Roadblocks

Posted on 26 Jan 2026 @ 8:15pm by Lieutenant JG Ryan Collingway & Alura Ryn

1,615 words; about a 8 minute read

///Crew Quarters///

Ryan desperately wanted to check in with Alura. But it seemed like every time he planned on it, something got in the way. Including shore leave. He had pictured asking to meet with her. Maybe enjoying the sights together. Instead he wound up in jail.

No more excuses. Not this time.

He activated the com. "Lieutenant Collingway to Alura." There was a heavy pause.

Alura had just finished stowing the last crate from the morale storage lockers when the comm chirped.

She paused, one hand still resting on the edge of the shelving unit, listening.

The word registered before the name fully did.

Lieutenant.

She smiled faintly, not out of amusement but recognition. The last time she had spoken to Ryan Collingway, he had been an ensign with too much tension in his shoulders and a way of standing like he expected the floor to tilt under him at any moment. Promotions had a way of happening quietly aboard ship, absorbed into duty rosters and updated personnel files long before they reached the social fabric.

The pause that followed his call told her more than the words had.

"If you're around...I could really use a moral officer," he said.

Not cheerful. Not sheepish. Just honest.

Alura tapped her comm without hesitation. “I’m around,” she replied gently. “I’m just finishing up storing some things I had taken down to the shore. Want to meet in my office?”

"Sure thing. Be there in ten."

----Alura's Office---

He had expected Alura's office to be warm and inviting, and she didn't disappoint. Colorful rugs, a holographic fishbowl, comfortable chairs. It was designed to make you feel better the moment you entered.

"Hi," Ryan said, sitting down. "How are you? I haven't had a chance to see you, since...you know."

“All right,” she said. “Then we can talk about that.”

She lifted her cup, took a small sip, and tilted her head slightly, eyes flicking to his collar as if noticing it properly for the first time.

“But first,” she added, brightness threading into her voice, “I see you picked up a new pip since I’ve seen you.”

Her smile widened. “Lieutenant Collingway. That suits you.”

"Thank you," Ryan said, giving her a genuine smile.

She let the moment breathe, then softened again.

“And for the record,” Alura continued gently, “I really was fine. You did not imagine anything. You did not overreact. You heard someone you cared about not acting like herself, and you checked in.”

She shrugged lightly, palms turning up in an easy gesture. “That is never something I am going to be upset about.”
Her gaze stayed warm and steady on him, inviting rather than pressing.

"Okay. Still, might not want to tell anyone I broke in. I just got out of jail," he said teasingly. He had done his best to bury that report, saying that he needed to use that code to fix a broken lock issue. It currently was among three hundred engineering reports for that day alone. The hallucinations had caused some minor damaged from a panicked crew.

He hesitated. "I wanted to ask...what did you mean while I was there? When you said you weren't human?" His tone was gentle. "And if you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask again."

Alura blinked.

Once.

Then she laughed, soft and surprised, the sound more puzzled than amused. “Jail?” she echoed. “Ryan, I feel like that sentence started halfway through a story.”

She waved one hand lightly, as if setting the comment on a shelf for later. “We are absolutely circling back to that, by the way. Just not this second.”

She shifted in her chair, studying him with open curiosity rather than concern. “But what I meant, when I said I was not human.”

Her expression brightened a little, that familiar warmth returning. “That part is much simpler.”

Alura tapped a finger lightly against her forehead, just beneath the faint Risian emblem there. “I am Risian. Not human. I forget sometimes that not everyone clocks that immediately. We look very similar, and physically there is almost no difference, at least not one you would notice without a medical scanner.”

She tilted her head. “But it matters. Culturally. Biologically, a little. Neurologically, more than you would think.”

Her tone stayed gentle, reassuring. “What you saw was not me breaking. It was my body reacting to something it was not built to process the same way a human nervous system would.”

She smiled again, smaller this time, inviting rather than explanatory. “You did not imagine it. And you did not misunderstand me.”

