Posted by Lieutenant Commander Bethany Kovra Gadi (Chief of Security) in Hideout Fallout - Closed - Sidesim

Posted by Lieutenant Miranda Martel (Chief Engineer) in Hideout Fallout - Closed - Sidesim

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Bethany Kovra Gadi (Chief of Security) in Hideout Fallout - Closed - Sidesim
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>
The floor was still a little … wobbly. But mostly she could walk normally. Finally she made her way into the mess hall, and the din of conversation was almost more than she could handle at first, but it settled down. Moving to the nearest replicator she punched in her order. Tea, Lady Grey. Hot. A liter of it. Then pancakes and some orange juice on the side. With her prize in hand she moved over to a table that was devoid of life, but with a couple of chairs still there, set 120° apart. Dropping down, she rested her elbow son the table, putting her head in her hands for a minute.

Martel

A few minutes later another tray set down softly and a chair moved and suddenly Martel found herself cast in shadow, someone was blocking the lights. “If I had to guess, you were at the same party as Gadi and Calloway last night.”

Ridad

She grimaced a little. “Is it that obvious,” she grumbled, daring not to look up just yet. The lights were ‘up’. “I haven’t drank like that since the Academy. I think. It’s kind of a blur.” She lowered her shades with the touch of a finger to peer over them, getting a better look. “And you would be… Ridad, right?”

Martel

“Only because I know what to look for. Plus I already ran into the chief this morning and saw Calloway stumble into sickbay.” He grinned, must have been something, the chief was miserable. He ducked his head to peer at her under the bill of the cap and over the rim of the glasses. Her eyes were stunning, even tired. He held back the bigger grin and deep chuckle at his name. He must have made an impression if she remembered him through the hangover. “That’s me, and I’m pretty sure, hiding behind those glasses is the spunky engineer Martel, that acquired a cloak for us.”. He reached over and took her free hand, uncurling her fingers a bit and dropped two pastel green pills in her palm before closing her fingers around them. Then he twisted the cap of a water bottle and set it in front of her. “Chief’s special cure for mornings like this. Take those and a lot of water and you’ll be better in 20.”

Ridad

“Sorry it’s… been a little bit. Lot going on.” That was true for all of them. But having him there was reassuring, like a rock she could put her back to if she needed. As he took her hand she almost jerked away out of reflex, but he quickly pressed something into her hand. She stared at the pills for a moment as he half-explained. She was able to make a few suppositions about the rest, based on the limited medical training she had. Combat first aid, mostly. She knew how to take care of her people if there were some kind of engineering accident. But only so much to give them a chance until proper medics could get to them.

Ridad smiled gently and waved his hand to brush the explanation aside. “Something the chief got from,” he air quoted, “her ‘spooky’ friends. Counteracts the effects of hangovers. The main problem is being dehydrated, so these along with a lot of water will get you back to normal. Just don’t tell anyone. Chief has plenty but no reason to let people be careless, right?”

“Sure. Thanks,” she said, her tone a little dry as she popped them in her mouth then downed half the bottle, then came up for air… then killed the rest. “I’m going to need gills by the time noon rolls around. Gotta rehydrate the brain tissues and flush out any of the crap still in my bloodstream.”

He twisted the cap on another bottle and set it in front of her. “Gills? Well if that happens you should go to the holosuite and go for a swim and try them out before they disappear.” He grinned, if this was any other day he might offer to meet her, but that would be crass to do so now.

After a moment she scrubbed her face with one hand then sighed. Reaching up she sat her shades on top of the hat, out of the way, with a small wince. “What do I owe ya, doc?”

Martel

Ridad shrugged, “Nothing. We all have to help each other, right? We’re crew, and it’s the only way we’ll all come out the other side.” Ridad supposed he could ask for dinner, or lunch, or for some kind of upgrade for his room. But he wasn’t looking to trade favors, just help someone out who needed it. If more came later, well that was later and would stand on it’s own.

Ridad

She nodded quietly, then drained some of her orange juice, and chased it with more water. “At this rate I’m gonna be on a liquid diet.” That drew the faintest hint of a laugh. At least she could laugh at herself, which was a good sign. The headache was already starting to fade which was a good sign. “I…” She paused, letting out a breath that puffed her cheeks out a little. “I dunno, about the crew thing. i mean, yeah, sure I’d do a lot for my people. And I want everybody to make it home, whatever it takes. But.. .I just don’t feel it. Then again, I’ve only been here a month. Individuals, sure, I’d do just about anything for.” Parts of the night before came to mind. And then there was Gadi.

