Criminal Minds

Posted on 29 Mar 2013 @ 2:43am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm

2,655 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 03 - 1345 hrs
Tags: command, intelligence

[ON]

Sitting idly in her ready room, Lirha let out a soft yawn and leaned back on her couch, propping her feet up and closing her eyes for several long moments. Her shift was barely half over, but somehow she had managed to spend the past few hours plowing through her daily administrative work and now found herself with nothing to do. It was as good a time as ever to take a short nap, she decided, and curled up against one of the cushions in preparation for a half hour of rest.

Unfortunately, her body had other plans for the Orion captain, and her stomach suddenly grumbled loudly. Lirha's eyes snapped open again and she glanced at the chonometer, realizing that it was almost 1330. She would have preferred to not eat for another hour or so, but another rumble from her belly told her that such a delay was not likely going to happen today; Not if her cranky stomach had anything to do with it.

She slowly swung her toned legs off the couch and sat up, then stifled another yawn as she rose to her feet to move towards her replicator. Pondering her mid-day meal choice, she suddenly remembered that there was something special going on in the mess hall for lunch and dinner. Something called 'Orion Cuisine Appreciation Day', if she remembered correctly from seeing the signs. Lirha wasn't one who often visited the mess hall for meals, instead preferring the privacy of her own office, but if there was any chance of possibly acquiring a home-cooked Orion meal...she definitely needed to investigate.

Exiting her ready room and crossing the bridge, she made her way to the turbolift and entered, then took a short trip down to the deck below where the doors swished open and deposited her on Deck Two. With her hands professionally clasped behind her back, she strolled down the corridor until she arrived at the mess hall, then stepped through the double doors and made her way inside.

The smells of delicious food filled her nostrils and she nodded politely to several crewmen as she moved closer to the galley to inspect the various dishes. Next to the sandwich bar was an assortment of soups and salads, but her eyes lingered on a strange new dish that she spotted. They looked very much like...Ferengi crab rolls? Could it be? she wondered to herself. Lirha hadn't had proper crab rolls since the last time she went on vacation with her family, but they were one of her favorite delicacies...ones which unfortunately did not replicate very well.

Grabbing a plate, the captain piled several large rolls on her dish along with a small sandwich and a mix of salad and fruit, then anxiously moved towards a vacant table in the corner and took a seat. Without any delay, she picked up a crab roll and took a big bite, after which she hummed with satisfaction as the flavorful seafood played across her palate.

"I don't suppose that seat is free?" Siren Hex watched the familiar woman as she bit the inside of her lip. She had no idea if it was 'done' to bother the Captain for a seat, but hell, there wasn't any free tables and she was starving. The plate she held was piled with a selection of pretty much everything. Food was still something of a luxury to her, as well as exotic. She was finding out she was 'picky' according to what other people said, but it was mostly because she wasn't used to all of the different stuff available. She gave the Captain an almost playful smile, appealing with it as she lifted her eyebrows with hope. "Please?"

The sound of a nearby voice prompted Lirha to look up from her meal and she quickly noticed a red-haired crewman hover slightly above her. Judging from her gray collar, the woman was part of the intelligence department, but unfortunately Lirha was not familiar with her yet. Perhaps a new transfer from SB-185? she wondered to herself, then motioned with her green hand towards the vacant seat. "You are welcome to join me," she said in between bites, "Crewman..." her voice trailed off as she waited for the woman to identify herself.

It took a moment for Siren to realise that the trail off meant she should fill in. She sat down, sliding her plate onto the table with a smile. "Oh! Sorry, Hex. Siren Hex," she offered her hand casually over to Lirha, not even considering whether it was etiquette or not. Her hand was tilted up though, ready to grip the hand rather than shake it. "Newbie, I'm afraid."

Lirha gave the woman a small smile and extended her own green hand, awkwardly clasping it in a strange handshake. "It is nice to meet you, Miss Hex." she replied. "I admit I am not too familiar with the latest personnel changes...did you recently arrive on board Galileo?" she curiously asked, then took another large bite of her crab roll.

