Common Ground

Posted on 17 Mar 2022 @ 8:15pm by Petty Officer 3rd Class Helliun 'Hel' Inant & Ensign Mimi

3,021 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: Deck 2- Mess hall
Timeline: md07 0045hrs

[ON]

In the mess hall afte her shift picked at her chicken salad rolling it around on her plate with her fork, she was hungry but wasn't in an eating mood. With her other hand she idly tapped at a Padd typing out a letter to send to her foster mother, she looked up when an interesting scent passed her nose.

PO3 Helliun Inant carried her meal, a plate of chicken with zero salad, and a tall glass of water on the tray. She took a seat at the same table as Mimi, as it was rather busy in the mess hall. Or else she wouldn't have sat down at someone else's table. She looked at Mimi, her yellow eyes going to the Nekomi, before she gave a small smile that pulled a bit at the still healing scar on her face. And then she looked back at her meal, reaching with her fingers to pick up a strip of chicken and popping it in her mouth.

"Hi petty officer..." Mimi began, she didn't recognise the woman but she certainly looked and smelled unusual, her nose twitched several times as she took in the scent of the woman, it didn't match any species she'd met before.

"Hello...Ensign," Hel said and watched her, her eyes narrowing slightly as she watched her. The way her nose twitched. Scenting the air. She smiled, a slow smile that showed plenty of teeth. "I'm Hel."

"Mimi." Mimi responded, her mind was already racing with questions she wanted to ask the woman. "Are you new to the Galileo?"

"Sort of. I was on the Trial," Hel said and picked up another piece of chicken, eating it, closing her eyes at the spices. "But yes, I am new as being assigned to this ship."

"Ah another member of the Trial's crew, we have several of them here." Mimi rolled her food around a little more before eating a small piece "I am sorry you lost your ship."

"Thanks. Sorry we had to squat in yours and running underfoot," Hel said before she chuckled, watching her. "So how good is that nose of yours, Ensign Mimi?"

"I can tell that Ensign Ullswater is in her quarters and has just opened the new bottle of perfume she got on the starbase, it is quite pleasant." Mimi said before deliberately looking away from the rest of the mess halls occupants. "And that Po Andrews has just ordered a burger with..." She scented the air for another moment. "extra bacon, and far too much tomato sauce.

"Impressive," Hel said and raised an eyebrow, taking a slow breath as she listened for a moment. "Would make you a natural hunter then as well." She wondered how sharp her teeth were. Could be fun to find out.

"I imagine my species were good very good hunters in the past when we did that sort of thing, we are obligate carnivores." Mimi told her.

"And yet there's salad on your plate," Hel said, a soft comment before she took another piece of chicken and ate it. "I tell everyone I am allergic. I am not. I just don't like salad. Any salad. Protein and fat, that's my diet."

"I can eat a little of other things, too much and I have..... touble." Mimi said stabbing a piece of lettuce with her fork and waving it in Hel's direction as she spoke. "It is nice to try things other species eat even if I cannot taste much of it."

"Mm..." Hel nodded as she ate, considering it. "It's why I try and make everything spicy. My taste buds are not as sophisticated as other species." She did like the way the Ensign was thinking. Hel had just taken the liquid approach with that and drinking whatever she could try.

"I have no taste for spicey and very little for sweet things," Mimi said then ate the chunk of lettuce. "which is a shame because cakes and ice cream and things like that look and smell so nice."

"Don't worry, there is horrible food out there too," Hel said lightly, considering it for a long moment. "But I think the replicators take care of it. And some species are just built for survival, so the taste does not matter."

"But it makes the meal more enjoyable if it tastes nice," Mimi stabbed a chunk of chicken then continued. "when I came to the federation my foster mother had me try all sorts of wierd foods."

Hel watched her at that, trying to think back. When she had joined Starfleet, she had tried what interested her. It was how she found hot sauce. And chilis. And spirits with fancy names like Tequila and Whisky. But she had kept her diet with the basis on what her people did well on, namely fats and protein. "Well, I suppose she was trying to get you to understand the cultures faster. Cuisine is a good way of it," she said lightly, which in itself she considered truth. Literature did it too.

"I agree, I have tried food from quite a lot of different species. Klingon food is horrible though, just like them." Mimi said, on a dare she'd tried gagh and nearly threw it back up.

"I like Klingons," Hel said and smiled, a wicked smile. "They do the two f-s very well. Unfortunately for them, food is not one of them, so I agree on the culinary side of it..." she added and the smile became friendly instead. She liked this one. She seemed like a decent sort.

Mimi cocked her head to the side slightly. "The two f's?"

"Fighting and Fornicating," Hel said, because she wasn't quite ready to swear in front of the officer as she finished her meal. She met her eyes easily and chuckled softly at the way she was looking at her.

