Star Trek: Starbase 777 - bean-and-gone

Well, the tour was over. She got to meet Allan, that was always nice. But Savva still was on edge. She didn't want to let her guard down. She looked around, keeping her eyes glancing everywhere she could, ensuring as much as she was able that she was safe. But Savva still couldn't shake the fact that she could not trust anyone. Anyone. Not even the captain of the starbase. Not even the highest ranking admiral in Starfleet. Everyone had a hidden agenda, Savva thought. Everyone did. There was always some concealed plan. Some sinister plot. And she couldn't hear to be part of it again. So with a hesitant stride, Savva continued from the tour to Bean and Gone. Welp. Looked like a coffee shop. Might as well, a little coffee never hurt anyone. And from what it looked like, no one else dropped dead from drinking their coffee due to someone having poisoned the coffee or anything. So Savva surmised she was safe. Moving up to the counter, Savva spoke. "Hi, can I get a venti caramel macchiato, please?" Before she set down a latinum strip. Just like that, she had her coffee. "Thank you!" She replied, before she found a nearby bench and sat at it, facing away from the majority of the traffic that would be coming through the light bites corridor.

Here Kakabam was! They had just dropped off Riki at school and was excited to spend some alone time on their day off. Kakabam was still wearing their Bajoran robes from earlier that morning so they probably looked ready to pray to the prophets or something. The long brown and beige robes gave Kakabam a boxy silhouette which reminded them a lot of what they wore in the monastary. They headed to the front counter and ordered themself some black coffee, Andorian blend, which was the best in their opinion, and then headed to find a place to sit. It seemed like most of the empty tables inside the cafe were for larger groups and Kakabam was not going to be the asshole who sits at a four or more person table when they are alone so they headed towards one of the benches. "Jolan tru, may I sit here?" They asked the person sitting on the other side, waving their hand to get their attention.

Savva was in the middle of sipping her macchiato, with her eyes looking down at said macchiato, so she had no idea anyone was approaching, especially not Kakabam, who she didn't meet outside of the chatroom, that is, until now. So when she noticed the unknown figure standing beside her wanting to sit next to her, Savva's body reacted the only way it knew how. "Ah-!" Savva's eyes popped open and simultaneously she backed away from Kakabam, holding her hands out as to keep Kakabam away. With a few deep breaths, Savva regained her composure. Slooooowly sitting back down. "Yeah. Sorry, yeah. Y-you can sit here. Sorry. I just...sorry. I didn't mean to react like that. That's on me." In an embarrassed twinge, Savva looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed that. Looked like that was a yes. Savva's cheeks flushed slightly more green in further embarrassment... (edited)

Kakabam blinked in confusion at the overreaction from the other. One would have thought they were the babadook or some sort of internet cryptid with the way the Orion reacted to just a simple 'hello'. Kakabam clutched their iced coffee in their hands and backed up half a step as they were clearly distressing the person despite being a comfortable Romulan distance away. "My intention was not to scare you," Kakabam spoke in Vulcan monotone, a clear indicator of their species. When the other consented to letting Kakabam join them, they sat on the other side of the bench as far from the person as possible. They knew it was probably not personal, but Kakabam wondered if it was the robes or maybe their scar that was scary. Maybe this person thought since Kakabam was wearing Bajoran attire that they were going to grab her ears? Or maybe they were deep in thought and Kakabam interrupted them? "Are you alright?"

Well that was... Truly embarrassing. Savva never felt this much in trying to protect herself. This had not gone well at all and it had only been about fifteen seconds or less. She hoped she could make it up to whoever this person was. "No, I know, you're alright. It's not you. I just... ergh. I'm really uneasy around new people. But that's my problem. Not yours. I need to get more comfortable around new people." Her voice was laced with shame. "This could... Be a good practice for that." Savva took another sip of her coffee - she looked the person up and down quickly. Well, no signs of hostility outwardly. Were they hiding something? Considering their tone of voice and odd reaction to her having jumped away, it seemed legitimately like they meant her no harm. So, she progressed. "Yeah, I'm alright, now I am. Thanks... Sorry again about... Yeah. I need to get better at trusting people here. Some person named MADDLAD in the chatroom told me. They're right, you know. It gives me the creeps thinking everyone's out to get me."

