LTJG Chris Resnik | "Cold Holiday"

Posted on Sun Jan 24th, 2021 @ 11:08pm by Lieutenant JG Christine Resnik
Edited on on Mon Jan 25th, 2021 @ 2:54am

Mission: A Distant Thunder
Location: CS Theta

Disconsolate. Chris nodded to herself, agreeing with her own word choice of her mood. Her hands gripped the railing at the top level of the promenade. The cool metal seemed to match the temperature of her skin. Though the doctor in her knew she was at a healthy ninety-seven point six degrees, she felt cold and empty. A chill ran up her spine, breaking out a fresh layer of goosebumps across her skin and made her visibly shiver as the sensation traveled her spine, causing her shoulders to shudder and neck twist in protest.

Spread out beneath her in the center court of the main promenade level was all the warmth and joy the station could muster for the season. Joyful laughter, cheerful music, and twinkling lights could not chip away at the ice she felt enclosed in. She had come here, hoping for some solace from her morose. Realizing she was on the edge of the mirthful atmosphere, Resnik pushed her thin figure off the railing, resigned to getting closer to the action below, to try and absorb some of the merriment around her.

As she walked to the nearest lift, Chris reflected on the celebration of the end of the year. She had lived on stations, colonies, desolate planets and cruised the galaxy in ships. No matter how different the culture, anywhere she had visited, any place with regions with detectable seasons had some sort of celebration to mark the end of the solstice. It was remarkable to think about, no matter how different they all were, there were so many threads that also linked them together.

She got down to the main level and paused to just look around, willing the ambiance to be absorbed into her, melt away the cold. Since joining the station crew, her life had been about work and little else. Resnik realized that except for the very interesting Kyrza Jadoss, she had failed to make personal connections with anyone. It was no doubt contributing to her melancholy during this time that was usually filled with joy.

Looking around, it struck her, she was single, very single, surrounded by happy couples, families, there were not too many like her present. Solo. Her eyes took in the lights, gold light strings from the courtyard's edges to the center to form a star shape. Her ears picked up a song on a Vulcan lute, and she looked around to see the musician surrounded by a small crowd. It was beautiful but didn't stir anything in her. Warm spices infused with citrus permeated her nose. The normally mood-lifting scents just left her sighing in frustration. Resnik hated feeling this way and loathed not being able to break free from the gelidity that held her captive.

Moving through the displays, there was one that finally made her stop and appreciate its raw beauty. It was something she hadn't seen in years, a temporary art display of ice sculptures. They were literally melting their beauty away. She stopped at one, a dove straining for the sky, its wings lifted in earnest. As she ran her palm along the outstretched wing, a gelid numbness was absorbed into her flesh. Her trance with the feeling of the ice and how it was reflecting her mood was broken quickly by a frustrated and grizzly voice barking out, "Can't read right? Please..." There was a pause as the man put down his tools, scratched his leaden face, and picked up a sign that very clearly stated what he now read, "Do NOT touch." His declaration was concluded with a gruff sigh. It was apparent now to Chris that he had repeated this several times this evening, and she knew better anyway. She felt a crimson wave of heat rise from her neck to her face flushing her face in pink. Truly embarrassed and feeling like a child, she uncharacteristically stammered out, "I'm sorry, really sorry. They are beautiful."

Wanting to shrink into oblivion again, she turned quickly on her heel and was ready to quickstep in the opposite direction, but her cheek and hands were planted firmly into some hard flesh. The embarrassing episode just got worse as she obviously ran into someone trying to quickly retreat. Stammering a quiet apology, her eyes didn't lift to the target of her amends, instead, checking her new exit route for any obstacles. She was just a fraction of a breath from making her escape when she felt a large, firm hand circle around her forearm. Her breath caught, unsure of the stranger's intention, she looked up into honey-colored eyes crinkled at the corners in a smile. The smile washed across milk chocolate skin, and she felt herself searching for a name. He was familiar, but it wasn't coming to her. "Doc, come on, Doc, you don't remember me?"

Her personal space bubble was shattered, and Chris stepped back to regain some space. Resnik searched her brain, looking over his features, and couldn't place him. A warm chuckle emitted from him and his hands covered his wounded breast. "I'm hurt, really. Come on, I'll give you a clue Rigel XII."

Ringel XII was a desolate planet covered in freezing deserts, howling dust storms. Populated by miners and visited by transports to whisk away the most valuable assets in the federation, dilithium. She had done a stint there for six months on an internship rotation. It all clicked into place; the tall, dark and handsome Betazed in front of her was a transport captain, "Korin Uba, what in the world are you doing way out here?" She smiled, it had been years, and though they didn't know each other well, they had a brief, flirtatious interactions at the clinic at Childress Camp.

"Running into the beautiful Doc Resnik, apparently." His hand went to clasp hers, giving her a squeeze. She was surprised at the warmth, watching him encircle her small cold hand and lifting it to his lips. There was a flutter deep in her belly as her entire core started to warm, but as he pressed his lips to her wrist, she felt her suspicions of Korbin rise up too, though she couldn't look away from his golden eyes either. "Ah, you still don't trust me, huh?"

Resnik chuckled and looked away to regain her composure, "Oh, you Betazeds read us Humans far too easily." She smiled, resetting her thoughts, trying to remain open to the interaction. "You flirt with everything with a pulse Korin, you expect me to trust you." She smiled to soften her truthful blow, "But I'm delighted to have run into you, literally even. We should catch up."

"Dinner?" He suggested, and Chris nodded, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear, feeling like a teenager. "Yeah, we should soon. I don't have any plans two days from now."

He slipped her hand into his and lead her away, "No, now works for me. I want to catch up." She smiled, her icy mood was being melted away, and she let it happen, let him direct her.

Christine Resnik
Surgeon
Cold Station Theta