ON:
<<USS Malinche, Ready Room, Day 1, 0900>>
As she had yet to receive the Malinche's next assignment, Isabel hadn't started her day quite as early as usual. In fact, she had only arrived at her Ready Room five minutes prior, mocha in one hand and a PADD in the other. It was more or less a given that their shoreleave would be over within the next day or two and Isabel presumed she would be hearing from a member of the Admiralty soon.
Other than the situation with Setak, everyone seemed to be having a fairly enjoyable time. She had received an update from Sirak (NPC) notifying her that Setak was, in fact, cooperating. The two Vulcans had returned a few days ago, but Isabel hadn't had a chance to speak with Sirak or Setak directly since then. If at all possible, she hoped to accomplish that later in the day.
Isabel had also received word that Julie (NPC) would be staying behind. After her suicide attempt it was, perhaps, understandable. The young doctor needed time to heal and for some, being on a ship was not necessarily conducive to that. Julie would be missed, but she needed to do what was best for her.
Her eyes moved around the room, taking in the new decor. While on Earth, Isabel had taken the opportunity to find some new artwork and items to place around her Ready Room and quarters. One was a painting of a sunset with the poem 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' painted on it; so far, it was her favorite. She'd also acquired replicas of the USS Malinche-A and the USS Cheyenne - the two ships she'd served on; they were displayed on a wooden shelf in her Ready Room.
A smile crossed her lips as she turned and sat at her terminal after setting down her mug and PADD. Isabel turned on her terminal before reaching for her mug for another sip of the hot beverage. Before she could swallow it, the Incoming Transmission message filled her display. She tapped on the display to accept the transmission and waited for the video link to establish.
The calm, expressionless face of Rear Admiral Tukal (NPC), a Vulcan admiral Isabel had met once or twice, appeared. "Good morning, Captain," he greeted her, still looking serious.
Isabel nodded, "Good morning, Admiral Tukal. What can I do for you sir?" It was a good bet that he was contacting her to give her the Malinche's next assignment, but she found it was bet to not assume anything. Instead, she sat down her mug and intertwined her fingers as her wrists rested on her desk.
"I have your next assignment for you, Captain Kersare. Spacedock has informed us that your ship is repaired and you will need to return to the Horizon Fleet patrol zone," the Vulcan answered. "At the moment, no other ships are headed in that direction, so rather than send one off course, we have decided to send the Malinche."
Thus far, everything Tukal was saying made perfect sense. Not that Isabel expected any less from a Vulcan. She had to admit, though, that while part of her liked getting right to business, another part of her would have appreciated some pleasantries or inquiries about the state of her crew...which, in fact, was still short a few senior staff members. Knowing that he would get to the point without further prompting, she simply nodded and waited for him to go on.
"We have a group of doctors who need to be taken to Betazed. As Betazed is within Horizon Fleet territory, we would like the Malinche to take them there. They will be guests on your ship during the journey," explained Tukal, giving the basic facts.
It certainly wasn't an exciting mission, but as the Admiral had pointed out, Betazed was on the way back to the Horizon Fleet patrol zone, so it made sense for a Horizon Fleet vessel to take them. Isabel actually felt rather good about this next assignment; it would give them a chance to ensure that any remaining issues from their repair were worked out. "How many doctors are there, Admiral? Is there anything important we should know about them or about what needs they might have during their journey - access to certain medical databases, for instance?"
Tukal partly raised an eyebrow and frowned ever so slightly at the request for additional details, but responded, "There are six doctors, all neurologists. I will send you additional information regarding them shortly. You will need to leave tomorrow; they have been told to report to the Malinche at 1000 hours. Do you have any other questions?"
Isabel couldn't think of any - the mission seemed quite straight forward. "No, Admiral, I don't have any more questions. I do appreciate you sending me the additional information, however. Thank you, sir."
Giving her a final nod, Tukal replied, "Very well. Live long and prosper, Captain."
Before she could reply, the transmission had ended. It was...efficient, she supposed. Now, though, she had to inform the crew that shoreleave was over. They would need to prepare for their departure. With this mission, Isabel didn't feel it would be necessary to have a senior staff briefing. They would be travelling through Federation space with a half dozen doctors, after all. Tapping her comm badge, Isabel said, "Kersare to crew. We have received our next orders and will be departing tomorrow morning. Please wrap up your shoreleave and begin preparations no later than this afternoon. Kersare out."
Sliding a finger across her display, Isabel composed a message to her senior staff:
==============================================================================
From: Captain Isabel Kersare
To: All Senior Staff members
Subject: Next Mission
All,
I have received our new set of orders. We will be taking a group of doctors to Betazed on our way
back to Horizon Fleet territory. I will not be holding a briefing prior to our departure, but all department
heads should ensure that their department is ready by 0800 tomorrow morning. We will be
receiving the doctors at 1000 hours.
Lieutenant JG Aurora and Lieutenant JG Davis, please confirm that all repairs have been
completed and report any outstanding issues by 2000 hours today. Report to me when you are finished.
If anyone else has concerns or questions, please let me know.
Captain Kersare
==============================================================================
It wasn't much, but then again, she didn't exactly have much to go on either. Hopefully the Malinche really would be ready to leave with no outstanding issues that would need to be resolved. In the meantime, Isabel wanted to read up on her guests a little, so she would at least know who would be joining them. Presumably Nora would want to do the same. It wasn't the most exciting assignment, but they could use something a bit simpler after their little adventure in time.
OFF: Mission Day 1 = Day 14 of shoreleave. I will leave shoreleave open for now, so you can post either there or in the mission here. Please try to concentrate on the mission, but if you have some subplots or character development you'd like to do in shoreleave, feel free to finish that.
Tags to everyone
Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
Moderators: Tournneau, Korath, Kersare
Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
<<USS Malinche, Zeral’s Quarters, Day 1, 1345>>
Now that the Malinche had received its new orders, Nora had spent one last morning with Gel (PNPC) in San Francisco, helping him to pack his things in preparation for his move onto the ship. Gel had been planning on an extended stay at Starfleet Medical while meeting with some friends and colleagues, and so it had taken them the better part of an hour to put everything to rights. Now he was in his new quarters, settling in and getting his bearings, leaving Nora with time enough to take care of a personal matter of her own.
Julie (PNPC) was leaving. The news was bittersweet at best. It was wonderful that her friend was awake and physically recovered, and she knew that Julie’s decision to take an indefinite leave of absence to fully heal mentally and emotionally was a wise one. Still, it was painful to see her leave, and she couldn’t help but wonder if they’d ever serve on the same ship again.
When the doorchime rang, Nora knew it was Julie, come to say goodbye as she’d promised to do a day or so before in Sickbay. Swallowing thickly, Nora forbade herself to get emotional before they’d even had a chance to talk and called for the doctor to step inside.
As Julie came through the doors, she offered a tentative smile to Nora. She was unsurprised when her friend beckoned her further inside her quarters with her usual warm welcome, and it was heartening to see that Nora wasn’t treating her like fragile glass. Julie was already intimately aware of the mountains she had yet to climb along the road to recovery. It helped when people still treated her like she was just plain Julie, suicide attempt or no suicide attempt.
“You’re looking well,” Nora smiled. It was true, to a degree, at least. Julie had regained some of her color since the last time Nora had visited her, but she still looked tired and pale. “Why don’t you have a seat. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?”
“No, thanks anyway,” Julie said, taking her usual seat. She’d been advised to eat wholesome foods and drink plenty of water after her stay in Sickbay, and she knew that the advice had some real merit, but the doctor’s appetite had yet to fully return to her. “My mother promised me a home-cooked meal when I get in tonight. I might as well save what appetite I have until then.”
Nora couldn’t argue with that logic. She sat across from Julie, her smile gentle as she tucked her legs up under her. It was rather informal, but she was off-duty and with a friend, so she didn’t think it mattered if she tried to relax a little. “I bet your mother is thrilled to have someone to cook for again. You told me that she’s practically a gourmet chef, didn’t you?”
Julie smiled softly, picturing her mother and her enormous kitchen. “I’ll bet she’s excited too.” In fact, Rebecca Redford loved anything and everything that had to do with entertaining or being a hostess, even with her own daughter. “Which is just as well, considering…well, considering the situation,” Julie sighed. “It wasn’t easy, telling her what happened.”
With a sympathetic smile, Nora nodded. “I imagine that took a lot of courage, Julie. In fact, it took a lot of courage just to admit that you needed personal time to confront this,” she said frankly. “I’m going to miss you, but I really do believe that you’re doing the right thing. The most important thing in the world right now is that you take care of yourself.”
Julie said nothing for a time, keeping her eyes on the floor rather than look at Nora. She knew that her friend was right, but for some reason, that didn’t make it any easier to hear. A few weeks ago, she’d tried to take her own life, and very nearly succeeded. Waking up alive had been bittersweet at best. There was part of her that wanted to pretend like it had never happened, to just jump back into her work and press on like she had before. But the greater part of her knew that she wasn’t well, and no amount of counseling in the world would help her if she didn’t remove herself for a time from the things that reminded her of the loss of her husband. Unfortunately, since they’d met and served together in Starfleet, and since he’d died on a starship, that essentially meant she needed to remove herself from Starfleet.
Hard as it was, it was the right thing to do, the surest way that she knew how to stay on the road to recovery, to truly and properly find a way to grieve for her dead husband. Before she went, however, there was one thing that she had to do. “Nora,” she began hoarsely, “you have to know that I… I never wanted you to see me like that. When you found me, I mean.”
It had been one of the worst moments in Nora’s life. Even now, she could vividly remember when she and Setak had found Julie in her quarters, barely alive and scarcely even breathing. Nora had been truly devastated, fixated on all the signs she’d missed leading up to Julie’s suicide attempt. After that had come anger, even resentment. She’d wondered bitterly for a handful of days how Julie could do that to them, to her family, to any friends who had ever loved her. Didn’t she know that her death would solve no problems at all, but leave behind a void for her loved ones that could never be filled?
Now, though, she was just…grateful. Grateful that they’d found her in time. Grateful that Setak had been able to save her life. Grateful that Julie was willing to do what she had to in order to ensure her own full and complete recovery. “I know, Julie,” she said quietly, meaning every word. “I know that you never intended to hurt anyone.”
“But I did,” Julie said, her voice choked with tears. “I just wasn’t thinking about anyone or anything except myself and my own pain. I wasn’t thinking about how my mother would feel, or my father, or you, or anyone at all. And for that, I am sorry.”
Nora wiped a silent tear from her face. “You weren’t yourself, Julie. It’s hardly your fault that you were in such a dark place. But I think that you should know that I’m sorry too.” The tears that she’d been keeping in check flowed all the more freely now. “If I hadn’t have been so distracted by my work, I might have noticed the obvious pain you were in. I feel like I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most, and for that I will always be sorry.”
“That’s not true, Nora,” Julie choked out through her tears. “You and Setak saved my life. I wouldn’t call that not being there for me.” Laughing humorlessly through her tears, she asked, “I don’t suppose you have a tissue handy? I can’t even see through all of these tears.”
“Neither can I,” Nora laughed. “Fortunately, I keep a reserve nearby at all times. An old habit from my years as a counselor.” Taking a handful of tissues for herself, she handed a veritable stack to her friend. Rather than returning to her seat, she sat next to Julie. “I’m going to miss you, Julie. I have so few people I can cry my eyes out in front of these days.”
Julie’s smile was still watery. “You know that I’ll miss you too, Nora. But I hope that our friendship doesn’t end here. I know it doesn’t, in fact. And I was hoping you could do something for me.” At Nora’s nod, Julie continued. “I haven't seen Setak since he returned, so I left a letter for him in Sickbay. I wanted to thank him for saving my life, among other things. I think we were almost friends, before all of this happened.”
“I’ll make sure that he gets it,” Nora promised. “Now, you have to promise me that you’ll take all the time that you need while you face this. Don’t cut corners and don’t rush your recovery. Eat as many home cooked meals as you can and spend lots of time with your family. Those two things might help the very most,” she smiled. “Then, who knows? Maybe you’ll be right back here on the Malinche.”
“And then I can meet this new gentleman caller of yours,” Julie smirked, sniffling. “I’m sorry that I can’t meet him now. I just…I don’t want him to see me like this. First impressions and all that.”
Nora could well understand where Julie was coming from. “No need to be sorry. It’ll keep, I’m sure. Or, if Gel and I don’t make a go of things in the end, you won’t have wasted your time playing nice with your friend’s significant other.”
“There is that,” Julie nodded. A beat of silence passed, and they each knew that the time had come. “Well, I really should get going. I was going to meet my mother planet side.” Setting down her unused wad of tissues, Julie stood to go.
Nora took a deep breath and stood as well, still smiling even as her tears started up all over again. “Take care of yourself. If you need anything from me, anything at all, you’ll always know where to find me.” When the doctor nodded jerkily, Nora reached out to embrace her. “Goodbye, Julie.”
“Goodbye, Nora.” Returning the hug for a moment, Julie finally stepped back, afraid that she’d just break down crying again if she didn't leave now. Giving what she hoped was an encouraging smile, for both Nora’s benefit and her own, she took a few steps back. With one last wave, she turned away and was out the door, daring to hope that she really was on the path to healing at last.
OFF:
Lieutenant JG Julie Dormand
Acting ACMO
played by: Commander Zeral
and
Now that the Malinche had received its new orders, Nora had spent one last morning with Gel (PNPC) in San Francisco, helping him to pack his things in preparation for his move onto the ship. Gel had been planning on an extended stay at Starfleet Medical while meeting with some friends and colleagues, and so it had taken them the better part of an hour to put everything to rights. Now he was in his new quarters, settling in and getting his bearings, leaving Nora with time enough to take care of a personal matter of her own.
Julie (PNPC) was leaving. The news was bittersweet at best. It was wonderful that her friend was awake and physically recovered, and she knew that Julie’s decision to take an indefinite leave of absence to fully heal mentally and emotionally was a wise one. Still, it was painful to see her leave, and she couldn’t help but wonder if they’d ever serve on the same ship again.
When the doorchime rang, Nora knew it was Julie, come to say goodbye as she’d promised to do a day or so before in Sickbay. Swallowing thickly, Nora forbade herself to get emotional before they’d even had a chance to talk and called for the doctor to step inside.
As Julie came through the doors, she offered a tentative smile to Nora. She was unsurprised when her friend beckoned her further inside her quarters with her usual warm welcome, and it was heartening to see that Nora wasn’t treating her like fragile glass. Julie was already intimately aware of the mountains she had yet to climb along the road to recovery. It helped when people still treated her like she was just plain Julie, suicide attempt or no suicide attempt.
“You’re looking well,” Nora smiled. It was true, to a degree, at least. Julie had regained some of her color since the last time Nora had visited her, but she still looked tired and pale. “Why don’t you have a seat. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?”
“No, thanks anyway,” Julie said, taking her usual seat. She’d been advised to eat wholesome foods and drink plenty of water after her stay in Sickbay, and she knew that the advice had some real merit, but the doctor’s appetite had yet to fully return to her. “My mother promised me a home-cooked meal when I get in tonight. I might as well save what appetite I have until then.”
Nora couldn’t argue with that logic. She sat across from Julie, her smile gentle as she tucked her legs up under her. It was rather informal, but she was off-duty and with a friend, so she didn’t think it mattered if she tried to relax a little. “I bet your mother is thrilled to have someone to cook for again. You told me that she’s practically a gourmet chef, didn’t you?”
Julie smiled softly, picturing her mother and her enormous kitchen. “I’ll bet she’s excited too.” In fact, Rebecca Redford loved anything and everything that had to do with entertaining or being a hostess, even with her own daughter. “Which is just as well, considering…well, considering the situation,” Julie sighed. “It wasn’t easy, telling her what happened.”
With a sympathetic smile, Nora nodded. “I imagine that took a lot of courage, Julie. In fact, it took a lot of courage just to admit that you needed personal time to confront this,” she said frankly. “I’m going to miss you, but I really do believe that you’re doing the right thing. The most important thing in the world right now is that you take care of yourself.”
Julie said nothing for a time, keeping her eyes on the floor rather than look at Nora. She knew that her friend was right, but for some reason, that didn’t make it any easier to hear. A few weeks ago, she’d tried to take her own life, and very nearly succeeded. Waking up alive had been bittersweet at best. There was part of her that wanted to pretend like it had never happened, to just jump back into her work and press on like she had before. But the greater part of her knew that she wasn’t well, and no amount of counseling in the world would help her if she didn’t remove herself for a time from the things that reminded her of the loss of her husband. Unfortunately, since they’d met and served together in Starfleet, and since he’d died on a starship, that essentially meant she needed to remove herself from Starfleet.
Hard as it was, it was the right thing to do, the surest way that she knew how to stay on the road to recovery, to truly and properly find a way to grieve for her dead husband. Before she went, however, there was one thing that she had to do. “Nora,” she began hoarsely, “you have to know that I… I never wanted you to see me like that. When you found me, I mean.”
It had been one of the worst moments in Nora’s life. Even now, she could vividly remember when she and Setak had found Julie in her quarters, barely alive and scarcely even breathing. Nora had been truly devastated, fixated on all the signs she’d missed leading up to Julie’s suicide attempt. After that had come anger, even resentment. She’d wondered bitterly for a handful of days how Julie could do that to them, to her family, to any friends who had ever loved her. Didn’t she know that her death would solve no problems at all, but leave behind a void for her loved ones that could never be filled?
Now, though, she was just…grateful. Grateful that they’d found her in time. Grateful that Setak had been able to save her life. Grateful that Julie was willing to do what she had to in order to ensure her own full and complete recovery. “I know, Julie,” she said quietly, meaning every word. “I know that you never intended to hurt anyone.”
“But I did,” Julie said, her voice choked with tears. “I just wasn’t thinking about anyone or anything except myself and my own pain. I wasn’t thinking about how my mother would feel, or my father, or you, or anyone at all. And for that, I am sorry.”
Nora wiped a silent tear from her face. “You weren’t yourself, Julie. It’s hardly your fault that you were in such a dark place. But I think that you should know that I’m sorry too.” The tears that she’d been keeping in check flowed all the more freely now. “If I hadn’t have been so distracted by my work, I might have noticed the obvious pain you were in. I feel like I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most, and for that I will always be sorry.”
“That’s not true, Nora,” Julie choked out through her tears. “You and Setak saved my life. I wouldn’t call that not being there for me.” Laughing humorlessly through her tears, she asked, “I don’t suppose you have a tissue handy? I can’t even see through all of these tears.”
“Neither can I,” Nora laughed. “Fortunately, I keep a reserve nearby at all times. An old habit from my years as a counselor.” Taking a handful of tissues for herself, she handed a veritable stack to her friend. Rather than returning to her seat, she sat next to Julie. “I’m going to miss you, Julie. I have so few people I can cry my eyes out in front of these days.”
Julie’s smile was still watery. “You know that I’ll miss you too, Nora. But I hope that our friendship doesn’t end here. I know it doesn’t, in fact. And I was hoping you could do something for me.” At Nora’s nod, Julie continued. “I haven't seen Setak since he returned, so I left a letter for him in Sickbay. I wanted to thank him for saving my life, among other things. I think we were almost friends, before all of this happened.”
“I’ll make sure that he gets it,” Nora promised. “Now, you have to promise me that you’ll take all the time that you need while you face this. Don’t cut corners and don’t rush your recovery. Eat as many home cooked meals as you can and spend lots of time with your family. Those two things might help the very most,” she smiled. “Then, who knows? Maybe you’ll be right back here on the Malinche.”
“And then I can meet this new gentleman caller of yours,” Julie smirked, sniffling. “I’m sorry that I can’t meet him now. I just…I don’t want him to see me like this. First impressions and all that.”
Nora could well understand where Julie was coming from. “No need to be sorry. It’ll keep, I’m sure. Or, if Gel and I don’t make a go of things in the end, you won’t have wasted your time playing nice with your friend’s significant other.”
“There is that,” Julie nodded. A beat of silence passed, and they each knew that the time had come. “Well, I really should get going. I was going to meet my mother planet side.” Setting down her unused wad of tissues, Julie stood to go.
Nora took a deep breath and stood as well, still smiling even as her tears started up all over again. “Take care of yourself. If you need anything from me, anything at all, you’ll always know where to find me.” When the doctor nodded jerkily, Nora reached out to embrace her. “Goodbye, Julie.”
“Goodbye, Nora.” Returning the hug for a moment, Julie finally stepped back, afraid that she’d just break down crying again if she didn't leave now. Giving what she hoped was an encouraging smile, for both Nora’s benefit and her own, she took a few steps back. With one last wave, she turned away and was out the door, daring to hope that she really was on the path to healing at last.
OFF:
Lieutenant JG Julie Dormand
Acting ACMO
played by: Commander Zeral
and
Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
<<USS Malinche, Bridge, Day 1, 1800>>
Aurora exited from the turbolift and onto the bridge and gave the watch officer a polite nod as she headed to the ready room. She prepared to touch the chime, then she hesitated and quickly turned to an ensign. "Is there anything on my back?" she asked.
"I beg your pardon, sir?" the ensign replied, confused.
"Is there anything on my back?" Aurora asked.
"Um...other than your tunic? No, sir."
"Any weird stains? Even on my trousers?"
"No, sir."
"...Fine. Thank you, ensign. Carry on." The ensign scurried away, now probably thinking the CEO was insane, she thought. Sighing, she touched the door chime...
<Ready Room>
So far, Isabel's day had been quite busy. She'd made a point to go back to Spacedock briefly for a stroll around the Promenade, but otherwise had been preparing for their departure and next mission. It wasn't until after lunch that she had received the files on the doctors who would be their guests and Isabel was just now getting around to reading through them. Her reading was interrupted, however, when she heard her doorchime. "Enter," Isabel called out, presuming it was one of her senior staff.
Aurora entered, happy to be away from the curious eyes of the bridge crew.
Seeing that her visitor was Aurora, Isabel offered her a smile and brief nod before gesturing towards one of the seats across from her. "Come on in, Lieutenant, have a seat," Isabel said as she turned away from her display. "Do you have the report I requested, or is there something I can do for you?"
"I have the report," Aurora replied as she sat down. She reached over and handed the captain her report, "All three warp drives are online and working well. I can get you to wherever it is you need to go, either together or in pieces," she smiled, "Not many engineers can boast the latter."
"Excellent," Isabel answered, smiling as she took the report. "I'm very glad to hear that. For now I believe we'll be going in one piece, but it's good to hear that we'd be able to use MVAM. There have been a few times when we weren't able to reintegrate the three parts of the ship after going into MVAM and taking damage. And you're right, not many can say they can go somewhere in multiple pieces." Glancing down at the PADD, she skimmed the contents of the report, but nothing in particular stood out to her. "Did anything in particular give you any trouble, Lieutenant?"
Aurora considered noting her practical joker, but mentioning it to the captain without consulting the XO would have made her look twice as bad; it would have shown she could not only not handle her people, but she had no faith in the first officer. Captains were not supposed to be worrying about that nonsense. Instead she just shrugged and said, "Nothing I can't handle, sir. I was meaning to ask; this group of doctors; I understand we are just giving them a ride. Even so do you know whether or not they have any particular needs? Labs, power requirements, test subjects? In the case of the latter I may be able to spare a crew man or two. All in the cause of science, of course."
Isabel raised an eyebrow at Aurora's mention of test subjects. The comment made her wonder if the new Chief Engineering was having trouble with a few people after all. "I did send messages to the doctors asking them to inform me if they need any labs or other equipment. A few would be interested in having a small neuro-lab setup so they can do some last minute work before their symposium. I'll send you their specifications."
Aurora nodded, "I will coordinate with Chief Ops, he might have a better idea where a lab would be best suited off the top of his head but it might just be a matter of the two of us pouring over the schematics." A slight smile crossed her face. A late night of studying schematics with the handsome Ops officer did not sound bad, not at all. Include milkshakes and it sounded almost like a date...