"I see, it is alright," Kakabam kept their Vulcan stoicism about them as they had a feeling any sort of display of emotion could make the other uncomfortable. If she wasn't comfortable around new people then it would be best to adhere to Surak's teachings and create a relaxing atmosphere so she could at ease. They weren't sure what she was afraid of, but they respected her boundaries and kept their distance. "Ah... I am MADDLAD," Kakabam said, pointing to the tip of their nose and smiling slightly. "I am Kakabam, one of the MADD officers on board. MADD as in em-ay-dee-dee, I am not an officer who is in charge of anger issues," Kakabam joked, not laughing nor changing their tone to indicate it was a joke. but they were! "... I suppose it can feel like that sometimes. I am unsure about your upbringing, but as a Romulan, I can understand that paranoia. I come from quite a turbulent house myself," Kakabam stated before sipping their black coffee. They were still curious who the Valak person was, they considered reaching out to their father about it.

Right away Savva could see that from Kakabam's stoicism that they were not interested in harming her, be it physically or mentally. Whatever they were doing to make the atmosphere more relaxing and welcoming, it was working. After a few seconds, Savva's muscles loosened up as she took another sip of her coffee. Seeing the coffee they had in front of them, Savva put two and two together in her mind. This really was the only reason Kakabam was here - for their own coffee. But maybe they stayed for another reason. If they didn't see any reason to stay next to her, then they'd leave, she surmised. Savva's eyes widened upon hearing that Kakabam was indeed MADDLAD. "Kakabam-- you're MADDLAD?" Savva said. "Heh! Small world! It's nice to meet you. I'm-- well, you probably remember my name. But in case you didn't. Ensign Savva Serruvi, Engineering, Electronics Engineer. Fresh aboard the starbase, and newly appointed into the #EngieSquad as Lieutenant Allen told me about." She said with a chuckle. "Nah, don't worry. I didn't pin anger issues on you." But when Kakabam explained that the paranoia Savva felt wasn't out of the question, Savva felt confused. How could someone as calm as Kakabam be paranoid? "So I'm not alone?" Savva said. "I didn't know we had that much in common. The turbulence, I mean."

Kakabam held both hands around their iced coffee, the condensation was getting on their robes, but it wasn't too bad. They were feeling a bit warm earlier so the cool drink felt nice between their palms. "I am. and yes I am a MADD lad, I am a lad who works as a MADD officer," Kakabam meant for their statement to be light and casual, but it had little to no variation in inflection . They noticed Savva seemed to relax a bit, probably because she realised they were the person they had spoken to in the chatroom. Also, in his Bajoran robes, Kakabam did not look ready to hurt anyone. Maybe grab an ear or two if anything. "I am also new to the base," Thet stated before taking a sip of their coffee. "Oh, I was making a joke," Kakabam said, still the same monotone. "I find that you will meet many Romulans who have similar experiences. Whilst I cannot speak for my entire species, I am aware that paranoia for many of us is a way of life. I consider myself less paranoid than others, but I am aware I still have such tendencies," Kakabam told her, speaking slowly as they were still worried that their words or mannerisms could be accidentally mistaken. "Where are you coming from, Savva? I take it you just graduated?"

It was now clear how much Kakabam wanted to just sit and chill, Savva surmised. No insidious agenda lurking behind those Bajoran robes after all. With that, Savva found herself leaning towards the table. Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult after all. Kakabam's presence was almost soothing to her. She hadn't felt like this since... She couldn't remember when. "Heh... Yeah, you're a MADD lad," Savva replied, her voice noticeably more relaxed than when they first started talking. She even let a little smile appear on her face! Savva nodded as she listened to Kakabam. Well, if she wasn't the only one who would feel this sort of paranoia, maybe it wasn't all that uncommon. And she was valid for it. "Well, it... It's a bit of a relief knowing I'm not alone. It really is," Savva said. "Oh, me? Yeah. Just graduated. Only boarded a few days ago. I studied at the Starfleet Headquarters academy on Earth. It's the only place, besides obviously this starbase, that I consider a home for me now. I have no home on Orion. Not after what they did to me. Not after who they turned me into. Not after they lied about protecting me..." And with a point to her Borg implants, Savva continued. "It's how I got this. The academy was an escape. So I never have to go back. I swore never to return to my home planet again. If there's any place that is going to protect me, it's Starfleet. And the academy at Starfleet Headquarters seemed the safest." (edited)

