Tremors in a Friendship

Qi’ra, as she had promised herself earlier that day, didn’t head straight to her room after leaving the bridge. Instead, she went to talk to Nienye who she noticed was behaving…strangely to say the least. He was always a quiet, calm person but he was never too standoffish as if he needed time to himself. It made her wonder if something was wrong.

When she reached his room she knocked on the door, half expecting it not to open. When it did slide open she found Nienye looking down at her. When he saw her there was a bit of surprise that was quickly replaced by his patented smile.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said.

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Who else were you expecting?”

“No one,” he replied quickly. “I just thought some Imperial had come to my door to give me some bad news.”

She looked past him into the room. “Can I come in?”

He chuckled as if realizing he hadn’t offered her to enter his room. “Of course.”

She walked into the room, waiting for him to close the door, before turning to him, her arms crossed. “Is something wrong, Nienye?”

He looked at her, his eyes wide as he found the question unexpected. “No. Nothing’s wrong at all.”

She continued to look at him intently. “Nienye, I’ve known you for a while now. What is it?”

He smiled. “Everything is fine. If there wasn’t I’d tell you.”

She nodded, still gazing at him warily. “Okay, Nienye.”

As she moved past him to return to the door she stopped at his shoulder, looking up at him with a serious expression. “Remember, as Top Lieutenant, our relationship is built on trust. Please don’t make me change my mind.”

“There’s no reason for you not to trust me,” he whispered. “You know that.”

She gazed at him a second longer before leaving the room. As the door closed she pressed her back against it, her eyes closing. Something was wrong. No matter if he told her or not, something had changed between them in the short time since the Empire’s arrival. Maybe T-38 was right. Maybe she did need to watch out for Nienye.

With a deep breath, she walked down the corridor to her room where she would get some much-needed shut-eye.