Revelations

Posted on Fri Aug 20th, 2021 @ 6:26am by Ensign Rene Rouen & Lieutenant JG Faith Vianelli

Mission: Lower Decks
Location: USS Chimera, on the way to Faith's Quarters

Once they left the holodeck, Faith walked for a few moments in silence before she looked across at Rene, raising an eyebrow slightly. "That was... unusual..." she said quietly. "Do you think what she said is true? I mean about the ship being in bad shape and the crew being sketchy?"

Rene glanced at Faith as they walked down the corridor. They were in a tough situation on a ship that should be getting repairs at a facility and not the middle of a mothball fleet staging area. They had mission orders to travel to a Starbase on the frontier and not even 5% of the standard ship's compliment was assigned. "I think someone is setting up our new Captain for an epic career killing failure." He looked straight ahead for a moment. "We're Starfleet. The extremely difficult we do right away. The damn near impossible...just takes an extra day or so."

She thought about his words as she thumbed into the PaDD she had in her hand. "I hope it's nothing, but I guess we'll see. There's always an out clause, right?" she asked quietly as she scanned the data in the PaDD. "I'm on Deck two, section K." She looked around again, looking for any sign of something that would tell her where she was. "Hopefully the turbolift is having a good day and gets me there, I've always been a bit directionally challenged," she added with a smile.

Rene glanced at his own PADD for his cabin assignment. He looked up at Faith. "No worries. Nearly two years aboard a Luna-class. I will have you to your quarters in short order." He was feeling a little sad that his time with her was coming to an end.

Faith smiled. "Thanks," she said easily as she fell into step beside him. "Fingers crossed, all my stuff should be in my quarters so all I need to do is unpack. Hopefully I have a day or two before I'm on duty shifts to make sure that's all taken care of. I don't know, part of me is excited about starting, part of my is terrified. I mean, what if I mess up? What if I do the wrong thing?" She sighed, well aware that she was rambling.

Rene reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing them both to a stop. He gave Faith a reassuring smile. "You are going to do fine." He glanced at the door plaque behind her. "Mess Hall. You want to grab a bite before we finish getting you to your quarters?"

"If it's okay I'd like to just get to my quarters," Faith offered a smile. "It's been a long trip. I'm sure I have a working replicator, we can grab something there.. that is, if you want?"

Rene was a bit astounded by the invite. She hadn’t said directly that she was married or engaged, but her query about the Kirridagi had left him wondering. He gestured down the corridor. "Turbolift is down this way. We can take it to probably a few meters away from your quarters on Deck Two." He felt himself flush with excitement as the approached the turbolift. She was definitely a bit reserved and somewhat distracted, but he was at a loss as to why.

The journey to her quarters didn't take long at all. Keying in her access code the doors parted and Faith stepped inside, glancing around at the slew of cargo boxes that had been delivered. "Nani?" she called out softly as she walked across the room. At the sound of Faith's voice, a shock of dark curls and chocolate eyes appeared peeking around the corner cautiously before running toward Faith, excitement clear on her little face.

Sweeping the toddler up in her arms, Faith rained kisses on her face eliciting giggles of delight as a blonde woman stepped out of the room the child had just come from. "I'll see you in the morning Faith," she said with a smile a she headed toward the door. "You be good for your Momma munchkin!"

"Have a good night Nani," Faith responded, still holding tightly onto the toddler, almost as if she were inhaling the child's scent. Once they were alone, she shifted the girl onto her hip and turned toward Rene and drew in a deep breath. "This is Briella Rose, my daughter," she finally said quietly.

Rene was at a loss for words for a moment. He wasn't quite sure what he'd expected. He approached mother and daughter slowly. The child couldn't have been more than two or three years old. "She is amazing." He smiled warmly at the little girl before looking at Faith. "She is just as beautiful as her mother." He held out a hand to Briella. "Hi there. My name is Rene. I'm an old friend of your mother's."

