New Quarter Assignment

Posted on 20 Oct 2014 @ 9:37pm by Nesh Saalm
Edited on on 21 Oct 2014 @ 11:45am

2,485 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo - Deck4, room 2522 JO
Timeline: MD -27 1600 hours

ON:

The doors just wouldn't open. The first time Wintrow tried to enter his assigned quarters he had just expected the door to open upon his approach but when it hadn't, he had literally bashed his nose against the closed door. The second time and the third attempt after, still nothing happened. "Computer, acknowledge Cadet Sophomore Wintrow Paragon," he stated nervously. Why had he been locked out?

"Name not recognized," the computer replied.

"List room assignment of Cadet Paragon," Wintrow asked, anxiety increasing.

"Cadet Sophomore Wintrow Paragon is assigned to room 04-2522 JO," the computer supplied helpfully.

THe teenager blinked in surprise. So he'd been moved after all, and no-one had thought to tell him this. Great, just great. He hoped his few belongings had been moved for him, since he was locked out of where he'd spent the past day.

Sighing to himself, he walked away, and approached his new quarters. Here'surprisingly the door opened without hesitation and the teenager walked in. His belongings had indeed been dumped on one of the beds, rather unceremoniously so, in fact. "Just great," he murmured as he set himself to rearrange his few framed pictures on the stand at the head of the bed.

The most recent acquisition of TipTup the forest green tribble had Nesh all excited. As fearful as she was that the tribble itself could have spontaneously reproduced itself at any given moment, she was also ecstatic at a chance to redeem herself. There was research she had to do about tribbles hampering their reproduction cycles, but if she was only focusing on one, it would be alright!

And, now that her duty shift was over, she was free to continue her research in the privacy of her room. It was odd, now that she knew her old roommate had disappeared, but not knowing why that was. She and Taban seldom spoke to one another (with Nesh having the distinct impression that he didn't much care for her), so it wasn't a total loss.

So it came as mildly surprising to the young Orion, as she turned into her 'joint' quarters, when she found herself staring at the back of someone's head. She sighed, staring at the new arrival from the doorway. "... I knew my freedom of being alone in a double wasn't gonna last long."

Wintrow literally jumped at the sound of the girl's voice and swiveled around on his feet, the picture dropping from his hands to crash against the deck. White-faced, he stared at the green skinned girl. "Who..." he started, then shook his head. Obviously, she'd been here a while, as shown by all the things already here. He brushed himself off then stepped forward, offering her a trembling hand. "I'm Wintrow..."

Nesh narrowed her eyes, suddenly a tad more scrutinizing of the male in front of her. She held the tribble close, letting the creature coo lightly in her arms. Eventually, Nesh would have to determine where exactly she was going to deposit the fluffball without causing much stress, but first she would have to decide whether Wintrow could be trusted with the knowledge that she was keeping more than one.

The Orion considered herself lucky that the pink tribble was still in it's terrarium, untainted by the infestation. "... Nice to meet you, Wintrow. I'm Nesh. Scientist's Mate. You chose a hell of a time to pop up."

Taken aback by her bluntness, he dropped his hand and sighed. "How is that?" he asked, his eyes traveling to the furball in her arms. "You have a pet too?" he asked, somewhat unnecessarily, "but aren't those like...the whole problem at the moment?"

A small, near-pout frown formed on her lips as she analyzed his statement. Nesh hadn't expected her new roommate to jump for joy at the sight of tribbles, but she hadn't expected him to have heard about the infestation at all. Not that it was difficult to have seen it over the course of the past few days, but there was still that little glimmer of hope that he was oblivious. "Most of them, yes. TipTup's not a problem... I don't think he is." Not until the creature started spontaneously turning into more tribbles, but Nesh had the creature in her arms most of the time. It would take some effort for one tribble to multiply without proper stimulation.

Her recovery was swift, however. "The other tribbles, though. They'll multiply and take over Federation space if we aren't careful!"

"Before coming here, I'd never even seen a Tribble before," Wintrow supplied, "and here suddenly, I'm all but tripping over them. And Tribbles, don't they multiply by being fed? From what I read, they're born pregnant."

