Star Trek: Starbase 777

Ava stepped out into the corridor. Where to first?

"Oh no! I'm really sorry, Zip! Come back here!!" She called after the robot, which was quite out of sight now.

Ava spun around as something flew past her with a noise. When she turned back, she say an Ensign exiting the turbo lift and calling after whatever had just passed her. “Can I help?”, she asked. “What was that?”

“That was my moody, little personal assistant. I doubt we’ll catch up with her.” Hop sighed as she rolled to a stop, “She can be so grumpy sometimes! Though I’m really the one to blame. After all, I’m the one that programmed her.” Hop chuckled, as she rolled by. (edited)

Ava smiled at the Cadet who headed for the parkland, following the little robot. Somehow, she loved that short encounter, even though she had no idea who that crew member was. Next time they saw each other, she’d ask! For now, she went to the lakes and ponds room.

She went to the turbo lifts with quick steps and a very empty stomach.

He took a stroll down the corridor, just himself and no one else, just so he could process whatever had just happened to him in the past while. He hadn't even wrapped his head round most of it. Ugh.

Louisa was coincidentally taking a stroll down the corridor herself, she was on a new ship, finally reporting to a Starbase after some very long tours of duty. She was going to go into the environmental ring to relax, smell some real flowers, ones that she knew were not made from the lights and science of a holodeck. She was eager to experience something like that after so long, but there was something odd she noticed, a Jem'Hadar in a Starfleet uniform, Louisa gave him a confused look as she passed by.

If anything he seemed confused, almost thoughtful. Almost as if pondering. Maybe she expected him to whirl round and glare at her for the weird look he'd been given, but that was (surprisingly) not the case. He passed her in silence, heading in the same direction she was, towards the forest trail.

Louisa walked on in silence with this Jem'Hadar officer towards the forest path, she wiped the confused look off her face while walking alongside him, but the question was gnawing at her on the inside. "I'm certain you've gotten this before, but why exactly is a Jem'Hadar serving in Starfleet, Lieutenant?" It was hard not to resist the question, Louisa was curious about the nature of this Jem'Hadar.

"I am an exchange officer from the Allied Fleet Service." He stated tersely. That was the simple truth, nothing else to it. What else did he need to say or give? Reassurance that he wasn't going to kill everyone on the station when provoked?

"Do you have a name? Or should I just refer to you as the exchange officer from the Allied Fleet Service?" Louisa asked with legitimate interest, despite the small joke after her legitimate question, she didn't figure that the Jem'Hadar would have a great sense of humour, but it would be quite nice if he did. Maybe it could be the start of a great friendship, or the joke hits wrong and nothing forms from this.

"I am Ughaz'udan. And you?" He asked, seeming somewhat awkward. Maybe he wasn't good with people period.

"Lieutenant Louisa Lucero. It's a pleasure to meet you Ughaz'udan. I was going to go on a walk through the environmental ring to smell some real nature rather than a holodeck's manufactured appearance." Louisa gave the Lieutenant a smile, seemingly very happy to talk about this.

Ughaz'udan unfortunately couldn't care less for (and couldn't tell the difference between) real and holodeck manufactured plants; to him they smelled exactly the same, or maybe that was because he didn't pay enough attention. Either way it wasn't a detail that was important to him. "Will you be accompanying me, then. It appears that we are travelling in the same direction."

Louisa did notice that they were heading the same way along the environmental corridor, of course it could have led into any number of habitats on the Starbase, but she wouldn't mind changing her plans, even just a little, while getting a similar experience if it might mean making a new friend. "I don't see why not, I wouldn't mind spending some time with another person. Are you serving aboard the Starbase or the Ship?"

"I serve aboard the starbase as head of tactical. We may well be seeing each other very much more often." He stated. "Though part of me wishes I were assigned to the Eventide instead. I thrive in the heat of battle, not in an office."

"I've heard that from my father about the Jem'Hadar. I should mention I'm serving as the head of security on the Eventide, so there is a good chance we will see each other. It would likely be good if we got to know each other a bit better with our two positions being relatively close." Louisa mentioned as they arrived at the entrance closest to the forest trail, the door opened and she continued inside for their walk.

She hurried down the hall to the lift.

She went along the corridor, pondering where the best place would be. She decided on the lakes and ponds landscape.

She went to the lifts.

she had left the turbolift and soon after, entered the forest trail room.

James spent most of his time aboard the Station. It had much better recreational facilities and was overall a better atmosphere for him. He walked down the environmental corridor and entered the forest trail, hoping to get a light jog or a quick walk in.

She had left the forrest path and walked over to the turbolift.

He quietly made his way to the swimming pool.

She walked over to the swimming pool, towel hanging from her arm in a dark mustard colored swimming suit.

She walked over to the turbolift.

Styre strode slowly through the corridor, stopping and turning jusr as he reached the door to the forest trail.

She exits the lift and heads for the forest trail to clear her mind.

to the turbolift.

Styre walked down.. ah he was hungry. He was not in the mood to socialize at the mess hall, so to the dining areas it was.

He walked down to the Botanical Gardens. He was stressed out from work and wanted to relax and read a book among the plants.

He walked down the corridor intent on doing the same thing he did the last time he was here.

He walked to the lifts.

He held her close as they walked down to the botanical gardens.

She followed, being held close, still holding his hand.

As they stepped out into the corridor, she blushed a bright red and smiled, her eyes widening, replying, "I... I am?"

He paused in his tracks for a moment taking stopping her with him. He turned to look her closely in the eyes. "Well yeah, as far as I'm concerned you are the most beautiful person on the station."

If it was possible, she blushed even more. She smiled, and replied, "I- oh my-" She was at a loss for words. Finally, she replied, softly, "Thank you, Jack..."

He gave her a quick kiss and a smile, he stayed silent for a few moments just looking into her eyes, enjoying the view. He loved every moment with her.

After that kiss, she also stood there, silently gazing into his eyes, smiling and blushing. Still holding his hand, she reached and took the other in her other hand, and held both there, smiling...

He waved through his hand through her hair quickly before taking her hands again. "You really are just perfect, aren't you."

"I guess so," she replied, still smiling and blushing, as she reached up and ran her hand through his hair before taking his hand again. "I think you are, too."

He blushed for a moment before deciding his next action. He dipped her down in his arms and gave her a nice long kiss.

She blushed strongly, and then the blush faded as the kiss went on; she smiled into it and wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and tuning out the outside world.

He gave her a long passionate kiss with his eyes closed. The world around him faded into black as he enjoyed the kiss, within his universe it was only the two of them. After a minute he slowly lifted her back up.

As he lifted her up again, she opened her eyes, speechless. After a bit, her mouth curled into a small smile, her arms still wrapped around him.

He smiled widely at her biting his lips as he still held her closely. He didn't have anything to say, he just held her and that was enough for him. He had forgotten entirely about all of his problems.

After a minute of being there, her smiling back at him and giggling, she then brought him close for a hug. For her, being with him was all she needed. Him seeming to feel much better than yesterday only made her happier.

He listened to the announcement of the holonovel and then suddenly changed his tune. "Do you wanna go check out that holonovel!"

She nodded excitedly; even thought she wasn't super into them, a holonovel sounded fun!

He walked slowly down the corridor, reading as he walked. He had his head buried into the novel.

He set course for the lift, taking his time so he could keep talking. "I would love for you to come along. It wouldn't be hard since we are both in science."

Her 5 foot self kept up with the Orion, listening closely to him speak. "I would love to. That sounds like an absolute dream."

He nodded, in his abnormally relaxed state he said. "I really enjoy talking with you, it's really nice."

She smiled at him. She found herself comfortable around him as well. "I enjoy talking with you, too. We should do this more often."

As he entered into the lift he simply said "Yeah for sure."

Ellanor smiled and followed closely behind.

He trotted to the botanical gardens with a spring in his step, er, clop? Who cares.

She walked to the botanical gardens slowly, looking around as her tail swished behind her slowly

"Where did you want to go?' She asked her shorter human girlfriend and nudged her shoulder. "We have all night."

"Wherever you want to go! We could just go for a walk in the park?" She said as she looked up at the Klingon woman, grinning brightly.

"The promenade for a cone of ice cream." She suggested. "I know the best."

She smiled and gave a nod, giving the other's arm a gentle squeeze. "Sounds like a plan. You have latinum?"

"Plenty. Do you?" She asked with a playful jab to her hip.

She chuckled and did a playful jab back. "Well, I don't. Do I look like a carry latinum around at all?" She said with a laugh.

"Welll... I don't knooooow. You might be and I'd never know. Miss Special Ops." She jabbed back and chortled to herself as they entered #turbolift.

Holly walked out of the lift into the corridor with Erwin by her side.

He walked besides her as they entered #riverside-trail

Virana stepped out of one of the turbolifts with a basket and went over to the side of the corridor to wait for the lieutenant. Her long dark hair was tied up in a ponytail and her brown eyes checked the basket once more while she waited.

Ughaz'udan arrived on time as always; this time he'd opted to switch to a dark brown trench coat and a rust red shirt and jeans - maybe he liked the look. Weird. Maybe it represented a good change in him. "Virana." He greeted.

Noticing the trench-coated lizard, she smiled her usual pretty smile although it seemed more genuine than those given at the bar. "Nice outfit." She commented, her smile growing.

"You seem to like it," He commented seeing her pretty smile grow and dance slowly across her lips. "Very much, I should add. Don't you?:

"It looks great." She said with a grin. "Anyway..." "She gestured to the entrance of the #botanical-gardens.* "Shall we?"

"Yes. I believe I've kept you waiting long enough." He mused, stepping through the entrance.

@Deleted User back! Sorry))

03:32

(all good)

She followed him into the #botanical-gardens.

With her visual sensory device, Aella was unstoppable. She could finally see what the station looked like! It was pretty nice for a Federation starbase. Aella kept stopping to adjust her headset and checking her appearance as she passed by a window. This device helped her see, but it was bulky and definitely not pretty. @Onion 💖

Eshen's handsome (he thinks) reflection appears beside her. "Need help with that?" He asks in broken Vortawa.

The klingon-vulcan's sudden appearance does not catch Aella by surprise, in fact, she heard him coming before he even spoke a word. What did alarm her is hearing the other speak her language. The universal translator had it's glitches, but the way the other spoke made it obvious he was addressing her in Vortawa. "Fufu, in fact I would. Are you offering to help me?" She pressed a button to disable her translator, wanting to hear the other's natural speech. Aella gave him a flirtatious smile as she walked closer to the boy. He as handsome and she was glad she could see him clearly to notice.

