Hands Full with a Handfull (Part 5 of 6)

Posted on 17 Oct 2023 @ 3:12pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala & Ensign Mimi & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Petty Officer 3rd Class Helliun 'Hel' Inant
Edited on on 17 Oct 2023 @ 3:15pm

2,767 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: Regula I - Level 16, Mess Hall 1
Timeline: MD 18, 2002 hrs

Previously, on Hands Full with a Handfull (Part 4)...

He chewed then licked his half-gloved fingertips clean of worm juice. "You continue to surprise me," he grinned with sharp white teeth. "Some of my officers have much to learn from you." He then handed the half-consumed bowl of gagh to her. "Eat. You are still too slender and require more protein."

She took the bowl, not looking at it before she took some, eating it without dwelling on what it was. Because if she did, that gagh would become gag which would be her spewing her guts at the party. Not a good look. She swallowed and looked at him. "Eating more protein won't change it. High metabolism and adolescence spent training hard."

Frowning in a judgemental manner, Kuran simply replied, "Humans are a strange species," before wandering off to banter with the tactical weapons master, Torn.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Mess Hall 1, Galileo Banquet

Vala's poor sense of direction had led him to several silent locales around the station before the many exquisite smells of freshly prepared dishes assisted him in locating the correct place. It had been an exceptionally busy day meeting with senior officers and going through the formalities of joining his new posting, so he had not had much time to organise himself before the banquet. In his brief visit to his temportary quarters he had tried to dress the part, donning a formal dark green shirt for the occassion, and pinning some burnished silver cufflinks together as he hurriedly left the room.

Upon arriving he was a little late, and had only met a handful of the crew. Vala's eyes flicked about as he entered the room, searching for a empty seat. There were a lot of people here. Upon locating a promising chair he walked over to take a seat, slightly admonishing himself for feeling so anxious in the setting.

"Mister Vala." The distinctive dry voice belonging to Galileo's new captain spoke to the mixed-heritage Romulan scientist as Tarin approached him from the side with a small plate of crepes in one hand. "Good of you to join us. I hope you don't mind crowds. Or Klingons," she flicked her hazel eyes to the corridor where IKS Praxis' own personal 'banquet' was taking place.

"Captain." Vala said respectfully, turning to greet her. "I do not mind crowds in general, but I prefer ones where I am acquainted with the majority." He looked around the room. "I hope at the next such banquet to be well known to the crew." His eyes ultimately settled on the door. "I was wondering about the... revelry." No one feasts like a Klingon, he mused. "No particular issue, captain. I had a very painful run in with a one-eyed Klingon which effectively ended my last commission, but... I'm not one to judge a whole people on the basis of their pirates and criminals." He looked back to the captain. "I do tend to find, however, they are not the biggest fan of Romulans." He gave a slightly awkward smile.

Morgan took of a bite from one of her crepes then slowly nodded with confirmation. "If you enter their mess hall right now, it might be the last time we'll see you alive. I'd hate to see your Galileo career end before it even starts," she dryly joked in between chews of the pleasant-tasting pancake. "But by all accounts so far, they've been behaving. No one's been killed yet...that I'm aware of."

Vala lightly chuckled in response. "That is good to hear. Perhaps I will decline to make their acquaintance while they are in such a... festive mood." He cast his gaze over the room once more, it was always pleasant to see a crew savouring some downtime. "I'm afraid I am a little out of the loop, captain. Is there a particular cause for celebration today, or is this sort of affair a Gallileo tradition?"

"The crew recently lost their previous CO to reassignment and they've been through a tempestuous deployment period over the past few months," the captain started to explain to the new officer in a lowered, private tone of voice. "It's been close to a full year since their last shore leave so Commander Blake and I felt a small party was in order." She finished one of her crepes then wiped her lips with the back of her knuckles. "To help boost morale before our next orders from Command come through."

"It is pleasant to hear such consideration is paid to the crew's morale." Vala what he hoped was a genuine look of respect to the captain. "Everyone seems to be appreciating the event." Again he felt a sense of ease as he looked around the room. Hard earned rest was the best of all. "I wanted to ask, captain, have any other new officers come aboard in the past few days?"

