The Games People Play, Part I

Posted on 09 Mar 2014 @ 3:00pm by Lieutenant Elijah Williams IV, M.Sc. & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov

3,206 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Williams' Quarters, Graysan's Quarters, Geology Lab and other various areas
Timeline: MD 57 1630 Hrs

ON:

Keval had been looking forward to another meeting with Elijah. He was fairly certain, though he did not know for sure that the other man was gay, but that didn't really matter. He wasn't looking for a date, though he did think the Pinkskin was cute, just a friend. Sure he had semi-flirted with the man the previous day, but he did that a lot.

This time when he approached the door he was dressed far more appropriately. Though still not in uniform, he was dressed in gray slacks and a maroon Mandarin collared shirt, sans paint and comfortable moccasins on his feet.

He pressed the chime and waited.

Elijah pulled a dark blue henly on just as the chime went off. He ran his hand through his hair, gave a quick glance in the mirror and breathed out. "Come in," he said as he ran a hand down the length of his body to smooth out his top and khaki colored trousers. The doors parted to reveal the Andorian. The man looked much more formerly dressed compared to last time, Elijah liked it. However, there was a very small part of him that was hoping to see that paint stained shirt again. It was a weird thought, but he couldn't help it. "Hey there."

"Hi," Keval responded. "Are you ready for the Grand Tour? It's a small ship so it shouldn't take long. We have a new lounge figured we could end there, And you re a geologist. I remember now. See I was paying attention. It must have been your dashing good looks that threw me earlier."

Rolling his eyes, Elijah shook his head and chuckled. Keval was flirting with him, it was obvious now. "I am ready," he said. "Sure, it might be a small ship but still is nice to know where everything is."


"Sure, well, I'm not sure we're allowed on the bridge right now, but the res of the ship is up for grabs. We can stat in the labs if you like. They do take up a large portion of the ship. Then engineering and operations. Security maybe depending on who's on duty, Then the bar.

If we have time, we can even take a little side tour to my studio."

"Alright," Elijah nodded, "sounds like as good a plan as any." Honestly, he was more interested in the labs, the rest of the ship had just been operational stuff, which didn't really interest him. He was interested in the bridge, but he wasn't a bridge officer and knew that gaining access might not be the easiest at the moment. "Lead the way," he said as he lifted a hand toward the door.

"Sure," he said as they walked out into the hallway and towards the turbo-lift. "Are you aware that there are security areas in all the public areas?"

Elijah shook his head, "that seems like a little much. Is that the norm on starships?" Honestly, he wasn't sure what the norm was when it came to starsihps.

"Pretty much standard fare I'm afraid. Big Brother and all of that. The company I used to work at built some of those systems. I was actually in the brig with someone that didn't realize this and got busted for getting caught doing something very private in a not so private setting.

An eyebrow arched. Did he want to press further? It did seem like a rather personal thing. "I suppose if you do nothing wrong then security isn't an issue," he said. He was sort of uneasy by this admission, but he also understood. Starfleet had gone through hell over the past 20 years, things like security areas in public areas were to be expected.

"Well I designed, or help design some of them and I'm uncomfortable about it. And if you're wondering why I was in the brig, I'll have to tell you over dinner."

"Alright," Elijah said. He was intrigued but there was hesitation on his part to admit to that openly. Shyness had accompanied him wherever he went.

"It's okay Lieutenant I don't bite and I can assure you I am quite harmless. The labs are this way, pretty close to your quarters."

Elijah furrowed his brow. "I don't think that, in fact I don't even know you well enough to form an opinion either way." He was beginning to think the tour was a bad idea. He shook his head, he was never one to get defensive but he didn't like when someone pointed out something that wasn't even thought about.

"Sorry sir, if I said something stupid, I'm a little nervous. I ramble when I do that. Can we just start over?"

"We aren't in uniform, so you don't have to call me sir," Elijah said. The whole 'sir' thing was something to get used to. In his lab back on Earth, he was hardly ever called sir. "Besides, why are you nervous?" he shrugged, "there is no reason to be."


"I get nervous around people I find attractive si... Elijah. So yeah there is kind of a reason."

"Attractive?" Elijah shook his head, no, he wasn't attractive. Average, his best feature was his eyes, but certainly not attractive. His cheeks reddened and felt warm. A moment hung in the air between the two, "again, still no reason to be nervous."

Keval grinned, "Yes attractive Elijah, but I promise I 'll try not to be nervous. The labs are up one level on Deck three. Have you seen them yet?"

Elijah nodded, "lead the way." Though the geology lab was on deck four, the general/all purpose labs were on deck three. He was sure he would spend some time in the general labs as well. "Look, the reason why you shouldn't be nervous is because I am just an average guy. I am shy yes, introverted yes, reserved yes, but I am also easy going."

