I've Fallen and I Can Get Up

[Nijil tr'Korjata 0]

I've Fallen and I Can Get Up

An Hour to Go Production from Jylliene and Nijil

SubCommander Nijil tr’Korjata.

What did that mean? Nijil knew what it meant in the responsibility sense, but what a change in him and Annisha, and of course a future with Jylliene? Though the promotion went into effect immediately the actuality of it seemed locked in a nebulous future. The now centered on the location of a ring a mere polish away from presenting to a very remarkable woman. If a temporal anomaly opened opened up years ago and with the phrase: “You’ll take an extreme interest in a Trill,” Nijil would have thought someone in the universe was cruel. However, the voice was right. Taking what Jylliene and Nijil had built up to the next level did not require a specific token of affection, but the effort dwarfed anything he could possibly construct later. His gift was lost.

“Nijil.”

Nothing.

“Nijil!” yelled a voice. A fellow Rihan engineer waited for structural readings from the port side of pylon B of Aegis.

“What? I’m sorry... It’s 20,034 metric tonnes. I think,” Nijil said with unease.

“Think? We need exact SubCommander. Are au well?”

“I,” he answered, “I am preoccupied. Something lost.”

“Lost. Don’t let the Chief hear you. What is lost that has you uncharacteristically dazed?” Nijil was uncertain if t’Melik’s concern was genuine or for her own workload.

“A token for a later promise of bonding,” Nijil blurted out. She’d pester him for it endlessly anyhow.

“Oh... OH! For the operations officer,” she smiled. Nijil was surprised she knew.

“How...”

“Everyone knows. She’s attractive as non-Rihan’s go.” t’Melik continued to poke away at her ISD. “There was a pool going on just when you’d get around to asking, or are you going to hold onto the ring for months?”

“It’s lost.”

She grimaced, “Oh, right. Have you tried using the main internal sensor network to look for the alloy signature?”

“I had not thought of that, but I don’t have access. I’d have to go through...ops.” He frowned.

“Well you,” she stopped as a comm came through over Nijil’s comm badge.

“SubCommander tr’Korjata, an urgent message from your daughter via a delayed link.”

“Okay,” he said with concern. “Put it through.”

“Nijil, come quickly to the arboretum. I was chasing Mr. Cuddles and fell hard. It hurts! I think it’s my ankle. Come qu...” The message stopped seemingly before it was through.

“Damn, I need to go,” Nijil said to t’Melik as he left main engineering.

***

Receiving a similar message, Jylliene made her way to the arboretum. She hurried along the paths, looking for the girl.

Nijil arrived at the arboretum minutes later, out of breath from running across pylons. Annisha’s cryptic message left no mention of where she fell. Not even time to tell her he was on his way. He ran down the first path he found.

Far across the garden a bright blue blanket laid flat on a clear patch of grass. The largest tree in the arboretum sheltered the blanket from above. Not that there was a risk of downpours due to the precise environmental controls. A Rihan girl sheltered her eyes as she gazed at the artificial sun hanging above the tree leaves. She wanted everything just right, mostly because she had to do something so wrong. The groundskeeper kept her basket in storage for her. She made the lunch all herself. No replicator help. Well, the parts were replicated, but she put the butter and peanut jelly sandwiches together herself.

“Annisha!” Nijil called out.

She heard her name in the distance. This place was huge, but not so that one can’t hear a loud voice. With due haste she laid out the rest of the food: balls of puffy cheese, milk flavored with a sweet cocoa and baked potato slices. The computer better had not lied to her. The last time it did it was really her father who played a trick on her. She sort of played a trick on Nijil, but hopefully the ornate box her stolen item was in would make up for it.

“Annisha. Where are you? Are you hurt?” Nijil had not run into anyone yet and it worried him. He stopped for a moment to make sure he did not run out the other exit. From the corner of his vision came another person running. Maybe they could help in the search. She, wait a second, it was Jylliene.

“Jylliene?” Nijil arched a brow. “What are you doing here?”

“A comm from Annisha,” Jylliene replied. “She said she was hurt. Did she send for you as well?”

