Open Secrets

Posted on 11 Aug 2016 @ 6:34pm by Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman & Ensign Jerico Stark

2,860 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Divinum Mundi
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2 - Mess
Timeline: MD 7, 0900

[ON]

"Morning," Jerico nodded, smiling at an exiting crewman as he entered the ship's main mess hall. It was a smaller area, all things considered, but in scale to the size of the vessel. He'd not been on board for very long, but Stark felt like he'd seen most of the ship's components and workings by now. The privilege of working in the Operations division. He politely stepped around another person, taking up a tray and picking at the morning fruit selection. Although he worked Beta shift, he still liked to wake up early enough for the tail end of Alpha's breakfast. 'Morning' didn't really exist in space, but it felt like it.

Finding an open table, Jerico quietly sat down, taking a long pull from his apple juice as he watched the other officers mill about. Although he'd made a few great connections since coming on board, he still felt very, very new. This place was, however, his new home.

Evelyn signed as she walked into the Mess Hall. "It's still small." She thought, shaking her head as she head to the replicator. With a small smirk she ordered "Computer, E. Coleman's breakfast 12," she expected for the computer to decline the request but when the replicator hummed and her poached eggs with mushroom & tomatoes with small buttered almond, yogurt, fruit parfait with a glass of utterberry smoothie. "Incredible." Evelyn exclaimed loudly as she pulled her tray out.

She looked around for an empty table and frowned when the search yielded nothing. She then found a friendly face and procceded towards it. "May I join you?" she asked the officer with the gold tunic.

Jerico glanced up with a mouthful of baguette, looking incredibly chipmunk-like as he did so. His cheeks flushed with a touch of blush as he finished chewing the bread. "Yes ma'am," he nodded, chasing the bread down with some juice. The 'ma'am' thing was just politeness, since she wasn't wearing a rank on display. Plus, there was just...something...about her that seemed to command respect. Or awe. Her eyes were very blue. Glancing over at her breakfast, Jerico suddenly realized that he could have opted for something more substantial than fruit and baguettes. "I can't tell if this place is busy or just tiny," he grinned, brushing his fingertips off before offering a hand. "Jerico Stark, Ops."

"Always default to tiny." Evelyn smiled as she took his hand with hers, "Evelyn Coleman, Intelligence." She shook his hand and then released it so she can begin with her meal. As she begins to cut her her poached egg, she looked up at him, "So, you enjoying your assignment?"

Grinning back, Jerico nodded as he took up his juice glass. "I think they originally intended 'default to tiny' to be the dedication quote for the Nova class." So. Intelligence. Stark used the few seconds it took to take a drink to consider Coleman's position. He honestly hadn't dealt with Intel officers in his short career, but the possibility of sitting down to breakfast with one already had gears spinning in his head. So many questions. But how to even bring them out? They weren't exactly casual dining conversation between strangers. "I am, yes," he smiled. "I came on board when the Galileo was in dock at the station, so I haven't been here very long. It's a tiny ship, but the mission specs are just what Starfleet is supposed to be doing." He shrugged, poking at a wedge of yellow fruit. "It feels good to be a part of that, to be honest. Have you been on board long?"

"Few days. I had an assignment on the USS Semes, working on a new satellite that will remain in orbit, not to mention help security assess any threats nearby." Eve took a bite out of her egg and then reached for her glass, washing it down. "What I love about my field is I have a hand in various departments; security, diplomacy, even engineering, especially when establishing a new colony. Very exciting."

It did sound quite exciting. Intel operations and spy satellites...almost like something out of a boilerplate holonovel! Well, technically, Coleman hadn't said that the satellite was for intelligence purposes. "Impressive," he grinned, working to slice open his second baguette. Reaching over, Jerico took a small pat of butter and smoothed it over the bread. "I guess that's the thing about being out like this. Not only are there the threats we know about, but there are a hundred unknowns for every known." And sometimes the unknown swallows up your family members. Jerico quietly chewed his bread for a few moments. "Many irons in the fire, huh? Kinda reminds me of Operations. We're like Engineering, but with a wider range of things to tinker with."

Evelyn looked at the young man with amusement. "Indeed. Engineers build, but it's Operations that make it work, you just make sure you get the credit you deserve."

Slightly unsure if Coleman was tugging at his leg slightly, Jerico just smiled and chewed his bread. It wasn't very bad, as far as mess hall fare went. Some technicians spent their entire career devoted to the pursuit of better replicator food technology. Jerico wasn't one of them, though. "So," he said, after a brief bit. "You're Starfleet, but I assume this isn't your first assignment." Leaning slightly forward, he added a playful tag to his next query. "What world has the honor of having you hail from it?"