"I am proud of the title," Now that Kakabam thought about it, they wondered if those who identified as other genders would still call themselves MADD lads. Was lad only a term for men? Maybe women or non-binary individuals could be lads. Who knew! He nodded when he caught the small glimpse of a smile on Savva's face. It was nice to see his joke helped to loosen her up a bit. "A lot of junior officers feel apprehensive at first," Kakabam stated, glancing at the coffee in their hands and then back at Savva, sipping slowly. They took note of the Borg implants when she mentioned them, honestly not thinking much at first. People had all sorts of cybernetics, Borg or not, so they did not particularly stand out to them. "Oh, I see," Kakabam nodded at hearing that Savva was uncomfortable returning to her homeworld. He had no idea the particulars of what happened, but it resulted in assimilation. Oddly enough, pirating did not come to mind first. "There are many nice people on this starbase, I have encountered. I was just at the Bajoran prayer service this morning and many of the attendees were non-Bajorans. They were all welcoming towards myself and my son. Have you considered joining any community events? Not necessarily religious ones, I understand that religion and spirituality are not everyone's.. cup of tea," It would have been funnier if Kakabam was drinking tea, but no they were drinking coffee.

Savva was... Confused. Why did Kakabam seem so... Indifferent to what happened to her? Not necessarily in the realm of them not caring. But why did they seem to just... Stay there? Why did they want to keep talking to her even after she opened up about why she felt like she couldn't trust anyone? Whatever it was... Savva felt relieved that Kakabam didn't seem to mind, or at the very least, it seemed to Savva that Kakabam prioritized who Savva was now rather than in the past. "I... Thanks for listening to my story, heh. I should have warned you. Since MADD is in Intelligence you probably have a way to research my past. I won't stop you doing that, I don't care -- I just need to know that I'm safe here now. Which, judging by how... extremely kind to me you're being, I don't think I have to worry about that. I'm safe." Savva found herself interested at the slight topic change, but it wasn't too off kilter that she couldn't keep up. "Prayer service? There's a prayer center here?" Savva said. "I've... Never been religious. Well, not by choice. I've never really had the opportunity to seek out my own religion. In truth... I don't know where I belong spiritually. Maybe I should... Find out?" Savva asked. She didn't know if she was doing it right. "Community events may be a little harder if it's mostly people I don't know. But once I get there, I think those will help me. I'm guessing you agree with that as you suggested it for me."

"I am sorry you had that done to you and you cannot return to your home planet. I can relate to that as well," Kakabam replied, still a bit confused as to why Savva had suddenly revealed so much about her past upon first meeting them if she felt like she couldn't trust anyone? Kakabam wondered if it was because they were a MADD officer and she felt safe to say such things. Either way, it was much different than t heir past experiences with liberated Borg who seemed to want to talk about anything but when they were Borg or even their past life. Every person handled their trauma differently and Kakabam did not mind at all. "It is true I do have access to information not present on the public roster, however I can only access such information if there is a safety concern. We are not premitted to just look at everyone's classified documents on a whim, or well, it would be unprofessional to do so," Kakabam gave a every Vulcan answer to Savva's statement, their expression and tone not changing but this was how they interacted casually. They did not shy away from expression emotions, but it would be inappropriate to be overly emotive whilst this ensign was spilling her heart, they thought. They needed to stay respectful and respond calmly, at least, that's how the monks taught them to react. "We do have a multi-faith temple. For many services, the focus is on connecting with yourself and there is little interaction needed with others. I like.. I believe the term is parallel play? Where you do an activity alongside others without the pressure if having to interact with others," Kakabam explained to her, swirling his coffee in the cup to create a calming ice clacking noise.