Siren nodded with a half smile to that. "Yes. I'm just getting to know the place really. I've never been anywhere with such a choice of food, that's for sure," she shook her head, watching it with appreciation. Having no real choice on her home world, it was always overwhelming. "It's not often you see an orion as skipper of a ship," she watched Lirha with open curiosity, but also with warmth. "I'd say a beautiful Captain must have a very becoming advantage," her eyes shone as she sipped her drink, arching an eyebrow.

Lirha blushed and her cheeks turned dark green after hearing the compliment. The new crewman was quite attractive herself, and her red hair was fascinating to the captain. It was a rare trait seen in Orions and even Humans, and she stared at it for several long moments. "Thank you." she answered politely with a smile. "I suppose it gives me somewhat of an advantage...but there is still a stigma about Orion women which floats around the quadrants." she added with a grin and a dismissive wave of her green hand. "As for food...do you not have protein replicators where you come from?" she asked curiously.

"Very few. And the ones we have left are controlled by the more powerful - cliques," the word sounded better than 'gang'. "We traded a lot of food in, but it was food that travelled well. Solid bars of blandness," Siren arched an eyebrow, smiling as she shook her head. "Nothing like this. I've never had any of this before. You seem to be enjoying it though," she nodded to the other woman's plate.

Powerful cliques? Lirha wondered to herself. That sounded odd. "Would you like to try a Ferengi crab roll? They are quite good." she offered, pushing her plate gently towards the crewman and inviting her to take one. Finally, Lirha's curiosity got the better of her and she had to ask, "What exactly do you mean by 'powerful cliques'? It sounds strangely familiar to some sort of crime syndicate, similar to the ones found on a few of the Orion colonies."

Siren searched her eyes for a long moment, a weak, wry smile coming to her. "Not really much different, I suspect," she reached out, taking the roll. She took a bite, closing her eyes to concentrate on the taste, savouring it as she ate. "That's so good," she shook her head with a soft laugh. "I didn't know what I was missing. I'm going to become fat, I can tell already," she chuckled, watching Lirha for a long moment. "No point in avoiding it, it's all in my file. I come from Nyx, a human colony. It's gang run, has been for a long time now. Needless to say, Starfleet life is *very* different."

"Nix..." Lirha repeated to herself, searching her memory for any knowledge of the world. She suddenly remembered reading various intelligence reports throughout her career about the place, but had no first-hand knowledge of the planet or its society. She knew it only by name, nothing more. "I cannot say that I am familiar with that world...although I have heard it mentioned before." she paused for a moment to watch Siren enjoy the crab roll. "Gang-run? The entire planet?" she asked, a bit incredulously.

"Uh huh," Siren nodded, finishing off the roll before reaching for her drink, sipping it carefully. "Story goes that there was sickness, that it broke down the government. Gangs took over and it's been that way ever since. I couldn't tell you how true that was, it's just a story. Loads of people can't even read or write, so they rely on what their told. Crazy, huh?" she watched the Orion with curiosity. "I hear that Orion culture is pretty wild too."

The captain smiled widely at the funny misconception. "Wild might be an overstatement, but we do have a very unique culture." she replied, looking into her clear blue eyes. The woman was awfully beautiful, and Lirha couldn't help that her foot discreetly twinged in appreciation. "I will be happy to share information about my race with you. But in the meantime...how is a planet completely run by organized gangs? Were they never approached by the UFP for another governing body? How are they able to control such vast spaces of land?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

Siren watched her with surprise at the interest, tilting her head as she considered. She leant close to her, resting her chin in her hand, so she could keep their voice soft and between them. "The colony was independent. It wanted nothing to do with Earth or the Federation. Then everything collapsed from something so simple as alien flu. Not long ago, Starfleet did approach us. We have mining facilities you see. We trade what we mine off planet. Whichever gangs control the mines, controls the supplies. Thing is, Starfleet weren't very subtle. They came in and tried to make a deal with the most powerful gang, I guess they thought that it was the way to get to the mining facilities. Thing is, it just made all the other gangs unite against them. Although getting them to unite over anything was pretty amazing, so I guess they should get some credit there," she laughed softly, shaking her head. "And they were preachy. Really preachy about government and democracy and peace and human rights. I think they thought that because education had broken down that we must be less intelligent than them...that we couldn't see they just wanted a system of government in place so they could get a deal going over the mining facilities. The others didn't like that much. So they were told to get off the planet or get shot. Their choice," Siren shook his head with a sigh, her eyes distant for a moment. It seemed like a long time ago, but it wasn't. Not really.