Eshen nodded, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't have a little bit of an agenda, too. What? She's pretty. "I am. Tell me, how might I go about it?" (edited)

"I'm having a bit of trouble with this part,"Aella turned her head so Eshen could clearly see her problem. Her hair was tangled around her headset and as a result her hair looked very messy. "These headsets are not very glamorous,"She sighed in disappointment. "If you could help fix my hair, I would be very grateful."

"I see. Allow me." Eshen got a little closer and gently untangled her hair. With long hair himself, he knew how handle it. It was moments like these Eshen was grateful to wear gloves. If a traditional Vulcan saw him so close to touching a woman's face with his bare hands, they'd combust on the spot.

Aella smiled the whole time Eshen was touching her hair. She was quite good as using her feminine charm on men. "Hehe, it tickles," Aella giggled, as she moved her headset a little so Eshen could untangle her hair. "Your Vortawa is very good by the way, I'm impressed."

"Thank you," he said in Vortawa, then switched to Standard. "I'm afraid we've reached the peak of what I know, though. It's not exactly easy to find a teacher."

Aella looked at him curiously and giggled. "Oh, is that it?" She replied in Vortawa, wondering if perhaps his listening was better. "I wouldn't mind giving you a few lessons." Being a language teacher was not something she ever considered for herself, but this boy was cute and perhaps he could teach her a language in return. "If you could teach me.... Hmm.. Vulcan?"

"I would be honoured. I am Eshen K'Tann. You may call me Eshen, and he and him." He held out a hand to shake. "Tell me, where were you headed? A corridor is not the appropriate venue for... Cultural exchange."

Aella shook his hand and smiled. "Aella. Vara'toran, Aella 5, Dominion Liaison, speaker for the Founders." She introduced herself proudly. She always made sure to include her rank to remind others that she may be a lowly civilian on the station, but within the Dominion she held a high rank. Since Eshen knew some Vortawa she hoped her status was impressive to him. "Of course, well we are in the environmental ring. How about taking a look around the #riverside-trail ?"She suggested, wondering what would be a nice place to explore together with her new friend.

She speaks with pride, Eshen noted. "What a privileged position I find myself in, then, to have the spokeswoman of the noble founders grace me with her tutelage! Let us go see if the beauty of the lakes compares to ours, shall we?"

Stepping off the lift, he smelled the air. It smelled like flora, and nature. An interesting smell, though he did not entirely prefer it. He'll get over it. As he made his way to the parkland.

She trotted to the turbolift after locating the Vulcan - and her quarters.

As Heinrich made his way down the hallway towards the lift, he looked back at the parkland, Zi had helped, slightly. It was more up to him now on what to do.

He made his way down the corridor until he found the fitness suite. He entered.

He went back to the turbolift.

She proceeded to the parkland. (edited)

Maggie walked from the lift to the pool.

He walked next to Eshen towards the gardens. Quiet, for the time being. He was unsure how the following conversation would unravel.

Eshen was also quiet. Still trying to cool off the adrenaline from earlier. Gotta be Serious for the Serious Talk. He entered the gardens.

1

Adill went to the turbolift.

To the turbolift, at max speed.

Maggie moved quickly to the lifts.

The pair walked down the hall with their towels and swimsuits in a waterproof bag.

He walked down the corridor and straight to the forest trail.

He decided to go to the forest trail, stomping a little on his way. Like an angry little gay man. Though he wasn’t that little.

Renakir walked down the corridor!

After she was done exploring the lakes and ponds area, she headed out of the room and down the corridor.

On his way to Rana's, or so he thought.

3

He scurried down the hall, deciding to occupy himself for some time before he messaged Vince.

Sauk made his way down the corridor, headed to the lift.

He walked down the corridor, ignoring Eshen who was presumably close behind him.

22:14

He entered the fitness suite.*

Aella rushed down the corridor!

Maggie made her way down to the pool.

She walked down the corridor.

He's here, looking around in astonishment. Blimey, why has he never gone here before? This place is amazing!

She walked back down the corridor, a lot slower and more focused looking than earlier.

Wheatley was currently distracted with chewing at his nails, so he didn't really notice the slower pace as he absentmindedly walked behind.

In his hurry to find his mother, he completely forgot about his fear of turbolifts, actually it was a good distraction. He rushed off the lift and into the first room he saw. She was definitely around here, where else could she have gone?

Cecil bolted out of the lakes and ponds and into the environmental corridor with his mother. Ellara was clearly very upset but it didn't look like Cecil was going to slow down for her. He walked her to the turbolift.

Full of anticipation, Adill went to the fitness suite.

Renakir made his way down the corridor.

Down the corridor!

Eshen led Kelron(?) down the corridor by the hand, avoiding looking at her, his face and the tips of his ears little flushed. He didn't say a word, not even when they entered #turbolift.

[D] Nicolas stroller along the corridor, a small smile on their face. Hopefully Hannah wasn’t too busy. They’d finally got settled down, and now, it was time to pay their old friend a visit. (edited)

Down the hall.

There he go, down the corridor.

He walked quickly to the parkland.

He walked down the corridor to #parkland .

Out the lift and into the hallways, slightly confused but still going at it.

And back he goes, happily holding a flower.

After a very informative talk with the Captain about dinosaurs, he walked towards the #deleted-channel, unaware of the chance meeting that was about to happen.

3

Mo walked along the corridors. They were oddly empty, but for some reason, the hairs on the back of Mo's neck stood on end, as though he were being pursued by ghosts. He resisted the urge to check if the environmental filtration systems were making the air too thin here. Hypothetically, though, if it was ghosts, would a pacifist be allowed to kill something that was already dead?

5

3

Skipping down the corridor！

Down the corridor they went, walking into #botanical-gardens .

*Seven wandered down the corridor, feeling along the walls until he got to #deleted-channel *

“This is the environmental ring. We’ve got gardens and such. Down there are the pools and the stadium. And here we are,” he explained, as they went down the corridor towards the fitness suite.

A’Ruk followed quietly, but attentively, his Klingon steps heavy on the ground of the station.

A’Ruk walked next to Adill down the hallway. He was slightly sweaty from the fight, but not uncomfortable, even with this environment that he was so unaccustomed to. He could see how Adill would like it. It suited him.

Adill went with him into the turbolift once again.

Down the corridor he goes. (edited)

Remun went into the fitness suite.

Down the corridor with a normal cat to read about murder cats.

2

She walked down the corridor, off to the bloom room!

He walked down the corridor.

Zi, Ash, and Comet stepped out into the corridor from the turbolift, and Zi started leading them down towards where the plants lived. "We have so many different fruit grown here, it's crazy! Like, we have Bajoran, Klingon, Vulcan, Earth, the lot!"

“Oh? Bajoran fruit, that sounds familiar…” Dropping hints, subtly telling Zi they were a rainbow rolled in glitter. But could Zi pick up what they were putting down? They’d have to see.

"Well you're Bajoran, right? Or at least part. Freshly grown fruit always tastes better, so if you're ever missing Bajoran food you could pop down here!" They said with a smile, being entirely clueless about the hints.

A quiet sigh, but that was fine. Maybe they needed to be more direct. They’d think about that for a bit. “Sounds great. Plus, the added bonus at a chance to see you, right?”

"Oh, oh yeah! We might bump into eachother every now and again!" Zi said with a smile. They were, once again, somewhat oblivious. That was just a friend thing that Comet said, wasn't it? Friends like to hang out all the time! (edited)

“Plus, you can count on me visiting on purpose. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?” They asked, nudging Zi in the shoulder. This could take a while, they realized.

Zi blushed ever so slightly at Comet, but smiled at them all the same. Had they actually just made a friend? "You... You consider me to be a friend?" They asked, still smiling in the process.

“Well, unless you don’t want me too, absolutely! You’re a sweet person, and your dog is an added plus,” They smiled, tilting their head. “Had I not made that obvious?”

The compliment immediately made Zi blush more and look away briefly, deciding to focus entirely on Ash for a moment. "Y-yeah, he's usually always a nice addition to any situation." They said, smiling despite not currently making eye contact. After a moment they looked back, the blush still very much so there. "I wouldn't mind hanging out with you." They said with a soft smile.

“Well, that’s what we’re doing right now! And in the future, hopefully!” They beamed. “Maybe we’ll be more than friends in the future, who knows,” They added casually, shrugging.

And there it was, peak blushing action, Zi's cheeks and ears now well and truly red. They quickly and nervously look forward again, their ability to keep eye contact failing once more. And oh how convenient it was that the trio finally came across the #community-garden. "Oh, oh here we are!" Thank stars. They very quickly lead Comet into the community garden.

[D] Namika was mostly running away from her physical exam and her excuse was that she wanted to get to know the station. So, she was wandering around on the environmental ring, looking at the different rooms she could find. That was when a flower shop caught her eyes. At first, it made her think of Isaac and she didn’t want to go inside. But then she decided that she was going to buy herself flowers. Treat herself to something, hell yes! She went inside.

Carring the flower in her hands, Namika made her way back to the turbolifts.

Sauk walked down the corridor, one hand on the strap of his bag, the other on Shoe’s leash, as he entered #parkland .

He walked out of #parkland with Eshen.

Eshen walked down the corridor to #deleted-channel, the best one one that definitely never breaks. "Nalas has a lot of stuff there too, obviously. Did he ever give you one of his amazing little plushies? I forget."

Now to the bloom room!

“I’ve already received a nickname?” Namika raised an eyebrow at the other woman as they left the flower shop together.

"I mean... I can not use it if you prefer! It's merely a habit of mine." Niatha smiled sweetly at her, untying her ponytail such that her hair flowed over her shoulders in a cascade of black.

“Ah, well, call me by it if that makes you comfortable,” she said with a shrug and headed towards the lifts. “You wanna go to Giliqqigug’s?” She frowned at herself, a bit in confusion and a bit impressed by the fact that she’d been able to pronounce that. “What or who is Giliqqigug anyways?”

"Don't know, don't really care! They produce awesome hot chocolate and even more awesome marshmallows and that's enough for me!" She laughed and stepped into #turbolift.

Namika followed.

Comet led the way down the corridor to #deleted-channel.

Zi and Comet followed.

He went to the turbolifts. Odd picture. All stoic and Vulcan, but a bouquet of flowers in hand.

“Mainly me,” said Adill. “At least I hope so.”

“I have not gone off to fight random people in your absence, don’t concern yourself,” answered A’Ruk. “Though I have a good mind to start a fight with that Trill you mentioned.”

"Do you need Adill's permission to fight other men?" Eshen teased, as they made their way to the #fitness-suite-01.

“Tread carefully, Eshen.”

