EXETERRPG: (3-1401) CTO/3O Lieutenant Sg Ravok & CSO Lieutenant Jg. Erin Cortez

[Rob Davis]

Mission: Murder on the Exeter Express

Day:03

Stardate: 2445:12:03



(USS Exeter – Sickbay –CTO/3O Lieutenant SG. Ravok & CSO Lieutenant Jg Erin
Cortez– 1401)



Sitting up on the biobed, Erin flexed her hands a little. The tingling she
had felt in her extremities was lessening but she also knew that full
recovery was not just the physical.

The talk with Trip earlier in the day had given her food for thought and
she knew that she had to face what had happened. So she sat, waiting for
what, in her mind, was the inevitable conversation. The one she was not
looking forward to.

Ravok walked into the room and thanked the Nurse for escorting him in. He
approached Erin with flowers in a vase and sat them on the table beside her
bed.

" I got these from the arboretum. Thought you would like them." He said and
leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

Closing her eyes as she felt the kiss on her head, she sighed heavily.
"Thankyou. They're beautiful. "

He sat down and clicked his commwatch.

" Lieutenant Cortez,  I'm going to ask you what happened. You are being
audio recorded. This is for my notes so I can present a detailed report to
the Captain.

Please speak freely about the events in the holodeck. The more coherent and
detailed you are the better ."

"Where do I start?" She whispered.

" At the beginning." He responded

"Before I do, I need to say something to you."

" Go on" Ravok insisted.

"I'm sorry." She said to him.

" For what ? My loss?" He asked.

She nodded, knowing that what she was about to say was the thing she had
dreaded. Taking a breath, she talked about being beamed into the holodeck,
the rhyme that had been playing and what Ire had experienced.

"He… put the knife in her. Knowing it wasn't Greta but he still did it…
then she turned to me."

" What happened next ?"

"She asked me the same thing. Truth or death."

Ravok leaned forward and clasped his hands. " And?"

"I shouted. I refused to choose. I said that she had no power over me…"

~ You can do this Erin.~ Ravok thought.

"Then she…. She killed Nesha because of it and…" Erin felt her breath catch
in her as she fought to keep her emotions down but she knew that tears were
falling, "... it's my fault. I am so sorry…"

Ravok lowered his head

" When I pursued an enemy in battle and fired on them I had no idea if they
were going to fire at me in retaliation or fire at another member of my
squadron. Lives are lost by situations beyond our control Erin. Her death
was and will always be on Maxine, not you."  He said as he reached out and
grabbed her hand.

" Is it really ?" Ravok heard a voice ask. He looked around and saw no one
else in the room and shrugged it off.

Feeling his hand on hers, she looked at him, "It… if I hadn’t done that,
she might have been… Lathuel, I'm sorry." She closed her eyes and gripped
his hand tighter, wanting almost to take comfort from him and knowing she
had no right to do that.

He shook her hand firmly.

" You mean more to me than Nesha ever did. She was blood, but you're  so
much more to me. You have a place in my heart that will always be yours.
Don't beat yourself up over this. "

Looking at him, she smiled softly, "Easier said than done." Pausing for a
moment, she looked into his eyes, "Full disclosure, there is something that
I should tell you."

Ravok nodded and withdrew his hand from hers. " Go on"

"When Ensign More refused to play the game and I knew it was my turn… I
didn't fight it. I… saw it as punishment for what I had done."

Ravok looked her square in the eyes.

" I know that feeling. Feeling the need to self punish myself for things
that weren't my fault. It's one hell of a feeling."

"I saw her. Wherever I was, whether was my mind trying to make sense of
things I don't know. "

" What do you mean you saw her? " He asked with confusion

"I know… it sounds crazy. She told me I had the choice on whether to come
back. She said to say to you…. hwiiy A mnek l'ta'fvull'aelmnaejaerhoaommuy.
Don't couvæ a'e. My romulan might be a little rusty…"


Ravok thought for a second.

