Posted by Captain Th’elin Zarath (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s Quarters

Posted by Captain Th’elin Zarath (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s Quarters

Posted by Ensign Amber Josen (Communications Officer) in Captain’s Quarters

(Snip)

She stepped in. “Yes, Sir… off duty. Ensign Caplin has the comm and will inform me the moment we can reach the planet or catch their outgoing. I promise.” She let him take the tray because she couldn’t think of a reason not to since it was for him. “And no, I admit I have never tried Andorian food. Merely the wine you shared the day we met. But I noticed you didn’t eat on the bridge today. And something told me you didn’t come back to your quarters and ravage the replicator. So I thought I would bring you something. I hope I didn’t choose wrong. I can fetch something else if you prefer.” Her hands were clasped before her as she stole glances at his quarters and his face. It seemed both fascinated her and she was curious why.

Josen
Comm

He took the tray and set it on the desk. The Srjula tea glowed softly in the dimly lit room, a neon orange color, as he poured two small cups. He offered one to Josen, lifting his own to inhale the steam. “It’s perhaps not such a pleasant flavor for human taste buds… but it’s a special occasion tea for us. Srjula only grows under the ice shelf and is luminescent. It’s said to bring good luck.” The Andorian said. He didn’t say that the Aenar used it for divination and readings of the near future. He motioned to offer her the desk chair as he sat nearby on the edge of the bunk. “And don’t worry, I appreciate that you brought me something. It’s perfect.” He smiled.

-Zarath, CO

She took the offered tea, and seat. “It looks amazing.” She took a sip and smiled. There was something exotic and strong. Because she had been prepared for it, the taste was unexpected, though not unpleasant. “It’s different. I don’t hate it… but it is a strong flavor.” She smiled and took a sip. “You are right. It’s perfect.”

She smiled. “As to dinner. I’m glad you aren’t mad. I wasn’t sure if I was being too forward. But I would rather be chastised than have you sick or pass out because you aren’t eating. We need you on this mission.” She looked down at her tea, her finger lightly running over and over the handle of the cup.

Amber
Comms

He let out a slightly raspy chuckle, blowing on his tea, then taking a sip. “Oh I try not to think about it like that… Sentinel needs good people, and our loyalty should be to her as well as each other. It’s the divide that matters. If a crew is loyal to just the Captain… That Captain has a power that could corrupt him. He could lead them wrong and they’d blindly follow. However, if the crew is loyal to the ship, then they temper other loyalties by that final one. What’s best for the ship is what’s best for both Captain and Crew.” He stared into the glowing orange liquid for a moment, hot steam rising into the dimness. “I’m sorry to get philosophical, it’s what I was thinking about when you came knocking. What makes a good Captain, what makes a good Officer. Where the trust should lay. Putting a new Crew together, sometimes you don’t know if they’ll take to each other, or if they’ll put the ship first. Hells, that’s a question I couldn’t answer for myself until I served on a Starship and found it out first hand.”

-Zarath, CO

She smiled. “I think you make a good Captain,” she said. “I mean, the fact you consider the ship and crew first shows that. And from what I’ve seen, you are followed out of respect and as representative of the ship, herself. I know we haven’t been together as a crew long. But we are getting along and even fitting together already as a family. I admit, I was worried coming here, despite having asked for it. Just as you worry about if we’ll get along, I worried if I would want to follow my Captain.” She smiled and glanced at him. “I’m glad I do.”

Amber
Comms

Th’elin smiled back, feeling a calm come over the things he’d worried at before. “I can only hope I measure up to that.” He answered. “I’m glad you came too.” He studied her for a moment, taking another sip of tea. One antenna swiveled slightly in the dimness, the other curling at the tip. “It helps to know someone’s checking if I’ve had dinner…” He chuckled.

