#ofgoodconscience

Reg hadn’t been to the Daystrom Institute in a long time. Once, he’d been invited there quite frequently, for conferences and consultations and all sorts of fascinating things. But ever since the Attack on Mars, and the restrictions placed on the cybernetics division there... well, that combined with his responsibilities as an Academy instructor left him with not enough free time and little reason to come visit.

But he’d finally found the time to stop by, in preparation for a conference on micro-wormholes the next day. The layout inside had changed somewhat, and he was just re-familiarizing himself with this place when someone caught his eye. Someone he hadn’t seen in a long, long time.

Everyone tends to think that Zelda is pretty cozy with the captain given her position, and they’d all be dead wrong. It was just a simple and quick routine that would happen from time to time, he’d come in, she’d wordlessly give him the file or tech he needed, he’d thank her and leave. She was always respectful of course, but she knew what would happen when she looks at him too hard. She’d know everything, things she was never supposed to. That’s not something she wanted.

After all, if he concluded that Zelda was out of control, she’d be out of Starfleet for good.

So another day, another file, and hopefully he’d be too busy to say anything else and promptly leave... And promptly leave... He was still there. She can sense him behind her. She wasn’t sure what to do, should she say something? She should say something. 

“Is there something else you need, sir?” She asked, hesitantly turning around and raising an eyebrow. Giving him a look at her inky black eyes, while she struggled to hold back a glimpse of even more, to no avail.

The proper answer was ‘kneel’ because it’s what I deserve.