Posted by Captain Johann Dvorak (CO) in USS Korolev - Alt Quantum Reality: Lounge

Posted by Lieutenant Siennadye Nox (Counselor) in USS Korolev - Alt Quantum Reality: Lounge

She hid her small smile behind her fingers as she picked up her nervous habit of touching her lips when in contemplation. She didn’t want to push him away, but she felt that perhaps he should be pushed a little. It was her profession taking over her mind and she shooed it away for the moment. “Of course, I would be interested to know why you were unusually frustrated. I tend to be a very curious creature, but if you would rather not speak about it tonight… I am sure,” She said with a playful smile, “that we can find other things to discuss.”

Nox, CNS

His eyelids narrowed slightly, but that was because he was considering the implied proposition. He had absolutely no interest in talking about his implants and how obnoxious they were. It was the only thing that everyone else on this ship was curious about, and he was somewhat tired of being everybody’s medical curiosity. Possibly the most refreshing thing about this conversation was that it was the first on this ship where he wasn’t being compared to a memory of who he was a few months ago.

“Like what?” he asked.

– Johann Dvorak, CO

“Well,” she gestured with the hand that had been touching her lips as she sat back and eyed the man before her. He was interesting. He was cautious and she playful. There were many things they could discuss. A lot of what people naturally tended to speak about was their work, especially on a ship like this. Siennadye Nox liked to talk on a more personal level when she was off duty, even more so than she did when she was on duty. Granted, a counselor was rarely really off duty entirely. “We could actually get to know each other. You are new to me and I to you. A version of Twenty Questions perhaps? Are you familiar with the game?”

“Yes,” he said, while wondering what “version” they’d be playing. Probably not ‘Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral.’

“Since we seem to be fairly alone, we can be as open as we wish. And I promise, no psycho-analytics. Just you and me, getting to know one another.”

Nox, CNS

“Alright,” he said, liking the ‘no psycho-analytics’ rule. “Ladies first? That’s not one of my questions.”

– Johann Dvorak, CO

Sienna laughed softly and nodded. “As you wish.” She sat back with exaggerated movements as though she were deep in contemplation. What question should she open the conversation with? There were infinite possibilities, but so many that were her go-to questions were meant to solicit some sort of answer for analyzing. Since she had promised she would not analyze his answers professionally, this did cut down on her options but not enough to make it easy. “How about.... Where is your favorite view and why?”

The cheesiest of answers would be that the one he had now was his favorite, but she guessed Johann would not answer in this way.

Nox, CNS

“That’s easy,” he answered. “The Observatory on the 107th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, on Earth, at the end of the 20th century.”

“You could see the entire city from there, and beyond. Far enough to see into the surrounding suburbs, which all kind of looked more like forests at that height. It gave the viewer a sense that they were looking at the pinnacle of civilization. It’s all the more incredible when you consider that it only took 376 years to look like that, to go from a plot of forest to the cultural, financial, media and entertainment capital of world, full of skyscrapers pointing upward. Towards where mankind already did and would inevitably continue to go next.”

His answer surprised her. She leaned forward and placed her chin on her hand, propping it up on the table and listening attentively to his explanation. She could almost see both the view and the expansiveness he described. Sienna smiled softly.

“It doesn’t exist anymore, of course,” he continued, more subdued. “I mean, barbarians destroyed the building, but what was truly lost was the feeling of a Golden Age that came with it. You can’t really get that anymore now, even though our time is objectively better than theirs. You can’t see a microcosm of everything we’ve done in the past 376 years a single place. Space is simply too big.”

– Johann Dvorak, CO

“I suppose that is true. I wonder if that means we have lost something in the expansion of our cultures and races, or perhaps we have outgrown the need to understand that kind of hard work, human toil and suffering. My favorite place is actually stuck in time too. There was a field outside of our med tent on Ricktor Prime. We had set up there in an effort to support the Federation fight in the space above the planet’s surface. It was a beautiful field with thick green loam, pretty small white flowers with colorful centers, and a fog that made everything quiet and peaceful. I remember stepping out of the medical tent, having just finished setting up for surgeries. We knew there were going to be incoming soon.” She paused and lifted her chin from her hand.

“In those times, it was easy to constantly feel the rush and anxiety of constantly going, going, going.” She indicated this with a snap on each ‘going’. “For those of us that were waiting on the wounded, we stood outside the tent and felt a bit of peace and quiet. We were able to refuel ourselves in that for the upcoming trials we would endure and I don’t think I have ever heard such silence.” Sienna’s nose wrinkled. “That sounds odd spoken aloud.”

“But it makes sense,” he said rather quickly. “The contrast. Contrast matters. I feel like it’s something we’re starting to lose now. Especially considering how long ago the war was. Not that I’d want to pay that particular price for it again…”

He seemed to gaze off into the distance slightly.

“Your turn for a question.”

Siennadye Nox, CNS

“Oh, right. Umm, let’s see…”

“Ricktor Prime, huh? Did you actually get to see The Enterprise?”

– Johann Dvorak, CO (except he’s not because this is a parallel universe or whatever… so maybe I should start noting that here in this signature?)

“I saw people from the Enterprise, but I was never on it myself. Far too busy at the surface with the wounded being transported down from multiple sources. I did work on the Captain at one point. He had sustained an injury that required surgery. I remember his injury better than I remember his face, but I think that is a hazard of the job. Have you ever seen it?”

Nox, CNS