A Second Meeting

Posted on 05 Jan 2013 @ 3:19am by Lieutenant Jared Nicholas
Edited on on 05 Jan 2013 @ 3:21am

2,306 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo - CSO's Office
Timeline: MD15, 1430

[ON]

With one day left before duty called, Maenad was in her office going over inventory and department reports. She didn't mind, she was feeling quite relaxed as she went through her checklists, scribbling handwritten notes in one of her notebooks meanwhile listening to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos in sequential order. Every so often she would get up and walk over to her window, looking over the fields around the landing pad and then toward the more distant colony-city of Vega. She wondered idly whether she would ever come back this little place, whether she would ever wander along the beach that she and Lirha had moseyed along, or share another drink at that bar with Mister Liyar.

She returned to her desk, but didn't sit. With both hands, she gripped the back of her chair and rolled it out of the way so she could lean over her computer screen. Her reviews were done, but she decided to now check the most up-to-date department roster. Nothing had changed since Ensign Nicholas' arrival, which got her thinking. She was the department head, yet she had no idea what a language specialist was supposed to do. Yes, she had no idea. The revelation stood her upright in a pensive frown.

"Hm," she breathed. The position sounded quite irrelevant to her. Nicholas couldn't be a translator, she thought; that's what the universal translator was for. So what did he do? She figured, then, that he probably helped in dealing with first contacts or with smooth-talking the bad guys. But that didn't make sense, either, because that was Liyar's job. She smirked; Liyar as a diplomat, she didn't envy the alien that would have him as a mediator. Liyar, she grinned.

Then the second concerto began and Maenad began a furtive dance, pretending that she had a clarinet that she didn't know how to play, while dancing with twists of her hips, bends in her knees, and cocks of her head - imitating a baroque musician in full concert. After a few minutes, the question of what it was Ensign Nicholas was supposed to do around here was still actively on her thoughts. She paused her dance and got rid of the air-clarinet and tapped her commbadge. "Ensign Nicholas report to Lieutenant Panne's office at your earliest convenience," she said, then abruptly ended the comm. She returned to her pretend concert without missing a bit. This time, though she imagined she was on first violin.

Jared had been relaxing in his quarters, actually he had been in deep meditation. Meditation was better than sleep in some ways. True he didn't get as much rest that way, but he didn't suffer any nightmares that way either.

Though he had not told anyone, the nightmares, or specifically THE nightmare was becoming more and more frequent and more and more realistic. With meditation he did not dream, or at lest when he did, he could control the dream.

He wasn't sure why his chief had summoned him, it was both late and they were supposed to be off duty. He was dressed in black chinos and a gray A shirt. He didn't really feel like changing but he did make sure his rank pips and com badge and headed to the CSO's office.

Not much time had passed before Maenad heard the chime over her music, and she immediately turned it down to an ambience. "Come in," she said. Oh my, she thought. The sight of the young man in her doorway, sporting an A-shirt of all things, surprised the hell out of her. It certainly dampened her uppity imaginary concert, and she looked overdressed in her uniform. At least she had the skirt. She moved behind her desk and politely outstretched an arm toward an empty seat in front of it.

"I hope I wasn't disturbing you from your downtime," she smiled at him.

"Not all ma'am," he replied. It wasn't quite the truth, but close enough. Her call had been a distraction, but distractions were not a bad thing, especially one as attractive as she was.

"I apologize, I should have worn something a little more formal."

"No, don't apologise," she said, "You're on leave, you can wear what you want. I was going over your file today, as well as some other new arrivals, and I was wondering what sort of work you expect to do here." Maenad realised how her question could easily be taken the wrong way, so she quickly had to add more. "This isn't a trick question, I'm just curious."

"I see," he replied after a short pause, "Well while we have the universal translator, it doesn't always compensate for nuances. Inflection can be a very tricky thing. It can turn a compliment into an insult."

It also says nothing about the people that speak the language.

Their culture, their way of life those types of things. So I guess in a way I am something of a sociologist."

"Ah," Maenad nodded. She still wasn't entirely clear on what he did every day, but she couldn't say or show that to him. "What languages do you speak?" It was all on his file, but it was apparently a good thing to take at least a passive interest in her staff's work.

He leaned against the bulkhead and smiled. I am fluent in eight languages, Romulan, Vulcan, Orion, Betazid, Andorian, Standard and French. I am starting to learn Chinese as well.

Do you speak other languages?"

"Oh really?" she asked him, brightening somewhat when he had listed French. "I am French," she smiled. "And Lieutenant Cho is perfectly fluent in Mandarin. She is Trill, but she's essentially Chinese. She gestured to the chair once again. "Please, have a seat. Why did you choose French of all the non-Standard Terran languages?" She didn't like being the only one sitting down.

He followed her request and sat. "A friend of mine suggested I read Les Enfants Terribles. I found it fascinating, but wanted to read it in its original form. I picked that up while at the Academy. She was French, so that was also a motivation."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Maenad smiled. She wondered whether this friend of his was perhaps someone special to him. She remembered when she was going to school she would often gauge her interest in boys on whether they would read the books she recommended. In hindsight she found it silly, but she had no regrets. "Did you learn your languages in classes at the Academy, or did you travel to their homeworlds to immerse yourself?" she asked curiously.

