Star Trek: Starbase 777 - ship-mess-hall

Wandering the ship during the chaos L1 gathered as much information as she could in case the ship was damaged. As she had been ordered to she was not allowed to access the ships systems. She could however map the layout of the ship in case something was in need of repair. After she decided to sneak a small soda because she was curious of how it tasted.

Noticing the smoke in the ship she found it curious. Knowing fire was dangerous to humans she used it as a reason to override her orders. Taking a look into the system she could tell the fire suppression system was disabled. Using the diagnostics she saw multiple damaged sections. Nodding she used the map to guide her to Engineering.

Austin went to the replicator and asked for. "One order of Oysters and one order of Dungeness crab please." Though they were never as good as the ones at home Austin always liked to judge a replicator by the food from home. Not to mention that kind of food doubled as his comfort food.

Wink got himself a simple grilled steak. In his opinion that was the best way to judge a replicator. "I see you still love your selfish boss." He commented as they sat down in the mess.

She had decided to take a break from her routine to have a power snack, moving to the replicator and having a smoothie bowl minus anything resembling tropical fruit within it. She went for a berry blend with a protein powder. She took her food before looking around the room and then deciding her best intention was to get to know the remainder of the crew present, sitting beside the Lieutenant and Lieutenant Junior Grade. "I see that you're a part of security, I figured that I should introduce myself as we should be working fairly closely. I'm Lieutenant Commander Hanna Stone."

Austin shyly blushed at the Lieutenant Commander. Mona had told him he was free to come aboard the Eventide as he wished but, he wasn't sure if she had told the ships staff. "I'm Lieutenant Austin Whidbey... but I actually am the chief of security on the station. Though Mona has told me I'm allowed on the ship." He spoke meakly, his shy side was showing but atleast he wasn't still pretending to be something he is not.

Winker smiled to both Hanna and Austin and then turned to Whisper in Austin's ear. "You might want to get to know the crew here if you are thinking about transferring." He told Austin encouragingly, he always seemed to need a little push when it came to social interaction. Winker then smiled at the Lieutenant Commander. "I'm Lieutenant Junior Grade Winker but I actually serve on the Vancouver. Austin here was just showing me around a bit."

She raised an eyebrow at their body language in relation to each other, a brief table of data being made to evaluate if they were friends... or more than friends... or lovers. A slight squint as she couldn't quite tell specifically and as such, didn't want to tease them too outright. She nodded her head at the introductions before softening her gaze a bit before she responded, "If the captain has approved you being present, I see no issues with it. I hope to get to know you fairly well then, in the off chance that we will see one another on missions. I do hope you're not one that treats tactical as your extra ensigns."

Whidbey was about to speak up again quietly when he was cut off by Winker...

"Yeah he's actually been thinking of transferring aboard, he heard the security spot was open." He gave Austin a teasing grin, he knew that Austin would've struggled to get things out so he bit the bullet.

Austin froze up slightly, he hadn't intended to let anyone know about that. "Wink! I wasn't going to tell anyone that..." He turned to Hanna pleadingly. "Please don't tell anyone, no one on the station knows yet."

She placed a spoonful of her smoothie in her mouth before giving a slightly dismissive shrug, "It's not my news to give. However, that being said, I will probably try to look over your previous history to see how we will effectively work alongside one another."

Winker decided that he'd leave the two of them be so Austin could get to know the Tactical officer. "I'll let you two play this game of figuring eachother out." He took his food with him and left the room to wait outside.

He laughed slightly at the way winker had dismissed himself, something that had always been a pain when he was incharge of him. "I intend to look over yours aswell... though I must say it would be refreshing to have a non dominion CTO to serve beside."

She dropped all pretenses of having dignity and reservations, "So is that your boyfriend?" Her posture leaned in, very clearly and nonverbally implying that her interest in this answer was strong.

5

4

He laughed, trying his best not to come off as rude. "No, Wink is just an old friend of mine. I'd been in charge of him ever since he was just an Ensign." He leaned back with a little bit of confusion. "What prompted you to think that?"

She pouted slightly as she leaned back in her chair, placating her tongue with another spoonful of smoothie before she replied, generally waving between Austin and the direction that Jesse had went, "The flirty way he leaned in to whisper to you before he divulged your secrets just to make you flustered." She readied another spoonful before finally commenting on his initial statement, "I take it you're referring to the other Chief of Tactical as a 'dominion' based officer... however, I would consider him a child that has been given a bit too much for his current abilities. He needs further training... especially in getting the tactical ensigns to respectfully follow his commands. I have never had an issue on my ship that even hinted at the behaviour on the starbase."

Austin took a moment to take down an oyster. It wasn't too bad but the starbase had better ones. He then laughed, it seems she shared his opinions on the escapades going on within the starbases tactical division we're shared be her. "I absolutely agree! He never should have been put in such a position atleast this early on. He needs to learn how to lead and how to properly earn the respect of those under him. I'm glad that we share opinions on such things." He then leaned in glancingly as if to ask for a secret. "Between me and you, have you heard anything about me as a CoS?"

She paused as she tapped a finger against her chin before responding, "I know Mona got this terrible report by the previous captain of the starbase. Something about the CoS being a complete and utter lovelorn idiot for his previous officer that he trained on a different ship.... Something called the USS Canuck or something..." Her eyes shimmered as she teased him before seriously gave her knowledge, "Actually no. I'm neither second officer, nor captain. Much is not told to me as it's really not my place to know it before it's revealed to the remainder of the crew."

He laughed but he was also clearly flustered by her comments. "Really, Wink is like a brother or maybe a son to me. I really don't have any romantic interest in him." He was blushing slightly, he definitely didn't like his old friend in that way but it still continued to make him nervous. "That is fair then, I really am tempted by the idea of moving here. The truth is I have really missed serving aboard a ship."

She nodded her head slowly before she pointed her spoon at him, "Fine. But let him down gently. I would hate to have to watch all the ensigns cooing over his puppy dog tears. That also begs the question of who are you interested in? You didn't break up with someone on the starbase that you're trying to avoid by being on my ship, are you? I don't tolerate drama."

5

4

He chuckled again. "No drama here, it's really been a while since I've dated someone." He decided to tease her back to see how it felt. "Why are you interested?" He wasn't normally much of a tease but he decided it felt good. So far he was glad the tactical officer aboard the ship seemed just as great as the captain.

3

She lifted up her hand, showing off quite the shiny rock, "Sadly, gonna have to let you down gently. I'm am the most awesome Tactical officer, but I am very happily taken by a strong and professional medic. You should see him do literally any PT or OT." She winked right back at him, "Might be more your type then me... unless you want to prove me wrong and let me get first knowledge on who you like when it happens."

4

He laughed once again, he really was having quite a good time with the CTO. "I suppose I could use someone to gossip with. Though to be honest I much prefer women from science to those from medical." He joked. "But sure next time I meet someone who I'm interested you will be the first to know."

3

She smiled as she took another bite of smoothie before nodding her head, "I think I'm partial to tactical and medical over science or security. No offense."

4

He shrugged. "I suppose everyone has their own tastes but atleast none of them are ops or engineering. They all can just be so boring sometimes." He didn't necessarily fully mean it but he was happy to play along.

4

She made a slight gesture before shrugging once, "I know a captain and xo that were both previously engineers and they were pretty dope. I think it's up to each individual about how their personalities are that define if I could consider them someone that I could work alongside and not want to send Supernanny after them on their off time."

He shrugged, he suddenly thought back on his fiance he had lost so many years ago. All those nights they spent together, he had always protected her but was always happy to clean up or cook for her. "Personally, I dont mind cooking or taking care of whoever I'm dating. Though I like scientists so much because we tend to have a lot of shared interests."

She snickered as she thought about something and just had to share it. "Totally fell for Marcus because he was this big buff guy in medical who didn't put up with my shit and legit carried me to the med bay after a really bad mission and I had successfully hid my injuries from a commanding officer - the guy was an ass and didn't like girls who couldn't keep up and it was only a slight bruise up the length of my side - but flinched when I took off a sweater and somehow the handsome ass just knew."

4

"Sounds like a smart guy." He looked at her finger and then internally frowned. It wasn't all that dissimilar from what he had given Venessa. "I'm surprised he put up with you hiding your injuries. I probably would have been so scared." He half joked.

3

She pouted again, more at the memories of how many times she did try to hide it and somehow failed because he knew her too well, "It's honestly not often that I can. He typically will do things like place an ice pack on my leg or just massage the joint when he notices that I'm limping cause it's tight or tense. It's really nice honestly to have someone be so aware of me on a subconscious level that we just flow together."

4

He turned his head in a little bit of a teasing motion. He clutched his hands together. "Well I'm glad you were able to find Mr big medical man. You two certainly sound like quite the pairing. I hope I can meet him at some point." He then adjusted his tone to a bit more of a serious one. "If we do end up serving together I hope you won't be hiding any injuries from me." He raised his eyebrow slightly in anticipation for an answer.

3

She equally raised an eyebrow before looking at the man before her, "You might find out within the first five people... but no promises that I'll tell you outright at least for the first few times."

Austin took note of that internally. It was slightly concerning but something they would likely have to get over in time. "I see..." He then decided to change the topic. "As far as the ship itself goes what do you think of it? It's certainly smaller then everything else I've served on."

"You learn it's quirks and charms really well. There's plenty of places to store weapons that most security officers will never find, and those that do would not dare to touch with the notes that I've left." She stated this so matter-of-factly as she ate the final scoops of her smoothie.

He narrowed his eyes at her as he took a sip from his drink. "Do you hide weapons?" He asked somewhat suspiciously, he was having a lot of trouble properly reading her. "I'd like to think you shouldn't have much need to hide weapons from security."

She raised an eyebrow as she gestured between the two of them, "We're the same team, but you are focused on defense. I am offense. If we get captured and someone infiltrates the ship, I want a variety of weapons to select and various numbers to give to other senior staff, should it be required."

He shrugged. "Its not that I have much of a problem with stolen weapons on my..." He cut himself off. "This ship but, perhaps we should more work together to find a logical weapon situation for ou... the senior officers on this ship." He cut himself off a second time. Part of him was beginning to really visualize himself here.

3

She smirked before waving her spoon at him again, "Then I'll have to put a good word in for you with Mona so I can have this further discussion with you about what and where things are hidden."

3

He squinted at her slightly trying to figure out what she meant. Had he really let loose his cards that much? either way he decided just to tease her. "Do you really want me on the ship that bad? Perhaps I might just to take the opportunity to join up here then."

3

She winked at him before gesturing to him, "I read body language, Austin. You're practically buzzing every time we mention the ship and you're already calling it yours."

3

He chuckled a light chuckle. "Perhaps I did show you my cards. Don't tell anyone just yet, I'm sure Mona-Captain Caddel will be quite excited to here." He was so used to talking to her and treating her as a friend. Her becoming his superior would certainly make for an odd change of pace.

"Fine fine. But I will be the first to let Mona know that you're a good egg and should be transferred in." She said with full seriousness before leaning back in her chair. "Now then. Anything I can help you with specifically? I was going to head to my office to work on some breathing exercises and clear my mind, if you and your not-boyfriend wanted to join?"

He nodded eagerly, though he was still a bit disheveled by the boyfriend comments. "Sure I'd love to come along if you would have me, though Wink probably wouldn't like that kinda thing. He's very... high energy."

She shrugged before getting up to place her bowl back in the replicator for it to be done away with or something. Whatever the lore is for StarTrek fancy food. She walked back to the table before gesturing for him to come when finished, "Alright. I'll be in my office when you're ready. And you'd be surprised. It's a regulation tool for either side of emotion and allows you to get in touch with what you're currently feeling."

He nodded and then looked back down at his food. He had hardly eaten anything at all. Over the course of a minute or two he took down all of his oysters and then went to put his food and dishes in the recycling unit. He then finally left to go check up on Winker.

