Starbirth (Part 1)

Posted on 06 Jul 2013 @ 4:57pm by Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Lieutenant Dawn Meridian & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Commander Andreus Kohl & Crewman Athlen

2,751 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 1, Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD06 1745

[ON]

Things, were strange.

That was as well as Kiri could put it. She didn't really feel like holding a party, however small but she'd already sent out the invites. At least she wasn't doing it on her own. Looking over at Dawn Kiri was able to give a small smile, a real one. Placing a platter of melon ball skewers and shaped pineapple pieces. Toying with the replicators meant she have them form into three dimensional star shapes, if they needed more, she could replicate something. It wasn't meant to take that long, not really, there was twenty minutes before the light reached them. The main viewer screen was showing a small section of space as the ship saw it, pushed up to maximum resolution.

Taking a breath she spoke softly, "Do you think this is okay?" Setting up anything like this was rather hard, last time it had been in a restaurant. Doing the same herself was a mite harder, it was also brand new.

Dawn peered around the room and gave a single nod of approval. "I think so," she said. She'd replicated a bunch of mimosas - only with sparkling white grape juice instead of wine, of course. She'd taken a few sips of hers to be sure the taste was right. Somehow, the replicator had gotten it right for once. Maybe it was learning. Maybe.

Finally, Dawn stood back, surveying the room again. "It looks ready," she said. "It's your call, though."

"It's almost time." Kiri answered as she shot a glance at the screen. Truly there wasn't really any time to make any changes, the drinks looked nice though, whatever they were. Smoothing down her uniform she tried to smile at Dawn but she was actually very nervous, about lots of things. She was right. Before she could do anything else, she heard the sound of the door opening.

Spreading his arms open wide, Andreus Kohl strode languidly through the open doorway. He was clad in a trim Starfleet uniform and had adorned his cheek with a painted-on silver star. Kohl cast his sapphire eyes around the Observation Lounge, and he offered simple greetings: "Kiri. Dawn. Hello!"

"Good afternoon." Kiri answered looking up at him. She hadn't really seen him since they made it back to the ship that morning. It was a little weird now, everything was safer. Much more so with Dawn nearby, why was that? Also the star, it was, a little strange. Merry though, it almost made her smile.

Kohl closed the distance between them to make his pleasantries with both hostesses. It didn't take long, though, for him to be drawn to the food and drink. He was overcome, really, with hunger. He was ravenous for something sweet, ideally with an intoxicating twist. The mimosas looked perfect for that.

Athlen strolled into the lounge a few minutes later, looking vastly different to how he normally presented on duty. His hair was down around his shoulders. He was decked out in a worn pair of jeans gifted to him during his Academy days and a deep black shirt which hung loosely from his frame, patterned in swathes of criss-crossing blue, white and purple. "Good evening." He said warmly to the gathered occupants, smiling brightly. He walked over to the table where drinks and food were laid out and selected an odd fruit on a stick. He spent a few seconds looking at it before popping it in his mouth. Not bad.

Theron entered the observation lounge wearing casual clothes, as he had been asked. He understood the significance of this festivity, but he did not find it an adequate reason. None the less, he had been asked by Kiri to attend. And so, he was here with a pleasant smile on his face. He walked to the refreshment table and picked up a glass of wine and a couple cubes of cheese.

"Hello." Kiri looked over to the two new comers, "I hope everything is okay. I can replicate something else if you like?"

Theron smiled, "Oh, this is fine." He looked about and said, "I can see that you have put quite a bit of effort into your event."

"Thank you." Kiri shifted a small smile for him, did he know about what had happened? No, she hadn't told anyone. Had Kohl, or Watts? Liyar wouldn't would he? Silence hung for a few seconds before she forced it away, "How have you been?"

Theron could tell that Kiri was struggling with small talk. He smiled back, "Busy. After our atmospheric survey earlier today, I had a departmental briefing and then had to choose a new Tactical leader for Gamma shift." He stopped talking and took a drink of his wine; a nice robust red wine. He knew very little about wine.

"Who did you choose?" Kiri tried her vest and this was the only thing that had happened that she didn't know anything about.

Theron tilted his head slightly. It was odd for Kiri to ask about things within the security department. This is good. he thought. "Warrant Officer Amon Mormont. Do you know him?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't." She knew his face, his biometrics, his record to a small extent. Other than that though she didn't remember him at all, she'd never actually seen him in person.