"I'm sure Lieutenant JG Davis could assist you. He or someone in his department is likely to know of some lab space that isn't currently being used that would be suitable. Obviously with the doctors arriving tomorrow morning we won't have a great deal of time to get it put together, so just do your best," Isabel explained as she turned to the few PADDs stacked on her desk. Activating one of them, she glanced at the contents and nodded in satisfaction as she saw it was, in fact, the lab specifications. She passed the PADD over to her Chief Engineer, "Here they are. Apparently I already had them on a PADD."
Aurora accepted the PADD and only gave it a cursory once-over; the captain's time was valuable and she did not need to be sitting there while her CEO wasted it. Nothing strange leaped out at her. Placing it on her lap, she said, "There is one more thing, captain; I need to make a quick trip onto the station and drop something off at the diplomatic office. I have been going back and forth with some bureaucrat for the past three days and I finally have him cowed. I need to have a package delivered back home," she hesitated, then added, "It is important. I won't be gone more than an hour." I hope, she added mentally...
Isabel raised an eyebrow as Aurora mentioned 'one more thing'. Technically she had ordered that everyone be back to the ship by now, but they weren't leaving until tomorrow anyway. She nodded, "Very well, Lieutenant, but make sure it is a quick trip. The doctors will arrive at 1000 tomorrow morning and we'll be departing shortly after. I'm sure they would like to have that lab available when they get here as well. Understood?"
"Understood, captain," Aurora said with a nod. Taking that as a dismissal and suppressing an urge to apologize profusely, she said, "Well, if that's all, sir, I'll go make that trip..."
Nodding to indicate she felt they'd discussed everything necessary, Isabel then replied, "Go ahead, Lieutenant. Let me know if you need anything while putting the lab together and when it's finished. Have a good evening." She watched as her new Chief Engineer stood and left the room. Admittedly, she was curious as to what it was that Aurora needed to drop off to a diplomat at Spacedock, but for now she planned to leave the matter alone. She still had plenty to do before they left.
OFF:
JP brought to you by:
Lieutenant JG Aurora
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Aurora exited from the turbolift and onto the bridge and gave the watch officer a polite nod as she headed to the ready room. She prepared to touch the chime, then she hesitated and quickly turned to an ensign. "Is there anything on my back?" she asked.
"I beg your pardon, sir?" the ensign replied, confused.
"Is there anything on my back?" Aurora asked.
"Um...other than your tunic? No, sir."
"Any weird stains? Even on my trousers?"
"No, sir."
"...Fine. Thank you, ensign. Carry on." The ensign scurried away, now probably thinking the CEO was insane, she thought. Sighing, she touched the door chime...
<Ready Room>
So far, Isabel's day had been quite busy. She'd made a point to go back to Spacedock briefly for a stroll around the Promenade, but otherwise had been preparing for their departure and next mission. It wasn't until after lunch that she had received the files on the doctors who would be their guests and Isabel was just now getting around to reading through them. Her reading was interrupted, however, when she heard her doorchime. "Enter," Isabel called out, presuming it was one of her senior staff.
Aurora entered, happy to be away from the curious eyes of the bridge crew.
Seeing that her visitor was Aurora, Isabel offered her a smile and brief nod before gesturing towards one of the seats across from her. "Come on in, Lieutenant, have a seat," Isabel said as she turned away from her display. "Do you have the report I requested, or is there something I can do for you?"
"I have the report," Aurora replied as she sat down. She reached over and handed the captain her report, "All three warp drives are online and working well. I can get you to wherever it is you need to go, either together or in pieces," she smiled, "Not many engineers can boast the latter."
"Excellent," Isabel answered, smiling as she took the report. "I'm very glad to hear that. For now I believe we'll be going in one piece, but it's good to hear that we'd be able to use MVAM. There have been a few times when we weren't able to reintegrate the three parts of the ship after going into MVAM and taking damage. And you're right, not many can say they can go somewhere in multiple pieces." Glancing down at the PADD, she skimmed the contents of the report, but nothing in particular stood out to her. "Did anything in particular give you any trouble, Lieutenant?"
Aurora considered noting her practical joker, but mentioning it to the captain without consulting the XO would have made her look twice as bad; it would have shown she could not only not handle her people, but she had no faith in the first officer. Captains were not supposed to be worrying about that nonsense. Instead she just shrugged and said, "Nothing I can't handle, sir. I was meaning to ask; this group of doctors; I understand we are just giving them a ride. Even so do you know whether or not they have any particular needs? Labs, power requirements, test subjects? In the case of the latter I may be able to spare a crew man or two. All in the cause of science, of course."
Isabel raised an eyebrow at Aurora's mention of test subjects. The comment made her wonder if the new Chief Engineering was having trouble with a few people after all. "I did send messages to the doctors asking them to inform me if they need any labs or other equipment. A few would be interested in having a small neuro-lab setup so they can do some last minute work before their symposium. I'll send you their specifications."
Aurora nodded, "I will coordinate with Chief Ops, he might have a better idea where a lab would be best suited off the top of his head but it might just be a matter of the two of us pouring over the schematics." A slight smile crossed her face. A late night of studying schematics with the handsome Ops officer did not sound bad, not at all. Include milkshakes and it sounded almost like a date...
"I'm sure Lieutenant JG Davis could assist you. He or someone in his department is likely to know of some lab space that isn't currently being used that would be suitable. Obviously with the doctors arriving tomorrow morning we won't have a great deal of time to get it put together, so just do your best," Isabel explained as she turned to the few PADDs stacked on her desk. Activating one of them, she glanced at the contents and nodded in satisfaction as she saw it was, in fact, the lab specifications. She passed the PADD over to her Chief Engineer, "Here they are. Apparently I already had them on a PADD."
Aurora accepted the PADD and only gave it a cursory once-over; the captain's time was valuable and she did not need to be sitting there while her CEO wasted it. Nothing strange leaped out at her. Placing it on her lap, she said, "There is one more thing, captain; I need to make a quick trip onto the station and drop something off at the diplomatic office. I have been going back and forth with some bureaucrat for the past three days and I finally have him cowed. I need to have a package delivered back home," she hesitated, then added, "It is important. I won't be gone more than an hour." I hope, she added mentally...
Isabel raised an eyebrow as Aurora mentioned 'one more thing'. Technically she had ordered that everyone be back to the ship by now, but they weren't leaving until tomorrow anyway. She nodded, "Very well, Lieutenant, but make sure it is a quick trip. The doctors will arrive at 1000 tomorrow morning and we'll be departing shortly after. I'm sure they would like to have that lab available when they get here as well. Understood?"
"Understood, captain," Aurora said with a nod. Taking that as a dismissal and suppressing an urge to apologize profusely, she said, "Well, if that's all, sir, I'll go make that trip..."
Nodding to indicate she felt they'd discussed everything necessary, Isabel then replied, "Go ahead, Lieutenant. Let me know if you need anything while putting the lab together and when it's finished. Have a good evening." She watched as her new Chief Engineer stood and left the room. Admittedly, she was curious as to what it was that Aurora needed to drop off to a diplomat at Spacedock, but for now she planned to leave the matter alone. She still had plenty to do before they left.
OFF:
JP brought to you by:
Lieutenant JG Aurora
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
<<USS Malinche, Corridor, Day 1, 2100>>
Aurora had just arrived back on board after a hasty trip off the ship to the station's diplomatic offices. The officious jerk there had not been exactly happy to hear how she had wanted something physically delivered back home to what he probably thought was some remote backwater, but Aurora really did not give a damn. She did not have enough leave time to make the trip there and back herself. She paused and lifted her PADD and made a mental note; was there some sort of market for bringing back UPS or Federal Express? She smiled; imagining brown or blue and orange colored starships zipping through space...
She shook herself and then tapped her comm badge, "Lieutenant..." she quickly scrolled through her PADD to her cheat sheet, for his name, "...Davis, this is Lieutenant Aurora. I was wondering if you had time to discuss an issue regarding our prospective guests?"
<Davis' Quarters>
James heard the young lady's voice while he was resting in his quarters. He had been taking it easy over the past several days after suffering numerous injuries from his now defunct exercise program. He wasn't able to get around much. It took him nearly two minutes to go from his bed to his couch. Luckily, he wore his comm badge in case someone needed him. "Sure, meet me in my quarters. I'm not going to try and go anywhere just yet."
<Corridor>
Aurora wondered what he meant by that, but she figured she would find out soon enough, "All right, I'm on my way."
<Davis' Quarters>
Aurora soon arrived at his door and pressed the chime. Upon being allowed in, she froze in the doorway and stared at the man who sat bonelessly on his couch. "Are you all right?" she asked, concerned, "Should I call a medical technician?"
James looked up at the Engineering Chief and gave her a warm smile. "I appreciate your concern, Lieutenant. I'm just recovering from a dislocation of the hip and a concussion. Luckily, I'll be cleared soon after another therapy session today. I'm hoping anyways. So," James said, adjusting his posture on the couch, "What did you want to discuss with me?"
Aurora hesitated. On the one hand, she felt terrible making James do anything; the man looked like he needed a week on Risa. But on the other hand they were under a tight time table and she needed his help. At last she approached him and handed him a PADD. "The doctors we are going to be transporting wish to have access to a lab," she explained, "The captain wants us to arrange some facilities for them. Those are their specifications."
"Hmmmm... I see. Well, it looks like we made need to have a talk with the Science department and possibly the Medical team about this. I understand they need a lab, but I'm an Operations chief, not a doctor," James replied. He wouldn't know where to find a lab if it bit him on the backside. "Unless you have an idea of your own, that's the only logical solution."
"Not a bad idea," Aurora replied, "If we had a week. Unfortunately, we don't. The captain wants it set up as soon as inhumanly possible. I recognize most of the equipment but I don't have a clue where to install it. Each ship is a little different and I know you know Malinche a lot better than I do. If you can give me a good idea where to set up shop then we can get the equipment installed and get the doctor or Chief Science Officer to iron out the flaws."
Aurora did make a good point. Between her and James, he knew the ship better. "The only thing I can honestly think of is to head to the Science department and set up there. If our guests need any equipment, I or the Science team can fetch it for them." James knew that time was a factor in getting their guests settled in and making sure they had the right equipment to do what ever they needed to do.
"Um," was Aurora's initial reply as she stared at the wall. "And the problem I see with that," she replied, "Is it removes the privacy these specs strongly imply our visitors have dem..." she smiled wryly, "Requested. They want some private little cubby hole in which to conduct their insane experiments. Entirely unreasonable, I know, but there it is."
"And here I thought this was going to be easy," James groaned. Hearing that their visitors needed a private area made him uneasy to say the least. "If this is what they want," James said as he stood up slowly, "then, let's not waste any time debating over this. We are going to need to locate every resource available and give our guests the best we can offer."
Aurora frowned, "I'll tell you what; you set about figuring out where to put the equipment, while I go consult with the science staff and get said equipment. By the time you've narrowed down where it goes, I'll have it ready to move."
"Fair enough," James said. He already knew that this was going to be a tougher task than he originally thought. "I like your idea, Aurora. Then again, my brain is still scrambled from the concussion I suffered. I'll go see what I can dig up and contact you the moment I find something. Sound good?"
Aurora nodded. She felt terribly guilty about asking James to do anything with the condition he was in, but they were on a tight schedule. What had happened to him? The romantic in her imagined that perhaps it involved a girl. Or a man; she had no idea what his orientation was. She stood and said, "Well, do as much as you can laying down, all right? And get your minions to do the leg work for you," she smiled slightly, "And if they object, whip them. You can borrow mine, if you've misplaced yours."
James laughed and attempted to stretch only to groan in pain. He lifted himself back up and made eye contact with the Engineering Chief. "I guess there's no trying to act tough," James replied. "Sorry, I get carried away around beautiful women. But enough about that, I'll go check the medical labs on Deck 6. There may be some vacant labs the doctors can use."
Aurora grimaced, "Well, I won't stop you...because likely I would end up breaking something," her expression softened, "Thank you, lieutenant." Aurora exited the Chief of Ops' quarters, wondering what had happened to him. She had been so obsessed with her practical joker, drama from home and getting the ship ready she had ignored the drama going on around her. She really needed to pay more attention...
OFF: A JP by:
Lieutenant JG James Davis
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche
and
Aurora had just arrived back on board after a hasty trip off the ship to the station's diplomatic offices. The officious jerk there had not been exactly happy to hear how she had wanted something physically delivered back home to what he probably thought was some remote backwater, but Aurora really did not give a damn. She did not have enough leave time to make the trip there and back herself. She paused and lifted her PADD and made a mental note; was there some sort of market for bringing back UPS or Federal Express? She smiled; imagining brown or blue and orange colored starships zipping through space...
She shook herself and then tapped her comm badge, "Lieutenant..." she quickly scrolled through her PADD to her cheat sheet, for his name, "...Davis, this is Lieutenant Aurora. I was wondering if you had time to discuss an issue regarding our prospective guests?"
<Davis' Quarters>
James heard the young lady's voice while he was resting in his quarters. He had been taking it easy over the past several days after suffering numerous injuries from his now defunct exercise program. He wasn't able to get around much. It took him nearly two minutes to go from his bed to his couch. Luckily, he wore his comm badge in case someone needed him. "Sure, meet me in my quarters. I'm not going to try and go anywhere just yet."
<Corridor>
Aurora wondered what he meant by that, but she figured she would find out soon enough, "All right, I'm on my way."
<Davis' Quarters>
Aurora soon arrived at his door and pressed the chime. Upon being allowed in, she froze in the doorway and stared at the man who sat bonelessly on his couch. "Are you all right?" she asked, concerned, "Should I call a medical technician?"
James looked up at the Engineering Chief and gave her a warm smile. "I appreciate your concern, Lieutenant. I'm just recovering from a dislocation of the hip and a concussion. Luckily, I'll be cleared soon after another therapy session today. I'm hoping anyways. So," James said, adjusting his posture on the couch, "What did you want to discuss with me?"
Aurora hesitated. On the one hand, she felt terrible making James do anything; the man looked like he needed a week on Risa. But on the other hand they were under a tight time table and she needed his help. At last she approached him and handed him a PADD. "The doctors we are going to be transporting wish to have access to a lab," she explained, "The captain wants us to arrange some facilities for them. Those are their specifications."
"Hmmmm... I see. Well, it looks like we made need to have a talk with the Science department and possibly the Medical team about this. I understand they need a lab, but I'm an Operations chief, not a doctor," James replied. He wouldn't know where to find a lab if it bit him on the backside. "Unless you have an idea of your own, that's the only logical solution."
"Not a bad idea," Aurora replied, "If we had a week. Unfortunately, we don't. The captain wants it set up as soon as inhumanly possible. I recognize most of the equipment but I don't have a clue where to install it. Each ship is a little different and I know you know Malinche a lot better than I do. If you can give me a good idea where to set up shop then we can get the equipment installed and get the doctor or Chief Science Officer to iron out the flaws."
Aurora did make a good point. Between her and James, he knew the ship better. "The only thing I can honestly think of is to head to the Science department and set up there. If our guests need any equipment, I or the Science team can fetch it for them." James knew that time was a factor in getting their guests settled in and making sure they had the right equipment to do what ever they needed to do.
"Um," was Aurora's initial reply as she stared at the wall. "And the problem I see with that," she replied, "Is it removes the privacy these specs strongly imply our visitors have dem..." she smiled wryly, "Requested. They want some private little cubby hole in which to conduct their insane experiments. Entirely unreasonable, I know, but there it is."
"And here I thought this was going to be easy," James groaned. Hearing that their visitors needed a private area made him uneasy to say the least. "If this is what they want," James said as he stood up slowly, "then, let's not waste any time debating over this. We are going to need to locate every resource available and give our guests the best we can offer."
Aurora frowned, "I'll tell you what; you set about figuring out where to put the equipment, while I go consult with the science staff and get said equipment. By the time you've narrowed down where it goes, I'll have it ready to move."
"Fair enough," James said. He already knew that this was going to be a tougher task than he originally thought. "I like your idea, Aurora. Then again, my brain is still scrambled from the concussion I suffered. I'll go see what I can dig up and contact you the moment I find something. Sound good?"
Aurora nodded. She felt terribly guilty about asking James to do anything with the condition he was in, but they were on a tight schedule. What had happened to him? The romantic in her imagined that perhaps it involved a girl. Or a man; she had no idea what his orientation was. She stood and said, "Well, do as much as you can laying down, all right? And get your minions to do the leg work for you," she smiled slightly, "And if they object, whip them. You can borrow mine, if you've misplaced yours."
James laughed and attempted to stretch only to groan in pain. He lifted himself back up and made eye contact with the Engineering Chief. "I guess there's no trying to act tough," James replied. "Sorry, I get carried away around beautiful women. But enough about that, I'll go check the medical labs on Deck 6. There may be some vacant labs the doctors can use."
Aurora grimaced, "Well, I won't stop you...because likely I would end up breaking something," her expression softened, "Thank you, lieutenant." Aurora exited the Chief of Ops' quarters, wondering what had happened to him. She had been so obsessed with her practical joker, drama from home and getting the ship ready she had ignored the drama going on around her. She really needed to pay more attention...
OFF: A JP by:
Lieutenant JG James Davis
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche
and
Lieutenant JG Aurora
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
<<Spacedock, Guest Quarters, Day 1, 2130>>
Lieutenant Callum Kochanski was packing the last of his things into a case for transport to the USS Malinche. It was only a small carry case. Big enough for a few sets of clothes and some personal belongings which he'd needed for his short two day stop on board the spacedock before his new assignment began tomorrow. Most of Callum's things had been transported directly to the Malinche by the logistics crew when he first arrived but since the ships official status had been 'on leave' he'd been assigned quarters on the spacedock until he was due to report in on board the Malinche at 10:00 hours tomorrow morning.
Personally, Callum detested the delay. He'd much preferred to report in straight away and use the spare two days to figure out what was what on board the new ship he'd be calling home, and where he'd be serving as Chief Science Officer. He was sure there'd be a lot of changes he'd want to make, finally being in charge of a department himself after butting heads with so many superiors while serving as a junior science officer. This was a chance to run things his way. Still, there were reasons for everything it seemed and his orders were to report at 10:00 before the Malinche departed on its new assignment.
The two days hadn't been a total waste. While life on this Spacedock was obviously far from exciting he'd had the opportunity to catch up on some reading. Which included several science journals and of course the detailed schematics of his new home. Of course he'd also won a poker tournament one of the crewmen had told him about in the lounge and won three strips of latinum from a Ferengi trader.
- It had been just to easy - Callum thought to himself as he picked up the three strips and slid it into his pocket. His superior mathematic skills had been able to track the odds as the game went on and besides, the greedy little man licked his lips every time he had a good hand like a starving cat peering into the window of a fishmonger. The ferengi had been so upset that he demanded the Lieutenant join them tonight for a late night Tongo game. Callum of course was only happy to agree. He had no idea why some humanoid species such as the Ferengi had built such importance around material wealth and yet insisted on risking it in games of chance, but to Callum it was an interesting experiment.
Before he left his quarters Callum finished packing up the collection of PADDs and loose ends around the room into the case and closed it. Packing was extremely easy for Callum as unlike the ferengi he didn't have many possession's and he was used to being a nomadic individual with no ties to a home planet or family. At one point, not so long ago he'd only had the clothes on his back and stood alone in the universe... Something that was both liberating and lonely. Still, he was here, and tomorrow he was setting out on his next great adventure. Tonight however, he was taking that Ferengi for at least another three strips... As a social experiment of course.
OFF
Lieutenant Callum Kochanski was packing the last of his things into a case for transport to the USS Malinche. It was only a small carry case. Big enough for a few sets of clothes and some personal belongings which he'd needed for his short two day stop on board the spacedock before his new assignment began tomorrow. Most of Callum's things had been transported directly to the Malinche by the logistics crew when he first arrived but since the ships official status had been 'on leave' he'd been assigned quarters on the spacedock until he was due to report in on board the Malinche at 10:00 hours tomorrow morning.
Personally, Callum detested the delay. He'd much preferred to report in straight away and use the spare two days to figure out what was what on board the new ship he'd be calling home, and where he'd be serving as Chief Science Officer. He was sure there'd be a lot of changes he'd want to make, finally being in charge of a department himself after butting heads with so many superiors while serving as a junior science officer. This was a chance to run things his way. Still, there were reasons for everything it seemed and his orders were to report at 10:00 before the Malinche departed on its new assignment.
The two days hadn't been a total waste. While life on this Spacedock was obviously far from exciting he'd had the opportunity to catch up on some reading. Which included several science journals and of course the detailed schematics of his new home. Of course he'd also won a poker tournament one of the crewmen had told him about in the lounge and won three strips of latinum from a Ferengi trader.
- It had been just to easy - Callum thought to himself as he picked up the three strips and slid it into his pocket. His superior mathematic skills had been able to track the odds as the game went on and besides, the greedy little man licked his lips every time he had a good hand like a starving cat peering into the window of a fishmonger. The ferengi had been so upset that he demanded the Lieutenant join them tonight for a late night Tongo game. Callum of course was only happy to agree. He had no idea why some humanoid species such as the Ferengi had built such importance around material wealth and yet insisted on risking it in games of chance, but to Callum it was an interesting experiment.
Before he left his quarters Callum finished packing up the collection of PADDs and loose ends around the room into the case and closed it. Packing was extremely easy for Callum as unlike the ferengi he didn't have many possession's and he was used to being a nomadic individual with no ties to a home planet or family. At one point, not so long ago he'd only had the clothes on his back and stood alone in the universe... Something that was both liberating and lonely. Still, he was here, and tomorrow he was setting out on his next great adventure. Tonight however, he was taking that Ferengi for at least another three strips... As a social experiment of course.
OFF
Lieutenant Callum Kochanski
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
<<Starbase, Day one, 23:30>>
As Aurora loitered in the waiting room she took a moment to look over her video message again. She felt terribly nervous, not only because she was introducing herself to someone who could conceivably change her life, but she also knew that this message would be a metaphorical shot across the bow of The Bureaucracy.
“Hello, Aurora oh four ten Dee,” she said in the recording, “My name is Aurora oh four oh eight Ay. I also go by the nick-name ‘Dis’. I earned the name by being disruptive, disobedient, and causing dismay to my elders.” She winked, smiled, “While I did not choose the nick-name, I’ve done my best to live up to it. I have been informed by my big sister Kelly that in three years I might become yours. Nothing is set in stone yet so this might just turn out to be some bizarre message you get from the weird Aurora everyone talks about."
“I have included with this letter a model of a gunboat, it is the first model I ever made. I was twelve years old when I made it. I remember purchasing the plastic and resin and spending hours molding each piece, using all available schematics by way of reference. I am especially proud of the deflector dish and phaser turrets. It took me quite a while to simulate the worn paint, I used a…”
Aurora smiled self-consciously, “Well, anyway, the second item is a telescope. This was a gift given to me by my sister Kelly, it was in turn given to her by her big sister, and given to her by hers. It is pretty old, so please be careful with it,” she paused and added, “But if you do break it, I’m sure you can find a handsome young Leonard that will help you fix it.
“I am sending you these two gifts because I want you to understand me. The telescope illustrates my pride as an Aurora; I respect all the Auroras that came before us and their accomplishments. But the second gift, the gunboat, represents my pride in my own accomplishments. You might be too young to understand this but I feel that our lives, yours and mine, is a balance between what is best for our society and what is best for ourselves. Many thought me becoming an engineer was selfish. Maybe it was, a little. Some thought I was arrogant, that I presumed to know better than my elders. And I suppose I did just that. But I lead a productive life, and someday, when I come home, I will have so much knowledge to impart, so many stories to tell! And if I had stayed at home, taken the job at that observatory, then I would have missed so many wonderful experiences, missed so many amazing sights. I have witnessed some extraordinary things; I hope someday I might be able to tell you about them.