Savva gave a forlorn shrug to Kakabam. "Eh, it's not your fault. It's the Orion Syndicate's. And the Borg. It's not you and it's definitely not Starfleet. Which I just... Need to convince myself of. Don't worry, I plan on reaching out to counselling as soon as I can," Savva reassured Kakabam. "So I don't have to be a bother to you any more than I have to be. Unless you enjoy my company. In which case... Thanks for giving me a chance. And thanks for proving that you're safe." Savva gave a genuine smile to Kakabam. "I didn't mean to dump so much, I shouldn't have done that..." Savva snickered. "Gotcha. From what myosotis said in the chatroom, how I interpreted intelligence is like super spy secret stuff anyway. Sounds cool! I figured you already knew all of what I said anyway. But if not that's fine too. Not my business." She said with another shrug as she sipped her coffee. She appreciated Kakabam's candor and honesty, it made them completely transparent to the point where she could expect everything they would say to be the truth. Savva raised her eyebrows at hearing the term parallel play. "That sounds familiar, I think," Savva said. "Do you know of anyone here that I might be able to talk to? Anyone who may have a starting place for me?" Ohhh, Savva. If she had only met Copia before meeting Kakabam. Copia wouldn't shut up about Papa Emeritus IV.

Kakabam nodded when Savva mentioned reaching out to counselling. They were surprised she had not already done so, but maybe she meant counselling on the base. She could have had counsellors elsewhere and just wasn't a fan of remote counselling. Kakabam understood that as during their time as a monk, many individuals would come to their monastery to pray and take classes. "I do not mind if you choose to continue sitting here. I am content," Kakabam responded as they brushed some hair from their eyes. "I would not say we are very super secret or spies. Perhaps some of us are," Kakabam shook his head and smiled slightly at the thought of doing super cool spy things. There were times where Kakabam did do covert operations, but to say they were some action film spy would be an exaggeration. "The closest I came to being a spy was trying to get into a Romulan engineering convention. I am bad at inventing so I decided to 'invent' a dating sim," Kakabam told her. "Hmm... I do not know many people since I also just arrived. Besides your two bosses," Kakabam looked away and sipped his coffee for a moment. "It may be worth it to reach out to the morale officers. They specialise in helping arrange social events and their job is to.. understand the vibes of the crew," Kakabam said, unsure how to put it. "We do have many liberated borg onboard if you would be interested in connecting with them?"

It was at this point when Savva finally started to feel more at ease around Kakabam than anxious. Not just around Kakabam, but in general. If Kakabam was so open to saying what may have been interesting details to them about past missions and a dating sim, then they were just as open and inviting as they came off as, be it in person or in the chatroom, Savva thought. Maybe the people here were just as nice as at the Academy after all. "You're a real one, Kakabam. Er-- you're a true friend, is what that means." "Heh. So you do get to do spy stuff - sometimes," Savva replied, putting a noticeable gap in between 'stuff' and 'sometimes.' "That's cool though! It seems much more chill than that most of the time, from what you've told me." And after a moment as Savva listened, she spoke again. "No worries! Just curious. Hope my two bosses aren't causing too much trouble," she joked. "Only a joke." Upon hearing the term morale officer, Savva paused. Then spoke up. "Morale officer? Huh. Never heard of that position before! I might reach out to them, honestly." And then, the topic of liberated Borg came up! "We do? Y-yeah, I think I would! It's a long shot but maybe one of them would recognize me."

"A real-- oh, thank you," Kakabam was surprised that Savva was quick to call them a friend when they had only just met and she had mentioned she had trouble trusting people. Maybe she meant that Kakabam had the right qualities to be a good friend? Kakabam decided not to ask about that for now. "Yes, sometimes it is spy stuff I suppose. I am a MADD officer now so I do less field work and more management, but sometimes I will do field work,: Kakabam wasn't exactly sure how to describe their job. "I am not sure if any of them would know you?" Kakabam wasn't entirely sure how much liberated Borg remembered post-assimilation, but they had a feeling it was probably not very much. If they did have memories, they were most likely unpleasant. They sipped their coffee again, slightly regretting not asking for cream. "Well, do you have any hobbies? You could meet people that way too."

