A Little Bit Different

Posted on 16 May 2015 @ 5:11pm by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Lieutenant JG Emmarie (E'Ma'ri)

2,737 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 7, Callisto Bar
Timeline: MD01 - 1800 hours

[ON]

For Emmarie, blending in was a luxury she rarely was afforded. Over the years, she'd developed the ability to own her own differences, and she flaunted them. Bright hair, eye catching clothing, all of it appealed to her in a way that few others could understand. After all, Starfleet was a military outfit, at least in part. Officers spent most of their days in nearly identical outfits. So when something came along that was a little bit different than the Starfleet norm, Emmarie was the first to notice.

Across the bar, she saw a woman whose hair was in multiple tones, and Emmarie's attention was piqued. She occasionally experimented with her own hair, and if there was someone on board that was particularly good at dyeing, she needed to know their name.

She skipped, rather than walked, across the room, a wide grin spreading across her face. Little did this person know, but they were about to become Emmarie's best friend... whether they liked it, or not.

"Hi there," Emmarie said, coming up from the other woman's side rather than from directly behind. From this angle, Emmarie had no idea who they were, and some people responded poorly to surprise. "I'm Emmarie, I wanted to tell you that your hair is awesome. Can I sit with you?"

"Thank you!" exclaimed Tuula, involuntarily touching her hair. Sigrid's bioluminescent dye was working perfectly, so the unique combination of black and glowing teal still remained in her hair. "You know, I've been thinking of shaving the sides. I hear that's the style these days on Vega colony. Please, have a seat!"

Emmarie took a seat, then studied the other woman closely. "Yeah, I think that would look good on you," she said. "I'd go for it. I mean, hair grows back, after all." That was her life philosophy, at least. It was always fun to experiment with hair and clothing.

"Hmmmmmm, why not indeed," replied Tuula, absent-mindedly fiddling with her bracelet as she pondered what she would look like with some sort of undercut. For a moment she was deep in thought, then her eyes flashed as she threw her arms up in excitement.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Maybe if I shave the sides, I could get a tattoo there! But of what... hmmmm... maybe a spider web. Or some flowers... or perhaps a skull... I know! A hummingbird! Definitely another hummingbird!" As she looked back towards Emmarie, she realized that she was babbling. "Sorry. I'm Tuula. It's nice to meet you," she said, reaching across the table to offer her new friend a handshake and trying not to spill her wine in the process.

"Nice to meet you! So.... how about you show me your existing hummingbirds cause I'm dying to see them." Emmarie had always wanted to get tattoos, but was a rather fickle sort. Though she knew there were ways to get rid of them, she didn't want to go through the effort to get one only to decide to get rid of it a few months down the line. She had a PADD in her quarters that was full of the sorts of designs that she enjoyed the most, but even that PADD was constantly having this added and removed from it. At the moment, her fascination was bugs, particular the winged variety. That seemed hugely cliche. More than that, it seemed like the sort of tattoo that would drive an onlooker to think: Oh that girl wants everyone to know she feels trapped and values freedom. Maybe she was thinking too much into it.

"All right," replied Tuula, as she unzipped the leather vest she was wearing. Hurriedly, she took off the jacket, revealing a tank top with a skull symbol on it underneath along with several tattoos. She was excited to meet someone who shared her interest in body art, and didn't mind showing it off a little. As she leaned in, she pulled one of the straps to the side. "Here, I have one on each side," she added, revealing her chest piece -- a harp in the center of her chest, with wavy ribbons of music in the background held aloft by two hummingbirds, one on each shoulder.

"I got this one about four years ago," she said, pointing to her chest tattoo with her other hand. "Well, I got the harp first, and then I added to it a few months later. I think it looks awesome. Do you have any tattoos?"

Emmarie followed around as Tuula displayed her various pieces, alternately oohing and ahhing. "It's all so beautiful," Emmarie said. She flushed a bit darker in response to Tuula's question, and for a moment, she dawdled over the best way to answer.

"Not yet. I want one, well, I've wanted a few. I just... I don't really like the same things for very long. I mean, Starfleet is the longest commitment in my life, but that's really it. My favorite color even changes every year or so," she said.

"Well, if you don't like them, you can always stop by sickbay and I can remove them for you," replied Tuula. "Not that I would ever remove my tattoos," she quickly added. "They're all just so awesome and unique, and there is something liberating about being able to decide to do whatever you want with your own body, if you know what I mean."