After a rather boring tour of the Station, Valleka had moved to the ship to continue the tour. As per standard she wore the Romulan Republic dress uniform, complete with the tight fitting miniskirt and tights. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, gems and clips sprinkled throughout for that extra flare. She wore silver ear cuffs that accentuated the pointy tips of her ears. She sat at the table in the mess hall waiting for her tour guide. She played with a bracelet around her wrist, it was made up of silver metallic crystals, a subtle nod to her connection with the Remans and dedication to their cause. She did not look like the typical 100+ year old Senators, she was youthful with an aura of deception around her. Well, she was Romulan after all. And the most unusual thing of all wasn't her pretty and youthful looks of her stare that could cut through diamonds, but she was there alone. She had decided to ditch her Republic guards from the start. She was Valleka T'Rylov, she did not need any protection. In fact she pitied the fool who even tried to hurt her during her trip. (edited)

The local romulan chief ops made his way in on time, looking around for the person he was supposed to escort. A tall and slim man, he certainly looked healthy and happy- minus the outward happiness. He endured a lecture from his blood father on romulan culture yet again, eagerly pushing himself to conform. He found Valleka after a few seconds, making a beeline over. He nodded once. "Jolan'tru. I am Satok Aylek, the one who will be giving you today's tour if you are... Valleka T'Rylov," he said, speaking rihan as if he was born speaking it. He noted what she was wearing... and what Renakir said about her, albeit vague. He looked with a cocked brow.

Her eyes immediately locked onto the Romulan who just walked into the mess hall. She stood so she could no greet him properly. He looked like a typical Romulan, tall, slim figure, and what was this? A happy aura? Such persona was rare amongst Romulans, which set off all sorts of alarms. Hopefully this meeting would be brief and require minimal 3d chess. She was not averse to a little battle of the minds but something told her this meeting was best kept purely professional and brief. With a slight nod of her head she greeted the man, offering a very slight smile. "Jolan tru, you are correct," She was slightly miffed he didn't address her as Senator, but for all she knew he could have been a reunification child. The name 'Satok' was certainly not Romulan. Behind her kind smile and calm demeanour she was weaving theories and ideas about this Romulan Starfleet officer, perhaps he'd prove her wrong. "And what may I call you?" A polite request, but his response would dictate the mood of the rest of their interactions.

"Satok," he repeated the same name again, bowing his head politely. "And I apologize for not calling you senator, I... it was uncalled for," he said, bowing his head again as if to say that he was sorry. He was around so many romulans and they made him nervous as hell, truth be told. He figured that if he didn't act a certain way he'd be looked at funny. As is the life of someone in his unusually colored shoes, metaphorically. "The Aylek family offers its greetings to you... and if you would like to meet my father, you can..." He said. His father was a prominent figure in the Romulan Empire and was one of the romulan-side people that assisted in the evacuations to a great degree after the Hobus Supernova.

The man's apology came as a surprise, but she kept her neutral expression and nodded back at him. He was quite an interesting fellow, she thought. Of course her mind was still buzzing with a million different explanations, all of which were the worst possible scenarios. She leaned up against the table and let her gaze shift away from Satok for a brief moment. "Aylek, I am familiar with that house," She said as she thought about the name. She was quite young when the Supernova happened, however she was familiar with the events that followed. The resettling on Rator III and of course the migration to Mol'Rihan. "I am just here for a tour, I do not want to keep you too long," As much as she wanted to know more about this Romulan, she was here to learn more about the Federation. "For a Federation Starbase there sure are a lot of Romulans onboard."

“Yes, there are quite a few romulans on board... and you don’t need to worry about keeping me for too long, I’ve got all of the time in the world to show you around- starting with this very own mess hall. Have you ever been in a mess hall like this before?” He questioned, tone flat and respectful. He was here to help and, as usual, didn’t sense anything amiss with her at all. He didn’t read into or look so deep into a simple interaction like this.

"How kind of you, Satok," Valleka took a few steps closer to him as if to see how he would react. She carried herself as anyone would expect of a Romulan senator but her tone was more friendly. She twirled her long pieces of hair around her fingers with her gaze fixed on Satok. There was something different about him, something that worried her. Or maybe it was he who would be worried? "No, we don't have places like this in the Republic fleet that I've seen. A communal dining area sounds dreadful, honestly," Even though Satok was a Starfleet officer, he was still a Romulan. She felt that gave her the permission to be honest. Her tours with Federation officers had been boring. She had to smile and nod, say things were nice. But with a fellow Romulan she could be honest, or at least she felt like she could and he would instantly understand,

She might be understood in some places and woefully misunderstood in others, it seemed. Satok was one to be honest to in any case and he wouldn’t bite or stab, simply contented to listen and live his life. He noted her stepping closer, not backing up in the slightest. “Understandably, a communal dining area on a romulan vessel seems rather dreadful but on a Federation vessel it helps spawn social interaction and build a sense of community with the officers and enlisted on the ship, Senator,” he explained, a singular nod in her direction. He was very honest himself, hoping to explain things she didn’t understand.

She simply nodded and took a few steps back, walking between the tables. Build a sense of community, that was something they didn't really value in the Republic either. Well, maybe on the surface they said all that, but truth be told Romulans were always just a dirty look, wrong stare, sneeze in the wrong direction, away from just stabbing each other. A life without paranoia sounded dreadful from her perspective. She liked the mind games, the danger, it kept her on her toes. "And what officers have you interacted with, hm? Anyone of interest lately?" Valleka was very curious to learn about what sort of connections a Romulan could possibly make on a Federation Starbase. Although she was personally hesitent about making friends with aliens (aside from Remans, that was a different story), she understood a lot of Romulans from the Republic sought out a better life within the Federation. She was curious what their experiences were.

Ah yes, those were indeed positive experiences and one very interesting experience. “All of my experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. As for officers, a certain Lieutenant Renakir... Ensign Pollop, and a Vulcan Bajoran,” he replied, rattling the three off that stood out in his mind. The first one, though, may grab her attention as a reman name at the very least. Also his dad... but he left that out. The older romulan likely didn’t want to be bothered.

Valleka was facing away from Satok when he began to rattle off names, but she did turn her head when she heard the nane of her fiance. She had met three people, all who have met Renakir. Well her worries about him not getting out and making friends were clearly for nothing. A certain Lieutenant Renakir, since when did he become a Lieutenant? Last time she heard, he was still an Ensign scrubbing power conduits. Oh well, guess she would just have to interrogate him later. Vulcan Bajoran-- that rang a bell too. "How curious, I also met a Vulcan Bajoran, he was a kind boy, messy hair, a bit day dreamy, but not a bad kid," She said, purposefully ignoring the rest of the names. She didn't want to raise suspicion as to her and Renakir's connection.

"Not bad at all. Dreamers are the best sorts to have around in my experience- they always manage to come up with better and better solutions. But... anyway, there are many many people here that all keep this small ecosystem going," he said, looking at her. Satok seemed to carry himself like a more energetic and open romulan, speech enunciated and a small smile working its way onto his face. "But this is the mess hall, of course. Would you like to try some Federation cuisine?"

"Being of a creative mind does have its advantages, I'll give him that," Was Valleka's only other comment to that. She didn't want to startle the poor boy again, but she was very curious about his story. She was always interested in the reasons why Vulcans were so willing to mix their DNA with aliens. She was more progressive than most Romulans, but still held some xenophobic tendencies. Even with her own fiance who was of mixed race, she was not entirely keen on the idea of possibly creating more mixed children. "Oh, are you offering me food?" Valleka looked at Satok very suspiciously. Well, he would have a lot more to lose if he tried to poison her. Unless this was a pre-meditated attack. "I would love to try something if you're willing," Valleka took note of his energetic and cheerful attitude. She was almost certain that he had been raised off world somewhere. A colony? Maybe an alien planet. She took a seat at one of the tables.

"Of course, this is the mess hall. Perhaps some pizza?" He questioned, making his way over to the replicator. He wanted to know, by the way she reacted, if she knew what he was referencing. He noted the suspicious look and simply ignored it, knowing the romulan suspicions and mind games all too well. He wasn't a giver but he certainly went through many with his father.

Offering food to a senator was definitely a bold move. In fact, if they were on Mol'Rihan she would have already been plotting a counterattack. Well, she was riding off her theory that he was actually an off-worlder despite appearances. "Pizza, I have never heard of that one," She responded with curiousity. Despite having read up on a lot of alien cultures, she never had any interest in foreign cuisine aside from the poisonous things. "What planet is that from? It sounds Kobali," She guessed as she twirled her hair around her fingers again.

"No, not Kobali. Human, of course. A staple human dish- from an old country state called Italy. Italia. I am sure you will like it. Here... you have any allergies- you a vegetarian?" He asked before replicating the dish just to make sure it wouldn't get rejected off the bat. He certainly was alien in culture himself, but the chances of him divulging any information was low.

"Human, interesting," The Federation was based on earth and no doubt this man most likely had lived there for at least part of his life. Valleka was still suspicious of Romulans who lived abroad, they knew things that she didn't, understood concepts and cultures that she would never. If anything, she envied her countrymen who had the luxury of experiencing different worlds. "No allergies, unless you're feeding me Vorta Q'lava," She let out a small laugh as she joked about this nice Lieutenant slipping Dominion poison into her food. Not that he would. Or would he?

"Hmm? Vorta what now? Sounds like an awfully bitter treat, that's for sure," he said with a small chuckle himself, oblivious as to what she meant by it. He grabbed two plates, a slice of New York style pizza in each. Satok's had pineapples, pepperoni, pepper bits, and a few meat chunks. Hers was a simple pepperoni slice to get her toes dipped into the metaphorical water, so to speak. He seemed to be looking on his PaDD and sending out a small message before turning it over to turn his full attention to her.

"Oh, nevermind. Thank you for this food," If Valleka wasn't suspicious of the man's actions before, this was definitely setting off all the alarms. Serving her alien food and typing away on his PADD during their meeting? She sensed a set up. She took a small case that looked like a pack of gum from her pocket and took a strip out to place on top of the pizza. She was not going to touch this food until she was certain it was not poisoned, she couldn't let her guard down.

He looked at this again and cocked his brow, humming as he saw this. "Erm... I saw Renakir do that... what is that really? Er..." He looked at it curiously, wondering what exactly she was doing. His actions on the PaDD were merely his squaring away an ops order and spending a second on the chatroom, a Starfleet officer like himself wouldn't plot a murder.

Oh, he said Renakir's nane again. A smile crossed her face as she lifted her head to look up at him. "It tests for poison. Green if there is poison, no reaction if it's safe," She said as she pulled out a second pack and slid it over to Satok. "I am surprised you've never heard of it. I doubt you will have a needf for it on a Federation Starbase, but if you ever find yourself on Mol'Rihan they are quite useful," She said in a friendly tone, happy to help a fellow Romulan. So he really must have grown up off world if he didn't even know what poison test strips were.

"... oh. Poison. I'm not trying to poison you, I a-assure you..." He stuttered slightly, looking down at her and his food nervously. There was no reaction from her strip, after all, indicating that the food was safe to consume. Why would people try to poison each other in the first place? It made no sense to him... he put his own strip on the pizza, no reaction occurring then either. "See? It's okay to eat... why do romulans try to kill each other all the time?"

The stutter in his words and nervous expression was actually quite cute. This man truly was full of surprises. It was as if she were trying to play a game of Romulan 3D chess but instead of playing along, Satok was eating all the pieces (metaphor cr. eshen, thank you). She let out an audible chuckle at thought. Once she confirmed no reaction she put the case back into her pocket and picked up the plate, wondering how one would go about eating such a food. Perhaps it was best if she waited for Satok to eat and follow his lead. "You are correct, no poison," Valleka put her plate back down and looked at Satok. "Is that a serious question? Apologies for being direct, but I am curious about where you grew up."

1

"My wife is half vulcan and... basically spent her whole life on Vulcan. I myself grew up on Earth so... and my father wasn't as open about our culture as to divulge this. It's a serious question indeed," he said, explaining the various family member pieces to the puzzle. He picked up the slice of pizza by the front part and not the crust, biting right through the crust to purposefully teach Valleka the wrong way to eat pizza.