“I would be proud to be your big sister, Aurora. And if I was assigned to you I would gladly come home to take care of you. But I thought that perhaps it might be a greater opportunity for you to come here to live with me. The Federation is a pretty exciting place. It might feel lonely at first, not having your other sisters about, but you could make new friends. And the new friends might seem strange, with weird spots and pointed ears and strange skin tones and funny foreheads. It certainly took me long enough to get used to all the diversity, and frankly I am still coming to terms with it. But I am certain I seem strange to many of them with my weird beige skin and flat forehead and stumpy ears.
“I am living a bold adventure out here and every day is a joy. And I think it might be fun, having a little sister to share it with. That is why I have made inquiries here to see the feasibility of having you live with me. Out here you will have access to sights and experiences no one else back home does. And perhaps you will be able to have bold adventures of your own that you can share with some little Aurora of your own, someday. You could be the navigator of a starship, guiding a vessel to uncharted territories. Or you could be an astrophysicist studying a strange new phenomena. Or maybe you might want to be a gardener or a doctor or an artist. Maybe even...an engineer?"
Aurora shut the message off and nodded. It sounded good to her. The Bureaucracy did not want people having adventures; they wanted everything neat and orderly, like their gridwork cities. But the universe was a messy place and they were going to have to deal with it sooner or later.
Aurora hated using the girl as a pawn, but she was already in play; The Bureaucracy was to blame for that. She stood as the attache entered the room. She accepted the packages along with the strict instructions; only Aurora 0410/D was to receive them, only Aurora 0410/D was to see the message. The Bureaucracy would see it eventually, of course.
Aurora wished she could see the looks on their collective faces when they did...
As Aurora loitered in the waiting room she took a moment to look over her video message again. She felt terribly nervous, not only because she was introducing herself to someone who could conceivably change her life, but she also knew that this message would be a metaphorical shot across the bow of The Bureaucracy.
“Hello, Aurora oh four ten Dee,” she said in the recording, “My name is Aurora oh four oh eight Ay. I also go by the nick-name ‘Dis’. I earned the name by being disruptive, disobedient, and causing dismay to my elders.” She winked, smiled, “While I did not choose the nick-name, I’ve done my best to live up to it. I have been informed by my big sister Kelly that in three years I might become yours. Nothing is set in stone yet so this might just turn out to be some bizarre message you get from the weird Aurora everyone talks about."
“I have included with this letter a model of a gunboat, it is the first model I ever made. I was twelve years old when I made it. I remember purchasing the plastic and resin and spending hours molding each piece, using all available schematics by way of reference. I am especially proud of the deflector dish and phaser turrets. It took me quite a while to simulate the worn paint, I used a…”
Aurora smiled self-consciously, “Well, anyway, the second item is a telescope. This was a gift given to me by my sister Kelly, it was in turn given to her by her big sister, and given to her by hers. It is pretty old, so please be careful with it,” she paused and added, “But if you do break it, I’m sure you can find a handsome young Leonard that will help you fix it.
“I am sending you these two gifts because I want you to understand me. The telescope illustrates my pride as an Aurora; I respect all the Auroras that came before us and their accomplishments. But the second gift, the gunboat, represents my pride in my own accomplishments. You might be too young to understand this but I feel that our lives, yours and mine, is a balance between what is best for our society and what is best for ourselves. Many thought me becoming an engineer was selfish. Maybe it was, a little. Some thought I was arrogant, that I presumed to know better than my elders. And I suppose I did just that. But I lead a productive life, and someday, when I come home, I will have so much knowledge to impart, so many stories to tell! And if I had stayed at home, taken the job at that observatory, then I would have missed so many wonderful experiences, missed so many amazing sights. I have witnessed some extraordinary things; I hope someday I might be able to tell you about them.
“I would be proud to be your big sister, Aurora. And if I was assigned to you I would gladly come home to take care of you. But I thought that perhaps it might be a greater opportunity for you to come here to live with me. The Federation is a pretty exciting place. It might feel lonely at first, not having your other sisters about, but you could make new friends. And the new friends might seem strange, with weird spots and pointed ears and strange skin tones and funny foreheads. It certainly took me long enough to get used to all the diversity, and frankly I am still coming to terms with it. But I am certain I seem strange to many of them with my weird beige skin and flat forehead and stumpy ears.
“I am living a bold adventure out here and every day is a joy. And I think it might be fun, having a little sister to share it with. That is why I have made inquiries here to see the feasibility of having you live with me. Out here you will have access to sights and experiences no one else back home does. And perhaps you will be able to have bold adventures of your own that you can share with some little Aurora of your own, someday. You could be the navigator of a starship, guiding a vessel to uncharted territories. Or you could be an astrophysicist studying a strange new phenomena. Or maybe you might want to be a gardener or a doctor or an artist. Maybe even...an engineer?"
Aurora shut the message off and nodded. It sounded good to her. The Bureaucracy did not want people having adventures; they wanted everything neat and orderly, like their gridwork cities. But the universe was a messy place and they were going to have to deal with it sooner or later.
Aurora hated using the girl as a pawn, but she was already in play; The Bureaucracy was to blame for that. She stood as the attache entered the room. She accepted the packages along with the strict instructions; only Aurora 0410/D was to receive them, only Aurora 0410/D was to see the message. The Bureaucracy would see it eventually, of course.
Aurora wished she could see the looks on their collective faces when they did...
Lieutenant JG Aurora
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
<<USS Malinche Shuttlebay, Day one, 19:00>>
ON:
Alister watched a runabout pull into the Malinche’s shuttle bay, he waited until it had fully powered down before stepping into the bay proper. “Welcome aboard Chief, Lieutenant,” he said grinning as the pair of occupants exited, both wore the gray uniform of Starfleet Intelligence. He didn’t bother with a formal greeting instead extending his hand to the Chief, “Good to see you again Harkness, it’s been awhile since Betazed.”
The gray haired human smiled and shook his extended hand, “Good to see you again, sir.”
Alister turned to look at the Trill female and studied her face closely, “I was surprised to see a request for your transfer to Intel. I thought you were going to return to Trill after the joining.”
The Trill looked up, “That was my plan, but everything changed with the joining. It was awkward with the family and to be honest I got tired of being poked by the Doctors of the Institution. They were amazed the symbiont survived, and kept running test after test. I figured at least Starfleet would give me a break and since…” She paused and shrugged her shoulders, “I figured to take you up on your offer.”
Alister smiled and wrapped an arm around the Trill, “Well Tirania, glad to have you aboard. After all the Maurita symbiont has been involved with Starfleet Intelligence for two life times.” He let go as they stepped into the corridor, “I brought both of you here to help expand the capacity of the Intelligence section. They lack hands on experience doing Covert Ops, I plan on correcting that. We’ll start running them through the basic Covert Ops training and seeing how much they remember from their training.”
“No problem, sir,” Harkness said with a nod, “We’ll knock the rust of them.”
OFF:
ON:
Alister watched a runabout pull into the Malinche’s shuttle bay, he waited until it had fully powered down before stepping into the bay proper. “Welcome aboard Chief, Lieutenant,” he said grinning as the pair of occupants exited, both wore the gray uniform of Starfleet Intelligence. He didn’t bother with a formal greeting instead extending his hand to the Chief, “Good to see you again Harkness, it’s been awhile since Betazed.”
The gray haired human smiled and shook his extended hand, “Good to see you again, sir.”
Alister turned to look at the Trill female and studied her face closely, “I was surprised to see a request for your transfer to Intel. I thought you were going to return to Trill after the joining.”
The Trill looked up, “That was my plan, but everything changed with the joining. It was awkward with the family and to be honest I got tired of being poked by the Doctors of the Institution. They were amazed the symbiont survived, and kept running test after test. I figured at least Starfleet would give me a break and since…” She paused and shrugged her shoulders, “I figured to take you up on your offer.”
Alister smiled and wrapped an arm around the Trill, “Well Tirania, glad to have you aboard. After all the Maurita symbiont has been involved with Starfleet Intelligence for two life times.” He let go as they stepped into the corridor, “I brought both of you here to help expand the capacity of the Intelligence section. They lack hands on experience doing Covert Ops, I plan on correcting that. We’ll start running them through the basic Covert Ops training and seeing how much they remember from their training.”
“No problem, sir,” Harkness said with a nod, “We’ll knock the rust of them.”
OFF:
Lieutenant Alister McKeon
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
ON:
<<Earth Spacedock, Promenade, Barley Tea Room, Day 2, 0940>>
Janor Keel (NPC) had given specific instructions regarding how his belongings should be transported to the Malinche as soon as he had gotten ready in the morning. After having a nice chat with the young man who would be seeing them out, the Trill had headed to the Promenade for a last morning tea at the quaint Barley Tea Room before he had to meet with the others. He had arrived at 0900 hours and since then had been sipping his green tea while talking with the other patrons.
It was his understanding that he was to meet up with Darius Xerx (NPC), Alexander Hansen(NPC), and a new Malinche crewmember at 0945 to head over to the ship. Thus far he hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Darius or the crewmember....Callum, if he recalled correctly, but Janor had had lunch with Alexander the day before.
The Trill had heard stories about Eldred Brun - the Cardassian had made several advances in neurosurgery. Being the youngest doctor in this group, Janor was eager to meet Eldred, who had made the kinds of advances that he hoped to achieve during his career. He had met Azek Ren, a Bajoran neurologist, on a couple occasions and was looking forward to seeing him again. From what Janor gathered from Alexander, it seemed that Delia Banks was not exactly...sociable, but an interesting woman nonetheless.
Delicately picking up the teacup, the Trill finished the last sip of his green tea. He stood, a charming smile across his face, and waved to the Barley Tea Room owner, an Englishman named Toby Edwards (NPC), "Thank you for the wonderful tea, Mr. Edwards. The next time I'm at Spacedock I'll be sure to return. You have a delightful business here, my friend."
"I'm glad to hear it, Doctor. I'll be sure to stock up on green tea if I know you're coming," Toby replied with a grin.
With a final nod, Janor turned and left the establishment. It was time to meet up with the others.
OFF: Tag Kochanski/Zeral (JP coming your way)
Doctor Janor Keel (NPC)
Neurologist
Trill
played by:
<<Earth Spacedock, Promenade, Barley Tea Room, Day 2, 0940>>
Janor Keel (NPC) had given specific instructions regarding how his belongings should be transported to the Malinche as soon as he had gotten ready in the morning. After having a nice chat with the young man who would be seeing them out, the Trill had headed to the Promenade for a last morning tea at the quaint Barley Tea Room before he had to meet with the others. He had arrived at 0900 hours and since then had been sipping his green tea while talking with the other patrons.
It was his understanding that he was to meet up with Darius Xerx (NPC), Alexander Hansen(NPC), and a new Malinche crewmember at 0945 to head over to the ship. Thus far he hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Darius or the crewmember....Callum, if he recalled correctly, but Janor had had lunch with Alexander the day before.
The Trill had heard stories about Eldred Brun - the Cardassian had made several advances in neurosurgery. Being the youngest doctor in this group, Janor was eager to meet Eldred, who had made the kinds of advances that he hoped to achieve during his career. He had met Azek Ren, a Bajoran neurologist, on a couple occasions and was looking forward to seeing him again. From what Janor gathered from Alexander, it seemed that Delia Banks was not exactly...sociable, but an interesting woman nonetheless.
Delicately picking up the teacup, the Trill finished the last sip of his green tea. He stood, a charming smile across his face, and waved to the Barley Tea Room owner, an Englishman named Toby Edwards (NPC), "Thank you for the wonderful tea, Mr. Edwards. The next time I'm at Spacedock I'll be sure to return. You have a delightful business here, my friend."
"I'm glad to hear it, Doctor. I'll be sure to stock up on green tea if I know you're coming," Toby replied with a grin.
With a final nod, Janor turned and left the establishment. It was time to meet up with the others.
OFF: Tag Kochanski/Zeral (JP coming your way)
Doctor Janor Keel (NPC)
Neurologist
Trill
played by:
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
-
Davis
- Senior Staff
- Posts: 142
- Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 12:20 pm
- Location: Strasburg, Virginia
- Contact:
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
OOC: Day 1 post
ON: <USS Malinche, en route to Captain's Ready Room, Day 1, 2230>
James walked slowly down the corridor with his reports in hand. With the new mission about to begin, he needed to report to Captain Kersare letting her know that the ship was ready when needed and fully operational. Despite his injuries and the little chat he had with Lieutenant Aurora, he worked feverishly to insure that this mission could start without any trouble. The only issues he had was the slowly diminishing pain in his hip and finding suitable labs for the doctors they were transporting. He kept his crew busy with finishing repairs and making sure the ship was ready and did the lab scouting alone. Once Aurora was able to acquire the proper equipment, he could help get the labs set up.
He reached the Ready Room of the Captain and rang the door chime. He had a bad feeling that he would be here a while after giving the Captain his status report. There was almost a guarantee in the young Lieutenant's mind that Kersare was informed of his demise and that she would want to, at the least, debrief him on the situation.
<Ready Room>
It had already been a long day and Isabel was hoping it would be over soon. Aurora had already stopped by, but she had yet to hear from James. As she put down the latest PADD, her attention turned towards the door as she heard the chime. "Come in," Isabel called out, sitting a little straighter in her chair.
"Good evening, Captain. I apologize for reporting late." James said as he entered the Ready Room, hiding his limp the best way he could. "Okay, act natural," he thought to himself. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was going to get yet another lecture. Clearing his throat, he handed the Captain the reports from his department. "All systems are reading normal, ma'am. I had some issues with the amount of power running to the weapons systems. It's not that we may not have to use force on this mission, but I didn't want to take any chances in case we run into any trouble along the way."
He stood straight while shifting his weight to the right side ever so slightly to relieve some of the stress from his left side. "Also, I spoke with Lieutenant Aurora about our guests. I found some unused labs on Deck 6. Hopefully that will be sufficient for them, given the time that we have to do this. Hence why I am late with my status report."
Isabel listened as James spoke and then gestured towards one of the chairs in front of her desk, "Good evening, Lieutenant. Why don't you have a seat?" She waited for him to do so before continuing, "I'm glad to hear that systems are reading normal. It sounds like between our staff and Spacedock's staff we have finished repairs... And I agree, we don't want to take any chances. The unused labs on Deck 6 should be fine; do you think the modifications will be completed in time?"
"I don't see a reason why they shouldn't," James replied, getting comfortable in his seat, "Barring any major setbacks, I think that the preparations will be ready by early tomorrow at the latest." James was starting to feel a little more easy knowing that the Captain was pleased with the repair and system statuses. There was no mention of his escapades during shoreleave, at least not yet. "I'll be sure to send some of my night crew to help continue making the modifications before I call it a night. I've been taking your advice in getting a night's rest to be ready for the next day. I've got a good crew that I can trust while I'm resting."
Nodding thoughtfully, Isabel's eyes made their way back over to James. "I'm glad to hear you've been getting more rest and that you can trust the others in your department..." She paused for a moment before continuing, "From what I understand, though, it's not entirely of your own choosing that you've been taking things a little easier the past few days." Although Isabel hadn't exactly spelled out what she knew to be true, she was sure that James would understand. The medical staff generally didn't let things slip by her, especially when they happened to one of her senior staff.
James' face began to feel flushed after the words that the Captain had just spoken. He couldn't even let out his usually embarrassed smile. His worries had been proven true. Luckily for him, Sickbay patched him up back to working form. Only a shred of discomfort remained where he had dislocated his hip. He looked back at Kersare with a serious look, not wanting to give her any more reasons to lecture him. "Rest assured, Captain, I plan on never doing that again. There were security flaws in that program and said program has since been destroyed. I think I'll be sticking to using the holodecks as a relaxation tactic and use a safer means to train."
His tone was firm, but polite and respectful. During any normal conversation or routine status check with a superior, like the Captain, James would throw a smile or two in. This time, he knew he went too far. "I apologize for any wrongdoing, Captain," James said, using the same tone, "I will accept any form of punishment that may be or will be handed down by you." It was highly unusual for James to put himself in that position. But, in his own mind, he had to accept the consequences for his actions. The holographic doctor was right, he could have been more seriously injured or killed. Also, he felt that he let Kersare down for being careless. He was one of her senior officers, he could not afford to get on her bad side.
Isabel shook her head, "I'm not one to punish someone for flaws in a program. You were injured, but sickbay patched you up. Obviously I don't want any of my crew to be injured, but it happens sometimes. When I send crew on away missions, I know there's always the danger of them being hurt or even killed. Those are the risks one takes when they sign up for StarFleet. There's nothing wrong with using the holodeck for training as well as relaxation, but perhaps see about using one of the standard training programs or, if you create one yourself, try to be extra sure that there aren't flaws."
"Understood, Captain," James said, nodding to his Commanding Officer. He knew what needed to be done, both for himself and for the current objective. Seeing that it was getting late, he needed his rest. But before he could get the rest he wanted, he needed to get his crew ready for the night. "Permission to leave, Captain? Unless you have something to discuss with me, of course." James felt better knowing he wasn't punished for his mistake.
"Absolutely, Lieutenant. If you need any additional assistance with the labs, please let myself or Commander Zeral know and we'll see about finding you some help. Goodnight," Isabel answered, offering him a small smile. She was confident the lab would be ready for their guests; at this point she was eager to be underway.
OFF:
JP brought to you by:
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
ON: <USS Malinche, en route to Captain's Ready Room, Day 1, 2230>
James walked slowly down the corridor with his reports in hand. With the new mission about to begin, he needed to report to Captain Kersare letting her know that the ship was ready when needed and fully operational. Despite his injuries and the little chat he had with Lieutenant Aurora, he worked feverishly to insure that this mission could start without any trouble. The only issues he had was the slowly diminishing pain in his hip and finding suitable labs for the doctors they were transporting. He kept his crew busy with finishing repairs and making sure the ship was ready and did the lab scouting alone. Once Aurora was able to acquire the proper equipment, he could help get the labs set up.
He reached the Ready Room of the Captain and rang the door chime. He had a bad feeling that he would be here a while after giving the Captain his status report. There was almost a guarantee in the young Lieutenant's mind that Kersare was informed of his demise and that she would want to, at the least, debrief him on the situation.
<Ready Room>
It had already been a long day and Isabel was hoping it would be over soon. Aurora had already stopped by, but she had yet to hear from James. As she put down the latest PADD, her attention turned towards the door as she heard the chime. "Come in," Isabel called out, sitting a little straighter in her chair.
"Good evening, Captain. I apologize for reporting late." James said as he entered the Ready Room, hiding his limp the best way he could. "Okay, act natural," he thought to himself. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was going to get yet another lecture. Clearing his throat, he handed the Captain the reports from his department. "All systems are reading normal, ma'am. I had some issues with the amount of power running to the weapons systems. It's not that we may not have to use force on this mission, but I didn't want to take any chances in case we run into any trouble along the way."
He stood straight while shifting his weight to the right side ever so slightly to relieve some of the stress from his left side. "Also, I spoke with Lieutenant Aurora about our guests. I found some unused labs on Deck 6. Hopefully that will be sufficient for them, given the time that we have to do this. Hence why I am late with my status report."
Isabel listened as James spoke and then gestured towards one of the chairs in front of her desk, "Good evening, Lieutenant. Why don't you have a seat?" She waited for him to do so before continuing, "I'm glad to hear that systems are reading normal. It sounds like between our staff and Spacedock's staff we have finished repairs... And I agree, we don't want to take any chances. The unused labs on Deck 6 should be fine; do you think the modifications will be completed in time?"
"I don't see a reason why they shouldn't," James replied, getting comfortable in his seat, "Barring any major setbacks, I think that the preparations will be ready by early tomorrow at the latest." James was starting to feel a little more easy knowing that the Captain was pleased with the repair and system statuses. There was no mention of his escapades during shoreleave, at least not yet. "I'll be sure to send some of my night crew to help continue making the modifications before I call it a night. I've been taking your advice in getting a night's rest to be ready for the next day. I've got a good crew that I can trust while I'm resting."
Nodding thoughtfully, Isabel's eyes made their way back over to James. "I'm glad to hear you've been getting more rest and that you can trust the others in your department..." She paused for a moment before continuing, "From what I understand, though, it's not entirely of your own choosing that you've been taking things a little easier the past few days." Although Isabel hadn't exactly spelled out what she knew to be true, she was sure that James would understand. The medical staff generally didn't let things slip by her, especially when they happened to one of her senior staff.
James' face began to feel flushed after the words that the Captain had just spoken. He couldn't even let out his usually embarrassed smile. His worries had been proven true. Luckily for him, Sickbay patched him up back to working form. Only a shred of discomfort remained where he had dislocated his hip. He looked back at Kersare with a serious look, not wanting to give her any more reasons to lecture him. "Rest assured, Captain, I plan on never doing that again. There were security flaws in that program and said program has since been destroyed. I think I'll be sticking to using the holodecks as a relaxation tactic and use a safer means to train."
His tone was firm, but polite and respectful. During any normal conversation or routine status check with a superior, like the Captain, James would throw a smile or two in. This time, he knew he went too far. "I apologize for any wrongdoing, Captain," James said, using the same tone, "I will accept any form of punishment that may be or will be handed down by you." It was highly unusual for James to put himself in that position. But, in his own mind, he had to accept the consequences for his actions. The holographic doctor was right, he could have been more seriously injured or killed. Also, he felt that he let Kersare down for being careless. He was one of her senior officers, he could not afford to get on her bad side.
Isabel shook her head, "I'm not one to punish someone for flaws in a program. You were injured, but sickbay patched you up. Obviously I don't want any of my crew to be injured, but it happens sometimes. When I send crew on away missions, I know there's always the danger of them being hurt or even killed. Those are the risks one takes when they sign up for StarFleet. There's nothing wrong with using the holodeck for training as well as relaxation, but perhaps see about using one of the standard training programs or, if you create one yourself, try to be extra sure that there aren't flaws."
"Understood, Captain," James said, nodding to his Commanding Officer. He knew what needed to be done, both for himself and for the current objective. Seeing that it was getting late, he needed his rest. But before he could get the rest he wanted, he needed to get his crew ready for the night. "Permission to leave, Captain? Unless you have something to discuss with me, of course." James felt better knowing he wasn't punished for his mistake.
"Absolutely, Lieutenant. If you need any additional assistance with the labs, please let myself or Commander Zeral know and we'll see about finding you some help. Goodnight," Isabel answered, offering him a small smile. She was confident the lab would be ready for their guests; at this point she was eager to be underway.
OFF:
JP brought to you by:
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant JG James Walker Davis
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
ON:
<<USS Malinche, Mellix’s Quarters, 1600, Day 1>>
Standing in the dead center of his new quarters, Gel (PNPC) took stock of his current living arrangements. The suite was fairly Spartan, especially compared to the way he lived back on Betazed, but it suited his simple tastes well enough. Besides, he’d hardly expected some of the palatial quarters one might find on a Galaxy-class ship, and he was happy enough just to have a little space of his own while on board the Malinche.
The sound of the doorchime broke the silence. Actually sensing that it was Nora standing in the corridor outside, Gel couldn’t help but smile at her arrival. Even though he’d spent all morning with her, he’d been strangely anxious to see her again. Forcing himself to wipe the silly grin off his face—he was a grown man, for the love of the gods—he called out, “Come in, Nora.”
Nora, it seemed, had no compunction about grins, silly or otherwise. She was wreathed with smiles as she came through the doors, hefting a rather large potted plant in her arms that was nearly half her size. Hastening forward, Gel took the plant from her, getting a face full of thick, pointy leafs for his efforts as he awkwardly set it on the table. “What’s all this, then?” he asked with a soft laugh.
“A house-warming present,” Nora promptly replied, watching with ill-hid amusement as Gel wiped a little dirt off his hands. It was obvious just by the way he’d handled the plant that he had little experience of them, but she was happy to be the one to introduce him to the wonderful world of houseplants. “I thought it might brighten up your new quarters a bit. What do you think?”
