Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Achilleas Petrakos (Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: The Likable Hornet Date (Open for Any to Join)

Posted by Commander Dira Myqian (Executive Officer) in Side Sim: The Likable Hornet Date (Open for Any to Join)

Posted by Ensign Iyun Riani (Scientist) in Side Sim: The Likable Hornet Date (Open for Any to Join)
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Achilleas smiled at the two ladies as he stood up again. “Then I’ll be back.” He headed towards the bar to see if he could place an order.

CSO Petrakos

“Thank you,” Ria said once again as she smiled up at Achilleas. When he walked away she looked shyly at Dira for a short moment before dropping her gaze. Even though she usually didn’t mind silence at all, this one felt a little uncomfortable and awkward. She knew she should say something, but she didn’t know what to say. So while racking her brain, she bit down on her lower lip and fidgeted with her skirt.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Dira winked at her. “Bet this wasn’t how you saw your evening gong, now was it?” she said knowingly. It was at lest an attempt to set the poor woman at ease since she knew how hard this was. As weird as this was for her as well, this was an opportunity for her to get to know the crew better and that was always important to her.

“No, not really,” Ria admitted, her voice barely audible above the music. Her eyes only briefly flickered up towards Dira and she hoped that she wouldn’t think she was upset that she was there. Sure nothing about this evening so far had turned out the way she had thought it would and she was feeling anxious and nervous in Dira’s presence. But it had nothing to do with her per se or that she didn’t want her to be here. This was just the way she always felt around people she didn’t know and even more so around people who outranked her. Though admittedly it had gotten quite a bit worse since coming here.

“What realm of sciences do you gravitate to?” the XO asked, feeling it a safe topic.

Commander Myqian, XO

Ria looked up and a grateful smile tugged at the corners of her lips and eyes. “I’m an astrophysicist and I have a minor in theoretical physics and advanced mathematics.” While she still looked shy, her smile grew a bit wider and her voice became slightly louder. “I…” she hesitated for a brief moment, but then continued, “Parallel to my work here, I’m also working on my PhD.” She was excited about that and even a tiny bit proud. But knowing how easily she forgot everyone and everything around her once she started talking about science, she made herself stop at that.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Dira smiled widely. “Nice! That’s an ambitious step. Not everyone attempts to get their doctorate. It’s a long process to get there, so I wish you the best. Let me know if there’s anything we can do to support your research,” Myqian said sincerely. “I can’t promise anything, but I can certainly try.”

Commander Myqian, XO

The smile on Ria’s face widened a bit more and her cheeks turned slightly pink in delight. “Thank you, Commander,” she replied softly. ” highly appreciate your offer. My thesis is mostly theoretical, but if there is something I’ll need I … I’ll ask.” She never felt fully comfortable asking for help, but she sensed that Dira really meant it and thus she would try and ask, if there was actually anything she thought the First Officer could help her with.

After a moment of silence during which she bit rather hard on her lower lip, Ria looked briefly up and asked shyly, “Before becoming a First Officer, in which department did you work? If you don’t mind me asking.” She quickly dropped her gaze again, hoping that Dira wouldn’t mind or would think her nosy or something.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Dira smiled and adopted a causal demeanour. “I was in counselling. Been a therapist for twenty years, actually. Got my medical degree and then did a residency in psychiatry. But I have focused on a more holistic modality of therapy. I see myself as an aide rather than a fixer. People fix themselves”-she shrugged-“but sometimes they need some help and direction to do so. That’s where I come in.”

Commander Myqian, XO

Achilleas returned carrying three glasses of red wine. He set one down in front of Dira, “A Ktarian merlot for the Commander.” He then set one before Ria before he took his seat with his own. “They had a good Greek red that I thought you might like. If you don’t then I will finish it for you, so don’t be afraid to speak up.”

CSO Petrakos

Ria hadn’t been sure what else to say, so she felt relieved when Achilleas returned to the table. Followed by a pang of guilt as she realised that Dira would of course be able to sense her relief and how easily that could be misunderstood. As strong as her emotions were, Ria was a very guarded person and kept them as much to herself and below the surface as possible. So finding herself suddenly in the company of empaths and telepaths on a regular basis was a little unsettling and something she knew would take some time getting used to. With a soft smile on her face, she looked up at Achilleas. “Thank you. Red wine sounds good.”

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist