The Captain's New Fangs (A Midnight Meeting)

Posted on 11 Mar 2013 @ 1:44am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Dawn Meridian

1,422 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Corridor
Timeline: MD 02 - 2350 hrs

[ON]

Dressed in her uniform's casual tunic variant, Lirha strolled down the corridors of her ship on Deck Four. It was late, almost 0000 which meant that she should have been in bed, but her recent troubles with insomnia had kept her awake far longer than usual. Lirha had discovered several days ago that the best way to deal with her restlessness was to wander the ship late at night, and it also served to give her some quiet time to reflect and look around her vessel. Hands clasped behind her back, she continued to slowly pace down the long and winding corridor.

It was becoming routine: the last session of the day always ended far before the end of Dawn's shift. Even after cleaning up around her office and getting her files in order, she still usually had at least a half hour to kill before 0000. She'd taken to helping out around sickbay after about 2330, although at a time like that, nothing particularly exciting went on. So it wasn't really a shock for her to be leaving sickbay at 2355.

What was a bit more of a shock was the very green person patrolling the hall just outside. An... Orion, if she remembered right. As far as she knew, there was only one Orion officer, and on a ship with so few people, she probably wasn't wrong. Not that she was often wrong, anyway.

So, if Dawn was right, Captain Lirha Saalm was patrolling Deck 4 at midnight. Maybe she was some kind of vampire, looking to prey on the blood of the sick - they'd have a harder time fighting back, after all. She didn't imagine their blood tasted very good, though. Not like hers. Dawn didn't have any garlic, holy water, or a stake. That was... unfortunate. She'd have to try to distract her somehow.

"Hello," Dawn said, as if she hadn't just had a vampire countermeasures discussion in her head.

Hearing a nearby voice call out a greeting, Lirha looked up from the carpet in front of her feet and took sight of the slim dark-haired woman who had just spoken to her. Her mind raced for a short moment while she tried to identify the crew member from the list of various personnel files, and she eventually recognized her as Lieutenant Meridian, one of Galileo's newest counselors. "Hello, lieutenant." she politely replied with a small smile as she came to a stop.

No fangs. There went that theory. Apparently the captain wasn't some sort of mythological predator. Dawn let out a quiet sigh - of relief or disappointment, she wasn't sure. She returned Lirha's smile and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind an ear. "Nice place for a stroll," she said sincerely. She didn't find the fact that the captain of the ship was walking around medical to be at all odd.

Lirha slowly nodded and glanced down the long corridor, taking note of the various gamma shift personnel who were arriving at their posts to relieve their beta ship counterparts. "Yes, I find it relaxing...especially on Deck Four." she replied, then turned back to the shorter woman. "I don't often get the chance to spend much time down here, after all." she added. Lirha's time was mostly spent on the bridge and in her ready room, except for the occasional visit to sickbay or the counseling office.

Dawn tilted her head. She supposed it was rather relaxing. At least, when there wasn't a medical emergency. Or a hostage situation. It was an atmosphere Pola worked hard to provide. "Like me with the bridge," Dawn said. "Although I'm getting the less stressful end of that exchange, I'd say." She smiled. "It's a pre-bed relaxation patrol, then."

"Yes, more or less." Lirha answered, giving the blue-collared woman a small smile. "I have not been sleeping particularly well these past couple of days. Well...weeks, really." she admitted. "So...I have taken to doing late night walkthroughs of the ship to clear my mind."

Do not turn on counselling mode. Do not turn on counselling mode. Dawn nodded slightly. "I know how that feels." Sleeping was always difficult for her, especially in an unfamiliar place. She was slowly adjusting, but... "I normally end up playing music when that happens. Helps me not think for a little while." She paused. "Have you tried the arboretum?"

"Yes...already been there tonight." the captain replied with a wry grin. "Although, I don't think the ducks are overly fond of my presence. They nip at my ankles every time I am in there alone." she added with a bit of levity in her voice.

Dawn gave the captain a grin of her own. "They're probably angry that people aren't allowed to feed them anymore," she said. "I know that would make me a bit... nippy. I guess the halls are just as peaceful as the arboretum at this hour, anyway. Well, except for wild counsellors. And captains."

Lirha let out a light laugh. "Wild is such a subjective word...I prefer the term 'restless'." she replied, then gave the counselor a playful wink. "So aside from the holodeck, what do you do in your free time for recreation?" she asked, wondering what hobbies and forms of stress relief Dawn preferred to engage in.

"All right," Dawn said. "Restless counsellors, then." Restless, wild... both were true. She shrugged, falling into step by Lirha's side. "Music, mostly. Anything musical, really. I play the violin and guitar, and listen to a lot of things. It helps me think." She thought for a moment. "And I used to swim a lot on the Washington, since it had a pool."

"I am very fond of music as well." Lirha replied, "Like you, I find it rather soothing, especially when accompanied by some sort of dance." she added. "And...I do enjoy swimming, but unfortunately such a facility would not fit in our small ship. I used to serve aboard a Galaxy Class as well, and I would be lying if I said I did not miss the amenities."

Dawn gave a small nod, but her grey eyes betrayed a flicker of disappointment. "I suppose there's the holodeck for that, then," she said. "It's a sacrifice I can make for a smaller crew. Everything just feels... more connected. People.. affect one another. It makes counselling once you start to know everyone." She smiled slightly. "It's a bit scary, actually."

"I believe much of that feeling has to do with the ship's small size; Galileo only has seven habitable decks, so crew members see and interact with each other on a daily basis...unlike larger starships where weeks can pass without seeing the same crew member again. Personally, I think it helps build camaraderie and efficiency." Lirha said, giving her expert captain's opinion.

"That makes sense," Dawn said. She rested one of her hands on her hip. "I think you're right, for the most part. It's really easy to get to know people. It makes me a bit protective of the crew." She paused. "It's also to avoid anyone you're not getting along with. So you have to work things out or things will eventually go terribly, terribly wrong. I think that's a good thing, though."

"Yes, I concur." said the captain thoughtfully, then reached up to push a loose strand of her dark hair back behind her ear. "Well lieutenant, I should probably get going." she added with a small, apologetic smile. "There is more of the ship for me to wander before bed, and I do not want to keep you from your activities."

Dawn returned Lirha's smile. "Fair enough. A captain's got to make sure her ship's in tip-top shape." She gave a respectful nod. "It's good to finally meet you, Lirha. I see the ship is in good hands." Non-vampire hands were the best hands. "I guess I'll go try to counsel my pillow. It's... seen things."

Lirha let out a soft chuckle and reached out to gently squeeze Dawn's arm. "It is good to finally meet you as well. And it is a good thing that pillows can keep secrets." she replied with a wink, then turned on her heels and headed for the turbolift, casting a final wave of her green hand to the young counselor.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Dawn Meridian
Counsellor
USS Galileo

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