Class Reunion

Posted on 07 May 2019 @ 3:09pm by Ensign Callin Mastrel & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater
Edited on on 11 May 2019 @ 3:46pm

2,222 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 4, Geology Lab
Timeline: MD -08, 1400 Hours

[ON]

Having always wanted to get a berth on a science vessel, Callin hadn't been disappointed so far in exploring the Galileo's new facilities. Each lab he'd explored so far had been a wonder in the latest instruments, sensors, computers, staffed by some of the smartest people he'd met. Some of them even smelled new still - except for the chemistry lab, of course, which probably smelled like any number of strange things since the day the ship launched.

All in all, Callin couldn't have been happier with finally winding up here, or so he thought, walking through the doors to the geology lab. There were large tables set up with domes on top where samples of rocks were being scanned, simulations running on screens, and just one person working inside. Though Callin couldn't see her face just yet as he came in, he immediately felt something familiar, maybe in the haircut, or the way the woman held herself. "Hello?" Callin's curiosity was plain as he approached.

The geology lab was not normally a very busy place. The only people that were in here with any regularity other than Sofie were the technicians and Plumeri. So hearing someone else's voice in her rocky sanctum caught Sofie off guard for a moment. When she did turn from her seat to see who was there she did a bit of a double take. "Callin?" She exclaimed "What are you doing here?" Then composing herself slightly and continuing in a slightly apologetic tone "I mean to say, when did you come aboard?"

"Sofie!" Callin's face lit up with a grin. Definitely familiar. More than that, this was the best surprise yet in coming on board! Then he laughed, "I actually got here a few days ago. Who'd of figured on a ship this small it took that long to bump into each other." He took a seat on the edge of the console next to her, lounging. "It's been, what, about half a year since graduation? How've you been? Was this your first post after the Academy?"

"This is my first one, I ended up hanging around the Academy a bit after graduating - spent my time showing first year cadets how to tell the difference between margarine and granite. I had no idea we were even in the same quadrant let alone on the same ship." She smiled warmly, she hadn't seen Callin since graduation week and this was probably the most welcome surprise of the trip so far. "What have you been doing though? And how did you end up out here?"

At the mention of dealing with the first years, Callin chuckled, remembering just how clueless he had been himself, and on a lot more than just the strangeness of Earth's spreadable bread topping. "That must've been fun. I bet you made a great teacher actually." He sighed and went into the story, bringing up another of their classmates that had been famous for his get togethers, "Did you go to Hannover's party, towards the end of our last year? You know, the one out of the Academy in his apartment in Las Vegas where cadets and instructors got to mingle out of uniform?"

Sofie sighed wistfully remembering long nights and late mornings. Hannover had been a truly legendary individual. "I didn't make it to that one, I'd been visiting family that week. So what happened?" She asked, curious to know what relevance this party had.

"Admiral Urovvo happened," Callin gave a dramatic sigh, though a certain tightness around his eyes showed he was offended even though he turned it into a joke. "After I cleared him out at the poker game he implied I had...well, cheated." Callin tapped his forehead. "Of course I didn't, but I guess he held a grudge. I spent a couple of months after graduation interviewing for a post when his orders caught up with me. Courier duty. Ugh."

Sofie half giggled at the story "Trust you to piss off an admiral by winning at poker." Said about any other admiral she'd have doubted the tale but Urovvo had always had a bit of a reputation among the cadets. She could almost picture the moment, Urovvo becoming increasingly irritated, Callin with a look of almost smug innocence on his face, and the chips slowly but surely migrating from one to another. "So how did you then end up here of all places?" She waved a hand in a vague motion indicating the ship.

Callin looked around, a little unsure of that himself, still not quite used to the idea that this ship was his new home, "I hope my answer will be because I got lucky. What can you tell me about the Galileo? Well, the Galileo-A, I guess I should say. What happened to the first one? And what have you been up to here?"

Sofie leaned in towards Callin in an almost conspiratorial position. "I don't know exactly what happened to the first Galileo but I imagine it might have something to do with why our captain has spent time in prison." She spoke very quietly as if worried someone might here her talking about it. "I think we could well have signed on to serve under somewhat of a maverick."

At the word prison, Callin's eyes went wide. That wasn't common, not in the least! He thought it through, decided that if Starfleet provided a command then there was certainly far too much he couldn't know to form an opinion on it, and shrugged. "I imagine we might find out sooner or later. This is a really small ship, I bet secrets are pretty hard to keep around here." Callin sighed and looked around the lab, but there was a start of a little smile on his lips, "So whaddaya think, Sofie? Is this a good place to land for a while?"

"This past couple months, with no exaggeration, have been some of the most boring weeks of my life." Sofie declaimed with an truthful but overly dramatic tone before admitting "But a lot of the people in the department are very nice. I'm sure we could be doing a lot worse - courier duty perhaps?" She grinned half at her jab and half because she felt a real sense of relief to have a familiar face join the crew.

