Forcing Animals Into Sport For Entertainment

Posted on 30 Apr 2016 @ 9:20pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Ensign Jerico Stark

1,740 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Divinum Mundi
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 6, Operations Office
Timeline: MD 02 - 2230 hours

[ON]

The Optical Data Network's connected to the caa-ble, the cable's connected to the ree-lay, the relay's connected to the computer... Stark sang in his head as he brought up a few commands. Monitor duty wasn't the most thrilling shipboard job a person could have, but he supposed that everyone had to start somewhere. Making up silly songs to himself seemed as good a distraction as any. Not that he really wanted to distract himself, lest a catastrophic, cascading systems failure result. Or something.

That's when a terrible distraction jangled in. Jaunting into the operations office at a languid pace, Andreus Kohl appeared to have more in common with a flight attendant than a command officer at that precise moment. On one outstretched hand, Kohl was balancing a couple of steaming brushed-nickel mugs atop a widescreen PADD. With the mugs as his bow, Kohl crossed the compartment towards a workstation being utilized by a gangly young man.

"Mister Stark, I presume?" asked Kohl in his most presumptuous manner. The bearded Argelian proffered one of the mugs by its handle, and he squinted at the other man, and he said, "...and if you're not, you're probably wondering why I'm serving you Risian tea?"

Jerico glanced up as a newcomer entered the area, balancing mugs on the top of a padd. Quirking an eyebrow, Stark took the proffered mug. "You don't have to take the tea back," he grinned. "Because I'm the right guy. Good evening, sir."

"Good morning for some of us," Kohl remarked in good humour. As the command officer of gamma shift, his day was only beginning. Taking up his own mug by the handle, Kohl sipped at the tea. He explained, "It's one of my favourite blends. Thundergrass. I believe it grows in Montasmery Cove." But then he shook his head in mild abashment at the outpouring of information. "I'm Andreus Kohl, ship's second officer, by the by."

Stark closed his eyes briefly as he took in the aroma of the tea. Commander Kohl had great taste in tea, that was for certain. Jerico's analytical mind also didn't skip the fact that the commander had taken the time to research where he was from, and serve a native beverage. Either that...or the man was a hell of a lucky guesser.

"Always good to see someone who appreciates Risian culture," Stark smiled, as he took a sip. "As someone who holds dual citizenship, it makes me happy to know that at least some folks realize there's more to Risa than...uh...tourism."

Kohl took another sip of the tea before he spoke over the brim of the mug. "I know from Federation perceptions of hedonistic cultures," Kohl said. His mien was dry. His smile sardonic. "My planet of birth was Argelius," he said with a laugh. "I trust I'm not the first, but I hope you will accept my warm welcome aboard Galileo, Mister Stark."

Raising his tea mug, Jerico gave Commander Kohl a kind of a small salute between fellow oft-misinterpreted cultures. "Thank you, Commander. Everyone has been quite welcoming, and the ship systems have been quiet so far." Jerico had a great sense of humor, and he was often pretty good at sniffing out the demeanor of others. Kohl seemed to him like someone that could be business-like, but there was an almost-playful undercurrent there, too. Like the man could sense something amusing, but wasn't quite ready to let everyone else in on it, too. Or if he waited to see if the rest of the class got it. "I've never visited your homeworld, but I have tasted Argelian ale. Just once...but it was memorable."

There was nothing hidden about the knowing smile that brought to Kohl's mouth. "Argelian ale can often be your introduction to a memorable evening," Kohl remarked, "or the conclusion." He shared a wink with Stark. After looking about for the nearest flat surface, Kohl set down his mug and then his PADD. Kohl braced his hands against the freestanding LCARS console between Stark and himself. Holding tight, he leaned in. "Now, I want you to tell me the truth," Kohl said. "I know you've only been out of the Academy for a few days yet, but have we managed to shatter any of your illusions about life in Starfleet yet?"

"No sir," Stark replied, straight and simple. His tone stayed light, but he spoke with conviction. Jerico took another long pull from his container of tea, letting the persistently delicate flavors play on his tongue for a brief moment before swallowing. "I'm honestly not sure I had any illusions about this. My family's been in Starfleet for generations, so I always had uniforms around me growing up. Parents were officers, grandparents..." He shrugged, a slight roll of his shoulder. "I'm actually named for a distant grandfather. Lieutenant Jerico Stark, lost in battle to the Romulans. The war with Romulans...so, yeah. We go back a ways."

