Lunch With Gyce

Posted on 18 Mar 2016 @ 10:16pm by Ensign Miraj Derani & Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D.

1,172 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Mess Hall, USS Galileo
Timeline: MD90 1330

[ON]

Miraj slipped into the Mess Hall and joined the short queue at the servery and picked a out a selection of rolls, burgers, and a cup of Noodle Soup Before turning to look for a seat. The Mess was surprisingly busy considering shore leave was still in force, and people were free to eat elsewhere, but there were several free spaces. Though she wasn't keen to eat on her own.

She took another look. At one end of the long tables, was a bajorran woman looking trim and elegant. She didn't seem to be waiting on anyone, so Miraj took a deep breath and slid onto the bench on the otherside of the table, close, but not quite opposite. "Is this spot taken?" she asked.

"By all means," Gyce insisted with an open hand. She chose to replicate a home meal rather than the chow on the line today. "You're the new pilot, right?"

"Miraj." She reached across the table to offer the woman her hand.

Gyce took the hand and offered, "Benice." It was Bajoran custom to go by their surname until they were close to the other person.

Gyce ate on her hasperat some before she asked, "You replace Mister Jynn, then. You acquainted with the Nova's joystick?"

Miraj hesitated, "Nova Conns, yes. Mr Jynn, no." Not sure if the bajorran meant the helm controls or her predecessor, she covered her basis and said both.

"I'm sure you're a real master at flying ships of this size," Gyce smiled. "Out of curiosity, are there any other skills you possess besides flying?"

Miraj poked at a spring roll, and then bit it in half. "Honestly? Not really. Never needed anything else until the academy. What about you? Scientist?"

"I'm the chief of security," Gyce smiled. "You might say I have a diverse skill set... Only things I do poorly, is heal, tinker, and fly."

Miraj's orbital arches flared as she listened, eyes wide. Chief of security. "you must have had a lot of adventures?" She said it out loud before her vestigial brain/mouth filter could get in the way.

"On Galileo?" Gyce nearly chocked on her food with laughter. "Oh no. Worst type of cases I get, and quite frequently, are inappropriate bedroom romances - Most of them I wish to sanitize my eyes with bleach, after closing."

Miraj giggled, and took a mouthful of soup. "So this place is slower than you're used to?"

"At the rate all these sex scandals fall in my lap, no," Gyce frowned.

Miraj's jaw dropped a little. "Should I be worried about my...virtue or something, here?"

"It depends... We have two Deltans - one of which broke their celibacy oath and caused one of the doctors to go crazy," Gyce began to count on her fingers. "Two Orions. Sisters. And they love jumping anything on two legs... Then you have a fair amount of Betazoids. So all in all, this ship has a lot of hormones floating that'll steer anyone wrong if you're not disciplined enough to manage it."

"I've never met a deltan. And the admiral was my first girl orion." Miraj chewed on a piece of roll whilst she thought. "I think I'll stick to flying. People are complicated."

"I will eat my cane, if anyone can figure both Holliday and Mott," Gyce laughed. "Both fail to notice flirtations in their direction."

Miraj choked on her mouthful of soup. An observation like that meant that either the security chief had tried personally and failed. Which given her previous comments Miraj thought unlikely. So leaving option b. Enough people had tried that Benice had had a chance to spot the pattern. 

Flirting, sex crazed orions and free ranging hormones? This ship sounded like Risa at the luna festival "Is that normal? Flirting with, uh, people?"

"Oh yeah... I must see at least two walk of shames a week on the surveillance systems," Gyce spoke with a serious nod, before she went back to work as finishing her meal. "Little to do on small ships, I suppose."

Miraj's jaw dropped all the way this time, and looked a little shocked.
"I must admit I wasn't expecting this. I feel like I've landed in the middle of some bawdy comedy."

"If you can understand Doctor Mott doesn't know better, just sit in Sickbay and listen to his rants or his battles with the EMH..." Gyce smiled evilly at that. "Sometimes I wish I could troll him, because he just brightens up my mood so much with his crazy beliefs, but I digress. I'm something of a serious person the local miscreants believe to be feared. So I must maintain that persona as a scary lawman."

"You don't seem scary to me," Miraj said before she could stop herself. "I mean, you seemed okay letting me sit down. I can go if you want."

"I don't mind," Gyce insisted. "If you ever decide you want to learn better combat skills, come see me. I'm sure I can construct a program tailored to you."

Miraj winced a little, remembering the basic defense classes that were part of the compulsory syllabus. She had spent most of that time being tossed around like a dead fish by the rest of the class and had scraped a pass by the skin of her teeth. "I'm not sure that's possible, unless I'm flying I've got all the coordination of a beached whale. It's not a pretty sight."

"Ignore what classes you were given in the Academy. They teache you the basics for someone of average builds," Gyce explained casully. "Self-defense is about utilizing your personal strengths and your wits. Brute force is not always key, despite the thugs those self-defense classes breed."

"I'm not exactly built for brute force." Miraj admitted. "Or speed. Or flexibility." She looked a little down cast. "I kind of come down on the side of fly away before you get into trouble."

"Running away is ideal if you're one that can't fight, but you should also be able to at least disable someone, if you can't run," Gyce spoke with concern. "Everyone has their own style of fighting too. So I don't mind showing you how to defend yourself properly, if you want to."

"Yes please," Miraj nodded enthusiastically. "When works for you?"

"You prefer early mornings, or after shift?" Gyce asked casually.

Miraj was not a morning person. "After shift would be great. Anytime after 1630."

"Meet me in the main cargo bay then," Gyce smiled and stood up to leave, for she had to be back on shift soon.

She tipped back the last of her noodle soup "That'll be great. I can't wait. I'll see you then."

"Have a good day, Ensign," Gyce spoke with a bright smiled before she walked her tray to the recycler and headed out the door.

[OFF]

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Lieutenant JG Benice Gyce
Chief of Security
USS Galileo

Ensign Miraj Derani
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

 

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