A short moment passed while Morgan recalled the various personnel changes she'd overseen aboard Galileo since its return to the small science station. A couple NCOs had departed and transferred to Regula I, and one other officer had attempted to transfer due to psychological trauma stemming from their recent Cold Station 31 investigation. "Yes, actually. A new ensign in the engineering department." She tried to recall the woman's robust name. "Ensign...M'La'Zor? M'Lyr'Zor, I believe. A Vulcan."

A small sense of relief washed over Vala. "I must admit I am glad not to be the only new face. I'm sure the crew are very welcoming but its oddly easier when you know you are not the only one finding your feet." He gave a dry laugh. "Thank you for coming over, captain, but I don't want to keep you from the everyone else. I will manage on my own if you need to continue to make the rounds."

As the captain procured another crepe from her plate, she casually nodded to the new science officer with bright hazel eyes. "Fate is what we make for ourselves, Mister Vala." She then stuffed a healthy portion of the pancake between her lips and wandered off to chat with other personnel.

Earlier when the banquet had first started, the conn officer Lamar Darius had entered and casually spoken in passing to the ship's deputy operations manager - the same woman he'd attempted to assassinate less than a week ago. His recovery hadn't been easy following the psychological effects from the cold station, but he was now enjoying the festivities and felt much more like himself. Fully recovered? That would take time. But presently he was back to 90% of his former self. As he wandered around the mess hall making casual chatter with some of the NCOs, his dark brown eyes kept glancing to the Nekomi. The two of them had unfinished business to discuss and this was probably as good a time as ever.

Lamar lightly tugged on the bottom of his short-sleeved grey and white T-collared shirt before taking a long swig of his beer. He approached the young officer slowly, not wanting to alarm her. "Ensign Mimi. You, uh, got a second?"

Mimi turned when she heard someone calling her name, coming face to face with her second would be assassin; something she hadn't told John about. "Hello chief, what is it?"

He scratched the back of his neck somewhat nervously. "I, um, wanted to talk about the other day." His brown eyes had trouble looking directly into the Nekomi's dark green irises. "...When I shot that phaser rifle at you." He glanced down to the carpet then took another sip of his beverage. "I didn't mean to kill you. I mean, I did and I was aiming for your head, but I didn't really want to do it..." He lightly shook his head then looked away. He wanted to kick himself for not explaining his actions properly in this perfect opportunity. "The cold station really messed me up. Ullswater too. I just...thought you should know." He started to turn away.

"Lamar," Mimi began. "I can not begin to understand what you went through but from what little I was told you were not yourself when you came back. I know you would not have wanted to shoot me under normal circumstances but those were far from normal and it was not your fault."

The dark-skinned conn officer rotated his head to look back at the ensign. "That's not an excuse...not a good enough one," he swallowed a growing lump in his throat while memories of sighting Mimi's forehead through his rifle's holoscope resurfaced. Right between her ears was where he'd aimed. "You'd be dead right now if Turell hadn't shot me first. I don't know how to make that up to you. If I ever can. It wasn't right."

"You do not need to 'make it up to me' Lamar. We do not hold grudges against people." Mimi told him, her statement was a more general one about her species, her own standing on the matter was in dispute.

He reached up with his free hand and rubbed the stubble on the back of his head where his hair's tight fade was skin-close. "Thanks." He still didn't feel he'd done enough to reconcile despite the ensign's acceptance of his apology. "You, um, want to come to the holodeck with me some time, then? Maybe see my hometown on Earth?" Show her he wasn't the monster he'd temporarily become.

"I would like that." Mimi replied. "Thank you for the offer. I wish I could show you mine too but I have never seen it myself."

"Tomorrow at 2000 in Holodeck 1? After the systems test if you're off duty, that is. I'll cook you a Philly cheese steak on the grill and we can watch some baseball. No phaser rifles, I promise," he forced a small grin on his face to obscure his lingering feelings of regret and remorse. The young Nekomi had been so kind and forgiving to him just now, and before he started to second guess her motivations, he turned away and meandered into the rest of the crowd.

"Blake!" Hel smiled as she spotted the First Officer. She had finally tore herself away from the targ after feeding her a lot of different protein filled deliciousness. To the point that the poor beast was curled up, sleeping, with snuffling snores. "Is this you? Did you bring this brilliant animal here?"

