Aftershocks

Posted on Sat Jan 3rd, 2026 @ 5:28pm by Ensign Eekit Drol & Ensign Mei Ratthi

Mission: Port of Call
Location: Junior Officer's Quarters
Timeline: Mission Day 0 at 2351

[Junior Officer's Quarters]
[MD 0]
[2351]

“Mei?” The name was out of her mouth before Eekit had even fully stepped into the suite, already shrugging out of her uniform jacket. She knew the woman was here, the computer had told her so, but a thread of anxiety still squirmed in her stomach when she saw the empty common room. She knew Kestrel wasn't back yet; she'd seen her in the weapon's locker, talking quietly to Good. Eekit had been too anxious to get back to the suite to linger with them. She'd all but thrown her weaponry into the locker and checked it back in before making her inquiries of the computer and heading for her quarters.

And of course she knew Jyl-Eel would never be here again. Ruthlessly shoving down that punch of sadness, she focused on who was still here, and that was Mei. Her quick once-over in the shuttle bay had only been enough to assure herself that the anthropologist was not on death's door, but she hadn't had a chance to actually speak to her before the entire lot of folks were whisked away to their various debriefings and medical evaluations. Eekit hadn't been involved in any of them, and had had to wait until the end of her watch, the minutes ticking by with excruciating slowness while she stood by outside the doors to the conference room they'd chosen to debrief the newcomers in. She hadn't even been able to eavesdrop.

Now, her quick visual scan told her Mei wasn't in the suite's common room. It was empty, and Eekit tried not to read anything sinister into the absence. She strode purposefully for their shared room and popped her head inside. “Mei?” she called again, but the room was small enough that it was immediately obvious she wasn't in there. Eekit frowned. She hadn't heard the sonic shower when she'd first come through, but maybe she'd just missed it?

She chucked her uniform jacket on the pile of 'deal with it later' that graced the end of her bed and retraced her steps, heading for the pair of small sanitary units. The outer door slid open and she half stepped inside, cautious lest she be worried for no reason, and was simply about to walk in on Mei in the shower. “Mei?” she called one more time, this time much quieter, more tentative.

"Yeah?" The answer was so soft Eekit barely heard it and yet it was enough that she stopped, put a hand up to keep the door from closing, and took another look around, then glanced down. Mei sat on the floor by the toilet, shoulders hunched, her face an ashen color. She was shivering, and the skin around her eyes was puffy and red. "I'm okay," she said, though it was the most unconvincing thing Eekit had ever heard her say. "Just . . . give me a minute."

"Well, the good news is you haven't gotten any better at lying in the last twenty-four hours," Eekit said, deflecting her worry with humor, sharp though it was. Her nostrils flared, catching the faint whiff of bile the air recyclers hadn't yet had a chance to scrub. This was not a drunken escapade at the Academy where one ribbed one's comrades mercilessly. Thinking further back, the only response to sickness she could come up with did not seem healthy for Mei. It certainly hadn't been for herself. Her ridged features creasing with worry as she drew a blank on what to do, she eventually simply said, "Tell me how I can help."

Mei was quiet for a moment, then let out a deep breath and sniffed. She tried to run a hand through her hair, though her normally bouncy curls were lank and tangled and her fingers got caught. She let her hand drop back into her lap and sighed. "Could you get me a glass of water?" Her voice was marginally stronger than it had been. "Then I'll brush my teeth. And get a shower. My skin's crawling." She raised a hand to grasp the sink to help her stand. It was shaking hard enough that Eekit doubted she'd be able to get up without pitching over in the process.

Before she could, Eekit was there at her side, a surprisingly strong support to help Mei to her feet. But then, Mei supposed, Cardassians were made of different stuff than your average human. The arm around her waist was warm and steady, and Eekit applied just enough pressure to help, but not enough that Mei wasn't still in full control. Eekit did not have a good memory when it came to human ailments, but the idea of your skin crawling set her insides to squirming. "Are you ill?" she asked, carefully easing her support off of Mei to see if the other woman could stand on her own, ready to jump back in at the slightest stumble.

"Not anymore." Mei made a disgusted face and reached for her tooth cleaning kit, then paused to look at Eekit in the mirror. The Cardassian's serious, black eyes stared back at her, warmed with concern. "'Skin crawling'. It's a human expression for when you feel gross or unsettled by something. Both, in my case." She shifted– reluctantly, it seemed– away from Eekit's support and let out a long, shaky breath. "At least I kept it together on that ship. I'd hate to think what would have happened if I'd thrown up on a guard's shoes. Nothing good, probably." She went still, her gaze unfocusing long enough that Eekit thought she might be about to pass out. But a moment later, Mei sucked in a breath and shook her head like she was shaking away some terrible memory. "Water, clean teeth, shower. That will all help." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself of it and hadn't quite managed to yet.

