Meeting in the Storage Closet

Posted on 27 Jul 2014 @ 5:23am by Lieutenant Elijah Williams IV, M.Sc. & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D.

1,605 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Geology Storage Room
Timeline: MD 07 - 1400 Hrs

[ON]

Elijah Williams wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. This was all so damn frustrating, they were everywhere, everywhere and there was no end in sight. He couldn't even begin to fathom how the crew was going to handle this or eradicate the little furry beasts. Parts of the ship, including the mess hall, were almost completely unusable. But, the Tribbles were everywhere now, in replicators, in sonic showers, under the beds, in the jefferies tubes and it just went on and on. Even the deck of the geology lab was almost covered.

So now, here he was in the storage closet eating his lunch. To his amazement there had only been a few in there and he easily kicked them out. Now he could eat in silence, no Tribble chirping to bother him. Throughout the last couple of days he either stepped on one or sat on one a dozen times already. But now, now he found a small sanctuary though he knew it wouldn't last so he had to take advantage of it while he still could.

True enough, not fifteen minutes into his meal, the doors to the storage hissed open and what appeared to be a large box with legs appeared. Shuffling into the storage room, the box turned to reveal the blonde man behind it as he stared out into the corridor.

"Come on, Landi! Here girl!" he urged and, after a second, a grey puppy stumbled in after him. A few Tribbles tried to get in but Oren immediately intervened, gently tapping them with his foot to keep them outside with an "Oh, no you don't!"

Finally, the doors closed and he moved further into the storage room, finally setting the box on top of another one with a grunt. The damn thing was heavy.

With the crate finally below his eye level, Oren spotted the other man and realised he wasn't alone in the room.

"Oh! Hello there!" he greeted, reaching up to push his bangs out of his eyes now that they've begun to stick to his forehead from the perspiration of hauling the box over half the ship. "What are you doing in here?" he asked as his eyes fell to the lunch box in Elijah's hands. "Oh."

Just as he was about to take a bite out of his sandwich, the doors parted and the swear that wanted to escape was left held back. Elijah hardly ever swore, this is what Tribble infestation was doing to him. It left him an anxious mess. "Yeah," Elijah said. "Just eating my lunch, the storage area just happened to be a Tribble free zone," he offered as an explanation. He then looked down at the gray pup and smiled.

Noticing she was someone's center of attention, Landi began wagging her tail happily and went over to Elijah to investigate human, sniffing at his feet.

Oren smiled, watching the puppy. He'd felt bad leaving her in his quarters so tried to have her with him most of the day while training her to behave herself. He'd even gotten her a science teal collar with a little tag in the shape of a commbadge.

He nodded to Elijah. "Yeah, they are getting out of control and I'm starting to lose my sense of humor about it. I mean, they're adorable, but annoying." He opened the crate, looking through the contents.

Elijah reached down and began to scratch behind the puppy's left ear. "I'm Elijah Williams by the way," he said. "I think everyone is losing their sense of humor concerning those furry buggers. That's why I am in here."

Elijah's name was familiar but he couldn't quite place it. Shrugging it off in his mind, he focused on the conversation at hand. "Oren Idris. Yeah, they're as cute as they are annoying. Cuteness is probably their self defense mechanism," he theorized.

"So what do you do on the ship?"

"I'm the ship's geologist," Elijah answered. He didn't mind answering, there were a lot of teal collars running about the Galilelo it was hard to place who went where. He still was learning names. "Though now it seems like I am doubling as Tribble catcher," he chuckled. He then switched topics, it truly was enough about the Tribbles at this point. "How are you finding our little ship and the department?"

"Honestly, I'm really liking it here," Oren said, hopping up onto the crate in front of Elijah. "But I'm still feeling my way around with people. It takes some getting used to, basically living with the people you work with. It's been a long time since I did that."

"Yeah?" Elijah said. "It's new to me, this is my first ship board assignment, I am still getting used to it actually. I know the ship quite well but still don't know many people on board." He shrugged and then took a bite of his sandwich, chewed then continued. "I didn't truly realize how small the Galileo was until I boarded her. All starships look large when you are looking at them from a viewport."

"Ugh, I know, right?" Oren said, shaking his head. "Personally, I prefer planets, because I love nature, but a starship is more exciting," he added. "I do have to say I prefer a smaller ship than a bigger one, though. Eventually you meet almost everyone and, even with transfers happening, it still feels more intimate and friendly. I like that."

"I agree, though you are talking to a guy who doesn't mind getting lost in a crowd," Elijah said. "I haven't been here that long but I have to say it's growing on me, I can honestly say that I am starting to call the Galileo home."

"That's nice." Oren smiled, watching Elijah for a second, still wondering where he'd heard his name before, then it hit him, along with the guilt that accompanied the memory. "Oh! You're Keval's Elijah!"

"Keval's Elijah?" Elijah shook his head. "Is that what he said?" Again Elijah shook his head and found himself getting kind of miffed to know that Keval would say anything. He calmed himself. "Keval and I are friends," he said. His words were neutral, he never came off as one who was defensive. "He showed me the ropes around here."

"Oh," Oren just said and felt he'd made a big mistake mentioning Keval. He could just feel Elijah discomfort the minute the Andorian was mentioned. "He didn't really call you that. He just mentioned that the two of you were seeing each other." He didn't dare give him details of what Keval actually told him or what transpired in the Arboretum. Later on he'd love to convince himself that it was out of empathy and because he didn't wish to hurt Elijah's feeling, but really it was cowardice; he didn't want to cause conflict between himself and his fellow scientist.

"Keval and I have different ideas on that subject," Elijah said. His mood was just getting darker and darker, he would have to find someone else to hide. He stayed quiet for a few moments longer than typical in a conversation. He didn't want the wrong thing to slip out. He reached into his bag and pulled out an apple. "Would you like an apple?" he asked. Unsure of whatelse to say.

Oren shook his head, regretful that he'd even brought anything up. "No thanks. I think I'm just gonna go. Leave you to your thoughts," he decided, hopping off the crate he was sitting on. He stepped over to the crate he'd brought in and took out a few wrapped up items. "Sorry I caused you distress," he said sincerely, balancing the items under one arm before calling Landi over and picking up with the other.

"No need to apologize since there was no distress caused," Elijah said rather nonchalantly. "But, suit yourself, it's a darn good apple," he placed it gingerly back into his lunch box. "I guess I will see you around then." He wasn't sure what just happened but he wasn't going to question it. Though, bringing up Keval was an odd subject to him, but the other man seemed to have more a hangup on the subject then he did. He smiled and waved to the puppy. "Bye bye cutie." He then looked back up to the other man. "It was nice to meet you."

"It was nice meeting you too, Elijah," Oren returned. If anything, it was enlightening, and not in a good way for Oren. Elijah seemed like a really nice person and, if he was being honest with himself, Oren was a little uncomfortable having knowledge about him he hadn't shared personally.

"I look forward to working with you," Oren added, feeling Landi wagging her tail in his arms due to Elijah's attention.

"Same here Oren," Elijah said. He gave the puppy one last wave, gave a nod to Oren and then went back to eating his lunch.

Oren nodded back and finally left the storage closet. Once he was sure the door was closed and he was safely out of Elijah's sight, he placed Landi down onto the floor and sighed.

"I think I'm in deep trouble, Landi," he told her seriously, but she just, in true puppy fashion, waggled her tail and yipped at him. But Oren wasn't bothered, he knew she was judging him. He could see it in her big, wet eyes.

[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Elijah Williams, IV
Geologist
USS Galileo

&

Oren Idris, Ph.D.
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

RSS Feed