Briella's arms tightened around Faith's neck, turning away from the hand offered to her. "It's okay Cherie," Faith said softly before turning to Rene. "Sorry, she's exhausted. It's been a long trip for her and she doesn't like change." Setting the toddler down on the floor, Faith kneeled down in front of her. "How about you go find your binkie and Luce and Momma can tuck you into bed?"

With another cautious look toward Rene, Briella looked back to Faith and wandered off.

Faith looked toward Rene and offered an apologetic smile. "Just give me a few minutes?" she asked. "I'll get her settled and we can talk? The replicator is..." she glanced around. "Well, it's somewhere here."

Rene nodded as he took a few steps back. He could see that Briella was Faith's pride and joy. 'She must be a wonderful mother,' he thought. "Of course. Please, take all the time you need." He was truly happy for Faith.

It was about twenty minutes before Faith returned, jacket and boots in hand. She offered a smile as she dropped them atop a cargo crate. "Sorry, she was a little fussy after the trip, we had to read her story twice through. Did you find the replicator okay?"

Rene held a loft a cup of coffee as he gave a nod to Briella's bedroom door. "Never apologize for putting family first. I would do the same if I were in your position." He walked over to the replicator to recycle his cup and get a fresh mug. "May I get you something while I'm up?"

"A cold root beer?" she asked as she sank down onto the floor next to the storage crates, leaning sideways against a stack. "She's two and a half and she is my absolute universe."

Rene came over with the drinks and handed Faith hers before sitting down on the floor across from her. He took a sip of his coffee. "I can tell. Your husband must feel the same way."

"I don't have a husband," Faith replied quietly. "Briella's Father is not in her life, never has been and never will be. She has me, and she has Nani."

Rene blinked at the revelation about Briella's father. He didn't know the circumstances and he wasn't about to pry. He could just never imagine not being in his child's life. "So, who is Nani?"

"Nani..." Faith smiled. "Her real name is Claire, she's Briella's nanny. She's helped me take care of Briella since she was born. I was in the Academy, I had to move off campus... I couldn't just quit, and I couldn't take her to classes with me. They let me get away with it every now and then in an emergency, but mostly I was left to make arrangements myself." She took a sip of her drink. "She's been a God send."

Rene was glad Faith had help with Briella. The Ganymede had had a few children aboard. Claire must have picked up the billet as ship's child services manager to be allowed to come aboard the Chimera. He didn't want to leave, but it seemed like everyone had a long trip to the ship. "Listen, I know it's getting late, we had a long shuttle ride here and...the next few days are going to be busy. I should probably go find my quarters and see about getting some sleep in a real bed."

Faith nodded slightly. "Thank you, for walking me back to my quarters," she said quietly. "It really is nice to see you again," she rose to her feet as she spoke.

Rene got to his feet too. He took his mug to the replicator and recycled it. He met Faith at the door and gave her a smile. "I enjoyed the opportunity to see you again too. Perhaps we could have lunch together sometime."

She smiled again. "I think I'd like that, very much," she replied. "Goodnight Rene."

"Me too. Just let me know when you're free." Rene paused awkwardly for a moment. He wasn't quite sure what to do. Shake hands, give her a hug or what. He finally decided to wait for a que from her.

Rising up on her toes, Faith leaned in and brushed a soft kiss across his cheek. "Sleep well. I'll see you tomorrow?"

The kiss caught him off guard, but in a pleasant way. He was, for a moment, that young lad in the Parisian park receiving a first kiss from his first love. He gave Faith a quick hug and exited before he blushed.

Rene leaned against the bulkhead in the corridor trying to sort out his thoughts and feelings. He was a hopeless romantic, that he knew. He had indeed fallen in love with Faith that magical day in Paris nine years ago. They were both older now and she had a child which changed everything. He stared at her door for several minutes figuring things out in his head. He finally came to the decision that she was his first and only true love. Time would have to tell if she felt the same way about him.

Once the doors had closed behind him, Faith picked up her glass and carried it to the replicator to recycle it before picking up her jacket and boots, checking on Briella before turning the lights down and retreating to her own bedroom, mulling over the fact that Rene had appeared in her life again. It was definitely a complication she hadn't anticipated. All she could do now was wait and see how it played out.