Eekit watched her for another couple heartbeats, poised to catch her if she did decide to fall again. "Water, right. Coming right up," she said, but lingered another few breaths, trying to decide which Mei needed more: a moment alone to gather herself, or Eekit's continued support. Recalling her own feelings when her father hadn't given her the space when she'd needed it, Eekit finally settled on retreat, sidling out of the hygiene area.

Though her physical presence disappeared, her voice floated back through the suite, a tangible reminder that she was there. "I gotta ask though," she called, disembodied voice casual despite the raised volume, "would you have been vomiting all over their shoes before or after you absolutely stomped the shit out of the first Maje? 'cause that sounds like more than just 'keeping it together.'"

"Maybe." Mei's voice was hardly loud enough for Eekit to hear, and when she returned to the bathroom with a glass of water, Mei was staring at herself in the mirror with her toothbrush held loosely in her hand. Eekit's levity melted away like an ice cube in the desert as she took in Mei's far away expression. Unsure what to say, she remained silent, a solid presence at Mei's back, her expression unreadable in the mirror. They stood there silently for a while before Mei shook herself out of her daze and put the toothbrush down. "It seemed like the thing to do at the time. I wasn't really thinking. Just putting what Kaldri taught me to use. I dunno. I guess I thought if I could knock him down he couldn't . . . I don't know. I guess I should be surprised none of the guards stomped the shit out of me. I mean sure, I had a disruptor of whatever, but I don't think I would have hit anyone. I was just so done with it all."

"Here," Eekit said quietly, offering the glass.

With a shaky sigh, she took the glass from Eekit's hand and took a long drink. "You know, the worst thing I ever did before all this was trespass on construction sites. My sister liked to see the buildings in progress, and I just followed her around. We never got caught, though."

Recalling the amount of 'trespassing' she engaged in before joining Starfleet, Eekit's lips quirked in a half smile. "I think you were doing it right," she opined, knowing that getting caught in Mei's world was probably fairly different than getting caught in her own world-- and yet, to a young person, the stakes felt weirdly similar. Her wry smile faded to an open, curious look. She met Mei's eyes in the mirror and cocked her head just slightly to the side to ask, "Are you sorry you did it? Stomp the Maje, that is. Not break into construction sites."

Mei smiled faintly at the unneeded correction. "Not really, no. It gave Kaldri a small advantage, and she needed all the help she could get. But I am definitely not cut out for combat. I am not an action anthropologist. I think I'd be happy if I could be a 'sit quietly in an office' kind of anthropologist. This is not the kind of fieldwork I trained for. Next time, how about we trade places? This is more your realm than mine." She finished off her water and let out a sigh that was noticeably less shaky, though she still looked troubled. "Or how about there is no next time? How about, from here on out, we just meet people who are friendly and happy to exchange cultural information and don't shoot first and ask questions later?"

"You did what was needful," Eekit replied, sounding wiser than her years, "That's all combat ever is. You do what you have to when you have to. Nobody likes it." She paused, cocking her head to the side as though listening to something Mei couldn't hear. "At least, nobody sane," she amended, and took the empty glass back from Mei. Her expression closed then as she looked down at the glass, her knuckles whitening as she gripped it hard. When she looked up again, her ridged features were set with some intense expression, her dark eyes nearly sparking. "Mei, you have no idea what I would have given to trade places. We didn't--" she cut off the words, her jaw working. Her voice lowered, as though to avoid eavesdroppers, "No one knew what was happening over there."

Taking a deep breath, she unclenched both her jaw and her fingers one by one, her nostrils flaring. When she met Mei's eyes in the mirror again, she summoned the ghost of a smile. "I think that is a great idea. Have you already pitched it to the command team?" Jerking her head at Mei, she took a step back toward the doorway, as though to lure her out into the main suite.

Mei laughed. The sound of it was so bright it seemed to lighten the gloominess in the space. "I'll pitch it to the command team. I'm sure they'll approve it in about three seconds. We could use the break. It's been way more eventful than it's had any right to be." After splashing a bit of water on her face and drying it off, she followed Eekit into the common area and flopped onto the couch. "How have you been through all this? Less . . . I don't know. Fewer people waving disruptors in your face, I hope?"

"When you do, I reserve the right to watch," Eekit said with a toothy grin as she headed for the replicator. She dialed up one of Mei's favorite soothing hot beverages. Given her earlier stomach upset, she forewent any further food, but she knew from experience that hot liquid did wonders to one's equilibrium. When it materialized in a chunky mug, she brought it over to the couch and handed it over before folding herself down onto the other end, drawing one knee to her chest and shooting a grimace across at Mei. "Unfortunately," she said flatly, actually sounding like she meant it. "I was sorting through some old practice armor when the attack came, missed everything. I didn't even get to bash any Kazon upside the head like Ryland did." Huffing out an annoyed puff of air, she glanced over at Mei and at her suddenly blank expression, Eekit pushed herself back further into the cushions, hunching her shoulders. "Sorry," she muttered, glancing away from Mei for a moment as she explained, "The rest of the time was security sweeps and patrols. At least Assistant Chief Good is actually worth a damn, and we had some direction."