“If I needed that, I wouldn’t get any work done,” grumbled A’Ruk, shooting Eshen a serious glance before stepping into the suite as well.

“Ah, yes, hunting on Qo’nos. One of the best types of training,” said A’Ruk as they made their way down the corridor.

“To you, maybe,” grumbled Adill, still propping up Eshen and helping him walk. For now he was completely in the dark about Eshen’s chronic pains, he had no way of knowing that Eshen was suffering from more than a fractured knee.

"What, not fond of the beasts? And you can eat them afterwards, too! Of course, on Vulcan it was a vegetarian diet only and we don't fight any animals, just desert weather." The pain changed from mainly in his scars like the ache of old wounds to the scorching pain of sunburn. He persisted to #turbolift nonetheless.

Comet walked down the corridor, ready for some relaxing, healthy splashy fun times.

Namika followed the hallway until she reached the forest trail.

She stepped out, tail swishing behind her as she walked towards #forest-trail .

he folowed her, already seeming more alive than usually

*he walked to #deleted-channel *

He walked down the corridor.

Satok followed....

Uh oh! Looks like the storm was already starting to affect systems! Anyone on the environmental ring would notice that gravity seemed to be switching on and off in a random pattern. Not onoffonoff with no breaks, you never know when it’s going to swithc.

4

The journalist heard the announcement, but decided to ignore it. Writing on a PADD and floating in the air, he was going to get a good story.

4

3

The caitian left the lift and already saw the journalist. He walked up to him. "Excuse me, you are supposed to move to the lower habitat ring!"The voice of the caitian sounded demanding.

Oh fuck the cops, the man thought as he suddenly hit the floor. Gravity was back on. “O-oh, yeah? I have my rights to a story!” He said defiantly.

5

4

The caitian tryed to stay calm. "Yes, orders!"He meant, scanning the person in front of him."You eather come with me, without a fight."He said, his ear twitching."Or I will bring you there with force."

4

“Dude, what the fuck? Since when did Starfleet become so violent?” He demanded, standing up and brushing off his clothes.

4

He looked at the person."We didn't, I am afraid you misunderstood me there."The caitian explained quitly."So you are searching for a good story?"The caitian asked, trying to approach the nice way."But here is nobody who could tell you about their story, would't it be much more interessting to ask actual people about the situation and what their thoughts are?"He tryed to convince the other that he would get a much better story in the lower habitat ring.

Virgil thought for a moment. “Or…I could take notes on what it feels like to be in the middle of a catastrophe on a Starbase. That would be way better,” He said. “So I think I’m fine where I am, thanks,”

4

His ears lowered, as he turned angry."unless you die, because you didn't listen!"The caitian came closer to Virgil."You know I can just take you to the lower habitat ring."He looked at her."I will not ask again, for you to follow this order!"

“And I won’t say it again…fuck off! Go bother someone else, there’s literally nothing here that could kill me! I’m trying to get a story!” Virgil shot back, sprinting down the hall. Maybe he could loose this Catian.

The caitian was a bit insulted."This is my job, well there isn't anything now. But that could litterally change every second!"The caitian growled. He followed him, not at his full speed."Stand still. This is an order!"

“I’m not Starfleet! You can’t order me around!” Virgil pointed out, still shooting down the corridor. Maybe he could make it to a turbolift.

The caitian speeded up."Well, but you should listen non the less!"His tail waved angrilly."It is my order and job to get you to the lower habitat ring."

“Do you not have more important things to do?” Virgil said, sounding pissed. At the last moment he slid into #forest-trail.

He followed her."Not in the moment"He was approching her, and was closer than ever. However he didn't catched her.

The caitian looked for other outrunners.

19:02

He went to #deleted-channel.

After patrolling another round, he had been in landed in the environmental ring. He thought, mhh maybe I should take a look in the parkland. And so he did.

He walked down the corridor.

At around 1650, he was walking down the environmental corridor. Holy shit, he was going to be early! Mark those words!! Early!

Austin was glad she had looked away first, that probably could've ended awkwardly. Perhaps he was being a bit too sentimental in his own head. Either way he was still excited, his pace quickening as they got closer.

“I’ve never been to the pools on here before,” said Ava conversationally.

"Me neither to be honest but I hear that are nice and big." Even as he continued to excitedly walk he took off his shirt. At this point Austin was a meter or so infront of her, allowing her to see a large scar across his back that he normally kept hidden.

They were turning to go into the #swimming-pool area now, but Ava started as she saw the scar. She was tempted to ask about it. Very tempted. She’d always been curious. “Hey, Austin?” Her voice was soft, they were working through the doors now.

Austin had the pool in sight and was about to cannonball right into the pool but then he heard Ava's voice. He turned around to see her, once again hiding his scar. He matched her tone of voice. "Yeah what is it?"

“Oh, I’m sure you did a nice job. Your room back in San Juan was always very comfy,” said Ava, as they went out into the corridor. Her hair was still a little damp and falling in strands over her shoulders.

He nodded eagerly. "The Eventide isn't quite the same as the island but I think I've done well to keep things cozy." He walked through to the lifts along with her.

“You certainly haven’t lost your love for books,” said Ava as they stepped into the lift.

When Sauk left the parkland, whenever he finally did, he was feeling more at peace than he had in a while. He felt lighter, like a burden had been lifted. He was looking forward to the next chapter in the book; it talked about taking negative self-thoughts and turning them into something more constructive. That was definitely something Sauk could use. If only Fuck could see him now, he thought with a proud grin as he walked to the turbolift.

3

Namika went all the way to the community garden.

And, he was on the way to his favorite turbolift. (edited)

He walked down the corridor.

She walked down the corridor towards the butterfly house.

Orza exited the turbolift “UHHH SO FOREST?”

“FOREST!” More enthusiastic shouting

The entrance to the environmental ring felt so technological in nature - the reinforced doors reminded him of that of the airlocks. It was all to do with maintaining a steady environment within the interior ring; everything was meticulously controlled by the Science staff, he had read, everything from temperature to what made up the air to pollen counts to the insects that were allowed to reside in there. It was fascinating - and he was legitimately surprised that he hadn't ventured down here sooner.

He went towards #riverside-trail. For no particular reason. His legs simply carried him. He wondered why. Why hadn’t they given up on him yet? Why was he still standing? What illogical thoughts. He wished to shut off his brain, for just a moment. And so he entered the artificial environment. (edited)

He strolled down the corridor off to the lifts like nothing was wrong.

The Furberus whined when the Kal-toh pieces fell to the ground, clearly very distressed. Luckily their kind pointy caretaker was there to pick up the pieces. When the doors opened they stared straight at the stranger. All 6 eyes blinking in unison. Ikki let out a soft mew-ing noise and Yuch seemed to have fallen asleep not two second later. They were certainly still a WIP.

Mo dragged the Furbcat duo away from the flustered Ensign along on the hoverchair into the #parklands.

After a fun jog around the forest trail, Nalas headed down the hallway and to the lift.

Just as agreed upon, Renakir showed up in the environmental corridor to pick up some rocks that a friendly person in the chatroom was going to provide for him.

After a few moments Zi showed up as well, having been working in the parkland. They had been busy working since they got back from their own shore leave, feeling refreshed and relaxed, which is exactly what they had hoped for. They were wearing a pair of comfy fabric shorts with a tshirt tucked into it at the front, with images of cacti that looked like cats printed onto it, along with their work boots, tool belt, gloves, and headphones. As they walked towards the storage room they saw someone coming the other way, but being none the wiser and not wanting to assume Zi simply carried in their way until they got to the door marked 'storage room', and leant up against the wall near it to wait.

3

Renakir was unsure who this person he was supposed to meet was, but he assumed it was appropriate to head towards the store room. He walked slowly, cautious to keep a stabbing distance apart as always. He took his steps lighly and carefully, not because he was scared or nervous, but because it was his way of showing respect when approaching strangers. "Jolan tru," He greeted whom he could only assume to be EnbyGardener from the chatroom. Enby, that was a term of nonbinary right? That was something any Romulan could behehind. "Are you the one with the rocks?" Sounded odd, hopefully this person was the right one. Renakir spoke fluent Standard, although his French accent was as strong as ever.

Zi, who had been listening to music until this point, turned to face the newcomer as they spoke, the music playing in their headphones automatically pausing when it detected speech. "Oh, hi! Yes, I am! You're MrEclipse, right? Come in, come in." They said with a smile, before typing in an access code and going into the storage room. It was filled to the brim with everything a botanist or gardener could need, and in the corner was an entire crate of different stones, pebbles, and rocks. "What size were you hoping for?"

Renakir gave the nice stranger a soft smile, mouth closed of course. He was not going to risk scaring off a potential new friend. They had quite an interesting outfit, was that cacti? Maybe he could ask about acquiring one for himself to gift to his uncle. "You can just call me Renakir," Renakir introduced himself. Unlike the nice enby gardener, the Romulan-Reman officer was dressed in his standard uniform with his dark sunglasses. As he stepped into the store room that's when he saw-- "So many rocks... wow," His eyes immediately lit up when he saw the crates of various stones. Unfortunately with his sunglasses, the only thing anyone would be able to see was the slight green blush that covered his cheeks and his mouth open just a bit. Not enough to show his scary teeth, never. "Oh unm.. maybe medium?" Renakir held out his hand. "Like the size of my palm," He told the gardener, keeping his eyes on them. He knew if he looked at his hands his illogical self image issues would return.

"Oh sure! We have lots of nice ones that size!" Zi said with a smile. "You can help yourself if you like. I'm Zi, by the way." They added, before going and moving a couple of the larger rocks out of the way. "They're all nice and clean. We use natural methods to clean them, no chemicals. They're usually used to replace stones, or to make rockeries and other displays, but none of us would mind if you take a few. It's better to take them from here than disturb something's natural habitat!"

"Thanks for your help, Zi," Renakir said as he took another step closer to them so he could get a clear few of the rocks. An interesting name to say the least, he wondered if this person was human; they seemed like it. Either way, he no longer thought it was necessary to stay stabbing distance apart and his posture quickly relaxed. "I agree, these stones look great," He took a small rock from the crate and held it up close to his face. The lighting made it hard to see the details, but he did like the overall shape. "Where do you guys get these rocks?" Renakir asked as he used his other hand to pick up a small looking rock. He held it up to his mouth like he was going to take a bite, but quickly stopped himself and just looked at it.

"Oh, well, I think they come from various planets. Sustainably sourced, of course. We don't just take them from wherever. We can also replicate some as well but we like to use natural ones as well, just like the plants." Zi explained with a small smile as she watched Renakir... Almost eat a rock? Okay... "All of these are natural. We don't store replicated ones because that'd be a waste of space." They added with a slight chuckle.

