Informed

Posted on Mon Jun 16th, 2025 @ 10:22pm by Lieutenant Xex Wang & Lieutenant Axod Qo

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: Counselor's Office
Timeline: Mission Day 27 at 1330

[Deck 5]
[Hallway Outside Counselor's Office]
[1330]

With the strange rampaging globules corralled in the biolab and the Sojo back to normal operation, Deck Five's curving hallway was quiet. Most crewmembers were either at their duty stations, or already involved in their off-watch pursuits. Xex was just as happy he didn't have to dodge hordes of bodies trying to take advantage of the amenities on the deck. Scratching at his neck to relieve the persistent itch that was beginning to spread across his entire body, he wasn't sure he would be able to contain himself from screaming at the first person who brushed against him... so it was just as well the hallway was nearly deserted.

Pausing outside the counselor's office, Xex snatched his hand away from its mindless itching and scowled at the flakes of skin he found under his fingernails. Stars, but there were some aspects he really hated about the Shift. A quick glance at the status light beside the door assured him that the counselor was not in session. Excellent; this wouldn't take long. Wiping his hand on his trousers, he straightened both his posture and his uniform, making sure the jacket sat nicely across his shoulders before he stepped up to the doors which obligingly slid open for him. He politely knocked on the doorframe as he stepped within, pausing just inside the door and folding his hands at the small of his back.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted, but otherwise did not further invade Axod's workspace.

Axod sat at his desk, carefully sifting through a disorganized stack of PADDs filled with client notes, his brow furrowed in quiet focus. The soft hiss of the door caught him off guard — a sound that usually meant routine, but this time carried a weight of unexpectedness. When he looked up, it was Xex standing there.

Though surprise flickered through him, Axod’s expression remained carefully neutral, his practiced composure giving nothing away. He met Xex's gaze for the briefest moment before setting the PADD in his hand down with deliberate calm.

“What can I do for you, Doctor?” he asked, his voice smooth but edged with a subtle curiosity, the professional veneer masking the tangle of thoughts the sudden appearance had stirred.

"A lot, actually," Xex said, his tone curiously innocent of all innuendo. "May I?" he asked, gesturing toward the pair of chairs to one side of the counselor's desk. "I hate looming."

Axod kept his gaze steady, eyes locked on Xex with a quiet intensity. Without a word, he gave a subtle shake of his head, an unspoken invitation rather than a refusal. He gestured gently toward the nearby seat, his expression softening just enough to be welcoming. A silent, clear message: Sit, if you want.

Nodding almost formally, Xex took the seat, swinging it around to face Axod. "You will have to forgive this blending of personal and professional," he said, and the words had the practiced ring of something he had said before, perhaps many times. "I will shortly be--" he broke off, glancing down at where his traitorous hand had begun to scratch at the exposed, flaking skin of his wrist. Scowling, he snatched it away and folded his hands neatly in his lap. Clearing his throat to continue, he looked up to meet Axod's eyes again, his own gaze steady, if veiled in professionalism. "I will shortly be beginning a period of hibernation. Personally, this means you will not see me, and there will be a medical lock on my room," he said, and the formality in his voice eased slightly as he added, "It can be jarring to see such a thing, and I did not want to worry you unduly."

The so-called 'personal' revelation stirred little in Axod. In truth, it only confirmed what he'd already begun to feel. This wouldn’t be so different from how they’d been living lately: circling each other in shared silence, near one another in name more than in heart.

"Professionally," Xex continued, "I will be unavailable. My duties will fall to Doctor Marwol." To his credit, Xex's expression didn't slip into uncertainty, reflecting the hesitancy he felt about his assistant. "Commander t'Nai will also be on hand to assist should he need it. If you have need of anything administratively or otherwise, they will be your contacts." Here, he faltered, his carefully-arranged speech apparently concluded before he was really finished. Some of the formality slipped again and he leaned forward, his expression earnest. "This process can often take a while, although its exact length is unpredictable. I have theories about micronutrient levels and their relationship to the baseline background radiation in the--" he broke off, flapping a hand, "Anyway. The point is, I do not know how long this hibernation will last. At least you shall have the suite to yourself for the duration," he added, with a small smile.

Axod folded his hands neatly on the desk in front of him, fingers laced tightly enough to turn his knuckles white. “Is that all?” he asked, his voice low, dripping with an emotion he couldn’t quite name. Disappointment? Resentment? Grief?

He had expected more. Some sort of elaborate explanation, maybe an apology wrapped in the kind of logic Xex often used to shield himself from vulnerability. Some reason, any reason, that might soften the jagged space growing between them. But instead, there was only this: a quiet, clean break that felt too clinical to be real.

The brusque question left Xex blinking, caught wrong-footed. Any number of sharp retorts from 'isn't that enough?' to the more sarcastic, 'thank you for your words of support' leapt to Xex's tongue, his features flickering through a swift range of expressions to match as he throttled the words back. Eventually, he managed to school his expression back into calm professionalism. Clearing his throat, he pushed back his chair to stand. "Yes," he answered simply. "If you don't have any questions," he paused lifting an eyebrow as challenge to the counselor, daring him to lie about being curious-- for if he wasn't, he might have been the first acquaintance Xex had ever met in the Federation who wasn't-- "That will be all."

After a rather pregnant pause, Axod finally spoke, his voice low and controlled. “Is there anything you need me to take care of while you’re out?” He let out a quiet sigh, eyes fixed on anything but Xex, studying the desk, the floor, the far wall. Anywhere that wasn’t the man standing in front of him.

For some reason Xex shied away from naming, he took a curious pleasure in allowing an uncomfortable pause to blossom, watching Axod's discomfiture. It lasted only a couple of heartbeats before his inner conscience informed him you're being ridiculous. His carefully polite countenance thawed slightly and he shifted, fingertips just coming into the counselors view as the brushed the top of his desk. "Actually," he said with deceptive casualness, "not exactly something to take care of, but if you would..." he paused, searching for the right word and landing on, "support Gwenwyn as much as possible, that would be much appreciated. He will be in command of the medical corps and I suspect he may need, but unwilling to ask for... " Again he paused, but still finding nothing better, repeated, "support."

Axod nodded, the gesture slow and deliberate. Of course he would support Marwol as he stepped up, there had never been any question of that in his mind. It was curious, though, that Xex had felt the need to ask. That small detail lingered in the back of his thoughts like a faint echo.

“That,” he said with quiet conviction, “I can do.” His tone carried a steady resolve that underscored the weight of his promise.

For the first time in the conversation, Xex's professional mask shed completely-- not a crack, not a glimpse, but a complete release. His features gained a mobility, and it turned the moment briefly intimate as his lips quirked up with a rueful smile. "I know," he said simply and lifted his hand almost as if he were going to touch Axod. Perhaps thinking better of the notion, Xex instead tucked the hand behind his back, professional detachment sliding like armor over his expression. He gave Axod a pleasant nod, turned, and was gone, leaving the counselor's office solitary, if not peaceful, once again.

A post by:

Lieutenant Xex Wang
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant Axod Qo
Ship's Counselor