Rhodes continued, "In either case, Rice and I think he will do fine. He knows his craft and will be a fine addition to the Bridge."

Athlen smiled at Kiri and took her off to the side, placing a reassuring hand on her arm. "Liyar wasn't able to make it. They've assigned him to look after some new guest. Diplomats." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "He's asked me to come in his place and extend general well-wishes." Athlen frowned at that. "Or congratulations. I'm not sure what one says at a starbirth party, but-" he grinned quickly. "I'm sure it will be a unique event."

"That is a shame, thank you for coming though." Kiri gave a thin smile, "I hope it will be interesting for everyone." Adding with regard to his uncertainty, "Um, happy pre-main-sequence, it might even be creating planets now."

Maenad arrived looking sullen; she had had a wild day. It began with Liyar having a spike driven through his arm, then she'd fought with him about it shortly after. That afternoon she'd met a Vulcan woman by the name of Naskisem who seemed to despise her in her own Vulcan way, and she'd infuriated Liyar to such an extent she did not know possible. It all bothered her very much. She saw Kiri chatting with Rhodes and Athlen, and Maenad deftly avoided involving herself with the pleasantries of 'hi, how are you' and 'so glad you come.' She gratefully spotted Kohl and went straight over to him. She was glad that he was there; she hoped that he too might have lacked everyone's enthusiasm about this kind of thing.

"Andreus," she said as she slunk up to his side, tapping his forearm with the tops of her fingers. His uniform looked brand new. Hers, comparatively, looked wrinkled, worn for days, and like she might have used them as pajamas. She was smiling at him, though. Brightly. As he turned, she saw the star on his cheek and narrowed her eyes, but was still smiling just as much. "What the hell is this?" she joked with him, not speaking too loudly.

When Maenad joined him, Kohl was standing behind the conference table. He raised a mimosa to his lips, but he stopped short of sipping from it. Despite the table between them and the other guests, Kohl replied to Maenad in equally hushed tones. "I don't totally know," Kohl said, but that didn't appear to bother him at all. "Kiri asked me to come here and she used the word 'star' seventeen times, so here I am..."

Maenad laughed, giving a playful hit on the side of his arm. "I was only joking." She glanced around for a refreshment table, hoping for a glass of wine, or some punch, or something. When she saw it, though, she didn't feel like walking over to it. "Oh." Maenad raised her eyebrows. "Thank you for all your help this morning. I know Liyar didn't seem to appreciate it very much, but he really did," she told him.

"Oh, that? That's duty," Kohl replied. He took a sip of the mimosa, but he winced when it didn't strike him with a kick of alcohol, nor synthehol. In an undertone, he muttered to Maenad, "We're going to need to find wine." After clearing his throat, Kohl continued with his previous subject by saying, "Liyar doesn't have to appreciate it. I wouldn't have even raised my voice so much if I hadn't been trapped in a cavern with him for hours. You try that and see how patient you are afterwards."

"Well, he does appreciate it," she sighed. "He just has a weird way of showing it." Or not showing it all, really, she didn't add. Maenad craned her neck and stood on her toes to get a better view of the refreshments table. "I'll be back," she said, holding her fingers against his arm. She made a gesture of drinking with her other hand and skirted her way toward the wine.

Kohl had smiled warmly with Maenad, and said to her, "We should be social." As she set off, Kohl couldn't manage to stand still. He upended his glass to drink some more, but his feet were fidgety. He sauntered towards where the other guests had congregated. He made a stop at where the food was laid out, to trade in his empty mimosa glass for a star-shaped bit of pineapple. Then, he was moving again and approached Crewman Athlen, who he just-about recognized from the away mission the day before. He offered an old Argelian greeting to Athlen.

Standing by the refreshments, Maenad filled herself a small glass of wine. Everyone seemed to be immersed in the fray of awkward, disinterested, conversation. She curled her lips, wondering what the purpose of being here was at all. Stars were born and died all the time, she thought. She stared out the window at the stars that slowly glided by and downed her glass in a single gulp. She swiveled the shallow backwash before putting the glass down on the table. She had things to do, she told herself. With hardly a shrug, she headed for the door and returned to her office.

Kiri was rather dismayed, Maenad leaving with nary a word, she hadn't even had a chance to talk to her yet. Looking rather distressed after her she couldn't help but feel that she had done something wrong. This was the first time she had really been able to throw a party of any sort. Going to the beach was a big thing, not really that planned. This wasn't that planned but still, she had wanted to spend time with her friends. Wobbling slightly she took a deep breath. With everything that had happened, she wasn't exactly in the best state of mind.