"Well I'm glad that you're easy going,"he said as they entered the lift,"but you're looking at this all wrong. You don't have to be a leading man to be attractive. There's more to beauty than mere looks."

"Sure, I know that," Elijah said. Though, he wasn't sure if he really knew that. "But I don't think I am looking at this all wrong," he continued as he kept his gaze forward. "I mean, you don't really know me so all you have to go on is my physical looks." He turned to his attention back to the Andorian, "now I'm rambling... or over-thinking. Probably over-thinking." He returned his attention forward.

"I am usually a pretty good judge of character. Usually being the key word. But I can get a bit pushy sometimes and a few people have suggested I'm a smart ass. but I don't know if I believe them. I tell you what I'll be good and we won't talk about anything even remotely personal until dinner. deal?"

Elijah nodded. "Deal," he said. Though he wasn't sure how personal he wanted to get with a person he barely knew. For now though, he was perfectly content with just talking shop.

"Okay, "Keval said as the lift doors opened. Why don't i give you a few minutes to play around the lab and I go get us something to drink. What would you want?"

"Iced tea," Elijah answered. Though he wasn't totally comfortable drinking in the labs, he still accepted the offer. He entered the lab and looked around, it looked like a lab. There were workstations and microscopes and a large monitor affixed to the bulkhead. It would just take some getting used to where things were.

Keval came back a few minutes later with two paper cups with lids. iced tea,lightly sweet. Don't know how you take it, so I just guessed. I've got a nice pumpkin latte if you don't like the tea."

Elijah smiled as he took the cup, "I am sure it is just fine, thank you." In the south sweet tea was still very much the norm and found in most households, including his own. It was one of the few traditions in the south that carried into the 24th century. He sipped, it was sweetened perfectly. "This lab is something else, all nice and new and pristine, state of the art equipment." He looked to the Andorian, "how is it starships always get the best stuff."


"You probably don't want to get me started on that," the Ops officer said, "I didn't exactly follow the traditional course to get here. To be safe I'll just say bureaucracy has its benefits. At least for some people."

"Let me guess, another conversation for dinner?" Elijah smirked. He turned his attention back to the lab, "in retrospect I am new to the Starfleet game. I mean the Academy doesn't really prepare you for anything except for protocol, rules and how to say yes sir and no sir and sound sincere while doing it." He sighed as his shoulders sunk almost in defeat, the answer was probably never going to be a clear one. "Ah well, it is what it is."

"You'll get used to it Elijah and yes my feelings about bureaucracy is best left to a more private conversation. Over dinner of course."

Elijah nodded his understanding. "Well then, shall we continue?" It was a small vessel, he couldn't imagine the tour taking any longer than an hour if that. Besides, if he was going to be honest with himself, he didn't really care about other areas of the ship. He would be spending his work time in a lab, but it helped to know where things were. Nevertheless, he suspected the tour was a ruse by Keval just to spend time with him.

Keval of course was no mind reader. If he had been he would have found himself agreeing with the human, or at least admitting to the accusations. As it was he was an efficient tour guide and they were done in just over an hour.

"So how do you like your new home Elijah?"

"Small," Elijah stated flatly. "But... nice," he concluded. Doubt had begun to creep up on him like a monster in the shadows. The Galileo was a little too small but he would just have to get used to it. As much as he wanted to leave Earth, starship life was going to be much different and much more restrictive. Nevertheless, he liked order and consistency so this would suit him. At least that was what he would be telling himself until he fell back into a routine. "Thank you for the tour Keval, it was very helpful."

"I'm glad you liked. Listen I know we talked about dinner and I'd still like to do that. but I'm really not that much of a cook. So maybe we could try the new lounge. However, the one area I do enjoy is baking. And I fixed some cookies before I came. Would you like to try some?"

"You had time to bake cookies?" Elijah asked. It was an odd thing, but it wasn't an unwelcome one. "Sure," he said, "and the lounge is fine for dinner." At least the lounge was more of an open space then most of the ship.

"This morning before my shift. I'm an early riser, I had oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip. Hope you like one of those. Anyway my cabin is this way."

"Alright," Elijah said. "Lead the way," though he wasn't totally comfortable with going to the other man's' quarters.

Keval led the way to the Enlisted Crew's quarters. As they moved he lifted s small prayer to several deities that his roommate, Victorian would not be there. Not that he didn't like the man, he did, but he sometimes had the habit of not wearing clothes, which he thought Elijah might find objectionable.

They arrived a short time later and to his relief his roommate was not there.
"So, come in, come in. Make yourself at home."

Elijah stepped over the threshold and allowed the doors to close behind him. He stood there a moment, taking in the small room. "Okay," he stepped forward and slid into one of two chairs that were at a small table. "Nice place," he commented.

"It's okay, I guess," came the answer, "But I can't say I do much more than sleep here, or paint. I'm usually out and about otherwise. Would you like to see my latest,' he paused putting up air quotes, "masterpiece?"