"I agree, natural is tastier-- I mean better," Renakir caught himself mid sentence. Was he just extra hungry that day or something? He was starting to lose control of his mental filter, eating rocks was totally weird to other species. A slight green blush filled his cheeks and he put the rocks down so he could readjust his sunglasses. Calm, stay calm. "I think I will take about four medium sized rocks and two small ones," He turned to look at Zi, his face as calm as ever as he reached back into the crate to grab a couple pebbles. His grey skin and black nails really blended in with the other rocks.

This guy's gotta be hungry or something. Who would eat a rock? "That sounds good to me." Came Zi's reply. This guy wasn't gonna eat them, right...? After a brief moment they decided to finally say something. "Umm... If you don't mind me asking, who are the rocks for?"

"Thanks," Renakir pocketted the rocks, trying not to think about how hungry he was. Maybe he should go get food after this, he thought. "They're for my.. Uncle. At home he has a zen garden and he just moved onto this station. His birthday is soon and I thought it would be nice to give him some rocks to make a mini zen garden in his quarters," Renakir explained, smiling as he spoke. This time when he smiled, he let all his pointy teeth show as he was much too busy trying to pick out the perfect rocks.

Oh good. He didn't want to eat them. "Aww, that's sweet. I'm sure he'll love them." Zi responded with a warm smile as they watched Renakir pick out the rocks and pocket them. "And we always have an exchange scheme if he doesn't. You're more than welcome to message me if you want more, or want to change one out for a different one. Wait... Saying this makes me sound like a shopkeeper." They added with a soft chuckle.

Renakir laughed when Zi mentioned sounded like a shopkeeper, again letting his little pointed teeth show. This person was relaxing and not overwhelming at all, and they were offering him rocks. "Thanks for the offer, Zi," He said as he grabbed one more rock. "You're a gardener, right? Maybe I'll drop by one day. I could really use some fresh air sometimes. Well, as fresh as you can get in space," Renakir looked at one of the pebbles in his hands, trying not to think about how tasty it looked. Like a little grey biscuit.

1

"Yeah, I'm one of the gardeners." Zi replied with a small smile. "The environmental ring is a nice place to be. We even have a pool, if that's a thing you're into." They said, maintaining their small smile. "I personally prefer the botanical gardens, but that's just me. I like plants" They added with a sheepish chuckle.

"Oh yes, i know about the pool," Renakir told them, his mind recalling that awkward mentor programme where a Satok taught him how to properly care for a pool. Weird event but it went smoothly. "I'll stop by the gardens sometime soon, thanks again Zi," Now with all the rocks to make Tiravurik his own zen garden, Renakir was all set! He waved to the gardener with a soft smile. "Jolan tru~"

"Yeah, no problem at all! You know how to contact me if you need anything else!" Zi replied with a smile, before waving Renakir off. That was nice. He was nice. Hungry, but nice. The gardener soon headed out of the store room and went back off to go and do more gardening, listening to music as they did.

1

He made his way down the corridor to the lifts...

Elias made their way to the turbolifts, feeling bubbly from the previous interaction.

Renakir headed down the corridor.

"No, never. I have no weapons," Renakir held his hands up and shook his head. "I'm really sorry. I wish Romulans were not like this, I really do. We do nothing but reaffirm old stereotypes," He apologised with a frown. He made everything awkward by just breathing. It was no secret that Romulans didn't even learn basic social skills until their teen years. Yes, it was stupid, they spent all their early education learning maths and science with some combat, but not even how to work with others. He couldn't have been happier when the lift stopped at the environmental ring and he stepped out into the corridor. "I don't know if it's fairies," He chuckled, still thinking he was just seeing things. Maybe his sunglasses were malfunctioning? They looked like normal sunglasses, but there was actually a bunch of tech inside. They could change darkness levels depending on the environment. "We need to go to the #riverside-trail , that's where I was working."

“Hm I’d assumed you didn’t have any weapons of note and if you did I’d like to think you’d still not stab me. I was just making a bad joke, don’t worry.” A slightly nervous chuckle escaped her, she really should work on when to make jokes and when to just shut up. “No need to apologise, it’s not really your fault. More of a societal thing I’d think. I don’t go about apologising for…” She paused and tried to think of something fitting only to come up short. “I don’t know, but I’m crap at making comparisons, if you give me enough time I’m sure I can come up with something.” She shrugged and a small smile returned to her face. “Oh I don’t know if it’s fairies either. Maybe it’s a dragon instead and it has made your treasure part of its hoard. In that case we might have a little bit of a problem seeing as I’m not fireproof and not a particularly good knight either.” By the time she followed him into #riverside-trail , she was once again brightly grinning.

Mo walked along the corridor with Elias. A doctor with a raptor and a captain with a cat. It felt like there was some joke there, maybe involving a bar, but he couldn't think of one. "Bandit gives me a few scratches here and there, but she's a plain ol' cat. I assume I don't need to tell you 'bout the risks exotic animals can bring when they bite. I am also concerned at the lack of care you've shown yourself by leavin' those bites untreated." It was sort of a lecture, but he didn't sound unkind or judgemental. More... Concerned, actually.

As they walked, Elias looked down. "I suppose I just... forgot? I don't know. I was so focused on figuring out how to accommodate him and also making sure he was okay with Quinn, and I guess... it wasn't my top priority." His tone put them at ease, though they were still back in work mode, so to speak, and had assumed the respectful air that they had when on-duty. "It won't, happen again, sir. I'm not sure what I was thinking." They were quick to assume an indefensive persona.

"Alright, I forgive you of your sins. Who's Quinn? Wait a sec." He searched his internal roster. "Quinn... Rose? Ah, friend from the same division?" Mo said as they reached #turbolift. (edited)

Elias nodded. "Yes. My roommate, as well. We agreed no unexpected visitors but... he came along. Right now he's mostly confined to my room. That's why I've been taking him out to the park a lot, so he can move around." They entered the turbolift.

He rushed down the corridor, rocks in hand

1

Two walked down the hallway, then stopped suddenly when he realized he had no clue where the butterfly house was.

She looked at the sign, pointing them in the direction of the butterfly house. “It should be this way, I believe.”

She walked through the corridor, towards #deleted-channel. She was excited to get to work.

“Why do you ask if I am ashamed of my heritage?” She questioned.

"You seemed kind of awkward when you said that you were half human." She replied between steps.

“I did?” She asked, picking up speed to match Niatha’s pace.

"Just a little." She replied.

“That reminds me, I must contact my father soon, now that I am here. My mother is going to be a nightmare to contact.” She said, making a note on her PADD to talk to them later.

"And why would that be?" She asked as she stepped through the entrance to the #community-garden.

"Well!" *She smiled warmly at her companion. "Tell me a bit more about yourself? Did you grow up on Vulcan, perhaps?"

“I grew up on Vulcan and did extremely well in school. However, I still consider the Academy to be the place where I truly learned what I know now. Unlearning typical Vulcan xenophobia is something you have to do hands-on. Or, gloves-on, in my case. No way am I touching anyone with my bare hands.” She said.

"Don't Vulcans and part Vulcans have some kind of control over that ability? The telepathy I mean."

“Yes, but it is still quite uncomfortable. Especially when whoever you are touching is not controlling their emotions. I do not touch anyone without consent. It is respectful.” She replied.

"Indeed." She agreed. "I've personally never been to Vulcan. Is it as hot as people say it is?"

“It would be uncomfortable for anyone not accustomed to high temperatures. My father spent most of his time working indoors because of it. I did not have much difficulty.” She said, thinking of the times her father almost fainted when going into the sun.

"It must be pretty dry." She commented. "How do you find the Vulcan people?"

“Too logical for my liking. Not many of them are accepting towards those who they view as outsiders. And, unfortunately, I was considered an outsider.” She said, a rather downcast look on her face.

"So... they shunned you." She guessed. "Or something like that."

“More or less. It was social suicide to be seen talking to me more than necessary. I had one friend and he was just as unpopular as me. Shame he moved, I had grown fond of him.” She replied, thinking of her old lab partner who used to chat with her after school.

"Well then. Just know that you've got all of us here with you, mmkay? We're your new family, and we'll take care of you." She promised. "I'd give you a hug, but I'm not sure if you'd like that."

“I would like a hug.” She replies, giving up a bit of her emotional control.

Lorin soon found herself enveloped in a soft, warmthless (considering Niatha was a reptilian) but firm hug as the Cardassian rested her cheek on her shoulder. "Next time, just ask." She murmured with a giggle.

“Thank you. I will keep that in mind. I believe that I will be on my way now, there are still some places on the utility deck I would like to visit.” She said, gently letting go of Niatha.

"Like? I can take you round if you want!"

“I was hoping to find a place where I could get a cup of tea and and have some much needed contemplation time. I have not been able to do that for a long, long while.” She replied. Her old posting was too loud to focus, the last time she did anything like what she wanted to do was back in the Academy.

"Cup of tea you said? There's a wonderful coffee shop on the utility ring that I frequent - and I can take you there easily."

“I would like that, thank you.” She said.

"Wonderful." She smiled and walked back to the turbolift with a spring in her step. "Do you get drunk off of chocolate like I hear Vulcans do? Their hot chocolate is simply divine..."

“Yes, I can get drunk off of chocolate. I don’t indulge in it often, though.” She replied. She liked chocolate, but getting drunk often would tarnish her image of control.

Alizati walked down the corridor towards the lakes and ponds area.

She stepped out of the corridor, wondering where she would go. She decided to head to the lakes and ponds area, hoping the water would be calming.

She jogged to #deleted-channel, ready to head to her quarters and sleep.

He walked calmly down the corridor.

He exited the lift and started another sweep of the corridor. This ring was a bit more baffling to him. Quarters made sense. People needed somewhere safe to sleep but all the luxuries on this level seemed wasteful. As he passed the #community-garden the door opened, making him jump. The young person exiting looked just as frightened to see him and scurried off without a word. Yellag’vin barely took notice. The room behind them had stolen his focus. Without realizing what he was doing, he abandoned his rounds and entered the garden.

A noticeable spring in her step, she made her way to #community-garden.

She walked out into the hallway. She got a message, and checked who it was. It was from Lorin, asking if she wanted to meet her in the utility ring. She replied yes, and kept walking.

She walked at her side with a bright, toothy Cardassian smile. "When did you interest in art begin? I'm genuinely curious."

“When I was a kid, I started drawing, and then some kids on the colony I lived at started asking for drawings, so I started selling them. Then I moved on to animation, started selling two-minute or so things. I made a pretty good amount for a kid. But I’ve always been an artist. Though my teachers were a bit concerned because all I drew for a while were anatomically correct dissections and things. I was a morbid kid.” She replied. Any class where she got to dissect things was her favorite class.

