Deliberate Indifference

Posted on 01 Jun 2018 @ 5:45am by Lieutenant JG Manuel Lucero
Edited on 01 Jun 2018 @ 5:52am

1,043 words; about a 5 minute read

[ON]

There they are...

His heart beat a bit faster and his breaths were breathed a bit deeper.

He knows that the feeling of butterflies in his stomach is just a hypersensitivity of the rectus abdominis from excited signals along the Vagus cranial nerve as it descends into the viscera, elicited by the rush of hormones that comes from the sight of... Well... Anything that a human can really fear... or really enjoy.

Nevertheless, knowledge like this is utterly useless since it gives the lieutenant absolutely no advantage over his current state. As a matter of fact, it seems a bit unfair that his body would so easily betray him. As if random erections weren't enough.

"H-Hello." His voice was raspy. He quickly cleared it and tried again. "Hello. I'm Manuel." He extended a hand to the figure that just sat down on the bar-stool next to him.

A smiling human face on the brink of sheer perfection looked back at him, precisely accented by the slimmest loose-strand of blond hair reaching across their forehead.

"Hey, how's it goin', uh-m.. Err..." They looked to Manuel's blue collar and immediately sobered, choking on their words. "Oh. Lieutenant... Sorry, I mean. Um. Well. Hello, Sir," they continued, completely ignoring the proposed handshake.

Manuel looked down at his uniform as though confused at the sudden designation and pulled back his hand. Then he frowned. "No. Um. Don't worry about it, crewman." One of the great facets of a commission that they never care to explain at the academy: the enlisted are scared to death of you. No matter how much the crewmen talk poorly about the elitism and laziness of officership, they're usually quick to yield to even an ensign's opinion and bootlick their way to promotion points for the next cycle. Unless they've made their way to chief or higher, where the hypocrisy seems to dissolve and be replaced by not-so-subtle contempt and mild insanity, but never unprofessionalism.

Manuel looked up, smiled slightly, and started to stand. "Have a good night, crewman." He had no business trying to flirt anyway. He was once the aCSO on the premiere science vessel and flagship of the entire fleet: the Galileo herself. He had all of academia waiting to hear of further findings since his lecture at the symposium, and he'd been procrastinating for far too long. He really should've just focused on sitting in a lab or behind a terminal or surveying in the field, where he belonged, rather than attempting to find comfort or affection in something other than his work. Serves him right to be disappointed.

"Um. Sir?" He was a few steps away when he heard the voice that his brain deceptively isolated from the mumblings of the crowded bar-area. He paused, not knowing if he should really psyche himself into thinking that anything good could come of further conversation with this indubitably good-looking individual. He was just about to ignore them and keep moving when the person must've taken his hesitation as a prompt to continue.

"Do you ever get a feeling-err... Where... Well, I don't really know how to say it. Sort of that feeling you get when you realize how far you are from Earth and how that's where you grew up and where your family is and-"

Manuel turned around and gave that somewhat sincere smile again. "You mean homesick."

They smacked themselves in the forehead. "YES! That's exactly what I meant! Homesick. I can't believe I forgot the term. It's so classic."

Manuel laughed, "I think you mean old."

They paled and spoke very quickly. "N-no, Sir. That's not what I meant at all! I was just say- I mean you- You don't look that old to know, I mean. If you are then you just... You look pretty good for your age, Sir."

The lieutenant was laughing heartily now. He decided to reclaim his seat at the bar and order synthehol mixed into the same sort of "phosphorescent-crushed-fruity-ice-drink-thingy" that he'd had earlier. He let them marinate in their embarrassment for a bit, then turned to address the noticeably nervous person next to him.

Someone must've switched our scripts. And here I thought that I was the most nervous wreck at a bar.

"I'm only in my mid-twenties. I don't even think my great-great-grandfather's great-great-grandmother was alive when that phrase was created. So, don't feel bad about it." The smile had become genuine and reached ear to ear.

"Oh. Y-yes, Sir." They were blushing heavily, now. Too bad they couldn't blame it on the synthehol.

"Please call me by my last name if you have to address me as anything. We're in a bar, not on the bridge. It's Lucero." Manuel said lightheartedly.

"I don't know if that's-"

"Custom and regulation allows it, crewman. Don't worry."

"Aye aye, S-... Lucero."

"Well, it sounds weird when you say it like that, but yeah, essentially." He chuckled. "So, where exactly are you from on Earth? You ever been to San Jos-".

The ship began to shake violently as the red alert cut through the laid-back atmosphere and scattered the patrons.

"What?!" Manuel looked angry as he stood and looked around the barroom. The crewman began to look a lot less solid, as though their very essence was dissolving into the air.

"Si-Lieut-...Lucero?! What's happeni-," before that panicked last-word could escape from their doomed lips, they were already gone. Into nothing.

"THIS IS NOT--"

The patrons running throughout the bar soon began to disappear as well. Then the bar itself. Everything shimmered and faded away, leaving behind glowing lines interspersed among dark squares of seemingly infinite depth.

"Oh, for the love of-"

=/\=Simulation terminated. Holodeck is disabled. Red alert =/\=

Manuel looked up for a second with his brows furrowed. As the subtle realization began to chase back his bewilderment, his eyes widened and he sprinted into the corridor towards the nearest bridge-bound turbolift.

Well, I guess that really wasn't in the program... Damn it... And I was soooo close this time...

At least he'll be finally getting some work done.


[OFF]


--

LT (j.g.) Manuel Robert Lucero, V
Asst. Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Schofield

RSS Feed