Savva was in the middle of sipping her coffee when Kakabam thanked her, so she gave a nod to Kakabam as a 'you're welcome' and hoped they would understand. Once she was done taking a sip, Savva set down her coffee. "Well aren't y'all in the intelligence division super fancy schmancy? That's cool. And you said you don't spy on all of us here in the starbase so. That's cool." She was still a little hesitant, as evident by her facial expression, but Kakabam definitely had started to help the first pin fall for Savva. She didn't fully feel like she could be open to Kakabam yet. But things that didn't really matter as much, like what hobbies she had, at least to her, she could begin to dip her toe in divulging that to Kakabam. Savva gave another shrug. "Eh. It was worth a shot. No sweat if not though. Just wondering. Still I think I should connect with them in whatever way I can." Before Kakabam asked about Savva's hobbies. "Well, I mean... I like building stuff. It's... What I'm trying to do to get my life back on track. Build stuff rather than destroy stuff. I've heard about Space Lego? Maybe I could try that out, if someone knows about it."

"Fancy... what? I would not say we are particularly fancy," Kakabam was confused by her statement. They looked pensively at their coffee for a few moments as they tried to think about what Savva could have meant. "And no, why would we spy on you? What sort of Hiren-era system would that be," Kakabam's eyes widened at the idea of intel officers spying on the rest of the base. Kakabam didn't know the details of history on other worlds, but they hoped that mentioning the former Romulan Praetor Hiren would be understandable. He was the Praetor in power who doubled down on Reman slavery and was justly assassinated by Shinzon in the 24th century. He was pro-Tal Shiar and spying on his own citizens, which is the image Kakabam got when Savva mentioned spying on their own colleagues. "I wish you luck. There are many liberated Borg here to talk to, surely you will find someone you get along with," Kakabam told her, hoping it would work out. Surely she could find a friend. "Hmm.. Building things. Well I know there are a few people who like to build model ships? I briefly remember reading some old chatroom conversations, one of my colleagues in intel builds ships. Perhaps some other engineers may also be into building with... Space Lego?" Kakabam had never heard of the toy and tilted his head when he said the word. "I cannot say I have ever heard of that toy? Is it a toy? I have a young child so I am always on the look out for new things to get him to play with."

The coffee must have brought Savva a little bit of comfort when she was talking with Kakabam, for she certainly would not have divulged this much about herself if it wasn't for the coffee, although she really didn't go too in-depth about her personal life, no names, no specific dates. Still, she wouldn't have gone this in-depth. Already given Kakabam's soothing presence was enough to calm Savva, she found it easier to talk to Kakabam. "You can never be too careful these days," Savva said. "I learned that out the hard way on my former homeworld. If I'm not careful enough I become vulnerable and open for someone to turn me into a target." And after a breath, she looked at Kakabam. "But we're not on my former homeworld, are we?" She said with relief laced in her voice. "Heh, thanks," Savva replied to Kakabam's wishes for her to find other people to get along with. "I'm surprised you and I are even able to sit down like this so quickly." She remarked. "Oooooh, there are some model ship lovers here? Well... as long as they're not giving any off-vibes then I might consider talking with them. Maybe." She still wasn't entirely open to meeting just anyone off the cuff. "And I think so...? I think they're a toy? Some of the very few friends I had at the academy had Space Legos. I think they got like... advanced level sets or something. From what they've told me, they should sell sets for younger people. But who knows, they could have been lying to me this whole time."

