Hands Full with a Handfull (Part 3 of 6)

Posted on 17 Oct 2023 @ 2:43pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant JG Rafe Caradec & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater & Ensign Mimi & Petty Officer 2nd Class Donald Andrews & Petty Officer 3rd Class John Hollenday & Petty Officer 3rd Class Helliun 'Hel' Inant & Nesh Saalm
Edited on on 17 Oct 2023 @ 2:44pm

3,564 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: Regula I - Level 16, Mess Hall 1
Timeline: MD 18, 1820 hrs

Previously, on Hands Full with a Handfull (Part 2)...

Rafe seemed to sense an undertone of her voice, the sudden caution in it. And then he looked at her face and realized he had stepped over a boundary by the way she looked at him, how she had suddenly tensed up. "My apologies, Lieutenant.", as Rafe stood up. Louder for some of the others to hear he said, "Lieutenant, I shall take leave of you so you may celebrate with this honorable crew, a crew of warriors!" With that he turned around and marched out of the dining hall and straight into the other one with his fellow officers.

Etisa leant to Aria, her blue eyes shining with amusement as she lowered her voice...as much as it lowered anyway. "You saved that one at least ten broken bones, a concussion and a very nasty bitemark..."

"Thought the bitemark was for marriage...he doesn't seem your type," Aria said lightly before she shook her head. "Now who the hell that was is beyond me though." But she was hopeful, at least, to keep the bloodshed to a minimum at this party.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Mess Hall 1, Galileo Banquet

With two colorful alcoholic beverages in each hand, Lamar sauntered through the mess hall observing all the old and new crew members present. A lot of new faces...captain's been doing some recruiting, he casually thought to himself while he walked. A swish from the entrance door caused him to glance over to the arrival. It was Ullswater returning from wherever she'd run off to. A smile spread across his mouth and he quickly walked over to her. "Hey. I got you a drink," he extended the cocktail in his left hand out to her.

"I'm leaving." She didn't take the glass. The only reason she'd come back into Galileo's room was to let him know. Her face was bright red and she placed her words in the ways someone does when they're trying to just hold back the flood. "Heading back to the ship. You enjoy the party." Right now this was not where Sofie wanted to be, tears would be unprofessional and the newly promoted officer did not want her tenure to start with that kind of reputation.

Darius suddenly frowned and retracted his offer. He then stepped between her and the exit door and put a hand on her shoulder. "Sofie, what's going on?" he quietly asked. To his surprise, he noticed her flushed face and terse voice. "What happened?"

"Don't touch me." She half growled, pushing his arm away. If she hadn't been on the verge of tears it would have been even more forceful, something about his gesture was clearly not appreciated. She wasn't interested in anyone trying to keep here here. "It's private and I am leaving." She stepped to the side, putting herself on a course for the exit once again.

The sharp rebuke was enough to cause Lamar to raise his dual-drink hands in a peace gesture then slowly back away. Be blinked at her several times, the joviality of the surrounding party leaving his body and facial features. He didn't understand what was happening or why she was so angry with him. Common sense told him to not say another word to her.

She was grateful but as she walked past she turned her head over her shoulder for a moment "Sorry, I didn't mean-" she stopped herself. Right now this just wasn't something Sofie could deal with. So she left.

Mimi headed over the counter that passed as the bar where Nesh was hard at work. "Hey Nesh, do you have any springwine?" She asked putting her hands on the bar deliberately showing off her engagement ring.

"Laeon is in charge of drinks, because I know he won't drink it all..." Nesh looked at her from where she was putting little Federation flags in cubes of cheese, before her eyes went to the hands. And the engagement ring. "Shut the airlock!" she gasped and pointed. "What is that?"

"A few days before we got to the cold station...." Mimi looked around a little sheepishly. "John proposed to me."

"Congratulations! You look so happy," Nesh smiled as she watched her before she winked. "Better start planning and all that. Oh, Lirha would be so happy for you..."

"... And would probably perform the ceremony for us," Mimi replied, she missed Lirha more than she'd like to admit. "I think Tarin would put me back in the brig if she found out."

"Why? I know that relationships between enlisted and officers can be a bit weird, but it's not like you and John are in the same department..." Nesh said before she gave a small shrug. "And it just means you can't go on away teams together. Conflict of interest and all that, right?"

