Posted by Civilian Brianna “Bree” O’Harra (Head of Mining Operations) in M’Ahar’s Apartment — Laying the Groundwork

Posted by Civilian Brianna “Bree” O’Harra (Head of Mining Operations) in M’Ahar’s Apartment — Laying the Groundwork

Posted by Civilian Mirembe M’Ahar (Director of Terraforming) in M’Ahar’s Apartment — Laying the Groundwork
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(Snip!)

Mirembe welcomed the bottle and jabbed her free thumb at the balcony. If Bree’s gaze wandered, she might notice vines looming over the railing and plants lining its base. Amid them, a table stood adorned by an old cloth and petrified wood cutlery. M’Ahar wasn’t a uniform person but she made it work. Happily, she guided Bree to the door and tugged it open for her.

“Isn’t that half the fun?” She grinned almost conspiratorially after setting the bottle beside a mismatched glass vase. M’Ahar knew little about pairing alcohols, but she did know what tasted good and what didn’t. And she’d no doubt Bree had a keen sense for flavour.

“Anyway…” Mirembe shot a glance at the oven through the window. “There’s a few minutes left on the veggies. Have a seat if you’d like.”

— Mirembe M’Ahar

“Thanks…” Bree settled on one of the chairs and lowered her hand to beckon the dog to her if it wanted more scratches. “You look pretty settled in. How long have you been here? Just a few months, myself. But I didn’t bring much so my place is still pretty sparse.” She laughed lightly watching Mire check on the dinner. “Honestly I hadn’t considered I’d have accommodations as opulent as mine are. I’m a little overwhelmed what to do with all the space. Used to a small bedroom of an almost equally small living area that double as dining area.”

Eo, compelled by a intrinsic love for attention, bimbled over to the newcomer. He wasn’t much concerned by who she was, only the quality of her scratches and whatever goods she’d accidentally drop on the floor.

Her quarters weren’t much different than this though angled slightly different due to her location. And other than a few scattered nick knacks, her quarterswere pretty bare.

Bree
HoM

“A week…” Mirembe chewed on her lip and struck a finger for ever day she recalled. It was useless. Shrugging, she tossed Bree a spirited grin and resolved, ”…long enough to peeve someone.” She watched as Bree described her barren quarters and the sudden upgrade from one-bedroom nook to metropolitan digs. “If you don’t mind my prying,” another idle glance at the oven, “what were you up to before Oed?”

— Mirembe M’Ahar, Terraformer

One hand dropped to idly scratch at the fur baby if it chose the attention. “I was in charge of deep mining operations on Alpha Century. Was there a few years. Prior to that I was scattered all over. Went wherever the deepest pits were that needed looking into. Though when I was younger I was a company man and was stationed wherever Star Fleet ordered me to go. I admit, I prefer the private sector.” She leaned back and smiled. “I was on a ship doing maintenance for my bread and board when it landed here. Saw they were in need of someone to look after the deeper parts of the area, so I applied.” Her hands rose up in grandeur as if to encompass the whole area. “And here I am, about to have an amazing dinner, from the smell, and talking about what might become some of the largest terraforming domes over some of the largest mining pits I’ve ever heard of.” She laughed lightly, and dropped her hands. “After all… if you are going to do it, do it big. Right?”

She wasn’t sure the woman had her same enthusiasm for what they were going to accomplish, but she had enough enthusiasm for them both. And something told her, with Mira at her side, in whatever capacity that was, she smiled to herself, it was going to be incredible.

Brianna
HoM
Fire Born

A glimmer touched Mirembe’s eyes when Bree mentioned Alpha Centauri. Though lightyears from her homeworld, she spent most of her young life playing in the rural outskirts of Alpha Centauri City. Nostalgia washed over her, but it was far less intriguing than the story Bree shared. Mirembe hadn’t pegged Bree as the kind of woman to gamble with Starfleet. She was fiery and beat to her own drum. That was, at least, what M’Ahar gathered in their fleeting encounters. But, she understood the allure of shelter and work. She’d be lying to say it wasn’t a good chunk of the reason she pursued terraforming in the first place. It was unpredictable and often underwhelming, but M’Ahar never dealt with the looming threat of reassignment. Unless, of course, by her volition.

“Sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us!” Mirembe wore a spirited grin that communicated her enthusiastic agreement. Although she came to Oed with a purpose–to fix the atmosphere and instil hope in its citizens for life beyond the dome–Mirembe found herself invigorated by Bree’s passion. “You’ve seen it all, haven’t you?”* She teased. Mirembe wasn’t sure what the future held, but she was confident it’d be a hell of a ride. And a good one, at that.