She listened thought fully as he explained his family. A Romulan married to a hybrid, now that was something. She had a million things to say about that, but this was a tour, not Valleka's 'I am not spacist but...' talk show. She rested her elbows on the table and just smiled. "I see, I had a feeling that was the case," She was patronisinf him, she truly was. She observed how he ate the pizza and gave him a curious look. Picking it up from the pointed end and then eating from the bread crust? She copied his action, carefully, trying her best not to get her hands too dirty. The crust was crispy but holding the pizza by the front was burning her fingers. After taking her bite from the side she plopped the slice back down on the plate and shook her head. "Oh, this is difficult to eat," She said as she waved her hands over the pizza to try and cool it down. Unpleasant, dry, this was nothing like Romulan cuisine. "And about your question, Satok," She nearly forgot the other had asked about Romulans killing each other. "It is because Paranoia is a way of life for us. Well, less so in the Republic, but--" She was trying to explain and try and cool down the pizza so she could eat it. "Are you teasing me, Satok?!"

"No, it's just how I eat it," he stated quickly in his defense. "It isn't how most people eat it, of course. You usually hold it from the crust but I like to do things backwards when it comes to pizza. Hold it from the crust," he instructed, noting the patronizing comment. He knew it was patronizing... but showed no reaction at all. It was neither unpleasant nor dry on the actual pizza part... and he didn't usually hold it like this. He simply taught some aliens to do it wrong because he thought it was hilarious.

"You know what happens when you try and prank a Romulan senator. Surely your father taught you that," Valleka said as she picked up the pizza from the crust this time and took a bite. Much better. It was a bit salty but a tad sweet and... It was greasy. Not her favourite at all, but she was here to experience all aspects of alien life and culture. She definitely didn't trust a word Satok was saying now. He was doing this as a prank, to let her guard down or perhaps just to have fun. Earthlings, those humans, they make fools out of Romulans. Of course this earth-raised Romulan would try some sort of low brow prank. Valleka took a couple more bites before putting the slice down and pushing her plate away. That was enough of that bullshit.

He looked down and away, clearing his throat. It was a simple, harmless joke. Why were these people so serious all the time? He coughed and looked back at her after a few seconds. "Sorry, sorry... I thought it would make you smile. 'Tis the reason I did that. But... it probably looks like something malicious. I'm sorry," he said in a somewhat hushed tone.

Once he explained himself, Valleka paused and stared... And stared. A few more seconds passed until her frown turned into a smile and she began laughing quite loudly. This boy really wanted to play a joke on a Romulan senator? As a Starfleet officer? Oh he was bold, and actually, she liked that. "Satok! You're too cute," She leaned forward their faces coming dangerously close. Thankfully there was still a table between them, stabbing distance apart of course. "You know, I like you. Well played."

Satok blushed deeply, a deep green, avoiding eye contact when he was called cute. He smiled slightly and looked at her, a weirdly neutral smile. "Cute? Hmm... okay," he said, nodding to her after she said 'well played'. He chuckled softly as he slowly got somewhat comfortable again. "Thanks. You're nice too," he said, at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say.

Seeing the other blush so easily was amusing and very tempting, too tempting. Not only was he blushing but also avoiding eye contact. How far could she push this? Maybe a little bit of flirtation wouldn't hurt, it seemed like this kid had a lot of time and besides, she needed to get revenge for his practical joke after all. She may not have known much about earth culture, but she did know how to read people and ruffle some feathers (in good fun, it was a friendly gesture). "Just nice? Aww, I was expecting more praise," Valleka laughed, a genuine laugh this time. No deceit or subterfuge present. "I said you're cute and I like you. You have a fun attitude, cute face, oh and-- you're bold enough to try and prank a senator. You know if I was any other senator you'd be dead by now," She said, her voice a bit more serious and harsh for the last few words, but it was all part of the plan.

“Oh... you do? I’m flattered, thank you for the compliment... if I’m being honest, though... I’m a married man and...” Again, he struggled to find the words at all. He furrowed his brow at her and rubber the side of his face. “And... I’d be dead? Oh...”

Oh, that was right, aliens do relationships differently. She was just trying to have some fun, but it seemed like Satok may actually get upset if she pushed too far. She moved away from him and just rested her arms on the table. "First, yes. Romulans do not appreciate pranks, well, most of them anyway. They would take it as an attack and you'd probably be best to never sleep again if you wished to keep your life-- And second, I think there was a misunderstanding," It was clear subterfuge and Romulan 3d chess was not going to work on this guy, nor was trying to play the earth courting game of flirting. "Romulans have 3 way marriages, but it's not an exclusive pact. In fact, relationships with others outside of wedlock is common. We do not even have a word for 'adultery' in Rihannsu, isn't that neat?"

“Hmm, no wonder she talked about it and... kinda said that it would be another route of exploration. I think I’d honestly be open to such a relationship if it ever presented itself to me,” Satok said with a shrug. Knowing his wife, she was in a poly relationship before meeting him. His demeanor shifted slightly as he remembered this tidbit.

Valleka tilted her head and frowned. What was bothering him? She knew that aliens, especially humans, practiced monogamy, but she didn't realise that had any affect on Satok who was supposedly fully Romulan. What were his parents thinking? She had to pry, she was Romulan after all. "It's not a matter of being open to it, it's what is required and what it means to be Romulan. I have to know, what were you doing on earth?"

"On Earth? Growing up," he said in a matter of fact tone, taking a massive bite of his pizza. "I was raised by humans in a rural area- I have a somewhat human mentality. That probably explains how I am unable to understand some romulan things, but that's okay..." He said, clearing his throat. He hated being asked questions because of his ignorance.

"You poor thing," Valleka said, full on patronising mode now. She shook her had and sighed. Not only was he horrible at Romulan 3D chess, but he also seemed to really like that abomination of earth cuisine. People turn their nose up at Romulan jumbo mollusks, but pizza? That was next level disgusting. "Please tell me you have a Romulan friend who is teaching you, this is too painful to see," She gave him a disappointed look as if she were completely serious. Someone would even say she sounded genuinely concerned.

“What’s too painful to see?” He asked, eyes conveying a questioning look at the woman. He knew, however, and was internally insulted to the core. Satok sighed and rubbed his nose, “no. I get it. My eating pizza? My human ways?”

His response made her laugh once again, he really was terrible at reading the atmosphere. She wasn't sure what was more horrifying, his lack of Romulan 3D chess skills, his love for pizza, or his carefree attitude in the presence of one of the deadliest senators on Mol'Rihan. Well, maybe she wasn't the deadliest, but she liked to think anyone who crossed her knew they were asking for an early grave. "Satok, Satok, no, please, I can't laugh anymore," Valleka shook her head and covered her face with her hands. She didn't think she had ever laughed so much in her life. "By the grace of Tellus, just answer me, you have a Romulan friend who is teaching you about our culture, right?"

“In all honesty, no. My father only shows me... art and cuisine and those kinds of things that are the closest, truth be told,” he said with a deep sigh. He was indeed fumbling through the conversation, thinking like a human. He felt somewhat dumb but wouldn’t show it at all. The atmosphere... felt different than in most human conversations and he had trouble making sense of it. He was casual with prominent figures in the Federation- or somewhat prominent figures...

This conversation had started out funny, but now hearing Satok's situation she was beginning to feel very sorry for him. He kept fumbling over his words, struggling to read the air. Honestly, it was pathetic and she wished she wasn't just visiting so she could teach him everything she knew. She was thinking about how to respond to that when she heard a small beep coming from the PADD she was given when she arrived on the station. She took a couple seconds to click a few buttons and then turned her attention back to Satok. "That's too bad," She began to speak, a frown crossing her face. "Hmm, I know a guy named Solait who could help you," She said, speaking plainly with no sign of subterfuge. (edited)

“Renakir. Okay. He’s a nice dude, very nice dude. I’ve been talking to him already- do you know him well, Senator?” He asked, looking at her again. He spoke with some more confidence, though it was clear that it was feigned. Satok indeed had an ego and he was wounding it by his own actions.

Oh, he was getting more confident now? Valleka raised and eyebrow when she heard Satok call her fiance by his Reman name. She was mentally kicking herself for letting the wrong name slip. That is surely what prompted the man's second question if they knew each other. She froze. A million things were going through her mind at that time. What Renakir messaged her as well as her own feelings towards the Reman people. One more spacist thing and I am calling off our engagement, Valleka was on thin ice here. She had to be tactful. Valleka looked away from Satok and sighed, trying to hide the fact that she was going through an internal crisis at that very moment. "Our families are allied," She couldn't bring herself to lie, her words were rushed, as if she was scared of something. "Because we believe in Reman freedom," She gestured to the bracelet she was wearing, covered in shiny silver rocks. "I don't suppose you learned about them on earth, did you?”

"I know about the Reman struggle for freedom and reparations, yes. I, too, sympathize with them and see how the romulan race stepped on their heads and used them as slaves- and that is wrong. I, myself, hold the uncommon view that every sentient species is indeed equal across the board..." He internally registered the fact that their families were allied, that translating in his head to the duo being together in a relationship. He drew the conclusion that they were together either for political reasons or otherwise, neglecting to comment on their alliance. * "Even though I may be oblivious to many romulan social intricacies, I am certainly in-tune with major romulan events..." *He said, eyes moving to her bracelet. "It's beautiful... I've never seen such a thing before. May I have a closer look?"

Oh, so he knew? Valleka listened to his words and nodded. The one good thing about growing up on earth was he didn't have that Romulan superiority complex. Too many politicians on Mol'Rihan had that problem and Valleka was definitely amongst the minority who did not. She noted his failure to comment on her relation with Renakir, but maybe that was a good thing. She could read him like an open book, perhaps he didn't think much of it. "I am so glad we could agree on this," Valleka said as she slipped off her bracelet and put it on the table so Satok could examine it. Of course she wasn't going to hand it to him, that may result in accidental touching. Inappropriate! "It was a gift from--" Valleka began to say before catching herself mid-sentence. "The Remans, as a sign of union and cooperation," She almost mentioned Renakir again. She wanted to, but at the same time she kept thinking about what Renakir had said to her earlier.

"Wow, it's... beautiful..." He repeated himself, leaning in to get a look at it without touching it. He didn't want to upset her with touching it, instead opting to examine the alien stones. "Union and cooperation..." He repeated, looking up at her after a long pure minute of examination. He got a small flashback from when he used to wear those quite often, his missing their designs. Why did he ever stop? He found wearing them... foreign and unusual, the thought of wearing one in public something he didn't consider or want to do. Had his personality and interests shifted so dramatically? It seemed so. "Lovely. Thank you for sharing this with me, Senator," he said, smiling softly. He reached into his pocket for something to show in turn, fumbling in there...

Valleka watched him closely as he examined the bracelet, taking note of his body language. It was quite nice of him to not touch it, although she had no problems if he did. She merely smiled as she watched, wondering what he could be thinking. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she had a feeling seeing her bracelet sparked some sort of emotion within him. Interesting. Once he moved back she picked up the bracelet and put it back on. "Of course, Satok," Her voice was soft to match his as the tension between them slowly melted away. "Hmm, are you going to show me something too?" She inquired, a look of curiosity crept across her face.

He pulled a pair of earrings out of his pocket, two blue orbs at their ends with green blotches on them. Earth earrings. Their hooks were made of sterling silver; they were quite beautiful under the light. "My earrings. Blue Earth orbs- made of sapphire and silver. Would you like to see them?" He placed them on the table as an offering, feeling somewhat more comfortable now.

Without thinking, she reached her hand forward to take one of the earrings but in the process brushed their fingers together. A light green blush crossed her cheeks when she realised what had just happened, but other than that her expression remained unchanged. She picked up one of the earrings by the ends and examined it closely. "They're beautiful, Satok. Blue earth, I am sure you would look lovely wearing these-- or does your uniform not permit it? I met another officer who wore earrings, I am sure it would be alright," She carried on as if they had not just touched. She was great at keeping her calm and she was not nearly as touch starved as her fiance. The earring sparkled under the lights of the mess hall, she noticed the blue shine reflected in Satok's eyes, how lovely.