Kakabam had spent half of their childhood in Romulan space and ran away from their house as a teen so one would think Kakabam would be equally as paranoid as Savva but they really weren't. They understood her hesitations though, they were like that when they had first arrived on Vulcan. They remembered being scared and lost, feeling completely alien in a new land. "No, we are not," They responded, assuming Savva's question was literal. "You are safe on this starbase though, comparatively. We are not immune to some bad eggs," Kakabam meant literally and figuratively. "But we have a great security department and I have read some past logs and we do have quite a lot of heroism here," They told Savva, very stoic and unemotional Vulcan face, but they cared. "I do not have any physical conditions that prevent me from sitting and standing?" Kakabam blinked quickly for a brief moment when Savva said 'sit down so quickly'. Like a true Vulcan, they took the phrase literally. "I have seen others sit down slower. I trained under T'Shen monks for three years so I would presume my level of fitness is higher than average," Kakabam was a little confused why Savva had brought up how fast he could sit down, but he provided an explanation if she was curious. "And yes, we do have model ship builders. They are fellow officers so I do not think there would be... off-vibes," Kakabam was a bit confused about the phrase and hoped they were using it right. "I will look into Space Legos for my son," Kakabam made a mental note and shook up their cup of ice. "I do not see any logic in lying about something like that? Are your friends at the Academy untrustworthy?"

It was the strangest thing, really. Savva intrinsically knew that Kakabam was being truthful, and yet she still had her doubts. Kakabam had said nothing but pure facts, Savva mused. Maybe there was some merit to letting herself trust them. Or this was a whole ploy to have Savva trust them and then they'd betray her like the Syndicate did. But right now it didn't seem like Kakabam had any insidious tactics or motivations. Just lighthearted conversation. "Honestly, if there weren't the occasional bad egg, I'd be surprised, that can happen anywhere. I guess I just don't want it to be targeted at me..." The moment Savva noticed Kakabam taking her sitting statement literally, she now knew Kakabam was telling the truth. "Oh, no, nononono, I meant... I'm surprised you and I are able to connect like this so quickly. It's... Difficult to find those people who I can really depend on. Like, really depend on. You've been nothing but nice to me and you don't even know how much I appreciate it and am grateful for you." "Might be fun to have like... A builders club on the station," Savva said. "Just some people -- who I would be familiar with in time -- to just sit around and build shit. No rhyme or reason to it. Just building. Putting something together is super therapeutic. Makes me feel like I accomplished something." Then Kakabam asked about Savva's friends being untrustworthy. With a snicker, Savva responded. "Eh, that was kind of part of the joke. In my time at the Academy, those close friends that I had were always loyal and supportive, and they were trustworthy. I guess I meant to say that the worst case scenario would be them all faking it and dropping the facade when I left. Why would they do that, you ask? Hell if I know. The Syndicate hired one of them to kill me or the Borg sent a spy to reassimilate me, any number of things."

"Danger is inevitable," Kakabam began, eyes now looking at Savva directly. "No matter who you are, where you are, there is danger around us. I am still quite young myself, but I know there are dangers lurking that I cannot face alone. I would rather take the chance and make some good memories with others for I know for sure if I face the world alone, I will not win," Kakabam spoke in a slow and serious tone, which seemed to match his whole Bajoran Renjen vibe he had going on with his outfit. The knowledge was not from Bajoran teachings though, it was just Kakabam's personal views based on their time spent as a monk helping others. "I am glad you feel comfortable with me," Kakabam was equally surprised how someone who had said she was closed off seemed to trust them so easily. They wondered if Savva was actually closed off or if that was just something she told herself to avoid others? Either way, Kakabam welcomed a possible friendship. When Savva mentioned the Syndicate and then the Borg-- spying, Kakabam's eyebrows raised in a very Vulcan-like manner. "The Syndicate is not really a thing anymore and the Borg do not spy. I do not think they could even be subtle in that sense," Kakabam reasoned. "Anyway, I hope the building group works out. It may be worth it to ask the morale officer or put up a message in the chatroom or bulletin board," Kakabam said as they stood up and smoothed out their robes. They grabbed their empty cup. "It was nice chatting with you, Savva. You may message me any time. I have my son at home so I may be slow to respond, but I will get back to you within 24 hours."

It felt quite nice for Savva to trust Kakabam. It was really a phenomenon unlike what she normally felt. It felt like she finally had a foundation upon the station outside of her own division. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "Kakabam," Savva said. "Thanks. For everything. For this. It was nice. It really was. I hope to see you around again." Savva said before she waved goodbye to Kakabam and went off on her way!