"I have fought a couple of Klingons, it did not go well for him..... and then me when his friends got involved." Mimi said remembering her arrival at Kreanus.

"You must be packing a lot of strength for your size," Hel said approvingly, with the easiness of someone who took people as they truly were rather than imposed ideas of what to expect. "Or cunning. Both are good. I did enjoy a few brawls with Klingons after I joined Starfleet. I also did some cage fighting on Earth, although not strictly..." she searched for the word, her teeth worrying her lip for a moment. "...known. Humans can be a bit worried about fighting for fun, especially if it isn't under controlled condition and training."

"Nekomi do not fight unless there is no other choice, I have a..... bad history with Klingons, a bad one." Mimi somewhat agressively stabbed a peice of chicken. "I was angry at what they had done to our ship and crew so when I got close enough to one of them I went into a, what is the word.. rage?"

Hel gave a small nod at that, understanding that easily enough. "We have stories where I am from of matriarchs getting blood rage if someone harms anyone in their clan. I suspect you had one of those blood rages..."

"Something like that yeah," Mimi replied glad that someone understood what had happened. "I got one of them good, paid for it though. They broke my jaw."

"Painful, I suspect?" Hel asked, having never broken a single bone in her body. The amount of metal in her skeleton from her planet, a natural part of her species' physiology, made it a rare occurrence for her species.

"Very, for quite a long time too." Mimi told her. "I bet cage fighting with Klingons was not exactly pain free either?"

Hel smiled, her eyes shining before she shook her head. "But there are some rules which lowers the risk of injury to the face..." she tilted her head, so the light caught the scar she had on her face. "This was the first facial trauma I have ever had. Surprising, really. But I think it suits my life."

"Fighting someone for entertainment is not my idea of fun." Mimi said. Fighting in general went against everything the Nekomi did.

"I think it's fascinating, the different viewpoints in the Federation, and that everything still works," Hel admitted as she watched Mimi. "But I can understand your point of view. My...species, we have a lot of...energy. And some instincts that can be seen as more primitive, although we're...smart enough not to go on rampages. It would weaken the clan and the survival of the clan is all that matters."

"Your species is clan based?" Mimi asked, she'd talked a lot about her own species but wanted to know about Hel's.

Hel nodded, watching her for a long moment, not necessarily because she needed to, but because she was trying to find a good way to explain. "Yes, with each clan being run by a matriarch. We do have a council, the Aeth, and we have slowly started to get males in more...leadership positions." She gave a small smile before shrugging. "I am of the clan Inant. When I finish in Starfleet I will return there and continue help my clan, although they have no real need for me as I have already fulfilled the most important duty to them."

"The most important duty." Mimi thought for a moment what that could be. "You have mated?"

"And had a child," her finger touched the piercing in her nose, chuckling. "A boy. The matriarch was pleased. And I got to go and continue my life. I always watched the stars, even when I loved the sands. This, for now, is a good life for me."

"Are you not allowed to do what you want to do until you have had children?" Mimi asked, she didn't know much about clan based societies.

"Well...no, but going into space there's a risk you'll die," Hel said thoughtfully, shaking her head. "So it seemed to make sense to have the offspring first and then risk my life." She smiled, a slow smile. "He's a good kid, but he is the clan's, not mine. I claim no ownership of him."

"Really?" Mimi said somewhat surprised. "Is he cared for by the entire clan?"

Hel nodded, smiling easily as she sat back in her seat. "Yes. Although I suspect one or two are considered his...primary carers. Those that tuck him to bed or kiss a scrape. What about your people? How...do they raise their young?"

"Mostly by their mothers. Males are usually the main...." Mimi thought for the right word eventually settling on one a human room neighbour at academy had told her "breadmaker in Nekomi family, though my life was a little different, me and my sister did not grow up on our homeworld."

"Where did you grow up?" Hel asked out of interest, watching her for a long moment. It was interesting, how different people were. Or at least, Hel found it interesting. She had not expected it, but it had become one of her favourite things about being in Starfleet.

"We were born on the homeworld but my parents were offered a spot on a ship that was going to set up our first out of system colony, so we grew up on that ships long journey to the colony." Mimi explained.

"And...how did it go?" Hel asked as she watched Mimi with curiosity. "The colony, I mean?" Her people, while able to travel at warp, had not colonised other planets yet. They were so focused on their own home world.

"It went well for quite a while, then when I was about 14, then some of the 'bad history' I mentioned happened." Mimi said, her ears turned down a little, she'd had a feeling the conversation would wind up with her talking about the Klingon attack.

"I see," Hel nodded, watching her before she frowned, taking a deeper breath. "And then, when you were grown, you joined Starfleet?" she phrased it as a question, even if most would see it as obvious.

