Posted by Lieutenant Bethany Kovra Gadi (Counselor) in Lay of the Land - Corridors (Tag Forgrave)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Issac Forgrave (Chief of Security) in Lay of the Land - Corridors (Tag Forgrave)

Posted by Lieutenant Bethany Kovra Gadi (Counselor) in Lay of the Land - Corridors (Tag Forgrave)
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip)

“It’s an interesting problem with the captain. She has quite the reputation, I’m very excited to her work under her. But as I said earlier, I had thought she and the cmdr had made the choice for a new CNS, but apparently not. So I guess we are all now on uncertain ground, and stranded on this island together. We will either survive together or we won’t, I guess.” Bethany put a hand out as if to dismiss his humbleness towards his advice, and she remembered not to enter his personal space. “I welcome the advice. Experience is not measured in years in Star Fleet. Experience can come from any time in our lives. And the number of years does not indicate the amount of experience either.” Bethany sent a copy of the schematics for the system to Forgrave’s office. “You can look it over and make use of it if you want. Stores can probably tell you more about it than I can.” There was a panel that she apparently hadn’t put back on right. She knelt down briefly to fix it and then stood up. “Anything else you’d like to see? Like I said, she’s old, but she’s in good shape.”
Lt. Gadi, CNS

“I appreciate ya passing that along; I think I got some ideas of how to implement that in some sections of the ship; even if we just use some of the bits it oughta prove damned effective. And as far as this ship goes, reckon I wouldn’t even know where ta start; been told I got an engineer’s mind, but I ain’t got the training. Leastwise, not with modern tech.” Issac grinned. “And don’t you believe Stores - I sure brewed the coffee, but I didn’t have nothing ta do with the replicator recipe! That’s his black magic at work there; no doubt about it.”

Issac shrugged off Bethany’s ‘praise’ of his advice; after all, he wasn’t some grand philosopher; or a trained Counselor for that matter. He’d just been on the ship for a relatively short while; long enough to maybe get the feeling of things.

Issac Forgrave, CoS

Bethany’s smile lit up. “You brew coffee? Well then.” She turned and walked towards the back of the shuttle and opened a cargo panel. She returned with a bag, that from the rich aroma was obviously fresh coffee grounds. She passed it to him. “Mast Store Provisioners Appalachian Blend. I bought several…cases the last time I was home. It’s grown on a farm near the Carolina mountains.” She didn’t know why she told him that. It was a good possibility that he already knew that. Mast Store was all over the Carolinas and most people who lived near the mountains knew of the store even if they didn’t patronize it. “I actually have the whole coffee beans if you have a grinder.”

Issac couldn’t help but grin; it was a wholly unexpected, but appreciated gift. “Mast Store, eh? I’d actually been meaning ta swing by there while I was on shore leave, but I got called back earlier than expected. Thank ya Ma’am, I do appreciate this! An I’d say you’ve more ‘n earned yerself a cup or three of it at your request; so long as any’s left, of course. As far as the whole beans go, I’ve got a grinder, but I’ll admit ta not using it much; mainly if I got more time than expected in the morning - and that ain’t a common occurrence; leastwise, not lately.”

“Careful Forgrave, I may take you up on that.” Bethany smiled. She was glad that someone else would enjoy the coffee. She had more than she knew what to do with, but it was excellent and should be shared with someone who could appreciate it. “Well I have enough here to share a pot or two every morning for a year. So when it runs out, let me know.” On the way out of the shuttle she opened the hatch again, and Forgrave would see the insanely large stash of coffee she had. She pulled out another bag and handed it to him. This time it was whole coffee beans. “For when you have the chance.”

She moved toward the back to the hatch and waited for Forgrave to exit in front of her, unless he had more questions about the system or the shuttle. “So what do I need to do to see the video footage when you get that system put in and someone plays chicken with it?” She was laughing only half serious.
Lt. Gadi, CNS

Issac was content to follow Bethany, answering questions and providing commentary. In response to her question; he took a deep whiff of the bag of coffee held in his hands. “I reckon you said you got more of this stashed away? I suspect we can work out a trade; something mutually beneficial.” He nodded conspiratorially. Embarrassment could be a good motivator; if pain didn’t quite work.

Issac Forgrave, CoS

She keyed the access panel on the outside shutting the hatch and locking the shuttle up. She walked through the barrier forcefield that Stores had put up and reset it as well. She smirked, tapping her chin in thought. “A trade you say? I think we could find some mutually beneficial arrangement. How long do you think a shipment from Earth would take to get here?” Her parents lived within walking distance of Mast General. “I could get you more coffee, all the coffee you want probably. Until the store runs out.”
Lt. Gadi, CNS

“Hmmm… shipping from Earth… reckon it’s a matter of how much ya want ta spend, really. Probably best to plan orders well in advance.” Issac thought about the sheer quantity of coffee that appeared to be stashed in the shuttle. “However, depending on how much your coffee gets shared around the crew, I don’t think you’re gonna have to stock up again anytime soon!”