Nesh carefully placed her new, green tribble friend in the terrarium with her pink one, making absolutely certain to replace the lid and fasten it tightly, before offering her response. "They are, for the most part. It is part of what makes them so dangerous, if unchecked. There are tribble breeders who work to lessen the chance of a tribble turning into ten within a day."

"And you can guarantee that by tonight we won't have a whole litter?" the boy asked gesturing towards the colourful pair. Their cooing had a rather soothing effect, and he did like Tribbles and had been devastated by the very idea that they might get destroyed. He really hoped there would be a solution where they'd not have to get killed.

"Guarantee? I bought Pip from a tribble breeder on Rigel VI." It wasn't Pip that was going to potentially be an issue. She eyed the green fluff, who seemed to happily settle into the new home, at least for now. Nesh felt the need to lie through her teeth for the smaller tribble, but thought against it. There was enough trouble going on without the Orion making more of a fuss. "... I can't say the same for TipTup. There's a chance that, with careful food monitoring, we won't have too much of a problem by the end of the night." That was the hope, anyway.

"Meaning by morning we can still be drowning in them," Wintrow pointed out, shaking his head. "They are cute though, even though....I'm not sure you should keep one here. Is it even allowed to keep one?"

Nesh could feel the awkwardness rising in her stomach as she found herself uncertain of how to answer Wintrow's question. Keeping one as a pet was what started this, but she wasn't exactly banned from them. Not yet, anyway. "Yes. Well, they were anyway. The... uh, the policy may change after this all blows over... And I'll keep a good eye on TipTup. If he starts making multiples, I'll throw him with the others."

"He? If Tribbles are born pregnant, aren't all female by default?" Wintrow wasn't sure what to make of this, but it made him uncomfortable. Why did he have to move? It seemed to him now that he was going to be miserable for the rest of his tenure here.

Shaking her head, Nesh smiled bright. If there was one thing she knew about anything, it was tribble anatomy! "Tribbles are born hermaphroditic, so they're technically equipped with both genders. But I like putting different pronouns to them; it helps me tell them apart."

"Ah..." Wintrow shrugged. "So glad my pets have a clear gender...it's hard to miss when one of them is male you see." He gestured towards the cage he'd put on the other bed, not quite sure where else to put it for the moment. And next to the bed he'd perched his precious guitar, he just regretted to have had to leave his grand piano behind on the Sarek but he trusted his roommate there to take good care of it. "So... what do we do now? I'm in the flight department..."

"Usually, yes." Nesh nodded in admittance. "I'm hoping someone on the starbase can take care of TipTup. I'm really not sure how he managed to slip by everyone-but I'm not complaining. I also don't think I'll end up keeping him on the Galileo." She shivered at the thought of Holliday's head exploding all over the bridge at the thought of a pregnant tribble on board. It was probably best that she give the poor creature away. "So we won't have to worry about genders any time soon."

She gave a nod as he asked about departments. "... Science, actually. I was thinking about Medical, but Science has a wider range of subjects to learn. Flight control must be cool though, with all those ships to fly!"

"On my prior assignment, I was a fighter pilot," Wintrow supplied, sounding a little happier, "but here, just a support craft pilot. There's no fighters here, apparently. I've been flying since I was seventeen, first in simulations but later also in space."

Nesh smiled wide, suddenly excited. "Fighter pilot? We don't have a lot of those on the Gal." It was true, the science vessel was not likely to see action and thus, fighter pilots would have probably found themselves bored rather quickly. Having one in her presence piqued the Orion's interest. "So you've been around a bit? Do you have any exciting battles to tell stories about?"

The boy shook his head. "None that I am allowed to speak of I'm afraid. There was one, but the details are classified. It could cost me my career if I spoke about it to anyone. And it would disgrace those I consider to be my family. My...I call him my brother, he's chief counselor on my prior assignment. He's my guardian, responsible for me until I turn twenty-one."

