Shut Up

Posted on Thu 7th May, 2026 @ 11:28am by Commander Heriah Rex

676 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: [MAIN] Learning to Fly
Location: Heriah's Quarters
Timeline: Current

Heriah had not thought of love, or the act of coupling, for a long time. Unjoined, she had the above average life. Star-student, fun-lover, out-going, but she never ended up with anyone in particular.

Those days passed away as Starfleet came into the picture. Thus a new group of friends, and new memories of nights out on the town, but still no love interest in particular. Upon her joining however, she was completely on a career track leaving little room for even the slightest hint of romance, much less friends. Sure she slept around, lately with Captain Bauhaus and Ensign Kaleh, but never did the idea of a real relationship enter her mind and stick.

Latsian Bul frequently mentioned he wished she would return to her fun-loving days and return to exploration. A 'career' in 'Starfleet' were two words he did not really want to hear but accepted them anyway. At least she did not turn to a marine corps in particular, or anything putting her into violent scenarios. Starfleet was an organization of exploration with a peace-keeping and peace-making agenda.

It was not until Heriah's meeting with her current crew that she even thought on the possibility of coupling with another person. She dared not think the word 'love' as it brought on a wave, albeit slight, of anxiety. Yes, there were few who left her with an impression.

"Why can't I...love someone?"

There came a voice in the corridor. Low and incomprehensible.

"Hello," Heriah said. She rounded a corner and there was no one. She went back to thinking freely. Yeah, she went on dates, slept around, made friends, and some of these friends tried hard to be more than just friends. It was always not until later that she…

The voice happened again. It belonged to a child.

"Hello," she called again. "Where are you?" Another intersection and another corridor.

Heriah recalled that the High Priest back on Trillius Prime told her to surround herself with those who know and love her. She also knew that she had a hard time making and keeping people around her. She would always do or say something to ruin it.

The voice came again and Heriah found a child standing on the middle of the corridor.

"Hello, little one. Are you lost?" The child made no move but was looking in her direction. Not at her and not focused on anything happening behind, just in her direction. Heriah approached the child, a boy. She crouched down to his height. "How did you get aboard?" He finally raised his eyes to meet hers. She felt a strange sense of familiarity, perhaps she read a roster of the crew aboard and glanced across his picture. "Are you lost little one...?"

"Shut up," the boy slapped her.

It did not hurt at all but she jumped up in a start, shocked at the sudden escalation of events. The boy ran around her as she recoiled and straightened. Heriah ran after him as he was away.

"Little boy!" She tapped at her comm badge but realized she was in civilian attire. Rounding an intersection of corridors she found no boy running away. She found no one for that matter, no crew at all.

"Computer," followed by silence. "Captain? Rex to OPs. Doctor Delling? Rex to anybody."

"Shut up!" the disembodied voice yelled in her face, filled her being and echoed away as she sat up in her bed.

Heriah felt sweaty, her heart raced and her spots felt almost on fire. The echoing voice faded away to oblivion but the effect stayed with her. The low hum of the ship returned to her, calmingly. "Lights. Fifty percent." The lights faded on. There was no one. Climbing from her bed, she ventured into the living area of her quarters, complete without another soul. She stopped by the window and gazed out into the vastness of space, straddling the border separating the cute and calm, flowery area of her quarters from the violent warrior arena adorned with weapons and artist depictions.

 

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