Breaking & Entering

Posted on 22 Jan 2015 @ 11:33pm by Seleya Qellar Ph.D. & Chief Petty Officer Pax Inyo

1,349 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Quarters 04-2523 EN
Timeline: MD42: 1230 hrs

ON:

It was quiet. It was dim. It was still necessary to have a regular corridor patrol. Pax had learned a long time ago not to hum and to keep her steps light while on patrol. It was as important to be able to hear as it was to not be heard. She heard a strange humming in a wall panel and took a moment to record the location for someone in engineering to check the conduits later. There was a light in the same hall that was flickering, possibly something to do with the same panel. She scratched her head a moment, trying to decide if it should be two work tickets or the same one. She made two. Let Engineering sort it out.

Pax came around the corner and saw a woman working at a door panel. She approached, not sneakily, coughing lightly so as not to startle her. "Hello. Can I help you?"

Seleya straightened up from the control panel and turned to face the person asking the question almost as if she'd expected it. Whatever meathead was in charge of security must run a tight ship since she'd clearly underestimated the frequency of patrols. She should have had a good five minutes to override the door's security protocols, but instead she'd only had two. Inwardly, that irritated her a great deal; outwardly, she just smiled.

"Perhaps so. I was hoping I could drop some things off in my quarters - you know, beat the rush - but I seem to have been locked out of my assigned quarters," Seleya said, looking from Pax to the control panel where she'd been working to two bags she'd brought along with her. When she turned back, her face was all consternation and helplessness.

"Oh well, that's no problem miss." Pax held out her pad for a thumb scan. "Just authenticate for me and I can get the computer to over ride the lock."

Seleya took the PADD from her without hesitation and pressed her thumb to the appropriate section of the device. While doing so, she shifted her gaze upward to take in the security officer. She certainly didn't look familiar, and she thought she'd made a good effort to identify all the members of the security department. Perhaps the woman was a recent transfer? More importantly, she was at least partially Grazerite, and that was fascinating to Seleya. To say the Romulan Star Empire was homogenous was an understatement - most other species had their planets held in a client-state status, aggressively colonized and 'enjoyed' highly restricted movement within Romulan space. Even after all this time, the diversity of the Federation struck her as unusual.

"And your name is...?"

"Dr. Seleya Qellar," she replied. The polite thing would have probably been to smile, but she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. The PADD would no doubt show her Level 2 security clearance - barely high enough to replicate a packet of saltine crackers - and reveal that these were, in fact, not her quarters. And then she would have been foiled for the second time in as many days by the ship's security team, leading to no end of frustration that she'd have to work off in the holodeck. "I've just recently been assigned here under the Office of Science Operations' civilian scientists program..."

"Oh, well! There's your trouble then! These aren't your assigned quarters. You must have gotten all turned around somehow. This is 2624. You want 2320. I'll show you there."

"Is it?" Seleya asked, looking from Pax to the label on the door. Of course it said 2624, just as they both knew it did, but she had to keep up pretense. She squatted down expertly next to her bag to retrieve a PADD of her own, balancing on seemingly impossible heels and keeping her skirt perfectly in place when she straightened back up. After accessing some files, she made a show of frowning. "You know, I could have sworn this said 2624 when I received it... You don't suppose the quartermaster made a last minute change, do you?" Her frown deepened, pulling the trace edges of her cranial ridges down into view as her brow furrowed. "Or perhaps my eyes just aren't what they used to be, hm?"

Pax rechecked. "No, I don't see any other record changes on the room assignment for you. You can contact the Quartermaster if you think there's an error." She tucked the padd under her arm again. "I'm kinda new to this boat myself. What is it you're assigned to do here?"

"I'm a biotechnologist," Seleya said absent-mindedly as she bent back down to replace the PADD in her bag. She rummaged around in its contents while she spoke, rearranging things so that it was all very perfectly in order according to her preferences. "My speciality is agriculture. Gene manipulation, specifically. I've been asked by the Colonial Affairs Bureau to engineer staple crops for three proposed colonies, but I suppose I'll also be working to support the rest of the science staff and making contributions to the Galileo's mission where possible." She finally finished the organization task to her satisfaction, closed the clasp and then stood up to face Pax. Seleya was smiling, but there was always something about her smile that made it seem almost too perfect, like it had been engineered. "And you? Are you an...engineer?"

"Ah, no. Security."Pax started down the hall in the direction of the appropriate quarters. "I can do some basic patch up jobs and small engines, but nobody wants me in the reactor room."

"I feel they'd say much the same about me," Seleya replied with a smile, falling in step with her. Largely for security reasons, I imagine. "I can't imagine how long I would have been there if you hadn't come along. Thank you for escorting me, Miss...?"

"Glad to serve. Pax-Inyo, but just Pax is fine. I also answer to Chief." Pax wasn't sure, but something about Seleya seemed a little false-faced. Like she was trying hard to be polite. Maybe it was a personality thing, but she filed away the feeling anyway.

"Chief," Seleya repeated, as if it was the most foreign word she'd ever heard. "I've always found that to be a curious title for people in your Starfleet. It's very tribal, assuming I understand the world correctly. Federation Standard isn't one of my strong points, I'm afraid. I've always found it to be very functional and inelegant, a language for work and business rather than expression. I don't suppose this will take much longer, will it? I didn't pack as lightly as I should have..."

It was a short walk. "2624 is just up ahead."

Seleya stopped next to the door indicated and made a show of peering at the label, even squinting as if she couldn't quite make out the letters and numbers. When she straightened back up, she shrugged. "Hmm. Three university degrees, and it seems I'm still practically illiterate. The numbers in particular have always eluded me. They look a bit like gibberish, don't they? Like a child first drew them and everyone couldn't be bothered to correct them into something proper. Well, at any rate, perhaps I should just place a secondary label in Romulan below it here so I don't embarrass myself again." She dropped her bag on the floor and smiled politely enough. "Thank you again, Miss Pax."

Her critique of Standard numeric symbols and the word 'Chief' was adding up to someone who maybe thought more highly of her own culture than others. Pax was somewhat less than impressed but figured it was less her own fault and probably a weakness of her upbringing. And if Pax was really honest with herself, she probably had her own cultural favoritism, so she let the slights go. "Quite welcome. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help. I'll be on patrol a while yet."

OFF:

CPO Pax-Inyo
Master at Arms
USS Galileo

&

Dr. Seleya Qellar
Biotechnologist
USS Galileo
[ PNPC - Mott ]

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