Looking over the plant in a mock-serious fashion, Gel appeared to mull the question over. “I think the chances of me killing it are extremely high, to be honest.” At Nora’s fondly exasperated look, he hastily added, “But I still think it’s wonderfully thoughtful of you, Nora. What exactly is it?”
Nora stepped nearer to the table, fondly rubbing one of the dark green leafs between her fingers. “It’s a dracaena marginata. It’s native to Earth, and it’s notoriously easy to take care of,” she said, giving him a pointed look. “You’d have to try very hard to kill something as hardy as a dracaena, Gel, so don’t panic just yet. Besides, you can always call me if you need a little help. I’ll come running.”
Gel couldn’t help but smile at the mental image of Nora racing through the corridors of the Malinche in an attempt to save an ill-fated houseplant. Perhaps more amusing than that was the fact that it wasn’t so far from the truth. He could easily imagine her running to the rescue of any living creature, big or small. “Your brother did say you had a weakness for plants and animals,” he said aloud.
“Guilty,” Nora readily agreed. “These plants can get very large, though, so you might want to think about keeping it someplace where it has plenty of room to grow.” Turning her attention away from the plant, Nora glanced around the room. “It looks like you have plenty of places to choose from. How do you like your new quarters?”
“Well enough,” Gel said in all honesty. “I’m looking forward to seeing the stars fly past out those windows there. As of now, though, there’s a nice view of Earth, so I really can’t complain.” He and Nora both gravitated towards the viewport, observing the planet below. “How soon before we leave?”
Nora turned to look up at Gel. “Within the next day or so, I believe. All of the doctors should be coming onboard sometime tomorrow morning.” Oddly enough, Gel, being a neurologist himself, knew almost all of the doctors and had even told Nora a little something about each of them.
“I should say hello to Darius and Janor when they come aboard,” Gel murmured. “Although they’re going to ask all sorts of questions about what I’m really doing here. Darius especially, I shouldn’t wonder.” Dr. Darius Xerx (NPC) was an old friend and former colleague back on Betazed. Unlike Gel, Darius no longer attached himself to a traditional practice, choosing instead to travel and research as opposed to seeing very many patients.
“You should spend some time with them,” Nora agreed. “I also have it on good authority that you’ll be invited to dine with the doctors and the senior staff tomorrow. You are technically one of their colleagues, after all. And, if I’m not mistaken, you were actually planning on attending the symposium yourself before…” Nora wasn’t even sure how to finish that particular sentence. Fortunately, Gel stepped in to help.
“Before this,” Gel said simply. “Before us. Before I realized that nothing, not even a thrilling symposium for neurologists and related researchers, could possibly top an exciting trip into the depths of space on board a Starfleet vessel.”
Laughing softly, Nora impulsively reached for his hand. “Well, yes.” With their fingers twined together, they both turned their attention to the beautiful scenery beyond the viewport once more. “I’ve never done anything as impulsive as this. Well, almost never. A girl has to have some secrets,” she said impishly.
“We’re Betazoids, Nora,” was Gel’s dry reply. “We don’t keep secrets very well, remember? It’s not in our nature.” In a society where everyone’s thoughts were open to everyone else, keeping secrets was practically impossible. There was no purpose in hiding one’s beliefs or opinions, and it made for a generally rather open-minded, if blunt, society.
Rolling her eyes, Nora gave Gel a dry look. “Everyone has secrets, Gel. Even telepaths sometimes,” she laughed. “But enough about that. Since we’re going to be dining with the doctors tomorrow, I wonder if you’d be amenable to me stealing you tonight for a quiet evening of our own. What do you say to dinner and drinks at my place? That way you can properly meet all my plants,” she added teasingly.
“I can think of nothing I’d like more than to meet your vast collection of plants,” Gel replied. “And, of course, dinner with yourself wouldn’t be too much trouble either,” he said gallantly, earning an amused chuckle from Nora. At her suggestion of meeting in her quarters at eighteen hundred hours, Gel readily agreed. As she turned to leave, he snagged his arm around her waist, turning her about for a quick kiss. “For the plant,” he said, adding mischievously, “and because I wanted to.”
One tawny eyebrow raised, Nora smiled in bemusement. “Right. Eighteen hundred hours, then,” she said as she turned to go again, only slightly flustered. Once in the corridor again, Nora waited until she had taken a few steps before she stopped, touching her fingers lightly to her lips. Her smile growing, she hummed to herself all the way back to her quarters.
OFF:
Dr. Gel Mellix (PNPC)
Surgeon
Emil Mellix Surgical Center of Betazed
played by Commander Zeral
and
<<USS Malinche, Mellix’s Quarters, 1600, Day 1>>
Standing in the dead center of his new quarters, Gel (PNPC) took stock of his current living arrangements. The suite was fairly Spartan, especially compared to the way he lived back on Betazed, but it suited his simple tastes well enough. Besides, he’d hardly expected some of the palatial quarters one might find on a Galaxy-class ship, and he was happy enough just to have a little space of his own while on board the Malinche.
The sound of the doorchime broke the silence. Actually sensing that it was Nora standing in the corridor outside, Gel couldn’t help but smile at her arrival. Even though he’d spent all morning with her, he’d been strangely anxious to see her again. Forcing himself to wipe the silly grin off his face—he was a grown man, for the love of the gods—he called out, “Come in, Nora.”
Nora, it seemed, had no compunction about grins, silly or otherwise. She was wreathed with smiles as she came through the doors, hefting a rather large potted plant in her arms that was nearly half her size. Hastening forward, Gel took the plant from her, getting a face full of thick, pointy leafs for his efforts as he awkwardly set it on the table. “What’s all this, then?” he asked with a soft laugh.
“A house-warming present,” Nora promptly replied, watching with ill-hid amusement as Gel wiped a little dirt off his hands. It was obvious just by the way he’d handled the plant that he had little experience of them, but she was happy to be the one to introduce him to the wonderful world of houseplants. “I thought it might brighten up your new quarters a bit. What do you think?”
Looking over the plant in a mock-serious fashion, Gel appeared to mull the question over. “I think the chances of me killing it are extremely high, to be honest.” At Nora’s fondly exasperated look, he hastily added, “But I still think it’s wonderfully thoughtful of you, Nora. What exactly is it?”
Nora stepped nearer to the table, fondly rubbing one of the dark green leafs between her fingers. “It’s a dracaena marginata. It’s native to Earth, and it’s notoriously easy to take care of,” she said, giving him a pointed look. “You’d have to try very hard to kill something as hardy as a dracaena, Gel, so don’t panic just yet. Besides, you can always call me if you need a little help. I’ll come running.”
Gel couldn’t help but smile at the mental image of Nora racing through the corridors of the Malinche in an attempt to save an ill-fated houseplant. Perhaps more amusing than that was the fact that it wasn’t so far from the truth. He could easily imagine her running to the rescue of any living creature, big or small. “Your brother did say you had a weakness for plants and animals,” he said aloud.
“Guilty,” Nora readily agreed. “These plants can get very large, though, so you might want to think about keeping it someplace where it has plenty of room to grow.” Turning her attention away from the plant, Nora glanced around the room. “It looks like you have plenty of places to choose from. How do you like your new quarters?”
“Well enough,” Gel said in all honesty. “I’m looking forward to seeing the stars fly past out those windows there. As of now, though, there’s a nice view of Earth, so I really can’t complain.” He and Nora both gravitated towards the viewport, observing the planet below. “How soon before we leave?”
Nora turned to look up at Gel. “Within the next day or so, I believe. All of the doctors should be coming onboard sometime tomorrow morning.” Oddly enough, Gel, being a neurologist himself, knew almost all of the doctors and had even told Nora a little something about each of them.
“I should say hello to Darius and Janor when they come aboard,” Gel murmured. “Although they’re going to ask all sorts of questions about what I’m really doing here. Darius especially, I shouldn’t wonder.” Dr. Darius Xerx (NPC) was an old friend and former colleague back on Betazed. Unlike Gel, Darius no longer attached himself to a traditional practice, choosing instead to travel and research as opposed to seeing very many patients.
“You should spend some time with them,” Nora agreed. “I also have it on good authority that you’ll be invited to dine with the doctors and the senior staff tomorrow. You are technically one of their colleagues, after all. And, if I’m not mistaken, you were actually planning on attending the symposium yourself before…” Nora wasn’t even sure how to finish that particular sentence. Fortunately, Gel stepped in to help.
“Before this,” Gel said simply. “Before us. Before I realized that nothing, not even a thrilling symposium for neurologists and related researchers, could possibly top an exciting trip into the depths of space on board a Starfleet vessel.”
Laughing softly, Nora impulsively reached for his hand. “Well, yes.” With their fingers twined together, they both turned their attention to the beautiful scenery beyond the viewport once more. “I’ve never done anything as impulsive as this. Well, almost never. A girl has to have some secrets,” she said impishly.
“We’re Betazoids, Nora,” was Gel’s dry reply. “We don’t keep secrets very well, remember? It’s not in our nature.” In a society where everyone’s thoughts were open to everyone else, keeping secrets was practically impossible. There was no purpose in hiding one’s beliefs or opinions, and it made for a generally rather open-minded, if blunt, society.
Rolling her eyes, Nora gave Gel a dry look. “Everyone has secrets, Gel. Even telepaths sometimes,” she laughed. “But enough about that. Since we’re going to be dining with the doctors tomorrow, I wonder if you’d be amenable to me stealing you tonight for a quiet evening of our own. What do you say to dinner and drinks at my place? That way you can properly meet all my plants,” she added teasingly.
“I can think of nothing I’d like more than to meet your vast collection of plants,” Gel replied. “And, of course, dinner with yourself wouldn’t be too much trouble either,” he said gallantly, earning an amused chuckle from Nora. At her suggestion of meeting in her quarters at eighteen hundred hours, Gel readily agreed. As she turned to leave, he snagged his arm around her waist, turning her about for a quick kiss. “For the plant,” he said, adding mischievously, “and because I wanted to.”
One tawny eyebrow raised, Nora smiled in bemusement. “Right. Eighteen hundred hours, then,” she said as she turned to go again, only slightly flustered. Once in the corridor again, Nora waited until she had taken a few steps before she stopped, touching her fingers lightly to her lips. Her smile growing, she hummed to herself all the way back to her quarters.
OFF:
Dr. Gel Mellix (PNPC)
Surgeon
Emil Mellix Surgical Center of Betazed
played by Commander Zeral
and
Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
ON:
<<Earth Spacedock, Promenade, Art Gallery, Day 2, 0945>>
After leaving the Barley Tea Room, Janor (NPC) made his way to the rather large art gallery on the other side of the Promenade. The others, namely Darius (NPC), Alexander (NPC), and Callum, were to meet up with the Trill here. He was, of course, right on time. Janor's emerald eyes searched the crowds, looking for his companions.
Impatiently pushing his way through the visitors milling outside the art gallery, Alexander paused to brush off his tunic before stepping inside. He was not necessarily an introvert, but he could live rather happily without crowds all the same. Spotting Janor across the room, the human waved and approached his colleague. “Punctual as usual, Dr. Keel,” he said with a friendly smile. “I should have known. No sign of Xerx or the Starfleet officer yet, I take it?”
The Trill smiled warmly at the Terran, "Indeed, Dr. Hansen. And no, I've not seen Dr. Xerx or the StarFleet officer, but I just arrived here myself." Janor leaned slightly closer to Alexander and confessed, "I was having one last green tea at the Barley Tea Room before we left."
“Smart man,” Alexander chuckled. “Or should I say, smart Trill,” he amended. “Heaven only knows I’m not looking forward to replicator food for the next few days. They never get things quite right, I’ve always said.” Alexander had indulged in a very large, very red Porterhouse steak just the night before for that very reason. Chances were he wouldn’t be finding any truly great red meat until he was home again on Earth.
About to expound even further upon his inherent dislike of replicator technology, Alexander was waylaid by the sound of his name being called somewhere behind him. Turning on his heel, he smiled in greeting as a tall Betazoid approached them. “Ah, Dr. Xerx. You’re surprisingly punctual, for once,” he grinned. Angling his body so that Janor was still part of the group, he began introductions. “Dr. Keel, I don’t believe you’ve met Dr. Darius Xerx of Betazed, though I'm sure you've read some of his published research. Dr. Xerx, this is Dr. Janor Keel of Trill. Don’t let his age fool you, though—he’s one to watch, mark my words.”
Janor smiled and nodded to the Betazoid, "It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Xerx. I must say I have quite enjoyed reading your research - some of the most intriguing I've come across." After a quick glance and slight shake of his head at Alexander's words, he continued, "Dr. Hansen is too kind. I'm really just getting started; I'm certainly not yet to the level of anyone who will be at this conference."
Darius (NPC) openly rolled his eyes at Alexander’s punctuality remark. While the Betazoid did have a bit of a reputation for showing up late, he didn’t think his timing was all that terrible. “Don’t act so surprised, Alex,” he remarked good-naturedly. “I’m always on time when it counts.” Turning his attention to Janor, Darius gave him a friendly smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Dr. Keel. I’m glad that you’ve found my research worthwhile. Some of my older work, I’m not afraid to admit, is both outdated and naïve, but I do my best to contribute. And Dr. Hansen is never too kind,” he added conspiratorially. “He only praises those who are truly praiseworthy. I’m looking forward to seeing some of your own work.”
"Thank you kindly, Dr. Xerx," the Trill replied graciously. "It seems that we'll have some time to learn more about each others' work on our journey, if we're so inclined. And I took the liberty of requesting a neurology lab on the Malinche, which the Captain has agreed to provide." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a man in a teal StarFleet uniform headed their way. Perhaps this was the officer they were to meet up with.
"Is this a medical conference or an art appreciation society?" The blue uniformed said, commenting on the location and smiling warmly with One hand clutching a bag of what looked like food. "Lieutenant Callum Kochanski, Chief Science officer of the starship Malinche, but please hold the congratulations until I've actually seen the ship." He circled around on the spot quickly studying the people surrounding him and quickly putting names to faces. He then something from the bag he was holding. "Would anybody like an Earth delicacy?" He asked as he put the something in his mouth and offered the bag forward to the esteemed doctors. "They are called jelly beans."
After briefly observing the newcomer with a slightly raised eyebrow, Darius gave the human a friendly nod in greeting. Judging by the officer's introduction, he supposed that the entire group would be getting their first glimpses of the USS Malinche together. “That’s kind of you, Lieutenant Kochanski,” he said in response to Callum’s offer. “But I’m afraid that I for one don’t have much of a sweet tooth. At the risk of being rude, I think I’ll pass,” he smiled.
The Trill offered the StarFleet officer a smile, "Pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant." Janor glanced at the other doctors as he tried to decide whether or not to try the jelly beans. They didn't seem particularly appealing to him, especially after his tea, but he felt he should at least try one. "I can't say I've had a jelly bean before, but I believe I'd like to try one, if that's alright," Janor replied.
"Oh, you should." Kochanski said as he beckoned the bag towards the physician. "They're awfully good."
Taking a single jelly bean out of the bag, Janor looked at it a little more closely. It didn't look revolting, at least, but it also didn't look appetizing to the doctor. Still, he popped it into his mouth and managed a polite smile as he chewed. And chewed. The sugary sweetness of it was something of an assault on his tastebuds, but he didn't want to be rude. After swallowing, the Trill managed, "Certainly an interesting delicacy..."
Kochanski smiled and took one himself. He could tell the Trill was not keen on the sweet but to Callum they were only the latest in a long list of amazing discoveries he'd made in his time around humans and other Federation cultures.
After watching Janor’s reaction, Alexander chuckled and clapped the younger doctor on the back. “Not quite the same as some of your Trill delicacies, is it?” Unlike his companions, Alexander rather liked jellybeans. With a slight smile and a nod, he accepted Callum’s offer and took a small handful. “Something for the walk to the ship. And speaking of which, we should probably be heading there now that we’re all accounted for.”
Janor glanced over at Alexander and discreetly raised an eyebrow, "Each culture has their own unique tastes. Trill foods are distinct from Terrans' foods...and Klingon foods are...different as well. In any event, I agree, we should be on our way. I'm eager to see this Prometheus class starship and the neurology lab."
"Oh yes, lets. I'm as excited to see my new post as you are!" Kochanski said as he hid the jelly beans in his pocket for later. "I'd be rather interested to see this neurology lab of yours as well. Does anyone know if there was someone being sent here to meet us or shall we make our own way?"
“If I understand correctly, we’re supposed to go to airlock four. Someone should be waiting there for us to welcome us aboard,” Darius supplied. As the group left the art gallery together, the Betazoid turned to Kochanski. “Between you and me, I’m excited to see this neurology lab of ours too. I’m rather curious to see what they’ve managed to cook up for us on such short notice,” he chuckled.
Smiling, Janor replied, "If they were able to put everything in that I requested, it should be quite a neurology lab. I asked for everything I could think of that we might need. I imagine the Chief Medical Officer of the Malinche might be interested in it as well. Perhaps they'll even keep the lab later on. Lead the way to airlock four, Lieutenant."
OFF: JP brought to you by:
Lieutenant Callum Kochanski
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Doctor Alexander Hansen (NPC)
Neurologist
played by: Cdr Zeral
and
Doctor Darius Xerx (NPC)
Neurologist
played by: Cdr Zeral
and
Doctor Janor Keel (NPC)
Neurologist
played by:
<<Earth Spacedock, Promenade, Art Gallery, Day 2, 0945>>
After leaving the Barley Tea Room, Janor (NPC) made his way to the rather large art gallery on the other side of the Promenade. The others, namely Darius (NPC), Alexander (NPC), and Callum, were to meet up with the Trill here. He was, of course, right on time. Janor's emerald eyes searched the crowds, looking for his companions.
Impatiently pushing his way through the visitors milling outside the art gallery, Alexander paused to brush off his tunic before stepping inside. He was not necessarily an introvert, but he could live rather happily without crowds all the same. Spotting Janor across the room, the human waved and approached his colleague. “Punctual as usual, Dr. Keel,” he said with a friendly smile. “I should have known. No sign of Xerx or the Starfleet officer yet, I take it?”
The Trill smiled warmly at the Terran, "Indeed, Dr. Hansen. And no, I've not seen Dr. Xerx or the StarFleet officer, but I just arrived here myself." Janor leaned slightly closer to Alexander and confessed, "I was having one last green tea at the Barley Tea Room before we left."
“Smart man,” Alexander chuckled. “Or should I say, smart Trill,” he amended. “Heaven only knows I’m not looking forward to replicator food for the next few days. They never get things quite right, I’ve always said.” Alexander had indulged in a very large, very red Porterhouse steak just the night before for that very reason. Chances were he wouldn’t be finding any truly great red meat until he was home again on Earth.
About to expound even further upon his inherent dislike of replicator technology, Alexander was waylaid by the sound of his name being called somewhere behind him. Turning on his heel, he smiled in greeting as a tall Betazoid approached them. “Ah, Dr. Xerx. You’re surprisingly punctual, for once,” he grinned. Angling his body so that Janor was still part of the group, he began introductions. “Dr. Keel, I don’t believe you’ve met Dr. Darius Xerx of Betazed, though I'm sure you've read some of his published research. Dr. Xerx, this is Dr. Janor Keel of Trill. Don’t let his age fool you, though—he’s one to watch, mark my words.”
Janor smiled and nodded to the Betazoid, "It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Xerx. I must say I have quite enjoyed reading your research - some of the most intriguing I've come across." After a quick glance and slight shake of his head at Alexander's words, he continued, "Dr. Hansen is too kind. I'm really just getting started; I'm certainly not yet to the level of anyone who will be at this conference."
Darius (NPC) openly rolled his eyes at Alexander’s punctuality remark. While the Betazoid did have a bit of a reputation for showing up late, he didn’t think his timing was all that terrible. “Don’t act so surprised, Alex,” he remarked good-naturedly. “I’m always on time when it counts.” Turning his attention to Janor, Darius gave him a friendly smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Dr. Keel. I’m glad that you’ve found my research worthwhile. Some of my older work, I’m not afraid to admit, is both outdated and naïve, but I do my best to contribute. And Dr. Hansen is never too kind,” he added conspiratorially. “He only praises those who are truly praiseworthy. I’m looking forward to seeing some of your own work.”
"Thank you kindly, Dr. Xerx," the Trill replied graciously. "It seems that we'll have some time to learn more about each others' work on our journey, if we're so inclined. And I took the liberty of requesting a neurology lab on the Malinche, which the Captain has agreed to provide." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a man in a teal StarFleet uniform headed their way. Perhaps this was the officer they were to meet up with.
"Is this a medical conference or an art appreciation society?" The blue uniformed said, commenting on the location and smiling warmly with One hand clutching a bag of what looked like food. "Lieutenant Callum Kochanski, Chief Science officer of the starship Malinche, but please hold the congratulations until I've actually seen the ship." He circled around on the spot quickly studying the people surrounding him and quickly putting names to faces. He then something from the bag he was holding. "Would anybody like an Earth delicacy?" He asked as he put the something in his mouth and offered the bag forward to the esteemed doctors. "They are called jelly beans."
After briefly observing the newcomer with a slightly raised eyebrow, Darius gave the human a friendly nod in greeting. Judging by the officer's introduction, he supposed that the entire group would be getting their first glimpses of the USS Malinche together. “That’s kind of you, Lieutenant Kochanski,” he said in response to Callum’s offer. “But I’m afraid that I for one don’t have much of a sweet tooth. At the risk of being rude, I think I’ll pass,” he smiled.
The Trill offered the StarFleet officer a smile, "Pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant." Janor glanced at the other doctors as he tried to decide whether or not to try the jelly beans. They didn't seem particularly appealing to him, especially after his tea, but he felt he should at least try one. "I can't say I've had a jelly bean before, but I believe I'd like to try one, if that's alright," Janor replied.
"Oh, you should." Kochanski said as he beckoned the bag towards the physician. "They're awfully good."
Taking a single jelly bean out of the bag, Janor looked at it a little more closely. It didn't look revolting, at least, but it also didn't look appetizing to the doctor. Still, he popped it into his mouth and managed a polite smile as he chewed. And chewed. The sugary sweetness of it was something of an assault on his tastebuds, but he didn't want to be rude. After swallowing, the Trill managed, "Certainly an interesting delicacy..."
Kochanski smiled and took one himself. He could tell the Trill was not keen on the sweet but to Callum they were only the latest in a long list of amazing discoveries he'd made in his time around humans and other Federation cultures.
After watching Janor’s reaction, Alexander chuckled and clapped the younger doctor on the back. “Not quite the same as some of your Trill delicacies, is it?” Unlike his companions, Alexander rather liked jellybeans. With a slight smile and a nod, he accepted Callum’s offer and took a small handful. “Something for the walk to the ship. And speaking of which, we should probably be heading there now that we’re all accounted for.”
Janor glanced over at Alexander and discreetly raised an eyebrow, "Each culture has their own unique tastes. Trill foods are distinct from Terrans' foods...and Klingon foods are...different as well. In any event, I agree, we should be on our way. I'm eager to see this Prometheus class starship and the neurology lab."
"Oh yes, lets. I'm as excited to see my new post as you are!" Kochanski said as he hid the jelly beans in his pocket for later. "I'd be rather interested to see this neurology lab of yours as well. Does anyone know if there was someone being sent here to meet us or shall we make our own way?"
“If I understand correctly, we’re supposed to go to airlock four. Someone should be waiting there for us to welcome us aboard,” Darius supplied. As the group left the art gallery together, the Betazoid turned to Kochanski. “Between you and me, I’m excited to see this neurology lab of ours too. I’m rather curious to see what they’ve managed to cook up for us on such short notice,” he chuckled.
Smiling, Janor replied, "If they were able to put everything in that I requested, it should be quite a neurology lab. I asked for everything I could think of that we might need. I imagine the Chief Medical Officer of the Malinche might be interested in it as well. Perhaps they'll even keep the lab later on. Lead the way to airlock four, Lieutenant."
