Meeting Some Crew

Posted on 23 Oct 2014 @ 1:32am by Lieutenant JG Cyrin Xanth & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Jonah Chaparral M.D.
Edited on on 26 Oct 2014 @ 2:59am

1,969 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: Starbase 84 - Promenade
Timeline: MD 7 1830 Hours

[ON]

Cyrin looked out one of the viewports on the Promenade at the aesthetic lines of the USS Galileo, his nose pressed against the transparent aluminium. He'd overheard that the ship was finally coming out it's quarantine,, but his temporary quarters were in the bowels of the station and didn't have a window to see if he could catch any sign of movement within. The scientist had hurried up here to get what he had hoped would be a good view, pausing only long enough to make sure his uniform was neat and his ensing's single gold pip was bright and polished. Cyrin wasn't disappointed at the sight when he got there.

Her web-shaped saucer looked sleek and advanced bristling with sensor technology. Cyrin could just make out the astrometric sensor package from where he was standing. Bright lights lit her registry and her name, and many of the interior lights were still on despite the fact that he'd heard most of the crew had already disembarked for shore leave. The slim engineering section, along with the raised and tapered nacelles, boasted that this ship was capable of high speed for a science vessel. Altogether, a very different ship from his last post.

"She's beautiful," Ensign Xanth said aloud, his voice filled with bottled up excitement. He'd been waiting nearly a month now, and it was finally time to start an adventure! Well, after shore leave of course.

"She is," Aria Rice grinned as she moved up to Xanth's side. She had seen the Trill look at the Galileo. And Aria was proud of that. Sure, she was a bit battered up with the retrofit and all that jazz, but hey ho! Still a beauty. "And she runs pretty quiet too. Of course, we're taking care of some stray tribble stuff..." she grinned, rocking back on the high heeled boots she wore. Aria had shed the uniform within five seconds flat and instead gone for tight jeans and a corset, with a jacket over. Her hair had green streaks in it and was dead straight. She had taken her time for oh so many reasons. More because she was hitting the bar like no one's business.

Jonah was pretty much along for the ride and just glad to be off the ship. Most of the crew was okay. He just needed to spend a little time away. He was civilian and oh so glad of it now. He needed a fresh perspective and getting drunk with a few of his shipmates, thankfully none of the command staff, seemed just the ticket.

Cyrin turned to look at the two people who had approached and offered a shy smile, "Galileo crew? Glad to meet you. I'm transferring on board actually." He held out a hand, first to Aria and then to Jonah, his grip firm but his eyes a little nervous and averted. "Ensign Xanth, astrophysicist."

"Dr. Jonah Chaparral , I'm the ship's epidemiologist and token pain in the ass."

At the next table, Tuula winced at the repeated mention of the Galileo and her crew. She had come to what she thought was one of the quieter establishments on the promenade precisely so she could drink alone and get as far away from the Galileo as she could. As bad as the bullying from the command staff and the chatter about her surgical techniques floating around the ship were, none of it compared to the fact that Jaana wasn't talking to her at the moment.

But, seeing as the Galileo seemed to follow her around, she realized that it was only a matter of time before she would be recognized and drawn into the conversation, so she might as well get it over with. "And I'm Dr. Tuula Voutilainen, Medical Officer on the Galileo," she said as she turned to face the other table.

Jonah gave her a smile. Though not a mind reader, he felt much the same way about the ship as she did. The XO making a big deal out of something that she knew next to nothing about. Ranting and raving cluelessly. Making them take part in useless exercise that would do nothing in real life and was nothing more than a pain in the ass.

Aria looked over at Tuula, a bit uneasy, and a bit annoyed at herself for not noticing her at once. Truth was, she wasn't going to be trusting the woman anytime soon after what she had seen in sickbay. Jonah she just didn't know, he was as much of a stranger to her as the new Ensign, but the doctor she had stayed away from since the unfortunate incident. She smiled to hide her uneasiness, looking over at the new person she had met. Let it go, Aria, it was a month ago. And it's certainly not your place to poison a new member of the crew's opinion about anything, she told herself before nodding. "Really nice to meet you, Xanth! I'm off to one of the watering holes to meet up with some of my like-minded Security lot...yes, sorry..." she grimaced and shook her head. "Security. I promise we are like 50 shades cooler than we make out to be. But come and join us if you want some randomness..." she winked to him before pulling back. "Toodles!" she winked, walking away to get to where she was meant to meet Mormont and Stark, in one of the noisier bars where she could cause some real damage on the dance floor.

Cyrin had promised himself that he was going to make friends on this ship, but he hesitated and before he knew it, Rice was gone. Still, there were other shipmates right here and he was determined to make a good impression. "It's a pleasure to meet you both," he replied to Voutilainen and Chaparral. Hoping he wasn't imposing and that he could strike up some conversation, he moved from the viewport to take a seat at the doctor's table. "How long have you two served on board?"