The thought of classified information just barely at her fingertips nearly had Nesh wiggling with excitement. Even if she never found the secret itself out, knowing that they were just a few prying questions away made Wintrow all the more 'mysterious.' "Oooooh. I bet they were fun, though. Except maybe the people dying part..."

Wintrow nodded solemnly. "Yes except that. But yes, I love to fly. it makes me feel free, if you know what I mean." He smiled, sensing her excitement. "You ah...should probably know that I'm only half Human," he told her, even though his deep dark blue eyes already pretty much gave him away.

Despite the rapt attention Nesh was giving to Wintrow's words, the young Orion hadn't spent much time actually looking at her new roommate. She leaned in, frowning in thought as she examined his features for signs of non-Human evidence. "... Ooooh. Well, I'm full Orion, so the only thing you might have to worry about is the pheromones... which I try to keep to myself."

"I have a boyfriend," Wintrow admitted, though he was concerned as he hadn't heard from Shron in any form or fashion. "And my mother was Betazoid, though I'm only empathic. I can't read thoughts or anything, not even pick up surface thoughts. At least, not that I'm aware of...maybe I can learn to, I don't know, I have only had a little training so far." He smiled disarmingly, though a little nervously. "I'm not concerned about your pheromones, you're you and if you secrete them, so be it. Truth to be told, I'd never met an Orion before today."

"Ooooo. Is he cute?" The young Orion didn't seem phased by the mention of a significant other, instead choosing to focus the conversation elsewhere. "The only way to find that out is by training more, right? That's cool, though. I hear empathy can be pretty useful." She frowned. "I've never hung out with a Betazoid before, I don't know how they'll affect you. But we can cross that bridge if we get to it?"

The older teenager nodded quietly. "Yes, we can. And I'm not averse to just trying before something awkward happens in public. To answer your statement, yes empathy is useful. It has saved my life on multiple occasions since I was very young."

"I hadn't thought about it like that." Nesh chuckled nervously. "I'm used colliding with situations where the pheromones end up meddling with someone in the middle of a duty shift. That's when I'm most concentrated on work as opposed to my surroundings." She was younger, so the pheromones were thankfully easier to manage, but they were still strong enough to be warned about.

"... Has it? That's nifty that it's so useful!"

There was a long pause before Wintrow answered, and he seemed to fidget. "First time I remember, I was about six or seven. I was outside with my half brother and sister." He paused again, looking away. "I got pushed into a trough or something, I don't quite remember the details but my brother tried to drown me.. Since that incident and a few events similar to that in a short time, somehow I always know if there's danger..."

Her smile vanished when he told his tale. Nesh knew there to be sibling rivalries that ran alarmingly deep. It was a wonder she hadn't come up against a situation similar to that, with Orion families having so many daughters and sons. She had never encountered it herself, however. The bond she shared with her siblings was incredibly strong and supportive. "Oh..." She felt awkward, now that the realization had sunk in that Wintrow had shared a personal tale. "... It does come in handy, at least."

"Yes, it does. Just wish it hadn't been necessary, but well it developed this way and it's useful, so why not use it if it saves lives, right? Except it doesn't make me feel like a hero. I don't like being in the spotlight at all."

"... I can't imagine..." Nesh trailed off, awkward uncertainty getting the best of her. She smiled, giving him a friendly pat on the back. "Hey, have you tried some of the food they have in the Mess? I think there's apple pie today. I don't really know what an apple is, but it's always good!"

Surprised, the boy looked up at her. "Seriously? You don't know what an apple is?" He shook his head in mock dismay. "Then you're missing out ma'am....apple pie is the best there is, especially when home made. My dad, he made the best pie in the world...not even Alex's or Mason's can match it."

"No, I've never had one that isn't in something." Nesh admitted, smile turning sheepish. "But it sounds like you've had all sorts of apples... care to try the pie in the Mess and tell me how authentic it tastes?"

"Sure." He offered her his arm in true gentlemanly fashion, like his dad taught him. "If you'd follow me ma'am?"

OFF

Cadet FG Nesh Saalm
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC Kita]

Cadet SO Wintrow Paragon
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[PNPC T'Vanna]

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