Then, lightly, deliberately, she added, “Now. About this jail thing you just casually dropped into the conversation.”

She waited, eyes bright, clearly ready to listen.

"Yes, it turned out that drinking with Vel can be a dangerous move for one's career." He shared with her the story about the broken lift, and Vel's ingenious idea to fix it. Followed by Commander Harlan bailing them all out and confining them to quarters.

"My punishment detail is still pending. But...it's not a great way to meet him," Ryan concluded.

Alura listened without interrupting, her expression shifting through amusement, concern, and something thoughtful as the story unfolded.

When he finished, she let out a quiet breath and smiled at him. “Well,” she said lightly, “I suppose that is one way to make a first impression on a commander.”

Her tone softened. “But honesty tends to leave marks like that. It is not always tidy. Still, I am glad you chose it.”

She leaned back in her chair, studying him with open curiosity. “And I appreciate that you trusted me enough to say any of it out loud. That is not nothing, Ryan.”

She paused, then added gently, “We will survive Commander Harlan. I am much more interested in what made you feel like you needed to come talk to me in the first place.”

She gave him an encouraging nod, inviting him to continue.

"He did give me a good reminder about honesty, though. That's why I actually had to talk to you." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "I've....had a sense of foreboding lately. At first I thought it had to do with the new CEO. But it isn't. At least, not fully. Our next mission is starting soon, and so far all of them have been dangerous. Especially if I'm on an away team. So before I deal with another weather destroying machine, or being hijacked by nanobots...I wanted to share something."

He looked at her. "I care about you. A great deal. But there are things in my life that are in the way of that. Things I can't resolve. Not won't. Can't. And I feel like a fraud if I can't talk to you honestly. That's why I said earlier that it wasn't a good idea to be my friend."

He shook his head. "I don't ask or expect you to do anything with this information. But I hope, at the very least, it can explain why I am the way I am at times. Like when I was a complete jerk when we met. I was like that to a lot of people, actually," he added.

Alura did not rush to answer.

She let his words settle, her hands folding loosely in her lap as she considered him with care rather than alarm. When she spoke, her voice was warm and steady, absent of judgment.

“I am really glad you told me,” she said. “All of it. That takes courage, even when it feels uncomfortable or messy.”

She smiled, softer this time. “And for what it is worth, I do like you too. Very much.”

She held his gaze, open and honest. “But I like you as a friend. A real one. The kind where we can sit in a room like this and say hard things without pretending they are lighter than they are.”

Her expression remained kind, not apologetic. “The roadblocks you are carrying are real. I believe you when you say they are not something you can just fix. That does make me hesitate about anything more, not because I think less of you, but because I think you deserve honesty from me in return.”

She leaned forward slightly, warmth returning. “Friendship, though, I would like very much. If you want it. No pressure. No expectations beyond showing up as ourselves.”

A small smile curved at the corner of her mouth. “And for the record, being a complete jerk when you first met me is not even close to the worst introduction I have survived aboard a starship.”

She paused, then smiled, warmth brightening her expression. “You are not a fraud for needing time. You are human.”

“And trust me,” she added lightly, “I have spent my whole career around them. That part checks out.”

Ryan hesitated, then nodded. It was good to get expectations made sooner rather than later. And given his history, he could have blundered into a messy situation otherwise. That wouldn't have been fair to her. "Friendship. That I can easily do," he agreed. If there was any disappointment, he was very carefully hiding it. "And if you ever need a friend who can break into anywhere, I'm your guy," he added jokingly.

“I don't have any influence over crew performance recommendations,” She grinned, continuing, “But if you want to keep that new pip, maybe don’t land in jail and don’t offer to break into places.”

"Sensible advice, Miss Ryn," Ryan said with a smile.

Lieutenant JG Ryan Collingway
Engineering Officer
USS Arawyn

Alura Ryn
MWR Director
USS Arawyn

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