"True, though I doubt there would be too many times when me and John would be on an away team together."

Away from the food and drink service tables, the entrance to the mess hall softly swished open then closed. A new crew member had entered who slowly observed the banquet event with judicious hazel eyes. Her tall and athletic Human form was dressed in a casual uniform style, her torso only concealed by a grey and black Starfleet vest. The dark fabric coloration contrasted against her milky skin and the light freckles adorning her face and the top of her chest and shoulders. Tarin's hair was let down more so than usual. The loose dark brown curls hugged the sides of her cheeks and fell gently across the top of her collar. Her hands were casually clasped behind her back as she started to wade through the small crowd and the muscles in her back softly rippled while she sauntered to the nearest gathering of Galileo personnel.

"Miss Saalm. Ensign Mimi," Morgan greeted the two familiar Galileans. "Are you both enjoying the evening so far?"

Mimi had smelt Tarin the moment she had come through the door, it stood out amongst the more familiar scents of the rest of the crew. Slowly; trying to make the action seem natural she moved the hand with her ring on to her side trying to hide it. "Captain, glad to see you have joined us." She said.

Nesh looked at Tarin, taking a slow breath. Yeah, her sister's replacement. Great. But, in her own way, Nesh was a pro by now. "Like the food and drink selection? I thought it was a good idea having someone man the bar who is too young to drink."

The new captain nodded with acknowledgement to the Nekomi then trained her attention on the young Orion's food offerings. Several dishes seemed familiar, including spicy hasperat wraps, Vulcan pok tar, what appeared to be uttaberry pancakes, and other foreign foods she wasn't quite familiar with. "Did you cook all of this yourself, Nesh?"

"With some assistance," Nesh said lightly before she shrugged. "Laeon has been a lifesaver. Think we might have to get him a uniform or something, seeing as we are taking him away from study time to help me out."

Tarin's hazel eyes slowly brightened at the young Orion's prospect. "Are you suggesting he enroll in Starfleet Academy?" The humorous irony wasn't lost on the captain who used the remark as a gentle jab against Nesh's own short Starfleet career path.

"Wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy against their will," Nesh said lightly, giving a small shrug. "But you've sort of...what is that ancient expression...Shanghaied him, to kitchen duty. Maybe let it be a choice for him would be helpful." And she didn't care if it got her into trouble, with the news that Lirha wasn't returning Nesh had gone from hopeful to just annoyance. Mostly at Lirha who hadn't sent a word. And then a bit at Starfleet and the most prominent representative, a certain Captain Tarin.

The eyes of Tarin squished for a moment with a subtle flash of contempt for an accusation she didn't fully understand. She bit her bottom lip then swiftly recomposed herself to present a more genial face to the junior-most Saalm sister. "Starfleet isn't a free ride. Everyone has to contribute, Nesh. Your sister gave you your opportunity and I'll afford the same to Laeon. But it seems both of you have an aptitude for joint culinary skills...maybe this is your calling?"

"Oh," Nesh shook her head, laughing suddenly at the words. "No, no...this is just a little...stopover. Trust me, as soon as we're back in 'normal' space, I am going to re-examine my options. Temporary life experience." And she knew better now than to argue about 'everyone contributes' when Laeon was a child and studying was his job. Not being free labour to suit a Captain. He was an dependent, with no choice where his father pulled him and Tarin taking advantage of it was an argument that Nesh didn't really fancy going into right now. "I should get back to serving. Got some chicken nuggets that need to be put out." She gave a polite nod to Tarin and gave Mimi a small squeeze of the arm before she walked away.

Mimi shot Nesh a look that screamed 'don't leave me with her' small talk was a humanoid thing she always struggled with. "It is good to see the majority of the crew here enjoying themselves." She eventually said.

Galileo's new captain wasn't one to indulge in alcohol, and so her hands were empty. She'd wanted to ask the young Saalm for a sample of her chicken 'nuggets', but the Orion had quickly run off before she could talk to her more. If nothing else, Morgan noticed Nesh was working hard and proving her worth. She turned her hazel eyes to Mimi in reply, "It's going better than I expected. Although, Ensign Ullswater seemed distressed when we passed each other in the corridor earlier. And where is Commander Blake...?" she questioned privately yet out loud.