'Not long," Jonah replied, "only a couple of months. I just joined when the Galileo was in the middle of her latest mission."

"Same," said Tuula, pushing a chair away and pulling herself up to the table. "Though I've seen more than enough excitement since then."

Glad he wouldn't be the only relatively new face around, Cyrin asked, "So what's it like, serving on board the Galileo? I overheard some stuff, something about a problem at a mining facility?"

"That was quite an experience," Jonah replied, "I didn't go down on any Away Missions, I got there too late to be included in that. But the problem, was one I've never encountered, except in a bad holo-vid. Zombies, we ran into zombies."

"It was creepy," said Tuula. "...and fascinating! I got a lot of data on my tricorder when these ancient energy-based beings desperate for physical bodies began possessing tribbles. I can't wait to analyze it further; I could probably write a whole paper on these creatures!" Seeing Jonah's expression, Tuula could tell that her enthusiasm was misplaced. "...it sucks for the miners though; I feel bad about them."

Zombies, ancient energy beings, and tribbles? Cyrin wasn't quite sure but he got the feeling that the pair was having a laugh. He might not get out much or have a lot of experience behind him, but zombies? If Cyrin ever saw one of those mythological creatures from old human cultures in real life, he knew he'd do nothing but run the other way. "I'm looking forward to the chance for some research as well," he said. "Finally might get to do things on my own without some constant supervision. But glad to see the Galileo made it back in one piece."

"Barely," replied Tuula, downing the remainder of her wine. "This shore leave couldn't have come soon enough."

Both of the others seemed rather down about the mission it seemed to him. Whatever had really gone on, it looked like to Cyrin that there was plenty of tension. He had intention of getting himself mixed up in any of that. All the ensign wanted was to do a good job, impress his superiors, and maybe make some friends.

The Trill cleared his throat and cast about for a change of topic, "Uh...did anyone see Rigel beat Denobula in last week's soccer match?"

"Not really a football fan," confessed Tuula. "Though one of the nurses was listening to the game in sickbay. It sounded like quite a match."

Having not done so well with making small talk, Cyrin shifted in his seat, "Well I uh...I'm really looking forward to working with everyone. I mean um, when the next mission starts." If they weren't soccer fans, he'd probably do better to not bring up other sports too. That left him little else to work with besides the sort of talk that usually took place inside a lab. Maybe it was time to cut his losses for the time being, and see if maybe he could get a more enthusiastic response later. Cyrin reminded himself that they were just going on shore leave themselves, while he'd already had a month, so it was understandable that they seemed tired to him.

Jonah turned towards him with one of his devastating smiles, after all the man was cute,"I like soccer," he commented, "sorry I missed the game though. How did you like it?"

Cyrin smiled in return, beaming, but for different reasons, "It was great! The Denobulan forwards were tough, but the Rigellians pulled it off three to two with a goal in the last four minutes. Well worth a watch if you can get a copy beamed to you." As was typical, the Trill was oblivious to what might be going through Jonah's mind. "Anyways, I uh...It was really nice meeting you both. If there's anything I can do to help, I'm happy to! I'd be interested in seeing your fascinating scans from the last mission too." Cyrin grinned at Tuula, and though he certainly didn't specialize in the biology of non-corporeal life forms, he was good at physics and the idea intrigued him.

"Come by sickbay sometime and I'll show you my data," replied Tuula. "I'm usually there on alpha shift; we can get your physical done with then as well."

Jonah would have preferred giving the man his physical though it would have been an unofficial one since he was not Star Fleet and since his examination would have been an entirely different sort. So he said, "Yeah I'm usually there too. If you have a copy of the game bring it along. Maybe we can watch it in my cabin later."

Cyrin stood and gave a nervous smile to both of them, "I-I'll try. Thanks for the welcome and I'm s-sure we'll be seeing each other on board heh." He looked between them briefly, nodded his head, then headed off with another, "Goodbye!" He'd probably be a mess too going either to Sickbay - doctors could be scary - or to watch a game with Jonah - there was something in the way the man and looked at him that made him nervous. More nervous really.

Seeing Cyrin disappear, Tuula turned to her last remaining drinking companion. "Strange," she muttered. "Am I really that scary?"

Jonah looked over at her and smiled. "You don't look scary to me at all. I'll even buy the next round."


[ OFF ]

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen, M.D.
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Cyrin Xanth
Astrophysicist
USS Galileo

Jonah Chaparral
Epidemiologist
USSGalileo
[PNPC Nicholas]

Ensign Aria Rice
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

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