Ensign Tennibrook Balmossie had just finished her shift recalibrating the phasers in Armory 3, and she wanted to settle down with a light meal and a hot chocolate before turning in for the night. Dressed in her yellow Starfleet uniform, she made her way to Bean and Gone coffee shop.

Drezoz was already in the shop with with his brow furrowed as he tried to understand what the drinks where. There was a line forming behind him and he was starting to get uncomcomfertable as people mumbled behind him in annoyance. "Uh just, give me the closest equivalent to a Raktajino" he said finally and moved away so other people could order.

Tenni was next in line and she said, "Good afternoon. May I have an omelette with ham, pepper jack, and mushrooms, and a hot chocolate, please?" She nodded at the Klingon commander who had just ordered. "Good afternoon, commander," Tenni said to him. "How does the day find you?"

Drezoz looked up from his padd as he had been studying the map he had gotten in the hopes to make it to one of the operations rooms. "Oh, uh Good afternoon to you Ensign, the day has been... a day" he said awkwardly. It had been a long day of settling into the station and still had a duty rotation ahead of him.

"I hear ya," Tenni said with a gentle smile. "I'm Ensign Tennibrook Balmossie. Just getting off an eight-hour shift. May I sit with you? I enjoy meeting new people." Tenni was handed her cocoa, and told that her omelette would be out in a few minutes.

Drezoz maintained his calm exterior "I have no objections Ensign, I'm Lieutenant commander Drezoz Vac, I'm with communications" he introduced. He took his drink when it arrived and sat at one of the tables and took a sip from his cup. He frowned "Deffinetly not a Raktajino" he muttered about the taste and strength of the drink.

Tennibrook laughed lightly. "Yeah, I think they've only got human stuff here, I'm afraid," she said. She took a sip of her cocoa. "At least the cocoa is good." She found them a two-person table and she sat facing the door, as was her preference. She liked to be prepared for anything, even on a starbase. "How long have you been here on 777?"

"Never had a taste for chocolate, but I developed a taste for Raktaino when I served with the Klingon Defense Force" Drezoz explained as he set his cup to the side with a slight frown. "Not long about a week now, I have mostly been getting settled into my new quarters" he answered. "How about yourself Ensign this your first posting out of the academy" he asked in return.

"Yes, sir," Tenni replied, "but I've been here a few months now. Even went out with the Eventide once and manned the tactical console briefly. Other than that, my duties have been fairly mundane. I'm a phaser specialist. But I enjoy it."

"I see, my first posting was on the U.S.S. Vladimir, a science vessel studying signal theory and such, it remains my favorite posting yet. I am a communications officer meaning to assigned to Operations here on the station, I've even already had a conversation with one of the engineers about the stations comms array" he explained. "Learn as much as you can now, to use on other future postings, that is the same advice I got on the Vladimir" he advised as he took another sip of his drink and scowled.

"That's good advice, commander," Tenni said. Her omelette arrived and she said a quick silent prayer over it before beginning to cut into it. "I hope to serve Starfleet for many years to come, maybe become chief of security on a starship somewhere. To be out there exploring the galaxy, is what I want to do. And protecting people."

"A good drive, however much you look to the future you will have to remember where you are in the present, you still have duty's here" Drezoz reminded. He stood up and threw his drink away and walked back over to the table "Now then if you will excuse me Ensign, I am due for a duty shift, I hope you see you again. Qapla" he said before he headed to his duty station.

It was rare to see Vialara outside of Gliqqigug's coffee shop, but on rare occasions she did find herself branching out and checking a different place. Today she went for 'Bean and Gone', a more rustic and gentle place for coffee. It was a cozy atmosphere, and that's what Vialara preferred when she went out. She had stood in line for a bit, before ordering herself a Coffee with Cream and Caramel Drizzle, and a small cake to satisfy her sweet tooth. She had made her way over to the nearest empty table, one of the smaller ones suited for two people on a coffee-date, and waited patiently for her date to arrive.

