An odd encounter

Posted on 21 Jan 2026 @ 6:03am by Lieutenant JG Ryan Collingway
Edited on on 21 Jan 2026 @ 5:39pm

670 words; about a 3 minute read

///USS Arawyn////

Dressed in civilian clothes, Ryan packed a few minor things he might need and made his way to the transporter room. The new CEO had surprised him. That was for sure. He didn't quite know what to make of it. More interactions would probably help.

But for now, he followed orders.

He made his way to the transport room, and nodded at the Chief. "One to beam down."

"Sounds good. Enjoy your shore leave, Lieutenant."

The transporter room hummed. Ryan was blissfully unaware that an extra scan had logged in his profile, verified he was human, and carefully logged that along with the rest of the scanned crew for a select few to view.

Even the ordinary wasn't quite what it seemed today.

///Lathira IV///

Ryan beamed onto the planet, and winced slightly as he saw the sun caught his eye. It was close to sunset. A lot of people were walking on the street.

Suddenly it dawned on him. How long had it actually been since he had seen the sun? He counted back. That was on Tarvik III. A month and a half, maybe? He watched it for a moment, before sticking his hands in his pockets. It was nice to see.

He had absolutely no idea what to do next. Ryan wandered down the strip for ten minutes. There was a bar nearby. It seemed a good a place as any. It seemed pretty typical and was about half full. He sat down at a table and glanced at the menu.

He looked up at the server, about to order. Surprisingly, the server already had a drink in hand. "From the lady," he said gruffly.

Surprised, Ryan turned around. Alura?

No, it wasn't her. It was a woman, with long red hair and a green dress sipping a cocktail. He had no idea who she was. Curiosity prompted him to go over to her. "Thanks," he said. "Do I know you?"

The woman smiled. "Gemma," she said. "You seemed kind of lonely. Thought I'd say hello."

"That's nice of you," Ryan said. He shrugged. "There are a lot of strangers here on shore leave. You might have to buy a lot of drinks tonight."

She laughed. "Only the cute ones. What's your name?"

"Ryan," he supplied. "From the USS Arawyn."

"Huh. Explains all the uniforms around," Gemma said. "In some places, Starfleet is bad for business. But here..it's good to see them."

Ryan took a sip. "What do you do. Around here?"

"I travel a lot. I get around." She touched his hand. "Maybe not compared to a Starship, but still..I've got a few stories under my belt. What about you, Ryan? Anything you would like to share?"

Ryan smiled. He didn't know why, but it felt like he could open up to her. Still..."Sorry. I have someone. I don't want to give you the wrong idea."

"Do you?" Gemma asked. She seemed amused as she sipped her own glass. "Wife?"

Ryan shook his head.

"Girlfriend?"

"Yes. No. I don't know," Ryan admitted. "We're friends. I'm too afraid to ask for anything more."

"I see," Gemma said. "A piece of advice?"

Ryan nodded.

"I say go for it. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll soon have a bunch of empty yesterdays," Gemma said.

Ryan laughed. Maybe it was the booze, but he had never felt this relaxed before. "Wow. That is amazing advice."

"I'm a specialist in advice," Gemma said. "So tell me-"

The door suddenly opened. Ryan looked up as he saw two of Lathira's security guards walk in. They seemed to be off-duty, though, and helped themselves to a drink. He glanced back at the table.

Gemma was gone.

Ryan frowned. Her drink was still there, mostly not drunken. "Huh."

He glanced at the time. Weird. He could have sworn their conversation had only been fifteen minutes. But almost forty minutes had passed.

Shaking his head, Ryan helped himself to another drink.

Lieutenant Ryan Collingway
Engineering Officer
USS Arawyn

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