Lirha watched Siren intently as explained the political dynamic of the world called Nix. "I see." she said with a hint of disapproval in her voice. She didn't like the sound of a planet controlled entirely by criminals, nor the idea that Starfleet has been so careless in its negotiations...which had apparently been met with little success because of that. "And...you grew up on that world? Were you part of one of these gangs?" she asked

"The Hex gang," Siren said lightly, shaking her head with a small smile, making her red hair fall forward over a shoulder as she leant to her. "How I got my name. I didn't have parents. Don't know why. I was picked up and raised by the Hex gang. I was lucky," she said with a half smile, holding her eyes for a long moment. "Both of us, coming from - diverse cultures, and yet we've both ended up here together, on this little ship. Pretty heavenly, hm?"

Letting out a light breath, Lirha couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness for the crewman sitting in front of her. She had apparently been raised as an orphan and instead of having proper loving parents, had been subjected to a criminal influence ever since she was a kid. That had no doubt been somewhat traumatic on her, she thought, and Lirha felt sympathy for her.

She looked back into Siren's eyes and held her gaze for a while, her ears warming at her words. "Yes. Heavenly is a good way to describe it." she answered with a genuine smile. "If you do not mind me asking, what prompted you to join Starfleet?" she proceeded to ask.

"Living pretty much underground with a gang of ruthless power players who you wouldn't trust as far as you could throw them, wouldn't you?" Siren laughed softly, shaking her head as she looked down. "One of the Starfleet Officers that came down in the negotiation attempts, even though they'd been told to get out, he offered to take anyone with them who wanted a second chance somewhere else. I liked him, he was a decent guy, and he had guts to ask. No one went of course. It stuck in my head though. The idea that I could go somewhere else, travel in the stars, do something worthwhile that stretched my brain a bit. And it had to be better than Nyx. I suppose that part's not much different to anyone else, right?"

Lirha thought back to her own teenage years when she first decided that Starfleet was the career path she wanted to pursue. "Yes, I think you have a good point." she answered with a wry grin. "And your 'family', the Hexes...I assume they were not happy with your decision to flee the planet and their organization?"

Siren looked down at that, a small smile pulling at her lips. "No," she admitted. "Especially the two I drugged on a trading trip to steal the shuttle to get to Starfleet," she whispered, quirking an eyebrow.

"Very clever. And discreet." Lirha replied with approval. Someone with that type of resourcefulness would no doubt fit well into the intelligence community, the captain thought. Clearing her throat and looking down at her half-empty plate, she realized that she was already full and it was probably best that she return to her duties. "Well, I unfortunately must return to the bridge. My shift does not end for another two hours, but if you are free later, you are welcome to stop by my quarters and we can exchange more stories?" she offered to the red-haired woman with a raised eyebrow.

Siren watched her with surprise but smiled warmly, tilting her head, not having to consider it. "I'd love to," she said quickly. "So long as I get to hear all about you, I've bored us enough with my story."

"Of course." the Orion answered, happy to share her own experiences with whoever was curious. She slowly pushed herself back from the table and stood from her chair, then slid her plate all the way in front of Siren. "Enjoy the crab rolls." she added with a grin. "I will contact you when I am free later." she said, then gave a polite nod and proceeded to head out of the mess hall and back towards her duty station.

Siren's eyes were fixed firmly on the woman's body as she moved and walked away. She tilted her head with a smile, appreciating the view before laughing softly and reaching out to finish what she had left. "Criminal, having a Captain that good looking; it will lead to distracted ship's hands..."

[OFF]

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CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Crewman Siren Hex
Intelligence
USS Galileo
(NPC - Lt. JG. Scarlet Blake)

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