"Well. At least someone had a quiet time of it." Mei sips her drink silently for a bit, her gaze distant, landing on nothing in the room until it finally focused again, alighting on the door where, in happier times, their roommates would have been. "And Jyl'eel–" her voice cracks. Mei stops, takes a breath, and clears her throat. "What do– what do we do with her things? Will her family want them? What do we do?" Her eyes are wide and shining. She looks terribly young.

Eekit's shoulders tightened, then hunched, drawing in defensively as Mei turned her distress to Jyl'Eel. She could feel tears pricking at the backs of her eyes and dug her fingernails into her palms to distract herself. Cardassians didn't cry, she'd always been told. She knew it wasn't true, and she also knew if anyone didn't care if she cried, it would be Mei. Even so, she fought the tears, clenching her jaw a couple times before her throat opened enough to allow her speech. "Monsters," she said, unaware for a moment that it sounded like she was calling the Valt's family monsters. "Who attacks an arboretum? Target the bridge. The nacelles. Even the computational core. But the arboretum?" Her voice got rougher the longer she spoke and it was only as she slammed her fist down on the couch and instead contacted with Mei's knee that she looked up at the woman who looked more lost girl. Some of Eekit's anger bled out and she swallowed against the renewed prick of tears.

"They'll want them," she said definitively. "They're good people who want to know about their daughter's life. She never had a bad thing to say about them," she assured Mei, then added more quietly, "She never had a bad thing to say about anyone." Then, quickly as though to distract herself, "Starfleet will send them home." Her words had the ring of conviction, though she herself had never seen such a thing conducted.

"Okay." Mei's voice was small, almost lost against the background hum of the ship's noise. "We can start tomorrow. Or- or maybe the day after or . . . something. And we should record something for them, her family I mean. Something about how kind and smart she was. Seems like the least we could do." Mei sniffed, sighed, and rubbed her eyes. Then she set her cup- nearly empty now- aside and grabbed a blanket to drape over both of their laps. Eekit's lips, which had quirked up ward in fond agreement at Mei's thoughtful gesture, slowly eased to neutrality as they sat in silence for a while, their thoughts overflowing or maybe not even there at all. Mei finally spoke again and this time her voice was steady. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Eekit carefully curated her expression into one of mock-outrage. In truth, it looked similar to her other expressions, the contours of her Cardassian face making it difficult to parse her facial movements, but Mei had lived in close proximity to her for long enough to read the nuance there. She leaned slightly away from Mei to scoff, “Me? Of course.”

Mei's flat look was so serious that Eekit had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop the hysterical laughter from bubbling forth. Though she was no stranger to death, that did not mean it was jarring to find it stalking through a Starfleet science vessel. Surreal, even. She bumped her shoulder gently into Mei's, then shrugged. “Just another day in the Dee Cue, I guess,” she said, her voice subdued, at odds with the casual words.

Mei raised an eyebrow. "Really? Just another day?" she said dryly. For a moment it looked like she might dispute Eekit's claim further, but then she seemed to wilt, too spent to deal with any kind of conflict. "One of these days, we're going to have a nice, long talk. Or else you're going to have a nice long talk with the counselor. But it's not going to be this day. I'm not up to it. I'm not sure I'm up to standing." She glanced down at herself, sitting on the couch, and giggled. "Definitely not up to standing. Not even standing at all right now. Just sitting here, getting a little hysterical. I'm going to need a nice long talk with the counselor, too. Later. When I feel like possibly standing." She linked her arm with Eekit's and rested her head on the Cardassian's shoulder. "Let's just sit here for a while, okay? Since it's quiet. I could do with some quiet."

Mei's giggles were infectious, causing Eekit's subdued mien to shift, the corners of her lips curling upward until she was grinning, her shoulders beginning to shake as she fought down her own case of the giggles. "Best give your insides a break and remain sitting," she agreed, gently patting Mei's belly. She was fairly certain vomiting was as uncomfortable for humans as it was for Cardassians, and in any case, she did not want her to go through any additional distress. As their arms twined together, she leaned into Mei and rested her head on the crown of Mei's. Her giggles subsided and she took a deep breath, her ribs swelling against Mei. "Quiet," she agreed, and though it wasn't really in her nature, she willed herself to stillness. She hadn't been there for Mei before, but she could be there for her now. "I can do quiet," she promised.

Together, they let the quiet be the first of so, so many steps toward healing.

A Post By:

Ensign Mei Ratthi
Anthropologist

Ensign Eekit Drol
Security Officer