“I’ll admit ta drinking a bit more coffee than is likely good for me, but there’s only so much I can drink. Now, you start cutting engineering and ops in on that deal… you may have ta start taking on shipments.” Stores and his people immediately sprung into mind; they could put away an alarming quantity of coffee over the course of a day.

Issac Forgrave, CoS

“I think I may have to start having small shipments sent regularly. Now I don’t mind sharing, but suppling a whole crew can be a difficult task. And I drink more coffee than I should. Especially this one. It reminds me of home.” She points to the bag he’s holding. “And I suppose I should share with Stores. He helped out a lot. He probably already knows it’s there though. But all of operations….I don’t know they’d have to make it worth my while for me to give the whole department access to my coffee stash.” Bethany walked out of the cargo bay and back down the corridor. “All this talk of coffee makes me want to brew a pot. And I think Luna probably wants out as well.”
Lt. Gadi, CNS

Issac chuckled. “I bet we could bribe Stores inta working his magic on the replicators and get a suitable facsimile of this coffee pushed out; save the ‘real’ stuff for special occasions and favors. I reckon the coffee-drinkers on the Dresden would appreciate a bit more variety, if nothing else.”

“I’m almost always up for a mug; and I reckon I ain’t got nothing else begging my attention at the moment.” Despite his self-admitted prejudices, Forgrave found himself enjoying talking with Bethany. He still caught himself on guard (more so than usual, at least) but he was aware of it; and consciously trying to relax. “Luna? That’s what… three dogs on the ship now, at least?” Issac smiled; he was a fan of animals aboard the Dresden; at minimum from a morale perspective. Companion animals seemed to make the ship a brighter place.

Issac Forgrave, CoS

Bethany stepped into the turbolift with Forgrave. “Deck 5.” and the lift took off. “I guess I’ll have to offer him a bag of it so he can program the replicator. Or should it be two bags? Maybe two. Get him hooked on it so he’ll want to add it to the system.” She laughed just a little. She’d shared coffee with Stores. The man was already addicted. She hadn’t phrased her words as an invitation, but it had been meant as one. But Bethany, who was usually very social and friendly had found that she was recieved with mixed feelings on this ship. So rather than openly ask him she’d skirted around it. She liked Forgrave though. And it wasn’t that she couldn’t tell that being Betazoid bothered him, but he was willing to talk to her anyway. She got off on Deck 5 and walked down and around a couple of corridores to her quarters. “Come on in. I’ll make a pot.” She paused though, “But Luna. She’s not a dog.”

Not a dog? Huh. “Reckon it ain’t anything too dangerous then; nothing’s crossed my desk at least.

Bethany stepped into her quarters, which were sparse, standard and empty except for the two crates stacked to the side of the room. There was a third crate sitting on top of the desk. “Make yourself comfortable.” She rummaged around in the crate on her desk for a moment. She pulled out an old fashioned coffee maker and set it to the side when a bang from the corner made her laugh. “Yeah yeah, I know Luna.” She walked past the couch towards the corner where there was a medium sized cage sitting on the floor and opened the door. Immediately out hopped a small rabbit, a Mini Rex, that was a silvery grey color, and ears that stood straight up. Bethany walked back over to the desk to work on the coffee. She looked over at Forgrave, “That is Luna.” She dug around in the crate and pulled out filers, coffee and two mugs. She set up the filter and grounds, added water to the machine, set the pot in place and then started it brewing. She walked over and sat down waiting for the pot to finish. Luna was making herself known, having very little fear of people. She was sitting in front of the couch on her hind feet raised up sniffing the air.
Lt. Gadi, CNS

Issac wandered over to the small table, sitting at one of the chairs and leaning back. Glancing around he spied the crate. Cat, maybe? On seeing the long ears, he smiled. Rabbits were fun; he’d had a number of them back on earth, but they hadn’t quite been pets. He wasn’t going to bring that up, though - tact had it’s place. “Luna, eh? Good name for a rabbit; fits.” Issac idly wondered if she knew about the old Terran myth of the Moon Rabbit; though to be fair, he only knew of it, and very little else.

Issac rose from the chair, squatting down halfway between it and Luna. Holding out his hand, he called gently to the rabbit, coaxing it over to receive attention. As he began petting Luna gently, he half-consciously started babbling to it; nonsense muttered praise. “Aw, whose got bog ‘ol ears, eh? You got big ‘ol ears, doncha? Yeah; you’re awful cute, aren’t ya? Bet you get all the treats just from your good looks, right?” After a moment, Forgrave seemed to realize that he was speaking aloud, and fell silent with a ear-to-ear grin.

“Always figured small, cute animals got some kinda psychic aura; seems ta turn people’s brains off at times. ‘Ees awfully brave; seems like this ain’t Luna’s first trip?” Issac wasn’t sure of the rabbit’s gender, and only slightly exaggerated his drawl; more than enough to blur the initial pronoun past distinction.

Issac Forgrave, CoS