I hear things that the rest of the bridge crew doesn't. After all, I sit all day long just listening to them, never seeing them interact. That's the big downside to being the pilot. I have the best view in the house but very little face time with the rest of the bridge crew. Well, except Hoshi. She's my friend, my buddy, my pal. OK. Let's not be stupid. If I start laughing at nothing the Captain will want to know the joke.
I thought that I'd be lonely on a Starfleet vessel. I thought that it'd be so different then the cargo ship I grew up on as a boomer that I'd have a hard time making friends. But Hoshi and I clicked right away. After that, it wasn't hard to start bonding with the rest of the Bridge Crew despite the differences in rank and all.
Ugh, rank. Rank is what is causing my current train of thought. Like I said, I hear things. I can hear that Commander Tucker is always trying to bait Sub commander T'Pol. Even when he isn't saying anything to bait her I can still hear it in his tone of voice. I can also hear that the Sub commander is growing weary of all the back and forth banter between her and Commander Tucker. I know that she's a Vulcan and all but even an emotionless Vulcan can get tired and annoyed. Although, sometimes, I can also hear that she actually enjoys the banter. Not that anyone would believe me, but I can hear the difference in her voice at times.
Oh, back to the rank thing. None of that solves the problem at hand. I can hear that two of the bridge crew are completely in love with each other and have been for almost our whole voyage together. However Starfleet regulations prohibit them from interacting in that sense. Which makes no sense to me. There were hundreds of relationships going on my dad's ship. No one thought any more or any less of anyone because of it. After all, we're only human. We need each other. Even the Vulcans send married couples out together and they, supposedly, have no emotions at all to worry about.
When he speaks to her I can hear the difference in his voice. It's softer in the way it feels. He uses a different tone with her then when he speaks to the rest of us. It is more familiar, friendlier. Don't get me wrong; he's still professional. It just sounds, well, different. I don't think that anyone else is picking up on it since what they are seeing is him being completely professional. We tend to trust what our eyes tell us. I know that they were friends before this adventure even started but it's more then that friendship I hear. Sometimes I hear affection, compassion, and occasionally, even longing in his voice.
But I know what neither of them has figured out yet. I know that their love is reciprocated. When she responds to his comments and commands, I hear her voice. She doesn't use the bantering brother tone that she uses when she speaks to me. Or the annoyed voice she uses on Commander Tucker when he is being pesky. Or even the arch-sarcastic tone that she uses when she verbally fences with Lt. Reed. I hear softness in her voice, which I know she tries to hide. I may only be a rocket jockey and she may be the linguist, but she's definitely not doing a good job of hiding the emotions in her voice. Or figuring out that he has more feelings for her then just friendship. Perhaps I'm the only one to notice any of this since I don't have the benefit of watching all the daily interactions going on behind me. I have to rely on my ears to tell me what's going on while my eyes are busy doing my job.
I do wonder, however, how long this is going to go on. How long can love linger without hope? I don't think that the Captain will go against Starfleet fraternization regulations; his whole life is wrapped up in Starfleet. Also, I don't think Hoshi will do anything to jeopardize his career. She's told me numerous times that her life won't always be Starfleet so I know it's not for her own good that she keeps her feelings under wraps. When is Starfleet going to stop acting like a bunch of asexual old farts? After all, no one ever thought less of my mother for being married to the captain. And Dad would have had serious words with anyone who treated Mom as the "Captain's Woman". Snort! If Mom left anything of them to have words with that is!
"Is there something amusing Ensign Mayweather?" "Ah, no sir, sorry sir, I was just woolgathering."