The Sorrows of Night - Part Three

Posted on Tue Aug 31st, 2021 @ 3:58am by Commander Galiaan Fordring & Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth Yamaguchi-Solusar

Mission: Mission 111: The Sorrows of Night
Location: Various Locations - Starbase Vanguard
Timeline: 0900Hrs - October 24th, 2393

Lt Commander Elizabeth Yamaguchi-Solusar sighed softly as she went through her usual routine of going to do her duty shift and she had come to quickly see that working with Galiaan Fordring was very quickly one of her highlights. She greatly enjoyed serving with the much older woman, part of it was because Fordring was so laid back about things but also because of the sheer wealth of life experience that Galiaan brought to her work, she cared if the people she was working with didn't show up on time but she didn't care if the uniform wasn't on properly.

Yamaguchi-Solusar entered the office where she would be doing paperwork with Fordring, as she expected, she found Fordring sitting at a chair in front of the desk rather than behind it. As large as Yamaguchi-Solusar herself was, at a half-foot taller than the average human female, Fordring was even larger still at almost a foot taller than even Yamaguchi-Solusar was, at just over seven-foot tall. Galiaan Fording was a woman with a massive frame, she was exceptionally imposing and she had no problems making her presence known to friends and foe alike. However, she wasn't human and as her weight was several hundred pounds, due to an exceptionally dense skeletal frame, it caused the Vrykul female various issues that she needed to almost constantly manage. The furniture needed to be exceptionally durable to handle her weight as she tended to break things, almost by accident.

"Beth... What happened to you?" Fordring asked as she noticed her younger co-worker entering the office, in her eyes, she knew what the issue was without having to ask further. "Are you alright?" she decided to ask anyway, maybe she was wrong.

"I'm exhausted Galiaan... I got almost twelve hours of sleep... I even took some sleeping meds... and it didn't work for me." Yamaguchi-Solusar sighed as she slid her form into a chair next to the massive woman she would be working with for the rest of today. "No matter what I do... It's not enough..."

"I understand sweetie..." Fordring gently smiled at the smaller female, but when one was the size that Fordring herself was, everyone was small. "I recall where I was fifty years ago when I had my babies... It was exhausting, back-breaking thankless work... I was still a Centurion in the Vrykul military, I was in the same boat you are now... A serving line officer cranking out baby after baby... For nine children in all. You were midwife to two of those..." she explained. "Tirion and I had nine children... As something of an affirmation of life after what happened with the Vauxhan... We were defending one of our colonies... and the Vauxhan glassed the entire planet... murdering three-quarters of a billion people... It didn't help that our government encouraged all of this, any woman who has children will receive various benefits... and I lived very well, considering I had just spent six years cranking out child after child, some of them were twins." she added. "It did not help that our enemies glassed three of our colony worlds... so Tirion and I put together a proposal to end the war... and make then pay... We would marshal a good-sized fleet.. and then go to the enemy's homeworld and deal with them once and for all..." she shrugged. "I learned all about deprivation, the salve of work... It can be comforting when you're at work... Because you got responsibilities... Yadda, yadda, yadda..." as she gently took the younger woman's hand in her own. "I do understand how it goes... and I do know how you feel.. as I have been in your shoes before..." the large Vrykul female explained. "But to alleviate my worries and issues... Can I give you the once over, just to be sure?"

"I'd be worried if you didn't..." Yamaguchi-Solusar answered. Fordring lifted the medical kit that looked small, she drew her medical tricorder and went to work, examining her smaller-framed companion. "Let's see... Mmmmm..." she paused as she did her scans and then she regarded Yamaguchi-Solusar. "You are suffering from hypertension and exhaustion... Maybe it's time Beth..." Fordring knew as she said it, that she was airing a very sensitive subject, she had been expecting the young woman before her to deflect, evade and then fight her on it.

"It is time Galiaan..." Yamaguchi-Solusar admitted. "Kam was right... I am doing way too much work... I'm a certified therapist, a veterinarian, and a full-blown Doctor..." she paused. "I think it's time I dropped two of those..."

Fordring blinked. "That's... Not what I was expecting of you," she admitted.

"I know..." Yamaguchi-Solusar answered quietly. "I'll drop counselling and the veterinarian..." she paused. "I will also dial my hours back some for medicine as well..." she paused. "I am neglecting my son and spouse... It's time I faced reality..."