Now And Then

[Veloras Itana 0]

Now And Then

 

"Do you mind if I put on some music?" Lieutenant Jonathan Adamson, turned to Itana and smiles slightly. "It helps break up those uncomfortable silences that happen during these long flights." He let out a slight chuckle and turned his attention back toward the forward view screen.

 

"No," Itana returned his smile, shyly lowering her eyes. "I'm sorry I'm so quiet. I guess I'm just nervous." Small golden flecks shimmered from within the deep violet of her eyes giving them an ambient quality that Adamson found very alluring. Her smile seemed somewhat haunted and, though brilliant and alive, her eyes seemed so sad. "As long as it isn't contemporary Klingon, I would love some music." Her voice trailed off and her eyes slowly drifted back to the streams of starlight that flowed past the view port.

 

Jonathan found himself staring at her again, watching the light catch the blue-black shine of the long ring-like curls in her hair. The sadness that lie beneath the gleam in her eyes added to the rapidly growing fascination he felt for the enigmatic young ensign he'd been assigned to escort from the Daystrom Institute to Deep Space Nine. Watching her watch the stars go by, he wondered briefly if she knew exactly how attractive her peculiar breed of shyness was.

 

Itana knew he was attracted to her, it was rather hard to miss. He'd made no secret of it from almost the moment they'd met. It wasn't that she didn't like him, either. He was a very attractive man. His timing was just terrible.

 

She'd accepted assignment aboard the Excalibur and had never been a big believer in the long distance romance. So, anything beyond benign flirtation seemed pointless and not at all what she was looking for. To be perfectly honest she had no idea what she was looking for only what she was looking to get away from.

 

Itana never doubted her decision to drop the matter of her father's innocence. It was the right thing to do. It was the only thing she could do given what she'd learned of the year prior to his death. What caused her uncertainty was the manner in which she'd been urged to leave home and start life anew somewhere, anywhere, else in order to ensure the facts remained sealed. Bajor had been through enough and, for that matter, so had she in Bajor's name. But, to abandon everything she'd ever wanted to do and everyone she'd ever known? To start over again in a sea of strangers with whom she shared nothing in common? That was where her doubts were born. It had been her choice and, like it or not, she would learn to accept it.

 

Smiling more cordially than genuinely this time, Itana decided it best to keep Lieutenant Adamson at greater than arm's length for the remainder of their time together. She was already carrying more than enough baggage into her new life and still hadn't resigned herself to the fact that this was the life she would have chosen for herself if things had been different. The last thing she needed do was add someone new to the mix that would pull at her from light years away. She sighed audibly and listened as the sounds of a soft Vulcan lyre filled the cabin. The ever spreading knot and nervousness in the pit of her stomach grew more intense as she realized the ride and her time with Jonathan would end soon as Deep Space Nine came into view.

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Itana and Lieutenant Adamson said their goodbyes and parted company shortly after their arrival on the station. She made her way through the maze of corridors and onto main promenade, looking forward to stretching her legs and spending some time in the temple among other Bajorans if only for a little while. The short layover before boarding the Excalibur would be a welcome respite from the almost nonstop travel she'd been doing since leaving San Francisco. It was not to be however and, she soon found herself rushing to find the Excalibur's birth before they left without her. New orders had come in and, though she had no idea what those orders were, she knew all to well that the old axiom was indeed true. There was no rest for the wicked.