“Speaking of dinner…” she gestured inside, “are you ready for my ‘famous’ rib eye and maple-glazed veggies?” Amusement passed through her eyes, masking the silent plea that the steak would be edible…

— Mirembe M’Ahar, Terraformer / self-taught “cook”

Bri laughed and rose to move towards Mire. “Not sure about seeing it all but I’ve seen enough to sate me for now. And as for dinner… I’m starving.” She laughed and moved to help. “Lemme know what to do and I’ll help out. I want you to enjoy this as well and not bustle around playing hostess. I’m just another worker like you. No need to get all fancy pants just for me.” She smiled and looked around at what she could assist with.

“Please! I couldn’t play hostess if my life depended on it…” Mirembe wiggled her eyebrows, a playful grin touching her lips. “Too impatient to wait on folks.” She snagged a mitt from the counter, then nodded to a cabinet. “Dishes are in that cupboard if you want to grab them,” she wrinkled her nose, “there should be forks in the drawer. If not, holler and I’ll wash a few.”

“Besides, universe is huge. Maybe after OED we will trot off together and put bigger domes on bigger pits on bigger rocks. Whatcha think about that?” She laughed wondering just how big was too big when thinking terra domes and mining pits.

Bri
(self hunger … ummm hungerer)

A sweet, earthy aroma wafted through the air as Mirembe yanked open the oven and coaxed the veggies from their rack. Swiftly, she set them on the stovetop and scooped them into a wooden bowl. Eo had, of course, assumed a position at their feet with beady blue eyes focused on the resting meat.

“I think OED has our work cut out for us,” she turned to Brianna, “but I sure wouldn’t mind exploring ‘bigger rocks’.” Though enlisted to revive OED, its surface remained largely a mystery to Mirembe. She knew little more than she could glean from maps and computer-generated simulations. Of course, field trips beyond the domes were far from ‘easy’—but what purpose would she have here if OED was hospitable? “Have you explored much?” She asked. “Of OED, I mean.”

Mirembe envisioned a future without domes and EV suits to protect them against OED, but there was still a lot she needed to learn before that would be possible.

— Mirembe M’Ahar, Terraforming

Bri helped set the table and get the food there. Laughing at Mire’s question, she nodded. “Actually, yes. It’s how I ended up with theFire Born nickname, actually.”She laughed slightly. “Wanted to go exploring and got in an altercation with the Hangar Boss. Klingon Captain stepped in about the time I bloodied my knuckles on the sap’s jaw. Then while exploring, with my new Klingon body guards,” she shook her head remembering, “got in a bit over my curly red locks and needed a bit of rescuing. Turns out the fire in me was amusing to the Captain. Thus the name. But it’s also how I found the latest site we’re working on.”

“Remind me not to tick you off,” Mirembe razzed with a hint of mischief touching her crinkled eyes, ”…or your Klingon friends.” Amused and impressed in equal measure, the Haliian couldn’t help the vibrant smile tugging the corners of her mouth. Bree was a stark contrast to the pretentious, two-steps-from-fossilised terraformers Mirembe came to resent. Bold. Ambitious. Force-to-be-reckoned-with. Maybe it was the miner in her or perhaps that Klingon skipper was onto something. Whatever it was, Mirembe liked it.

She took the glasses and set them down. “There, all set. Now you can enjoy as well.”

Bri

Mirembe nudged the last plate into place and signed, “let’s eat!”

Bri settled into her seat and waited for her hostess to do the same. “Did you think ten years ago this is where you’d be?” She laughed realizing as she asked, that it certainly wouldn’t have been where she guessed she would be.

Bri
HoM

“Honestly…” Mirembe blinked, thinking back to 2387. “I was a terraformer assigned to atmospherics for a Class D planetoid, Vrazit E47. That poor rock had it all bad—weak magnetic field and about a pinch of nitrogen and a dash of oxygen tucked into its surface.” A burst of nostalgic laughter escaped her. Vrazit had been nothing but long nights, borderline caffeine addiction, and weary dawn meetings with the boss. But when they lingered on the edge of a breakthrough, there wasn’t a drug known to the universe that could replicate the adrenaline rush. “When we finally figured it out, I was convinced that my life would revolve around Vrazit and cultivating her into a place hospitable for the Pinaan people. I suppose the universe had other plans.” Mirembe rubbed her neck and shot Brianna a slight smile. “OED was a surprise,” she admitted, “not quite in the ‘maintenance-to-director’ way you experienced, but nonetheless a surprise.”

Mirembe tugged the veggie plate closer, scooped some onto hers, and glanced at Brianna. “Speaking of time,” she grinned, “what do you envision for the future of mining and terraforming on OED?”

— Mirembe M’Ahar, Terraforming