He noticed the brushing of the fingers and curled them back, vulcanoid brow rising slightly for a second before returning to its original state. "It is not for religious purposes so I cannot wear them while on duty..." He explained, likely assuming that she met with someone of Bajoran heritage. The base of one of the earrings read a message, though small: You will always be mom's boy no matter how far you travel. Take these whenever you get homesick. Satok took the other earring and let it rest between his thumb and index fingers. He blinked. "Oh... I'm sorry for holding you up with this- I have... uh... gotten a bit carried away..."

Hmm? She glanced at the earring once again, seeing the message briefly before putting it back on the table so he could take them back. "Hmm, the person I met was mixed, Vulcan and Klingon," She said, specifically talking about Eshen. This boy was sentimental and honest, a bit silly and perhaps his brain had seen more than a couple passes with an iron, but it was a breath of fresh air for her. "It's alright, I enjoyed chatting." She stood up and walked over to his side of the table. "Well then, shall we continue the tour?"

[D] And tour they did, Valleka was thoroughly impressed with the Eventide. With no further mention about their accidental touch in the mess hall or Renakir.

As Ava and Austin entered into the mess hall, Ava looked down bashfully. “I’m sorry. You remember how I told you back in the day I was having some trouble with people at my school? Well… Stuff happened and I got into trouble — big trouble — and I kinda stole a hover bike, and there was police, and I got arrested, and…” She paused to look at him, taking a small breath. “And my mom forbade me any further contact with you as a punishment. That’s also why we stopped visiting.” There was sincerity in her eyes and voice.

He placed his hand against his head, he needed the additional support. He felt a lot more sympathy for her now that he knew that she atleast had a reason to not contact him. Still though he had thought he had helped to make her a better person. She was from a different place from him, he knew that but did she really steal a hoverbike. "I... I hope you were allright without me..." He spoke meakly and nervously, something about being around her brought back the more quiet version of himself from when he was a child. "I thought we had gotten passed you doing that kind of stuff."

Ava felt so bad about how much she had hurt him. “I knew you’d say that,” she muttered quietly. Finally, she sunk down into a chair at a table. “It was… It was why I didn’t contact you again after I moved out of home. After things got better… I was so ashamed of what I’d done that I felt I couldn’t face you, even if I had found your contact info.” She sighed. She could talk about how she had changed by now. But she didn’t want to talk about herself. “I… I don’t know how to make it up to you Austin.”

He found himself looking at the table burying himself deep in thought. He had tried to move past it in the past but now he needed to address things once again. Still he couldn't let his old friend continue to suffer from fear that she had done him wrong. After much thought he decided the morally right to decision was to give her a second chance. He decided that he shouldn't allow one discretion even if it was harmful to him to sour what they had. "Its... It's okay... I forgive you..." He sounded somewhat unsure in the thought but atleast most of him had forgiven her. "I want to try and be friends again now that we are together here again. You don't need to feel shame about what you've done, it's water under the bridge." This time he sounded a lot more sincere now that he had finally begun to grasp his own emotions more.

2

The expression of insecurity and anxiety on her face gave way to a soft smile of relief. “Thank you, Austin. Thank you,” she said quietly. “Would you… like to fill me in on your life? I… I’d like to know how you’ve been.” She bit down on her lower lip, endlessly grateful that he was willing to pick up their friendship again.

He tried his best to offer a warm smile to her, he could tell that she could likely still use some re-assurance. "You've got a lot to fill me in on to." He gestured towards her bajoran earing. "You must've had a lot happen in your life aswell." He then pivoted back towards explaining himself a little. "Well after you left I spent a couple more years on the island. I even got to be a police officer with my dad for a year before I went off and joined the academy." He quickly added on. "My dad and mom are both doing well by the way. Since the academy I've been on a pair of science vessels then I was Chief of Security on the station for a while. Now I've just recently transferred to the ship." He appeared slightly shaken when he mentioned his time on station security, there was still a lot of trauma there for him. "What about you, what brought you to the starfleet and the station?" (edited)

“Wow. That sounds eventful,” replied Ava. She wanted to ask about what had happened on the station to provoke his transfer, but she didn’t wanna get too noisy. They were tiptoeing on this thin line of building up their broken friendship again, and she didn’t wanna drop any of the pieces and let them shatter even further. “Well, after that incident with the police, life was a bit crazy. Until my mom met a Bajoran woman, Ayala Roe. You would like her! She’s very kind. She cared for me, for my mom, and we… we became family. She helped me figure out my anger issues and all that.” He knew about those better than anyone else. He’d been one of the few people who could calm Ava down in those situations. “And then I went to the Newton Science University in NYC. However, I met someone who was at the Academy, and one thing led to another, and I entered Starfleet.” She couldn’t stop looking at him, studying his face that had changed so much, and yet bore familiar features. “I was on a station for a while, then an underwater lab, finally a ship, and… now I’m here.” She blinked. Back in the day, Austin used to have freckles.

He smiled softly at her, he had become a little bit concerned at the thought that she had been arrested but it seems she had turned things around really quick. In many ways Austin felt very proud of her. "I am glad that you were able to get things all sorted out and I'm glad you are here now. I must admit though, you are quite different from the Ava I knew two decades ago. Thats definitely going to take some time getting used to." He was somewhat inspecting her face and comparing it to that of her as a child. Her hair was very different and the bajoran earing was an addition but deep down she was still his friend. "The underwater lab sounds super cool! I take it that you ended up going into mariner biology?" He remembered taking her around the waters around his island and especially the night they spent together watching Orcas.

“Oh, yeah!” She mirrored his smile. Quite apparently, the mood had lightened up a little. She was relieved. “Officially I’m a marine Exobiologist and analytical scientist.” She saluted. “At your service, Lieutenant Whidbey.” She chuckled and then her eyes rested fondly on him. “You’ve changed, too,” she said, “What happened to the freckles?”

He chuckled and saluted back. "Thank you Lieutenant Lopez, at ease." He joked with her. "The freckles... they just kinda faded away over the years I guess." He laughed again. "What happened to your hair? Don't get me wrong I love it now but I also loved the old color."

“Too bad, I really loved the freckles,” she commented nonchalantly before answering his question. “Oh, you know, I changed it up a little bit,” she said with a shrug. “Remember when I had it purple for a week?”, she grinned.

He thought back for a moment and then nodded. "Oh yeah I remember, my dad wasn't the biggest fan if I remember correctly." He then tried to imagine adult Ava with purple hair.

“Oh, no, he wasn’t.” She laughed. “Neither was my mom. And between you and me, looking back, both of them were kinda right. It looked hideous!” She grinned and felt a bubbly feeling in her chest at being able to fall into such easy humour with Austin. “Hey, Austin, I’ve missed this. Talking to you, it’s… really nice,” she said softly, and it felt like an understatement. “Thanks for giving me a second chance.”

He laughed slightly. "Personally if I'm being honest I always liked the crazy colors. I always thought it was pretty fun." He smirked at her. "I really missed you and yeah ofcourse you deserved a second chance. I'd have to be crazy not to want to be your friend again. I just hadn't expected I'd ever have the chance again."

She grinned broadly. “I’m really glad we got this chance. Feels a bit like fate that we end up together again, doesn’t it?”

He matched her grin with one of his own. "Yeah for sure, I mean of all the assignments in starfleet the odds have got to be pretty low that we end up together."

“Maybe the Prophets are smiling down on us,” she mused. “Oh, we should totally exchange PADD numbers by the way.” She pulled out her PADD, putting it down on the table.

He took a moment to pull out his PADD and place it down aswell. "I think they probably are though I've always been fascinated by them, maybe at some point you could teach me a little."

“Really? I’d love to!” She smiled. “Roe left quite the impression on me with that religion. It’s nice, having some kind of faith, you know.” Then she typed on her PADD quickly and showed him her number. “Here you go.”

"Sounds great then." He quickly took down her number on his PADD and sent a message so she would have his number aswell. "Yeah having something to believe in is nice, I've been reading a lot of philosophy books recently to try and understand all of that better."

“Yeah? What have you been reading, Austin?” She kept smiling as she pocketed her PADD again.

He opened up the book on his PADD. "Its an ancient Greek book called 'The Republic' basically its an ancient Greek perspective about a utopian society but it poses a lot of interesting questions."

“Oooh! Hey, tell you what, Austin,” said Ava with a soft smile, “How about we meet up again later someplace more cozy? And you can tell me about that book and I can tell you about Bajoran religion? I have to run and start my shift in a bit, but I totally wanna catch up with you.”

He checked the time and then nodded eagerly. "Yeah I've got work pretty soon myself, let's definitely do that though. I've got a comfortable holodeck program of the island we could go to if you want to see it again?"

Ava’s heart was this close to melting when he said that. “Oh, my God I would LOVE TO!” She grinned, standing up from her seat. “I miss that place so much!”

He stood up with her. "Sounds like a plan then!" He said excitedly, it was (hopefully) going to be just like old times. Just the two of them and the island even if it wasn't entirely real. "I'll see you soon?"

“Promise,” she said, and with that she left.

She had made her way over after her shift was over, taking a few strides over to place an order of a fresh salad with a glass of wine, opting for one that paired well with some candied salmon she opted to top off her food with. Taking this over to a table, she made herself comfortable, but still open should anyone else enter, not opposed to any company on this quiet evening.

Austin decided to get a order of seared salmon. Something about the food always gave him a sense of home, even if his homecoming was now only a week away. He noticed the tactical officer who he was now equal in rank with and decided to take a seat opossite of her. She was a bit of an enigma to him but instead of trying to figure her out, he asked the simple question.

She looked up at Austin when he approached, taking a sip from her wine and wordlessly gesturing that he may take a seat. Setting down her glass, she looked at him curiously, "How are you finding the evening, Lieutenant Commander?"

He nodded to her and then smiled. "Oh you know just the same old stuff, im not quite as busy as I was when CoS for the station but it gives me a lot more of a chance to sit back and relax." He immediately began digging into his food, he figured it was best to not allow it to get cold.

She had the benefit of getting something chilled and a little sweet for her meal so she took a few seconds slower on it as she observed him, "I take it you're enjoying it? I suppose we should get to know one another better since we will be working alongside each other on missions. You may call me 'Stone' rather than my full title. If you'd like, we could play twenty questions?"

"The ship has been interesting though there are some aspects of the station i miss." He smiled at her. "Ah, thank you stone. Obviously just Whidbey will work just fine for me." He smirked jokingly. "I quite like the sound of my own last name. 20 questions Is a classic, I'd gladly play a round with you."

She smiled warmly as she looked him over before casually asking, "So Whidbey, for my first question, is there anyone you've brought with you to the ship or that you've left behind somewhere during your travels? A significant other or potential one?"

He leaned back in thought. Oddly it was kinda specific to him in a way he felt though he decided to hide his true colors slightly by pretending to have to think. "Starting off with the heavy stuff eh..." His mind flashed with images of his late fiancee, he really did not want to talk about her though. He just needed to repress that slightly. His face contorted for a second as he pushed that down between breathes. "Well I guess my childhood best friend has re-appeared recently."

She perked up at that before giving another smile, covering it with a sip before asking, "It's your turn, but I must say that it's always a good thing to reconnect with those you met when you were younger, even just to reflect on how you've changed as a person since."

"Well we are actually kinda best friends again, it's almost like I'm a 10 year old again." He joked and then pivoted to play the game. He decided to start her off with something he thought would be easy. "So where are ya headed to for shoreleave?"

She thought over what he said as her eyes looked over his body language for any level of deception before casually responding, "I'm headed to Marcus's childhood beach for a ceremony. You're welcome to attend if you don't have any pressing concerns to take care of over shore leave. My question for you: what are you most excited for as a newly indoctrinated member of the ship?"

He gave a slightly sad look. "I wish I could come but it has been wayyyy too long since I've seen my dad and there is... something private I need to talk to him about. As for the ship though I suppose I'm excited to get to know the crew more, that's always the most fun part isn't it?" That was technically a second question but he was going to let her decide if that counted. Austin wanted the answer though, the way that question was answered could give him an eye into how she acted as a leader.