"Orion, Romulan, Andorain and Vulcan I learned by immersion, but from shipmates not by going to their homeworlds. Betazid I picked up at the Academy. French I already told you about and Chinese I just started, just because I like the characters."

Maenad nodded at all of that. She was really impressed that he could just pick up a language like that. "Characters have always confused me," she admitted. "I just can't imagine them as a language like I can script."

"Well I guess that is what I like about it. I am not really your typical science type. I, how do I should I put this, I am much more inclined to social interactions and find the study of inanimate objects or subjects like biology to be, well less than thrilling. Languages to me are different they are an insight to a people's culture, who they are, how the evolved, what they've overcome."

"Have you been introduced to Crewman Athlen?" Maenad asked. He was the ship's sociologist; it occurred to her that she hadn't seen him in days, not since she had cleaned him up and tended to his wounds after that ridiculous spat with Stone. Wow, that had been some time ago now. "I think you two might be very well suited to work with each other."

"No, I haven't yet. But yes I think we would. I think linquistics and socology would make for good bed fellows, if you will. They are closely linked or should be. I would appreciate if you could set up a meeting."

Maenad frowned at bed fellows, but said nothing about it. The last time she had met with Nicholas he had made an awkward slip like that too, she remembered. "Yes, I think I can do that. I don't think he will mind; when would be a good time?"

"Perhaps sometime tomorrow would be good ma'am. Whenever it is convenient for the other officer."

"Okay, I will send him a message as soon as we are finished here," she told him. There was a pause as the second concerto grew to a close. She had almost forgotten it was playing. "Do you like Bach, ensign?"

"I do, though I prefer Tchaikovsky and Handel's Messiah is in my opinion the greates piece of classical music ever written."

"Ever written?" She didn't hide that she disagreed with him. The last thing she wanted was to get into an argument over the best classical piece of all time. "Have I kept you long enough? You probably want to get back to whatever it was you were doing. Don't feel like you have to stay," she said, not intending to sound dismissive of him. "I only wanted to know what your expectations were."

He could tell from her expression that she probably didn't agree with him, but that was fine. When it came to subjective things like musical taste he didn't expect everyone to agree with him. Still he thought it best not to push the issue.

"No ma'am I don't... Oh wait, there is one thing. Would you prefer to be addressed as sir or ma'am?"

Maenad smiled. She didn't like either, honestly, but that was the nature of the job. "Miss, actually," she said to him quietly. "Or doctor, if you want. Lieutenant Cho calls me sir, but whatever you find more comfortable is fine with me."

"Miss?" he asked trying to hide his surprise that she did not prefer Ms. "Well perhaps I'll just use Doctor. It was nice talking with you. I hope we can do it again sometime."

Maenad drummed her long fingers on the desktop as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Yes, thank you, Mister Nicholas. My doors are always open."

"Doctor, is there something wrong? You look stressed or something. Is there anything I can do?"

Maenad blinked. Now what had she done? She thought that she had been nice by essentially telling him he could come back whenever he wanted. Why did everybody always think she was angry or stressed? She felt fine, well as fine as she could feel under the circumstances. "No..." she replied, eyeing him carefully. What could she say to get out of this confusing mess? Maybe she looked tired. "I'm just tired," she offered.

There was something else, an emotion that he could not really identify without pushing and viloating her privacy, so he relented, "Understood Doctor. You're right that must be it. I am sorry if I came across as nosy. But if you ever feel the need to talk, well I am a good listner it comes with the job, which is perhaps another reason for my being here. The universal translator can be mechanical in its renderings."

She inclined her head as the ensign spoke, her eyebrows meeting in an increasingly pensive, perhaps astonished, frown. She appreciated the young man's enthusiasm, but she hardly ever spoke to her friends about her problems. Did she have any friends, really? Nor did she ever admit to herself that she had problems to confess to anyone. Did she really have problems right now, though? She had thought that she was in a good mood and was enjoying her day. "Thank you for your concern, Mister Nicholas, but I feel just fine," her confusion was still obvious.

"Sorry if I spoke out of turn ma'am. Perhaps I should just leave now."

Maenad shook her head again. "No," she held up her hands to show that she was no threat, that she meant no harm. "Jared," she said quietly and allowed a brief pause. "No, you did not speak out of turn. I encourage questions; after all, we are scientists. Stop apologising for everything. I appreciate that you asked. I am glad to have you on the team, and I am glad to see that you are so eager to get started, but it seems to me that you might be too wired up and perhaps a bit too eager to get going, maybe to impress. Just spend the rest of today and tomorrow relaxing and settle in. What do you think?" She tried her best to sound accommodating.

"Yes, I'll do that. Things are different on a merchant ship where everyone wears several hats at the same time. I promise to spend the rest of shore leave relaxing and... well rewiring myself."

Maenad sighed. "No, don't rewire yourself," she told him quickly. "I'm not saying don't be you. We are who we are. Just," she hesitated, trying to find the right words. "Well, just relax and be yourself. I will see you again very shortly, I'm sure."

For an instant he considered telling her exactly why he was the way he was, what drove him, but that idea quickly passed away. There was no way in the Universe he was going to tell her or anyone else his past.

So instead he just said, "Yes Doctor. I am sure you're right."

She gave him a brusque smile. "Thank you for coming up," she nodded.


[OFF]


Ensign Jared Nicholas
Language Specialist
uSS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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