Old Metal Under a New Coat of Paint - Part Two (Durin)

Posted on Fri Mar 20th, 2020 @ 3:35pm by Lieutenant Commander James "Dash" Derringer & Lieutenant JG Tienn Durin

Mission: Mission 102: Sic Transit Tienn
Location: Various Locations - USS Spirit of Winter
Timeline: 1000Hrs - August 14th, 2393

Lieutenant Tienn Durin nodded to the transporter chief. "Permission to come aboard sir?" she asked formally.

"Of course." as the door opened and in walked Lt Commander James Derringer who still went by his pilot's callsign of 'Dash.' But he had departed starfighter command as he wanted to focus on her Starfleet career rather than fly starfighters for the rest of his career as some had chosen to do. "Welcome back Lieutenant, was everything resolved to your satisfaction?"

She nodded. "Yessir, everyone and everything was dealt with." Tienn picked up her duffel bag as she regarded the first officer. "Is everything alright sir?"

"Walk with me El-Tee. I'll brief you on the way." Derringer answered as the two left the transporter room a moment later. Durin hefted her duffel over her left shoulder as she walked beside Derringer in silence, not wanting to pester him with unwanted comments or questions as she knew he'd tell her when he was good and ready. The two of them entered a turbolift in silence. "Did you get everything resolved that you needed to deal with on your leave El-Tee?" he asked of her.

"I did sir. It was... quite a shock when dad walked into the room and announced that he had left the temple." Durin admitted. "Then he ate two plates of my cooking without batting an eye, he's normally a very picky eater when it comes to his food and I'm not the world's greatest Chef either... I swear it was like dealing with a changeling and my other family members think so too." the young woman explained, her words were rational and calm, not rushed as one would expect. "I do need to make arrangements for Noel, however before we depart the system."

"Nice," Derringer answered evenly. "That you got things resolved at least. I was surprised to see that you had canceled the last two weeks of your leave and opted to return to duty," he commented. "The Captain and I will not object if you wish to do so, however, but you know the usual rules, take today to settle in and tomorrow morning, you'll report for duty at your usual time."

"Thank you, Commander," Durin answered. "I will take the chance to call my sister and inform her of recent events. Halar should hear about this from me."

"I understand," Derringer answered with a smile, the turbolift doors opened and she stepped out first, he followed in silence, they reached their destination as she tapped in the code to unlock the door to her quarters. "You wanna come in for a drink?" Durin inquired of Derringer.

"Sure. I won't stay long." Derringer answered with a nod.

Durin knew that this was a man who tried to develop something with everyone on the crew, its what made him so well regarded and popular, this was especially true with the women aboard the ship. Durin went over to the replicator as she ordered herself something to drink before she inquired of him what he wanted, she replicated his drink and handed it over to him. "Its good to know that your issues got resolved," Derringer commented as he sipped his drink. "So what now for you?"

"Try to process that what happened, is what happened and I didn't hallucinate my way through the events of said shore leave," Tienn answered quietly. "Seeing him sit there eating my cooking was... it was just surreal." the younger woman explained.

"I can well imagine," Derringer responded as he regarded her, a rather dispassionate look in his eye as he finished his drink. "Not all ends are endings, some can lead to new beginnings," he commented as he handed the glass back to her. "In time, your father will find his way and we can hope that he succeeds at what he does," Derringer commented. "I'll leave you to it. Welcome home Durin." and with that, he took his leave in silence.

Tienn made her farewells as she watched him leave, she knew he didn't want a relationship with her as he loved being who and what he was, a man who cared about everyone around him. The idea made her smile as Tienn went into her small study which she kept as a workspace for when she wished to do research from home, however many times she simply didn't use it. She tapped the display. "Tienn to Operations, could you contact the USS Argonne for me... I'd like to speak with..." Tienn paused. "Lieutenant Tienn Halar. She's one of their Engineering officers."

"Right away El-Tee." came the response from a voice that Tienn didn't recognize, she knew it wasn't Savannah Yamaguchi but all of this didn't bother her. Tienn settled in as she waited to be connected to her sibling. The screen activated before her as a young woman appeared before her, she was wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts, she blinked as she sighed. "Durin... What's wrong sweetie?" she sounded like she was half asleep. Halar brushed the hair out of her eyes as she regarded her big sister.

Tienn had forgotten about the time difference as she had forgotten that Halar was on a different schedule from her. "I'm sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to yank you out of bed." as she sighed.

"No, its fine Durin." the younger woman moaned softly as she let out a sigh. "What's going on?" Halar answered.

"I just got back from my leave, Dad... Walked away from the temple." Durin paused. "I was there and I am not sure I believe what happened."

"What!" Halar yelled at her elder sister. "Are you kidding me!" she added loudly, now coming fully awake. "I don't believe I am hearing this!" she added. "I can see why you called me... Where is Dad now?" the younger Tienn inquired.

"He's presently staying with Grandmother Jaina," Durin added. "He actually left Bajor and he's-" she explained before Halar sighed. "Shit, I gotta sit down..." she paused. "I cannot believe I'm hearing all this..." she added. "What happened?" Halar demanded of Durin.

Durin knew this was coming so she explained herself. "Well, Dad and aunts Nerra and Iteela got into it a few times, Grandfather Kenris was the one who dealt with the matter... he and dad got into it and Dad was punished in the temple with having his rank stripped and being reduced to the initiate grade, all the while he had a pagh'tem'far from the Prophets telling him to leave the temple. So he dropped his resignation and packed his bags, he only took with him two or three items, he tossed everything else out, then he gave away his private shuttle."

"Sounds like dad has truly lost his mind," Halar answered quietly. "I'll call grandmother Jaina and talk to Dad. it sounds like he and I need to catch up. I'll do that now."

"Be gentle with him Halar," Durin commented, though to her the idea sounded almost like a statement of lunacy. "Dad's been through a lot."

"Okay, thanks Durin, take care of yourself." and with that Halar hung up on Durin, the screen went black before the Federation wreath emblem appeared. "Mmm... Not a surprise." Durin sighed softly before she rose to her feet and went into the bedroom to unpack.