At first Elijah couldn't imagine being 'out and about' on a ship this small, but then the quarters on board were less than desirable to stay in for any huge amount of time. "I would," he nodded. "Does your roommate like the paintings? It must add some nice color to the space."

"He tolerates it any way." Keval led the other man over an easel in he corner of the small room. There half finished was a painting of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. A red sun hung low on the horizon, its rays stretching out onto the whiteness of the canvas.

"I'm trying to get just the right shades of blue for the sky and sea. It doesn't help that I want to create a little hazy effect."

Elijah studied the painting for a moment, tapping a finger against his chin as he did so. "Well what about taking mariana blue and mixing it with a touch welkin blue. The welkin will lighten the mariana and may give you the desired look you are going for."

Keval's smiled then and held up his blue fist with his thumb up. "Yeah that would be perfect. Do you... are you a painter?"

Keeping his gaze on the painting, Elijah shook his head. "Not really," he turned his attention back to the man standing next to him. "I try, just never really pursued it to get better."

"You know if its something you like you should pursue it. I mean the first time I tried it looked like a drunken, spastic, four year old throwing a tantrum had painted. I'm sure yours was better than that. " He went over to the small kitchenette and opened a small oven.

"Don't tell anyone about this, the Captain can be a bit of a tight ass at time and this isn't exactly regulation. Though my roommate is his yeoman, so maybe he'd cut me some slack."

Elijah really hadn't even thought about it, it didn't even cross his mind really. Besides, who was he going to tell? Command officers didn't care about the junior lieutenant who sat in a geology lab. What he didn't say about the painting was that his parents quickly squashed that out. His father thought studying and partaking in art was a big waste of time, whereas his mother was a bit more open-minded but went along with her husband. "Your secret is safe with me," he said. It wasn't much, but he couldn't honestly think of anything else to say.

"That's good to know," the Andorian said with a smile, "You've probably been told this a million times, but you have the most fascinating eyes. Would you like to pose for me sometime? I am really trying to work on my portrait technique."

Elijah laughed, it was something that bubbled up and before he could restrain it, it was leaving his lips. Him? Pose for a painting? When he realized he was being stared at, he sobered. "I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you," he said. "No one has ever said my eyes were fascinating, let alone ask me to pose for them." He put up his hands in a placating gesture. "Honest, I wasn't laughing at you."

"It's okay, my blue skin is pretty thick. I could take it even if you had been. And just for clarification, I was talking about your face not anything risque. Unlike some of the crew here I know how to keep it in. that is to say I know how to show restraint."

"I didn't think otherwise," Elijah said. It have never occurred to him that posing would involve anything risque. "I understand, I show a lot of restraint myself." More than you can even imagine, Elijah thought to himself.

"Good, I am glad we're on the same wave length so to speak. Would you be free in the afternoons sometime? I must confess I am really drawn to your eyes. I'm not sure why. But forgive me, I am being rude making off hand remarks like that and besides I was going to offer you a cookie. I have oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip. You have a preference?"

"Chocolate chip is good, thank you," Elijah said. The Andorian kept dishing out the compliments and he just wasn't sure how to take them. Though, he had to admit to himself, it was nice to hear. Compliments didn't come easy from his parents and the only validation he ever got was from good grades and hard work. "Yeah, I have some time," which was the truth. He didn't have anything else to do besides work. He took the cookie that was offered and bit into it. He was not a sweet eater by any means, but cookies were a weakness. He practically moaned as he tasted the yummy morsel. "Oh these are good... very good!" He took another bite.

An easy smile came to the Andorian's lips. "Thanks, for the endorsement." he said as he bit into his own oatmeal raisin one. "Why don't we plan to spend a couple of hours a day till we get done. I've found that people get tired of sitting in one place for a long time. But i don't think it will take more than a couple of days.

In the meantime, what are you in the mood for food wise and do you want to go to one of the lounges or would you like to eat here?"

If the Galileo was a larger starship he would have stayed in the other man's quarters to eat. But as it was, they were cramped enough, hell his were cramped even. "The lounge is fine," he said.

"Fine, that works and remember. I owe you that story of how I wound up in the brig. But then you have to come up with an equally embarrassing story."

"And what if I don't have an embarrassing story?" Elijah asked. Honestly, he couldn't think of anything, he was a man who kept his head down and kept to himself. He was one who was very careful not to do anything embarrassing.

"Well then, you can just tell me something interesting about yourself I guess. Or we'll figure something out that can work as payback Don't worry."

The geologist nodded slowly. "Alright," he said not really sure what he could share. He was the most uninteresting man he knew, even his career was just studying rocks and formations of those rocks. "Sounds like a plan."

OFF:

Lieutenant JG Elijah Williams IV
Geologist
USS Galileo

&

Chief Petty Officer Keval Graysan (zh'Erinov)
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

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