Shared Scars

Posted on Mon Nov 3rd, 2025 @ 10:50pm by Lieutenant JG Élan Val & Ensign Erin Andala

787 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Respite

The science lab was almost too quiet for Erin as she sat at one of the workstations, a PADD open in front of her. Her eyes hadn’t moved across the text in several minutes, and she was having a hard time keeping her mind from drifting away from her work. Normally, she thrived in labs, with the hum of equipment keeping time with the steady rhythm of research. But without Noa beside her tossing out ideas and making jokes that broke the monotony the silence pressed down like a weight. She finally rubbed her temples, blinking back the burn in her eyes, when the sound of the doors parting startled her.

Élan stepped inside, pausing just past the threshold. The labs smelled faintly of sterilizing agents, sharp and clean, but beneath it was something else. It felt like an absence. The energy of a place that had been bruised. Her gaze fell on the young ensign at the station, seeing the young woman's shoulders slumped in a way Élan recognized all too well. She softened her expression and stepped forward. “You must be Ensign Andala,” she said gently. “I’m Lieutenant Élan Val. I just transferred aboard.”

Erin sat up straighter, blinking quickly to compose herself. “Y-yes, Lieutenant. I'm Erin Andala. Welcome to the Eclipse.” Her voice was polite but strained, the effort to keep it steady obvious. She hesitated, then added, “I'm sorry. It’s just that Noa and I used to spend hours in here, and it feels strange without her.”

Élan’s heart clenched as she moved closer, her tone softening. “You don’t need to apologize, Ensign. I know what it’s like to look at a place and feel the ghosts.”

Erin shook her head. "I doubt that you could begin to understand how I'm feeling right now," she said, surprised by the words even as she was speaking them.

Élan drew a slow breath. “I was on the Hyperion before I transferred here," the Trill said softly. "A few of the science staff were people I had known for years, others I had become close to. We were attacked two years ago by Romulan pirates. They disabled our shields and forced a boarding action. It was chaos. The corridors were lit by emergency lights, smoke choking the air. I fought beside friends I’d known since the Academy.” Her eyes darkened just a little at the memory, and she felt Val squirm just a little in her pouch. “By the time we secured the ship, we had lost over a third of the crew. People I’d laughed with over dinners, argued with over sensor data. The silence after was unbearable.” She let the words hang, not as a comparison, but as an offering.

Erin’s breath caught. She looked up at Élan, searching her face for judgment, but found only quiet understanding. “I keep expecting her to walk in,” she finally whispered. “Like maybe it was all a mistake. Maybe she’ll come in and tell me I’m late for shift, or that I need to try whatever ridiculous experiment she’s cooked up.” Her eyes shimmered. “And then I remember she’s not coming back.”

Élan stepped closer, resting her hand lightly on the workstation. “I know that feeling. I had it with the Hyperion. And I carry the memories of such events from even before. Val has carried that same ache through lifetimes. She tapped her chest lightly. “They’re all here now. Their grief, their love, their memories. It doesn’t go away but it doesn’t have to drown you either. In time, it becomes part of the strength you carry forward.”

Erin wiped at her eyes, her voice trembling but steadier. “Strength. Right now it just feels like a hole. But maybe someday it won’t.” She managed a small, fragile smile. “It helps to hear that from someone who’s lived it.”

Élan smiled gently. “Then let me share some of that strength with you, Ensign, at least until yours grows. And when it does, you’ll pass it on to someone else. That’s how Starfleet endures.” She straightened and offered a hand. “How about we make this lab feel a little less empty together? We’ll carry your friend’s memory with us and make sure the work you dreamed of doing together still gets done.”

Erin hesitated only a moment before taking the offered hand. The weight in her chest didn’t vanish, but it shifted, just enough for her to breathe more deeply. “Okay,” she said softly.

"Excellent," Élan said, offering a warm smile as she stepped closer to the workstation. "Let's get to work, than, shall we?"

 

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