Posted by Commander Mason Black (Executive Officer) in Arrival on the Odin - The search for room 717

Posted by Commander Mason Black (Executive Officer) in Arrival on the Odin - The search for room 717

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Paris Carisi (Armorer/Physicist) in Arrival on the Odin - The search for room 717
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Snip

“I ain’t ever seen yous,” the man raised his sandwich in a half salute as the doors to the turbo began to close. “And ah it’s next Saturday I was talking ‘bout,” was the last thing Paris and Mason heard as the doors snapped closed.

“Now that is a man that will go places.” Mason said dryly, and leaned against the back of the turbo lift and put the bags on the ground.

Paris moved next to Mason and took a seat on one of the bags. “Okay we do this one more time and if our quarters are not on the other side of the door I say we pull the fire alarm, wait for security to arrive, claim it was a surprise drill, and you make them carry our bags to your quarters,” she leaned her head against his arm. Eight hours ago the idea of taking the impromptu shuttle heading here sounded great. They would arrive before schedule and while it was late, they could wake up in their new quarters rested after three days of travel with broken sleep. Now Paris was wishing they opted for the shuttle they were supposed to have taken and gotten up at zero four thirty hours to make it.

Leaning down, Mason leaned her head back slightly and kissed her on the lips gently. “That is a fantastic idea,” he told her, “I knew there were more than nineteen reasons I love you.”

“Only nineteen,” she said playfully. “Guess I am going to have to remind you about reasons 20-75 later tonight,” she winked at him.

“You might just at that,” Mason agreed. “We can go through them one by one, slowly, so I don’t forget.” Mason stood up straight once again and turned to the door, her hand in his.

As the shuttle doors opened, one thing finally went their way since stepping onto the USS Odin. On a shiny metal plate was the single word: Deck Seven.

Paris Carisi Armorer

Mason looked at it a moment, then took the bags when Paris stood once more and stepped out of the turbolift. “You know,” he began, “I think that room guide was Deck Seven, Room Seventeen,” he said to her. “Not room 717, somebody forgot to put the dots in between.” He raised his eyebrow and began counting steps and then finally stopped, looking to his right. Room 17 stared back at him.

“Baby, we’re home,” he said and grinned, then looked over at the opposite door. “Who the hell do you think this Willamenia Roy is that we had to have a warning from handy andy down below?”

Cmdr Black, XO

As if on cue the door opposite Mason’s slid open. In the entry was a woman standing like she was expecting anyone but Mason on the other side. A flicker of shock danced across her eyes before settling on Mason. Slowly pulling her arm down from its position over her head as she lounged in the frame of the doorway, Willamenia moved towards Mason. “So you are my deck buddy,” she extended her hand for Mason to shake.

Putting down the bag in his off-hand so that he didn’t have to let go of Paris’ hand, Mason reached forward and took that offered by the woman. “You have deck buddy’s on this ship?” Mason asked, shooting Paris a glance. His eyes asked everything that Paris would recognise, what the heck was a deck buddy? Idly he wondered if it was anything like a deck appointment, in Wilamenia’s case, it definitely sounded like it was a deck appointment. “Mason Black,” he introduced himself, “and this is my fiance, Paris Carisi. We just transferred in, I’m the ships new XO and Paris here is the Odin’s new Armourer.” Mason gestured to the woman’s casual attire, “I’m sorry if we disturbed you, or if we weren’t who you were expecting.”

Paris was not sure what to make of the woman but found the situation rather amusing to watch. She and Mason had been on the Asimov for so long it was like culture shock being transferred here. The Asimov was the equivalent of a small town. The Odin was a major city. With that comparison in mind, all Paris could think of was how crazy people could be in big cities.

“I am Willamenia Roy. Night officer of the science labs. I just got off shift which is why I am not in uniform Sir but once I opened the door I couldn’t rightly pretend I didn’t see you now could I,” Roy’s voice held a sultry purr.

Paris cocked an eye confused at what was occurring. Yes it was now 7 am but most officers when they got off a shift did not slip into PJs that fast nor greet someone at the door the way she did. Obviously she was expecting company. Thankfully the man that warned her and Mason about not knocking on the wrong door did not share the full story of why.

“Not at all, that would have been, odd, yes,” about as odd as opening the door at the slightest sound of people and leaning on the doorframe like your toyboy was waiting outside Mason thought to himself, but smiled.