She smirked a little at his use of his question, her eyes sparking playfully as she weighed whether to give him a fully honest answer or one that would potentially frustrate him with lack of details in order to test his own responses. She opted to be kind for now as she gave her honest opinion after taking another sip of her wine. "It can be. In my experience, the knowledge of how one reacts to situations and being able to work alongside others to build each other up and support where one may not have natural skills is the most important aspect to ensure the team is functional - if not exceptional. However, you can only do this with open communication and learning the mentality and strengths of those around you. Do you have a favourite season, and if so, what is your favourite memory associated with it?"

He shrugged. "I suppose mine would have to be summer. I grew up in a little tourist town and summer was the only time it was warm enough for regular people (Austin not included) to go swimming. A lot of my best friends were actually recurring visitors if you'd believe that." He then decided to prod some more into their work relationship. Even if he wanted to form a friend ship she seemed slightly closed off to him for now, besides this was a fun little game for him to play. Externally he was all smiles while he tried to dig in. "Jumping off of that, now that you know a bit about my childhood could you tell me a little about where you grew up? How had that affected who you are?" Technically two questions but whatever.

She gently tapped her nose as she gave a little chuckle, "I like your questions. They're very intentional... much like your answers. I take it you're not fond of the water to go swimming, neither am I." She paused for a moment as she set her now empty plate to the side as she sat back a little more relaxed to the casual observer with her wine in hand, "I grew up on a ship with my parents, my middle name being a reference to it. I was not wanting for anything as my parents affirmed that I had a knowledgable education and diverse experiences based on what was offered by the other officers and themselves. I tend to think that I had a standard childhood with more positive experiences than negative. My parents were very much in love and still are just as much now. Do you have any childhood fears that still make their way into your daily interactions or experiences now?"

He laughed. "Oh no I'm quite the opposite, if I was bored while crab fishing I would just jump right in during the middle of December. Sure it was 40 degrees and probably raining but thats just how I was." This answer was not so intentional but it was in some ways a showing of strength, atleast back home being a great swimmer was viewed as valuable. On a couple occasions Austin had even jumped into the water to save lives in full cop uniform. He then went to answer her question. He was not going to explain to her his fears of certain social interaction and his fear of letting people see his nerdy sign both of which persisted through his childhood. "I'm going to answer your question but I want to flip it a little. When I was a really young child I had a fear of that dark." He waved his hands. "I know I'm a very heroic security officer to have been afraid of the dark but this was only when I was a child." He laughed, thinking back on childhood memories. "When I was a kid sometimes my dad would just pop off the light when he wished me good night. I would jump out and nervously make my way to the light switch to pop them back on. Eventually I realized the monsters under the bed never came for me and I just sorta... overcame that fear. Maybe in some ways it has brought forth more confidence in me but I still at times feel uneasy in the dark." He then realized he needed to give her a question now. "If you grew up on a starfleet ship I must ask, why not choose Ops or Engineering or Science. I'm sure they must have some damn good programs you went through on the ship." He took a second to adjust his neck as he formulated the ending to his question. "So I must ask, why tactical?"

She smiled at his story as she listened, amused with his childhood antics of diving into the water, even as the thought of such made her stomach flip and turn in very uncomfortable ways. She did sober as he detailed his fear of childhood darkness, relating very much to a similar apprehension she had to come over, nodding her head as he finished his story. "I must say I am impressed with your response, even if it didn't answer my question originally. It does show depth of character that you were able to recognize your fear and where it originated while also understanding that it still lingers with you, the fear of the unknown. It is something that is prevalent among us even today, take for example interactions with other people, you could have viewed me not unlike a creature or monster as you didn't know much about me personally, but instead, you faced the potential scariness to build a connection. I am much impressed."

04:50

She did pause a second at the question, biting back her rehearsed response when others asked her this question in similar ways, "The ship that I was on specialized mostly in the sciences. I was surrounded by it from day one, however, it felt more of a task to complete in order to finish my classes. I felt most at home when I was working on stretches and movements in the gym, which then evolved into observing sparring online and figuring out the positions and fluidity. It was my passion and retreat to work on how my body flowed with itself or the weapons I was granted practice with. As such, when the time came, I wanted to develop this further and drive home this passion. It didn't help that I've had the choice reconfirmed due to various situations I've experienced since then." She didn't elaborate on these situations as she took another sip before asking Austin, "What is your favourite memory from the academy? Did you have a favourite teacher or class that you attended?" Trying to move to a few lighter subjects before getting more personal again.

He shrugged. "Once again I'm kinda the opposite actually. My dad was a cop so I grew up surrounded by my towns security, If you really want to stretch language. Realistically though the only crime on my island is the drunk tourists who were always coming around." He then once again transitioned into answering her question. He bit back his want to atleast down play his nerdy side but he went into a full force swing, after all they were both senior officers here. "Philosophy." That came out very quick. "There are just so many existential questions that I want so desperately to try to answer. Maybe it's just a class for overthinking but I love thinking about it. Many people have wrote long ass books trying to find answers, many of which I've read." In his excitement about Philosophy the geek in his really broke out. He didn't like when it broke out but that was the truest him and honestly it felt good. "So going off of that, I'm gonna hit you with a really deep one here: what do you think we owe to eachother as starfleet officers? I don't mean as far as cash goes or whatever, I mean with our actions."

She seemed impressed, even as much as raising her eyebrows a bit at his childhood memories, but nodded along with his favourite class and the reasoning behind it, a smile edging her mouth as she seemed eager to see this side of him emerge. Thinking for a second before answering him honestly, prefacing it with a small disclaimer, "Don't hold this against me as I typically carry myself as a realist, even if I happen to be an optimist internally. I think the only think starfleet officers owe each other is the respect and honesty that is given to all creatures, especially when working alongside one another. Without this, you lack the foundation for trust and reliability as you foster the potential for grievances to grow and lies or half-truths to fester. If we want to remain a strong force, one must learn to trust completely and be able to recognize that we are here to build each other up rather than exploit one another for a better position." She paused for a second as she thought for a reasonable question to ask, her eyes sparking slightly as she gave a slightly bigger grin, "What is your opinion on pranks and have you ever pulled one off successfully?"

He took note of her response, typically he made it a duty of his to try to assimilate any new member into the pack well enough. It wasn't always smooth but he figured anyone who completed the academy deserved a chance to prove themselves and to have a good time with the group. That's the only reason why he made such great friends on his last ship, a depressed whidbey was pushed into it. He laughed as he went right into answering her questions. "Oh you don't serve on a science ship with a pack of security ensigns without getting up to some serious pranks. Once when one of my buddies feel asleep we snuck him into the holodeck and set up a perfect simulation of the ship except every officer on the ship was constantly coming onto him. The guy was getting married so we figured it would be a funny send-off."

She smirked as she took another sip of her wine, nearing the end of it as she gave a casual response, "I'll have to take note of that. I was planning on doing some sort of prankish present for Marcus before our ceremony. He could use a good laugh, I think."

He then asked his question because he had forgotten before. "I suppose I'll flip the question back on you, I'd imagine based on your question you are a bit of a prankster. I might aswell exit it a bit though. Have you ever pranked your senior officer?"

She twirled the remainder of her wine in her glass before answering his question, "I have. I am a believer that pranks should never cross boundaries beyond everyone having a good laugh, but I did have a disagreement with a senior officer that was a little too big for his britches when I was on my first posting. Throughout the time working with them, I started to shift each item in his office exactly an inch to the right when he would give an ensign an unreasonable punishment for simple mistakes. It was easy as I was allowed in to help water his plants and maintain the food for his pet cat. It took him three weeks before he noticed and then he started noticing that it only happened if he was unreasonable and he started to relax on his teaching style with the ensigns. What was your driving point for joining the ship rather than staying on the base?" (edited)

"Classic Ensign imposed consequentialism, I love it. Though I always preferred my pranks to be a little more crude. Whats a little mustache drawn on the face of an Ensign before they meet the captain between friends." Yes that was a long sentance and yes he had done just that several times. He then rubbed at his neck slightly. He wasn't prepared to answer that question his back stiffened up slightly. "Oh I just missed being on a ship you know?" He wanted to quickly toss this hot potato out of his hands. No point in informing her that he was a coward. "What made you want to come to the ship?" He asked with almost no deep thought into the question. It was just an easy pitch to throw back as far as he was concerned.

She caught that behaviour immediately as she narrowed her gaze entirely, "What happened to honesty, Whidbey? Why did you actually come onto the ship?" She ignored his questions as she waited for his response.

He took the commendation off of his uniform and placed it lightly on the table. He had a slight look of scorn on his face as he looked between it and Hanna's eyes. "Do you know where I got this commendation from." He sounded mournful as another question exited his mouth. Part of him was enjoying the way this game was played but he was struggling to find the sense to truthfully answer the question. Another part of him was quickly scurrying around looking for a fast lie, though with the commendation he was too far deep in now.

She shook her head as she tilted her head, her gaze softening but her eyes still firm as she looked at him, "No. Do you want to explain it to me? Are you running away from what you perceive as a negative situation on the base?"

He looked between the commendation and her eyes yet again. "It was when I first arrived at the station, I think you must've been here at the time. It was when the station was attacked and we lost a hell of a lot of good people. It was very hard to see that all when I went so long with a perfect track record on my last ship. I think I just needed a change of pace." He needed more then just a change of pace, the images that haunted his mind in the hallways of that station were killing him. Especially given that he hadn't had Ava with him at the time. "It makes me feel a little weak." He loosely digressed. "Have you ever felt like that?"

Her eyes clearly mirrored his own images as she thought about a ocean of bodies and a lack of knowledge as to where Marcus could be. "I do. During a rescue mission, we had to go down to a planet where there were many injured. Marcus was among them, but we didn't have contact at the time. The only thing we were told was to expect a number of dead at least in the hundreds... I had to walk out onto the surface of that planet not knowing whether Marcus was even in a state where I could take him home and bury him." She shook her head before looking at him evenly, "I'll cut you some slack and only ask one additional question. Do you promise to always be honest with me, as I will be with you, about anything that is concerning you?"

He rubbed his neck slightly awkwardly. "I uhm... I'm not sure If I can make that promise? I mean you are a great person and well I'm glad I can talk to you about this kinda stuff but it's well... it's hard for me, I've been through a lot, we've both been through a lot." He sighed. "There's just so much I've had to bury within me. Stuff I hate even thinking about, stuff that I fret at the meer mention of. I'm sorry... I suppose I have two more questions, I'll use them both at once. Can we talk more often? Then I can make that promise. I promise it won't be long because well... I really do need someone to talk to." That was really a tough admition for the outwardly strong and tough security officer. There was something about Hanna though, he could relate to her struggles. One of the things he would admit to was losing his fiancee, so he understood how she felt in the moment. He felt that until the last moment and then even more has he held her body sobbing as he was pulled back into a shuttle. The manly facade of Austin had all but shriveled away replaced by his true self but he was scared that she wouldn't accept that part of him. He needed to ask. "Could we you know... maybe be friends?" That was worded awkwardly on his part but the truest Austin was a much more awkward man.

Her gaze warmed by at least twenty degrees as she reached a hand over to place it on one of his own, “The answer to both of those is a resounding ‘yes’, Whidbey. I would be honoured to be your friend and someone you feel secure enough to talk to. Just message me whenever you need to chat, alright?”

A big goofy smile was plastered across Austins face. He really appreciated how nice she was, especially after the mind game they played during 20 questions. "The same goes for you, and you know what I'll try and make it to your ceremony if I can." He shrugged. "Given that it's on Earth it shouldn't be too hard for me to make... if that's allright with you."

She drank the last bit of her wine before getting up from the table, “Not at all. It’s a semi quiet event, but all are welcome to attend. I hope that you can make the time, I’m sure you’d enjoy it.”

He smiled at her. "You should be the one enjoying it. Congratulations on tieing the knot."