"I didn't get much choice," Scarlet turned to her with something close to a shrug, shaking her head before draining her drink. "It was hand delivered just before the party. Until I can targ proof a place for it to live...or possibly the whole ship...it stays in my sights."

"Not sure how my roomies would feel, but I would love to watch it," Hel said, meaning it with a smile. "I do a lot of hunts on the holodeck that might be entertaining for a targ."

"I think you'd be right there," Blake chuckled, shaking her head as she looked over to the sleeping beast. "That's a great idea," she looked back to Hel, sipping her cocktail with a small smile. She didn't know much about her, not beyond her record. "How are you finding the Galileo?" she asked, not even realising that she was slipping into talking about the ship.

Hel smiled, watching her with an easy warmth. "Better now she is more...intact. Could be worse, as anyone from the Trial would tell you. But wow, it was touch and go for a moment there. And she's such a beautiful ship, the warp core has the most musical hum."

Blake chuckled softly, unable to help it. She saw these types a lot. People who loved ships for what they were, knew every nuance. Even had preferences from one ship to another. It wasn't something Scarlet could relate to. For her, a ship was just a vehicle, a means to an end. Sometimes a home. But it was fun to see it in others. "The engine purrs like a kitten now?"

"Well...sort of," Hel said as she watched her, smiling at that. "Or growls anyway. Steady enough to get us where we need to go, wherever that is." She studied the woman for a moment before smiling. "You need a drink, Blake. Come, we will drink together. Proper drinks too. Your eyes have stories, I can tell. I want to hear them, could be a good song in them."

"So long as I'm not the one who has to do the singing..." Scarlet shook her head with a small smile, moving with her towards the drinks.

Sera had been informed about the social gathering in the Mess Hall. Her initial desire was to forgo the banquet all together. However, it was an opportunity to meet other members of the crew, and it was logical to foster interpersonal communication regardless of how she might feel about the thing.

She had found her quarters, which were double occupancy, but thus far had no idea whom she would be sharing the space with. According to the announcement there was no dress code, which was incredibly inefficient. How was one to know what was appropriate when no parameters were given? After some thought, she chose a black high-necked cross wrapped tunic coupled with thermal leggings. If she had been on Vulcan, her clan’s crest would have adorned the outer layer of the wrapping…but here such designations were irrelevant. It’s absence however, made her feel irrationally…exposed. So as a compromise she put her combadge on.

She had been one of the later arrivals to the banquet, which was less than ideal to the overly punctual Vulcan. She slipped in and immediately made her way along the wall towards where the food and drink were laid out. It truly was a hodgepodge of cuisine from all over the Federation…and wait a minute, is that Pok tar?

She regarded the dish that caught her interest closely and inhaled…by Surak, it was made in the Southern style! Grabbing a plate, Sera loaded up on two portions of the dish. She would have to determine at some point in the in the evening who prepared the dish. The Vulcan offerings in the replimat were mediocre, but this? She all but scurried around tables—and other crew members—to find a table in the corner so she could observe and enjoy this rare treat.

Since the captain had moved on to mingle with her crew, Vala had sat alone contemplating the situation. He felt oddly at ease. It was pleasant to see a crew in the throes of sharp relief. In his previous positions he had often felt like the command team had paid little interest to the morale of the crew, but here was evidently different. He hoped he would be more... amongst them the next time this opportunity arose.

He tried a little food. It had been a long time since he had eaten anything not directly replicated - much of it was delicious, but he felt a deep craving for something made in the Rihannsu style. As selected a few tidbits he looked around, his eyes coming to rest on another isolated individual. A Vulcan. Perhaps this was the new engineering officer with a hard to pronounce name that the captain had mentioned. He wandered over.

"Good evening, ma'am." He kept a respectful distance. He knew vulcans were not typically ones to favour their distant kin. "I'm Lieutenant Vala." Too formal! "Uh... Montgomery I should say. This is a party after all." He gave a very small, somewhat awkward smile.

Sera regretfully placed her utensil down to give Lieutenant Vala the appropriate attention. "Greetings, Lieutenant Vala." She studied him closely. There was something...ah. Her brows moved slightly in Vulcan measure of surprise.

"You are not Vulcan."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

ENS S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Deputy Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Montgomery Vala
Deputy Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

ENS Mimi
Deputy Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

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

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