Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in Side sim: The Report Dilemma

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Side sim: The Report Dilemma

(snip)
She was extremely thankful when he finally asked her how her day was because she was unable to think of anything. “It did. Engineering said it could be 2 or 3 days before they can get to my computer and printer. But Crewman Murphy said he would make sure to find out how it was done and who did it. Did you get to finish your experiment today?”

Yeoman Rand

Roman was generally not picky either, in fact he could stomach nearly anything. Whether he liked it and would choose to eat it was another matter. But everything on the table were things he was perfectly happy with. “Does that mean two or three days of handwriting all your reports?” He asked. The whole prank situation irked him although he wasn’t even the target. He shook his head to her second question. “Not quite, I’ve been attempting to dilute the goo lizard’s.. well, goo. But I didn’t have the time to work on that today. Too many other things to do,” he replied. Normally he wouldn’t talk specifics of his work at the table, some word consider it gross (goo lizard goo wasn’t really appetizing), but Rand spent so much time in the lab anyway, Roman didn’t think she minded.

~ Roman

“At least that long. It depends on how badly my console and printer have been altered. But now that I know I shouldn’t be late again. I have plenty of time since I won’t be running in the mornings for now.” She ate quietly while he talked, taking small bites so she wouldn’t have to try and rush to eat and then answer him. “I noticed that the goo seems to sit in the water rather than dissolve, The water seems to be contaminated, but the goo is still intact.” If the topic bothered her it didn’t show; infact Rand was comfortable discussing what ever he was working on. That was one of their usual topics of conversation. “Is everything alright?” she asked in response to him saying he had too much to do. There was concern ringing her voice, for him and that something had gone wrong. Not that she could fix it.

Yeoman Rand

“Pity. I miss joining in on your runs,” Roman said. He was doing the same, taking small, easy to swallow bites to help conversation flow easier. “It does, that’s what makes it difficult to dilute. It repels the water like oil, except instead of floating, it’s the same weight as water and it makes little pockets of goo in the water.” He explained. “And if there is any point to this particular experiment, it’ll be in tiny, tiny amounts at a time.” It was a potent substance, and as they already knew, in its natural state it burned skin like an acid. “Oh, it’s alright, I’ve just yet to work through my entire backlog,” he replied simply, not wanting to tell her the reason for his backlog was her absence from duty.

~ Roman

“I won’t be running any time soon, not like I was. I don’t want to do too much, especially since I can really tell I’ve been going all day.” Her foot didn’t hurt but..the best description was ‘tired’. Rand wasn’t surprised by that, but any running she did would have to build back her stamina. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, “I miss it, too.” They didn’t really talk when he joined her on the runs, and she liked that for many reasons, but mostly because she liked that she was comfortable and not nervous with the silence, that there were no unknown expectations she had to worry about. It was just an activity they both enjoyed doing together, even before he told her he liked her. She was quiet momentarily - thinking. “Have you tried diluting it with oil?” She remembered during one of those historical reenactment field trips for school they were making candles and put scents in them. The woman diluted the scented oil with a cooking oil when the scent was too strong. At the mention of his back log she was first relieved that there hadn’t been an issue in the lab, and then had to try really hard not to smile. She knew his paperwork had piled up, without even looking at the boxes in his office. Roman hated paper work, unless it was to jot down his notes from his lab work. And even then he never transcribed them himself unless forced to do so. “If it’s paperwork, maybe I can help?” Was she trying to find a reason to spend more time with him?

Yeoman Rand

Roman smiled when she said she missed it to. “I hope it’s not bothering you too much,” he said. The runs were a nice way to start his day, especially when he was tired, it woke him up enough to make it till his morning tea. Spending the time with Rand was better than hanging around his quarters.

“No, not ta much. More an annoyance when I want ta be in a hurry but I have ta slow down.” The foot wasn’t really bothering her. She actually expected to be more uncomfortable from it after her first day. The bone fuser might be to thank for that…she wasn’t sure it was worth it.

“No, I haven’t,” he replied thoughtfully. “It might be too heavy for oil, but it might work.” That was one of the reasons he liked talking to her about work, even though Rand wasn’t a scientist. She often brought a new perspective, and she was smart, she picked up on ideas quickly. Roman smiled when she offered and said, “If you’d like to, that would be lovely.” He had tried to keep up with it… and yet there he was, four days behind on some of them, a full week behind on a few, and two days behind on another. The only thing that wasn’t backed up were the reports he sent on to Captain Rogers daily. “Ah, but we aren’t here to talk about work all night, are we?”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Fork half way to her mouth, Rand paused. Work was comfortable and easy for her, but she really did enjoy listening to him talk about his work. “No…we’re not.” But she didn’t know what to talk about. The other nights it had seemed so easy. Roman loved animals, and he couldn’t sleep. So she just told any story that came to mind. She didn’t think he wanted to hear more stories about the wayward animals she was always dragging home, or maybe he did? There was plenty to share, there was plenty to ask about, but over the last few weeks Rand had come to realize there were somethings that would be hard to come out, to confess to more than their own selves. The thoughts just continued to circle and run. Then she sighed deeply. “I…I can’t think of what I should say,” she didn’t exactly whisper but she was comfortable enough to admit it.