She smiled as she picked up her plate and started to walk back to where she could recycle it, “I honestly will accept the congrats as I believe nothing else will make my day better than formally marrying Marcus. I should be off though to check on Lewis, I hope to see you around, Whidbey.” She gave him a wave before heading out into the hall.

He picked up his plate aswell, honestly he hadn't eaten much of anything he was much too distracted by talking with Hanna. He found that friends were always much more valuable then food abyways. "Best of luck!" He added as she walked out the door.

1

C’Sara was in the mess hall, getting some water.

Elias strode into the mess hall, and, having taken a very quick shower, they looked a lot fresher. They proudly held their Section 31 shot glass (though they didn't drink) and filled it with orange juice. They had changed out of their uniform into a dark gray turtleneck and black sweatpants. They were wearing fluffy white socks and no shoes because who needed shoes. Their hair was brushed again, and they smiled at C'Sara, taking a seat and pulling out a PADD. They were content feeling proud of themself and the teams.

They turned to look at Elias. “That was wild, huh?”

"Hell yeah, it was. I loved every second of it. Except for sometimes. Some seconds weren't so great. But yeah, I'm really proud of everyone! Thinking about issuing an order for everyone to take a mandatory leave of duty to rest." They smiled wearily.

“Aw, but I’ve just started work!” They protested.

They raised their hands, smiling. "Alright, it was a thought. I'll exclude you. I'm exhausted, though."

“No, I didn’t mean it! Give me vacation!” They said, smiling.

Their eyes twinkled. "If you insist. And if I find out you've been exerting yourself, will sedate you myself. I'm thinking 1-3 days of shore leave for everyone who took part in this, not just the away teams. The mission was physically and emotionally taxing, admittedly for some more than others.*

“Good luck enforcing that. There’s gotta be some workaholics here that won’t take a break.” The author was talking about Lorin, but C’Sara was throwing jabs at the entire crew.

"Hm." They chuckled. "I probably won't make.it an actual order, more of a suggestion. I'm not sure I have that authority anyway. I can make recommendations, but I can give orders like that just yet." They downed the orange juice and typed away on their PADD, writing down everything that had happened.and wondering if they should send a letter to their family, or maybe Shara. They thought about their friends on the starbase, and wanted to tell Quinn and Mo. But they were probably busy.

“So, what’s you have to deal with on the mission? Someone tried to impersonate my parents and make me think my bio mom and dad came back to life. Like, come on, I’m not stupid. I may be a bit hardheaded, but I’m not that dumb.” They said, going to the replicator and filling their empty glass with apple cider.

"Holy shit, I'm... really sorry, that sounds awful." They listened with wide eyes and shook their head ruefully. "I don't think my team experienced nearly as many wild things as yours did. We found a lot of smoothie machines and this nice guard named Paul on the bathroom. Damn, I guess he's in the brig now. I think of him sometimes. Zapped some people with a phaser, snuck around, nothing too unexpected." (edited)

“Y’all had smoothie machines? Damn, you all had a dang vacation. And it’s fine. I barely remember my real bio parents. I should probably message my mother and thank her for raising me to question everything, because I would not have gotten out if it wasn’t for that.” They replied, taking a sip of apple cider.

Elias merely nodded, realizing how lucky they were that their own parents had survived the tumultuous life in the colony. They got up and replicated a large mug of hot chocolate after cleaning out the shot glass. They sat down and cupped it, breathing deeply as the steam caressed their face with warm hands. "I suppose I should message my own parents..." They hadn't in a while, because of lasting... issues.

“Yep. So, did you do anything cool on the mission?” They asked.

They shrugged. "It was my first away mission, so everything was pretty cool to me! Stole some poker chips, revived Jack after he was stunned, oh, and I did something I thought was pretty cool! I was with some of my team and we had gotten all the guards but one. I snuck uo behind him and stunned him." They ducked their head, embarrassed now that they had said that so proudly. "It was, like, super duper impressive, but I thought it was neat. Lucky shot!"

Guess who was here now! Maggie did a cartwheel into the mess hall, falling onto her head before getting up with a cartoony jump. “I’m here! Party time!” She said before replicating herself a soda and some pie. “Mhm, love some pie.”

Eli looked up and smiled brightly, waving. "Hey, Maggie! Don't make yourself have to take a trip to Sickbay."

“Considering how many doctors we had on this mission, is there anyone even in Sickbay?” They asked.

5

Maggie waved back at them. “Hello Elias! I’m fine! Perfect even! I have a neck thicker then the best exotic dancers!”

Hal came jogging into the mess hall, smiling. She replicated herself some nachos and sat next to Elias.

Elias smiled at Halcyon and gave a little wave. "Hiw are you guys?"

“Doing great! Just had to stop by Sickbay for a moment, is all.” She said.

Skitter skitter skitter. Here he is, the man himself! And proudly wearing a piece of jewelry he might or might not have stolen. It was a silver ring, but he took the time to replicate an exact copy, modify it ever so slightly and add a labradorite to it and make it completely unrecognizable. The real ring itself was still hidden, because he wanted to give it back to whoever was the original owner.

5

"He lives! A miracle." They waved to him cheerily.

Jack bowed and let his hair fall over his face as he grinned, turning to Elias. "Well, if i weren't living then I'd probably be in the morgue right now!"

After being debriefed Elwyn had taken some time to herself, but the moment she heard about a party she immediately dropped everything to go to it. The party android had to party, after all! Entering the mess hall, she was wearing a turquoise knee-length dress with black dinosaur silhouettes all over it, and matching turquoise sneakers.

6

Elias waved enthusiastically to Elwyn, beaming at how many of their friends (even if they had only met them once, they would always mean something to Elias after they all went on that crazy mission together) were coming to the party. "Come one, come all. The more the merrier! Love your outfit, by the way." (edited)

3

Elwyn grinned at Elias and waved back. "Hi Elias!" She greeted cheerfully, before walking over to them. "Aww, thank you! I like yours, too! Socks-only is the best!"

They chuckled. "Thanks. I never knew how fun it was to slide down the corridors in socks. Almost broke my neck a couple times, but hey, it was worth it. Should've seen me sliding in and out of the turbolifts. Pretty smooth, if I do say so myself."

Renakir stepped into the mess hall before Saren, looking around to see a lot of familiar faces. "I'll PADD you after we get back and settle back in to station life," The Romulan-Reman officer told Saren as his eyes looked around the room to see Elias and Elwyn chatting. "Hey Elias, hey Elwyn. Nice dress, I wish I had replicated something nicer than just a clean uniform," Renakir chuckled as he looked down at his plain black clothes which were much less exciting than a dinosaur dress. "glad to see you two seem well. Look who I managed to convince to come," Renakir gestured to Saren.

They gave Saren and Renakir a little wave and a friendly smile. "Hey Saren, hey Renakir!" They took another sip of hot chocolate before speaking again. "Yep, all made it back in one peice. Mostly." They stated, thinking of Voris' missing antenna. "Glad to see the both of you. Welcome to our humble after-party, where we don't wear shoes and drink orange juice out of shot glasses." They raised up their now empty shot glass in a little toast.

5

4

Elwyn waved at Renakir and grinned as her dress was complimented. "Thank you!" She responded warmly, before looking over at Saren and giving him a wave as well. They then looked at Elias' hot chocolate and her eyes lit up. "Is that a hot chocolate?! I'm gonna go get one!" She said excitedly, before going off to the replicator to, well, replicate one.

She walked into the mess hall, looking around.

He offered some nods to all the people who greeted him, after giving Renakir another pat on the shoulder. How sweet of him. "Sounds like a plan," he uttered a reply, then lifting his slightly unfocused gaze up at Elias, mimicking the gesture with his own smoothie. "Ah... thank you." The atmosphere here felt like a particularly prickly sweater on him. Still, it was much better than sitting in his quarters alone, one-on-one with his restless mind and running thoughts. He then looked around, eyes picking out all the faces: "I have a feeling that one particular redhead is somewhere near..." Well, at least his inner Jack-o-radar was still working.

And it sure was. Skittering straight at Romulan, the happy red-headed human embraced him from behind and grinned widely, spinning him around as green met green. "BOO!- Heeeeey!- You feelin' better, bro?"

Spotting Elwyn, she waved.

Elwyn returned to Elias a moment later, hot chocolate being sippy sipped as she smiled happily. "I'm so glad we finished that mission successfully!" She said cheerfully before giving a wave to Lorin.

Jayrehi quietly entered the room, she was modestly dressed in a traditional trill dress, and a healthy pair of sandals.

Eshen, who had definitely been here the whole time making small talk with some NPC, possibly with Allan, walked over to where Renakir, Saren and the rest of the cluster were. He was in a red crop top that had a boob window in it (so, really not covering up that much top-wise) a long, flowy skirt that was a pattern of minimalistic orange and red autumn leaves, and ankle-length lace-up brown woodsman boots, and had earrings that looked like little pumpkins, as well as bracelets with a few amber beads and eyeshadow that was an orange and red gradient, making his gold eyes look like a sunset. He looked like he was going to be exploring the autumn forest - it was nearly October, after all! He addressed all of them when he spoke, sipping a pumpkin spice latte as he did. "Hey, folks! Having a good time? Elwyn, I love your dress!"

4

Elwyn immediately waved at her temporary roommate with a friendly smile, happily sippy sipping away at her hot chocolate. "Hi Eshen! Thank you! I love your skirt and eyeshadow!" She replied happily. "I'm having a very good time! I'm so glad the mission went well! How about you?

3

"I'm great, too! I was tired so I had a little nap and meditation sesh, but now I'm ready to celebrate what a good job everyone did!" The two reflected and magnified one another's enthusiasm and positive vibes as they spoke, like a game of catch with lots of exclamation marks. "At one point the floor was electrified so we just made a giant rubber carpet and catwalked over it!"

3

"Oooh, that sounded exciting! And dangerous!" Elwyn replied with an intrigued and cheerful look on her face. "We had to deal with a sexist guard who said we were inferior! Needless to say we were the ones who restrained and tagged him!" She said with a giggle.

"Sexism? In 2412? Did they break that guy out of cryostasis?" Also, damn, what was with Elwyn getting all the -isms lately? "Well, I'm glad you showed him! I also fought a big beast and won! Actually, it was technically two!"

“Yeah, he absolutely destroyed them.” They chimed in, still sipping their apple cider.

"Ooooh! Well done!" Elwyn congratulated cheerfully before taking another sippy sip of her hot chocolate. It had marshmallows and squirty cream, for anyone wondering. "The sexist guard said Starfleet were 'sigma' and he was 'alpha', and that men ruled the galaxy or something? He sounded silly!"

“And I thought I was illogical.” She commented.

...Alpha? Did he have some kind of kink? But what was sigma about? Was there a new quadrant somewhere? "What a horrible use of the Greek alphabet! We met a young person named Derek who seemed sort of impressionable, like they'd been roped in without fully understanding what they were getting into, and then we met Kerutep, a lethean who was being forced to force us into these elaborate mindscapes. I fought a Klingon in there! I've never fought anything inside my own head before!"

"You fought a Klingon in your head?! That sounds scary! Not to say you were scared, of course! It also sounds maybe even a little concerning in terms of your mental health... But if it was all a mindscape I probably don't need to be worried!" Elwyn replied with a small chuckle and a smile as she pushed a tiny bit of hair out of her face.

"Actually, it helped me resolve some issues I have! Mentally, I feel better than ever!" Unlike some people, he was having a pretty good couple of days! Helped that he hadn't been there when that whole biological weapon thing happened. "By the way, I like the lime and pink in your hair!"

3

"Aww, I'm glad!" Elwyn replied to him saying he felt better than ever. "Mindscapes do different things to different people, I suppose!" She added with a smile. "And thank you, I chose it myself!" She said as she ran a hand down the back of one of the braided parts of her hair.

