A Chance Meeting with Snuffles

Posted on 05 Nov 2018 @ 1:34pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant JG Matthew Plumeri

1,835 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 2, Corridor Outside the Mess Hall
Timeline: MD -181, 1011 hrs

[ON]

Matthew stepped off the lift as soon as the doors parted. He had it all planned out.

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Wake up at: 1000 hours
Shower, brush teeth and dress from: 1000 to 1005
Catch the turbolift to the mess hall: 1005 to 1006
Get coffee and a wee breakfast: 1006 to 1007
Chow down: 1008 to 1009
Turbolift back to the lab: 1009 to 1010
Arrive at Astro,metrics with :30 seconds to spare.
======

So when the doors parted he kind of fell out of them. In the back of his mind he mused that he *could* have used a site-to-site transport and saved a few minutes.

The tiny starship's cramped corridors were arranged in such a way that they formed a circle-ish pattern on each of the primary hull's decks. And while efficient, it had the unintended side-effect of creating several blind spots where crew were prone to running into each other. It was at such an immaculate location where Captain Lirha Saalm and her juvenile targ, Snuffles, almost collided with a young blue-collared officer who'd just stepped out of the turbolift. The Klingon boar growled at the man's sudden appearance but fortunately the captain gave a firm tug on his leash to keep him at bay.

"Whoa!" Matt said as he tumbled out of the lift and into the corridor. A Klingon TARG??!! He spun, stepped out of the way and realized it was the Captain. He recognized her from the ship's dossier. A green-skinned, Orion Captain would be hard to miss. Add to the list a Klingon targ loving one to boot.

"Captain Saalm. Sir! EEiiyyaaa...(ahem!)...good morning Captain." Matthew addressed her and took another step back from the Targ. He really didn't like Targs. Nasty creatures. And the smell! "H-H-H-How are you?" It sounded as forced and awkward as he felt right now.

The young boar could sense the Human's fear of him and it excited him further. He tugged at leash which was already at full tension, putting the full force of his muscular 100-pound body behind each lunge toward the junior lieutenant. Lirha's forearms strained to keep Snuffles at bay; she hadn't ever seen him this anxious to pounce outside of his holodeck hunting simulations. "Snuffles, no. No, Snuffles!" she commanded in her native Orion tongue. She then looked back up to the science officer and gave him a polite smile before recognizing the man's familiar appearance. "Ah, Lieutenant Plumeri. I saw you had joined our crew recently," she thoughtfully recalled, unable to forget his face from his previous visit with her two years ago. "It is good to see you again. I am well, thank you."

Keeping his place and ignoring the Targ, ~Snuffles??? Is she serious??~ he inwardly thought. He was touched that she remembered him from all those years ago, "Captain Saalm. How kind you are to remember me. Yes, I saw the opportunity to be here come up and, well, here I am. Lucky for me you've got a spot for a guy like me here." He refused to let the Targ get the better of him and remembered an old Klingon trick he saw demonstrated on Starbase 74. He looked at the Targ, barred his teeth and uttered a low-growl that ended in a shout, "Grrrrrrooouufff!!!" He wasn't sure at all that would work. But, luckily, sick bay wasn't too far away. And, getting attacked by the Captain's pet Targ might earn him a few dozen extra hours with holodeck credits to play as he pleased. He rolled the dice.

"Very good," she casually commented with a motion to Plumeri's recent display towards her creature companion. "He could sense your hesitation but now you have shown him strength. He will respect you now. Well, for a short while, at least." Almost on queue, Snuffles snorted and shook his head from side to side before retreating backwards several steps to Lirha's side. "I believe the last time I saw you, you were serving aboard the Nimitz? What have you been up to these past years?" she then casually asked.

~It worked!~, he thought to himself. "Thank you Captain. Never underestimate a chance to go to the Opera; you never know when some idle conversation about how to meet a Targ for the first time might come in handy." He returned his full attention to Captain Saalm. She was looking as good as ever; radiant even, "Yes sir, attached to the Nimitz. The last two years have been amazing! I suppose the most interesting this was meeting the Saluucians. An interesting people with a society developing above ground and one below ground. Kind of a first contact and very fascinating. I'm so impressed that you even remember me Captain. I'm curious to know how you have been? I should also thank you for accepting my transfer request."

The mention of this new race called 'Saluucians' intrigued the captain. She always did her best to keep up with the latest intel reports from Command, but sometimes new discoveries and scientific advancements bypassed her PADDs. "Saluucians? You will have to tell me more, sometime soon. We have plenty of time to catch up on life," she started to answer with a private smile to herself.