Emmarie smiled. "I was right, I think. When I saw your hair, I was like, 'that girl is going to be my friend.' I like you, you're totally awesome." Tuula had the best sort of attitude, the devil may care sort of manner that Emmarie identified with so strongly. "Hopefully you don't mind me saying that."

"That's so sweet!" exclaimed Tuula. "I'm not on call until tomorrow; why don't we share some drinks and some appetizers? The calamari looks good, and the baguettes... oh, and this Malbec is just divine," she added, raising her glass again.

"Perfect!" Emmarie said. "All of that sounds amazing. Malbecs are my favorite." She wasn't interested in getting completely inebriated, but it had been a stressful few days of adjustment. "So do you know someone on board who does your ink?" All this talk had her itching to take the dive and get some of her own.

"Not on board, no," replied Tuula. "I got most of my ink on Earth, and picked up the rest on various shore leaves across the quadrant." With a wave of her arm, she summoned a server and placed an order for some calamari, baguettes, and a glass of wine for her new friend. "So, what brings you to the Galileo. There aren't that many Orions in Starfleet..."

"I'm an Orion in Starfleet," Emmarie said with a grin. "I'm adopted though, I was raised in France. I'm the new Assistant Chief of Operations." She was almost disappointed that Tuula didn't know someone aboard, but then again, she wagered it wasn't a popular desire aboard a vessel so small. "It's been interesting getting to this point in Starfleet. There's a good bit of misconception."

"I can imagine," said Tuula with a little bit of a laugh. "You should have seen the look on my first CMO's face when I reported for duty. He clearly hadn't read my personnel file and was... surprised to say the least."

"People like to judge based on appearances, but that's not always the best way. I mean sure, I have some traits normally associated with Orions, but that's not all that I am. Hell, I can't even master any of the Orion dialects, all I know are the dirty words. I mean, in fairness there are a lot of dirty words..." Emmarie said.

"Oh?" asked Tuula, raising an eyebrow. "I take it you were raised on earth then?"

"Yeah, in France," Emmarie said. "How about yourself?" She had learned never to assume, when it came to human-appearing folks. Some of them went out and surprised you by being Betazoid, or Angosian, or one of the colonial worlds. Friends had told her they could tell from an accent or a manner of speaking, but Emmarie had never cultivated that particular skill.

"Finland," replied Tuula. "I was born in Tampere, but studied in Helsinki. It's very cold there, and not quite as nice as Paris or the south of France..."

"I was personally rather fond of the vineyards. They're my favorite part when I go back home. I'm not too much a fan of the cold, though I hear most Orions are." Emmarie shivered a little bit thinking about it. "I've heard Helsinki is rather beautiful, though."

"It is, especially in winter," replied Tuula, fantasizing for a moment about the big city she called her home for four years. She had mixed feelings towards the city. For her, making the choice to study in Helsinki was the first time she had struck out on her own, away from her parents and her sister. She had a lot of good memories there. Unfortunately, she also had a lot of bad memories, thanks to Zuwtt. "Of course, we have ways of dealing with the cold. It's really too bad this ship doesn't have a sauna. So much of my holodeck time is used on something that really should be a permanent fixture on a ship like this."

"Oh, that sounds amazing. Or a hot tub. I haven't seen a good, real hot tub in years." She thought back to the ones that she'd had access to at the Academy, and sighed. "When I was a kid, we'd sit out in the hot tub at night and watch the shuttles and such fly overhead. And pick out the various Lunar cities that are visible from Earth... I miss it a lot." Starfleet was hard, some times. It wasn't just the people she missed, it was the places and the things, too. Tuula wasn't the only one who used holodeck time on such things.

"Me too," replied Tuula. "Earth, that is. Fortunately, I have my twin sister on board, so that makes it a lot easier. We were very close growing up, and it's just so wonderful to be close to her again."

"You're lucky to have her here," Emmarie said. "I have three sisters from my adoptive family. We're not particularly close, though." She had a brother as well, but she disliked speaking of him. Their once-close relationship was now bitter and strained.

"That's too bad," replied Tuula, a hint of sadness in her voice. "Sisters are a gift, and you shouldn't squander that gift by not being close to them."