Mimi hadn't seen Sofie arrive or leave but had barely even seen her after the womans misguided attempt to kill her. "I have not seen her Sir. I am sure she will show up eventually."

Tarin rested a hand on her hip then lightly shrugged her shoulders. "I assume so. Hopefully before the Klingons get too unruly in their own party." Her hazel eyes captured Mimi's at the thought of another confrontation between the two crews. "Should anything get out of control again, I can trust your judgement this time, yes?"

"I will not get involved with the Klingons captain." Mimi told her, she had somewhat expected their would be a remark of some description from her about the Klingons partying in the next room. 'If the Klingons start anything I will help end it'

"Good," was the tall captain's casual reply. "Personal discipline and professionalism...always remember that, Mimi."

Rafe walked in from Mess Hall 2, narrowly escaping a genuine Klingon beat down. He walked over to the Captain who immediately caught his eye. "Captain,", as he took one of her hands and bowed and kissed it, "you look absolutely lovely this evening. I thank you for treating us tonight. I sincerely appreciate it."

It took a lot to perturb Tarin. A lot. So when Galileo's new senior conn officer publicly displayed affection to her and kissed her hand, her freckled cheeks flushed. She glanced around to see who else had witnessed the gesture then breathed quickly to recompose herself. "Caradec...get up and don't do that again," she quietly admonished before pulling her hand back. "It's good to see you here," she more-publicly added.

'Thank you Lt Caradec' Mimi thought and seeing her moment quickly departed looking around for either John or Allyndra.

Rafe immediately stood up and waited for Mimi to be out of earshot. He turned back to the Captain. "I'm so so sorry, Captain. I sincerely didn't mean to offend you in the slightest or cross any lines, which I obviously have." The grief and sincerity was written all over his face. "Please, please forgive me. I only meant to compliment you as you really do look amazing. I think it would be better if I head back to my quarters." With that, Rafe decided he better keep his mouth shut, like for the rest of ever.

Morgan let out a sigh while shaking her head, her freckled cheeks returning to their natural cream color. "It's fine, Rafe, I'm not offended," she discreetly reassured in a more personal tone while reaching up to run her fingers down through her hair. "I'm just not used to...flattery." She took another deep breath while glancing around before striking up more casual chatter with the new senior conn officer. "Where did you just arrive from?"

"Oh, well, I certainly didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. However, I do seem to have that knack with you, but it usually involves large asteroids twice the size of your ship." Caradec grinned, exposing his perfect pearly whites. "I just came from the Klingon get together. I saw Lt. Aria in there and went to say hi, but apparently I narrowly escaped getting beaten within an inch of my life. I think it's my superpower, running into areas where angels fear to tread and almost dying."

Morgan suppressed a light laugh but the edges of her eyes crinkled with amusement. Caradec's humor was witty and dry, much like her own. She liked that about him. And he was certainly an attractive man. "Don't take it personally. The lieutenant is technically on an officer exchange program aboard Praxis so I assume her facade is simply to integrate herself with the Klingon crew as genuinely as possible. Think of it as...an undercover assignment of sorts."

"Completely understandable, and not without risk." Rafe said as he looked toward the other contingent. "I should have insulted her just to get things going." Rafe side-glanced at Morgan. "I'm only kidding." Looking back to the Klingons, he continued. "This could actually be a small beginning to more cooperative operations between us and the Klingons, hopefully."

The captain lightly shrugged at the notion and raised her brow with a small semblance of hopefulness. "Diplomatic cooperation with the Klingon Empire isn't easy, Rafe. Getting individual Klingons to befriend Starfleet personnel is even harder. But..." a small tug at the corner of her lips presented itself, "maybe bloodwine is the cure to that out here in the far corner of space."

"It's funny what can swing people's favor. You never know, maybe a little flattery." Rafe then began to move off with a smirk on his face, "Well, I think I'm going to mingle and see if I can't get a game of Fizbin going. It's a good thing it's not Tuesday."

"Enjoy yourself," was Tarin's reply before she subtly turned away then started to look across the banquet mess hall once more.

From the end of the corridor that bridged the two parties, soft growls and grunts started to emerge. Scarlet Blake hadn't time to figure out targ proofing for her quarters yet, so like it or not, Snuffles was coming along as a plus one. She'd had time to change though, opting for a sleeveless dark blue pencil dress that reached to a couple of inches above her knee. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a chance to wear it, so the decision had made itself.