“So how do you like our little ship,” she asked gesturing down the hall with a hand as if Mason was standing in a home and not a Federation starship.

Paris could not believe the woman was standing in the hallway in her Pajamas. She would also lay down money that Willamenia Roy had to be some quarter Orion.

Paris. Carisi.

“Well I wouldn’t exactly call it little, it’s a bit bigger than the competition I think. Paris and I had quite the tour trying to find our room, a gentleman in the lower decks gave us directions and mentioned you might have had a late night, in case we were loud I’m guessing.” Squeezing Paris’ hand, he turned and pressed the button that opened the door to their quarters.

“Anyhow, miss Roy, I think we should let you get some rest. Night shift is long, we’ve all been there so, um, we’ll let you get back to, whatever you were doing. It’s been a real pleasure meeting you.” Reaching down, he picked up the bag he had dropped earlier and smiled at Paris. “I could do with some rest myself love, and maybe some coffee.”

Cmdr Black, XO

Paris turned around and looked at the nameplate. The glistening strip of metal held two things besides a shine that was almost as brilliant as a mirror: the number 717 and the name Commander Mason Black. Paris looked at Mason and smiled. “You know for a wedding gift I want this to say Mr. and Mrs.” she winked at him. Placing her palm on the control panel, Paris waited for the door to open. When it didn’t she pressed her hand on it once, then twice, and then rapidly with a frown on her face.

“Biometric,” Miss Roy said still standing in the hall but now looking at the pair’s back.

“Well we are getting that fixed too,” Paris looked at Mason with a raised eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t,” Roy replied for Mason, “not when you have a…an acquaintance as…officer like…as the Commander,” she chose her words slowly and carefully. It was plain to see the pair were a couple but one just didn’t say, yo’ you are cray cray girl. You want that door biometrically sealed to make sure there ain’t no usurper in their staking their claim in the command seat if you know what I am saying girlfriend unless it was in your head.

Paris was not jealous but tired. She was tired from the trip, tired of meeting wacky people, and tired of hauling her luggage all over creation. Taking Mason’s hand in hers, she physically placed it on the control. The soft pneumatic swish was followed by the rush of air as the door opened. Dropping his hand, Paris immediately walked into the room and took a deep breath.

“New quarters smell,” she inhaled like she was at the beach or in a field on a perfect spring day. “God I love new quarters smell. One day I swear I am going to bottle this and sell it. I mean who doesn’t love Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Styrene, Xylene, and Trimethylbenzene. That combination says I’m home or that was at least what my Dad called it when we moved around.” Taking a deep breath of it again, Paris closed her eyes and savored memory after memory of the times Denver Carisi moved her mom, London, Rome, and herself from duty station to duty station. It had been a few days since she called home. After a few hours of sleep, she would make sure to do that.

Opening her eyes, Paris got a huge smile and her eyes held a sparkle. “What if we don’t use my quarters for anything. The smell decreases at a rate of twenty percent a week but,” she wrapped her arms around his waist, “if we keep the door shut it will last longer and be like a vacation place. What do you think,” she asked looking up at him. For all the hassle and crazy that came with moving around and transfers, she would happily do it forever as long as Mason was at her side.

“And what do you think of this paint color and furniture,” she not so subtly changed the topic. Her head slowly nodded no as if cueing her fiance with the answer she wanted. Commander Mason Black might be in command of basically a small floating city, required to make snap decisions to save everyone’s life based on his gut, yet at times he could not respond with the correct answer.

“It’s gray,” she wrinkled up her nose. “I mean yes it is better than beige and gray is a solid neutral but I feel like we are in an old monochromatic TV show from the 1940’s. Gray walls, gray carpets, gray furniture,” she began to subtly point out the obvious. “Yes a punch of color on the curtains for the windows will help but I think we should just start over. Yes,” she said this time shaking her head so that the gesture matched the expected answer she wanted.

“So I say we go with Blue,” she offered. “While I don’t know why you have that enormous boulder of an unfinished sapphire on your desk as a paperweight, I do like the color.” Pausing as if thinking hard she let out a deep contemplative sigh.

“We are going to have to be careful in choosing furniture for this place. It is smaller than I expected for a ship of this size but I think we can make do,” she rose on her tiptoes putting her arms around his neck. “Don’t you,” she asked gently rubbing the back of his neck with her fingertips as she talked to him.

Paris Carisi