Posted by Cadet Ashlyn Trenton (Security Officer) in Side-Sim: Lunch After Parkour

Posted by Cadet Sharah Fayth (Doctor) in Side-Sim: Lunch After Parkour

Ashlyn was tired and for the first time in a long time would likely be falling asleep without the sleep aid she usually had to go in for. A full night shift followed up with a long and hard workout session was just what she needed, the only thing that could make it better would be a date. Though she was in the mess hall with her best friend, it wasn’t a date, not that Trenton would complain. She enjoyed the Betazoid’s company and loved seeing the expressions she had when trying to navigate through the voices in her head, especially when they’re all running through the few thousand pickup lines and flirtatious comments Trenton has in backlog. “Mmm, Lunch. I’m going to have the best food coma ever.” Ashlyn’s smile stretched genuinely on her face, a natural look when around Sharah, one of the few people she liked being around.

At least the Lieutenant wasn’t around, he has a strong habit of negative reinforcement that sounds more like personal judgement than any type of encouragement. It always made her feel like she was wasting her time with all the effort she was putting in, like there was some key thing she kept missing and there was no sign of what it might be. In the end she knew she could ask the Counselor and maybe the XO or CO for a Letter of Recommendation to join Starfleet Intelligence depending on her graduation results, but Rainns wouldn’t. No, Trenton was quite sure the only recommendation Rainns would ever make was to remove her from Starfleet so she couldn’t be a threat or liability.

Ashlyn quickly shook herself out of the negative thoughts so she could focus more on her lovely friend and their lunch. “So what are you having?”

• Cadet Ashlyn Trenton, Security

Sharah’s head hurt. She could see the problem, it was obvious to her, though not uncomplicated. Ashlyn and Joseph both had a big need to prove themselves, and they both had the leadership ability to make excellent heads of security. And their personalities were colliding horribly. They both were still students of the academy trying to make a fast name for themselves in order to get where they each wanted to go with their careers. They both thought that others needed to earn their trust, but, whether they realized it or not, they both thought others should trust them implicitly. Logically they both knew it didn’t work that way, but feelings and underlying confidence in themselves didn’t always make for logical actions. She could simply tell them what was the problem, but it was a departmental thing and none of her business really. But whether they knew it or not she was now caught in the middle.
Of course if she was honest with herself, she was ‘caught’ in the middle of most of the problems on this ship, simply because she knew of them. Ashlyn and Joseph would make a most formidable team to have on Star Fleet’s security if they could ever find a way to work together.
Sharah suddenly laughed to herself, some of those pick up lines running through Ashlyn’s head were rather inventive. “You’re actually going to eat more than a ration bar? Me, I’m going to have a baked patato. Filling enough to get me through my shift but not so heavy I’ll fall asleep. I’ve got two 6-hour shifts tonight with a 3 hour break in between. Oh, and I’m sleeping after that so I’ll miss tomorrow’s parkour. I’ll be at the next one though.”
Cadet Fayth, Doctor

Ashlyn deflated a little, sad she would have to work out on her own but understanding that Sharah needed her sleep. “I understand, I’ll miss you at the session.” The cadet took a bite from her bar and gave her friend a smirk. “I like them, three thousand calories, all the vitamins and nutrients I need, and enough carbs to keep me fueled. Don’t really need more than that. Additionally, they’re compact and easy to carry around. If push comes to shove, I can carry extra on me and they wont stand out or make a mess.” Even in this environment, Ashlyn thinks like a survivalist that will lose everything at a moments notice. Even now she doesn’t believe she has any solidarity of place.

• Cadet Ashlyn Trenton, Security

“I’ll miss being there. You know this is NOT my thing, but I have enjoyed it. It’s not something I thought I would be capable of doing. But I’m not willing to risk Lt. Mika’s wrath. If I don’t get some sleep, she’s going to track me down, and probably most of the medical staff too. NE Doctor already threatened me with a security detail if I don’t behave. It’s SO embarrassing. I was sick, but that doesn’t seem to matter, I guess.” It was bad enough that the only people she spent significant amount of time with off duty was Trenton and Rainns. Most people thought she really did have a security escort. Most people thought it was over kill, but figured there was a reason, others thought she deserved it. She shook herself out of her moroseness. She might hear what people think but she didn’t have the right to interpret it.

Sharah followed her line of thought, “I’m prying a bit, but forgive me. Star Fleet is transient, at least for awhile until you get some rank and experience. You have a place here and you will have a place at your next posting. I think it’s a good in between for you. I think if you were put on one ship and told you would never transfer you wouldn’t know what to do with that. These short stints are a good way to acclimate to being in one place for awhile or at least with the same crew. We’re always going from place to place.”

Sharah ordered her food and found a table and sat down across from Ashyln.
Cadet Fayth, Doctor

Trenton looked a bit confused by the statement as she processed why Sharah would bring that up, when it finally dawned on her the voices all started saying hello in various ways and tones. “It’s all good, it may help understand what I’m trying to say better. I don’t have a problem with the moving around, the problem is the lack of place. I’ve been going from place to place, shelter to shelter, dorm to dorm, so on and so forth since I was twelve. Since the…incident…with my family, I’ve never really settled anywhere. Rainns said I should make Challenger my home, but I doubt that was permission for me to claim a section of Jeffereies Tubes for myself. Though you know I’d totally decorate that up really nice.” The voices of Trenton’s mind are still cycling through greetings, some of which go to some rather inappropriate greetings that result in slapping noises and some arguments about creeping people out.

• Cadet Ashlyn Trenton, Security

“That’s what I’m saying, our place is really where ever we get put at the time. Of course that’s the bigger picture.” Sharah thought quietly for a moment. Ashlyn didn’t like Rainns so she didn’t want to just outright agree with him. She could ask him what he thought, but…GAH! This was too complicated. She took a deep breath and shared her idea with Ashlyn. “I think your Lt has a good idea. Now, we both know we can’t go claim any Jefferies Tubes for you. I think the engineers might freak out if they stumbled across you snoozing while they are working.” Sharah grinned, “But what if we put some inside your quarters? Or we could make a small parkour type setting in there. Regulations allow you to do whatever you want with your quarters as long as it does not damage the structural integrity of the ship. We could do a hammock or jeffries tube near the cealing for a bed. The tubes might need to be smaller than standard so we could get some twists and turns in there.” Sharah wished she had her sketch stuff. She could see it. “We could create a set of jumps to a larger platform that would provide a place to sit and work. The jumps could actually be storage space so that they had a double function.” She stopped to let Ashlyn think about it. It would be an easy idea to transfer from ship to ship and would not require a lot of credits. What was in the room could be reclaimed and formed into what she needed so she wouldn’t need the extra replicator rations to create her own space.
Cadet Fayth, Doctor