Self Control

The ship hums in the background:


The door to the NCO offices opened, with a tall, old Turian who had familiar white facial markings stepping through. He looked around, searching for a specific name, stopping when he found the office of Service Chief Valonia Agonis. Sitting at the desk beside the door was the woman herself. The old Turian knocked, but Valonia had already looked over to him. "Dad?" The man stepped inside, asking "Ya mind if I take a seat, Val?" "Of course I don’t mind, It’s you, Dad." The woman replied.

    He’d found a chair, sitting it close to Valonia, looking to her with a concerned expression. His eyes held a worry, and his mandibles drooped as if expressing a hint of sadness. "Val.. I wanted to talk to you about some things. The whole crew has noticed you’ve been stressed, and you’ve been acting way more.. Aggressive since before all this." Valonia turned to face him, holding her eyes over his, unsure of what to say. She would look down in thought. "You can talk to me, Val. Come on, tell me what’s been bothering you." Navelon puts a hand over his daughter’s shoulder, bringing his mandibles outward in a small smile, trying to cheer her up.

Valonia shook her head. "It’s a ton of shit, all of it. They took you, tried to use you as leverage against us! They’ve killed our friends, our allies, nearly killed me on multiple occasions, all for some stupid fucking vendetta that isn’t even viable! Didn’t help either when I keep hearing that bitch psychopath constantly wanting to dig a bullet into your brain! I can’t stand by for that. These people have no dignity or respect. I’m going to kill them for what they did, all of it! Taking you was the last straw, you’re not a fucking hostage, you’re a father, a civilian! You weren’t even involved!"

   Navelon brings himself closer to his daughter, pulling her into a hug. She takes it, holding her head onto his shoulder, a tear dripping down her left eye. She’d whisper to him "I was so scared of losing you.." Navelon pats her on the back, speaking in a calm, soft tone. "I know, Val. I know.. Though hey, look, I’m here now, and I’m unharmed. I’m not going to sit here and say that coming after me wasn’t slimy, but you can’t let that get to you. It’s not in your blood, we’ve talked about this before." Valonia sat with little response, thinking.

   She’d bring her posture back to an upright position in her seat, looking over her father, reassuring that he was left mostly untouched by the Coalition and the Venir. "I.. I’m sorry, Dad." Navelon chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "Hey, look, I’ve had to talk to your mom about plenty. I don’t expect either of you to be completely stable all the time. I mean, we ain’t robots. Gotta deal with emotions whether we like 'em or not. What I do need to make sure of, though, is that you’re noticing when you’re going overboard and doing what you can to fix that."

Valonia shook her head in shame. "I didn't realize, Dad. I couldn’t control it. I still can’t whenever I think of that bitch. Or that Grand Asshole. To think his son is going to try to come in and get revenge for a man like that?! It infuriates me! He probably doesn’t even know that his father would come after my family, and even worse, he’d probably defend him even if he does know! That man doesn’t deserve anything, and his son is going to follow the same exact fucking path for even trying to act like he was a good man!"

Navelon seemed surprised by his daughter’s rage, his eyes widening slightly. "Woah, woah, hey, Val, please, you gotta take a step back. Breathe in, and out. You know that this ain’t you, this anger. Being restless, so filled with hate.. You know it’s bad for you, all it does is change you for the worse. You gotta be better, Val. Wash that aside and clear your mind, focus on the mission and doing it right, being better than those opposing you. Otherwise, if you go down this route, you wouldn’t be far off from them, and I’ll be damned if I let you go anywhere near where grandpa went."

Valonia took deep breaths as she listened to her father. She avoided eye contact with him, lowering her head as she looked over herself, seeing something differently. "I.. I’m so sorry. I know, you’re right, this isn’t me, I just.. I can’t stand what they did to you. It set me over the edge.. I should’ve been better." Navelon pulled her back to him, lightly bringing her head back to look to him. He smirked. "You don’t have to apologize for anything, Val. They did it specifically to get to you, and honestly, there’s no reason it wouldn’t have worked. We’re family, and we care about each other and the well-being of all of us. If they captured you or your mom to get to me, I’d likely be in the same boat as you. I definitely would be if it was both of you. Just make sure you use this to better yourself in the end, alright? I’m still here, and I’m still kicking. Feeling pretty good, too, not like they tortured me or anything."

Valonia shut her eyes tight, sobbing as she held onto her father with a tight hug, letting it all out. Her father kept her held, his head over her shoulder, waiting for her to sort herself out. Eventually she did, after a minute, leaving herself hugging him. "I’ll do better, Dad. It’s gonna be hard, but.. I can do it. The team needs me at my best, and this isn’t it. I can’t let this affect them." Navelon smiled, patting her on the back. "That’s my girl. Come on now, you’re an Agonis, we don’t let ourselves be brought down. We only go up."

Valonia leaned back, letting go of him, wiping the tears from her eyes, she pulled a smile of her own. "Yeah.. You’re right. Thanks, Dad, I.. Really was going down a bad path. Always felt like I wasn’t as good at recognizing it as you are." Navelon chuckled, looking to her. "Well, I’ve had almost eighty years to get that down, Val. You’ll get it soon, don’t worry yourself about that. You good?" Valonia nodded to him. "Yeah, I’m feeling better."

Navelon gave his daughter a final pat on the back, standing up. "Good, because I wasn’t doing well knowing my daughter was going through some issues. I’m still on the ship, so call me whenever you need me. I won’t take you up too long, you’ve likely got work to do." Valonia shook her head in disagreement. "Nah, It’s just a bunch of paperwork, and the call to C-Sec I had to make. I’m usually available." Navelon placed the chair he’d sat in back where it originally was, standing in the office doorway to look to his daughter. "Ah, alright, well that’s good to know. You’ll know where to find me Val, love you!" Valonia looked to him with a much more cheerful expression this time. "Love you too, Dad." He offered a nod, smiling, before he took his leave.