Differing Perspectives

Posted on Fri Jul 31st, 2026 @ 3:07am by Lieutenant Commander David Erickson & Lieutenant Karane Inda

1,094 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: ARYL 1X04: All the Friends We Can Get
Location: David's Quarters
Timeline: After the Mission

David trudged into his quarters and it was all he could do not to just collapse then and there. He kicked off his boots, undid his jacket flap and began removing the outer layers of his uniform as he walked towards his desk. He left his clothes draped over his chair and reached for the small set of shelves, picking out his leather journal. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out his set of pencils, then turned and headed for his bed. He rolled into it, groaning and flipped open to a blank page. He'd barely started writing when his door chime went off.

He sighed and stood up, walking slowly to the door and hit the opener. As the panels slid apart, he looked down at one of the two faces he'd bring himself to accept right now. "Hey, Karane," he said wearily. "Would you care to come in?"

Karane nodded and stepped inside. She spotted his discarded uniform and sighed. "You should look after your uniform better..." she said as she made her way over and began to fold it.

Despite his mood and exhaustion, he couldn't help but crack a smile. "I usually do," he said, wearily, walking back to his bed. "But then if I did, what would you have to chide me about?" he teased. He laid back down in his bed and picked up his journal, grabbing a pencil from his nightstand. "How are you feeling?" he said. "Doing all right? No long-term issues from our ruined beach trip?"

"Huh... Yeah." Karane said stopping mid-fold. "Are you not? Did it get to you a little?"

David let out a sigh. "I'm...I don't know," he said, sketching gently on a fresh page. "Honestly? More than a little. I've been in some dire situations before, but this one's really leaving a sour taste in my mouth." He gave a half shrug. "Enough that even Commander Novis noticed it, ergo your early shift release for 'morale purposes.'" He bobbed his eyebrows at her. "Somehow, she's under the impression you make me smile," he teased, giving her a small smile. "Lucky for me, she's right."

Karana shook her head as she opened one of his drawers and placed the folded uniform inside. She pushed it shut and turned to him. "You're going to let a little thing like being kidnapped get to your head?" she asked bluntly.

David put down his pencil slowly and closed his journal. "It's not the kidnapping," he said, quietly. "It's the fact that I could have stopped her, Sripat. I had a grip on her after you blew the shield generator. I told her there was still time to avoid bloodshed." He sighed. "The look in her eyes...the fanaticism..." He shrugged and opened his journal again, resuming his sketch. "If I had tried to stop her, she'd probably have killed us for doing her the favor, I know. Still...I hated letting them all rush to their deaths. And, if that wasn't enough, the Drenkul are now slaughtering innocents by the thousands on the planet, and because of our own 'moral' code, we have to let them and walk away. That got in my head, Karane." He tried not to sound angry as he said it, but some of the bitterness had leaked into his voice. "I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "I'm just...frustrated. I know we can't save every planet in the galaxy from itself. I'm not that naive. But if we can't even help our little corner of it...what are we doing here?" He made a few encoded notes on the page around his sketch of the former rebel leader.

Karane walked over to him slowly. She hopped up onto his lap, ensuring that they were facing each other. "You did what you had to do," she said, her voice unusually soft. With one quick movement she sat on his lap, still facing him. She put her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his. "You don't need to feel guilty, and you shouldn't feel frustrated. You can't predict the future. If we could do that, life wouldn't be as exciting." She paused for a moment as she looked into his eyes. She then pulled her head away from his and punched him lightly on the funny bone.

David sighed and was ready to kiss her and thank her for the kind words, but instead let out a grunt of pain and dropped his journal next to him, looking at her with watery eyes. "Thanks," he said.

"That's for thinking that everything is your fault," she told him. "You're a good man David. And I shouldn't have to remind you of that!"

He rubbed his elbow and looked at her. "You could've just said that," he grumbled. He sat back against his pillow and after a moment nodded in acquiescence. "All right," he said. He picked his journal back up and opened it back to the current page and made another encoded note. "Not my fault," he agreed. He turned back a couple of pages to reveal his sketch of Karane, colored and shaded, catching one of her rare, soft smiles. He made another note next to it in his coded script and closed the journal, putting his hands on her hips and kissing her softly. "Thanks for the kindness," he said.

Karane smirked. "You know, you're not a bad artist," she told him as she picked up the drawing and looked it over. "Although, a lifelike drawing would be better. Shame I'm not a French girl huh..." she added with a wink.

He grinned. "Well, I have a certain style when I sketch, but I can do some lifelike drawings when I concentrate. At the time I was capturing your cute side." He winked back. "And you don't have to be French for me to want to fully sketch you," he said, leaning over to kiss her neck teasingly.

Karane giggled, a rare outburst from her that no one hardly saw. "Good. Because French cuisine sucks. I mean come on, who wants to eat snails?!" She pulled him into her. "So, am I succeeding at cheering you up?"

He smiled and chuckled, wrapping his arms around her as well and holding her close. "Immensely, and I'm very grateful," he said, continuing to kiss her neck. "Allow me to return the favor." He flipped them around and rested her gently against the pillow, kissing her harder.


David Erickson
Chief Navigator

Karane Inda
Chief Engineer

 

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