| Author | Message | ||
     Lt. JG Maiko D'rall |
((Set before last Monday's sim...)) For the second time since coming onboard, Maiko D'rall found herself writing a letter to people she didn't know back in the Milky Way. She didn't know what was more ridiculous - that she fully expected there would be a way for a letter to be sent anytime soon, or that she was writing to people she didn't know about an officer she had only known during her short stint on Coronado to date. She sighed as she deleted the first paragraph. Too dreary, she decided, but then again what could you write about the suicide of a friend and fellow officer? The letters she had written for Ensigns Witherspoon and O'Dell had been much easier to write, even though they were to be appended to the Captain's letters to them, and both those officers had also been from the Milky Way. So much more easier to write. Technically, she knew she didn't need to write the letters, but she wanted to - after all, what would the family hear but the same official medical jargon she had heard around the ship's rumormills. 'possible bipolar syndrome', 'severely depressed', 'overworked'. Phrases and euphamisms used to disguise the fact he simply lost his will to live and decided to spend his last moments contemplating the interior of Xanadu from outside the confines of ship, shuttle, or EVA suit. Maiko shuddered, a chill running up her spine as if something about that triggered some far off faint memory. Best not to be that cavalier about it either. In the end, she settled for a brief introduction, of how she had met the Commander, and how their time working together was always enjoyable. A few words about what he meant to the crew, and how much he helped her get through the first few days at the helm. Especially of his courage and fervor in defending free life to the point of sacrificing his own on several occaisions. Of his repeated comments that she was like a daughter to him, she left out. It would be hard enough, she reasoned, having gotten word literally weeks ago that he was alive after having been presumed dead for so long, then to have yet more information come back saying he wasn't only dead, but had taken his own life. Then there was the religious concerns - though she didn't quite believe in a higher power or god-lifeform of any kind, she wasn't without hope that somewhere, something in life made some sort of sense from a background perspective, a sort of purpose, she was also unaware of where Commander Smith's or his family's preferences lay. She went so far as to throw in a part stating she hoped he had gone on to a better place, which was truthful; for someone to be that tortured, even if there wasn't an afterlife or Heaven or something, oblivion was still a final peace of sorts. The letter finished, she glanced it over once, twice, then committed it to the growing stack of correspondance to be sent to the Milky Way whenever next possible. Of course, there was other work to be done. The list of crew who hadn't requalified had shrunk considerably over the past day, including some of the flag and senior officers, but the list was still pretty extensive. The competition seemed to help get the bulk of the 'middle management' involved, especially as there was she had heard rumors of a small betting pool being run by one of the engineers regarding just who would come out on top. Downloading the list to her ever-present PADD, she threw on her duty jacket and headed for one of the small personal holodecks on Deck 12. A group of crewmen were scheduled to go through the basic tests, after which Maiko would see to pestering some of the names on the list. After all, she had a job to do, and danged if anyone's schedule would keep her from doing it. |