OFF: JP brought to you by:
Lieutenant Callum Kochanski
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Doctor Alexander Hansen (NPC)
Neurologist
played by: Cdr Zeral
and
Doctor Darius Xerx (NPC)
Neurologist
played by: Cdr Zeral
and
Doctor Janor Keel (NPC)
Neurologist
played by:
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
<<USS Malinche, En Route to Temporary Neurology Lab, Day 2, 1100>>
After a rather horrid morning fighting through the Promenade crowds, Delia Banks (NPC) had eventually made her way to the USS Malinche. Still, she had made it on time and had been shown to her quarters. Unfortunately she had run into the other neurologists, which Delia had been trying to avoid. The one good thing to come out of the conversation was the news that the Malinche crew had been putting together a lab for them to use.
As soon as she had gotten settled in, Delia had set out for the lab. A few of her normal tools were stowed in the pockets of her labcoat and Delia had two PADDs tucked under her arm. She had only had to ask for directions from one lowly Crewman and was now standing in front of the door. After a quick glance around, she moved forward, waited for the door to swish open, and then walked inside.
"No," Aurora said as she rose from the deck, "No, I don't think that is going to work," she sighed and rubbed her forehead and said to chief...Barnes. Yes, that was his name. Name tags! Why couldn't everyone just wear name tags?!
"No, chief," she said, "We better take it apart and-" she heard the doors swish open behind her. She turned and regarded the...civilian? Oh, great; it was probably one of the doctors and the place was a mess. Aurora had flashbacks of Kelly's disapproving stare as she regarded the state of young Aurora 0408/A's bedroom...
Delia frowned as she saw the two StarFleet Officers in the lab, obviously still trying to put it together. It seemed StarFleet hadn't changed since she left it eight years ago. They could never finish anything on time. It was so much better when she was in control. She moved straight towards the young woman with officer's pips, "Lieutenant, what's the problem here? Why isn't the lab put together? We don't have an overly long trip and we'll need this lab for as much time as we can have it."
Aurora forced a reassuring smile on her face as she said, "Doctor, I assure you the lab will be ready to go before the dinner this evening. We have just run into a few unexpected glitches, that's all." Never mind the fact that you jerks could have told us you needed this lab a week ago, she thought sourly.
"That's completely unacceptable; we were told it would be ready when we arrived! I have experiments and testing that I need to start on immediately. I don't care what it takes, but you need to get this finished," Delia said as she glared at the other woman. She'd known nothing good would come of this sudden change in plans. The ship that they were supposed to have taken to the conference was suddenly sent to take medical aid elsewhere and at the last minute she and her colleagues had had to find a different ship to take them. However, they'd also been assured that the lab they needed would be ready.
Aurora kept her anger in check as she said, "I understand, Doctor. I apologize for any inconvenience our shoddy performance may have caused you. However, if you would allow us to continue in our efforts perhaps we could get the lab up and running sooner." If this was the sort of thing someone in Command had to deal with on a daily basis, Aurora thought, then she just wanted to stick with her engines...
Delia raised an eyebrow at the woman's response as her eyes flashed with anger, "I don't appreciate you putting words in my mouth, miss. Is it just you who is rude, or is this something I should expect from the entire crew? I really don't have time for these juvenile insult games. We were told the lab would be ready, you tell me it's not ready and may not be until late today, I explain that that's not acceptable due to some of the analysis the others and I must do, and you imply that I'm saying your work is shoddy? Unbelieveable! You know what, I will leave you to your work, for now. But mark my words, I'm going to the Captain and I'll have you removed from this lab."
Aurora sighed, then said, "Doctor, please do not take any perceived faults you see in me as a reflection of this crew. They and their captain are among the finest in Starfleet. And I apologize for any insult you may have taken."
Her mouth firmed, "But the point still stands; every moment I spend here speaking with you is one less moment I am spending getting your lab up and running. You may ask the captain to replace me with another engineer but that would mean further delay in that he, she or it would then have to spend hours figuring out where I left off. So I politely ask for your permission to get back to work." Before I murder you, Aurora thought to herself...
A little of the anger left Delia's face, but she still frowned. She still didn't like the other woman's attitude nor the fact that the lab wasn't ready, but she couldn't argue with the fact that less work was getting done on the lab while they talked about it. Sighing, Delia answered, "I do see your point, Lieutenant. Fine, I'll leave you to your work, but I want to know the moment this lab is ready. And at the very least, I may at least impress upon the Captain how important it is that the lab be ready as soon as possible."
"Yes, Doctor," Aurora replied, doing her very best to keep the sigh of relief out of her voice, "I will let you and the captain know right away when the lab is up and running. And again I apologize for any delays in your experiments. I realize you are doing important work." I have no idea whatsoever what that work is, she thought. But someone thought it was important...
Delia nodded; she wasn't entirely sure if the engineer was being completely genuine. Regardless, there was little else she could do here now. Perhaps she would unpack...or release some of her frustration in the holodeck. "I look forward to seeing the lab completed," Delia managed. With that, she turned and walked out of the lab.
Aurora waited thirty seconds after the doctor made her exit before she took a deep, calming breath.
"Nicely done, sir," the chief said, "For a moment there I was afraid I was going to have to find a place to stash a body."
Aurora turned to him and smiled, "Glad to hear you would have my back, chief. Now let's get this place up and running before she comes back with reinforcements..."
OFF: JP brought to you by:
Doctor Delia Banks (NPC)
Neurologist
played by: Capt Kersare
and
After a rather horrid morning fighting through the Promenade crowds, Delia Banks (NPC) had eventually made her way to the USS Malinche. Still, she had made it on time and had been shown to her quarters. Unfortunately she had run into the other neurologists, which Delia had been trying to avoid. The one good thing to come out of the conversation was the news that the Malinche crew had been putting together a lab for them to use.
As soon as she had gotten settled in, Delia had set out for the lab. A few of her normal tools were stowed in the pockets of her labcoat and Delia had two PADDs tucked under her arm. She had only had to ask for directions from one lowly Crewman and was now standing in front of the door. After a quick glance around, she moved forward, waited for the door to swish open, and then walked inside.
"No," Aurora said as she rose from the deck, "No, I don't think that is going to work," she sighed and rubbed her forehead and said to chief...Barnes. Yes, that was his name. Name tags! Why couldn't everyone just wear name tags?!
"No, chief," she said, "We better take it apart and-" she heard the doors swish open behind her. She turned and regarded the...civilian? Oh, great; it was probably one of the doctors and the place was a mess. Aurora had flashbacks of Kelly's disapproving stare as she regarded the state of young Aurora 0408/A's bedroom...
Delia frowned as she saw the two StarFleet Officers in the lab, obviously still trying to put it together. It seemed StarFleet hadn't changed since she left it eight years ago. They could never finish anything on time. It was so much better when she was in control. She moved straight towards the young woman with officer's pips, "Lieutenant, what's the problem here? Why isn't the lab put together? We don't have an overly long trip and we'll need this lab for as much time as we can have it."
Aurora forced a reassuring smile on her face as she said, "Doctor, I assure you the lab will be ready to go before the dinner this evening. We have just run into a few unexpected glitches, that's all." Never mind the fact that you jerks could have told us you needed this lab a week ago, she thought sourly.
"That's completely unacceptable; we were told it would be ready when we arrived! I have experiments and testing that I need to start on immediately. I don't care what it takes, but you need to get this finished," Delia said as she glared at the other woman. She'd known nothing good would come of this sudden change in plans. The ship that they were supposed to have taken to the conference was suddenly sent to take medical aid elsewhere and at the last minute she and her colleagues had had to find a different ship to take them. However, they'd also been assured that the lab they needed would be ready.
Aurora kept her anger in check as she said, "I understand, Doctor. I apologize for any inconvenience our shoddy performance may have caused you. However, if you would allow us to continue in our efforts perhaps we could get the lab up and running sooner." If this was the sort of thing someone in Command had to deal with on a daily basis, Aurora thought, then she just wanted to stick with her engines...
Delia raised an eyebrow at the woman's response as her eyes flashed with anger, "I don't appreciate you putting words in my mouth, miss. Is it just you who is rude, or is this something I should expect from the entire crew? I really don't have time for these juvenile insult games. We were told the lab would be ready, you tell me it's not ready and may not be until late today, I explain that that's not acceptable due to some of the analysis the others and I must do, and you imply that I'm saying your work is shoddy? Unbelieveable! You know what, I will leave you to your work, for now. But mark my words, I'm going to the Captain and I'll have you removed from this lab."
Aurora sighed, then said, "Doctor, please do not take any perceived faults you see in me as a reflection of this crew. They and their captain are among the finest in Starfleet. And I apologize for any insult you may have taken."
Her mouth firmed, "But the point still stands; every moment I spend here speaking with you is one less moment I am spending getting your lab up and running. You may ask the captain to replace me with another engineer but that would mean further delay in that he, she or it would then have to spend hours figuring out where I left off. So I politely ask for your permission to get back to work." Before I murder you, Aurora thought to herself...
A little of the anger left Delia's face, but she still frowned. She still didn't like the other woman's attitude nor the fact that the lab wasn't ready, but she couldn't argue with the fact that less work was getting done on the lab while they talked about it. Sighing, Delia answered, "I do see your point, Lieutenant. Fine, I'll leave you to your work, but I want to know the moment this lab is ready. And at the very least, I may at least impress upon the Captain how important it is that the lab be ready as soon as possible."
"Yes, Doctor," Aurora replied, doing her very best to keep the sigh of relief out of her voice, "I will let you and the captain know right away when the lab is up and running. And again I apologize for any delays in your experiments. I realize you are doing important work." I have no idea whatsoever what that work is, she thought. But someone thought it was important...
Delia nodded; she wasn't entirely sure if the engineer was being completely genuine. Regardless, there was little else she could do here now. Perhaps she would unpack...or release some of her frustration in the holodeck. "I look forward to seeing the lab completed," Delia managed. With that, she turned and walked out of the lab.
Aurora waited thirty seconds after the doctor made her exit before she took a deep, calming breath.
"Nicely done, sir," the chief said, "For a moment there I was afraid I was going to have to find a place to stash a body."
Aurora turned to him and smiled, "Glad to hear you would have my back, chief. Now let's get this place up and running before she comes back with reinforcements..."
OFF: JP brought to you by:
Doctor Delia Banks (NPC)
Neurologist
played by: Capt Kersare
and
Lieutenant JG Aurora
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
<<Commander Nora Zeral's Office, USS Malinche, Day 2, 1100 hrs.>>
Ringing the chime outside Nora's office, Karyn looked forward to seeing her even if her visit was motivated by professional reasons. Dallas had come to admire Zeral a great deal and appreciated having someone with counseling training in the command structure.
After a quiet morning completing unremarkable paperwork in her office, Nora was glad for the distraction when the doorchime rang. Anything to break up the relative monotony of her current tasks was welcome to her at the moment. Calling to her visitor to enter, she smiled widely when she saw that it was Karyn coming through the doors. “Well good morning, Dr. Dallas,” she greeted the counselor. “Please, come in and make yourself comfortable.”
Dallas smiled and directed her hoverchair into the office. "Please, call me Karyn. Half the time I forget I've earned anything beyond my teaching certificate. I hope I'm not interrupting?"
“Of course not,” Nora assured her. “Your visit is refreshing in the extreme, especially considering all of the paperwork I’ve been working on this morning.” In the time that she’d known Karyn, she’d noticed that the counselor always did have excellent timing. It seemed that she always appeared just when she was needed most. “What can I help you with today, Karyn?”
Dallas smiled and shrugged. "Just a routine visit, really. I noticed you were due for your psych eval and I thought it was a good excuse for a chat. How've you been?"
Nora smiled in bemusement at that. She’d spent a majority of her career chasing down crewmembers for their psych evals, and it was the tiniest bit odd that now she was the one who needed tracking down. “I’ve been very well, actually,” she said in all honesty. “A little worried about Julie and Setak lately, but very happy overall.”
"That's good to hear," Karyn answered brightly. "Anything in particular making you very happy?"
Pausing for a moment, Nora tried to think of the best way to succinctly explain the major recent event in her life. “To make a long story short, as per the old Betazoid custom, I was genetically bonded when I was a child to a fellow Betazoid named Gel. For years now we’ve toyed with going through with the arrangement, but only very recently did we start to think about it seriously. We finally met this past shoreleave, and to the surprise of both of us, I think, we hit it off better than we ever could have imagined.”
Karyn wasn't sure what she expected Nora to offer, but this wasn't it. Dallas had grown up on Betazed, but had always believed the old custom of arranged unions had died out. She was human, so it wasn't an issue she had to confront personally, for which she was thankful. As much as Karyn wished to have someone to spend her life with and could see the convenience of having someone decide for her, the therapist in her couldn't imagine how such an arrangement would work. She helped people explore who they were, a process which could take an entire lifetime, so how could two people make a go of a marriage not based on mutual interest and compatibility, but of chance?
"I have to say I never expected you to be part of such an arrangement. What made you decide to meet him? Had you been in touch with him before now?"
Placing her elbows on her desk, Nora offered Karyn a quiet smile. “It’s all a little more complicated than you might think, if you can believe it. It was obviously my parents who helped make the arrangement to begin with, but they died over ten years ago. Gel’s parents have both passed on as well, ultimately leaving the decision up to the pair of us. We’ve been in touch for nearly a year now, corresponding regularly. We were going to meet in person sooner, but I decided I needed a little more time,” she admitted. “But then we both decided that we needed some sort of closure, so we finally decided to meet. And since Gel happened to be on Earth, and I happened to be on Earth…”
"And you felt some chemistry when you met him...that's interesting," Karyn finished. Suddenly, Karyn felt as though she were intruding. What had started as a complicated arrangement had become something much more personal. "What do you think about how things went?"
“I think…” Nora paused as she tried to find the right words. “To be honest, I’m still having a hard time believing just how well things went. Gel is, in a word, wonderful. I gathered that we had some things in common when we were corresponding, but I didn’t realize just how alike we really are. I feel like he’s a man who might really, well, appreciate me for me.”
"And you think that's too good to be true? Do you think he's presenting a false impression somehow?" Dallas tended to be more guarded and suspicious of men given her childhood history, but it was a blindspot she was aware of, so she tried to keep an open mind even as she asked tough questions.
Nora considered the question carefully, smiling softly as she swiftly came to her conclusion. “No, I don’t think that Gel is anything but what he seems. And since we’re both telepaths, I feel fairly confident in that assessment,” she chuckled. “I suppose what’s so surprising is that, of all the people I’ve met and come across throughout my career, it would be this one man who seemed to be such a wonderful fit. You wouldn’t think the stranger you were engaged to would ever be much more than that: a stranger.”
Karyn nodded. "I can see that, but then again," she added with a shrug, "as much as I'm skeptical about the idea of arranged marriages, I do think in some cases, it's more than two couples randomly matching their children. I'm sure the parents chose based on some degree of apparent compatibility."
Nora had never really understood why her parents had chosen Gel for her future spouse. As far as she knew, there had been no particularly close friendship between their two families. “I never thought to ask,” she said honestly, frowning slightly. “I think I likely would have worked up the courage to question my parents and their decision—I think you’re aware that genetic bonding is not nearly as popular on Betazed as it once was, for obvious reasons—but before that ever happened, they were gone.”
"I'm sorry you weren't able to get more answers," the counselor answered with sympathy. "Do you think grief has played a role in your decision to pursue this? Perhaps a desire to connect with the time before you lost them?"
Lightly tapping her finger on the surface of her desk, Nora gave a slightly inelegant shrug. “I don’t know that I’d call it grief, per se, but there is no denying that when it came to the matter of the bonding, my parents were always forefront in my thoughts. I was torn between a desire to honor their wishes and a desire to pursue a more traditional relationship of my own choosing. So Gel and I decided, through my brother as an intermediary, to compromise in a way. We never took the possibility of our eventual marriage off the table, but we were each free to pursue a life of our choosing. If one of us ever desired to break the engagement, to marry another, then that would have been that.”
"Gel seems very understanding. So where do you think you'll go from here?"
“That is the question,” Nora said slowly. “We’ve decided to make our engagement official, and Gel is even going to be joining the crew of the Malinche for a time so that we can see where things lead.” They were both intrinsically cautious when it came to relationships, and neither was in any particular rush to leap into marriage so soon. “I can only imagine what all of this must sound like,” the Betazoid said after a moment, smiling wryly. “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of such a long, drawn out, and yet completely rushed relationship in my life, even when I was a counselor myself.”
"There's no reason you have to marry right away," Karyn replied. She shrugged. "And as far as that goes, you don't have to remain engaged, if it feels rushed to you, that is."
Dallas caught sight of the chronometer nearby and said, "Speaking of rushed, I'm sorry to drop in and run, but I better go and prepare for my upcoming sessions. Know my door is always open to you." With that, Dallas took her leave.
***
Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997 - A
and
Ringing the chime outside Nora's office, Karyn looked forward to seeing her even if her visit was motivated by professional reasons. Dallas had come to admire Zeral a great deal and appreciated having someone with counseling training in the command structure.
After a quiet morning completing unremarkable paperwork in her office, Nora was glad for the distraction when the doorchime rang. Anything to break up the relative monotony of her current tasks was welcome to her at the moment. Calling to her visitor to enter, she smiled widely when she saw that it was Karyn coming through the doors. “Well good morning, Dr. Dallas,” she greeted the counselor. “Please, come in and make yourself comfortable.”
Dallas smiled and directed her hoverchair into the office. "Please, call me Karyn. Half the time I forget I've earned anything beyond my teaching certificate. I hope I'm not interrupting?"
“Of course not,” Nora assured her. “Your visit is refreshing in the extreme, especially considering all of the paperwork I’ve been working on this morning.” In the time that she’d known Karyn, she’d noticed that the counselor always did have excellent timing. It seemed that she always appeared just when she was needed most. “What can I help you with today, Karyn?”
Dallas smiled and shrugged. "Just a routine visit, really. I noticed you were due for your psych eval and I thought it was a good excuse for a chat. How've you been?"
Nora smiled in bemusement at that. She’d spent a majority of her career chasing down crewmembers for their psych evals, and it was the tiniest bit odd that now she was the one who needed tracking down. “I’ve been very well, actually,” she said in all honesty. “A little worried about Julie and Setak lately, but very happy overall.”
"That's good to hear," Karyn answered brightly. "Anything in particular making you very happy?"
Pausing for a moment, Nora tried to think of the best way to succinctly explain the major recent event in her life. “To make a long story short, as per the old Betazoid custom, I was genetically bonded when I was a child to a fellow Betazoid named Gel. For years now we’ve toyed with going through with the arrangement, but only very recently did we start to think about it seriously. We finally met this past shoreleave, and to the surprise of both of us, I think, we hit it off better than we ever could have imagined.”
Karyn wasn't sure what she expected Nora to offer, but this wasn't it. Dallas had grown up on Betazed, but had always believed the old custom of arranged unions had died out. She was human, so it wasn't an issue she had to confront personally, for which she was thankful. As much as Karyn wished to have someone to spend her life with and could see the convenience of having someone decide for her, the therapist in her couldn't imagine how such an arrangement would work. She helped people explore who they were, a process which could take an entire lifetime, so how could two people make a go of a marriage not based on mutual interest and compatibility, but of chance?
"I have to say I never expected you to be part of such an arrangement. What made you decide to meet him? Had you been in touch with him before now?"
Placing her elbows on her desk, Nora offered Karyn a quiet smile. “It’s all a little more complicated than you might think, if you can believe it. It was obviously my parents who helped make the arrangement to begin with, but they died over ten years ago. Gel’s parents have both passed on as well, ultimately leaving the decision up to the pair of us. We’ve been in touch for nearly a year now, corresponding regularly. We were going to meet in person sooner, but I decided I needed a little more time,” she admitted. “But then we both decided that we needed some sort of closure, so we finally decided to meet. And since Gel happened to be on Earth, and I happened to be on Earth…”
"And you felt some chemistry when you met him...that's interesting," Karyn finished. Suddenly, Karyn felt as though she were intruding. What had started as a complicated arrangement had become something much more personal. "What do you think about how things went?"
“I think…” Nora paused as she tried to find the right words. “To be honest, I’m still having a hard time believing just how well things went. Gel is, in a word, wonderful. I gathered that we had some things in common when we were corresponding, but I didn’t realize just how alike we really are. I feel like he’s a man who might really, well, appreciate me for me.”
"And you think that's too good to be true? Do you think he's presenting a false impression somehow?" Dallas tended to be more guarded and suspicious of men given her childhood history, but it was a blindspot she was aware of, so she tried to keep an open mind even as she asked tough questions.
Nora considered the question carefully, smiling softly as she swiftly came to her conclusion. “No, I don’t think that Gel is anything but what he seems. And since we’re both telepaths, I feel fairly confident in that assessment,” she chuckled. “I suppose what’s so surprising is that, of all the people I’ve met and come across throughout my career, it would be this one man who seemed to be such a wonderful fit. You wouldn’t think the stranger you were engaged to would ever be much more than that: a stranger.”
Karyn nodded. "I can see that, but then again," she added with a shrug, "as much as I'm skeptical about the idea of arranged marriages, I do think in some cases, it's more than two couples randomly matching their children. I'm sure the parents chose based on some degree of apparent compatibility."
Nora had never really understood why her parents had chosen Gel for her future spouse. As far as she knew, there had been no particularly close friendship between their two families. “I never thought to ask,” she said honestly, frowning slightly. “I think I likely would have worked up the courage to question my parents and their decision—I think you’re aware that genetic bonding is not nearly as popular on Betazed as it once was, for obvious reasons—but before that ever happened, they were gone.”
"I'm sorry you weren't able to get more answers," the counselor answered with sympathy. "Do you think grief has played a role in your decision to pursue this? Perhaps a desire to connect with the time before you lost them?"
Lightly tapping her finger on the surface of her desk, Nora gave a slightly inelegant shrug. “I don’t know that I’d call it grief, per se, but there is no denying that when it came to the matter of the bonding, my parents were always forefront in my thoughts. I was torn between a desire to honor their wishes and a desire to pursue a more traditional relationship of my own choosing. So Gel and I decided, through my brother as an intermediary, to compromise in a way. We never took the possibility of our eventual marriage off the table, but we were each free to pursue a life of our choosing. If one of us ever desired to break the engagement, to marry another, then that would have been that.”
"Gel seems very understanding. So where do you think you'll go from here?"
“That is the question,” Nora said slowly. “We’ve decided to make our engagement official, and Gel is even going to be joining the crew of the Malinche for a time so that we can see where things lead.” They were both intrinsically cautious when it came to relationships, and neither was in any particular rush to leap into marriage so soon. “I can only imagine what all of this must sound like,” the Betazoid said after a moment, smiling wryly. “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of such a long, drawn out, and yet completely rushed relationship in my life, even when I was a counselor myself.”
"There's no reason you have to marry right away," Karyn replied. She shrugged. "And as far as that goes, you don't have to remain engaged, if it feels rushed to you, that is."
Dallas caught sight of the chronometer nearby and said, "Speaking of rushed, I'm sorry to drop in and run, but I better go and prepare for my upcoming sessions. Know my door is always open to you." With that, Dallas took her leave.
***
Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997 - A
and
Karyn Dallas
Acting Chief Counselor
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
ON:
<<USS Malinche, Gel’s Quarters, Day 2, 1635>>
A few minutes before they were expected at the dinner function that evening, Nora, Gel, and Darius Xerx had prearranged to meet at Gel’s quarters before walking to the Lounge together. Nora was the first to arrive, and as Gel (PNPC) welcomed her in, he surprised even himself when he greeted her with a quick kiss. I’ve been thinking about you today, he said via telepathy, smiling.
Nora smiled back in obvious delight. Honestly, he made her feel like a giddy teenager half the time. Have you really? I didn’t think about you at all, she teased. Gel mimicked taking a mortal wound to his heart, making her laugh. You and I both know that isn’t true. Of course I thought about you. It was all I could do to get through my work day without thinking about you.