“Yes, a delayed message. Why call us separately?” Nijl curled his lips. “She better be hurt.” He did not really mean that, but her proclivity for causing trouble.

“Maybe she didn’t know if one or the other of us wouldn’t be able to come?” Jylliene asked as they searched.

“Let’s find her.” He turned to face the bulk of the arboretum. “Annisha!”

“Here,” a small voice echoed from a large tree. Nijil looked at Jylliene, then pointed towards said tree. They both trekked to the source of the reply. “You know Jy, I should be more careful where I let her go. She’s rubbing off on me.” He grinned. “I even called you Jy.”

Jylliene chuckled as they continued toward the direction of Annisha’s voice.

“I’m here,” Annisha shouted to the sky. “Is Jy Jy here too?”

“What? Yes she is... But are you alright?” They came to the clearing and found a bright blue blanket with Annisha sitting happily on it. Next to her was a large basket and three plates of food.

With her big hazel eyes she looked into Nijil’s. “Oh, I’m fine. I...” She gulped expecting the reprimand to be harsh. “Are you mad?”

“Sweetie, I’m in the middle of my shift, as is Jylliene.” Nijil stood between relief and frustration. “You can’t yell ‘fire’ in the middle of the midway and you can’t call us on an emergency link when you are not really hurt.” He saw regret in the girl’s eyes. She acted out before, but until recently did very well in behaving herself. “What is all of this,” he asked, bending down to her level. “Is this lunch?”

“Yes, I made it myself. The computer made the parts and I put them together. The Klingon in the shop suggested gagh, but I did not think you wanted something crawling around on your plate.” Nijil felt squeamish.

Jylliene nodded, glancing at Nijil. “A very good decision. So you called us out here separately for lunch?”

“Uh huh. And look, you both came running.” She perked up as her reprimand concluded. “Sit over here dad.” Her father turned green. As far as he could remember it was the first time she called him ‘dad.’ Annisha handed out utensils and napkins. She stood up and reached deep into the basket, pulling out a small hinged box. “Here you go dad.” Nijil had turned to face Jylliene and did not see the box. “Oh, silly me, that’s not for you, can you hand that to Jylliene?”

“Sure hun,” he replied, still not looking at the box. He absent-mindedly handed it over to Jylliene. “This is yours.”

Opening the box, Jylliene looked inside and said to Annisha, “This is the ring you had the other day.” She looked between the girl and Nijil, confused. “This is for me?”

The word got his attention. “What ring?” He turned to see her holding the box open, the ring he ‘lost’ days earlier poking out. Nijil discovered a new shade of green he could turn. His mouth hung wide open.

“Nijil, aren’t you going to say anything or...ask anything?” Annisha sat there innocently.

 

“That’s my bonding commitment ring for Jyll…” He stopped in mid-sentence.

“Your...what?” Jylliene asked in surprise, eyes wide.

“Annisha, did you find this or take this? I thought I lost it.” He turned to Jylliene. “I believe most call it an engagement ring. I was waiting for the right time.”

Annisha perked up. “Now is always the right time.”

He was not sure where to look. “I’ve been working on it for months. The metal is formed from the asteroid field off from the station. The diamond houses four tiny gemstones representing each of the four elements.” Nijil clearly needed to stop talking about how the ring was made.

“I buffed it all up for you with my shirt sleeve,” Annisha proudly boasted. She then scooted over to Nijl and elbowed him, then spoke into his ear. “Why don’t you ask her, the targ is out of the bag now.” He just sat still for a moment. “Geez...” She took Jylliene hand and then Nijil’s, putting them together.

Though still quite surprised, Jylliene was now grinning at Nijil. “Yes, the targ is out of the bag now, e’lev.”

“I give you this ring as a promise in bonding on a future date of our choosing,” looking at Annisha, “along with any burdens either of us carry so that we can carry each other’s together.”

“I accept,” Jylliene said with a smile, pulling the ring from the box. She started to slide it on, then stopped. “Would you like to place it?” she asked Nijil.

He answered with a nod and slipped the ring on her finger.