Callin chuckled and raised his hands defensively, "Gods-forbid I ever see another attache-case again in my life! A little boring doesn't sound too bad, honestly. Especially if all the labs are outfitted like this!" He stood upright and paced around a bit, gestured at the different sensors and equipment. "I bet I could run some pretty wild simulations on singularity dynamics, oh, or reconstruct fossilized DNA from some dusty artifact, or, or..." He grinned and gestured widely, "Or maybe someday figure out the difference between andesite and anthracite. Gods, Sofie, it's good to see you again!"

"I tell you now Callin, the feeling is definitely mutual." It was genuine and this all felt nice, it felt familiar, having a friend from before. Sofie basked in that feeling of friendship for a moment, working with Callin was going to be fun - along with Matt it seemed the junior officers in science were going to have many good times ahead of them. "Have you met many of the other people in Science yet? Lieutenant Sandoval or Plumeri?"

Callin had met one of them already, but he wouldn't find out until later that his new chief and he had a nerdy history chat in a museum a few months back. "Nope, not yet. Or maybe?" He laughed a bit and added, "You see about a month or two after graduation, I was out in the Rigel system and actually met a lot of the crew from the original Galileo, but lots of what had happened was still hush hush." Warming to his story he leaned towards Sofie, lowered his voice to make it conspiratorial, "I thought I had gotten a post too, on board this ship called the Schofield..."

"We were on a mission to a nearby system where there was evidence of life, maybe even intelligent life, orbiting a star that shouldn't have been capable of supporting it. Anyways, some of the Galileo crew, a whole lot of them as far as I could tell, were on the ship too. I met an Andorian pilot, an amazing winged doctor with the most beautiful language I've ever heard, a really hot Romulan-" Callin had slipped back into just speaking without a filter and choked a bit when he said that. "Uh, anyways, I never could figure out from any of them just what had happened to their ship and captain before...woosh! Admiral Urovvo."

Sofie nodded sympathetically "Schofield is a name I've heard a lot recently. Not that I really have any idea about what happened there. You'll get to know the rest of Science in time. Sandoval is legitimately crazy but Plumeri is a really good sort." Then shifting to a more mischievous grin she continued "That Romulan wasn't the counsellor Lieutenant ir-Llantrisant was it?"

"Ah, yes, I think that was his name," Callin's answering grin left no doubt. "But he's a bit intimidating too." He paused, remembering, and the grin grew larger. That meeting had been interesting. "Definitely nice to look at at least. Plus, a Romulan!" He was probably every bit as much excited about getting to meet one as he would be flirting with one. "I wonder if he'd be willing to talk to me about the linguistic splits between his people and the Vulcans." Shifting topics slightly, he added, as happy to gossip as he was talking science, "And how about you? Been doing any dating out here in deep space where the pickings are slim?"

Sofie brushed off the question with a wave of her hand "Like you say, its not like there's anyone out here, let alone anyone who'd be willing to put up with me." She wanting to quickly away from this by saying something like You know I speak Romulan but she found herself held back from it for a moment, perhaps there was still something left to be said here "It is lonely out here Callin." She said quite seriously "There aren't many people on this ship and its not like the next three years is going to be filled with new people to meet. I'm not really sure how we're going to manage it."

Slightly narrowed and definitely amused eyes watched her reaction, but Callin let it go, replied to the seriousness with a toothy grin, "Oh, I bet they'll find a way to keep a pair of junior officers busy. Character-building work, like scrubbing plasma conduits, or herding a flock of crewman through drills..." Then he reached out and took her hand between both of his, gave it a little squeeze, "And you just tell me when you need something and I'll get it done. This is going to be exciting!"

Sofie blushed slightly and bit her lower lip. She'd never been the most touchy of people but she appreciated the gesture, especially from a friend, and especially when they were so alone in this darkness of space. "If plasma scrubbing and crew wrangling are what you consider exciting then I have no idea how boring courier duty must have been!" She giggled slightly at her own joke, her face warming significantly. She retrieved her hand with a smirk and looked Callin in the eye "Thanks for being here."

After a display of mock horror, mouth open wide and hands outstretched as if to ward off the evils of courier duty once again, Callin laughed along at the joke. He was going to make sure the first chance he got some holodeck time he surprised her with something fun, if he'd heard back from the Ferengi merchant who traded across the Romulan border. Callin beamed in return, "Always." He'd been wrong, he was definitely happier than when he'd walked in.

A moment of happiness in a bleak world. It was an oasis of normality in a sea of the alien. "You really should report in with the Chief though. Lieutenant Sandoval does run quite a tight ship." Sofie spoke in a matter of fact manner bringing herself back down to the real world. She made to stand up realising that Callin might not know exactly where to find the Lieutenant at this time of day "I can show you round the main labs if you want?"

With a slight bow and a gesture for her to take the lead, Callin paused just in range by the doors so they would open, and said, "Gladly! And if you want to put in a good word or two with the Chief, I wouldn't protest."

Sofie stood up and brushed down her uniform shirt. She gestured towards the door with an outstretched arm and began walking in that direction. "Then, if you will follow me, we shall begin!"

[OFF]

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Ensign Sofie Ullswater
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Callin Mastrel
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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