Gel chuckled as he led Nora to the couch. “I might have spent a little less time thinking so much about you if I’d had something to do, you know,” the Betazoid said aloud once they’d settled on the couch together, his voice speculative. “Not, of course, that I mind thinking about you. It’s just that…” He struggled to find the right words.
“You’re used to being busy,” Nora promptly supplied, her body angled on the couch so that she could look him in the eye. “I understand perfectly, Gel. You’ve willingly given all your time and attention and actually moved onto the Malinche to see if we can make this engagement of ours work, which is more than I could have ever hoped for. It’s perfectly understandable that you’d still like to carry on with your work in the meantime, though.”
“Idle hands and all that,” Gel nodded. He knew that Nora would understand. “Well, I was thinking that I might spend some time with the rest of the doctors while they’re on the ship. I don’t think any of them would be opposed to me sharing their work space—” Dr. Banks excepted, of course, but he and his colleagues knew well enough how to stay out of her way—“and I could work on a little project of mine as well. It would help give me something to do while I wait for the official go ahead to actually assist in Sickbay.”
Nora thought it was a rather brilliant idea, and she told him as much. As happy as she was that Gel was on the ship with her, she couldn’t help but feel some guilt that he had been the one who’d had to step away from his life and career on Betazed, if only for a little while. Though he’d assured her that it wasn’t so great a sacrifice to see if they could make a go of things, Nora knew only too well how she would feel if she had to take an indefinite leave of absence from Starfleet to follow him.
“I wonder what’s keeping Darius,” Gel said a few minutes later, after they’d finished talking more about the neurologists that had come aboard the ship along with their current projects and interests. “Then again, the man is always running late. He just can’t tear himself away from his research sometimes,” the Betazoid huffed, recalling all the times Darius had wandered in late to something when they had worked at the same practice together. As if on cue, the doorchime rang out as soon as he’d finished his last statement. Rolling his eyes dramatically for Nora’s benefit, he called out for his friend to enter.
Darius Xerx (NPC) smiled ruefully as he stepped into Gel’s quarters, aiming for an apologetic look and failing miserably. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long. I was a little turned around looking for your quarters and round up on the wrong deck. Several times, in fact.” He smiled roguishly at his old friend. “Some things never change, do they?”
Gel barked out a laugh, already on his feet to greet his erstwhile colleague. “You never change, that much is certain. Don’t just stand in the doorway—come inside, and welcome to my humble abode. We should order drinks from the replicator and chat like civilized people, don’t you think? It’s the thing to do before dinner functions, I’ve always been told.”
Chuckling, Darius wasn’t about to argue with that sound logic. He was feeling like he could use a drink before dinner, even if it was just some sort of synthehol. “If we’re going to sit through a dinner with both Doctors Brun and Ren in attendance, I think a round of drinks or two wouldn’t go amiss,” he commented with equal parts humor and earnestness. "A white wine for me, if you please.”
“Excellent choice,” Nora said, coming to stand beside Gel. “I think I’ll have a glass too. It is something of a special occasion tonight, after all,” she reasoned with a smile, looking between Gel and Darius.
As Gel went to the replicator to fulfill their orders, Darius turned his full attention to Nora. He’d met her earlier in the day when she’d welcomed some of the doctors aboard the ship, and his first impression of her had been a good one. “It’s nice of you to keep us neurologists company, Commander Zeral,” he smiled, hands clasped behind his back. “An Executive Officer’s duties never end, I suppose.”
Nora couldn’t disagree with him there. “No, they never really do,” she conceded, chuckling. “But I don’t consider spending time with two interesting and intelligent Betazoid doctors just another task to be accomplished. And please, call me Nora. There’s no need for formalities when we’re all being nice and sociable,” she smiled.
Returning with drinks in hand, Gel gave Nora a meaningful look as he handed her glass of wine to her. Now was as good a time as any to introduce Nora in the proper context to his friend. “As it turns out, Nora’s not really joining us in her capacity as ship’s XO, at least not officially,” he began, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. “Do you recall that my parents had me genetically bonded when I was a boy, Darius?”
Darius made the connection in an instant. He’d easily sensed a strong attraction between the two when he’d first entered the room, but he hadn’t realized that Nora Zeral was in fact Gel’s fiancé by way of the old Betazoid practice of arranged marriage. “This is your fiancé? Good gods, Gel—aren’t you the lucky man,” he said, fascinated by this new development. When he’d heard that his old colleague was already aboard the ship, he’d had no idea it was under these particular circumstances.
“I am indeed,” Gel said, instinctively reaching his arm around Nora’s waist with a grin. He felt as though a weight had been lifted from his chest. He hadn’t really understood how nervous he was to introduce Nora as his fiancé for the first time to one of his friends, and he was rather pleased that it was going so well. Though there was denying that this…whatever this was between he and Nora...was moving very quickly, and they had by no means sorted through all the trickier details, he found that he was nothing short of proud to be able to introduce her as the woman he might very well marry.
For her part, Nora was feeling more content than she had in recent memory. “It really is a relief to explain this all to a fellow Betazoid,” she smiled at Gel's side. “Most of my non-Betazoid friends have a hard time wrapping their minds around the idea of arranged marriages. But our situation is a little different, even for Betazoids. Gel has very graciously agreed to travel with the Malinche for now so that we can take everything a day at a time.”
“He’d be an absolute fool not to,” Darius said gallantly, inclining his head in Nora’s direction. Raising his glass, he warmly raised a toast to the pair of Betazoids before him. “Well then, let me be among the first to congratulate you two. I wish you every happiness. To the future.”
“Thank you kindly, Darius,” Gel said once they’d finished their toast, shaking his friend’s proffered hand and rolling his eyes good-naturedly when Darius went so far as to chivalrously kiss Nora’s hand. “For gods’ sake, Darius, you’ve only had half a glass of replicated wine. No need to put on a show now.”
“Your friend’s just being charming,” Nora laughed. “As nice as all this is, though, I think we really ought to be heading to dinner. It wouldn’t do if we all turned up late.” After returning her still mostly full glass to the replicator, Nora smiled at her two escorts for the evening. “Come on then, we can all catch up on engagements and neurology on our way to the Lounge.” Leading the way, she rather thought that the evening was off to an excellent start, and she was already looking forward to see what else the evening might bring.
OFF:
Dr. Gel Mellix (PNPC)
Neurosurgeon
played by: Cdr Zeral
Doctor Darius Xerx (NPC)
Neurologist
played by: Cdr Zeral
and
<<USS Malinche, Gel’s Quarters, Day 2, 1635>>
A few minutes before they were expected at the dinner function that evening, Nora, Gel, and Darius Xerx had prearranged to meet at Gel’s quarters before walking to the Lounge together. Nora was the first to arrive, and as Gel (PNPC) welcomed her in, he surprised even himself when he greeted her with a quick kiss. I’ve been thinking about you today, he said via telepathy, smiling.
Nora smiled back in obvious delight. Honestly, he made her feel like a giddy teenager half the time. Have you really? I didn’t think about you at all, she teased. Gel mimicked taking a mortal wound to his heart, making her laugh. You and I both know that isn’t true. Of course I thought about you. It was all I could do to get through my work day without thinking about you.
Gel chuckled as he led Nora to the couch. “I might have spent a little less time thinking so much about you if I’d had something to do, you know,” the Betazoid said aloud once they’d settled on the couch together, his voice speculative. “Not, of course, that I mind thinking about you. It’s just that…” He struggled to find the right words.
“You’re used to being busy,” Nora promptly supplied, her body angled on the couch so that she could look him in the eye. “I understand perfectly, Gel. You’ve willingly given all your time and attention and actually moved onto the Malinche to see if we can make this engagement of ours work, which is more than I could have ever hoped for. It’s perfectly understandable that you’d still like to carry on with your work in the meantime, though.”
“Idle hands and all that,” Gel nodded. He knew that Nora would understand. “Well, I was thinking that I might spend some time with the rest of the doctors while they’re on the ship. I don’t think any of them would be opposed to me sharing their work space—” Dr. Banks excepted, of course, but he and his colleagues knew well enough how to stay out of her way—“and I could work on a little project of mine as well. It would help give me something to do while I wait for the official go ahead to actually assist in Sickbay.”
Nora thought it was a rather brilliant idea, and she told him as much. As happy as she was that Gel was on the ship with her, she couldn’t help but feel some guilt that he had been the one who’d had to step away from his life and career on Betazed, if only for a little while. Though he’d assured her that it wasn’t so great a sacrifice to see if they could make a go of things, Nora knew only too well how she would feel if she had to take an indefinite leave of absence from Starfleet to follow him.
“I wonder what’s keeping Darius,” Gel said a few minutes later, after they’d finished talking more about the neurologists that had come aboard the ship along with their current projects and interests. “Then again, the man is always running late. He just can’t tear himself away from his research sometimes,” the Betazoid huffed, recalling all the times Darius had wandered in late to something when they had worked at the same practice together. As if on cue, the doorchime rang out as soon as he’d finished his last statement. Rolling his eyes dramatically for Nora’s benefit, he called out for his friend to enter.
Darius Xerx (NPC) smiled ruefully as he stepped into Gel’s quarters, aiming for an apologetic look and failing miserably. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long. I was a little turned around looking for your quarters and round up on the wrong deck. Several times, in fact.” He smiled roguishly at his old friend. “Some things never change, do they?”
Gel barked out a laugh, already on his feet to greet his erstwhile colleague. “You never change, that much is certain. Don’t just stand in the doorway—come inside, and welcome to my humble abode. We should order drinks from the replicator and chat like civilized people, don’t you think? It’s the thing to do before dinner functions, I’ve always been told.”
Chuckling, Darius wasn’t about to argue with that sound logic. He was feeling like he could use a drink before dinner, even if it was just some sort of synthehol. “If we’re going to sit through a dinner with both Doctors Brun and Ren in attendance, I think a round of drinks or two wouldn’t go amiss,” he commented with equal parts humor and earnestness. "A white wine for me, if you please.”
“Excellent choice,” Nora said, coming to stand beside Gel. “I think I’ll have a glass too. It is something of a special occasion tonight, after all,” she reasoned with a smile, looking between Gel and Darius.
As Gel went to the replicator to fulfill their orders, Darius turned his full attention to Nora. He’d met her earlier in the day when she’d welcomed some of the doctors aboard the ship, and his first impression of her had been a good one. “It’s nice of you to keep us neurologists company, Commander Zeral,” he smiled, hands clasped behind his back. “An Executive Officer’s duties never end, I suppose.”
Nora couldn’t disagree with him there. “No, they never really do,” she conceded, chuckling. “But I don’t consider spending time with two interesting and intelligent Betazoid doctors just another task to be accomplished. And please, call me Nora. There’s no need for formalities when we’re all being nice and sociable,” she smiled.
Returning with drinks in hand, Gel gave Nora a meaningful look as he handed her glass of wine to her. Now was as good a time as any to introduce Nora in the proper context to his friend. “As it turns out, Nora’s not really joining us in her capacity as ship’s XO, at least not officially,” he began, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. “Do you recall that my parents had me genetically bonded when I was a boy, Darius?”
Darius made the connection in an instant. He’d easily sensed a strong attraction between the two when he’d first entered the room, but he hadn’t realized that Nora Zeral was in fact Gel’s fiancé by way of the old Betazoid practice of arranged marriage. “This is your fiancé? Good gods, Gel—aren’t you the lucky man,” he said, fascinated by this new development. When he’d heard that his old colleague was already aboard the ship, he’d had no idea it was under these particular circumstances.
“I am indeed,” Gel said, instinctively reaching his arm around Nora’s waist with a grin. He felt as though a weight had been lifted from his chest. He hadn’t really understood how nervous he was to introduce Nora as his fiancé for the first time to one of his friends, and he was rather pleased that it was going so well. Though there was denying that this…whatever this was between he and Nora...was moving very quickly, and they had by no means sorted through all the trickier details, he found that he was nothing short of proud to be able to introduce her as the woman he might very well marry.
For her part, Nora was feeling more content than she had in recent memory. “It really is a relief to explain this all to a fellow Betazoid,” she smiled at Gel's side. “Most of my non-Betazoid friends have a hard time wrapping their minds around the idea of arranged marriages. But our situation is a little different, even for Betazoids. Gel has very graciously agreed to travel with the Malinche for now so that we can take everything a day at a time.”
“He’d be an absolute fool not to,” Darius said gallantly, inclining his head in Nora’s direction. Raising his glass, he warmly raised a toast to the pair of Betazoids before him. “Well then, let me be among the first to congratulate you two. I wish you every happiness. To the future.”
“Thank you kindly, Darius,” Gel said once they’d finished their toast, shaking his friend’s proffered hand and rolling his eyes good-naturedly when Darius went so far as to chivalrously kiss Nora’s hand. “For gods’ sake, Darius, you’ve only had half a glass of replicated wine. No need to put on a show now.”
“Your friend’s just being charming,” Nora laughed. “As nice as all this is, though, I think we really ought to be heading to dinner. It wouldn’t do if we all turned up late.” After returning her still mostly full glass to the replicator, Nora smiled at her two escorts for the evening. “Come on then, we can all catch up on engagements and neurology on our way to the Lounge.” Leading the way, she rather thought that the evening was off to an excellent start, and she was already looking forward to see what else the evening might bring.
OFF:
Dr. Gel Mellix (PNPC)
Neurosurgeon
played by: Cdr Zeral
Doctor Darius Xerx (NPC)
Neurologist
played by: Cdr Zeral
and
Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
Re: Mission 21 - Bad Medicine
ON:
<<Lounge, Day 2, 1720>>
Stepping into the lounge, Isabel glanced around. As usual, Britney (NPC) had done an excellent job at getting the welcome dinner for the neurologists put together. The entire senior staff of the Malinche, as well as Gel (NPC) and the neurologists, would be attending. Or at least, they had all been invited, but it was possible they might not all be there. Hearing the doors swish open, she turned to see who had arrived.
Alister entered the lounge and glanced around giving a nod to the Captain. "Good evening," he said making his way to a seat, "How are you doing this evening Captain?"
Aurora spotted the intelligence officer enter the dining room a few seconds ahead of her. She had spent all afternoon memorizing names, and the moment she saw his cute but utterly forgettable face she drew a blank. She hoped this was not a sign of things to come.
"Hello, Lieutenant," Isabel replied with a smile. "I'm doing well, thank you. And yourself?" Just after Alister came in, Aurora also arrived. She was glad to see that at least some of the staff would arrive before the doctors. Isabel watched her new Chief Engineer for a few moments as she seemed to be deciding where to sit.
"I'm doing fine, Captain," Alister said returning her smile.
Aurora eyed the table and wondered if she had an assigned seat. She did not see any name tents so she assumed she could sit anywhere. Well, presumably the XO would sit to the captain's right...or would that be the guest of honor? But there were lots of guests, so...
"Lieutenant Aurora, there are no assigned seats, per se, this evening. You can sit wherever you'd like," explained Isabel as she moved closer to the table. Considering the seating a bit more she added, "It might be nice to have our staff mixed with our guests, so that it doesn't feel like an us versus them dinner."
"Ah, understood, captain," Aurora replied with a nod. Knowing her luck she was going to be stuck between a lecher and a bore.
Aaron was not at all surprised to find a few people had already started gathering as he entered the lounge. There was Captain Kersare, standing off to one side, who seemed to have taken on the role of hostess and greeter. He offered a respectful nod in her direction before turning his attention toward the table where both Lieutenant McKeon and Lieutenant JG Aurora, the two newest additions to the Malinche's senior staff, had already taken their seats.
"Evening, everyone," he said with a small smile. Although the table was set in a more traditional style, the atmosphere did not feel as formal as a high-profile diplomatic affair. These were, after all, physicians and scientists. That wasn't to say Aaron hadn't put in his fair share when preparing for their guests. In fact, security arrangements had taken up a great deal of his on-duty time since departing Earth. It did, however, mean that they could be a little more relaxed with their interactions than one would normally be when dealing with foreign diplomats.
Aurora noted the person who spoke, she wondered who he was. Mustard shirt. Security, perhaps? She offered him a polite nod.
Counselor Karyn Dallas arrived discreetly and though she smiled at those she made eye contact with, she sensed she had arrived mid-conversation and did not want to interrupt. In truth, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been this excited for a dinner. It was rare, even given her position at Starfleet Medical, for her to interact with other medical personnell. Her position
kept her travelling quite a bit, and even when she was at HQ, she stuck mostly with other mental health professionals. It wasn't something she intended, but her own work kept her busy.
There was something comforting about spending time amongst other healers.
Seeing Karyn arrive, Isabel smiled and nodded in the counselor's direction. She hadn't had much of a chance to speak with Karyn recently, but was hoping to find out how Setak's first session with her had gone...or when it was supposed to be. Before she could make her way over to the counselor, James walked in.
Seeing Isabel smile at her and look as if she were about to approach her before being intercepted, Karyn smiled and shrugged. They would have time to talk later.
"That would not be a good thing," James said as he entered the lounge, dressed in uniform. "Good evening, everyone. I hope all is well with everyone."
Aurora gave the Operations officer a friendly nod as she found a seat, "Hello, James. I hope you are feeling better."
James returned Aurora's nod with one of his own and added a warm smile. "Good evening, Aurora. I am feeling perfectly better after a good night's rest. I hope everything is ready for our guests and hopefully my crew was of some help while you were setting up," James replied as he found himself a seat and sat down.
"Oh, everything is fine on that front," Aurora replied with an air of confidence she did not feel. Still, it was not good to show weakness before the enemy. The enemy in this case being a gaggle of civilian scientists who thought the universe revolved around them.
Seeing the captain, James gave her a nod with his usual smile. "Captain, good evening to you."
"Good evening, Lieutenant," Isabel replied, returning the smile. "I'm glad to hear you're feeling better as well. Perhaps by the time we get to Betazed you'll be as good as new. Have you had a chance to meet any of the doctors yet?"
After greeting a few of the others, Isabel made her way over to Aaron. She hadn't had much of a chance to speak to him since she had practically kicked him off the ship for shoreleave. Of course, she had had ulterior motives...but it seemed that Mike's (NPC) plans had turned out well, since Aaron had agreed to marry him. Her eyes moved toward the ring, having not had a chance to really look at it yet and she chuckled a little as she watched him fiddle with it, "Problem, Lieutenant?"
"Wha..." Aaron began, confusion on his face. He realized where the captain was looking and glanced down to see that he had been absentmindedly twisting the silver-colored band around his finger. "Oh," he said, dropping his hands to his side, "Still getting used to it, I guess."
Isabel smiled, "Certainly understandable considering it's still fairly new. Have you and Mike gotten the living arrangements squared away yet? And how are the security plans you were working on coming along?"
If there was one thing Aaron could count on with Captain Kersare, it was that she always seemed to have an impeccable sense of what was occupying the minds of her senior staff, himself in particular. "A lot tougher than we thought it was going to be," Aaron admitted, "the living arrangements I mean. My quarters should be big enough for the both of us, but the quartermaster's office has been tied up with handling our guests and they haven't had much time to process any of our stuff yet."
Nodding, Isabel frowned slightly. "I suppose that's understandable... Since we're already underway the quartermaster's office should be freed up soon, if not already, so hopefully they'll get everything sorted for you shortly. If they haven't taken care of it in the next day or two, let me know." Her eyes moved around the room for a moment before resting back on Aaron, "And what do you think of our guests? Any concerns?"
"I don't think there's too much to be concerned about with this group," Aaron replied, "although given the circumstances..." A part of him was still having a hard time getting over the fact he'd been outsmarted by a saboteur no one knew existed until well after the fact. In fact, it had been one of the primary motivations for his working so hard to upgrade some of their security protocols during the layover. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of their recent experience. At the same time, however, there was no denying the captain had shown remarkable trust in his abilities from day one. Her decision to appoint him Second Officer and to offer him promotion were testament to that.
"That's good to hear," Isabel replied, though she wondered which circumstances Aaron was referring to. The saboteur perhaps? Setak's emotions? Something else? "It seems that not all of the doctors get along all that well, though. And one had a bit of a confrontation with our new chief engineer; she won't be attending the dinner. But I did see your preparation report and it seemed fairly thorough."
"We should be fine," Aaron said with a smile.
Lieutenant Kochanski entered the room casually at this point. Nodding at a couple of the scientists but not really engaging with anyone. Other than the captain he had not had any interaction with the other senior officers yet and so waited for them to approach him.
Aurora noted the new arrival. She did not recognize him and wondered what department he was part of. Blue suggested science or medical. The counselor, perhaps? No, that was supposed to be a woman...She was pretty certain it was supposed to be a woman. Didn't the XO use female pronouns?
Seeing the new Chief Science Officer arrive, Isabel walked closer to where he was before addressing him, "Lieutenant Kochanski, I'm glad to see you made it. I hope you're settling in alright? Have you had a chance to meet any of your fellow scientists?"
Janor (NPC) walked into the lounge with Alexander (NPC) at his side, chuckling. "Alright, so perhaps I am a tad predictable. But what's so bad about enjoying a nice tea?" The smile remained on his face as he took in the lounge and those already there, "Good evening! I am Doctor Janor Keel. What a marvelous ship this is!"
Chuckling at Janor’s gregarious behavior, Alexander was happy to remain a little ways behind him, his hands clasped behind his back. He was not unfriendly, but he certainly wasn’t quite as outgoing as his young colleague. Rather than leap into the social fray, the human was content to simply observe for a time, waiting for some of his other colleagues to join them.
Aurora turned to the voice. Smiling, she said, "Yes, it is! I'm lieutenant Aurora, chief engineer. You must be one of our guests?"
"Aurora, what a beautiful name...and your eyes do indeed light up like the glorious northern lights I've seen on Earth. I'm charmed to meet your acquaintance, Lieutenant. I am Doctor Janor Keel, one of the neurologists who your Captain is graciously giving a ride to Betazed. Are you the one who put together the lab?" Janor smiled at the woman as he moved to stand next to her.
Annnnnd there was the lecher, Aurora thought wryly. She said, "Yes, that was me. I hope," she prayed, actually, "that everything works to your satisfaction."
"So far everything seems marvelous. I was in the lab earlier this afternoon and I believe it will suit our needs perfectly. I apologize for the short notice, Lieutenant... We were scheduled to depart on a different ship that already had a neurology lab, but that ship was called away. It seems we ended up on the right ship though; we were impressed with the lab setup you were able to provide us," Janor responded with a warm smile. Technically Delia didn't necessarily agree with the assessment the rest of them had made, but she was the disagreeable sort anyway.
Aurora suddenly felt less antagonistic. She smiled warmly and said, "Well, I am very happy to hear things are to your liking. If any of the equipment gives you any fits please do not hesitate to call on me." Perhaps this dinner won't be so bad, she thought...
Smiling, Janor answered Aurora, "Oh yes, it is quite the lab. I was able to get my work started earlier and everything seemed to be working just fine, but if there are issues, I'll be sure to contact you. Considering your work with the neurology lab, I imagine the Malinche is in good hands as well."
Aurora was no more immune to flattery than the next person. She acknowledged it with a smile and a nod and she wondered what was on the menu that evening.
Flanked by Gel (PNPC) Darius (NPC) on either side of her, Nora entered the room to find that the gathering was already in full swing. Glad to see that everyone assembled was already mingling with one another, Nora excused herself from her fellow Betazoids for a moment to go and greet Isabel. Sidling up beside her, she gave her a happy smile. “How are you tonight, Captain? It looks like everything’s going smoothly so far.”
"Hello, Commander," Isabel replied with a smile. "I'm doing just fine, how are you?" Her eyes moved around the room as she took in her Senior Staff chitchatting amongst themselves and with their guests. In a quieter tone, she added, "I don't think Doctor Banks will be joining us, but between us, that might be just as well. I understand there was a little run in between her and our Chief Engineer earlier."
