Warrior's Mess (Part 4 of 10)

Posted on 30 Apr 2015 @ 6:39pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy & Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D.

1,821 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: IKS CharghwI' - Deck 18, Dining Hall
Timeline: MD 01 - 2255 hrs

Previously, on Warrior's Mess (Part 3)...

"Truth be told, Admiral... I knew this was not going to be anything like my last assignment. I imagine once I settle in, things will be less jaded from my perspective," Gyce admitted hopefully.

Smiling slightly, Lirha raised her silver mug of bloodwine towards the Bajoran in a half-cheers. "To settling in. It always comes easier than we think," she mused. "For better or for worse."

"I'll buy that," the Bajoran agreed as she raised her mug and then took another sip.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Dru had just been wandering aimlessly around. She had slowly realised that Markum wasn't here and in a way she couldn't help the sadness she felt at this. he knew that he wasn't the best for social gatherings but still...

As her eyes moved around the room she was able to pick out faces she knew from her last placement on the ship but as soon as she moved to intercept, they disappeared back into the crowd.

One person though wasn't so easily lost given her green skin and black hair, the reason the counsellor now found herself at a table. "Admiral and....I'm sorry I don't know your name." The first words were directed to Lirha and the last words directed to her table companion.

"Of course," replied the Orion with an inviting smile to the counselor she knew very well. It was a strange feeling to see Dru again on the ship after she'd been away for so many months, but it was comforting to have her around. Old thoughts began to pass through Lirha's head and she shook of a mental sigh of content.

"Lieutenant Benice," Gyce supplied with a welcoming smile. "Pleased to meet you."

Dru returned the smile with a strained one of her own as she took the seat and tilted her head to look at the food which they both shared. Watching the wriggling mass made her stomach churn as momentarily she felt like she might loose the contents. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, you both seemed deep in conversation when I was approaching."

"Nothing of importance Lieutenant," Gyce brushed aside. "The Admiral simply wanted to get to know one of her new crew members, since I really wasn't all that visible during shore leave."

Lirha nodded and chewed on a piece of bread before washing it down with a healthy gulp of bloodwine. "Yes, the lieutenant here is a member of Starfleet's Security Investigations branch, and I believe she is the first of her unit to serve aboard Galileo."

Smiling at this as she folding her arms on the tabletop and leaned forward slightly, "That's intriguing, I can't imagine that such a small ship like USS Galileo is much in need of a security investigations officer?"

"It's more precautionary than actual need," Gyce admitted with a smile and wave of her hand. "But if someone gets lost or Prophets forbid a very notorious crime occurs, you've got someone on hand that knows how to profile criminals and narrow those suspect lists far faster than your average Starfleet Security officer."

"And what do you do with your time in between waiting for events which may require your attention?" Dru tucked a loose piece of her hair behind her ear and she felt her stomach threaten to heave again as someone passed behind her with a dish which smelled revolting.

"I've a few personal cases I'm working on at the moment, that occupy my time," Gyce answered. She was deliberate in not giving much detail. Her investigations into Seleya were turned into a private thing, no thanks to one of her superiors declaring her racist and paranoid.

And she as kosst was not about to drag Stace into this. So Gyce took extra caution in giving nothing out to people she did not know all that well.

Dru raised an eyebrow at the responce. She wondered what personal cases could indicate but decided not to prod anymore. Instead she turned her attention back to the Orion at the table. "And you Admiral...your days must be vastly more busy now than before."

"Quite the opposite, actually," Lirha answered with a casual shrug. "Being a commanding officer is much more demanding than a mission advisor. My days are now spent reading over task force and intelligence reports, and dealing with administrative duties. Captain Holliday, on the other hand, is now the busy one."

"I saw him just before I was reassigned to the ship. He's his normal grumpy self I noticed." Dru said this with a small smile as a shadow passed over her eyes. "Aside from a few changes in personnel and the faxade, not much has really changed around the old girl."

Lirha smiled privately at Dru and tried to suppress the feeling of affection which were not bubbling to the surface. The two of them had spent many long hours together in the past consoling and taking care of one another, and it still felt strange to the rear admiral to see her back on Galileo after her recent transfer.

"Galileo is the same, yes. For better or for worse," she replied. "We have some new personnel who have joined us, and some of our old have departed. Such is the way of Starfleet life, I suppose." That was putting it lightly, especially considering Lirha's own wife was one of the recently departed.