“Give it time. It doesn’t happen over night. We do all have one thing in common though, we all chose to stay on board for this mission. Whether because we believe our skills are needed, or we believe that stopping this ‘Shadow Syndicate’ is worth the sacrifice, or we simply believe in our job as Star Fleet officers. We have that in common, and that’s no small thing. It can be built upon.”

“Ever since I got here I feel like I’m in some kind of nightmare or dream. I keep expecting to wake up from it. Like this is happening to somebody else. I feel like I shouldn’t be here. But… who else is gonna do the job? I can’t let go of it either. Can’t talk to Paddie about it either. He’s… ” She trailed off, shaking her head.

Ridad rolled his shoulders, it wasn’t a shrug but more a sign of thought. “I don’t know him well. Had my eval with the old XO. She was helping out with all the new staff coming on board. But talking to a counselor means trust. It’s almost like dating, either there is a connection or there isn’t. And to bare your soul to someone you don’t feel right away you can trust…well then it just doesn’t work. There are other medical staff with major and minor degrees in counseling or just a friend. You could talk to one of them, or ya know…me.” He offered quietly.

Why was she even talking about this with him? She supposed he’d made a good impression the day they went after the cloak. Not just that he’d done his job, but she’d felt taken care of, she didn’t have to worry about watching her back so much. She could let go and do her job. Which was a good thing. It made sense why he was Gadi’s right-hand. “I’m sorry, I must still be a little messed up. Or something. I dunno.” Maybe she needed to go for a walk or run … or something.. before actually getting into engineering. Agenda be damned.

Martel

Ridad smiled reached over and hand and patted her forearm carefully. “No not messed up. It’s normal to go through the mental gymnastics, for lack of a proper term. Better out than in. This is no run of the mill special ops mission. Personally, I’d worry if people didn’t constantly question what we are doing and how we are going about it. Means people aren’t complacent, but thinking and aware. So you keep talkin’.”

Ridad

“I meant messed up from last night. Inebriated,” she said. Her pancakes were getting cold. Picking up a fork she sectioned off a couple bites then popped one into her mouth. They were light, fluffy, still warm, and the thin layer of replicated syrup was just about right. “I’m not really sure Ryley is good for my mental health. He’d charge me anyway, and it’s not like I’ve got anything I can pay him with except for my ass. And just… no.” Ridad on the other hand… Catching the thought she turned bright red for a moment. Then her expression dropped just alittle. Lapsing into silence she focused on a few more bites.

Martel

Ridad wondered what made her turn red, and that led to thoughts he should save for later. She was cute all red like that. “Eh, I’ve seen his file, Ryley is a good guy. And you just tell him you’ll keep his equipment running right and make him priority in exchange for medical care. Or offer to bobby trap the med bay incase we get boarded. I’m sure he can get himself out but what about his patients? It’ll be okay.” Then he winked at her, “Or tell him your treatment is protection from me.”

Ridad

She nodded, pondering. “I can rig up sentry guns in the corners maybe. Also I could tinker with the EMH to make them a little more… interesting.” She grinned at the idea going through her head. Though at the same time, that was highly inappropriate, and probably offensive on some level to some people. “I’ve no problem making sure everything gets taken care of down there though. It’s a high priority anyway. I don’t wanna go into a fight and not be able to patch people up.”

“Protection from you? You wouldn’t hurt an old man, would you?”

Martel

Ridad had to stop from laughing. After reading Ryley’s file the last thing he would call him was ‘an old man.’ But he gave Martel a very serious and slow nod, his eyes crinkling with a hidden smile. “Sure I would. Especially if he was trying to take advantage of a lady’s assets and she doesn’t want to share.”

Ridad

“Oh, my knight in shining armor, bestill my black little heart,” she said, placing one hand dramatically over her chest with a grin. In truth she couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. Defending her honor was a nice idea anyway. What would he expect in return? She sighed. “My assets, huh? What about ‘em?”

Martel