Dawn's grey eyes grew cold as she glared after Maenad, a sudden and surprising fury rising in her chest. She'd gotten the impression that Maenad was Kiri's friend. Why else would she have come to the party in the first place? What was the point of leaving something she'd already resolved to attend? She noticed the sound of her teeth grinding together before she realized, she was doing it. Could she make someone ill just by willing it hard enough?

She shook her head. That was stupid. She didn't have any superpowers, and even if she did, will-sickness was rather lame. She didn't want that anyway. She ate five pineapple slices in a row. She could deal with Miss Breakdown later. For now, she had a star party to... party. Although she wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to be doing.

"It's okay, Kiri." Dawn said, twirling a pineapple-star stick in her fingers. "We have a star to watch, and if Lady Panne would rather fume, that's her loss." Her eyebrows narrowed for a moment. Lady Panne? She didn't know where that had come from - and she hadn't really meant it in a mean way - but it seemed to fit.

It didn't really feel like it was okay but Dawn was right, there were things to do. Forcing a smile Kiri realized that she hadn't eaten anything, all day actually. Tentatively looking over at the food she had put out she looked back to Dawn, "I just, I didn't do anything wrong did I?" Swallowing she looked at the door and then around at everyone else, they didn't seem to have a problem.

Dawn shook her head. "No." she said firmly. "That's all her, I think."

"Evening," Athlen rose his tiny star-shaped pineapple slice toward Kohl in greeting. "I'm not sure what these are, but they're really good." He stuck the thing between his teeth and waved over at Maenad as she ducked through the small crowd and headed out the door. He guessed she wasn't as thrilled about the stars as Kiri was. "I feel a bit like a gatecrasher," he admitted with a smile, "but at least there's wine."

"Why like a gatecrasher?" Kohl asked conspiratorially, as if it were some marvelous secret. He leaned in closer to Athlen, but his gaze drifted. Looking over his shoulder, Kohl stared at the doorway where Maenad had made her exit. He watched, waiting for her return. Using his divided attention as part of the joke, Kohl asked, "Was there a bouncer I missed?"

"Well, for starters, I wasn't exactly invited," Athlen shrugged and lifted up another pineapple. "But, I'm staying for the tiny fruit."

Kohl bit his pineapple star in half and chewed on it for a bit. After he swallowed it, Kohl said, "I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't enjoy your company." He popped the rest of the half-star in his mouth.

"Have you ever seen a star-birth before?" Athlen asked, his eyes resting on the far window.

"Only a holographic recording of one," Kohl replied. He studied Athlen's features and then he followed Athlen's gaze to the viewport. Kohl turned his head suddenly, as if he was about to miss it. He asked, "Have you done?"

"Oh, never," Athlen shook his head and smiled. "It's kind of exciting, isn't it?"

"I am overcome," Kohl said slowly, "with anticipation."

Theron stepped up, not wanting to interfere with the conversation. He found the concept rather silly, but found that others were very interested, which was intriguing to Theron.

"What about you, Lieutenant?" Athlen asked the Tandaran security officer. "Have you ever witnessed anything like this?"

Theron thought to put his best foot forward and replied, "No. This will be my first. I find this gathering quite intriguing."

"It is at that," Athlen replied warmly.

Theron looked at his timepiece, "How much time do we have before the event?"

Not wanting to eavesdrop Kiri couldn't help, but hear them with this few people, they were also right. The time was coming up so softly she spoke up, "It'll be just a few more minutes now."

Theron glanced over his shoulder to Kiri. She seemed slightly tense. He hoped by the end of the event she would have a good feeling about it all.

After casting his gaze across the wide expanse of viewports, Kohl glanced over at Kiri. He excused himself from Athlen, and padded closer to his colleague, his friend. "Where should we be looking?" he asked Kiri.

Looking towards the screen Kiri looked back to them both, "It will be larger on the screen, if you want to see with just your eyes, it'll be very small." Even someone with perfect vision could miss it quite easy without a telescope.

[TBC]

Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Andreus Kohl
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Theron Rhodes
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Kiri Cho
Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Dawn Meridian
Counsellor
USS Galileo

Crewman Athlen
Sociologist, SSC
USS Galileo

Raifi Zaren
Journalist, FNN
USS Galileo

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