01:34

“Oh, and Lorin got back to me, so we’re meeting her in the utility ring.”

"Excellent.' Niatha grinned as they neared the turbolift. "Anatomically correct dissections? You came across pictures of those as a child?"

“Nope. Not of humans, at least. Plenty of animals, but not humans. There were plenty of my aunt’s old anatomy textbooks lying around for me to use as references until I could actually dissect something. My parents are Starfleet personnel, they’ve seen some shit themselves. They didn’t think it was that concerning, nor did my aunt. She’s a pathologist herself.” She replied, stepping into the turbolift.

He walked down the corridor.

He padded down the corridor.

Holding his epohh, Renakir headed down the corridor.

She walked down the corridor, carrying a picnic basket full of snacks. She headed to #parkland, happy to relax and eat lunch by herself.

Miel had never stepped foot on this ring of the base before, and she slowly walked along the corridor, nodding at the officers she encountered with a smile. One of the section caught her attention, however, and she stepped into the parkland. (edited)

She walked into #butterfly-house

C’Sara walked into the #fitness-suite-01

C'Telle followed soon after, dressed in a loose black tank top and shorts. His large paws thudded against the ground as he walked.

She walked to #parkland, not having been there before.

She walked to #forest trail.

Hal was in the hallway, just chilling, when she got the message. She tapped her commbadge. “Hal to Nia, yeah. Where are you?”

"The lakes room. Could you come over here please? Someone wants to talk to you."

Hal strolled over to #riverside-trail

Lorin walked to #botanical-gardens

It kept walking, still at a slow pace. Lyrat stumbled but quickly caught itself by grabbing onto a rail. It headed to #botanical-gardens

She walked to the turbolifts.

Aella stepped off of the lift and walked down the corridor!

Allan exited the turbolift and into the corridor, walking along until he found it - yes, the butterfly house! The perfect spot for an aesthetic selfie, perhaps even in the style of an ancient Earth artist.

1

After giving the mooncakes to Allan, Nalas skipped down the corridor to the lifts.

They walked to the turbolift.

As Amelia stepped out of the lift, she, for a short moment, thought about the turbo lift's system, which in her opinion was pretty interesting, even more interesting to her than a weapon system might be for someone. "I guess I've never celebrated anything on earth really, maybe I heard about it but my family and me weren't the party type", she answered, regretting this decision tho because these kind of parties seemed pretty fun. Amelia never really new of that many Vulcans being born on earth, she always thought they were reserved and mostly lived on there home planet, although there were always a few exceptions. Now that they were out of the entertainment complex, she felt a little uncomfortable in her costume because it seemed like she was the only one wearing one and wished herself back in her uniform.

Alizati stepped out not too long after her. As always he quickly surveyed the area just to make sure they would have a clear path down the corridor to the aquarium. He was not paranoid, but vigilant. At least that's what he liked to call it because an android had nothing to be scared of. "I see, that is understandable. Parties and celebrations can be stressful," He said as he began to walk. Slower this time and with his hands behind his back. Now out of the other recreational corridors there were less people in costume. Alizati was still in his uniform, eyes forward as he kept his strides short and movements minimal. Still no blinking or breathing, it felt nice to be able to just walk around as an android and not worry about looking organic. He could breathe and blink if he wanted, but he chose not to. "My family was also not the party type, although there were not many parties when I was in my early years," He said, choosing his phrasing carefully. He was never a child, never had an adolescent phase, he was always a full grown adult. "What was life like in the states? I have never been there, I attended the Academy in France," Alizati asked as he slowly turned the corner to the #aquarium .

"I don't think it is that much different from France. I was, for the most part, at home", she said, this time being able to keep his pace. "Tell me a bit about, how is it as a Vulcan on earth", she asked still oblivious to the fact that he actually was an android.

She walked to the turbolifts.

T'she consulted their map again, trying to find the place that they wished to be. In the end they finally made it to the entrance of the community gardens.

Renakir made his way down the corridor carrying his fluffy daughter in his arms.

Alizati left the aquarium and headed down the corridor.

Renakir ran down the corridor with Kali-fal Madeleine in his arms.

T'she ran towards the turbolift, wondering what they might be able to do

Jayrehi walked in, hearing the news on the PA. It was obvious she was incredibly anxious and paranoid, as she rapidly looked around the room for the bomb.

The bomb was placed right next to the doors leading to the #botanical-gardens.

“Okay- okay- you got this.” she muttered to herself as she set her kit down. She scurried to find the tools, and pulled her tricorder. She had never done this before, and her inexperience was clear as she doubted nearly every judgement she made. Despite this, she was doing her best, and began shutting off and disabling parts of the bomb.

The bomb was successfully shut off and disabled, but it was still firmly stuck to the wall. It would need to be cut out, but a wrong move and it may activate again.

She decided not to risk it for now, and simply ripped a piece paper out which said, “DEFUSED”. She quickly packed up her kit and started off, opening her PADD quickly to find another bomb.

2

Lorin walked into the #community-garden.

Nalas walked down the corridor.

Renakir headed down the corridor with Kali-fal following him.

“Starbases can be big or small, and they all have different purposes. Some are science focused, others tactical, there’s all sorts of starbases. So, do you want to head to the lakes and ponds area maybe?” They were close to the door that led there, after all. She had heard about all the ponds here and she thought it was cool.

"Yes, umm I think the lakes and ponds area is over here?" Rai pointed to a door with some runes written on the panel. It was indeed #riverside-trail but Rai was not the best at reading Standard at a glance. It was a completely different alphabet from what he was used to, naturally it was hard! He walked with caution, taking each step slowly as he was still unfamiliar with the base. "I also... I wanted to tell you I'm not sure I want to go to the ball. There will be too many people and I think there's a high chance of a murder. You are still going, right?"

“Yes, I was planning on it. I was hoping to dance a bit and get a few drinks at the bar. Of course I’d have to go change before any of that, so we can just enjoy the ponds for now, I suppose.” She entered the lakes and ponds area and waited for Rai. She looked very chill. She was always pretty chill.

Rai headed down the corridor.

Alizati walked down the corridor.

He walked down the corridor toward the lifts.

Rai walked down the corridor.

Vara'l walked out of the turbolift and down the corridor, he'd already gotten a destination in mind, the Acquarium.

With the duo having departed and gone their separate ways after the conversation in the Aquarium, Vara'l headed out of the Aquarium and into the environmental ring corridor. After what might be described as a moment in which he realized just what he was in and how utterly beautiful some of what he observed from his present location was, Vara'l checked the time and fast walked to the turbolift. As he fast walked, the Lieutenant made a game attempt to put the ...wobble he'd experienced from his mind. Or.. at least he attempted to put it from the forefront of his mind. After all, it wasn't something important he resolved. What had happened hadn't led to his being unable to function, it hadn't effected his ability to operate as a tactical officer. He was fine now, yes.. he was fine now. He needed to concern himself with his shift.. and then with asking someone about how to help a kid through grief. Whatever that had been could wait, he resolved as he stepped into a turbolift, that cold calm well.. calming as it had settled in place once more as he stepped into the lift, turned and watched the view of the corridor for as long as the doors permitted him too.

Vara'l entered the Environmental ring and proceeded from there to walk to the Community garden area. He needed to be somewhere natural for a bit. Just until he was fully centered again.

Single liberated Borg parent and kid proceeded down the corridor talking as they headed to the butterfly house

Vara'l and telim, after visiting the butterfly house, departed and headed toward the turbolift.

Ding! The turbolift slid to a halt on its track. The doors parted and Sapraris stepped out. She took a moment to get her bearings before she made her way toward the #butterfly-house.

Verelan stepped out of the turbolift as soon as it arrived, eager to see what kind of plants this station had. They were close to Romulan space, so there should be some that reminded her of home, right? She made her way to the forest trail, to see what was around there.

In the environmental corridor there was a small but growing mass of tribbles forming around the turbolift exit!! Tribbles of all shapes and sizes, all colours too!

[D] Five, still determined to get out of the hermit mode he'd been trapped in for the past few weeks, had decided he'd spend his time off in his favorite ring. Maybe some time exploring the community garden and how it'd changed, or looking through the butterfly house— they hadn't been there yet! Nonetheless, it seemed their plans screeched to a halt the second the turbolift opened, and the SCPO nearly slipped on the rapidly increasing pile of tribbles, staggering to catch his balance and looking down in disbelief, trying to carefully step over them as not to crush one of them. "Oh dear," murmured the liberated Borg. So it was going to be one of those days.

In the pile of tribbles was one rainbow tribble that rolled away from the ball and onto Five's feet and then began to move up his leg, slowly, slowly.

Ah, how adorable! Five scooped up the tribble in his gloved hands. He hadn't seen one of them since his last encounter with Two. How long ago was that? "Hello there," they chirped, immediately enamoured with the fuzzy little thing.

The tribble cooed and bounced in Five's hand, clearly happy to receive the attention. That didn't sit well with the other tribbles who were growing in size and now trying to overwhelm Five in their attempt to get attention too!

..Oh dear. Five had gotten himself into quite the situation, hadn't he? He set down the rainbow tribble, carefully trying to weave his way out of the pile.

The tribble pile grew higher and higher, until the turbolift doors at the end of the corridor whooshed open again and suddenly the pile of tribbles was mysteriously going down...

King had just been starting his morning with a walk. A perfectly normal walk. Unfortunately, a Starfleet perfectly normal walk? Stepping into the corridor to see a person buried in tribbles, and yet more spilling into the turbolift? Yeah, that absolutely lined up with a 'perfectly normal' Starfleet walk. They gave a resigned sigh Well. First priority, try and get the tribbles out of the turbolift. The nerd types would have an easier time locating them by life signs if they weren't everywhere. It was probably too late for that, but just because 100 tribbles were out of the bag, didn't mean he should just let a million more follow. "Computer. Hold turbolift at environmental corridor." He finished up with his code, trying to buy time to get the tribbles out. Last thing everyone needed was for someone to call the lift and send the tribbles off on new and grand adventures. He waded into the purring mess of fur, trying to push the tribbles behind him as he went. "Ya good under there?" He asked his semi-buried coworker while still heading for the turbolift, grumbling under his breath as he did. Whoever had brought in an unneutered tribble was going to hear it for this. And if it wasn't the person right in front of them, King fully intended to help find who it was. After the tribbles were wrangled. After.

And suddenly out of nowhere, all of the tribbles let out a horrible shriek of bloody murder!