“I’d heard about that,” Nora murmured. “Gel and Dr. Xerx tell me that she does have a reputation for being…difficult. From what I gather, her work is extremely important to her. If things don’t go precisely her way when it comes to her research, she can be a tad unpredictable.” Glancing over at Aurora, who was still chatting with Janor, Nora added, “I hope that Aurora knows it wasn’t her fault.”
Isabel nodded, "That's the impression I got... I think she knows, or at least I tried to explain it to her later. Still, I'm glad it'll be a short trip. Some, like Dr. Keel, seem perfectly pleasant and courteous...others are, shall we say, less so."
“I’ve been lucky,” Nora replied with a smile. “Gel and Darius have been filling me in on what they know about all the doctors. It’s been very enlightening.” Observing some of the doctors milling about the room, she took note of those who hadn’t arrived yet. “I think if we manage to get through tonight, we won’t have anything to worry about.”
"I'm glad they've been able to fill you in more. They've probably been able to tell you more than we could get from a StarFleet report, since they've worked with the others to some extent," Isabel mused. "We haven't even started dinner yet and a few of the doctors aren't here, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for now..."
“That may be wise,” Nora nodded, thinking of what she’d heard concerning the doctors who were yet to come. The Cardassian neurologist in particular was supposed to be an unforgettable character, though Nora imagined that Isabel had at least heard something of him in her reports.
Left standing with Gel after Nora’s defection, Darius turned a vaguely amused look to his old friend. “Janor seems to be in fine form tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever met such a pleasant young man.” Looking about the room, he chuckled softly. “I do wonder if Brun and Azek will behave themselves tonight. Things always get interesting when they’re in close proximity to one another.”
Gel laughed humorlessly. “Interesting is one word for it,” he said. The longstanding enmity between the two doctors was almost legendary. Gel didn’t particularly care for Eldred Brun himself, and he wasn’t aware of many doctors who did, but there was no denying his impressive achievements within the field. “I’m sure that everything will go as smoothly as possible, though. Captain Kersare seems to run a tight ship, and Nora’s a consummate peacemaker. Between the two of them, I doubt that anything really interesting will come of it.”
Azek Ren entered the lounge to find a large group of people already assembled - some standing behind their chosen seat, a covert survey of the room revealed that Brun was not present yet either. As the eyes in the room found him in the doorway Ren smiled politely with a slight bow and introduced himself, "For those of you who haven't become acquainted with me yet, I am Azek Ren. It's a pleasure to be a part of this assemblage," he locked eyes with Captain Kersare. "Thank you Captain for having me."
Noting the entrance of the Bajoran doctor, Isabel offered him a smile and nod, "It's our pleasure, Doctor Azek. I hope you've been able to get settled into your temporary quarters. And I'm glad you were able to join us this evening."
"You and your crew have been very accommodating," Ren replied sincerely. "I am quite comfortable and looking forward to our conference here, it should prove most enlightening."
Setak paused outside of the lounge as the double doors slid apart revealing the room alive with conversation; he gestured forward so that his companion might enter the room first. He had entertained the Cardassian neurologist Eldred Brun for the better part of an hour, at the Cardassian's behest, and was relieved that his time as chaperone was about at an end. Brun was the first Cardassian he had encountered since he had been separated from his former Alliance masters, a group he loathed wholeheartedly, and he had found that even in the universe he currently occupied Cardassians were prone to pomposity.
Eldred Brun grunted slightly as he sidestepped the ship's doctor and strode into the lounge, thumbs in the pockets of his vest which clung to his rotund form tightly. He paused just inside to examine the room's decor, woefully substandard for a man of his esteem, and waited as a hush fell over those assembled. Once a suitable quiet had been reached he smiled broadly and strode toward one of two unclaimed seats, seats half the table away from the Bajoran who eyed him with unbridled contempt. It was just as well, he thought, that Doctor Setak would be seated next to him, he hadn't steered their conversation toward the information he wanted just then and he intended to have it.
"Well, here we are," Brun said as he seated himself and took note of the chintzy Starfleet dining ware set out. "I must say Captain, you really outdid yourself here."
Aurora realized belatedly she had been staring at the Cardie...Cardassian. Embarrassed, she looked away. Hopefully the man had not seen her making a fool of herself. As she toyed with the salad fork she wondered what the conversation was going to be like; she had never been to one of these events before and she was desperately afraid she was going to make a fool of herself. Worse, make a fool of the captain.
Setak gave the Captain a wide eyed look of frustration as he seated himself next to Brun and ignored the Cardassian's insincerity. A month prior he may have snapped on the man, perhaps even injured him but he had learned at least a modicum of restraint from his recent sojourn. As such he silently removed the napkin from its holder and unfolded it on his lap.
"Welcome to the Malinche, Doctor Brun," Isabel replied, managing a smile with some difficulty. She could tell from the Cardassian's body language and tone that he was in fact not impressed, but refrained from commenting on that. Instead, she answered, "We do our best, doctor." Her eyes moved to Setak, who seemed much more even tempered than before his trip to Vulcan, though he didn't seem overly comfortable with the presence of Eldred.
"Ah, yes, quite," Brun replied to the Captain with an almost polite nod, accompanied by a nearly sincere grin and a smacking of his lips. He was hungry. He glanced about the room at the other guests and assembled officers before returning his attention to Setak to continue their conversation...
"Doctor Brun," Alister said stepping into the gap to engage the Cardassian in conversation, and divert any hostile attention to their guest, "I understand you've made recent progress in both diagnosing and treating aphasic injuries. I read your most recent article in the Vulcun medical journal and was impressed by your work, tackling a problem that appeared to be somewhat of a dead end." He studied the Doctor closely as he spoke, his mind recalling the Cardassian's file and the attached documents that Intelligence had thoughtfully provided.
Brun blinked wide eyed and raised his gaze to the Human who had so rudely interjected himself, he likely thought himself clever for bringing up Brun's research but the Cardassian was simply annoyed. To Brun, the man's gray collar meant that he wasn't suited to be discussing advanced medicine with anyone and his two pips meant that he hadn't the prestige to be addressing a dignitary like Brun directly without introduction. The Cardassian turned back to Setak with a raised brow, "Doctor Setak, who is this insufferable man."
Setak sighed slightly and rolled his eyes before looking back at his 'guest'. "This is Lieutenant McKeon, the Malinche's chief of Intelligence."
Brun grunted slightly and smacked his lips a few more times, his stomach rumbled slightly as well. He was very hungry. "I see," Brun replied as he leaned back in his seat with crossed arms. Without looking up at McKeon he continued, "Lieutenant, as a man educated in the ways of information gathering I am hoping that you could tell me something... When is dinner being served?"
Alister raised one eyebrow as the Doctor spoke, "I would rather devote my attention to the last ten years of your life Doctor, or the nine served on Bajor. Those are of far greater interest to me, and I'm sure would be rather more enlightening then finding out what time dinner is."
The verbal joust was starting to draw attention from others around the room including the Malinche's Chief of Security. Aaron politely excused himself before making his way toward where the three gentlemen were standing. Although he knew it was entirely possible both Lieutenant McKeon and Doctor Brun were merely trying to see just how far they could push the envelope without crossing the line, he did not want to run the risk of it escalating into something worse. "Doctor Setak," he greeted the physician as he aproached, "So good to see you back aboard the Malinche. How was Vulcan?"
"It was... hot," Setak replied with the first response that came to his mind. And it had been hot, excruciatingly. "But enlightening. It was everything that I had envisioned but much more as well, overall I have to say that I was humbled by the experience. I trust that everything here was the usual status-quo?"
"Excuse me...gentlemen," Aaron said, turning his attention to the other two, "I don't believe we've been introduced. Lieutenant Aaron Masterson."
"Ah, ahem, ah-yes," Brun replied as he studied the Lieutenant. Light hair, sleight of feature and short for a soldier, all together unremarkable, even for a Human, in Brun's opinion. "I hope that everything is as it should be dear boy, I would hate to see something unfortunate happen at a time like this." Brun cast an accusatory glance at Ren. "There are K'tarkin in the grass here boy, if you catch my meaning."
"Lieutenant Alister McKeon, Chief Intelligence Officer," Alister said nodding the COS.
Isabel gave the group a little more time after the last person arrived to greet each other before stepping closer to the table. "Good evening, everyone. I'm glad to see that you've been getting acquainted and would like to welcome our guests to the Malinche. If everyone could take a seat, we can talk some more while our orders are being taken."
Karyn was pleased to see a chair had been removed from the table and a place set for her. She guided her hoverchair in place and wondered who she'd be sitting with. She ordered a bowl of clam chowder and a sirloin steak with french fries. It was a more extravagant meal than what she usually ate, but she considered this a special occasion. Once the waitress moved on, Dallas turned her attention to observing the conversation around her.
Once everyone was seated, two of the waitresses came over and explained the menu options for the evening while taking drink orders. Isabel watched them as they started at the opposite end of the table. Knowing the menu, she already knew what she wanted - a pasta dish with some ingredients from Bajor. The menu choices were varied enough that everyone would find something they liked, or so she hoped. And they would all start out with salads.
Aurora smiled at the server and listened to the options. She ordered an iced tea, Greek salad with Italian dressing and the vegetarian lasagna.
After observing as well as sensing Setak’s frustration with Dr. Brun, Nora had taken pity on her friend and seated herself on the other side of the Cardassian. With Gel sitting beside her, she smiled to herself when he gently squeezed her hand under the table, as if in a show of silent support and camaraderie. She was pleased to hear a few Betazoid offerings on the menu and happily ordered a plate of oscoids with a blue-leaf salad on the side. “It’s been ages since I’ve had fresh oscoids,” she said in an aside to Gel.
Drumming his fingers lightly on the table, Gel smiled at Nora. “We may have to remedy that when we get to Betazed, if you have a little time to spare. The only really good oscoids are the ones that are caught fresh.” As the waitress waited for him to order, he decided that he was in the mood for more traditional human fare. He’d acquired quite a taste for it during his stay in San Francisco. “I’ll try to vegetarian lasagna too,” he said. “Though I’d like the blue-leaf salad with mine,” he added.
The counselor had mixed emotions as she took in the sights. On the one hand, she couldn't help but be filled with girlish curiosity as she took in Gel with Nora. She was happy to see the XO enjoying herself after she'd been so troubled by Julie's suicide attempt. Mixed with that, however, was a certain degree of melancholy as she considered her own singlehood. Dinners like these always seemed to emphasize her alone-ness.
Then there was Setak, clearly uncomfortable and working hard to maintain control. Before Nora had intervened Karyn contemplated doing so, and now was glad she didn't. As his therapist, she didn't want to hover, and deny him the opportunity to manage on his own. Observing the exchanges from a distance also gave her a chance to see Setak's reactions for herself in more natural circumstances. Watching people was not an unexpected activity and yet, he could feel a bit more relaxed than if he were a rat in a maze. Dallas made a mental note to meet with the doctor ASAP after the dinner.
Janor waited calmly for his turn to order. His warm smile was rewarded by a smile from the waitress. "Good evening, I believe I'd like to have some Jestral tea to drink. It sounds like your house dressing is popular, so let's go with that. And for the meal...I'm feeling a bit adventurous this evening, so how about the Zabu stew?"
The waitress nodded, "Excellent choices, doctor. Your tea will be out shortly and just let me know if there's anything else I can get for you before we bring your food out."
Aurora cocked her head, "So, doctor, what makes Zabu stew so adventurous? I admit I've never heard of it."
Turning towards Aurora, Janor answered, "In general it's perhaps not so adventurous, but it is a Cardassian dish that I've not had before. I thought I'd try something new. My colleague Doctor Brun might be able to shed more light on the Zabu stew..." The Trill looked over at the Cardassian doctor at that point, waiting to see if he would answer.
"I see," Aurora replied, feeling as if she were missing some subtext. I appeared there was some tension among the doctors and she wondered if it was purely racial, or if there was some sort of political element to it. She smiled slightly, imagining the missing doctor being dead in her quarters and the other doctors being suspects in some grand mystery. The smile disappeared. Based on her altercation with the doctor earlier that day Aurora would be a prime suspect.
"My dear," Brun said with a lick of his lips and as sultry of an expression as he could muster. He leaned over the table as far as his burgeoning gut would allow and lowered his voice so that only Aurora could hear him, at least that was his intention. "Zabu stew is a Cardassian delicacy, not just some strange foreign food to be sampled. True Zabu stew must be experienced in the Cardassian tradition, after a fresh kill. Zabu meat is the most exquisitely, tender flesh you shall ever taste but it is a fickle thing. It must be prepared within hours or it loses its delectable flavor. This replicator rubbish would not give you the proper experience but perhaps I could provide that for you at some future date, should you find the courage to accept the invitation."
"That..." Aurora felt a wave of revulsion almost overwhelm her. It was not just that the doctor was an alien. It was not just that he was an unappealing alien. It was not just that he had just crudely and publicly made a pass at her. It was all three things.
It took every ounce of Starfleet training, strict discipline hammered home by numerous counselors, even Kelly's age old advice that "If you could not find anything nice to say about a person, don't say anything at all". It took all of that combined with the knowledge that the next thing she said would reflect on her captain and XO and Starfleet as a whole.
"That is very kind of you, doctor," she said, her smile feeling like a death rictus on her face as she played with her fork, imagining driving it into the doctor's eye, "Maybe I will take you up on that offer, some day." I will eat my phaser first, she thought...
“I have it on good authority that the Zabu stew has been prepared fresh for tonight's occasion,” Nora interjected with as much warmth as she could muster, hoping to turn the conversation in a less…awkward direction.
Oh thank you God, Aurora thought, for once not caring if the XO heard that.
"In fact, the Zabu stew had been freshly prepared that night because Brun himself had adamantly insisted on it, sending his personal request—although demand was perhaps the better word—to the lounge staff directly. “It may not quite compare to fresh Zabu stew on Cardassia,” Nora continued, sending a covert apologetic glance to the nearest waitress, “but I do hope that you’ll find it more to your liking than replicated stew.”
Brun grunted with satisfaction at the thought of the fresh stew, he only hoped that the Starfleet buffoon masquerading as a chef hadn't overcooked the meat; that always ruined the flavor. He eased back in his seat, the action forcing a feint but audible creak from the chair and he placed his hands upon the table before him with fingers interlaced. He wanted to wrap up his conversation with doctor Setak but he could help but steal covert glances of Aurora when he thought that no one was looking, she wasn't the prettiest Human that he had ever seen but she was attractive.
Setak grimaced as he watched Brun out of the corner of his eyes, the Cardassian was a slothenly, crude, beast of a man and the Vulcan wanted nothing to do with him. How he had even garnered a seat among such esteemed company was far beyond him, despite his supposed accomplishments in medicine. Setak was beginning to wonder if even those weren't some kind of fabrication, only the knowledge that Brun had divulged to Setak himself was proof enough of the man’s capabilities. But with that kind of knowledge and no scruples to use it ethically, what sort of atrocity would a man like Brun unleash? Setak knew all too well.
Aurora noted the woman in the hover chair and wondered who she was. Another doctor? And she wondered what her physical disability was. Damn, didn't someone in engineering mention a member of the crew was bound to a hover chair and used prosthetics? She was so caught up in her search for her practical joker she had forgotten. "I'm sorry if I seem distracted, Doctor," Aurora said to the being next to her, "Having only recently arrived on board the ship myself almost everyone at the table is a stranger to me. I apologize if I come across as rude."
"Not at all," Janor replied with a reassuring smile. "A few of us came over to the Malince with Lieutenant Kochanski, so we knew there was at least one new crewmember. It seems that this is a good opportunity for you to meet some of your fellow crewmembers."
Aurora nodded in agreement, "True. We had just come off leave so I have not had a chance to meet everyone. Which one is Lieutenant K...the Lieutenant you arrived with? Is he the one playing with the ring on his finger? Or the one in blue?"
The Trill doctor followed the engineer's gaze. "Ah, Lieutenant Kochanski is the one in blue. He's the new Chief Science Officer, as I understand it. And it seems he's rather fond of jelly beans. Not something I particularly enjoy, I've found, but if you like them or would like to try them, you might want to ask him. I know earlier he had a whole stash of them," Janor confided in her with a slight chuckle and smile.
Alister glanced up as the waitress arrived, "I'll have the Greek salad, with extra olives, and for the main course I'll take the prime rib rare, with all the trimmings and a side of horseradish. To drink, sweet tea." He glanced over at the Captain, "If I might make a recommendation Captain, a few bottles of wine with dinner might not be amiss."
Isabel remained quiet as she considered Alister's suggestion. On the one hand, wine might not be a bad idea, but on the other, some of the doctors already didn't exactly get along and purposefully adding alcohol to the mix might take things on a turn for the worse. "I appreciate your recommendation, Lieutenant, but I think we should just allow everyone to continue ordering their own beverage as they please."
Alister nodded his head, "Of course Captain," he said, while mentally wondering if the wrong decision or right decision had been made. Usually people loosened up more with a few drinks in them, and the dinner already had a somewhat tense affair between a few of the doctors. Besides alcohol tended to loosen people's tongues and the Intelligence officer in him was always on the look out for any small tidbits of info that could be useful down the road.
Seated across the table from Gel, Darius waited quietly for the others to order their food before his turn came. He wasn’t feeling particularly hungry tonight, but not wanting to appear rude before his charming Starfleet hosts, he went ahead and ordered anyway. “The zabu stew will be fine, thank you,” he said, smiling politely to his waitress.
Alexander chuckled beside Darius. “You couldn’t pay me to eat that,” he muttered under his breath to his colleague. Cardassian food had never been a favorite of his; just the opposite, in fact. “Prime rib for me,” he said, speaking more loudly for the benefit of the waitress. “As rare as you can get it. And you needn’t bother bringing me a salad. I probably won’t touch it,” he smiled.
Isabel smiled at Lena (NPC) who had come to take her order. "Hello, Lena. I'd like the house dressing on my salad and the Bajoran pasta dish this evening. To drink, let's start off with some water with orange essence, please."
"Of course, Captain. I'll put all the orders in and then bring out everyone's beverages," the young woman replied with a smile.
As the waitresses headed back into the kitchen, Isabel turned her attention back to those at the table, who were still engaging in conversation. She was glad to see that the dinner was turning out well so far. The only person missing was Doctor Delia Banks, but from what she understood, the doctor was not very social. Even Doctors Brun and Azek - from Cardassia and Bajor - were attempting to be civil, though they obviously didn't like each other. Hopefully the evening would continue to go well.
OFF: JP brought to you by:
NPC Neurologists
played by: Lt Setak, Cdr Zeral, Capt Kersare
and
Karyn Dallas
Chief Counselor
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant JG Aurora
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant JG James Davis
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant (Provisional) Setak
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant Callum Kochanski
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant Alister McKeon
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant Aaron Masterson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
<<Lounge, Day 2, 1720>>
Stepping into the lounge, Isabel glanced around. As usual, Britney (NPC) had done an excellent job at getting the welcome dinner for the neurologists put together. The entire senior staff of the Malinche, as well as Gel (NPC) and the neurologists, would be attending. Or at least, they had all been invited, but it was possible they might not all be there. Hearing the doors swish open, she turned to see who had arrived.
Alister entered the lounge and glanced around giving a nod to the Captain. "Good evening," he said making his way to a seat, "How are you doing this evening Captain?"
Aurora spotted the intelligence officer enter the dining room a few seconds ahead of her. She had spent all afternoon memorizing names, and the moment she saw his cute but utterly forgettable face she drew a blank. She hoped this was not a sign of things to come.
"Hello, Lieutenant," Isabel replied with a smile. "I'm doing well, thank you. And yourself?" Just after Alister came in, Aurora also arrived. She was glad to see that at least some of the staff would arrive before the doctors. Isabel watched her new Chief Engineer for a few moments as she seemed to be deciding where to sit.
"I'm doing fine, Captain," Alister said returning her smile.
Aurora eyed the table and wondered if she had an assigned seat. She did not see any name tents so she assumed she could sit anywhere. Well, presumably the XO would sit to the captain's right...or would that be the guest of honor? But there were lots of guests, so...
"Lieutenant Aurora, there are no assigned seats, per se, this evening. You can sit wherever you'd like," explained Isabel as she moved closer to the table. Considering the seating a bit more she added, "It might be nice to have our staff mixed with our guests, so that it doesn't feel like an us versus them dinner."
"Ah, understood, captain," Aurora replied with a nod. Knowing her luck she was going to be stuck between a lecher and a bore.
Aaron was not at all surprised to find a few people had already started gathering as he entered the lounge. There was Captain Kersare, standing off to one side, who seemed to have taken on the role of hostess and greeter. He offered a respectful nod in her direction before turning his attention toward the table where both Lieutenant McKeon and Lieutenant JG Aurora, the two newest additions to the Malinche's senior staff, had already taken their seats.
"Evening, everyone," he said with a small smile. Although the table was set in a more traditional style, the atmosphere did not feel as formal as a high-profile diplomatic affair. These were, after all, physicians and scientists. That wasn't to say Aaron hadn't put in his fair share when preparing for their guests. In fact, security arrangements had taken up a great deal of his on-duty time since departing Earth. It did, however, mean that they could be a little more relaxed with their interactions than one would normally be when dealing with foreign diplomats.
Aurora noted the person who spoke, she wondered who he was. Mustard shirt. Security, perhaps? She offered him a polite nod.
Counselor Karyn Dallas arrived discreetly and though she smiled at those she made eye contact with, she sensed she had arrived mid-conversation and did not want to interrupt. In truth, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been this excited for a dinner. It was rare, even given her position at Starfleet Medical, for her to interact with other medical personnell. Her position
kept her travelling quite a bit, and even when she was at HQ, she stuck mostly with other mental health professionals. It wasn't something she intended, but her own work kept her busy.
There was something comforting about spending time amongst other healers.
Seeing Karyn arrive, Isabel smiled and nodded in the counselor's direction. She hadn't had much of a chance to speak with Karyn recently, but was hoping to find out how Setak's first session with her had gone...or when it was supposed to be. Before she could make her way over to the counselor, James walked in.
Seeing Isabel smile at her and look as if she were about to approach her before being intercepted, Karyn smiled and shrugged. They would have time to talk later.
"That would not be a good thing," James said as he entered the lounge, dressed in uniform. "Good evening, everyone. I hope all is well with everyone."
Aurora gave the Operations officer a friendly nod as she found a seat, "Hello, James. I hope you are feeling better."
James returned Aurora's nod with one of his own and added a warm smile. "Good evening, Aurora. I am feeling perfectly better after a good night's rest. I hope everything is ready for our guests and hopefully my crew was of some help while you were setting up," James replied as he found himself a seat and sat down.
"Oh, everything is fine on that front," Aurora replied with an air of confidence she did not feel. Still, it was not good to show weakness before the enemy. The enemy in this case being a gaggle of civilian scientists who thought the universe revolved around them.
Seeing the captain, James gave her a nod with his usual smile. "Captain, good evening to you."
"Good evening, Lieutenant," Isabel replied, returning the smile. "I'm glad to hear you're feeling better as well. Perhaps by the time we get to Betazed you'll be as good as new. Have you had a chance to meet any of the doctors yet?"
After greeting a few of the others, Isabel made her way over to Aaron. She hadn't had much of a chance to speak to him since she had practically kicked him off the ship for shoreleave. Of course, she had had ulterior motives...but it seemed that Mike's (NPC) plans had turned out well, since Aaron had agreed to marry him. Her eyes moved toward the ring, having not had a chance to really look at it yet and she chuckled a little as she watched him fiddle with it, "Problem, Lieutenant?"
"Wha..." Aaron began, confusion on his face. He realized where the captain was looking and glanced down to see that he had been absentmindedly twisting the silver-colored band around his finger. "Oh," he said, dropping his hands to his side, "Still getting used to it, I guess."
Isabel smiled, "Certainly understandable considering it's still fairly new. Have you and Mike gotten the living arrangements squared away yet? And how are the security plans you were working on coming along?"