Eve smirked at him, "I'm El-Aurian, and you're Risian current?"

El-Aurian! Jerico felt a small jolt of surprise course through his spine as Evelyn mentioned her species. Not that he expected her to grow another head or something, but he knew that the El-Aurians could live for a very, very long time, and the passage of years barely touched them. Almost like something from an old-time storybook. My god, he thought, she could be a hundred. Or more! He wasn't about to ask, of course. She'd likely show him the airlock. "I am, indeed," Stark replied, recovering quickly with an inclination of his head. "Part of the way, at least. My father was a native Risian. Mom's from Earth, retired from the service. I spent most of my time on Earth, but I always summered with family on Risa."

"Ah, I haven't been to Risa all that often, I think I only visited the planet twice since it joined the Federation." Eve replied and then leaned forward, "so, how does the planet differs from the locals to the tourists?"

Since it joined the Federation? Jerico had paid attention in class, and he quickly counted up the years between now and then. It was a ballpark estimate, of course, but...yeah. It was intuitively obvious that Coleman had been around for a while. He held his apple juice glass by the rim, idly swirling the contents around as a rueful smile touched his lips. No matter how it was phrased, people always eventually got around to asking about sex on Risa.

"Well," he drawled, "imagine an amusement park themed on, say...holonovel historical romances of the Klingon-Federation conflicts. Everything would look right - golden transporter beams, D7 heavies, Starfleet unis in bright, primary colors...everyone sitting in the audience gets to play along, laughing when they should, with a knowing wink to the actors. You'd think it'd be an accurate representation of the whole picture. Unless," he paused, quirking an eyebrow at her, "someone who had actually lived in that time saw it. Then they'd think it was a bit whimsically absurd." Jerico paused again, finishing his juice. "That's Risa. It's not that my father's people don't enjoy the tourists - really, we do! - but...there's a whole hell of a lot more to the planet than just jamaharon." He shrugged, chuckling lightly. "But. People come to Risa, they leave their inhibitions, they're free, they're open...I guess there are worse things to fixate on."

Evelyn leaned back in her chair, her smile fading a bit. "That was a bit underwhelming. Every planet is like that, even Earth. Earth, to a visitor, is the pinnacle of paradise, but to locals...the most boring place to be." She sighed and she looked at him. "But then no one expect humans to be perfect, but being Risian, I bet you have the various promiscuous stereotypes to deal with."

Blinking once, twice, Jerico opened and shut his mouth while his mind worked. Underwhelming? What had she expected! Then again, Evelyn could be three hundred bloody years old or something. It likely took a lot to impress someone that could remember when warp 5 was hotrod speed. "Well, I like Earth, too," he added, taking up the rest of his other baguette. "I was born there. Maryland. Anyway...yeah. I've definitely noticed that people have some...uh, fun ideas about who and what I should be because of my Risian heritage. I guess they assume I should carry a kissing booth with me." An impish grin crossed his features. "Or a bowl for strangers to throw their room keycard into..."

Evelyn looked at him, "Well, not to overstep boundaries, but you are a cutie." She chuckled and then reached for her glass, "It's fascinating though. So many diverse cultures and customs in our Federation, and yet, at the end of the day we're all the same."

The subtle touches of blush from earlier before in the conversation returned, this time with a full force. Thankfully, his naturally-tanned complexion hid most of it. He hated how damned boyish it made him look when he did it. "You can step wherever you please," Jerico grinned, reaching up to run the tips of his fingers through the side of his brown hair. "That whole Risian lack-of-uptightness thing comes in handy sometimes!" He idly tapped the end of his bread piece on his plate. "No matter what corner of the Federation they come from...people always can't wait to toss their clothing aside and run around with white Risian sand under their toes..."

Evelyn thought about her last visit to Risa, "I was never too fond of the Risian beaches. The beaches on Angella Prime though, they are so pristine. Aside from the beauty and calming atmosphere, you don't walk away with sand all over you."

Jerico had never been to Angella Prime, but it sounded like a place to be. Everything was subjective, of course, but in his mind...it was hard to be a beach on Risa. "You just haven't found the right secluded cove to watch the sunset from," he said, with a touch of amused teasing. Realizing that he had been idly tamping an end of bread into his plate, Jerico cleared his throat and set the remnants of breakfast aside. "I haven't been back to Risa since the summer before I went to Starfleet Academy," he said, his tone quieting. "No particular reason why not, just...haven't found the time. I do want to go back, though. I never wanted to shy away from it, even after losing dad."

