Peace Amidst the Storms

Posted on Thu Oct 17th, 2024 @ 2:52am by Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox & Lieutenant Stormy Knight

1,609 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: A Silence of Friends
Location: Stormy Knight's Quarters
Timeline: MD01 - 0130

Counting sheep did not work. The remedies of warm milk and even the hot herbal tea were not enough to lull the former First Officer of the USS Thunderbird to sleep at night. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for what felt like millionth time. No luck. His eyes opened and he was back to staring up at the nothings of a boring ceiling in a boring room that l lacked personality. Knox was not one for decorating. He contemplated what he was going to do to remedy the situation, and opted to roll out of his bed, throw some clothes on and take a stroll through the corridors.

With no direction in mind, Knox eventually ended up outside of Lieutenant Stormy Knight's quarters, her gentle touch on his shoulder had calmed his nerves in the past, in the mission briefing, and she was there with him on the away mission that had gone awry. Knox pressed the chime.

Stormy was reading. When she heard the chime, her first thought was of Tyler, but she didn't sense his presence. Curious, she set her book down and went to the door. She was surprised to see the first officer--she still considered him the first officer. "Commander. Hi. Would you like to come in?" She stepped back so he could enter.

Knox gave a polite nod, appreciative of her kindness and willingness to let him in without a fuss. "Thank you ma'am," he said to her as awkward as that may have sounded, it was Knox's upbringing rather than forgetting his rank. She was a Lieutenant. He was a Lieutenant Commander, but from his perspective, she just him into her home.

He let out a long exhausted sigh. "I messed things up and done make a fool of myself, Stormy. I'm sorry. Truly. I did not mean to bring the lot of you down with me. Now, Captain Gray barely acknowledges me."

She indicated the couch where she'd draped a woven blanket in shades of brown, tan, and cream. "We're all at fault. Please, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"

"I've sampled fifteen varieties of herbal tea tonight, and I discovered I'm not overly fond of hot milk" Knox stated. "If you have any drink recommendations, I'm up for trying something. I cannot sleep at all" explained Knox.

Regarding her shared blame, Knox disagreed. "You felt things there. I get that, and none of it made much sense, but I knew the mission. I knew what Captain wanted us to do and not do. It rests on my shoulders, Stormy. Command decision and I screwed it up badly."

"We are the ones who wanted to look in the computer. There were so many things that didn't make sense. I still feel that way, but since nothing was found, there's nothing we can say or do. Yes, you let us do it, but we--I--wanted to look. If we did find something either the Cardassians or Bajorans were doing that violated laws and treaties, we'd be having a very different discussion." She wanted to make it clear to him that he was only partially to blame, and that most of his team were just as wrong as he was. She sighed. "Herb tea and warm milk can only help you relax to sleep. They can't calm your mind. Although I know some who like to put bourbon in their warm milk. Me, I like cream and honey." She smiled. "And sugar cookies. Comfort food helps." She gave him a gentle smile. "So does talking to a friend."

"My friend," Knox prefaced with a somber tone. He looked at Stormy. He did not want to get her into any trouble. So, he kept out his own reason for letting them access what they did. "He's not to thrilled with me right now, Stormy. Captain and I have history."

Knox wouldn't pass up food. "I'll take a plate of comfort and something to wash it down. Dealers choice, I'm all in."

"I hope you don't regret this." She grinned. "One plate of comfort coming up." She replicated some of her favorite foods. She started with Navajo fry bread with a side of honey butter, sugar cookies, a bowl of ice cream with a choice of chocolate syrup or hot fudge and whipped cream, and a bowl of trifle. She set the tray on the coffee table. "If you want something more nutritious, I can add omelettes, pizza, or chicken nuggets. Help yourself while I get something to drink."

"Much obliged, Stormy. You're half Betazoid. Does your family belong to some house or something, given you some sacred plate?" Knox knew little about the intricacies of Berazoid society. "Captain is from the sixth house."

"No. My grandparents were associated with the fourth house, but when they left Betazed, they severed ties with their families. I don't think my ancestors were nobles." She brought him a mug of warm milk with cream, honey, and a shot of brandy. Then she went back to the replicator to get herself some fry bread, a small bowl of trifle, and a mug of ginger tea. "

She sat near him, set her mug on the coffee table, and balanced her plate on her lap. "If I eat as much as I gave you, I'll be on a sugar high all night." Stormy chuckled. "Happy, but awake. I usually go for comfort food and a book myself."

"Ive been known to dabble with the reading thing," Knox teased. Being with someone like Stormy was better than being alone with his thoughts and his emotions. Betazoids though. They had a way about them when it came to emotions, even half Betazoids. "Picking me as First Officer was a mistake. I knew that from the get go, but I don't think Captain Gray was gonna have it any other way."

She set her plate on the table so she could turn to face him. "No, it was not a mistake. We didn't take the orders as strictly as intended and we misread the data. We failed to contact the Bajorans as soon as the shuttle landed. We all messed up. Not just you. You are an excellent first officer. Making a mistake doesn't change that. If it did, no one in Starfleet would be competent to hold their jobs. Not a single one of us." One side of her mouth quirked up in a half smile. "I'm pretty sure even the captain has messed up during his career."

That caused Knox to smirk a bit, a flash of a memory started a bit of a chain reaction. "I can neither confirm nor deny that he's made some blunders." Knox had known Rylan for quite some time, and had been under his command on away missions in the past. He was not impervious to mistake or two of his own though Rylan was a bit of a golden boy. Knox tried to be, but he wasn't sure Rylan Gray would nor could make the same mistake he had.

"My career in Starfleet matters a whole heck of a lot to me," noted Harrison, "but what Captain and I have, that friendship, I'd risk anything including career to keep that."

She nodded. "Friends like that are rare and worth protecting. I hope you can get that back." She'd noticed the way Gray looked at Knox in the briefing and hoped that time would mend their relationship.

"It has been difficult. Always has been" Knox commented as he partook in the comfort food and milk. "He's not one to lean in much to being Betazoid. At least not like others. I think he's sometimes dismissive of emotions including his own. You sensed the pain down there."

"It was there, but overshadowed by anger. Still, it was unavoidable." She was more like her mother than her father, and had always been more attuned to others, but she also had to navigate around prejudicial non-telepaths and understood why the captain might choose to bury that part of his heritage. "We only get surface thoughts, or what some consider the public mind, and strong emotions, but it can feel like a burden at times. That's why many of us learn ways to build mental buffers. Perhaps this is why he prefers to avoid them." She had no idea what the captain felt or did, but she hoped the explanation from her perspective might help Knox have a better understanding of telepaths.

Knox accepted that little lesson in Betazoids. "I am just glad he does not go poking about." The Lieutenant Commander thought about Rylan. They had been through a lot and it pained Harrison that he had done anything at all to betray him.

"The comfort food has been nice, the company better. I appreciate it on such short notice."

"I'm happy to listen. Or to ply you with comfort food." She grinned. "Give it time. You have a history together. There's a good chance you can weather this little storm."

Knox had mostly cleared his plate and washed it all down. "I'll be hitting the gym in the morning...later morning. Best I get back to my bed and try to force myself to sleep."

Stormy stood. "Try classical music. Many pieces are relaxing. And if you need a friend, I'm always around somewhere." She paused and added, "I'm glad you stopped by. I hope I was some help."

Lieutenant Commander Knox smiled on his way out. "You were a Knight in shining armor."

A Post By

Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox
Second Officer
USS Thunderbird

&

Lieutenant Stormy Knight
Chief Science Officer
USS Thunderbird

 

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