Adding Spice to Life

Posted on 16 Feb 2014 @ 5:55pm by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ellsworth Hudson & Petty Officer 1st Class Viru Evek

1,784 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Temporary Quartermaster's Office, SFO, Earth
Timeline: MD 23

[ ON ]

Ellsworth thought he heard movement around the corner and looked up in anticipation from his desk, which was wedged into a small alcove created by enormous cargo containers. It was a bit claustrophobic and definitely makeshift, but it worked. Or, rather, he made it work. For some reason Starfleet didn't think it was necessary to provide low-ranking quartermasters on small ships with a workspace, especially so close to deployment. Instead, they created small little "cubicles" like this one in some of the lesser used cargo storage facilities on the Starfleet campus. When he was shown to the space by a Vulcan member of Starfleet Supply Command, the man had noted there was a computer workstation, a chair and a desk, as if that was all he might ever need.

Evek rounded the cube wall and stared at the man in front of him with intense disdain that only a Cardassian could exude.

"Petty Officer First Class Evek reporting as ordered." he said in a bored tone.

Ellsworth gave him a smile and started to gesture for him to sit down, except there wasn't a chair. He frowned, slightly embarrassed. A quartermaster without the things he needed! Looking around, he finally located a box under his desk that he shoved with a foot until it slid out on the other side.

"Have a seat," Ellsworth said, motioning to the box. He eyed the Cardassian, mostly because he'd never seen one up close before. He seemed much smaller and less muscular than what he thought they were supposed to be, but he was definitely frowny. "I asked you here because I'm having some trouble locating your personal belongings to relocate them from the Academy to the Galile-... You know, that is just not a cute look."

Ellsworth interrupted himself and frowned back across the table at Viru, exaggerating it significantly to make his point.

"See?"

Viru chortled, feeling somewhat embarassed by the characture.

"I suppose you have a point." he said, feeling somewhat less reserved. The dark haired man before him seemed relaxed and charismatic, traits often not easily found in an attractive, mentally stable people.

"So what can I do for you?"

Ellsworth flashed a smile; the view was much better now. When he sent the request for Viru to meet him, he didn't even know what he looked like. He was just another personnel number in a long list of "problems" in what Ellsworth had taken to calling the P.I.T.A. (Pain In The Ass) Report helpfully generated for him every morning by Supply Command. It usually took up the bulk of his morning, sometimes into the afternoon, sorting through all the problems or items that needed addressing.

Now that the Cardassian was in front of him, he became a person as opposed to a number with a problem. Ellsworth was thankful that Viru was young - he always felt more comfortable around people his age. It helped that he was cute, and he had nice hair. The Betazoid always thought he had nice hair, but he had to admit the thick, shiny black strands that seemed to favor Cardassians were really quite attractive.

"Uh," he said, suddenly realizing he'd been staring for long, awkward moments. "As I was saying, I can't find your stuff. Do you know where it is? It was supposed to be transferred from your room at the Academy and placed in holding, then on to the Galileo. Did they send it to you by mistake?"

The Cardassian was a somewhat vain one. He could sense the quartermasters eyes on him and he adjusted his posture to a more confident one.

"I threw it into waste reclamation, I didn't want to bring it with me." Viru said with a smirk that begged Ellsworth to ask him to elaborate.

Ellsworth raised his eyebrows, but smiled back in response to the smirk, feeling like this must be some sort of game. He leaned across the desk toward the Cardassian. "You did? Well...that seems drastic. Did you just need a new wardrobe?"

"No." Viru said, pretending to inspect his nails, "Though now that you mention it, that isn't a bad idea. Earth is a wonderful place to go shopping."

The Cardassian then lowered his voice and narrowed his eyes, being careful that only Ellsworth was able to hear, "I had a vision describing our destiny."

Ellsworth had limited experience with truly crazy people, so he was hoping this was some sort of elaborate joke. He leaned in closer, as if to hear better. He had nice eyes, and that caused him to smile. "Whose destiny? Mine and yours? The ship's? The Federation?"

"The ship, obviously." he continued in a hushed and breathless voice, he looked deeply into the quartermaster's eyes, "A great winged demon came to me in the night. She said we will be the harbringers of destruction and countless worlds will burn in our wake. We will usher in a new aeon of suffering and penance."

Ellsworth fought the urge to "turn on" his telepathic senses to determine exactly where this was going. It could be the most elaborate rouse he'd ever encountered to get him in bed; the Cardassian was actually crazy; or he was deciding to have a bit of fun for being dragged all the way down here. At least he had nice eyes.