"As for me? I have been..." she paused to recall the entire Kreanus incident including the destruction of her former starship, "..well enough. Have you reviewed Galileo's old logs?"

He knew that some of the logs had been made public. Those things that Starfleet would have deemed 'acceptable' for the public to know about. But the details would be quagmired for as long as possible. What he knew was what the public knew; the rest he guessed. He said, in a softer tone, "I know that the Federation owes you and the crew, those you lost and those that survived a debt of gratitude. I know that Starfleet pushes you away with the left hand while drawing you closer with the right, I now that whatever Starfleet thinks; they'll never fully understand what it's like to be out here. Really out here on the frontier. And I know that you have to live with that no matter what." There was no easy way to talk about the memory of lost crew and lost ship. Ships can be replaced; there are plenty of letters in the alphabet. People cannot be replaced so easily.

She let out a soft laugh and smiled at the young officer. "You flatter me, Mister Plumeri. And while I appreciate your elegant words," almost poetic, she thought, "Starfleet does not owe me anything. No one does. We are all creatures of circumstance and occupation, yes?"

Matt thought a moment and answered, "If I may adopt a quote by one of your people Captain Saalm, 'I do not believe in a fate that falls on us however we act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on us unless we act.' The name of this person escapes me at the moment, perhaps you've heard of it before?" he asked. One idea that Matthew really, really appreciated about living in the Federation was the notion that people are responsible for their own destiny.

Lirha wasn't great at recalling ancient philosophers but the sentence sounded familiar. Maybe from her Earth history classes at the Academy, she assumed. "Perhaps. But I am no historian such as yourself. Tell me, what is your specialty? Have you published?"

"Oh. You'll love this, 'Ancient and Alien Civilizations'. The funny part in that is I'm the alien, well half of me is, and the ancient too. It didn't quite fit into the Starfleet catalog. 'Alien Anthropologist' is about the closest." He gestured with his hands as he spoke, talking with the hands as humans would say, "But - before you get that look on your face - I can pull my own around here. I have a minor in Astrophysics - Gravitational wave theory and in Archaeoastronomy." He grinned back, "Sure I'm published. Two analysis of a Type II K distorted star, 'Maalme-Phaeton' and a theoretical analysis on the Bootes dark matter void and the gravitational anomaly there. Daystrom Technical Institute student lecture series, “This is the Golden Age” was probably my best work." He winked, "Get them while there hot ay?"

She frowned ever-so-slightly, not understanding the last phrase's meaning. She was fluent in Federation Standard and many other languages, but the occasional idiom escaped her. "I would think the word 'alien' is relative. Since Humans compose less than five percent of the known populations in the quadrants, I suppose that term should be used to explain them." Certainly on her homeworld, no one referred to her kind as 'aliens'. "But anthropology is an important discipline," she continued with approval. "Even its sub-discipline of archaeology helps reveal the history of civilizations -- past and present."

Matt winked, "Aye Captain. Just don't tell them that. They may only be around five percent, but they make up ninety-five percent of the hubris." He grinned back and then asked, "I can't wait to get some bridge duty Captain. You know that I passed my bridge officers certification yeah?"

Lirha smiled at his enthusiasm. "Yes, I did. I would expect nothing less from you," she then complimented. "Your simulations scores were impressive for a science officer. It is not often I encounter intellectuals with personnel management skills," she jested.

He accepted the compliment with grace, "Thank you Captain. I busted my ass to get that cert. And every two years since to keep it up. One never knows just when an opportunity will present itself."

Then, as was his custom, he joked with her, "Yeah, you're right, I'm not as dumb as I look." He laughed merrily at his own slight and said, "Fancy a game of Paressis Squares Captain? I've heard that Orion females are especially good on the squares. Last time I played against any Orion was back at the Academy. Sometime we should play, get a team together and y'know...Parr-eese."

She was a bit taken aback at the offer but smiled nonetheless. Parrises squares was a violent yet fun game, and she admitted to herself that the physical activity would do her good. Or break some bones. "Yes, of course," she replied with a bit of false bravado. "Just don't ask me to be team captain as well."

He bowed low at the waist and then with a flourish of his hand stood straight again, "Team Captain's job is...taken!" he said with a happy grin. "Enjoy the rest of your day Captain Saalm. I'll see you later ma'am." He waited to be dismissed with one eye on the Targ just for good measure.

She gave him a smile combined with simple nod to end the good chat, then continued on her way down the corridor with Snuffles in tow. "Until next time."

[OFF]

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LTJG Matthew Plumeri
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

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