" Rusty isn't the word I'd use." He laughed slightly.

"You just described every word while using the word. In my way I would say
Hwiiy htaodt'ia'rhoinnie nhrai au mnekha di'ranov. Raed'aeusnnta'jhiy iebhe

couvæ shaoi rinam. You see di'ranov means father without needing to
describe what a father is. Shaoi rinam is you Erin you are an equal to me
but not Romulan and yet my sister  so shaoi rinam describes who you are to
me, but I blame Nesha she always had a way of over complicating the
language. Keira does the same thing. " He laughed.

Smiling, Erin looked at him, "I told you it didn't make sense to me."

" Do you know what it means ? " He asked.

"No. I picked out the odd word but not the whole phrase."

" It means , You will be a good father. Do not blame her. " Ravok answered

"Oh…." She looked down. From somewhere in the back of her mind, from her
counselling training she knew that this had probably been an attempt by her
own mind to assuage guilt that she carried.

" I don't need some message from deep within your consciousness to tell me
to not blame you. Although the part about being a good father is
heartwarming. I am trying." Ravok said with a warm smile.

"That you are." She replied with a smile.

" Erin, we Romulans feel emotions much deeper than you could ever imagine
which is why our Vulcan ancestors resorted to suppressing emotions and
embracing logic. So when I say that I love you. I mean it in a way that you
will never be able to understand. "

"I can understand to a degree. I just wish that I didn't have this in built
guilt carrier thing in my head. I feel things. Deeply. You know that. I
know this is going to take time to fully process. It's not going to be easy
but… someone said to me that I can’t hide behind my trauma. I need to own
it. I need to recognise it for what it is and not run. So this is me. Not
running and trying to own what happened. "

Ravok smirked. " You need to own it? I only need one guess to tell you who
said that. Wouldn't happen to be a certain captain with incredible muscle
tone would it? " He asked laughing a bit

Smiling,  Erin nodded. "That seems to be a family trait. Not the muscle
tone before you say it. The advice."

Ravok chuckled " I was about to say Sienna wasn't a towering heap of
muscles,  but trust me take any advice he gives you.

He would give out words of wisdom to us on Mars. Trip is what we Romulans
call a Elhs'hswiehv Ehsiu. Basically an old soul or well of knowledge."

"He is. Jimmy's the same. He… " Blushing a little, she looked down,
realised her hand was trembling a touch and put it on her knee.

Ravok sat back in his chair.

" You mean Gorgeous Jim?" Ravok asked laughing. "

Erin shook her head, "I'll tell him you said that." Sighing softly, Erin
smiled, "He's good. Good for me. Calls me out when I'm being an idiot. Kind
of like now. Haven't had a chance to call him yet. But, knowing this fleet,
he's going to already know what's happened. "

" Tell him. Half the fighter wing called him that. " Ravok said and
instantly felt a wave of sadness rush over him.

" I mean they did." He said with a hushed tone. In his mind the sound of
the ejection alarms on his fighter started going off. A harsh memory came
to his mind.

Erin watched him for a moment. She knew he carried things too. Things that
would haunt them both for a long time.

" Erin, we are done. I have to get going. I love you" Ravok said as he
needed the recording on his commwatch, standing up he kissed her on the top
of her head once more.

"I understand. I should get some rest. I am hoping they let me out of here
soon. Even if it is just to my own quarters. "

" If you're up for it. You should come over one night for movie night.
It's  Rayna's turn to pick but she'll most likely defer her choice to Keira
letting her pick, but that always ends with Keira picking something Rayna
would have picked to begin with. If we're lucky it will be the movie about
the bajoran fish named Yoka who searches for his friends in a coral reef. "
Ravok said with a smile.

"That sounds good. I can bring the best popcorn that Rayna will have ever
tasted."

" I think she'll like that very much ."

"Go, work. Love you my brother." She replied.

Ravok nodded his head and walked out of the room.  His anxiety was through
the roof as he walked away.

( reply none)

( posted By Jackie and Rob )
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