"Seems like a tall order for such a little ship," Ellsworth said, gaze unwavering. "Did the demon say how we were going to do it? I hope the first step wasn't dematerializing your belongings because then we're really in trouble..."

Viru grinned.

"My belongings were sent to Jupiter station by mistake. I was actually notified about it on my way to see you."

Ellsworth rolled his eyes and made an irritated sound. He sat back in his chair and grabbed a PADD, ready to send a nasty letter to the logistics officer on Jupiter Ststion. Why bother notifying him, the ship's quartermaster? Oh no! Let's instead tell the crewman who can do nothing about it.

He ran a hand through his hair, then thought better of it and vainly worked to get it back in place. He gave Viru an apologetic smile and batted his eyelashes a little flirtatiously, largely out of habit. "I'm so sorry I brought you down here for nothing, although at least I got an amusing story out of it. And had the opportunity to meet you. I like your hair." He smiled again, but this time looked a little bashful.

"Thank you." Viru said with a knowing grin. "I like yours, too. And I'm glad you liked my story. Sometimes day to day life gets dull and needs some embellishment."

The grin made him feel emboldened, but he had thoughts of K'os bouncing around in his head, too. They'd discussed their relationship in some detail, and he knew he wasn't exactly...restricted. His recent run in with Keval hadn't helped either; a flash of anger came with that one. The result was a bizarre array of emotions on his face before he finally settled on an appreciative smile. "Ugh, tell me about it. Try sitting in your makeshift cargo container cubicle all day listening to the Klingon opera the guy two cubicles over won't turn down. All these pre-departure requisition reports are making me question my career choice, too." He looked down at the PADD in front of him but glanced up to watch the Cardassian; he was trying not to have bedroom eyes but it was almost a default for him.

Viru leaned in, sensing Ellsworth's apprehension.

"So what's your name, Petty Officer 3rd Class?"

Ellsworth smiled despite himself, and it was definitely flirtatious this time. "Ellsworth Hudson. Or just Ells, if you want. I'm not much on rank and ceremony. I like to keep things informal; it's easier to get to know people that way."

"Alright, Ells." the Cardassian said playfully, "What do you do for fun around here when you're not spending time in this wonderful cube?"

"Hey, hey, don't knock the cube too much now," Ellsworth said, grinning. He picked up a small device and scanned over a label on the nearest one. "These walls are built with the finest..." He looked down at the device, which detailed the contents of the cargo container. "Ugh...disgusting...jellied gree-worm preserves... Why in the hell." He turned his nose up, wishing he'd never checked. "Uh, for fun? Well... Sometimes I'm a homebody, so I like to curl up and read. But I like to go out and dance, too. I used to go to the theater a lot on Risa. And I love swimming! I just like to have fun."

He put his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his hands, looking intently at the Cardassian scientist. He had a well-practiced, controlled look on his face that helped underscore the open interpretation of his last statement.

"So what about you, Mr. Evek? Other than storytelling..."

"Oh, you know. This and that. Would you care to join me for some fun when you get off duty? I have reserved some time on the holodeck and you seem like someone who might enjoy a diversion."

Ellsworth's grin grew slowly; he liked the evasiveness of the answer, the playfulness of the offer. Besides, he'd never spent any time with a Cardassian, and he was curious. "Well, I do like diversions... What kinda program were you thinking about? I don't just walk into just any simulation with handsome young men."

"It's based on a Trill novel about surviving on a dystopic moon following a catastrophic failure of the colony argon based power source. /the part I'm at now, I'm assigned to a rescue team to find a crashed shuttle in the sand wastes."

At first Ellsworth looked shocked, but then his eyes lit up. Adventure!

"Okay," he agreed, probably too eagerly. It sounded like an exciting holonovel, and the young scientist seemed like he had a fun personality and a creative spirit. "When should I meet you?"

"When do you get off?"

Ellsworth gave him a coy look. "Two hours, but I'll need an hour or so to eat."

"Alright, how about 20-hundred hours then?"

"Perfect," Ellsworth said, leaning all the way back in his chair. He wasn't shy about looking the Cardassian over - no need to hide the fact that he was a Betazoid with a Betazoid's inclinations - and finally smiled. "Thanks for coming to see me, Viru. I'll see you soon?"

The Cardassian stood and straightened his uniform.

"I look forward to it."

OFF:

PO3 Ellsworth Hudson
Quartermaster
USS Galileo

&

PO1 Viru Evek
biochemist
USS Galileo

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