Seeing Double

Posted on 21 Jul 2014 @ 4:35pm by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Ensign Jaana Voutilainen
Edited on on 22 Jul 2014 @ 8:41am

1,647 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 7, Callisto Bar
Timeline: MD6, 2026 hours

[ON]

Instead of returning to her quarters after her shift, Tuula decided to attend to a more pressing matter: her rumbling stomach. She had heard about the Callisto Bar, and thought they might have some culinary offerings that could sate her hunger.

Alone at a table for two, Tuula was reading her PADD, enthralled by a fascinating article on the Bolian digestive system as she waited for her food to arrive. Aha, she thought, so this must be why Zuwtt is so full of--

"What happened to your hair?" asked a nervous looking crewman, a PADD in his hand and a shocked expression on his face. Tuula was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't notice the dorky guy with way too big glasses approach, even from her position in the corner, facing towards the entrance.

"It's called style, perhaps you should try it sometime," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm and indignation.

"I... see," he said, a perplexed look on his face, as he pulled out the chair across from Tuula to sit down. He stared beyond her dark eyeliner into Tuula's blue eyes. "You look... different. Is something wrong?"

"Well, some jerk is insulting my hair while I'm trying to read, but apart from that, everything is peachy."

"I... I..." the man stammered; he was caught off guard by Tuula's attitude. Somehow, it wasn't what he was expecting.

"There's plenty of people on the ship; why don't you go bother someone else," she added, rolling her eyes, hoping he would get the message.

"I'm sorry," he said, a perplexed look on his face. "I must have made a mistake." With Tuula staring up at him, he nervously backed away for a few steps then turned and briskly walked to the door.

"What's his problem," Tuula muttered to no one in particular, but loud enough for the people at the next table to hear. A yellow-clad crewman glanced over, but quickly turned back to his drink in an effort to avoid making eye contact with the creepy girl at the next table.

Tuula chuckled ever so slightly at the young man, took a sip of her orion amber tea and returned to her article. But before she could finish, she was interrupted again.

"Have you seen my date? I was suppose to meet him 5 minutes ago here." Jaana asked her sister. She had been running around the ship all day meeting many people.

"Jaana?" Tuula was surprised; she didn't realize that her sister was on board. "Oh my god... come here and give me a hug!" she exclaimed, pushing herself away from the table and extending her arms in Jaana's direction.

"Surprise, didn't you get my message about my transfer?" Jaana leaned over, giving her sister an awkward hug.

"No, I didn't." That wasn't necessarily true, Tuula had managed to get a week of shore leave between assignments and had thus fallen behind on official correspondence. It was probably still languishing unread in her inbox, along with other information such as the personnel files about her colleagues and the identity of her roommate. "Now, what's this about a date?" Tuula was a little surprised; Jaana had always been a private individual, and the last time they saw each other she was single and not looking. "You know, I'm your twin sister. You have to tell me about him; is he as cute as I'm imagining?"

"I have no idea how he looks like, but it probably isn't much." Jaana said as she sat down on the opposite chair. When she saw her sisters questioning look she continued. "A former colleague set me up with her brother when she heard I was stationed here. As a farewell present."

"Sounds exciting," replied Tuula as she looked around. She didn't see anyone fitting the description, but looking at the bar she saw a plate being served up by the chef. "I've got some food on the way. How about we have a little date of our own until he shows up?"

Jaana chuckled and accepted with pleasure. She hadn't eaten in quite some time.

"One sashimi special," said a waitress, placing a plate of raw seafood in front of Tuula. "Bluefin tuna, spiny lobe-fish, and Klingon octopus," she added, pointing out the items on her plate. "And can I get you anything?"

"No, but thank you." Jaana said before she put a piece of fish in her mouth. "So, when did you arrive?"

"Just a few hours ago. I haven't even been to my quarters yet. Whoever my roommate is, I hope they're okay with my harp playing. And my collectibles," Tuula added. "Say, have you seen my latest addition? It's a set of 19th century catheters. It's very fascinating, how they used to--" Suddenly, Tuula remembered that not everyone was as interested in antique medical devices and their uses as she was. And that some people weren't as comfortable with graphic descriptions of medical procedures as she was as a surgeon. "Sorry. I hope I didn't ruin your appetite."