Mimi nodded. "It felt like the right thing to do to repay starfleet for rescuing me from the Klingons and Maria for fostering me."

"I can understand that," Hel said softly, holding her eyes for a long moment. "And...you are happy?" she added softly, with hope.

"As happy as I can be in a world that was totally alien to me until 10 years ago," Mimi replied, taking a quick chunk out of her salad. "a world that I never knew existed, a world many lightyears from wherever my homeworld is."

"I suppose happiness is relative, also to just what time of day it is," Hel observed before she gave a small smile. Not pity. Not even real understanding. "Well...if you ever find yourself needing somewhere new to explore, my home world is...a lot of desert, big oceans and high mountains."

Mimi smiled widely, her ears twitched somewhat excitedly. "Thank you for the offer. I would certainly like to see your homeworld if we ever got the chance. I have always wanted to walk on or at least see as many different worlds as I could."

"Oh, mine is..." she considered it, watching Mimi before she smiled. "Warm. We are new to the Federation, but eager to be part of it. We are welcoming to strangers, although some would argue a bit too...welcoming..." she added the last thoughtful. "If we see someone we like, we are blunt about our desires."

"Warm and welcoming." Mimi said. "Sound like a very nice place.

"Yes...but sandy," Hel said quickly, wanting to be honest. "And bad tempered people, a lot of intrigue too...we're rougher than your...nicer species. I am not saying we have the culture of Klingons, but we...have our ways."

"All species have their ways and little... quirks." Mimi remarked. "Nekomi are mostly pacifist and keep to our own little world but we are very friendly."

Hel nodded, considering it. Pacifists were...a concept she was not yet used to. The idea that someone would not fight, seemed...well. How did you survive? She gave a small shrug, meeting Mimi's eyes. "Well, in friendliness, perhaps our species are compatible."

Mimi smiled. "It is a start. I think humans say something like all you need to do is get your foot in the door."

"We don't really have doors where I am from," Hel said, and smiled back at her. "If you ever want to do something fun, let me know. The holodeck is a wonderful invention."

"It certainly is, Mimi remarked, the Gaileo's holodecks were few and small but a godsend on long missions. "I was amazed the first time I went into one, to make anything you want appear in front of you and interact with was something a Nekomi could only dream of, we did not have technology anything like that."

"I like the idea of...playing make-believe," Hel admitted and shook her head, laughing. "To act as if you are someone or something else, in a different time and world. It is fun. I like playing."

"I have not really done any of that," Mimi said though there had been times, she remembered her adventure on an earth beach with John. "I like to use the holodeck for exercising if different.... scenery, somethng other than 4 metal walls."

"Do you...hunt?" Hel said, and then realised it wasn't the best way of saying it. "I don't mean to kill and eat. I mean more like...a game of catching someone. Tracking them, finding them, and then the roles are reversed?"

Mimi shook her head a little. "I have followed a few of the animals in a forest program I have all the way to their... homes but never really 'hunted' them, they knew I was there. I was just curious."

Hel nodded, understanding what she meant. Mimi came from a gentle people. "I used to play hunters as a child, with other children. We would hunt each other, then once we caught someone we'd run and become the hunted ones. It was just a game. I did try it on the holodeck, but it is...different with holograms. You can't...sense them."

"Me and my twin sister Tali and the other children would chase each other, play what humans call 'hide and seek' sometimes we would wait and pounce on the one looking for us." Mimi said, it was all primitive hunting practise used for entertainment that they had gradually grown out of.

"Maybe one day, you could try the adult version with me. We find a good holodeck programme and just...run around," Hel suggested, with a playful smile.

Mimi pondered for a few seconds, it wasn't every day you got an invitation to share holodeck time. "That.... could be quite fun."

"Then as soon as we can book it...we should," Hel said, as if it was all decided, giving her a toothy smile. "You can pick the environment if you want."

"We will probably have to wait till after whatever this emergency is over but sure." Mimi was already thinking what programs in the holodecks memory would be the most appropriate.

"Yes, of course. Let's so it when we are...on our way somewhere, boring, not like this," Hel made a wide gesture with her hands, yellow eyes shining. "Although I am curious exactly what we are going to be doing."

"Search and rescue or so the Captain says." Mimi said recalling the temporary Captains briefing a few days ago. "But very secret sounding, level 10. It must be something serious."

"Huh..." Hel smiled before she shook her head. "Above my paygrade, of course, but...you know. Things are the way they are. If the sands are kind, it will be more rescue than search."

"'If the sands are kind'" Mimi slowly repeated. "I like that."

OFF:


Ensign Mimi
Asst Chief Operations Officer

PO3 Helliun Inant
Engineering
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rice]

RSS Feed