Come here Often? [backpost]

Posted on 20 Apr 2016 @ 8:47pm by Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D. & Ensign Calin

1,280 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Divinum Mundi
Location: USS Galileo, Callisto
Timeline: MD 92: 1900 Hours [EP10]

[ON]

Ensign Calin had seen very little need to visit the Callisto bar, but did so anyways. Located on deck two, it appeared to serve the general function of a ship’s main lounge, allowing Galileo’s crew the opportunity to spend their off-duty hours in a relaxing environment complimented various food and drink. While Calin was neither hungry nor thirsty, he did know that making acquaintances would be critical to his integration.

The bar was pocketed by crewmembers, but Calin found a small corner of the room where he could sit down and order a drink – spice tea. From there, he elected to quietly observe for a little while rather than approach anyone immediately.

On the other side of the room, there was another crewmember occupying a table by themselves. Smaller and dressed in off-duty attire, they scanned the room with keen eyes, taking in the apparent spectacle of crewmembers going about their day, free from duty.

Reaching onto the table, Oren picked up his drink and took a sip, eyes suddenly on the lone, unfamiliar Vulcan across the room. As someone who took an interest in people on a personal level, Oren prided himself on knowing at least by name, who his fellow crewmembers were. The Vulcan was no different, but it was only through being exposed to Ellsworth's constant comments on new arrivals, that he knew the man's name.

Taking the drink away from his lips, Oren smiled at Calin as the caught the man's eye and raised his drink to him before taking another sip.

It was a crude social gesture, but one that Calin had grown accustomed to, particularly during his time at the academy. He briefly considered returning the gesture as acknowledgment, then decided against it. Just because other species lacked manners didn't mean he needed to degrade himself. Raising an eyebrow towards the unnamed individual, Calin pushed himself out of his chair and proceeded towards him.

"May I join you?" He asked, his voice hesitating as though he weren't quite as comfortable with the idea.

"Of course," Oren replied, motioning to the chair with a wave of his hand. "Ensign Calin, right? You are the new investigations officer." Not wanting the man to feel like their was unbalanced, he took a sip and introduced himself. "Idris Oren. Chief Research Officer."

Taking a seat next to Oren, Calin nodded, then sat his drink down on the table. "It is agreeable to meet you, Lieutenant." Calin said, eyeing Oren more closely. There had been a degree of uncertainty whether Oren was male or female until he was closer. Then an unexpected wash of stillness fell over the Vulcan, an experience he recognized. Oren was El Aurian, widely recognized by interstellar society as a race of listeners.

"You as well," Oren returned courteously, affording Calin a small, disarming smile. The presence of a Vulcan felt almost soothing and Oren couldn't help but relax in his presence. Though he frequently found himself mimicking the emotional states of the people around him, being close to someone who did their best to purge their emotions allowed Oren the freedom to simply relax and be himself. It also allowed him to get a better read of the room, Calin included.

"So tell me, what does an investigations officer do on a ship this size?"

“My duties include, however are not limited to, conducting investigations into criminal, fraud, counterintelligence, internal security, and other concerns,” Calin admitted, reading from his memory of the handbook. He appeared to sigh, although the passive nature of that sigh made it difficult to discern why he had.

"Sounds exciting, but I don't know how much work you'll have, and that's coming from an Archaeologist," Oren admitted, giving Calin a sympathetic look. "Unless you're interested in pushing a bunch of science papers through the computer to see how much they've plagiarized," he added, leaning forward to rest his elbow on the table and his cheek in his hand.

"What do you like to do when you're not working?"

The question was verbose, and was something that Calin was asked too frequently given the nature of his species. "I neither nor dislike any form of activities," Calin clarified in the way most Vulcans did, ruling out the disease of emotion while taking a sip of his beverage. "However, my habits are varied. And you?"

"I don't really have much free time now, what with trying to keep up with the other scientists, but I love to read poetry, play with my dog, go hiking in the holodeck. I recently went camping to Bajor. It was a disaster," Oren chuckled, remembering it. "But it was nice to be back home."

Calin had almost begun to open his mouth to speak, but stopped suddenly as though he realized that his choice of words required additional consideration. "I see. You possess a canine? Is it on board Galileo?" He asked, the tone of his voice carefully measured so as not to betray the annoyance behind his question. Dogs... Terran dogs in particular... were renowned for their repugnant odor.

"I do!" Oren said excitedly and, completely oblivious to Calin's distaste, took out his private paDD to show the Vulcan a recent image of Landi. It showed Oren half covered by Landi, who was now reaching what he hoped was her final size. "She's getting much bigger than I was led to believe when I got her as a gift," he added, looking back at the image himself. "But she's friendly."

Calin peered at the image, finding a grey/white dog with long hair that seemed to be sticking its tongue out at the camera. Calin found it to be unflattering, but clearly Oren liked it. "Indeed," Calin could have groaned.

"So, which of your varied habits do you do the most?" Oren knew most people found conversing with a Vulcan to be tiring considering how shut off they seemed to be, but he was determined to find out more about Calin.

Taking a sip of his beverage, Calin noted the temperature's decline by a few degrees. "As far as my daily routine is concerned, I would have to say meditation," Calin replied. "I meditate several times throughout the day."

"I envy you. I could never meditate. I keep getting distracted...or sleepy" Oren admitted. "It is nice to hear from someone in security who doesn't use their down time to work on cold cases."

If only he knew... Calin pondered. Perhaps he needed to redefine what down time meant to him verses what it likely meant to others on board the Galileo. He contemplated making a point on how everybody on board the Galileo might benefit from regimented meditation periods, and then decided against it. To rarely had anybody ever agreed with him. "Indeed." Calin replied.

"Right..." Oren just added, nodding as he continued to sit there uncomfortably. On the inside, he was counting this as a defeat in his plan to be friendly with incredibly Vulcan officer. Of course, his anthropological training told him how xenophobic he was probably being by measuring someone's degree of belonging to their species, but damn it, Calin was very Vulcan.

So, in what he would later see as a very undignified fifteen seconds, Oren pretended to fidget around in his seat before announcing that he had other things to attend to and that duty called. So, with a quick, respectful nod towards Calin, Oren bade him farewell before leaving the Lounge, already planning on a new approach.

[OFF]

Lieutenant Idris Oren
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Calin
Security Investigations Officer
USS Galileo

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