Five heard the turbolift whoosh open, and the footsteps echoing through the corridor, though muffled— thanks to the fact that they'd slipped and ended up covered in fluffballs. He shoved a gloved hand up through the mess, almost trying to signal that he was there. What a way to go. Completely covered in Tribbles, all shapes and sizes, bouncing and purring and wiggling all around. When Five had accepted their fate, the pile started to go down, and he could breathe again. He sat up and took down the mask that covered the lower half of his face, freckle-spotted cheeks flush with the effort he'd made to escape the mass. "I'm— fine," Five said, feebly wriggling in his valiant attempts to free himself completely. "Sorry, would you— would you mind lending a hand? I've got a bad back, and they're really quite heavy when there's so many of them—" He tried to push away the tribbles as he spoke, but it felt like they just kept bouncing up again. "I think there's more. Just about everywhere, from what I've heard. This is hardly even half. What moron brought on an unneutered trib—" !! He clasped both hands over his ears at the horrific shriek, shoulders shooting up as well. The sound was truly and terribly overwhelming, especially given their sensitivities. (edited)

King covered their ears on instinct before stopping so they could keep pushing the fluff balls aside. The tribbles were not in charge here damnit! At least that's what they told themself. "Didn' know the damn bastards screamed," they growled. Why anyone would keep a screaming ball of fluff as a pet was beyond them. They did shifted their excavation efforts from towards the turbolift, to towards the other person. The turbolift was held for now, it could wait. "Yeah, I got you." It was still a grumble, but a more charitable one, knowing this stranger wasn't the cause of the now screaming mess of fur. They brushed tribbles to either side as they went, trying to get the person unburied enough to wade out. The effort to empty the turbolift might have to wait so that they didn't end up buried too!

The pile of tribbles was contracting, somehow, and from the bottom of the pile were four cannibal tribbles. Brown and fluffy but with razor sharp teeth who were munching their way through the pile!! Oddly enough they didn't seem to be multiplying, it was just the normal tribbles that were.

With their combined efforts, Five managed to get free, pushing himself up to his feet and regaining his balance. "Thanks," he huffed, looking around at the sea of fluff, listening carefully to the announcement. Shit, he had to get to his station. But how? And cannibalistic tribbles?— He saw for himself soon enough, spying a flash of sharp teeth and the disgusting sound that followed. He was stuck in the middle of a moral dilemma. "I can see the cannibals," he said, looking up at the other person, "and you've already secured the turbolift, so these ones aren't going anywhere. What do we do?" Would it be easier to let the cannibals have their way?- No, that was cruel, wasn't it? God, this was all such a headache. When Five finally caught their breath, they tugged their mask back up, covering their face once more.

The normal tribbles kept multiplying and screeching as they witnessed their own being taken out by the cannibal tribbles. The sound in the corridor was deafening!

3

King would have been perfectly content to let the cannibals work. But they weren't working near fast enough, and damned if they weren't making the situation worse. "First? I think we gotta stop the damn cannibals so we can hear ourselves think." Maybe beam the entire batch out into space? Was that too cruel? Probably. Which is why he kept that thought to himself. ... For now. He didn't have a phaser on him and reaching his hand in the mass of tribbles to pull the cannibals out sounded like a great way to lose fingers. He continued to push Tribbles to either side though, mostly to not get buried, trying not to get too close to those sharp teeth. "Could ya have the computer target the cannibal ones you can see to beam to a holding area or somethin'?" Of course, there were a lot of other tribbles to handle, but right now, stopping the screeching was step one in his mind.

"Where would we even send them?" Somewhat frazzled, the SCPO tried to wade in a little closer to the cannibalistic tribbles. They weren't purring anymore, at least. The sound made them somewhat dazed for a reason they couldn't quite place. But arguably, the screeching was much worse... They were losing time. Five cursed under their breath. "I'm just going to grab them. I can't focus with all this damn noise!" He secured his gloves and reached out with his prosthetic hand to grab at the cannibalistic tribbles, dodging teeth the best he could. "Everything's locked down. No matter where we put them, there's going to be more tribbles there. Unless— we could send the cannibals to the brig—?"

"Brig or we can see about setting up a containment field down the hall. Just something for now. It's either that or we start kicking them, but missing and hitting the others might just make the screaming worse." King didn't see how the screaming could get any worse, but she also didn't want to learn the hard way. She paused, listening to the latest announcement. "See, it doesn't have to be long term, just long enough to buy the nerd types a bit more time. If you need help tagging them or something, I can do that. I think I can tag them fast enough to keep my fingers, especially since they seem a lot more interested in the other tribbles." She was less confident about keeping her fingers if she tried picking them up and away from said other tribbles.

"I've got it. Science is working on that, so we may as well give them some room to think, with all this noise.." Five stepped back, huffing a sigh and going for their combadge. "Computer, lock on to the cannibal tribbles. Beam to a jail cell on the brig, please and thank you. Energize." "There's nothing more we can do besides try not to get crushed. I need to get to my station." Five rubbed the back of their neck somewhat sheepishly. "Five, Five of Eight, by the way. It was nice to meet you. I wish it could've been under better circumstances, but I'm sure we'll laugh at this later." (edited)

King snorted and smirked. "I'm Billy King. Just King's fine though. I'm gonna try and shove these bastards off the lift so it can be used again. Next time I run into ya it better not be in a pile of tribbles, or I'mma have questions." They looked at the once again purring mass of tribbles. Hey, they weren't so bad when they weren't screaming. They kind of felt bad for considering a plan involving beaming them into space now.

Five offered a two finger salute, a hint of amusement in his eye. "Best of luck. Don't be afraid to beam out, if it gets too overwhelming. We don't need anyone crushed by tribbles today." They straightened themself up, trying to fix up their messy hair and uniform. "Computer, one to beam to #operational-support, please. Energize." (edited)

1

Honored Elder Yoro'clis walked down the corridor and looked around. He was an Elder Jem'Hadar in a standard Dominion duty uniform with a standard issue Starfleet phaser at his side. He was currently on his way to the turbolift to then go to the main armory but first needed to make his way through some of the environmental deck. Yoro'clis was technically currently on break and given time to rest and relax but he was not one to do either.

Tally had been trying to catch Yoro’clis off duty for days, and finally, they had. Ever since they’d been doing minor patching for the UT for Dominionese, Yoro’clis, as one of the few speakers on the station, piqued his interest. Not just for linguistic reasons, though that was one of them— The chief of security of this station, a Jem’Hadar transfer officer. One who was an Honored Elder, and by all accounts, the most strait-laced Founder-serving type. Why put him here? Tally had learned a whole lot about the Dominion in the academy, and they knew that Yoro’clis, of all Jem’Hadar, had to be feeling like a fish out of water. Hell, a fish in a different dimension. Tal couldn’t even imagine, and that was why the two had to talk. Tally walked through the environmental ring’s corridor, well, as much as one can walk with wheels instead of legs. Tal was an odd looking android, with wiry metal parts and an ancient looking monitor for a head. As they caught up to Yoro’clis, they tried to hide their excitement “Hello Commander! I don’t believe we’ve met… Tally Romeros, Ensign. I’ve been working on a new UT patch for Dominionese, and, well…” Tally laughed. “I won’t say it’s strictly necessary, but I’ve been wanting to talk to you. My knowledge of your language is purely through formal study, after all. You’d be amazed at what casual conversation can do to expand one’s understanding of a language.” Tal, a bit sheepish, smiled. “Would you like to join me in the botanical gardens?” Tal had read his file, he knew Yoro’clis was not in the habit of spending his off duty hours actually off duty, and that just wouldn’t do. Sure, he might say no, but Tal had to at least try. Besides, he did genuinely want to talk to him in Dominionese. What was the harm of getting to look at pretty flowers at the same time?

Yoro'clis watched as Tally walked up to him and was somewhat confused. It appeared that this was a computer in a Starfleet uniform. While he knew Copia they at least appeared to be another person. He was still struggling to understand why there were machines with ranks but also knew that it was best to just accept them as they had been designated. Officers like Tally were not much stranger than many of the things that the Honored Elder had witnessed on the station after all. He decided it would be best to try and speak to them like any other officer. It was clear that Tally wanted to speak in Dominionese and Yoro'clis was willing to do the same. He had not spoken the language properly in years and would therefore be somewhat rusty in it though. The Honored Elder decided to entertain this wish though, even if his speech would be somewhat more informal and rugged than the Ensign might be used to. He guessed that they were likely a communications officer due to their yellow uniform and interest in languages but had no way to tell. "Tchunyu'shatou heizhaiya Ensign Romeros." He was admittedly a traditionalist and strict when it came to protocols whether they were Dominion or Starfleet. This meant that he far prefered to be called his standard Dominion title instead of his Starfleet rank. While Yoro'clis had adjusted to just being called elder he was not willing to be called commander or lieutenant commander. He knew that Tally had no way of knowing this and did not take offense with there mistake but he wanted to correct them for the future. "Hizhat elai'ne Honored Elder" When it came to Tally's question about moving to the botanical gardens Yoro'clis was neutral. He was familair with them and their location but had never really bothered to explore them. Years of Dominion training had taught him not to waste times with such things after all. "Se, shato aku nima?"

Tally bowed their head a little. “Sa, bali tou yawama. Tchunyu'shatou heizhaiya, Honored Elder. Se! Shuyua li! De isha lin.“ In comparison to Yoro’clis’ fairly clipped dialect, Tally was embarrassed with how… overly formal they sounded. The material he had learned from was centered on Vorta dialects. All the more reason to speak to Yoro’clis, he supposed, but he hoped that nothing would get lost in translation. He did still want to make a friend, after all. Entering the botanical gardens, the path they took led into a beautiful #meadow .

1

Fabian had just finished his first shift ever. It had been an amazing feeling working together with so many brilliant people and even though his shift was completly uneventful it had still gone by in the blink of an eye. He had spent his time getting accustomed with all of the different protocols, got to know his new co-workers and even finished his first few tasks. He was so full of energy and excitment that he couldn't go to his quarter yet. He needed some outlet for all of it and had been looking to go through a holodeck program of his but sadly realized that all of them were occupied. So he was now walking aimlessly up and down the environmental corridor and was thinking about taking a walk through a park later. Other than the eventual security guard or engineer, who were focused on their PADDs, the corridor was almost empty and so his plan to get to know some more people had failed miserably, too. He had only talked to two crew members outside of his posting and those had only been brief conversations that hadn't gone anywhere. One of his major goals when joining Starfleet was to find good friends because it hadn't gone well with his usual shy behaviour. After around twenty minutes of being lost in thought and pointlessly running around he noticed someone that seemingly wasn't occupied with something else and looked quite new in the way that they were looking around. Fabian fought with himself for a few seconds before taking the leap and going up to the person. "Hey", he went with a friendly smile and waving into her general direction. As he got her attention Fabian walked up to her, reached out a hand for her to shake and introduched himself: "I'm Ensign Fabian Roberts but please call me Fabian."

