Heart to Heart
Posted on 24 Jan 2026 @ 11:58pm by Lieutenant JG Ryan Collingway & Lieutenant JG Mira Quinn
Edited on on 25 Jan 2026 @ 12:04am
794 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission: Lathira Shoreleave
//Mess Hall///
Glumly Ryan poked the dead fish with his fork. It was supposed to be a delicacy from Lathiria. But he wasn't hungry. For multiple reasons.
Eight hours had gone quickly and he was released from confinement. He had gone to work in Engineering. The schedule was gruelling-mostly doing the work the repair teams were supposed to be doing. He bore it all in silence. His punishment had yet to be handed down. Thankfully the CEO was still settling in, so he had yet to see him. Everyone had to eat eventually though, so he was here.
But given the lack of appetite, he probably shouldn't have bothered.
From her place, Mira watched him as he entered, got his food, and finally sat down.
The mess hall was pretty quiet. Many people were still down on the surface, enjoying the opportunity to spend time in real air, with real sunlight, with real gravity.
Mira could see that Ryan was not really eating. She had heard the rumors about the events on the surface.
Knowing she'd probably regret it, she took her tray over to where he was sitting.
"May I join you?"
Ryan nodded, not really looking at her.
She sat down, picked up her fork and looked at her food. Then she glanced at Ryan. "You know, it's not the end of the world."
Out of all the ways to get to know my new CEO, I didn't once think it would be from behind bars," Ryan said, and looked at her for the first time. Surprise flickered on his face. "You were promoted too." Vel hadn't mentioned that while they were on shore leave.
"It suits you," he added.
Mira unconsciously touched her uniform collar, fingering her pips. "Thank you."
She hesitated, then added, “I’m sure your Chief knows what shore leave looks like. Mine, on the other hand…” She smiled slightly. “I’m not convinced he knows what fun is.”
She added, "You're a good engineer. He'll see that."
"I hope so." Ryan poked at his food. "It's different this time around with this CEO. I think the right word for it right now would be 'challenging'." He paused. "I tried to take responsibility for what happened, even though Vel was the one who did it. I received a long lecture about why that is a bad idea."
He lowered his eyes a little. "I'm sorry," he added. "It won't happen again."
"Sorry for what?"
"For trying to take responsibility for other people's choices," Ryan said reluctantly..
"But why take responsibility for something you know you didn't do?" Mira asked. This was exactly what Ryan had offered her. It was obviously something he felt he needed to do.
Ryan hesitated. "I came from a bad spot after my first ship," he admitted. "I thought I was okay with it. But I guess it's still screwing me up in unexpected ways. I lost my crew. I had to kill my friend, after he tried to kill me," he explained. "And if that creature had killed Vel, or the resulting explosion killed people...it wasn't like I hadn't gone through that already. I wanted to spare you that. However I could."
"This was not a reflection on you," he added. "I would have done exactly the same thing if Corin was there. Or Evans. Or even the Captain."
"I'm sorry," Mira said. She hadn't known about Ryan's story. But still... "Maybe Vel doesn't need to be spared. She deserves to make her own choices, her own decisions. And she also needs to stand by them." She paused. "Just like I do."
She met his eyes. "You can't take on the blame for everybody else. If that's why your new Chief got upset at you, I don't think you have anything to worry about."
"I think it had more to do with the fact that Vel accidently shut down half the strip and we were all publicly intoxicated." A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he told her the story. It was an easier topic. "I haven't seen Vel around yet. Hopefully her hangover wasn't too bad," he added.
Mira laughed at that. "Don't worry about her... I think she can outdrink anybody on this ship."
She twirled some pasta on her fork and began to eat again.
After a moment, she stopped fighting her spaghetti. "Are you just going to watch me?" she asked.
Ryan smirked a little, and started actually eating his food. He had finally gotten some appetite back. He hadn't told her the full story-that would cling onto him forever, more than likely.
But he had told her enough.
Lt (JG) Ryan Collingway
Engineering Officer
USS Arawyn
Lt (JG) Mira Quinn
Science Officer
USS Arawyn
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