Once again - he didn't move out of Jack's way, seemingly not noticing a person charging right at him, but at least this time he managed to stay upright. He patted the human's shoulder, pointedly looking away when he replied with: "I am, yeah," because what, that would sour the celebration? But he already disrupted one. Saren also didn't want to worry the people surrounding him. "Heard you were running around biting people." Then Eshen came in, and oh, oh no, the boob-window has made it's return! Now he had to lift his gaze up! He rushed out a quiet "hello there", meanwhile not making any attempts of shaking Jack off of his shoulders, and also Renakir was somewhere right besides him, and-- oh, dear. He was right inside a cluster of tired, happy crowd, talking and interacting. He felt it with all of his being. "They really do," he spoke, relating to the thing Elwyn just said - and judging by his face, he really didn't mean to say that out loud. Saren cleared his throat: "It's-- u-uh. I assume they were all based upon different memories for each individual person, seeing as that is one of the easiest things to work with... for a telepath."

C'Telle walked in, looking slightly uncomfortable and awkward. He was wearing dark green pants and a black t-shirt. His gaze swept over all of them, in an unsure and distrustful way. He hovered for a moment before hesitantly walking over to the group. He looked at each of them furtively. "Hello."

“Hi, C’Telle!” They said, gesturing for him to sit by them.

He hesitated, unsure, before sitting down next to them and giving them a small, reluctant smile. "Thanks."

“No problem. Today was a wild fucking ride- glad that nobody’s gotten mad at me yet.” They commented. They kind of wanted to know where the weedthers were, didn’t Eshen want them?

"Hm." He was reserved, feeling out of place after the whole biogenic weapon thing. Awkward. Like he didn't deserve to be here, even though he hadn't known what it was, and no one was angry at him (he was pretty sure, at least). His body language was tense and he was overall stressed, but slowly relaxing. "It... was. Especially the telepathic thing."

“Yeah, it was crazy. The dude tried to make me think my parents came back to life. Like come on, I’m not that stupid.” They said, making a mental note to message T’Shan.

"Hi, C'Telle! And I said hello to you two earlier when I addressed everyone, but hello Lorin and C'Sara too." He nodded at the gist of what they were saying. "Definitely wild. If you'd like to talk about it any more, my door is always open... At my quarters on the station, that is. Right now I just want to have fun." He wondered if anyone brought any ale.

C'Telle hunched his shoulders. Was he stupid for not realizing it wasn't real? He worried at one of his claws. It had felt so... real. Vivid. Alive. The thrumming energy of the troops ad the celebrated wildly. The adrenaline coursing through his veins. Shining eyes of all colors turning to look at him. He shivered. He gave Eshen a small nod of general thanks. "Hello Eshen." (edited)

“I still can’t believe that guard picked me up like a damn ragdoll. I don’t feel bad about scratching that guy.” They said, picking at one of their claws even though they washed them thoroughly.

Eshen chose not to mention that he could probably also pick C'Sara up like a ragdoll. "Do either of you know any martial arts? Mok'bara, Suus Manha? They both have non-lethal ways of taking people down in case phasers aren't working. Yes, even the first one, the Klingon martial art."

“Nope, but it sounds interesting? How hard is it to learn?” They asked.

His ears perked up. "I don't know any martial arts specifically, but I've been trained in hand-to-hand combat. We never worked on those martial arts, though."

Talk more? Maybe he should consider that. Besides, Eshen said this himself, basically spelled out the invitation to help... Saren should not feel guilty for the possible request that just started to brew up in his mind. For now, he just decided to slip into the background, listening but also not being there, enjoying the buzz of voices all around him. They were pleasant, easy to concentrate on, far less prickly than... just everything around him, it seemed.

They sipped from their mug. "Martial arts? That's interesting! I'm not much of a fighter myself.

"Neither are easy to master, but given a few weeks I could teach you both a few moves that might be useful, if you'd like!" Eshen said to the Caitian Duo. "I've been practicing both my whole life to keep myself fit and disciplined. Don't worry, Elias, you don't have to be - that's what we're here for! Though if you and Elwyn would like I could still teach you a few things for basic self-defense in an emergency."

“Sounds good to me.” They replied.

"I... am willing to try." He admitted. "It could prove interesting."

"Oh my gosh Eshen I would love to learn! And I guess that's true, I'm here to heal people. But it's still useful to know how to, you know, stop someone from killing or injuring me. I'm down." They beamed.

Jack followed Saren around like a lost duckling as he grinned proudly, ruffling his brother's hair as he happily stood beside him. "You sure you're feeling well? And damn right i did! Though i gotta explain to my superiors that i do not in fact have rabies. Because i don't want another shot, really.... Seriously those things do hurt a lot." He replied, adjusting his shirt. In the meantime he had went and debriefed, he went back to his temp quarters and dropped his precious loot there, along with finally brushing his hair and putting on some nice clothes. Proudly brandishing a black shirt with glow in the dark details, black pants, his signature ornate medallion passed to him by his grandmother, a dark brown bomber jacket STUFFED to the brim with patches and a flannel shirt tied around his waist, because that's literally the Bisexual Sign™, Jack do be looking like a bisexual icon. (edited)

5

“Tell me about this rabies thing.” They asked.

4

Eshen looked at Jack and was suddenly struck by the random thought that he'd never done an outfit based on the colours of the bisexual flag. A future project, he supposed! "Well, I'll be in contact with you three about organising a date, then." A date for the lessons, that is, not a romantic date. He had done a four-person date once, but it was with someone he was dating at the time and another couple. It was a very polyamorous occasion. "I should hope you don't have rabies, Jack, or you would be very dead by now. Where would you get it from? Those creatures I fought did kind of look like what would happen if they made rabies itself into an animal... Also, hi, Jack! I still have that comb you gave me! Did you have fun on the mission?"

Maggie had taken a seat in the corner and was practically drowning in sweets. Complete with a plate of Jell-O, some cake, multiple sodas, pie, and some chips. Someone help this woman she’s having too good of a time.

5

"Maggie! Come over here!" Eshen called. She could join the conversation! And maybe share some of those sweets. "We need some eye candy, other than me, and some literal candy."

Renakir was walking around this whole time. Having split off from Saren earlier to fetch himself another smoothie. He was sipping the cool drink as he noticed a familiar face in the corner-- hoarding sweets? That's when he heard Eshen's voice and turned to see his friend and also Jack! They really were all here, how nice. "Maggie, what are you eating?" He asked curiously, wondering what the strange wiggly food was on her plate.

3

He looked at Eshen and grinned widely as he waved at him, chuckling as he crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. "Hi, Eshen! Don't worry, i just yelled at him that i did to surprise him a bit before i eventually just chomped down on his hand. I might've bitten a little too hard on it though, because i was spitting out blood for a while after that!" He laughed loudly, going over to a table and swiping a plate of Jell-O before going back to the group and liters devouring that shit like the rabid animal he was. Halfway through it, though, he heard that Eshen still had the comb he made and choked a little as his face went red. Swallowing, he turned to him and smiled as he stared at him with happiness-filled eyes. "You... You still have the comb i made??-"

1

"Of course! I kept all the gifts I got, from everyone!" Eshen said. "Besides, of course I'd keep a gift from a friend, especially one as interesting as you. Klingons would admire your fighting spirit, you know," he said, as he watched Bright devour the jello like saturn devouring his son.

4

He was late in relation to the time when everything had been organised and the message went out to invite people down here, but the Trill showed face eventually. In typical fashion he hovered in the doorway for a moment, just surveying the scene and who had gathered there. Slowly he paced over to where the majority of people had amassed, not wanting to interrupt any conversation.

Elias smothered a giggle, enjoying the antics and affectionate interactions between the people around them. They saw Maggie and her horde of treats, and immediately got WAY too many ideas. Famished from the mission, they replicated themself a large portion of funnel cake, because they'll be damned if they don't treat themself to SOMETHING after their first mission. When they sat back down, they waved to Jericho, though they hadn't exclusively met him before. They did have a large amount of respect for him already for helping lead the mission. They gave him a respectful nod and smile, gesturing for him to sit. "Hi there! I know you probably know this, but I'm Elias!" They were much more outgoing today, fueled by the excitement and energy of the mission and people around them.

She gave Jericho a respectful nod and went back to quietly sipping the tea she had replicated earlier.

Eshen waved. Hell yeah, cool guy came to the party! "Hi Jericho! You did great today! I'm glad you turned up!"

Jack, in his always untimely manner, grinned and winked at Eshen before he swung around and ran back at the food table to get some more food. However, he stopped right in his tracks to stare straight at Giles. New face!! With a smile, he walked over and happily waved at him. "Hey there!" Of course, he was gonna terrify the new guy!

Just as he was about to ask Maggie if he could try one of the sweets he noticed everyone in the room turning to greet-- Giles?! The man himself! Oh worm, Renakir turned to the Trill and bowed his head in greeting. "Lieutenant Giles, glad you could make it," He hadn't expected the Giles, but he was very intrigued to meet the legend, the man, the worm.

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He had anticipated being able to just sneak over and linger for a moment to see how everyone was doing, and certainly did not expect the welcome. It would have been impolite to decline when people were actively speaking to him... And so he took a place beside Lieutenant Murrow, giving the medical officer a nod of thanks. "We spoke previously, in the quarters while on the way here --" he reminded the officer, but offered a smile to ensure it wasn't taken to be some sort of rude correction. "It's a shame we didn't have much time to speak beforehand, though, so I appreciate the reintroduction. And thank you, Lieutenant K'Tann," he looked to the Vulcan-Klingon in question then, "but it's all of you that I need to be thanking. All of your work today was exemplary."

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"wait." He paled a little and turned to Eshen, eyes wide with surprise as he then turned back to Giles. Hhhholy shit that was Lieutenant Jericho Giles. His confidence literally evaporated as he immediately stopped talking, stopping in his tracks as he shyly looked down at the jiggly plate of jello in his hands.

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"We can thank all of us! Sounds cheesy, but the whole thing was a team effort. It felt so... coordinated. That's not to say nothing went wrong, because it bloody well did, but it felt like we were always moving ahead, one step after another." Eshen looked quite invigorated as he spoke. It was a little 'oh you sweet summer child', the excitement of someone who hadn't been working for Starfleet long enough to become cynical of it, though that's not to say he looked upon the organisation with rose-tinted glasses either. "Not to mention the way we accomplished it - there were certainly some hiccups, but I'm very pleased that, among the fighting and the hacking and all that, we succeeded by parleying with the enemy, in a sense. Saren was instrumental in escaping from Kerutep, from what I've ascertained, and that kind of diplomacy deserves commendation - which obviously I would say, but you know. And I've heard the other team had some amicable relations with a few of the agents as well? Something about a Paul?"

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As the word 'wait' usually entailed, he did wait when Bright said so, looking to the man -- only for their eye contact to be immediately broken when Bright looked down. Giles raised an eyebrow in response - a little concerned and admittedly a little off-put by the reaction, for he didn't want to intrude here - but didn't say anything. The easy alternative was to just focus on the contents of the mission and what Lieutenant K'Tann was saying. All of that brought easy (and less awkward) conversation. "No, you're quite right in that a fair part of things was handled in the way that Starfleet promotes -- diplomacy. There are a good handful of apprehended agents and scientists who have already agreed to cooperate further in questioning, your Derek and Team Two's Paul included, both of which you managed to sway to our side from the start. You're also right about Ensign Morvar's work. Who knows what would have happened had he not convinced that telepath to stand down. And -- even if a fair part of things did seem like it was down to violence, it was still with skill and determination that you handled all of it. Even in the face of non-conventional combat you still all succeeded and thought outside of the box to do so. That's something to be proud of in itself."

Maggie growled from her spot at the seat as she looked at Eshen. “Mhm! I’m hot, your hot, but this cake is hotter!” She said as she got right back to eating her sweets like a crazed rabbit.

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Renakir listened as Giles spoke to Eshen. He was well aware that the Trill was a very competent and skilled officer, but hearing him speak in person and just seeing him was impressive. His focus was completely on them until he heard a random growl coming from-- It was Maggie. Renakir was about to face palm at her comment, but he quickly remembered what happened last time he did that and he didn't have anymore extra pairs of sunglasses. "Maggie, are you alright?" Renakir backed up a little so he could lean over and question the silly human.

Maggie growled at Renakir as she ate more of her cake, before turning to her pie. “I have some nice sweets! Because we did such a good job, I’m perfectly okay!”