Yeoman Rand

To Roman, the nightly chats were different in a way, a means to fall asleep. Not that he didn’t enjoy the stories, he did. He always did. “What do you like to do off duty? Besides run, of course,” he asked after a few moments of silence. It was somewhere to start, at least.

~ Roman

“I like to read, classics and, it probably sounds weird, but the first contact reports that come out. I like learning about different people and their customs.” It helped with her work, but after talking with ‘therapist’ Randy for so long she knew it was because she felt like it helped her to know how she was supposed to act and react if she ever met someone from that culture. She didn’t mention that her favorite was still screen plays. She loved to read them, memorize parts, take on the persona and practice lines. She felt like she could trust him to tell him, but she wasn’t ready to tell him about all of that yet. “And animals, I love animals. I’ve told you that haven’t I?” She was joking with him. “And you?”

Yeoman Rand

“That’s not odd,” said Roman. “I’ve read them, though I do prefer new class m planet reports.” Of course he did, he wasn’t a planetary scientist but he liked to see what kind of ecosystems existed in the universe. “And you know I’ve read my fair share of the classics,” he said, meaning his quote from the other night. Roman smiled at her final statement, “Yes, quite.” He thought for a moment, taking another bite of his food. “You’re aware of my martial arts.” He’d told her about it after he’d seen her in the gym that day. “I play violin, I’ve been horseback riding, back in England. Ah, and I fence. Though I haven’t practiced that sport in some time.”

~ Roman

The class M reports made perfect sense to her. He probably knew enough to be able to use the information to make a hypothesis about the types of animals in the planets. She had the embarrassing thought that she could watch him practice all day. “Do you prefer classical or more modern pieces?” Rand had a feeling that Roman’s parents were only interested in classical and so that is what he learned, but that didn’t mean he liked it. “Oh! I took a couple fencing classes once. For a p…umm…just once. In…in high school.” Her voice dropped off why had she said that? She looked everywhere but at him. What could she say to change the subject? Everything that came to mind was questions about things that upset him and she didn’t want to do that. She picked up her drink and sipped it, concentrating on the glass and the drunk inside to stop her hands from shaking. Someone like Roman would never understand giving up your dream for fear…

Yeoman Rand

“I quite like them both, they had different styles but both have their merits,” Roman replied. She was correct about his family, they much preferred true classics as they called them, nothing modern. Roman had a wider interest range. “Ah! Perhaps you’d like to learn more sometime, I did fencing for many years.” She stuttered to a stop and then looked noticeably uncomfortable, suddenly avoiding looking at him. “Are you okay?” He wanted to ask her what she meant, what the word that started with ‘p’ was, but he got the feeling it would make things worse. He figured, having seen her acting in the lab once, that the word might’ve been ‘play’. It would certainly explain the extravagant voicing she used when she told stories.

~ Roman

‘Okay?’ Yes she supposed she was okay. She didn’t answer that question though. She was okay but she wasn’t. But she wasn’t going to fall apart. Not here, not after all those years. Not when she was so thrilled, so excited to be having dinner, a dinner date, with him. She sipped the drink again, clearing her dry throat, and set the glass down. “I would love to learn more. Learning about it brought depth to the stories I’d read.” She smiled slightly, “Such a civilized way to barbarically harm someone - at sword point.” She was attempting to add some ease to a situation she’d made so awkward. But she may have fell flat in the effort.

Yeoman Rand

“That it is, my old instructor said it is an artful battle style, the art of killing someone,” Roman said. Of course, in sport fencing, one wore a boatload of protective gear so no one was dying. Preferably no one was getting injured either. “I didn’t bring my gear, but perhaps there’s something aboard to use.” It was still slightly awkward, she hasn’t answered his question. But he got the feeling there was something she didn’t want to talk about, so he simply moved on in the conversation.

~ Roman

Rand felt horrible not answering his question. But trying to figure out how to explain why she was but was not okay was a disaster in self-induced anxiety. “I think the gym is set up for it, or can be. There are a lot of storage lockers with equipment in them. Most of them haven’t even been opened yet.” She picked at the last few bites on the plate, which may have been taken as a nervous action (and it could have been), because she was full and contemplating if she’d eat more or leave it. “How often did you get to ride horses?” Rand adored horses, the were animals after all, but huge and gentle and magnificent. She’d only ridden enough to know what she needed for performances. She’d been very lucky in a way to be exposed to so many different things. Horseback riding was something she always wanted to do more of, but had never had the chance.

Yeoman Rand

“Once a month or so until I was fifteen.” Roman replied. His family hadn’t owned the horses, a friend of his father’s had. He’d liked horseback riding, it was an activity where in his opinion, one had to really get along with and understand the animal. But he hadn’t been since back then. “We would take them outside of town and ride along the countryside.” Roman’s plate was also nearly empty, and he began cleaning up. “Are you finished with that, or not yet?”

~ Roman