Page 39 of Every Almost

Reyna had never spoken directly with someone from the Lithyn species before that first briefing. So, when the viewscreen in Elena's office showed a figure of dark stone seated in shallow water, with geode eyes that caught light like trapped amber, not blinking or moving, Reyna often had to silently ask Jere if the Admiral was asleep during their presentation. He said 'no' each time but didn't always look so sure of his answer.

During the interview, the Admiral ended up only asking three questions, each one detailed but not to the extent theyanticipated, making Reyna's data preparation feel like overkill. Actually, every one of them covered crew safety, not even touching on logistics or budget or how they were going to get enough manpower for the endeavor. Even political inquiries were kept off the table. The Admiral's whole purpose was to ensure crew safety more than anything else. At that, Reyna decided she liked the Admiral.

After answering all the questions and discussing the finer details, mostly provided by Jere, the Admiral said the one word they'd all been waiting to hear.

"Approved."

After that,they celebrated. It was indeed a raucous event for the likes of the relic ship, where Borran, the chef on the Emberkind that had been there since before either Elena or Reyna were born, cooked for hours. Reyna and Elena had Jere on comms while the three of them revered in each other's company, Reyna and Elena enjoying all of Borran's culinary creations, not to mention imbibing themselves on his Concordian mead. Jere repeated emphatically how he hated he was missing that the most. Elena promised she'd save him some.

That did not happen.

A few days went by, and the Emberkind arrived in Concordia for its complete refit based on the plans and approval from the proposal. The new habitat systems to be built in the cargo hold, along with all the environmental controls to be installed, capable of sustaining multiple biomes simultaneously. Then there were the medical facilities for alien fauna, the research and lab rooms, and even the quarantine bays for those rehabilitative animals they hoped to nurse back to health.

In addition, and as one of the safety measures inquired by Admiral Vondra, there was a special focus put on a new safety system called the Personal Emergency Retrieval System (PERS). The system, which used trinkets picked out by individual crew members to keep on their person at all times, provided the ability to transport crew members of the Emberkind back to the ship in case of dangerous events off-ship. In the retrofit, the Concordia engineers would install beacons, now required by the Coalition, throughout the whole of the Emberkind in specific locations for crew members to be transported back. As the new standard safety protocol for any major structural build or modification, every crew member's biological retrieval signature would have to be calibrated into the Emberkind's on-board PERS console to account for the entirety of the ship's structural configurations. Essentially, it was to ensure that anyone who used their PERS device to return to the Emberkind didn't end up in the middle of a vent shaft or, worse, smack dab in the middle of Borran's crew dinner.

Reyna oversaw every stage of the rebuild. She was there when the old cargo systems were ripped out and when the first habitat frame went in. Reyna also handled the logistics herself to calibrate the PERS system for the Emberkind. It was tedious and detail-oriented but was the basis of the safety promises she, Elena, and Jere had made to the Admiral. Not to mention, it was a literal lifeline to anyone on the Emberkind crew. She did not take that lightly.

During the third week of construction, a conduit installer lost her footing on the scaffolding in the cargo hold. She fell eight feet onto the reinforced decking, still attached to her restraint harness. However, she smacked into the scaffolding so hard it snapped her harness cable, sending her plummeting to the deck below. That sound she made when she hit the deck carriedacross the entire space, every worker freezing where they stood, worried the worst had happened.

Reyna was there before the installer's supervisor had even finished calling for medical on comms. Upon reviewing the afternoon and filing her report, she realized she didn't even remember deciding to move in the first place. Her mind could only trace that one moment when she was reviewing the environmental schematics at her portable console on the same deck, readying herself for the next day's installation, and the next, she was on the deck beside the woman, Reyna's hand applying steady pressure to the gash with the hem of her own uniform sleeve while the other held the woman's other hand.

"Look at me," Reyna said, tapping into the voice she used to remain calm in emergency situations. The woman's eyes fluttered, but she did look up at her. "What's your name?"

"V-Vessi. Vessi Orath," the woman replied hoarsely. Her eyelids fluttered again, causing Reyna to squeeze her hand tighter.

"Vessi, stay with me. You're going to be fine, okay? Medical is on their way. Two minutes, max. But I need you to keep your eyes on me, okay? Don't go to sleep. Don't close your eyes. And try to breathe slowly. Can you do that for me, Vessi?"