Eve listened to his voice softening at the mention of his father. "Traditions are very important, especially when honoring the memory of a loved one." Her voice was somber, clearly speaking from experience, "the next time the ship is scheduled for shoreleave; I'll take you to Risa myself." Eve offered.

Glancing up from his own thoughts, Jerico smiled at Evelyn, the friendly warmth touching the brown in his eyes. He reached up, his fingertips ghosting along his forehead where the traditional ja'risia disc would go if he were in his meditations. "You'll love it," he simply said, giving his head a little shake as if to dispel the sombreness that threatened to settle in. In spite of it, he broke out into a full, if somewhat sheepish, grin. "Look at me. I just had a beautiful woman offer to take me to Risa, and here I sit. Of course I will take you up on that offer," he chuckled. "I'll even act as your tour guide. Keep you from spending credits on the over-priced flowers at the spaceport...I know where they grow on their own!"

Grinning, Evelyn enjoyed making the young man happy. "I appreciate that." She finished with her eggs and started on her parfait. "So tell me more about yourself. Did you always wanted to be in operations or was there another field you were interested in?"

Jerico carefully slid his used plate and glass to the side, moving it out of the way so that he didn't accidentally knock it over, or something. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it just seemed like Evelyn was the type of person that you didn't want to make too many social gaffes in front of. Not that she seemed judgmental or anything, but...well. Maybe it was because he knew she was El-Aurian. "I actually didn't settle on my final major until about the second year of the Academy," he said, coming back to the conversation. "Though I've always been fascinated by technical aspects, and almost all my secondary school courses were weighted toward it." He paused a moment, thinking back. "Truth be told, I was kind of torn between Operations, or going further into geosciences. I've worked with terraformers...it's incredible stuff. Real big science, writ large."

Evelyn nodded in agreement as she quickly ate a spoonful of the parfait, "Indeed." she replied after she finished swallowing and licked her lips. "That's the kind of job that bridges scientists and engineers, but it does take time and dedication. I remember when I was on the Lexington dropping a team of terraformers off on a class-D world in the Mazzarra System. Took them 25 years but they did it. Hundred years later, Mazzarra VII is still thriving. I believe about a million people live in New Alexandria alone."

"Well," Jerico added, giving a rather boyish grin, "I say 'worked' with terraformers...but I guess my role would be better described with the word 'intern'. Y'know...coallating data, file cleanup...getting coffee..." Shrugging, he smiled again. "But it was good work, and just what I needed at the time." The time, of course, had been right after he'd first washed out of the Academy psych eval. But that would be a conversation for later. Pausing for a moment, Jerico's honey-brown eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh! You know...do you think you might have known my grandfather? James Stark...they called him 'Jimbo'. Commanded a Constellation back in...uh...well." Those cheeks flushed right back up again as a fresh wave of embarassment washed over him. Had he seriously just asked Evelyn if she'd known his grandfather? "I mean...I didn't mean...okay...yeah. I'll just open an airlock and walk out into space."

As he stammered Evelyn raised her hand, "Its fine." she smiled at him hoping to reassure him. "That name does sound vaguely familiar. Did he serve in one of the early Constellation-class starships?"

Of course it's fine, Jerico thought, chastising himself. It's not like she suddenly forgot that she's hundreds of years old. Still, many folks considered it rude to bring up age. Apparently, Evelyn wasn't one of those folks...which was his saving grace. "Er. Yeah. It was...USS Howe. I don't really remember much about him, he was actually my great-granddad. But there are holophotos, and some news reports from the FNS." Shrugging, he ran his tapering fingers through his short, brown hair. "So many command-level officers in my family...sometimes I feel like they're sitting in some Starfleet Valhalla, looking slightly disappointed at me that I don't have any interest in the Command track."

"The Howe," Eve repeated and then slowly nodded, "Yes I think I met him a few times, he was a good man." She glanced at him, "I'm sure your family is proud of you, regardless of whether you command a starship or not. Just do what you love, and put in your best effort."

"He was gone by the time I came around," Jerico replied, glancing down at the tabletop, and back up. "But I always heard stories. It seems like sometimes the times that people live in are larger than life, and it creates an even larger legend. That's kinda what he was to me." He shrugged, smiling a little and slightly-embarrassed smile. "I don't mean to blab on. And...I do think they're proud of me." He considered his empty cup for a bit, and then looked back to Evelyn. "Do you have any family in Starfleet?"

Evelyn shook her head, "No. I was the only one in my family to visit Earth."

[TRUNCATED]

--

LCDR Evelyn Coleman
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

ENS Jerico Stark
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

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