She walked easily with the targ on the leash, although she was keen to be rid of the binding. He moved contently enough at her side until she reached the parties. His head lifted towards the Klingon gathering and he made two emphatic sniffs of the air before pulling to try and get to his spiritual kin. "No you don't," she said firmly, giving a tug to let him know they were going the other way. "We've had quite enough mess to clean up over there, thank you..." she murmured, leading him into the Starfleet party whether he liked it or not.

Moving for the far corner without so much as stopping to look at anyone, Scarlet used the leash expertly to maintain authority as she got Snuffles to the corner. Without asking, she pulled down a group of cushions and seating pads before securing the rummaging targ close to them, letting him root and scuff as much as he liked to make himself at home. She crouched to him, watching with an arched eyebrow as she rubbed her fingertips roughly up his snout. "Stay...lie down...and I'll find some food for you in a bit if you're good," she instructed firmly, but with the smallest of smiles pulling at her lips.

Pushing herself up and away, Scarlet smoothed the blue velvet of her dress down and made straight for the drinks. She took one without much more than a nod to Laeon, drinking half of it down in one go, barely blinking as she glanced around the room. In honesty, if it weren't for the promise of real alcohol, she likely would have remained at home.

"Blake," said a distinctively dry voice next to the first officer. Morgan had approached after discreetly viewing her entrance with a new creature companion in tow. "Glad you could make it. You look casual," she complimented the woman's dress. "Why is there a targ here in the mess hall?"

"Please address all targ queries to Captain Saalm," Blake replied lightly, glancing to her before shaking her head with a soft chuckle. "She couldn't exactly take a pet with her where she's going," she explained more fully, draining the rest of her drink.

Hel smiled as she saw the targ, her hair free and wearing a tight pair of brown leggings with a top that seemed to have been stitched from different fabrics, all with turquois or brown hints. She wore a beaded necklace, also multicoloured, and her reddish hair was free. She knelt by the beast, already holding out some Scotch eggs that the animal nabbed from her hand to chow down on. "Now you're just perfect," she praised the beast, her yellow eyes focused on it.

"There you are, and hey Donald." Mimi said finally searching out John in the crowd of people, the scents of nearly 50 people and all the food and drink made it harder to figure out just where he was.

"Hey Ensign," John winked. He knew that Don knew and probably others, but they were at a function and knew that he should at least play that there was formality. He jerked a thumb, "Other ears and eyes."

"Does not mean we cannot talk at all John." Mimi replied. "Everyone is chatting with everyone here, enlisted or officer."

"She is right John." Donald added to Mimi's words. "Just because you're getting married and are keeping it hush hush for now, doesn't mean you can't talk." He spoke deliberately loudly for only a moment before returning to his normal voice. "I doubt anyone could hear you over this noise anyway."

"Oh all right, I guess I'm gettin' outvoted. Yeah wonder what shit is going to hit the fan. Tarin's kinda of stuck over things."

"I was surprised she is here at all," Mimi remarked glancing back towards Tarin. "she looks very.... out of place though, almost no one else here is wearing a uniform."

"Yeah, like she can't fully relax." Donald added. "Probably has a wardrobe with nothing but uniforms and Pt gear in."

John laughed heartily. "Or a chastity belt with the tines turned in."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Donald added with a loud chuckle.

"What is a chastity belt?" Mimi asked though by Donald and John's reaction it was probably something rude.

"A metal device that human male would put on females such that no one else could have sex with them because there were metal tines that...well would do a number on said male appendage. Tarin probably has them turned inward and relishes the pain."

The look on Mimi's face changed from one of curiosity to one of disgust. "That is...tmerrura people really did that to their women?"

"Oh yeah, people were weird back in the olden days," Donald said chuckling at Mimi's expression. "Men would do anything to make sure their wives and sweethearts weren't having sex with anyone but them."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

CWO3 Lamar Darius
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Tarin]

LTJG Sofie Ullswater
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

ENS Mimi
Deputy Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

Nesh Saalm
Sous Chef
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rice]

LTJG Rafe Caradec
Senior Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

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

PO3 John Hollenday
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Warraquim]

PO2 Donald Andrews
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

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