-Zarath, CO

She laughed and a touch of color hit her cheeks. “Then I guess I’ll make sure of it more often. Though I warn you,” she winked, “I may surprise you and check on you at lunch as well.” Her eyes lit with mischief and teasing. Her eyes occasionally glanced to the antenna as if she was trying to match his mood to what she saw. If she could learn, even a little, about how and why they reacted....

Amber
Comm

Th’elin laughed softly. “I often skip lunch, so you may be on to something there…” Perhaps sensing her curiosity, he smiled wryly. “I wouldn’t worry too much about those.. unless I manage to lose one.”

-Zarath, CO

Realizing she had been caught staring, she smiled and looked back down at his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.” She leaned over and started moving food plates from the trays to settle between them on the table. “You need to eat.” She smiled and nodded to the food, still embarrassed.

Amber
Comms

“Why don’t you eat with me? We can share if you like?” Th’elin smiled watching her. The dimness of the room reminded him of the first time he’d met her before the Sentinel had left spacedock. After a moment, he had to remind himself not to stare…

-Zarath, CO

Amber nodded and smiled. “I’d like that, thank you. But you need to eat more than I do. I remembered to have lunch.” She laughed and pushed one of the fuller plates towards him. “So what do you think about this simple run? I mean, it’s a good shake down run, isn’t it? Can test everything in a fairly well controlled situation. Long range comms, short range, transporters… Nearly everything but weapons I imagine.” She laughed and took a sample of one of the small items that looked like a finger food and hoped she wasn’t already messing up.

Amber
Comm

Th’elin tried not to look concerned, though he felt in his gut this might be a little more than a milk run. “There’s always something…” he chuckled, likewise picking at the food with his fingers. He popped a piece of fried bat into his mouth and savored it before going on. “The plan never goes according to plan, you know… and more than one Starfleet Officer has come to know that Space isn’t always as simple as it appears to be. One of my classmates on the way to the academy said: ‘Space is disease and danger, wrapped in darkness and silence.’” The Andorian laughed. “Then he threw up on me in the shuttle.”

-Zarath, CO

She had almost swallowed her morsel when then comment made her laugh. Her hand went to her mouth to cover her finishing the bite. “Oh gracious. Poor guy. Though I imagine he’s right. There’s probably far more out here than can hurt us than help us.” She took another sip of the drink. It was starting to grow on her. “So what made you come out here, then? I mean, I know you started to tell me about liking being out here, when we spoke on the deck that first day before the others arrived.” She blushed slightly remembering the ear piece gift he had given her. “But I’d like to hear the rest of it. If you’ll tell me.”

Amber
Comm

“It might sound silly…” He began, antennae subtly moving back and forth, “but I grew up in an underground city. I didn’t see the surface until I was six years old and we traveled to another continent to visit… family. That was the first time I ever saw the stars, and I knew at that moment I wanted to go out among them. My mothers basically had to frog-march me into the shuttle, otherwise, I’d have stood there gaping at the night sky for an hour.” He smiled at the memory. It also brought to mind something one of his fathers had said during the moment. ‘Great… we’ve lost another one.’ He pondered that for a few seconds, using another bite of food as a pretense. “I suppose I was destined. At least that’s how I’ve always thought about it.”

“Why did you go?”

-Zarath, CO

She smiled. “I can’t imagine growing up underground. But then, I imagine most of your family and friends can’t imagine being on the surface their entire lives.” Taking her last bite of food, she leaned back. “I guess I’m out here because I always planned to be. I originally wanted to be a First Contact Ambassador. But after…” she paused and took a deep breath as pain and something else crossed her eyes a moment, “Well, anyway, I’m on comms now and I want to see how many new languages and locations I can learn and discover before I retire, I guess.” Her hand absently went up to her neck where scar tissue peaked out from under her hairline. Realizing the motion, she quickly dropped her hand again and smiled. “I think being out here, in the dark and depths away from Earth, gives me a good chance of doing perhaps more than merely being an Ambassador would.”

Amber
Comm