The Andorian Incident

[elizabethdehner]

There's been some commotion int he ship as of late. There isn't usually much going on, but with an Andorian freighter moving towards Vulcan space, the T'Zaled is the first to respond. Though, previously, they wouldn't show much interest in Andorian freighters, in this case, they have to be more careful. There isn't enough of them to be much of a

Comments

[vtosh_kitausu]

For someone this arrogant and unswervingly convinced that he's never in the wrong, nothing is quite as acutely painful as knowing, being absolutely unable to deny, that he's in disgrace right now. There's no train of logic, no justification that can make what he did acceptable. He's degraded himself, embarrassed his daughter, irreparably damaged his reputation, exposed himself and his crewmates to potential retribution from the Andorian government, and possibly placed himself in danger of court-martial. In short, he has fucked up nearly every conceivable aspect of his life. The guard outside his door is a man who's never liked him much to begin with--there are a fair number of officers aboard the T'Zaled who aren't fond of Solin, and now there will just be that many more--and Solin knows he'd seen a nasty little sneer on the man's face as he'd shut the door

[elizabethdehner]

She's overstepping her bounds right now by being here and she's well aware of that. Elizabeth didn't show up to psychoanalyze him or to berate him. She came here to see if he is okay, because it's very clear that this is something that runs deep in him, whatever it is and she wants to be there for him, as a friend, when she knows that there are rumors spreading fast. He needs someone to stand by him, despite what's been done. It can't be changed, but it can be learned from.

Ignoring the usual requirement for distance, she crosses the room and sits beside him on the bed, a mere foot between them. Elizabeth folds her hands in her lap, looking down at them in the dark. She waits a moment longer, hating the tone in his voice at his answer. He can barely look at her. The cut across his cheek is a clear indication that it didn't go well, whatever it was.

"You can talk to me," she says softly, "Or we can sit here, because sometimes that helps, too. But you can talk to me as a friend who is worried for you and you could use someone on your

[vtosh_kitausu]

The fact that she's willing to let him not talk about it, when he'd thought she would be asking questions, is like an unexpected gift. Right now, his situation is so dismal that any little bit of positivity at all is an improvement. He's numb enough, wrapped up enough in his shame and self-disgust, that he only registers her closeness in a neutral, factual way, neither appreciating it nor anxious about it.

Sitting here, and not talking about it for a while, sounds good, so he does that. After a long silence, though, he needs to say something, if only to set her straight.

"There is no 'side' to be on," he murmurs. "My actions were unequivocally wrong. I committed a crime, in a moment of...extreme emotional weakness." Every word of that sounds physically painful for him to say.

[elizabethdehner]

She doesn't mind the silence sometimes and Elizabeth knows when it's needed. She knows when to push and when to wait and this isn't a time for her to be pushing him anyway. He's very obviously ashamed of himself and by Vulcan standards, he should be. In human standards, it was a huge lapse in judgement, but she knows that he wouldn't have outright attacked a man for no purpose or reason. She believes there's a reason and she is likely to take his side, maybe if only because she does consider herself his friend