He took another drink, allowing a small smirk to touch on the corner of his mouth. "One thing...I guess I would prefer the shipside space offered on a Galaxy-class explorer. I always wanted room for my own chariot-racing arena in my quarters..."

The story of a Starfleet brat in this generation was a familiar one to Kohl, but as for chariot racing? That brought a quirk to one of Kohl's eyebrows. He took a step back, as if that would allow him to gather a better look at Stark. "Did you do very much chariot racing on Earth?" he asked. Only idly, Kohl wondered if Admiral Saalm might have a chariot racetrack in her own quarters.

Jerico blinked a few times before realizing how much it make him look like an owl. It was a habit of his that he didn't quite like, but there it was. Quirking the corner of his mouth, Stark tapped his lower lip. "Uh...not quite," he chuckled. "My mother's planet used to force animals into sport for entertainment, but that was a long time ago." He shrugged again. "But, if anyone would ever want to set a track up, I'm sure a Galaxy would have room. Not so much here...but, then again, it would be Ops' job to find a way."

At that, Kohl breathed out a quiet chuckle. He shook his head briefly, trying to dispel a mental image of the warp core being ejected from the engine room to make way for a chariot track. "What Operations challenges do you expect a Nova-class starship will hold for you?" asked Kohl.

"Well..." Jerico drawled, swirling his tea around in the mug a little bit as he thought. "It seems to me that operating a small ship has its own inherent challenges, as much as a large ship. Maybe even more so." Setting the mug down, Stark counted off points on his fingers. "At the risk of stating the obvious - internal space. Everything's pretty cramped. I'm kinda leggy and elbow-y, so maneuvering around GNDN tracks to get to EPS manifolds and...well, you get the point." Operations officers tended to have the habit of "ops-ing" off about random starship minutia, and Jerico wasn't much different in that regard. "And...the equipment we're packing, like sensor pods and the like, require a bit more of a delicate touch than your average starship. But that's the exciting part, right?"

Although Kohl was midway through sipping at his tea when Jerico said that, he was quick to gulp it down and raise his free hand for emphasis. "You don't know the half of it. Our experimental, secondary deflector array punched a hole right through the universe," Kohl said with equal measures of enthusiasm and fear. His face contorted into a macabre grin. "Exciting, right?"

"See," Jerico replied, waggling his finger, "that right there? That's what makes this the most awesome job in the universe. I mean, seriously!" He took another sip of his tea, setting the now-empty cup down on the console. "What other occupation could you casually talk about poking holes in the universe? Not that it really sounds like the safest thing to do, mind you, but still."

Quiet for a few seconds, Jerico grinned. "It honestly is exciting. I mean, being here, but just this life in general. There's a long tradition of Starfleet service in my family, but I never once felt any pressure to take this life. I never questioned that I...needed to be here." He shrugged, chuckling in a self-deprecating manner. "Cue the sentimental music, I guess."

"I think it's natural," Kohl remarked. He shook his head quickly to disagree with Stark's self-deprecating joke. Kohl said, "We all long to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Not necessarily Starfleet, but something. Family, faith, an orchestra..." Waving his mug about, Kohl searched for the nearest flat surface and then set his mug down on part of the housing for the LCARS console. Looking to Stark, Kohl said, "Someone cautioned me, once, about a life of service. He said it could make you stand taller. It could share with you the strength of a whole battalion. But it would weigh on you too. An unrelenting weight on your shoulders of insatiable expectation." --Kohl shrugged-- "I can't say I believed in it much."

Jerico nodded in agreement, glancing over as Kohl set his mug down. It was only a lightning-quick flick of his brown eyes, blink-and-you-miss-it, but he was checking to see if the commander set his cup on the housing and not any of the delicate touch buttons. Not that he was about to go chastising a very superior officer, but...habits were habits. "I guess we all grow up with history's weight on us," he mused, tapping his lower lip. "For good or for ill. We can't really escape it. Family name, expectations...or even the reputation of an entire culture," he added, flashing a slightly-playful grin. "My sister's the captain of her own cargo ship, moving goods through the entire quadrant. She travels where she wants, sees what she wants...I know she's fulfilled by that life. It's great for her. But me? I'd never feel right doing anything but this."


[OFF]

Commander Andreus Kohl
Second Officer
USS Galileo

ENS Jerico Stark
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

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