Kya hummed as she stepped to the table and looked at Via with a smile. “And how is my favourite medical officer doing today? You look stunning.” She said as she took a seat at the table, wearing a Starfleet jacket in tactical red, a tank top and jeans. She looked to Via with a small laugh. “How have you been since we last saw each other hm?”

She chuckled slightly as she watched Kya come into her point of view, a bright smile appearing on her face. "You say that like I don't always look stunning. But sure, I do like particularly stunning today. Always got to look your best when you have somebody as wonderful as yourself coming to meet me." "Your favourite medical officer is very well, even more so now that you're here. I've been alright, busy as you can imagine... But good nonetheless. How is my darling tactical officer? Still kicking ass?"

Kya hummed as she looked at Via. “Well you do, but hmm, I think I enjoy seeing you here more than I do in the stuffy medbay.” The hybrid said with a grin. “Speaking of, thank you for taking me up on this offer. Offering you a date while you were looking over me after that Azreal incident must have been coming off strong, but you’ll be happy to know my skin has properly healed now.” She said with a hum. “I suppose that answers you’re kicking ass question.”

"Hey, I'll never say no to another date with a pretty woman. You made quite the impression during our last evening together, so I'm all up for a more relaxed evening of coffee and chitchat." Vialara smiled and took a little sip of her drink, looking over at Kya with a smile. "But it's good to hear that you've recovered well since your little fight with the rogue AI... Have you been up to much since we last saw one another?"

Kya’s greyscale skin quickly glowed with a wine coloured blush as she looked at Via. “Well, I like to think I make impressions everywhere I go.” She said, with a smile. “As for myself? No no, been mostly recovering. Then making sure no one mishandled the weapons while we gone, but luckily this stations crew is bright and I didn’t have to worry about a rifle exploding. That happened once on the Takei, took a month to clean the armoury.” She said with a smile. “How have you been? Since you helped with my skincare.” She said, joking about the wire burns she suffered.

The CMO smiled, and gave a gentle chuckle as Kya spoke. "A rifle exploded? Well that seems like a real mishandling of weapons. I can imagine that wasn't fun to clean up." She smiled and looked over to Kya with a gentle sip of her coffee. "As for me? Nothing major, I have a surgery scheduled for tomorrow but nothing since I last saw you. Are you free this evening? I can come round and help you with your skincare again... It's been a while since we had some private time together." The woman said with a cheeky smile.

“Oh? I wouldn’t want to distract you from your surgery!” She said before slowly brushing her hand gently against Via’s with a smile. “But if your sure I would love your help with my skincare. My schedule is quite wide open, and I’d love to spend another night with you.” She said with a blush. “I hope your skincare techniques are up to snuff.”

"Wow, I can't believe you would even doubt my abilities." She said with a gentle chuckle as she sipped a little more of her coffee, looking across the table at Kya with a sly grin. "Was my first night with you not enough proof of how skilled I am?"

“Oh I don’t know what your talking about.” She said with a grin and a blush. “I don’t see what that has to do with my skincare routine. I’m just coming over for some medical attention from a cute doctor.”

"Well, I can come over for your appointment at any time tonight, does say, 1800 hours work?" She said, as she sat her empty coffee down. "Unless of course, you're in need of an emergency visit. Then I can head over right now."

She sat her own coffee cup and stood to her feet, offering a hand to the beautiful doctor. “Mmm, I think I could book an appointment for say….5 minutes from now? Once we’re safely in my bed?”

@Ezran 📢

"I'll have to check my diary..." She said with a smile as she glanced along at her PADD, before she neatly tucked it away into her pocket. "It appears I have a slot free right about now. So you're in luck, darling." She said with a gentle chuckle as she stood up and took Kya's hand.

Kya smiled softly, wrapping an arm around Via’s waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Mmmm, you make me so happy Via.” She lead her out onto the promenade. “Now then, shall we be off sweet thing?”

She looked across at Kya with a smile and a nod. "Yes, we shall. I can't leave my patient waiting any longer." She said with a gentle chuckle as she slid in alongside Kya as the two swiftly left the cafe.