"Ruin my appetite? That's not possible."

Tuula smiled. Jaana even liked lutefisk, that horrific creation that was their homeland's contribution to the downfall of man. "Oh yeah? Well, if this won't, nothing can. Guess who I had the displeasure of meeting earlier today?"

"Your department head?" Jaana asked as she took another bite. She hated guessing questions.

"No. Well, yes, but that's not who I was thinking of." Tuula took a piece of raw octopus between her chopsticks. "Do you remember Ardon Zuwtt?"

"You mean your ex Zuwtt? That creep that broke your heart all those years ago." Jaana looked at her sister with big eyes.

Tuula took a second to let the raw octopus slide down her throat before responding. She had never told Jaana the real story behind her breakup with Zuwtt. She had never told anyone. "One and the same. Can you believe they let that pig into Starfleet?"

"Did you talk to him?"

"God no," replied Tuula, disgusted at even the thought. "He called me on my comm badge to meet him in the mess. He tried to talk to me, but I just turned and left. Can you believe the nerve of that guy?"

Jaana chuckled for the tone in her sisters voice. "How could he?"

"He's a jerk, that's how." Tuula rolled her eyes; she was rapidly getting tired of talking about him. Partially because it was Zuwtt, and partially because there were secrets there that she had never told Jaana. It was hard for her to keep something from her twin sister. "Say, check this out," she said, in an effort to change the subject. Tuula unrolled her left sleeve, revealing a tattoo of a dagger with a flower in the background on the inside of her forearm. The tattoo was laid out such that the bloody tip was positioned over her wrist. "Fresh ink. What do you think?"

"Wow," Jaana said enthusiastically. "It's truly amazing..." Leaning back she continued, "...that they found room for it."

"It may not be much, but I still got some real estate left," said Tuula, giggling at Jaana's joke. "My body is a temple, and I'm just decorating the walls." She knew that Jaana wasn't into body art, but that no matter what, she would at least be supportive of whatever she did with her own body. Well, maybe not everything, Tuula had one secret that she had been keeping from Jaana for six years. "You know, you should get one sometime. It's very... exhilarating. Or better yet," she teased, knowing Jaana would never go for it, "we could get matching tattoos."

Jaana laughed hard at that suggestion, causing the people on the table next to them to look at her. The two of them were quite a sight; at first glance they looked very different. A casual observer might have a hard time imagining why these two very different personalities might be not just sharing a table, but laughing, joking, and chatting about boys together. It was only upon closer examination that one could tell that they were sisters. "You haven't lost your sense of humour I see. I'll get one when Easter and Pentecost fell on the same day, ok?"

"Fine, I'll make an appointment with a reputable artist." Tuula looked at her chronometer. "What time did you say your date was supposed to be here?"

She watched the time displayed at the wall. "15 minutes a go." She took a piece of tuna. "I probably missed him. I was already late."

"Well, if he's this late, he's not good enough for you." Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. "Wait, has he seen a picture of what you look like?"

She thought about it. "He might have. His sister took a lot of images that evening."

A guilty expression appeared on Tuula's face. She felt really bad, doubly so because Jaana so rarely dated. "I... I think I might have scared him off."

"How so?"

"Before you came in," started Tuula, trying to explain. "Some guy came up to me. I think he thought I was you. And... well, I know how some people find me scary..." Tuula trailed off. She knew that sometimes people we're put off by her appearance; sometimes she wished people could see the real Tuula underneath. Of course, other times she liked to be alone. "I'm so sorry. I'll... I'll find him, I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Don't worry about it. I never wanted that date. You know I hate dating." She leaned back in her chair. "You just help me in getting rid of him." She said with a smile.

A mischievous grin appeared on Tuula's face. "I think I can manage that."

[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Jaana Voutilainen
Stellar Cartography Officer
USS Galileo

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