Friction

Posted on 12 Jun 2018 @ 8:21am by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Azra Ghoc & Lieutenant JG Rizil Chaya

1,356 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Avondale Shipyards - Library
Timeline: MD 100 0700

[ON]

Azra thumbed the display on. The library on the shipyards was large, but not exactly luxurious. Even so, it contained a link to the Starfleet database, as well as a link to the wider net. She navigated quickly to her file-storage system and pulled up her latest obsession. She was looking at instances where complementary technologies from different societies had created entirely new possibilities. At the moment she was looking at a report on how Cardassian weapon technologies had leapt forward when they had reverse engineered Federation power cell technologies during the early 2360s.

Studious was not a word that one immediately thought of when considering Rizil Chaya. More apt descriptions would be, instead: impulsive, active, hands-on, you get the drill. None of which lent themselves easily to bookworm status. Nevertheless, perhaps in keeping with yet another personality trait, Chaya was incredibly curious. This led her, over the course of the past week, to explore every inch of the shipyards where she'd been awaiting her assignment to the Galileo-A. At long last, the library remained one of the few unturned stones in her exploratory journey. Quietly, she slipped through the sliding doors, but came to a stand still with her fingers wrapped around the edge of the threshold when she spied Azra at the far-right table near the back. Chaya had half a mind to turn around then-and-there, but with only a slight tension in her jaw, she resolutely crossed into the room.

The door opened then closed again shortly thereafter. Azra glanced to her right, catching barely a glimpse of a Bajoran woman. Clearly Bajoran, the earring and slight ridges above the ridge of her nose were dead giveaways. The look on the woman's face was not an invitation to speak. Azra closed out the research she'd been looking at, deciding it might be better to focus elsewhere for now.

But of course, Chaya, being Chaya, could not abide silence for very long. She cleared her throat rather pointedly and made a show of searching for a PADD indexed amongst the shelf closest to the Cardassian. "Great weather out there, huh?" her eyebrows curved as she jerked her chin toward the window, which currently illuminated a rather powerful rainstorm pelting the glass. Wonderful. Relegated to talking about the weather. Go figure. Well, she figured it would likely go over better than so, how about my deep, abiding prejudice against your species?

Azra glanced up from her screen. "Not the best weather," she said with shrug, "but that isn't what you really want to talk about, is it?" She dreaded the response, but she'd figured out that being direct was far more effective at defusing these kinds of situations than hinting.

Chaya blinked. "Wha--?" she replied very eloquently, genuinely taken aback by the assertion. It would seem that she really hadn't entered with the sole purpose of deriding Azra purely for her heritage, although her fidgety, flighty movements certainly suggested an increase of adrenaline. She'd worked with Cardassians over the years, and managed (for the most part) to set aside her discomfort. "Well, ah, it's not the most interesting subject, I'll admit," she chuckled dryly. Barrel of laughs, this one.

Azra nodded. "Weather can be interesting, but usually only if you're talking to a scientist. And a scientist I'm not." She steeled herself, "I was born and raised on Earth. My Anne is Human." She used the Turkish word for mom, out of habit. This line of conversation was assumption, but whenever she'd encountered a Bajoran bearing the expression this woman had on her face, it had boiled down to this.

Chaya grimaced slightly, an entirely unconscious action, as though she were fully aware she was practically broadcasting her feelings. She tugged her uniform sleeves down, covering up the script on her left arm, rose a hand placatingly and smiled, shaking her head. "You don't need to explain. The War's been over a long time. I'm Chaya." She pronounced it khai-ya. "What's your name?"

The grimace told Azra that she'd hit the mark, and she thought it also said that Chaya didn't like that fact that there was a mark to hit. "Azra Ghoc," she said. She logged off of her console and stood, leaning against the desk. "The War's been over for a while, but some wounds take far more than fifteen years to heal. Some never do, I think. If you have some of those, I can only offer my sympathy."

She nodded. "That's appreciated." There was no malice or sarcasm in her words, but she also didn't elaborate. It would remain a mystery whether or not this was because Azra was Cardassian, or because Chaya simply didn't prefer discussing it.

The half-Cardassian looked out the window at the driving rain. "What brings you to this land of sunshine and rainbows?"

"It beats sitting around in my quarters," Chaya laughed. "These yards are huge. I didn't even realize they had a library until I stumbled upon it." She withdrew a PADD from the shelf. Fantastic Targs and Where to Find Them. "Nothing beats light reading."

"The yards actually have three libraries, only one is in this complex, though," Azra said, trying to keep the light tone. "Have you been assigned to the yard, or are you on one of the docked ships?"

"I'm assigned to the USS Galileo," Chaya answered, tapping the PADD against her knee. "I'm a security officer. How about yourself?" She seemed genuinely interested in the answer.

"I'm currently bosun aboard Stalingrad," Azra said, "though only for another couple of days when it's decommissioned. After that, I actually hope to be aboard Galileo as well. I have an interview scheduled later this week for the posting."

Azra leaned back against the window, feeling the rumble of thunder in the material, even if the sound was completely deadened. "Any pointers for the interview?"

"No way! Gal Pals!" Chaya shot two double finger guns at Azra with a corny smile. "Get it? 'Cause, you know... Galileo, gal. It works on multiple levels yeah you get it," she amended quickly. "Uh, I recommend not attempting to impress Commander Ban with your extensive repertoire of hilarious puns. Or also probably any other sentient being."

Azra struggled to reconcile the air of hostility that had filled the room only moments before with the forced joviality. Of course, if Chaya was trying to patch the way they'd met, Azra was more than willing to help out. "Good to know," she said nodding, "I will be certain to avoid punning them to death, although a truly bad pun is an art form in itself." She paused only for a second. "And your last pun was awful, so maybe you should look into a career in art."

"You know, I've always felt the calling to art. Stand-up comedy is definitely in my future. I'm an entertainer at heart," she clutched her chest dramatically and grinned. Oh, yeah, there was definitely an air about it, but her comments seemed genuine, or at least, she wanted them to be genuine if nothing else. People dealt with things in all different manners. Chaya's default was the product of heavy compartmentalization, which could be jarring to people who weren't used to it. "Just, like, don't ask me to draw stuff because I'm pretty sure that's a criminal offense."

"Yeah? Not one for the visual arts, well I can relate. I've been trying to learn to draw. No success yet." She pushed off from the window. "Feel like grabbing a sandwich or something? You know, a fresh start, without the baggage either of us walked in with?"

"That sounds like a plan," Chaya laughed lightly. "I'd love to. Any recommendations on where to eat around here? I've just been scrounging around in the mess. I mean, this is Rigel. We can probably wrangle up some authentic racht somewhere."

[OFF]

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