As she spoke, the waiter arrived with the bruschetta and a glass of wine for Emmarie. "Thank you," said Tuula, before turning back to Emmarie and raising her glass. "Here's to new friends."

"Here's to new friends," Emmarie echoed. "So what is it that you do aboard the Galileo? I'm in Operations, so I mostly fix things." It certainly wasn't the worst job aboard the ship. She could have been a janitor, or a non-comm, or a diplomat...

"I fix people," replied Tuula as she reached for a piece of bruschetta. "I'm a doctor."

"So we're not so different after all," Emmarie joked. "Though I bet your patients complain a bit more often than mine do." Though if the sensors failed at an inopportune time, the leadership tended to get a bit disagreeable.

"Oh, don't even get me started," replied Tuula with a giggle. "The cocky marine who thinks he's too tough for medicine, the guy who refuses to exercise or eat properly and wonders why he has high cholesterol, and the hypochondriac. I've seen it all." Pausing, she took a sip of her wine. "But still, I wouldn't trade it for anything... that look on the patient's face when you cure a disease or heal a wound is just priceless."

"Oh, I bet. And I bet you enjoy the thrill, especially when it's a particularly challenging case, or something you've never seen before. To have that power over people, and whether they live or die..." Emmarie's mouth closed suddenly, as she realized that she might be giving the wrong impression.

"I... just like helping people," replied Tuula, thinking that Emmarie's response was curious to say the least. While she would occasionally indulge in the sin of pride regarding her profession, she would try to save her thrills for the holodeck. Of course, she was not immune to getting excited about challenging surgeries either. "But operations is important too," she quickly added, it sounding like the polite thing to say.

"True," Emmarie said. "The sensors don't calibrate themselves, and the Captain can't be expected to open his own hailing frequencies,"she said with a grin. "I like it honestly. I'm content to be a cog in the wheel for now." At least, until she found out something more fulfilling to do with her life.

"Well, as long as you're doing what you love..." replied Tuula, reaching once more for her glass of wine.

"I am," Emmarie replied with a smile. "When did you start with the hair and tattoos?" she asked. Some people started in their teens, others did it later on in life, and everyone's reasons were interesting and different.

"I guess I've always been a little different..." replied Tuula, pondering the question. She had dressed like this for so long that she almost forgot what it was like to look 'normal,' whatever that was. "It was in high school that I started experimenting with my look, dying my hair, wearing lots of black, that sort of thing. I just thought it looked edgy and awesome, just like me." She giggled a little and paused to take a sip of her wine before continuing.

"As for the tattoos... I guess I was nineteen or twenty when I got my first tattoo, something that I had been fantasizing about for years, changing my mind on what I wanted and where I wanted it, debating whether to go through with it or not. I eventually settled on a flower on my ankle..." Tuula trailed off, debating whether or not to go further with the story. This was the part where it got personal, and even though they were fast becoming friends, she had only met Emmarie just now.

"Then... well, let's just say I ran into a little adversity," she added, glancing downwards for a split second. "Not only do they look awesome, but these tattoos all have their own meanings, and they all signify a certain control I have over my body that no abusive boyfriend or shuttle accident can take away."

Emmarie leaned forward, placing one of her hands atop Tuula's in a reassuring manner. "Thank you for sharing," she said, her tone soft. She didn't want to ruin the moment, so to speak, so she considered her next words with care. Her usual impulsive manner of spouting out the first thing that came to mind was hardly appropriate for such a time.

"I'm sorry that you went through that," she added a moment later. "I can't even presume to say that I understand or that I relate, because I don't, and I won't lie and say otherwise. Just... a lot of people would have allowed those sort of events to ruin them, and it seems to me like you've made the most out of it, which is really impressive."

Tuula blushed slightly at the compliment. "Well, I suppose I've always been a little stubborn. I guess I get that from my mother." Tuula paused for a moment, deciding to change the subject to something a little lighter. "So... welcome to the Galileo, I guess. It's not the biggest ship in the fleet, but there is an abundance of rather interesting characters."

"I'm used to small," Emmarie said with a shrug. "So it's not so much of a problem to me. Galileo has a great sensor array for me to play with, so that counts for a lot. And... something tells me I'll be on the interesting characters list before long."She grinned at Tuula as she took a sip from her wine glass.

"Welcome to the club," replied Tuula.

[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Emmarie
Assistant Chief of Operations
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen, M.D.
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

RSS Feed

Comments (1)