Dru couldn't help but feel that there was something more that she couldn't put her finger on. Lirha was normally an outgoing woman, reserved when she needed to be but there was something different about her this evening.

Not wanting to say anything in front of Gyce, nor wanting to jump to conclusions given it'd been awhile since they'd been together, the counsellor let her feeling slide. "We will have to meet for dinner when the crew is all back together and you can catch me up on all of the news."

"Yes, perhaps," she winked at the counselor. She didn't want to commit to an entire evening of conversation at the moment especially since it would take quite a while to go over all the recent happenings aboard the ship, but she was happy to entertain her old friend over a few drinks when the time presented itself.

Looking between the two women, Dru looked around at the rest of the packed room, "I'll going to go try mingle a little bit more. Lieutenant it was good to meet you, Im sure I will see you again soon and Admiral...." Dru smiled in Lirha's direction, "...make sure to keep in touch and don't bury yourself in paperwork."

"No promises," replied Saalm with a playful and genuine wink. Being buried in paperwork was her day job now, and it was easier said than done to avoid it. But...she supposed, she could probably spare a few minutes from her days to spend some time with her friend and former lover. "Enjoy yourself," she called out while Dru walked away.

Deciding on what appeared safe, Wintrow had opted for a small plate of what he assumed to be Targ meat and a glass of what he assumed to be water. Seeing a woman turn a little green in the face, he approached and offered her his glass instead. "are you alright ma'am?" the teenager asked softly, not wanting to embarrass her.

Having wandered away from Lirha and Gyce in order to try mingle with others, Dru found herself surrounded by food in each direction she turned. Normally she would have no issues with the delicaices of other races but right now it seemed that she couldn't stomach them all that well.

Turning as she heard someone address her, the counsellor hesitated for a moment before attempting a small smile. "I'm fine thank you. Just...takes some getting used to."

"Would you like some water ma'am?" the youth asked, holding out his glass to her, "I haven't touched it yet. And I heard the Targ meat is reasonably safe for weak stomachs."

Smiling her appreciation, Dru took the offered glass and helped herself to a small sip of the water. "What is Targ meat? Or do I want to know?"

Momentarily taken aback by her question, Wintrow stared down at the plate in his hands. "Uhm...meat from a Targ, I guess," he stammered, "but I haven't tried it yet, I'm only told that it's reasonably safe to consume for non-Klingons."

Dru paused for a moment as her thoughts turned to the baby. Was it safe for him or her. As realisation turned to where her thoughts lay, the counsellor went slightly white as she too another sip of water to try and give herself a brief moment. "I might pass...I don't have much of an appetite lately."

Dark eyes studied the woman, then he nodded. "I understand ma'am," he answered softly, "it happens... I haven't been having much of an appetite lately either."

Not knowing the man, Dru wasn't certain whether or not to read into his statement. There could be any reasonable explination for his lack of appitite, look at her own situation.

"What is your job when you're not making conversation with strangers?" Dru smiled at this statement, hoping to help pull the man a little out of his shell.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Atlas

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Chronos

Ensign T'Vanna Murray
Chief of Operations
USS Aventia

Lieutenant j.g. Naois Mercy
Chief Medical Officer
USS Nautilus
[PNPC T'Vanna]

CPO Tyrion Faye
Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC T'Vanna]

Cadet SO Wintrow Paragon
Helmsman
USS Galileo
[PNPC T'Vanna]

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Assistant Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign K'os Beaumont
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Executive Officer
USS Nautilus

LCDR Allyndra Warraquin
First Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Luke Wyatt
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

CPO Keval Grayson
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Grayson Jones
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Emmarie
Asst. Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

PO2 Eva Kovalev
Propulsion Specialist
USS Galileo
[PNPC Zhao]

LCDR Norvi Stace
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

ENS Janna Voutilainen
Stellar Cartographer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Olsam Mott, M.D.
Acting Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Crewman Apprentice Sigrid Thelin
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC K'os Beaumont]

LTJG Benice Gyce
Security Investigations Officer
USS Galileo

LCDR Dea Mialin
Commanding Officer
USS Aventia

LT Jared Nicholas
Linguist
USS Galileo

LT Min Zhao
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

AMB Solene von Lanthen
Diplomat
USS Galileo
[PNPC Khnailmnae]

CDT Nesh Saalm
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC Khnailmnae]

Arandon Khnailmnae
Botanist
USS Galileo

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