of embarrassment and indignation.

The man scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Jesus fucking Christ, Noah. Six messages? Six?! I'm fucking fine OK. I don't need my freak of a little brother or whatever checking up on me. Got it?" There was a long and tense pause. Noah tried to figure out where Simon was. It looked like a pretty industrial micro-studio condo with a window to an angry red landscape. "Let's do the list." Noah shook out of his triangulating. Simon stuck out his hand and started to slap down and bend fingers, "No I'm not fucking drinking. No I'm not fucking doing snakeweed. No I'm not fucking homeless. And shit is fine here."

Noah swallowed hard, his eyes swaying away.

"Uhh okay. Fine. Some details. No on the promotion. It went to Ra-zel." Simon scoffed again and rolled his eyes,

"Can't i-i-imagine why," Noah mumbled, stung, as he pressed his lips together.

"Fucking Rigelian ass-kisser," Simon said after another pause, "We're contracted out of Proxima right now. Because your fucking Fleet doesn't really trust Kentauros with some precious new starship design. I dunno. They're calling it a Duderstadt or Dudershaft. Whatever it is. It's retro feel good Fleet bullshit." Simon scratched a mole on his cheek and then fingered through a short near-buzzcut with a curly mop atop. He shared Noah's dark-as-Betazoid eyes but his nose greatly differed, and his mouth was small. "Uhh lets see. No, Rose and I broke up months ago. She went to Xahea with one of those guys. The guru types. Uhh, nobody new in that world except, y'know," Simon held up his hand and then did a masturbatory gesture, "Guessing that's all you're doing right now too. Like always."

Noah blushed and chewed his lip. He shifted his weight to his next leg.

"Good enough?" Simon said, sauntering closer to the screen. Noah's eyes scanned him. He looked tired and despite his protests, he looked strung out with bags under his eyes. He was, as always, wearing that black leather coat his friend got him on Earth. "Good. Take care of your dipshit freak ass til next time you bother me eight hundred times. Don't trust that Fleet of yours. They'll fuck you in the ass. Kay? Good. Bye." And the screen went dark, the last thing Noah saw was his brother's finger hovering as it came uncomfortably close to the screen. Noah's features which had been highlighted, darkened. He shook his head and pushed the retreat button to send his screen back into his desk.

He shook his head and stood up, hugging himself. And after a moment, he went back and sat in bed. Then he pulled his legs up and then over them, his sheets. Noah shivered. "Computer... access sleep sounds. Spanish guitar." The computer squealed and clicked and the golden low, languid tones of music began to waft over him. But sleep was slow in coming.

He'd only been asleep for a couple of hours. Hopefully there were more to come. Noah could feel the incongruous emptiness behind him, the silence of having only half his room populated in any way. Sooner or later, he'd get a new roommate. The question was when. Noah hadn't yet dared branch out with his belongings into the space, despite the fact that the lack of symmetry in the room kind of bothered him.

He yawned again and nuzzled his beaky nose into his pillow. Why was Simon always such a jerk? Nothing was ever easy with him.

Noah blinked, staring into the wall of his bunk. Sleep was slow in coming back... he started to name famous engineers. "Archimedes... Barclay..." he always hesitated on "C" until one popped into his mind, "Charles Babbage... Deg bin Gral, Enbara Parn..." he yawned, stuck again on "F." Noah stared again at his near wall.

Sleep came slowly back. And he dreamed...

"Code Blue Delta. Incoming casualties." It sounded far off, and strained through a membrane of tin. The voice was muffled, rounded and strange. Federation Linguacode...

"Code Blue Delta. Incoming casualties." Farther away. Blackness. Surreal. Swimming feeling. Cold... so cold.... fleeting flashes of ice.

“Pediatric Ward, Code Blue Delta. Incoming casualties. Doctor Fassbinder H… … Ssstation Alpha-Fiiiive. … Al-Rasheed, M. Report to Muster Ssssss……..”

A Post By:

Ensign Noah Balsam
Systems Specialist