"Don't eat too much. I know you're not Vulcanoid but if you eat too many you'll get sick," Renakir knew all too well from his time at the Academy. Maybe he was lucky to be Vulcanoid that he never fell to the temptation of French pastries. They were apparently very good, but Renakir had to pass on most of them unless they were Vulcanoid-Friendly. Some were, but the majority were not.

Jack slowly stepped back and continued eating his jello, but this time he used the fork properly since he didn't want to make a bad impression in front of the lieutenant. However, as he listened in on the conversation, he heard what Saren did and turned to his brother instead. "Bro? You really convinced a telepath to stand down?"

Eshen laughed at Maggie eating the cake like fenrir swallowing the sun. "That's fair." He turned back to Giles. "That's true! We were using our brains and our brawn. Ah, I could go on about it all day, but really it was just - an amazing mission. Jot perfect, but amazing. I am curious about how Starfleet is going to deal with a few things that happened in there, like the bomb, and..." He glanced at the two Caitians. "Well, it's not very good party conversation, and I don't know if you have any more insight into that than we do."

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At the mention of his name the Romulan looked up, finally noticing that Giles was also here. Saren straightened his posture - movement which felt oddly stiff to him - and shook his head: "I just... I just did what I had to do. I don't like seeing people hurt," he stated slowly, as if telling an obvious fact. Feeling lost, he looked towards Jack, shrugging his shoulders, clearly unsure in how to handle the sudden praise. "I just talked to him, not the colony memb-- the Romulan, he was posing as. That is all..."

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He almost winced at the glance towards the Caitians. He had no idea of what would happen next for them next. He had a feeling that they'd be due a talking to once all of the reports were written and a further cold debriefing was conducted, but surely there would be some sort of extenuating circumstances surrounding it all that could be utilised. As for Ensign Morvar's 'that is all,' even if that was all, it may well have been just what was required to save his team. "I'm afraid that I'm just as in the dark as the rest of you when it comes to what will happen next -- but let's not think about that just now. This should be a time for celebration instead. You all-" he gestured a hand vaguely across the group, "-just halted one of Section 31's most major operations that's remained since they were denounced. Don't worry about what happens next. Enjoy your celebrating instead."

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C'Telle huffed and his face turned a dark gray-red when he remembered his actions. Stupid, stupid, stupid. But that was the worst part. He DIDN'T think it was stupid. He didn't think it was wrong. Was he crazy for that? Messed up? (edited)

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"Don't be so humble, Saren. Actually, from one person who comes from a culture not particularly inclined to mercy or diplomacy to another, I'm especially proud of you." He turned back to Giles. "Will do! Are you going to be joining us? You deserve to celebrate, too!"

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They looked over to C’Telle, a glance that both offered comfort and the confirmation that they are well and truly screwed.

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Ranakir sipped his smoothie, looking over between the two Caitians and in his mind he was doing the 'ohhhh someone's in trouble' chant when a kid is unruly in school. He didn't know what they did, but he certainly got the vibe that it was Not Good™️.

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In response to Jericho's statement about how they had in fact met, Elias sighed and rubbed their forehead, taking a massive bite of funnel cake. "God, I'm so sorry, you're totally right. I share quarters with you! Sorry, brain is frazzled. Funnel cake helps though. And Saren was amazing, from what I've heard." They gave him a small smile and a polite nod.

“We should enjoy the party while we can.” They whispered to C’Telle.

He looked over at them, grateful for... well, their company. Another Caitian. Another person to be court-martialed with, if it went that far. Another person like them. He felt oddly... drawn to then. Comforted. He nodded. "You're right. Before everything goes to shit." He smiled ruefully. Yeah, they were in for a ride. (edited)

“You want a smoothie or something?” They asked him. If they did get court martialed together, maybe they could still be friends.

Taking a deep breath, Jack adjusted the ornate ruby medallion around his neck and made his way to Giles before bringing one of his hands forward for a handshake, smiling nervously as he pushed up his glasses. "Hello, Lieutenant-- I don't think I've met! I'm Ensign Jack Nathaniel Bright, but you can call me Jack or Bright, sir." Yeah he's shaking. His hand is shaking a little.

They remembered Jericho’s statement. They may have been a little..un-Starfleet, but they got the job done. “Yeah, I guess we should celebrate.”

C'Telle gazed at C'Sara for a moment, not quite used to someone trying to talk to him so much. (The angst, I know) It was nice. "Erm... sure. I don't know what will taste good though."

"I think I'll leave you all to it," he said and took that as a cue to stand, "but if any of you have any questions about what happened today, or want to talk any of it over, or, uhm, just want to talk in general -- then please do give me a shout at any time. Enjoy the rest of your night." Trust him to have ran half of an away mission with relative professionalism only to be distinctly awkward when it came to speaking to people in person. He turned and headed to leave before he was caught by Bright - the one who had avoided his gaze before. It was with surprise that he found the man offering a shake of the hand. Considering the rather strange interaction they had briefly had before, he wasn't against halting just a moment to speak to the man -- and so he accepted the handshake with hands that were equally unsteady, but that was just in general for him. "Ensign Jack Bright... Aren't you the one who was scaring Section 31 officers off by telling them that you have rabies?" He enquired and raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but the smile he gave was amused. "That's an uncommon tactic."

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His whole face flushed crimson as he chuckled loudly, nodding his head in affirmation. "Yeah, i kind of freaked out at the moment. How much have they told you? Because so far I've only told one and i bit him, so I'm half expecting it to go out of hand with the others." He shook the Trill's hand and gripped it tightly out of instinct, his own grip being on the verge of... Well, uncontrolled. Changing the subject, he smiled and tilted his head, "And you're the intelligence officer that was helping us along with Lieutenant Dagis, right? I couldn't personally hear you from my part, but I've heard that you helped Team One a whole lot."

Renakir snorted when he heard Giles ask Bright about the rabies. He nearly spit out his smoothie, but he turned away so no one could see the look on his face. Yep he was right, Jack had a bit of explaining to do to not just Giles, but Dagis. He turned back around once he could regain his cool Romulan image again and looked at Jack.

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Nope. Eshen saw that. Cool Romulan image: destroyed.

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Oh, so the Ensign actually had bitten someone? While he was quite certain that wasn't in standard combat training at the Academy, he wasn't going to say anything about it. Again, extenuating circumstances and all. If your life was being threatened then you could do some strange things. "Considering how all of those Section 31 agents are locked up together in the brig, something tells me that the rumour will spread quickly. I don't mind... Let it instil a bit of panic into them for a while." It was a little bit cynical, but ah well. He gave a slight shrug and at the same time dropped the handshake, managing to resist a grimace at just how tight the other man's grasp had become. "And yes -- that was myself, the handler for Team One. To be honest, I didn't have to give much input. All of you are a smart bunch and know what you're doing. Besides, they did have their team leader there with them -- and Lieutenant K'Tann was also quite skilled in looking after the team as well."

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They gave Jericho a quick smile before turning to C’Telle. “Strawberry banana smoothie alright with you? That’s what I’m getting.”

"Me?" He was hardly one to refuse a compliment, but he hadn't expected to be called out specifically. "Oh, thanks! I did try and make sure we were all keeping it together!"

“You did really well, in that case.” They commented.

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He turned slightly so he could look towards Eshen and reiterate. "Yes, yourself. There's more to just telling people what to do - and you did that perfectly fine when needed - but I heard you checking up on the team. It was nice to hear. Honestly, I could write an entire list of things that you've all done well. It's not just a could, it's a will. You all deserve recognition for your work today."

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Jack let go of Jericho's hand and grinned as he instead ran it over the back of his fluffy red hair. "Bet it'll spread like wildfire, but again I don't really mind! Might as well put fear into the hearts of the officers, who will remember for years on end: The day the red-headed Starfleet officer with rabies bit one of them. God, imagine." He scoffed and shook his head, adjusting his fucked up glasses as he listened to him. "And oh, come on! Don't belittle yourself, too– You did a mighty fine job directing them around too, even if they're a smart bunch. Look at me, I played chicken with a guy with a disruptor and came out of it alive!" Turning to Eshen and Renakir, he nodded and gave them both thumbs up in approval. You got the official Bright Approval Seal™.

Renakir smiled hearing Giles praise Eshen. Out of all of his friends, Eshen's job was the most enigmatic to him. He knew Eshen had spoken with his father-- with that lawyer, but 'diplomat' was not as cut and dry as other fields. He definitely wanted a chat with Eshen and hearing Giles' praise only made him more interested in his friend's accomplishments. Renakir flashed Bright a thumbs up in return, smiling with all his pointy teeth. Unfortunately for him he could not hide the laughter when Jack mentioned the rabies again, it was a good thing he was almost done with his smoothie. Giles was so kind, praising them all, a big confidence boost for sure!

"The red-headed officer? Be careful, or they'll think you're talking about the Station Commander!" The idea of Mo trying to bite someone like a feisty little chihuahua was kind of funny. Not to roast the man, but he doubted he had the jaw strength to even break skin with some of the tougher races. Wait. Played chicken with a guy with a disruptor? Er, concerning much? He threw Jack a worried look, then back to Giles. "Anyway - aha, that's good news! To be honest, I'd like to be in command of some kind of diplomatic exploration ship one day so it'd be great to have that kind of thing on my resume." Although, if he ever did achieve that dream... The trouble with dating three people was that it was almost certainly probable that they wouldn't all be able to come with him on a journey like that. Hell, he had no idea where his Starfleet career might take him and if they might follow, or if they'd even want to. After all, they all had goals of their own - goals that might take them away from him. Would Aella return to the gamma quadrant eventually? Would Nalas ever be sent to some isolated research outpost? Would Allan get an offer to become the chief engineer of some fancy new ship exploring an uncharted quadrant? He tried not to think about that too much right now, but it was a conversation he'd probably have to have with all three of them sometime in the future. (edited)

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At points he had almost envied Dagis and her team for the lack of wild things they seemed to have dealt with - Heaven knew Team One could have also been doing with a break at the smoothie machine - but hearing Ensign Bright talk about 'playing chicken' and disruptors made him think that his team had been preferable after all. "Well, I'm glad that you escaped that ordeal unscathed," he stated in regards to Bright's comment. "And as for the rest, the least I can do is ensure that your hard work is noted somewhere. I do hope that the fleet gives you further recognition. Now like I mentioned, I'll leave you all to your celebrating... But again-" there was that smile, tired but strangely proud. It was a feeling founded in years upon years of time: a captain proud of their crew, a parent proud of their children, a lecturer proud of their students. "-Thank you all, for your tremendous work."

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"Played chicken with a disruptor is one way to put it," Renakir was trying his best not to break out in laughter. No, he had to be the cool guy everyone knew him as. Although most people in the room knew how silly he could be so was he really fooling anyone? Once they got back to the station he'd have to get Eshen to photograph him with Kali-fal and the disruptor and show it to Bright. "And thank you Lieutenant. It's been wonderful working with you and Lieutenant Dagis and all the Eventide crew. I know most of this will be classified, but I will definitely never forget the time I got smoothies on a deadly mission," Renakir said before taking a big gulp of his smoothie.

“You worked just as hard as us.” They commented.

Listening idly, C'Telle nodded to C'Sara and got up, replicating said smoothie. He felt a but ridiculous holding it, but man, he was too tired to care. He sat down and sipped, trying to melt back into his seat.

Elwyn had happily listened along to the conversation as she sippy sipped her hot chocolate in her nice bright dino dress, smiling happily at what everyone was saying. The praise from Jericho was certainly appreciated, even though she wasn't on his team. Would her team handler come and visit the party? Who knew. Either way, she was quite happy to just be there having a good time with everyone.

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(( Hey are folks going to still be going with this or are you guys happy to get back to 777? ))

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(I am ok with coming back)

Yeah I'm cool with it!//

(Yeah I’m ok with getting back to 777)

(also I’m ready for that talking-to with C’Sara for when they get back to 777)

(I'm chill! Elwyn just vibing)

(lets go home :))

i want my rocks//