Chance Meetings

Posted on 23 Jun 2012 @ 6:34pm by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Oliver Sylver

1,739 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Decks 4-6, Turbolift
Timeline: MD 07 - 1850 hrs

[ON]

Lamar walked hurriedly down the corridor of Deck 4 on his way to the cargo bays two decks below. As he walked, he looked around in somewhat surprised shock as numerous gold-collared crewmen and civilians were suddenly present on the deck, many of them still wearing their lab coats or casual clothes with clipped on ID badges. Like the other senior officers, the chief had been briefed on the details of the transfer, but to finally see all of the new personnel and crates of belongings they had in tow was a bit unnerving. I feel bad for Ops, he thought to himself with a shake of his head and a mental chuckle, then weaved his way in and out of an upcoming crowd and proceeded to the turbolift directly ahead. Thankfully, he did not have to wait, and the gray doors parted with a swish immediately after he tapped his request into the lift's terminal. He stepped inside and to the far wall, then turned around with his hands clasped behind his back as the doors finally closed. "Deck six." he said to the computer, then glanced over to the side, noticing another red-collared man of similar statue next to him. Lamar nodded silently in acknowledgement.

Warrant Officer Oliver Sylver glanced at the man next to him, giving a small nod in return. His blue eyes focused on him, clearly taking him in, measuring him up. The stance gave Lamar away and he gave a small smile. "Former Marine, Master Chief?" he asked casually. There was just something in the stance, the straight back...Hell, it was almost as if he stood in parade rest. A stance that Olly himself had. Could never get the Marine out of the man, no matter what happened in his career.

"Yessir." Lamar nodded to the warrant officer with a small smile, finally taking in the appearance of the man next to him. He knew from man's accent that he was probably from Earth, like him...but from across the Atlantic Ocean. Probably England or some part of the former United Kingdom, he guessed. The man was tall, maybe an inch or two above Lamar but slightly lighter in his body frame. He had dark hair and blue eyes, a striking combination. "185th Orbital Drop Battalion," he said curtly to elaborate, "You?" he asked curiously, already guessing the answer.

"Formerly of the 58th Squadron, 2nd Attack Wing, Marine Corps Fighter Element," he said automatically, giving a small smile to the man before taking a breath. "Which I am pretty sure you can gather from my lack of any real battlescars," he gave him a warm smile and offered his hand to him. "Oliver Sylver."

The chief grinned and extended his own hand, giving Oliver's a good strong shake. "Yeah, you look a bit...clean," he said in jest, "I guess you learned how to stay away from those Vipers, huh?" he added. During the Dominion War, the JH120-SAP surface-to-air platform deployed by the Jem'Hadar, dubbed 'Vipers' by Marine pilots, had been responsible for many Allied casualties including both Starfleet and Marine Corps pilots. Lamar had personally seen more than a few bombers and close-range support craft be shot down during his early tours of duty. It was a horrifying sight. "Lamar Darius, Chief of the Boat." he added, finally showing a friendly smile.

"Good to meet you, Chief," he said and smiled weakly, nodding. Yes, they were close to an age...even if Oliver suspected he had a good few years on the other man. "And yes, for the most part I managed to keep them off my six. Not always though...burnt through many a good fighter thanks to those bastards." Yet there was no real bitterness anymore. The war was long over and Olly tried to put the past in the past. Didn't mean he would ever be friends with a Cardie, but hey...that was for the next generation to overcome. He got to be the war veteran, still half-clinging to an ugly past.

The turbolift began to hum softly as it descended down several decks into the bowels of Galileo, and Lamar was at least somewhat grateful that he now had company on the relatively short ride. Unlike his new quasi-girlfriend, Lilou, he quite enjoyed talking and bantering with other crewmen and personnel, as it was a welcome change of pace for him from the busy, daily starship routine. "Let me guess...you're from Earth?" Lamar asked with a raised eyebrow and a small sideways grin. There was something about Oliver's accent which was familiar to the chief.

"London, to be exact..." he smiled as he watched him with warmth. "And you sound like you are across the pond...Not West Coast though..." he grimaced and shook his head. He was not good at those accents. "I'm afraid that is the closest I can say. Not Texan. May I ask where you are from, Chief?" he met his eyes and the smile grew to an easy and friendly grin. He was enjoying chatting to the man, a fellow former Marine.