If there was one thing Aaron could count on with Captain Kersare, it was that she always seemed to have an impeccable sense of what was occupying the minds of her senior staff, himself in particular. "A lot tougher than we thought it was going to be," Aaron admitted, "the living arrangements I mean. My quarters should be big enough for the both of us, but the quartermaster's office has been tied up with handling our guests and they haven't had much time to process any of our stuff yet."
Nodding, Isabel frowned slightly. "I suppose that's understandable... Since we're already underway the quartermaster's office should be freed up soon, if not already, so hopefully they'll get everything sorted for you shortly. If they haven't taken care of it in the next day or two, let me know." Her eyes moved around the room for a moment before resting back on Aaron, "And what do you think of our guests? Any concerns?"
"I don't think there's too much to be concerned about with this group," Aaron replied, "although given the circumstances..." A part of him was still having a hard time getting over the fact he'd been outsmarted by a saboteur no one knew existed until well after the fact. In fact, it had been one of the primary motivations for his working so hard to upgrade some of their security protocols during the layover. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of their recent experience. At the same time, however, there was no denying the captain had shown remarkable trust in his abilities from day one. Her decision to appoint him Second Officer and to offer him promotion were testament to that.
"That's good to hear," Isabel replied, though she wondered which circumstances Aaron was referring to. The saboteur perhaps? Setak's emotions? Something else? "It seems that not all of the doctors get along all that well, though. And one had a bit of a confrontation with our new chief engineer; she won't be attending the dinner. But I did see your preparation report and it seemed fairly thorough."
"We should be fine," Aaron said with a smile.
Lieutenant Kochanski entered the room casually at this point. Nodding at a couple of the scientists but not really engaging with anyone. Other than the captain he had not had any interaction with the other senior officers yet and so waited for them to approach him.
Aurora noted the new arrival. She did not recognize him and wondered what department he was part of. Blue suggested science or medical. The counselor, perhaps? No, that was supposed to be a woman...She was pretty certain it was supposed to be a woman. Didn't the XO use female pronouns?
Seeing the new Chief Science Officer arrive, Isabel walked closer to where he was before addressing him, "Lieutenant Kochanski, I'm glad to see you made it. I hope you're settling in alright? Have you had a chance to meet any of your fellow scientists?"
Janor (NPC) walked into the lounge with Alexander (NPC) at his side, chuckling. "Alright, so perhaps I am a tad predictable. But what's so bad about enjoying a nice tea?" The smile remained on his face as he took in the lounge and those already there, "Good evening! I am Doctor Janor Keel. What a marvelous ship this is!"
Chuckling at Janor’s gregarious behavior, Alexander was happy to remain a little ways behind him, his hands clasped behind his back. He was not unfriendly, but he certainly wasn’t quite as outgoing as his young colleague. Rather than leap into the social fray, the human was content to simply observe for a time, waiting for some of his other colleagues to join them.
Aurora turned to the voice. Smiling, she said, "Yes, it is! I'm lieutenant Aurora, chief engineer. You must be one of our guests?"
"Aurora, what a beautiful name...and your eyes do indeed light up like the glorious northern lights I've seen on Earth. I'm charmed to meet your acquaintance, Lieutenant. I am Doctor Janor Keel, one of the neurologists who your Captain is graciously giving a ride to Betazed. Are you the one who put together the lab?" Janor smiled at the woman as he moved to stand next to her.
Annnnnd there was the lecher, Aurora thought wryly. She said, "Yes, that was me. I hope," she prayed, actually, "that everything works to your satisfaction."
"So far everything seems marvelous. I was in the lab earlier this afternoon and I believe it will suit our needs perfectly. I apologize for the short notice, Lieutenant... We were scheduled to depart on a different ship that already had a neurology lab, but that ship was called away. It seems we ended up on the right ship though; we were impressed with the lab setup you were able to provide us," Janor responded with a warm smile. Technically Delia didn't necessarily agree with the assessment the rest of them had made, but she was the disagreeable sort anyway.
Aurora suddenly felt less antagonistic. She smiled warmly and said, "Well, I am very happy to hear things are to your liking. If any of the equipment gives you any fits please do not hesitate to call on me." Perhaps this dinner won't be so bad, she thought...
Smiling, Janor answered Aurora, "Oh yes, it is quite the lab. I was able to get my work started earlier and everything seemed to be working just fine, but if there are issues, I'll be sure to contact you. Considering your work with the neurology lab, I imagine the Malinche is in good hands as well."
Aurora was no more immune to flattery than the next person. She acknowledged it with a smile and a nod and she wondered what was on the menu that evening.
Flanked by Gel (PNPC) Darius (NPC) on either side of her, Nora entered the room to find that the gathering was already in full swing. Glad to see that everyone assembled was already mingling with one another, Nora excused herself from her fellow Betazoids for a moment to go and greet Isabel. Sidling up beside her, she gave her a happy smile. “How are you tonight, Captain? It looks like everything’s going smoothly so far.”
"Hello, Commander," Isabel replied with a smile. "I'm doing just fine, how are you?" Her eyes moved around the room as she took in her Senior Staff chitchatting amongst themselves and with their guests. In a quieter tone, she added, "I don't think Doctor Banks will be joining us, but between us, that might be just as well. I understand there was a little run in between her and our Chief Engineer earlier."
“I’d heard about that,” Nora murmured. “Gel and Dr. Xerx tell me that she does have a reputation for being…difficult. From what I gather, her work is extremely important to her. If things don’t go precisely her way when it comes to her research, she can be a tad unpredictable.” Glancing over at Aurora, who was still chatting with Janor, Nora added, “I hope that Aurora knows it wasn’t her fault.”
Isabel nodded, "That's the impression I got... I think she knows, or at least I tried to explain it to her later. Still, I'm glad it'll be a short trip. Some, like Dr. Keel, seem perfectly pleasant and courteous...others are, shall we say, less so."
“I’ve been lucky,” Nora replied with a smile. “Gel and Darius have been filling me in on what they know about all the doctors. It’s been very enlightening.” Observing some of the doctors milling about the room, she took note of those who hadn’t arrived yet. “I think if we manage to get through tonight, we won’t have anything to worry about.”
"I'm glad they've been able to fill you in more. They've probably been able to tell you more than we could get from a StarFleet report, since they've worked with the others to some extent," Isabel mused. "We haven't even started dinner yet and a few of the doctors aren't here, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for now..."
“That may be wise,” Nora nodded, thinking of what she’d heard concerning the doctors who were yet to come. The Cardassian neurologist in particular was supposed to be an unforgettable character, though Nora imagined that Isabel had at least heard something of him in her reports.
Left standing with Gel after Nora’s defection, Darius turned a vaguely amused look to his old friend. “Janor seems to be in fine form tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever met such a pleasant young man.” Looking about the room, he chuckled softly. “I do wonder if Brun and Azek will behave themselves tonight. Things always get interesting when they’re in close proximity to one another.”
Gel laughed humorlessly. “Interesting is one word for it,” he said. The longstanding enmity between the two doctors was almost legendary. Gel didn’t particularly care for Eldred Brun himself, and he wasn’t aware of many doctors who did, but there was no denying his impressive achievements within the field. “I’m sure that everything will go as smoothly as possible, though. Captain Kersare seems to run a tight ship, and Nora’s a consummate peacemaker. Between the two of them, I doubt that anything really interesting will come of it.”
Azek Ren entered the lounge to find a large group of people already assembled - some standing behind their chosen seat, a covert survey of the room revealed that Brun was not present yet either. As the eyes in the room found him in the doorway Ren smiled politely with a slight bow and introduced himself, "For those of you who haven't become acquainted with me yet, I am Azek Ren. It's a pleasure to be a part of this assemblage," he locked eyes with Captain Kersare. "Thank you Captain for having me."
Noting the entrance of the Bajoran doctor, Isabel offered him a smile and nod, "It's our pleasure, Doctor Azek. I hope you've been able to get settled into your temporary quarters. And I'm glad you were able to join us this evening."
"You and your crew have been very accommodating," Ren replied sincerely. "I am quite comfortable and looking forward to our conference here, it should prove most enlightening."
Setak paused outside of the lounge as the double doors slid apart revealing the room alive with conversation; he gestured forward so that his companion might enter the room first. He had entertained the Cardassian neurologist Eldred Brun for the better part of an hour, at the Cardassian's behest, and was relieved that his time as chaperone was about at an end. Brun was the first Cardassian he had encountered since he had been separated from his former Alliance masters, a group he loathed wholeheartedly, and he had found that even in the universe he currently occupied Cardassians were prone to pomposity.
Eldred Brun grunted slightly as he sidestepped the ship's doctor and strode into the lounge, thumbs in the pockets of his vest which clung to his rotund form tightly. He paused just inside to examine the room's decor, woefully substandard for a man of his esteem, and waited as a hush fell over those assembled. Once a suitable quiet had been reached he smiled broadly and strode toward one of two unclaimed seats, seats half the table away from the Bajoran who eyed him with unbridled contempt. It was just as well, he thought, that Doctor Setak would be seated next to him, he hadn't steered their conversation toward the information he wanted just then and he intended to have it.
"Well, here we are," Brun said as he seated himself and took note of the chintzy Starfleet dining ware set out. "I must say Captain, you really outdid yourself here."
Aurora realized belatedly she had been staring at the Cardie...Cardassian. Embarrassed, she looked away. Hopefully the man had not seen her making a fool of herself. As she toyed with the salad fork she wondered what the conversation was going to be like; she had never been to one of these events before and she was desperately afraid she was going to make a fool of herself. Worse, make a fool of the captain.
Setak gave the Captain a wide eyed look of frustration as he seated himself next to Brun and ignored the Cardassian's insincerity. A month prior he may have snapped on the man, perhaps even injured him but he had learned at least a modicum of restraint from his recent sojourn. As such he silently removed the napkin from its holder and unfolded it on his lap.
"Welcome to the Malinche, Doctor Brun," Isabel replied, managing a smile with some difficulty. She could tell from the Cardassian's body language and tone that he was in fact not impressed, but refrained from commenting on that. Instead, she answered, "We do our best, doctor." Her eyes moved to Setak, who seemed much more even tempered than before his trip to Vulcan, though he didn't seem overly comfortable with the presence of Eldred.
"Ah, yes, quite," Brun replied to the Captain with an almost polite nod, accompanied by a nearly sincere grin and a smacking of his lips. He was hungry. He glanced about the room at the other guests and assembled officers before returning his attention to Setak to continue their conversation...
"Doctor Brun," Alister said stepping into the gap to engage the Cardassian in conversation, and divert any hostile attention to their guest, "I understand you've made recent progress in both diagnosing and treating aphasic injuries. I read your most recent article in the Vulcun medical journal and was impressed by your work, tackling a problem that appeared to be somewhat of a dead end." He studied the Doctor closely as he spoke, his mind recalling the Cardassian's file and the attached documents that Intelligence had thoughtfully provided.
Brun blinked wide eyed and raised his gaze to the Human who had so rudely interjected himself, he likely thought himself clever for bringing up Brun's research but the Cardassian was simply annoyed. To Brun, the man's gray collar meant that he wasn't suited to be discussing advanced medicine with anyone and his two pips meant that he hadn't the prestige to be addressing a dignitary like Brun directly without introduction. The Cardassian turned back to Setak with a raised brow, "Doctor Setak, who is this insufferable man."
Setak sighed slightly and rolled his eyes before looking back at his 'guest'. "This is Lieutenant McKeon, the Malinche's chief of Intelligence."
Brun grunted slightly and smacked his lips a few more times, his stomach rumbled slightly as well. He was very hungry. "I see," Brun replied as he leaned back in his seat with crossed arms. Without looking up at McKeon he continued, "Lieutenant, as a man educated in the ways of information gathering I am hoping that you could tell me something... When is dinner being served?"
Alister raised one eyebrow as the Doctor spoke, "I would rather devote my attention to the last ten years of your life Doctor, or the nine served on Bajor. Those are of far greater interest to me, and I'm sure would be rather more enlightening then finding out what time dinner is."
The verbal joust was starting to draw attention from others around the room including the Malinche's Chief of Security. Aaron politely excused himself before making his way toward where the three gentlemen were standing. Although he knew it was entirely possible both Lieutenant McKeon and Doctor Brun were merely trying to see just how far they could push the envelope without crossing the line, he did not want to run the risk of it escalating into something worse. "Doctor Setak," he greeted the physician as he aproached, "So good to see you back aboard the Malinche. How was Vulcan?"
"It was... hot," Setak replied with the first response that came to his mind. And it had been hot, excruciatingly. "But enlightening. It was everything that I had envisioned but much more as well, overall I have to say that I was humbled by the experience. I trust that everything here was the usual status-quo?"
"Excuse me...gentlemen," Aaron said, turning his attention to the other two, "I don't believe we've been introduced. Lieutenant Aaron Masterson."
"Ah, ahem, ah-yes," Brun replied as he studied the Lieutenant. Light hair, sleight of feature and short for a soldier, all together unremarkable, even for a Human, in Brun's opinion. "I hope that everything is as it should be dear boy, I would hate to see something unfortunate happen at a time like this." Brun cast an accusatory glance at Ren. "There are K'tarkin in the grass here boy, if you catch my meaning."
"Lieutenant Alister McKeon, Chief Intelligence Officer," Alister said nodding the COS.
Isabel gave the group a little more time after the last person arrived to greet each other before stepping closer to the table. "Good evening, everyone. I'm glad to see that you've been getting acquainted and would like to welcome our guests to the Malinche. If everyone could take a seat, we can talk some more while our orders are being taken."
Karyn was pleased to see a chair had been removed from the table and a place set for her. She guided her hoverchair in place and wondered who she'd be sitting with. She ordered a bowl of clam chowder and a sirloin steak with french fries. It was a more extravagant meal than what she usually ate, but she considered this a special occasion. Once the waitress moved on, Dallas turned her attention to observing the conversation around her.
Once everyone was seated, two of the waitresses came over and explained the menu options for the evening while taking drink orders. Isabel watched them as they started at the opposite end of the table. Knowing the menu, she already knew what she wanted - a pasta dish with some ingredients from Bajor. The menu choices were varied enough that everyone would find something they liked, or so she hoped. And they would all start out with salads.
Aurora smiled at the server and listened to the options. She ordered an iced tea, Greek salad with Italian dressing and the vegetarian lasagna.
After observing as well as sensing Setak’s frustration with Dr. Brun, Nora had taken pity on her friend and seated herself on the other side of the Cardassian. With Gel sitting beside her, she smiled to herself when he gently squeezed her hand under the table, as if in a show of silent support and camaraderie. She was pleased to hear a few Betazoid offerings on the menu and happily ordered a plate of oscoids with a blue-leaf salad on the side. “It’s been ages since I’ve had fresh oscoids,” she said in an aside to Gel.
Drumming his fingers lightly on the table, Gel smiled at Nora. “We may have to remedy that when we get to Betazed, if you have a little time to spare. The only really good oscoids are the ones that are caught fresh.” As the waitress waited for him to order, he decided that he was in the mood for more traditional human fare. He’d acquired quite a taste for it during his stay in San Francisco. “I’ll try to vegetarian lasagna too,” he said. “Though I’d like the blue-leaf salad with mine,” he added.
The counselor had mixed emotions as she took in the sights. On the one hand, she couldn't help but be filled with girlish curiosity as she took in Gel with Nora. She was happy to see the XO enjoying herself after she'd been so troubled by Julie's suicide attempt. Mixed with that, however, was a certain degree of melancholy as she considered her own singlehood. Dinners like these always seemed to emphasize her alone-ness.
Then there was Setak, clearly uncomfortable and working hard to maintain control. Before Nora had intervened Karyn contemplated doing so, and now was glad she didn't. As his therapist, she didn't want to hover, and deny him the opportunity to manage on his own. Observing the exchanges from a distance also gave her a chance to see Setak's reactions for herself in more natural circumstances. Watching people was not an unexpected activity and yet, he could feel a bit more relaxed than if he were a rat in a maze. Dallas made a mental note to meet with the doctor ASAP after the dinner.
Janor waited calmly for his turn to order. His warm smile was rewarded by a smile from the waitress. "Good evening, I believe I'd like to have some Jestral tea to drink. It sounds like your house dressing is popular, so let's go with that. And for the meal...I'm feeling a bit adventurous this evening, so how about the Zabu stew?"
The waitress nodded, "Excellent choices, doctor. Your tea will be out shortly and just let me know if there's anything else I can get for you before we bring your food out."
Aurora cocked her head, "So, doctor, what makes Zabu stew so adventurous? I admit I've never heard of it."
Turning towards Aurora, Janor answered, "In general it's perhaps not so adventurous, but it is a Cardassian dish that I've not had before. I thought I'd try something new. My colleague Doctor Brun might be able to shed more light on the Zabu stew..." The Trill looked over at the Cardassian doctor at that point, waiting to see if he would answer.
"I see," Aurora replied, feeling as if she were missing some subtext. I appeared there was some tension among the doctors and she wondered if it was purely racial, or if there was some sort of political element to it. She smiled slightly, imagining the missing doctor being dead in her quarters and the other doctors being suspects in some grand mystery. The smile disappeared. Based on her altercation with the doctor earlier that day Aurora would be a prime suspect.
"My dear," Brun said with a lick of his lips and as sultry of an expression as he could muster. He leaned over the table as far as his burgeoning gut would allow and lowered his voice so that only Aurora could hear him, at least that was his intention. "Zabu stew is a Cardassian delicacy, not just some strange foreign food to be sampled. True Zabu stew must be experienced in the Cardassian tradition, after a fresh kill. Zabu meat is the most exquisitely, tender flesh you shall ever taste but it is a fickle thing. It must be prepared within hours or it loses its delectable flavor. This replicator rubbish would not give you the proper experience but perhaps I could provide that for you at some future date, should you find the courage to accept the invitation."
"That..." Aurora felt a wave of revulsion almost overwhelm her. It was not just that the doctor was an alien. It was not just that he was an unappealing alien. It was not just that he had just crudely and publicly made a pass at her. It was all three things.
It took every ounce of Starfleet training, strict discipline hammered home by numerous counselors, even Kelly's age old advice that "If you could not find anything nice to say about a person, don't say anything at all". It took all of that combined with the knowledge that the next thing she said would reflect on her captain and XO and Starfleet as a whole.
"That is very kind of you, doctor," she said, her smile feeling like a death rictus on her face as she played with her fork, imagining driving it into the doctor's eye, "Maybe I will take you up on that offer, some day." I will eat my phaser first, she thought...
“I have it on good authority that the Zabu stew has been prepared fresh for tonight's occasion,” Nora interjected with as much warmth as she could muster, hoping to turn the conversation in a less…awkward direction.
Oh thank you God, Aurora thought, for once not caring if the XO heard that.
"In fact, the Zabu stew had been freshly prepared that night because Brun himself had adamantly insisted on it, sending his personal request—although demand was perhaps the better word—to the lounge staff directly. “It may not quite compare to fresh Zabu stew on Cardassia,” Nora continued, sending a covert apologetic glance to the nearest waitress, “but I do hope that you’ll find it more to your liking than replicated stew.”
Brun grunted with satisfaction at the thought of the fresh stew, he only hoped that the Starfleet buffoon masquerading as a chef hadn't overcooked the meat; that always ruined the flavor. He eased back in his seat, the action forcing a feint but audible creak from the chair and he placed his hands upon the table before him with fingers interlaced. He wanted to wrap up his conversation with doctor Setak but he could help but steal covert glances of Aurora when he thought that no one was looking, she wasn't the prettiest Human that he had ever seen but she was attractive.
Setak grimaced as he watched Brun out of the corner of his eyes, the Cardassian was a slothenly, crude, beast of a man and the Vulcan wanted nothing to do with him. How he had even garnered a seat among such esteemed company was far beyond him, despite his supposed accomplishments in medicine. Setak was beginning to wonder if even those weren't some kind of fabrication, only the knowledge that Brun had divulged to Setak himself was proof enough of the man’s capabilities. But with that kind of knowledge and no scruples to use it ethically, what sort of atrocity would a man like Brun unleash? Setak knew all too well.
Aurora noted the woman in the hover chair and wondered who she was. Another doctor? And she wondered what her physical disability was. Damn, didn't someone in engineering mention a member of the crew was bound to a hover chair and used prosthetics? She was so caught up in her search for her practical joker she had forgotten. "I'm sorry if I seem distracted, Doctor," Aurora said to the being next to her, "Having only recently arrived on board the ship myself almost everyone at the table is a stranger to me. I apologize if I come across as rude."
"Not at all," Janor replied with a reassuring smile. "A few of us came over to the Malince with Lieutenant Kochanski, so we knew there was at least one new crewmember. It seems that this is a good opportunity for you to meet some of your fellow crewmembers."
Aurora nodded in agreement, "True. We had just come off leave so I have not had a chance to meet everyone. Which one is Lieutenant K...the Lieutenant you arrived with? Is he the one playing with the ring on his finger? Or the one in blue?"
The Trill doctor followed the engineer's gaze. "Ah, Lieutenant Kochanski is the one in blue. He's the new Chief Science Officer, as I understand it. And it seems he's rather fond of jelly beans. Not something I particularly enjoy, I've found, but if you like them or would like to try them, you might want to ask him. I know earlier he had a whole stash of them," Janor confided in her with a slight chuckle and smile.
Alister glanced up as the waitress arrived, "I'll have the Greek salad, with extra olives, and for the main course I'll take the prime rib rare, with all the trimmings and a side of horseradish. To drink, sweet tea." He glanced over at the Captain, "If I might make a recommendation Captain, a few bottles of wine with dinner might not be amiss."
Isabel remained quiet as she considered Alister's suggestion. On the one hand, wine might not be a bad idea, but on the other, some of the doctors already didn't exactly get along and purposefully adding alcohol to the mix might take things on a turn for the worse. "I appreciate your recommendation, Lieutenant, but I think we should just allow everyone to continue ordering their own beverage as they please."
Alister nodded his head, "Of course Captain," he said, while mentally wondering if the wrong decision or right decision had been made. Usually people loosened up more with a few drinks in them, and the dinner already had a somewhat tense affair between a few of the doctors. Besides alcohol tended to loosen people's tongues and the Intelligence officer in him was always on the look out for any small tidbits of info that could be useful down the road.
Seated across the table from Gel, Darius waited quietly for the others to order their food before his turn came. He wasn’t feeling particularly hungry tonight, but not wanting to appear rude before his charming Starfleet hosts, he went ahead and ordered anyway. “The zabu stew will be fine, thank you,” he said, smiling politely to his waitress.
Alexander chuckled beside Darius. “You couldn’t pay me to eat that,” he muttered under his breath to his colleague. Cardassian food had never been a favorite of his; just the opposite, in fact. “Prime rib for me,” he said, speaking more loudly for the benefit of the waitress. “As rare as you can get it. And you needn’t bother bringing me a salad. I probably won’t touch it,” he smiled.
Isabel smiled at Lena (NPC) who had come to take her order. "Hello, Lena. I'd like the house dressing on my salad and the Bajoran pasta dish this evening. To drink, let's start off with some water with orange essence, please."
"Of course, Captain. I'll put all the orders in and then bring out everyone's beverages," the young woman replied with a smile.
As the waitresses headed back into the kitchen, Isabel turned her attention back to those at the table, who were still engaging in conversation. She was glad to see that the dinner was turning out well so far. The only person missing was Doctor Delia Banks, but from what she understood, the doctor was not very social. Even Doctors Brun and Azek - from Cardassia and Bajor - were attempting to be civil, though they obviously didn't like each other. Hopefully the evening would continue to go well.
OFF: JP brought to you by:
NPC Neurologists
played by: Lt Setak, Cdr Zeral, Capt Kersare
and
Karyn Dallas
Chief Counselor
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant JG Aurora
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant JG James Davis
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant (Provisional) Setak
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant Callum Kochanski
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant Alister McKeon
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Lieutenant Aaron Masterson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Commander Nora Zeral
Executive Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A
and
Captain Isabel Kersare
Commanding Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A