Paulina had arrived on Starbase 777 less than 12 hours ago, as a part of a Supply run that had delivered requested Material and reposted Personal. The lean female had, custom as it was, reported to her supervising officer to receive her new Duty Roaster. Now, a few hours later she just finished a small exercise run, and had stopped near one of the public replicators splattered across the entire Ring, ensuring everyone had access to drinks and food. She heaved for air, and panted as she pushed her hands into her waist, sweat running down her forehead, dripping upon her grey shirt, mainly upon her moving breath, that lowered or rose depending on her breath. Her combadge shimmered in the dim light of the Corridor, which was only enhanced by the light that fell through the large windows embedded within the outer wall. She soaked in air, then stepped towards the Replicator, ordering it to produce her a bottle of water. Once it had materialized she reached for it, wrapped her fingers around it and led it to her mouth, chunking down the cold, refreshing contents of it.

11:59

After a minute or so she slowly ceased to drink, the bottle only filled up to a quarter of its original amount. She breathed in again, and then looked around for the first time since she had stopped. She didn't know where everything was yet, and asking the Computer for directions hadn't occurred to her, so she had simply decided to explore the station while running down its corridors. Now that she had the time, and the focus upon her surroundings she noticed she was practically alone. Practically simply because Fabian was approaching her, waving towards the slightly smaller female. Who was already quite tall with her 1,75m height. But you can't have everything, so after a few moments of simply staring at the approaching Ensign she used one of her hands to wave back, and wait for him to actually reach her. Did she know him from somewhere? Or was he just trying to make contacts? His Uniform hinted that he was part of the Operation Division, or it's Sub-Division, so it couldn't hurt to get to know him. Once he had reached her she listened to his short introduction while she was still heaving in air, but less heavier than before. "Lieutenant...Schmitz, how can I help you Ensign?" Her voice sounded rough through her exhaustion, and she only gave him a brief smile before her blue eyes glared down him, then she needed to tilt backwards her head a bit, glaring into his face. @Jade

As Fabian came closer to Lieutenant Schmitz, he at first noticed her stare and slowed down already thinking about turning around. When she started returning his wave, he relaxed again, took a quick deep breath, and continued to walk towards her with a happy little skip in his step. Fabian quickly looked her up and down, noticing her long black hair and blue eyes that drew him in for a second. When the Lieutenant introduced herself, Fabian snapped out of it and replied with excitement and shyness mixed in his voice: "Nothing I need help with, just walking around a little bit and exploring the station. I have just arrived and finished my first shift and now I'm looking forward to getting to know a few more people and you just crossed my path." Fabian hadn't seen much of the station so far. Other than the commercial centre and his duty station he hadn't seen much yet. He was looking forward to taking a few steps in the various parks, visiting the aquarium and he heard that they even had a swimming pool on board. There was so much to do and see, Fabian was practically bursting from excitement. He wanted to make the most out of his stay on the station and wanted to use every free minute to achieve it. "Now that you have finished your run, would you join me in walking around the station. I could really use some help with finding my way around here. I can't count how many times I already had to ask the computer for my location." Fabian tried his luck in finding someone to look up to and help him get acquainted with everything around. And even a lieutenant, she had to be able to give him some guidance. He had always feared higher ranked officers due to his professors in the Academy but at least this one didn't seem to be that arrogant.

Paulina smiled amused at him, before she pulled the bottle back up to her lips, their texture rough and bruised, not as smooth or full than the ones of other. Mainly through the constant gnawing that she down, either when bored, nervous or simply thinking about issues, or task at hands. She noticed his stare into her eyes, right before she had pulled him out again, which in return made her blush lightly, her earlobes turning a bright red for a few brief seconds. After she had drunken the last bits of Water she placed the small, plastic like bottle back into the Replicator in front of her, and she used her index finger to rematerialize it, feeding its atoms back into the Stations Supplies. Now she turned her attention fully towards the Ensign right next to her, her entire Body turning until she faced him fully. Her shirt laid rather tightly upon her Body, sweat forming small puddles on the grey fabric. "So you do need help, I knew it....Well, I guess your idea is not bad...." As the Lieutenant she was she had tried her best to not seem arrogant. How could she be, she was only one Rank above the Ensign that stood right in front of her! Thinking that everyone above your rank would be looking down at you was, with all respect, slightly absurd. Yeah, she was distant towards people she didn't knew, and yes, she wasn't so easy to crack, but she was not arrogant. Shame on who ever would think she is that! "...But I might not be the right one for helping you...The computer is probably the safer option for that." @Jade Pls ping me if you reply, ty)

After she had noticed him staring and lightly blushed, Fabian quickly turned away for a moment before engaging in their conversation again. He carefully followed each of her movements, trying not to draw to much attention to his short glances. As she turned towards him Fabian immediately noticed her tight shirt and just nervously scratched the back of his head with a drawn out 'emm' coming out of his mouth. He was disappointed as she decided to reject his offer to explore the station together or at least show him around a little. With all the confidence he could muster he started to speak, at first quietly before getting to a normal volume after three words. "I would much rather talk to you than to a computer..." He quickly cleared his throat before continuing. "Because it's much nicer to talk to a human of course." He finished his sentence with a short 'mhm' and a nod. Fabian waited a second for an answer or at least a reaction to his less than ideal 'flirting' skills. He knew that he wasn't good at it, but he thought: 'Practice makes perfect.' Other than that Fabian had quite some fun with experimenting, and it was something else for a change. All of this was noticeable by the smile that was growing on his face and his cheeks that were bright like a tomato when he was done speaking. (edited)

Paulina slowly got calmer in terms of her breath, her chest not rising as fast as it had done a few moments ago, keeping the shirt at bay. She noticed his disappointment around the denying Lieutenant, and smiled as he mustered enough courage to insist she was better suited than the computer. Which she truly was not. She was as new as the Ensign was, probably even more. And aside from a short overlook on her quarters station she didn't had explored the entire station, or even parts of it in proper detail. Her eyes wandered away from his, and down to his cheek as they turned fiery red. Her smile only grew as she registered it was because of her, and her attitude towards him. She huffed and crossed her arms right underneath her chest, pushing it further up. She looked back at his eyes, then tilted her head to the left, then the right side. "Of course...I guess it can't hurt to discover the Station more...." She looked at the Replicator screen, and then turned towards it, interacting with it until she found an overview of the map. A small Insignia indicated their position, and she glared to him just then. "...Anywhere specific you want to start?"

With her smile Fabian realized that he had at least partially succeeded. He got another boost of confidence out of it. He just wanted to say something when she teased him. As she moved her head from left to right, he took the opportunity and got a good look of her. His eyes wandered from the side of her ear, over her cheek, taking a second to look deep into her eyes before moving back over her cheek on the other side. She got his heart racing and his hands started to sweat. He had previously felt that he was control of the situation but now completely lost control. He was now ready to let the situation take him wherever it led. With the second of silence and intense eye contact between the two, he heard the blood rushing in his ears, and he felt the heat on his face that radiated up to his ears. He didn't know what to do or say anymore, the mostly socially inactive ensign didn't know what to do next. Fabian was overwhelmed with the situation. He stood there in silence until he was finally pulled from his thoughts when Paulina began to raise her voice again. 'Go anywhere specific, anywhere specific. Come on, think. Mouth say something.' He tried to pull himself from his complete blackout and his legs were about to run away when his mouth came up with an answer, which sounded more stuttery than anything: "They must have a short trail near the river here. I'm sure you are exhausted so how about we go on a little walk." Fabian was satisfied with his reply and a short smile escaped his lips from the thought of taking a walk with her.

16:13

But before they could start their little walk, Fabian had to get something done first. The blood had left his face again and with a jump in confidence Fabian took one more step towards her, now less than an arm length away from her, he started while keeping eye contact: "Before we go I have to know one more thing... What's your name beautiful? I am sure it's not just Schmitz." While his delivery wasn’t perfect, Fabian was proud of the little compliment that he snuck into his question and he was sure that she couldn't deny his request now.

Paulians friendly, slightly open attitude, and aura changed seconds after he had delivered the awkward Line, trying to flirt, maybe even compliment the Lieutenant Junior Grade that stood right in front of him. Surely he had not thought that through properly. Because even if was meant in a friendly, absolutely not out-of-place manner she did not seemed to think so. Her smile vanished quicker than it had appeared, and her crossed arms only appeared to be crossed more. Her eyes shimmered in a mild stage of disbelief and annoyance, and she puffed out of her nose in a more imposing way. Someone wouldn't get out of this so easy. Especially since they not had met anywhere before, and Paulina didn't liked such flirting attempts. Especially not in a place like this. Or any other place. Or from a Person that had no allowance to even think she was worth flirting too. Even if she was. As sweet as Ensign Roberts seemed this crossed a line for her. A line she did not liked to be crossed. Not now, not in the past, not ever. "Do not call me that again Ensign! For you I will be Lieutenant Schmitz! No more, and no less until I find it appropriate to tell you my first name. Don't even think about asking the Computer either. Understood Ensign?" Her voice, once smooth and calming, now was as stern and authoritative as her face looked like. It clearly carried on the Disapproval of the inappropriate flirting coming from Roberts. The words were short, and delivered in a controlled quality, a showcase that despite the displeasure she felt she was still the one in Control of the Scene. And her grip upon who was in charge had just tighten, a lot more than it had before. The pronunciation of the rank he held in was filled with slightly more anger than the rest of the sentence was, and her blue eyes now drilled right through his skull, not willing to let him slip away from this anywhere soon.

4

Fabian jumped back and immediately snapped out of his state previous state and was now more than embarrassed. He had been lost in the moment and been over-eager. With his head down, he replied in a squeaky voice: "I understand, Lieutenant. I am sorry I was this insensitive. I must have been lost in the moment; it won't happen again." Although he didn't fully understand the reason for her change in demeanor, he realized that he had crossed a line. After his apology he now stood there in this ever-worsening embarrassment. He didn't know what to say or how to explain himself. But he didn't feel like that he could just walk away and disengage from the situation. His only hope was that this didn't reach any of his superiors, he couldn't imagine a harassment report on his file doing him any good. He was now worrying about this being a potential career ender.

