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"Starting Out" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG Dreams (6) Archer slowed to a stop, listening. He could hear someone crying. Archer followed the sound to a joint hall. Navta was huddled in a corner of the joint, hugging her knees with her face pressed against them and bawling. Archer walked over to her and crouched down. “Navta?” Navta looked up at him, gasping back sobs. “What’s wrong?” Archer asked. Navta started crying again. Archer looked around, wishing someone to come by that could do something. Archer looked down at Navta. It was suppertime. There wasn’t going to be anyone coming by any time soon. Archer sat down and Navta immediately climbed onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued bawling. Archer held her, not sure what else he should do. Navta’s crying slowly ebbed into shaky gasps and silent tears. “What’s wrong?” Archer said. “I broke it,” Navta whimpered. “Broke what?” “I was in hydroponics and was helping planet flowers,” Navta sobbed, gasping shaky breaths. She looked up at Archer. “Luke had this flower--it was really pretty--he told me to be careful with it and I tried. I really, really tried, K’pan! It was heavy. But then it fell off the table and broke. And Luke yelled at me. He told me I was clumsy and told me I should leave. I didn’t mean to break the flower!” “Navta, it’s okay. I’ll talk to Lieutenant Anderson, okay? We’ll straighten this out.” “NO!” Navta’s face turned into a deep frown. “No. I broke it. I am clumsy. I broke it. He’s right.” “You’re not clumsy. You’re an excellent science officer.” Navta’s bottom lip trembled and she burst into bawling again. Archer pulled her to him, standing up. He walked down the hall to a door and entered a storage room. He sat down on a crate, cuddling Navta to him. “We’re all clumsy at times, Navta,” Archer said. “You’re not!” Navta retorted with a wail. “Oh yes I am. And when I lose my temper, I do really stupid things like jump to conclusions and get myself in some terrible messes. And I’ve broken things on accident too.” Archer slid back on the crate, leaning against the wall. He cuddled Navta back to him with a sigh. “When I was an ensign, I nearly blew up a ship. Did you know that?” Navta shook her head. Her bawling began to quiet. “I almost did. I was supposed to be regulating the oxygen and plasma mix into the engine and I was also trying to get two reports done while I was doing it. I wasn’t watching the meter. The alarm went off and I got really scared because I suddenly couldn’t remember what to do. A Lieutenant near by shut down the mixture and did he yell at me!” “Like how Luke yelled at me?” “Probably pretty close. I was put on kitchen detail for a month for it. The captain told me that I needed to manage things better and tell someone when I couldn’t do something. That’s what you should have done, Navta. You should have told Lieutenant Anderson that you couldn’t lift the flower. It’s okay to admit something like that and ask for help, half-pint.” Navta chuckled. Archer smiled. “What?” “You called me half-pint. Trip calls me that sometimes too.” Archer smiled at her. “Yeah?” Navta laid her head on Archer’s shoulder. “I don’t remember my dad.” “You were just a baby when you left.” “I bet he was just like you.” Archer was shocked by her comment. Navta reached up and played with the pips on Archer’s uniform. “I’m going to be a captain someday, like you and Captain Vardee, and I’ll fly a ship like Enterprise.” “Not like the Diedra?” “Uh-uh. Like Enterprise. I’ll have lots of people on it. And maybe I’ll go home and see what it looks like for real.” Archer smiled. He kissed Navta’s forehead. “You hold onto that dream, Navta, and someday it will come true.” Navta turned, wrapping her arms around Archer’s neck and laying her head against his shoulder. Archer held her, mulling over her dream. |
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