"Texan?" the chief replied with a chuckle, somewhat offended from having his city accent confused with some rodeo hillbilly nonsense, "Not even close. I'm from Philadelphia, man." he said, "The City of Brotherly Love." he added with a wry grin. "I remember there were a few guys in my old unit who were from somewhere near London...Newcastle, I think?" he muttered as he tried to remember. Finally, he shook his head to, unable to recall their exact words. "Anyway, they used to always be trading stories...old school SAS stuff. Pretty entertaining."

Olly chuckled softly as he watched him, humour in his eyes. "Saying I sound like a Geordie is pretty much the same as me calling you a Texan...we're even now," he winked and took a deeper breath. "I bet they had some stories though. Further north you go, the bigger the porkies become..."

Lamar raised an eyebrow. Geordie? Porkies?. The man's use of English was quite colorful, but the chief had no idea what some of it meant. Good ol' English folk he mused. "Lots of stories." he replied with a small nod. "So, what made you get out of the Corps and into Fleet?" he asked, changing the subject slightly.

Olly watched him, frowning slightly. He had always been honest about things like this. It was not a weakness. He glanced around, almost as if he could shape the words better with distractions. No such luck. "After the war ended I was tired," he said softly. "And I knew I never wanted to be in a position to...hold those decisions over people again. Life and death," the smile on his lips was wry and he shrugged. "Of course, I ended up bored out of my skull so I joined the Fleet."

"Fair enough." the chief replied, "My own reasons are sort of similar...but I guess I always liked space life so it made sense for me to transfer." he added with a light shrug. Of course, the story was much more complicated than that, but given the brief nature of their visit, Lamar preferred not to elaborate. "Do you work in flight ops?" he asked.

"Yes I do, Chief," he nodded as he held his eyes. "Just helping where I can, really." There was something good natured about the way he said it, as if he was usually behind a desk and relished the idea of being more active.

"Well, matter of fact, I'm actually in the process of completing my qualifications for basic flight." Lamar replied with a chuckle of coincidence. "I suppose if you want to help out, then you can start with me." he added with a slight glint to his own brown eyes. "I'm scheduled to take my final exam in a couple of days..."

The surprise was clear on Olly's face before a broad grin took over and he gave a warm nod. "I could run you through your paces for that, make sure you pass with flying colours," he said easily. In fact, he would take great pleasure in it, as he loved teaching people and instructing. "Whenever you have time, Chief, regardless of shift. On or off duty, I always have time for such things. Part of my job...also part of my life."

Lamar looked quietly at the man for a minute before giving him an appreciative nod. "I appreciate it, I'll definitely be sure to take you up on that." he added as the turbolift slowed and the lights returned to normal. With a swish, the doors parted and the chief half-stepped-out, leaning against the door and looking back at the other red-collared man. "Well, it was nice to meet you...Oliver." he added as he finally remembered his name. It was a rather unique one, in his opinion, and one that he wasn't likely to forget anytime soon. "I have to get finished supervising the personnel transfer but I'll be sure to stop by as soon as I get some time." he explained, somewhat sorry that he couldn't stay longer and chat. Unfortunately, duty was calling and he had to get back to work.

"Of course..." he said and smiled to Lamar, holding his eyes. "Drinks of me next time too, Chief," he added, giving him a firm nod. He had enjoyed the conversation...and he would like to continue it some other time. Perhaps when things got more quiet.

"Sounds like a plan." The chief said with a grin, then gave a mock salute as he turned on his heels and headed down the long main corridor of Deck 6. There was much to be done in a very short time, but Lamar was grateful at least some of the new personnel, like Oliver, seemed to have their heads on straight.

Oliver watched the turbolift doors close and sighed, smiling gently. "Semper fi," he whispered quietly. Somehow, it made him feel better to know that someone like the Chief was around. Someone who wasn't 12 and understood. And maybe it was a sign he was going to be okay on the small ship.

[OFF]

--

MCPO Lamar Darius
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo
NPC'd by Lirha Saalm

WO Oliver Sylver
Flight Control
USS Galileo
NPC'd by Aria Rice

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