by Rada Dengar
101128.2200
After Constant Beauty
-=A turbolift, USS Serendipity=-
101128.2200
After Constant Beauty
-=A turbolift, USS Serendipity=-
Having beamed back on board the Serendipity, Rada naturally had only one place he wanted to be. That place was at Wren’s side and he wasted no time in ordering the turbolift to take him there. As it arrived on her floor however he stopped, immediately remembering that there was somewhere he wanted to stop off first and something he wanted to collect.
“Main Engineering.”
As anxious as he was to get to see her, Rada wasn’t complaining about this slight delay. In fact as the turbolift drew him back to his Engineering department, he wasn’t complaining about anything. As the door parted, once again immersing him in the beautiful sounds of a functioning warp core, he actually drew in a slight breath in awe of its magnificence.
Whereas his previous pace had been a hurried one, stepping inward his steps were slow as his hand passed along the smooth texture of the wall, just proving to himself this was real. As he felt that it was, and saw that he really had returned, he couldn’t prevent the joy from flooding his features.
In this moment, he felt like he could out-smile Jamie Halliday, though he still thought it was better not to try. It’d require bearing a lot of teeth at one another in a way that he’d often seen Klingons doing as a preparation to mating. It’d be just his luck that a Klingon officer who’d been recently transferred over would just see that, then ever so casually comment to the Captain how he’d been flirting with his officers and seemed to be very much enjoying it.
In ship’s time, much as with Cork’s, it was late here and wonderfully quiet, so Rada was able to take his time moving towards his office without anyone noticing he was there. So he continued moving slowly, his eyes moving backwards and forwards just taking this all in, like he was seeing it all for the first time.
Finally arriving at his office door he ordered it to open, finding to his luck that had there been any order to prevent his access it must have been revoked already, as it slid open and let him in.
He didn’t bother to call for the light. He once again moved with purpose, now towards his desk. Then his smile almost seemed to double as he pulled open the top left hand drawer, to find the item he was looking for was exactly where he’d left it.
Not even realising he was doing it, Rada actually found himself singing a very old song he’d recently heard when he was on Earth, as he examined the item in his hands.
“I see trees of green…Red roses too. I see them bloom, for me and you...”
He chuckled slightly to himself, thinking about how unlike him singing this song was. He knew his voice wasn’t nearly deep enough to do it justice but he really didn’t care. Being back here was so intoxicating it was like being drunk, except without the inevitable fear that you’d be called upon to repair the shields in a crucial moment and end up being sick on them instead.
The item in his hands was really just a small trinket and probably wouldn’t mean a thing to most. In fact for an unfortunate amount of time it didn’t mean a thing to him. It was just an utterly insignificant golden coloured metal ball whose top was similar to a bottle cap. It was used as part of a join in many of the areas when power conduits need to be redirected and there were probably hundreds if not thousand on board the ship exactly like it.
This one however was special. Tam had given him this one. One day they spent together the boy had discovered it lying around on the deck, and he’d decided that it looked like a really small trophy. He then proceeded to hand it to Rada, explaining that it was a trophy for the best day ever.
Since then, though Tam probably didn’t even know this, Rada had taken to keeping it in his quarter by his bed. Only when he came across it after losing his memories he forgot what it meant, and so he brought it Engineering intending to put it to use when it was required. Somehow he never thought to mix it in with all the rest though and now he was very glad he hadn’t.
Slipping it into his coat pocket, he was about to leave when he noticed a single PADD that had been placed on the desk in his absence. Figuring he should just take a look to make sure there’s nothing here that can’t be handled later, he eased himself back into his chair.
Then he moved about, finding the most comfortable position, and that position was exactly where it’d always been.
Leaning backwards, again the emotion flooded his face.
He had no idea how much he’d missed this chair.
Maybe it was just how he was feeling today, but it really did feel like one of the most comfortable chairs in all the worlds. It was the type of chair that was so comfortable that you felt like it deserved a chair of its own, then genuinely considered trying to sit it on top of one, before you realised that if someone walked in they may conclude you were some sort of megalomaniacal madman, attempting to assert your superiority with a flimsy self-made double throne. Worst of all, given it would have probably quickly fallen over that would likely have reflected badly on his engineering abilities, and not just his general intentions regarding galactic conquest.
Content to not conquer anyone right now, Rada picked up the PADD and began to read what id displayed. As he slowly took in the reports of the damage the Sera had undergone in his absence, his eyes widened in concern.
It was that sort of fear born of an impossible hypothesis that dug into your very core with bladed manifestations of what almost could have been. This ship had undergone such damage and been at such risk that he was certain if only he’d been there; were it just for that one small turn of fate, then he’d have beamed up to discover everyone was dead, and himself as well.
He was very relieved that hadn’t happened. Forgetting about everyone else, just coming across your own corpse really had a rather disconcerting quality to it, and it could be just generally disappointing as well. Luckily Rada was very much alive today and he truly appreciated that fact.
Well, he had to appreciate it now. A wise man had once told him you could tell the people who left appreciating life until after they were dead because they’re the ones in the coffins complaining.
Drawing in a deep breath, Rada simply considered how amazing his life really was. He was so happy he didn’t even think about the risk of finding himself in a coffin while he was still alive, though he had thought of it often before.
Of course, he would never accuse a member of the medical profession of acting improperly, but the fact did remain that when you were misdiagnosed as dead they tended to beam you into space or shoot you into a star, which does rather make the misdiagnosis part a little moot. Yet historically speaking misdiagnosing someone as alive and sending them back on duty had almost never had the equivalent effect. Mostly you just got a reputation for being lazy.
It wasn’t that Rada thought it was a particularly likely this would happen to him. Most of the ways he feared he would die didn’t involve a whole lot of chance for misdiagnosis, unless amputation from the neck up could be mistaken for a really bad head cold. Even still, unless and until his head had actually been cut off, he’d rather his doctor err on the side of caution.
Though he’d like to think otherwise, he had to admit that assuming he were buried alive then he probably would be one of the ones complaining. However assuming he were dead, then he was confident that they wouldn’t hear a peep out of him. When it came to appreciating life he certainly didn’t plan on waiting.
For as comfortable as this chair was, and it really was so comfortable that he swore he could never let Commander Reece sit in it lest it go the way of Kellyn’s Kava rock candy, there was some place that he’d much rather be.
Just once more while he was still here he smiled and let out a little laugh, looking around and remembering this really was his life.
Quickly placing the PADD back down on his desk, and patting his pocket to confirm the required item was still contained there, Rada rose from his chair.
Then just softly as he walked, he once again continued to sing.
“And I think to myself, what a wonderful world…”
Lt. Commander Rada Dengar
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012