Vessi nodded, her eyelids continuing to flutter, but Reyna saw she was giving it her all to keep her eyes open and stay alert. The grip on Reyna's hand was tight, but Reyna only held on tighter, brushing her thumb across the back of the woman's hand to try and soothe her wherever possible.

Reyna recognized immediately that Vessi was Kaelari when she approached, but only now, she noticed belatedly that Vessi's markings, a soft amber pattern that ran in clean, geometric lines, flickered once, then steadied. Only seconds later, it happened again, and Reyna realized she was trying to suppress. This poor girl was injured and embarrassed and was still trying to holdher composure in front of a member of Emberkind's leadership. Reyna would have none of that.

"Don't," Reyna said, quietly enough though so only Vessi could hear. Reyna scooted closer to the woman, using her body to block Vessi's face from any prying eyes in the hold. "It's okay. I understand the pain you're feeling is making it difficult to stay steadied." Reyna watched as Vessi's eyes began to tear, her markings flickering again, but no longer steadying. Reyna smiled softly at the girl. "You don't have to hold them for me."

At this, Vessi's markings shifted in a release. The amber brightened, and Reyna saw the pain underneath push through in light. Reyna held Vessi's hand tightly, hoping the installer felt some ease at not having to worry and could instead focus on staying awake. At the continued sight of the distress, Reyna held her own markings level. It took more than it should have.

Reyna stayed until the medical team arrived, giving them an exact timestamped summary of the incident, including the fall, subsequent snapping of the cord, and Vessi's injuries that Reyna could surmise from when she first approached. Once the team had her in a medical transport pod, the med tech treating her wounds before they even left the cargo hold, Reyna went back to her console. She pulled up the scaffolding safety specs she had been working on before the injury and had new anchor protocols drafted and distributed to every work crew within the hour.

At dinner later, Elena confronted her about the incident while reviewing the protocols Reyna had drafted. "I heard about the fall."

Reyna nodded. "Turned out to be a broken wrist and a nasty third-degree abrasion." Elena turned to look over at her. "The medical team thinks she may have had a mild concussion as well but couldn't confirm. They're treating her as though she did, just to keep her safe. But she should be back on duty in a week."

"Good," Elena said, turning away from Reyna and studying the drafted protocols again. "I also heard you were holding her hand."

Reyna paused, but just briefly. "I was applying pressure to a wound."

Elena looked back at Reyna, right into her eyes. "With one hand, yes. But the other?" Elena questioned, her voice suddenly taking on a light teasing. "I heard the other was holding her uninjured hand."

Reyna turned to her console, avoiding Elena's gaze. But she could see out of the corner of her eye that Elena was still looking at her and, was that asmirk? Reyna turned back to Elena. "Is there a question here, Captain?"

Elena smiled, this time it was the real one, the same one that had practically voluntold Reyna to take the very position where she served under Elena as Captain. "No, no. No question at all, Officer," Elena replied, lifting her hands in surrender. Reyna rolled her eyes, returning to her console and her work. It was just that she was suddenly having trouble remembering what she was in the middle of...

Later that night, Reyna stood in the hold alone, the lights low and surrounded by the bones of the mission they were building into the Emberkind. Reyna suddenly felt a sense of pride so unexpected it almost overwhelmed her. She was staring at the real manifestation of Elena's dream and hers and Jere's mutual passion. They were going to safely secure the animals of the universe at times when they were forgotten, overlooked, or in need.

But the whole build, the logistics and the timelines and all the systems humming to life exactly on schedule, she would always remind herself that those werehers.

Exactly one week later,Jere arrived on a supply transport to Concordia, carrying nothing but a pack slung over one shoulder and one of his smiles that could be seen clear across the docking bay.

Reyna spotted him first, before Elena did. Reyna had made sure to position herself a few steps behind the Captain, standing instead just outside the airlock, with her arms crossed and making every attempt to control her expression, attempting to not clue the entire crew in on how excited she was to see her old friend. After all, she was here in an official capacity, with many of her subordinates surrounding her and Elena in the dock. The fact that she was almost straining herself to contain her excitement at seeing Jere for the first time in entirely too long needed to remain irrelevant.