Paulina heard his words of apology, she noticed that he felt more than uncomfortable in this situation he had brought himself in. But the line he had crossed was, at least given the fact they had just met, one too thick to stop over and think you get away with it without punishment. Even if this punishment were just rough words coming from her, and nothing that would reach anyone but the two involved. She didn't think about reporting him even for a second. And even if that thought would cross her mind she would not be willing to give off the wrong impression just barely after she had arrived at SB777. Neither would she end a career for such a small mistake. Even if she reacted harshly to it, and it was a big no-no for her, it was still nothing major. He didn't touched her or called he anything inappropriate. Aside from the obvious of course. After a few moments in silence her eyes slowly soften up, and not drilled through him anymore. But they still looked serious at him, still stern and still communicated that he didn't wanted to cross another line anytime soon with her around. "Look at me Ensign." The few words were clearly not an order. The way they sounded was more of a friendly request she made towards him. Her voice was lower, and softer again. Her state of anger and the triggered response his inappropriate comment were slowly fading away...If Ensigns Roberts would, hopefully, look up at her, his view would be met with a softer face than it had found when she had finished her small roasting of her newly acquired contact. A first contact she didn't think would result in a situation like this. A sigh escaped her lips, then she spoke up with a calm, direct voice.

23:55

"Your apology is accepted Ensign. You could not have known it would trigger me like this. Non or less it was very inappropriate from you to even think about it in the first place. Or actually say it. And something tells me you know that....Now, would you be interested in showing me the Waterfalls you talked about a minute ago?"

Fabian was still panicking and losing his mind until Lieutenant Schmitz accepted his apology with a much more relaxed tone. He was left even more baffled now, as she still wanted to take a walk with him. The confusion was painted into his face as he wasn't trying to hide anything anymore. His apology wasn't that convincing and he himself probably wouldn't go to the park with himself if he had been this insulted and shown this much anger. The time was ticking by as his mind was racing what to say and the awkward silence grew louder and louder. He thought and thought but it wasn't leading anywhere, and he was now overwhelmed with the situation. He hated the uncertainty of her actions but he knew that he would have to reply soon, to not get into even more trouble. "I am sorry lieutenant, but I don't understand. Where you triggered by my actions or not?" The uncertainty was clear as day as he spoke. His voice was shaky, his words spoken carefully and slow as he didn't want to offend her again. With his question he had bought himself a few more moments to think before giving a definitive answer. He knew that both replies would be awkward. If he walked around with her, Fabian wouldn't know what to say anymore, who knew what could offend her as well. And why take a friendly walk and try to form a friendship when she wasn't even willing to tell him her first name. And just declining the offer didn't seem like a great option too as she had forgiven him this quickly and he now felt that he had to make it up to her. He decided to take neither of these options and waited for her reply to his question before he would make his final decision.

Paulina noticed the confusion, the insecurity in his face, and in the words he spoke. She knew that she could be confusing at times. Especially if never encountered before. But she also wanted to bring this First Contact back into the right direction. This was not yet a failure, and she would not be the one that brought it to one either. Fabian seemed like a nice person, maybe one that could use some guidance from her. Both as a senior Officer and as another Human Being. It didn't came as a surprise either that he was now asking for a clarification about her triggering either. Or that he was unsure how to proceed with the entire scene. Paulina nodded softly at him, her blue eyes friendly gazing into his, trying to calm his racing mind down as she spoke up with this everlasting softness, that had re-emerged right after her order of what he was supposed to call him. "I was triggered by your inappropriate flirting. Not by your invitation to take a walk. And I don't want to miss a chance to establish Contacts with other Crewmembers either. This maybe went into the wrong direction at first, but I'm sure we both can get this back into the right direction. If you still want that to happen." Paulina paused shortly, inhaling air, and inspecting his reaction to her words. Her crossed arms had lowered as she had talked, and now she was laying them onto her stomach, one over the other, then she spoke up again, wanting to reassure him that leaving was no shame either. I'm not going to be mad if you prefer to return to the activity you were doing before you approached me. Neither will it be awkward. At least not for me."

1

Around this time, the environmental ring was a bit quieter than usual. Good for Vovvi, and better for the little Andorian trailing behind her, attached to her by the end of her sweater. They'd looped back around after Ivissa had exclaimed that she'd dropped one of her toys, which was, of course, a red alert-worthy emergency. Vovvi squatted down to sorta-meet her child's eyes, rubbing a bit of dirt off her cheek with her thumb. "Do you remember where you had it last?" she asked, brows furrowed in quiet concern.

"I had it when we left the flowers." Ivissa wrinkled her nose a little at the insistent scrubbing, trying to pull away to no avail. She fidgeted with the strap of her flower-patterned overalls as eyes darting around in search of the plush. "I dunno, I must've dropped it on the way out..." she mumbled, antennae drooping a little.

Vovvi, wondering how the hell she lost something half her size but saying nothing, squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead to reassure her. "It's okay, it's okay. We'll look again. I'll see if anyone picked it up." How hard would it be to find a giant (by five year old standards) blue jellyfish with beady little black eyes, anyway? She offered Ivissa her arms, and she climbed up, allowing Vovvi to balance her on her hip and continue her search. This time, she also had her eyes peeled for anyone who could have seen the toy and scooped it up, moving quickly.

After having exited the corridor he wandered around the enviromental ring seeing what it had. After spending 10 minutes walking around he entered the #botanical-gardens.

Seeing Jin outside of his bar may as well been one of the more rare sights to behold on this station. It's not that the man was ever only in his quarters or workplace... he just blended into the crowd really well, despite his looks. Now, though, when the corridors were emptier than usual, he stood out - be it because of the scar, or the dark clothes, or the bright blue blob of a plush jellyfish, casually tucked beneath his arm as he walked around at a slow pace, the Romulan clearly on the lookout for someone. It was rather obvious that the toy was lost, when he initially stumbled upon it by sheer accident. Finding it's owner, though... he could only hope that whoever they were, they also stuck around the area in hopes of finding their soft buddy, and Jin wouldn't have to go all the way down to whoever was in charge of lost and found items. His chances were rather slim, though - the environmental ring was quite enormous. Still, he knew how to make worse chances work. Soon, movement caught his attention. A woman with a kid in her arms, gait determined, looking around the place as if searching for someone-- or something. Rojin paused, considering, before beginning to walk towards the two, closing his artificial eye shut as soon as he approached them close enough to decipher that the woman was a fellow Romulan and that her kid had a pair of twitchy Andorian antennae on top of her head. "Hey, is this by chance yours?" the man asked, his voice surprisingly soft for his appearance. If he always spoke like that or if it was a conscious effort not to spook the little cloud in Vovvi's arms, was anyone's guess. "Found it in a flower bed."

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Vovvi halted as she was approached, cautiously doing a quick once-over of the stranger (as she usually did with anyone she didn't recognize at first glance). Not armed by the looks of it, strong, handsome features, taller than her, a scar that ran down the right side of his face. Exits in front of and behind her, and doors to different places in the environmental ring all around. It'd be easy to slip away if things turned south. Her hold tightened on Ivissa just a little, eyes darting down to the plush tucked under his arm and a bit of relief settling in. "Oh, that's—"

"Reli!" the little Andorian chirped, practically scrambling out of her mother's arms until she was very hesitantly placed back on the ground. Ivissa stood on the tips of her toes, reaching up for the jellyfish. "That's her, that's her!"

She put a protective hand on Ivissa's head, as she was too busy reaching for the plush to grab her hand. "What do you say, 'Vissa?" she said quietly, parroted by a sweet little "Thank you, mister!" and the biggest smile the child could manage. Vovvi's own smile was a little more weary as she raised her attention back to the man. "Thank you," she sighed. "We would have been searching for hours." Ah-- up close, now, she recognized him. Not personally, semi-professionally.. "Lareth, isn't it? Hlleistau?" Her favorite bar on station-- She recognized the bartender both from that and... the incident report submitted a while ago. Not to mention he bore a little bit of resemblance to that science Lieutenant she'd briefly spoken with on the Terrasphere... The Khellian involved in the incident had a concerning lack of professional record, one she'd have to take a peek into. Her unfortunate habit of overanalysis was running away with her. Vovvi blinked, lowering her head a little in a polite greeting. "Vovvi t'Rei'nak. Symbiont Sour, usually, if that helps." She gestured to the bouncing ball of youth beside her. "This is Ivissa, my daughter." (edited)

He quickly received the answer to his question - the kid's excitement, and the way the cautious mother's gaze softened slightly upon realizing his intentions. The latter actually made him tilt his head ever so slightly as he let Vovvi scan him from head to toe, not saying anything but also noting this action somewhere in the back of his head. An undeniably typical action for a fellow Romulan, but Jin worked long enough with his species to know to Notice these seemingly simple things. The tiptoeing prompted Jin to squat down before reuniting the lost plush with Ivissa, offering the kid a nod and a quick "keep her safe, yeah?"; with that done, he could return his attention to Vovvi. "No big deal," was his reply, and that probably would've been the end of it, if not for what she said next - his House name, specifically, followed by the bar's name. "Oh. A regular, huh? Glad to hear that something of ours was up your ally." "Ours" because Mesarix played a crucial role in the drink's creation. Namely, convincing him that putting literal gummy worms into a drink and making it Trill themed would be funny. And it's not like Rojin disagreed... "Pleasure to meet you both. But I must say that meeting a Rei'nak on the station is not something that I've expected." Same could be said about him and Saren, given that their House was considered mostly gone until not too long ago. Rojin was actively debating if he should ask Vovvi about that... but, perhaps, it would be all too forward.

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Ivissa beamed and promised to do just that, ducking back to her mother's side instead of lingering in the space between them. Vovvi's anxieties eased just a little more. Rojin was kind and clearly good with kids.. He had to be at least a little hospitable to run a successful business, after all. She smiled tentatively, a bit sheepish. "Not quite. I haven't been on the station for very long, a little under two months now. I think I'd need a few more before I can be considered a regular, but that's entirely up to you, of course." She stiffened at the curious comment. Like hell she was going to say anything about Veldan to a complete stranger, but it still stung a little to think about nonetheless. Maybe it was because of Veldan? A wound freshly reopened despite being inflicted centuries ago? "I don't blame you for that much," she posed cautiously, choosing her words as if reading from a script, "I'm, ah... estranged from my house. I have been for a bit over fifty cycles. I can never remember the exact time... But the same goes for yourself, no? You're related to someone from the science division, aren't you? Saren...? We crossed paths briefly on the last away mission." Vovvi paused for a moment, realizing she was bombarding the poor man for information about something personal. "Sorry, I don't mean to ask so many questions. I suppose it's my job to be curious. Nonetheless, it's something of a common name, I believe I have one or two in my house as well. Though I've never been too interested in our ancestry, or history, or what have you."

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