When life gives you lemons…
Posted on March 26th, 2008 by Persephone Busard

The engines hummed, just like they needed to. If she listened hard enough, for a moment all the resonances combined and made a kind of music that only people like her could really appreciate. Persephone needed it now.

They were in a bad situation, really bad. There was a war going on down on the surface, she knew, and they were going to become involved in short order. And it was all caused by a third party that neither side seemed very interested in finding. It was such a pointless loss of life and humanity, but she had to take part in it. It was her job, and she’d sworn to herself and the universe to do that job. Persephone looked up to the clueless ensign that she’d ordered to stalk her.

She wished she could say that the gesture had been done out of paranoia. But she’d seen the look coming from the Admiral. He was looking for loyalty, and if he had reason to suspect anyone, it would be her. She was offended by that look, knowing that despite everything she’d done in the past to earn a reputation as an honest, hard and efficient worker, she was being suspected of being a criminal, but the offense was stifled. Inevitably, there was nothing she could do about it except prove herself again, and in order to do that, she had to prove that she wasn’t going around setting traps in their systems. And she would.

For now, however, more of her focus (when it wasn’t directly at the engine, which it mostly was) was on all the problems that had sprouted up over the past day. There was a pointless war going on, and someone she knew and felt a connection to was down there fighting it. There was something else that had happened to T’Kirr. Shelev was still trapped. The purpose of the Federation that she’d devoted her life to was coming into heavy question. And there was nothing she could do about it. A sinking feeling had begun inside Persephone, boring into a part of her that she couldn’t reach. And that part of her was screaming for it to stop. And it was getting worse.

And there was nothing she could do to stop it. She couldn’t scream, she couldn’t cry, she couldn’t reach the things that were hurting everyone. She could only do her job, and at this point that looked pretty meaningless. Persephone tried to convince herself that it was enough, but the sinking feeling continued, choking what made her different from the machinery she was scanning. But she had to do her job.

Lieutenant Busard finished her diagnostic in a professional and efficient manner.
Somewhere deep inside, Persephone’s cries went unheard. Even the symphony of the engine couldn’t reach her now.