"This Is The Way Things Were meant to Be"
(Previous Post: "Out Of The Plasma Cooker, Into the Fires of Hell")
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Stardate: 60329.0930
Breakfast had come and gone and Lieutenant Commander
Serenna had somehow managed to not answer the
questions about Ensign Kea and his appointment to the
position of Operations Officer onboard the USS HATHOR.
Each time the Executive Officer had tried to give any
information on the new member of the crew, something
happened to divert the attention of the group that had
gathered around the table.
The arrival of the Enaran Marine had caused the most
commotion, Pravat looking as if he could have used
several more hours to ward off the effects of the
alcohol he had enjoyed with the Hirogen and Nausicaan
the night before. Out of fear of having the Marine
Commanding Officer say something that might tip the
hybrid First Officer about what had really happened,
the Shillian scientist had quickly excused herself and
taken the Enaran by the arm saying that she had
required his assistance. By the time anyone could
have wondered as to what all of this had been about,
both officers had left the crew lounge.
Although the Marine had appeared a little surprised by
the sudden taking of charge by the Chief Science
Officer, the Enaran man did not offer any resistance
and even seemed intrigued by the unexpected show of
character. It was not until the two of them had
arrived in the Astrometrics Lab that the Marine
Command Officer actually spoke his first words since
he had stepped into the 'Black Hole' Lounge. "Why
here?" Pravat asked, sounding a little disappointed by
the scenery selected by the scientist.
"It was the first place that came into mind," the
Shillian woman replied. "Ensign Rostov went to great
lengths to keep the events of the night before from
being known by Lieutenant Commander Serenna and I had
wanted to make sure that you did not say anything that
might jeopardise his efforts, I mean you looked like
you were either ready to crash down on the nearest
chair or start singing about your victory against
those rowdy maintenance men."
"Klingons sing of their victories in battle," Pravat
pointed out, thinking back to several songs that his
second in command had created and song for him after
some of their missions. "I do not," the Enaran added
with a mixture of seriousness and playfulness.
"Then I owe you an apology," the Chief Science Officer
said. "I overreacted in my efforts to not have Ensign
Rostov, Ensign Uxtar and yourself be on the wrong side
of a confrontation with Lieutenant Commander Serenna.
I mean I suspect that she would not be all too happy
to learn that three of her officers took part in a
brawl, as short as it may have been, because of the
consumption of real alcohol."
"With all due respect," the Enaran Marine said as he
approached the standing Shillian woman. "The brawl
did not start because of the drinking; it started
because they insulted a lady and a senior officer.
The drinking might have had a little something to do
with the way things happened from there on, but it was
not the cause."
"Actually," the Shillian scientist countered as she
directly met the gaze of the Enaran man with her own,
"I would consider your statement as being erroneous
since I am sure that had they not been drinking, the
maintenance men would not have acted in the way that
they had, thus saving you from jumping to my defence.
That said though, I would like to say that I am
touched by what you and the others did, I mean it is
not every day that a woman gets three strong soldiers
to jump to defend her honour."
The Enaran Marine had been ready to make a comment
about what the Shillian had said, but by the time the
words had formed in his mind and been ready to
traverse through his lips, he had found them to be
busy with an entirely different task. By the time his
lips parted from those of the Chief Science Officer,
Pravat had completely lost rack of what he had wanted
to say.
"What was that for?" The Marine asked, a grin
stretching from ear-to-ear brightening his face.
"A thank you," the Shillian woman said as she turned
to face the master workstation of the Astrometrics
Lab. "I do believe that this was the proper way for a
'Lady' to thank the man who stepped forth to defend
her honour."
"Depends on the culture," the Marine First Lieutenant
said, glad that the Shillian had turned away from him
thus not making it necessary for him to try and hide
the growing redness of his cheeks. Before the small
primate sitting on the shoulder of the Chief Science
Officer could alert her, the Enaran motioned for the
monkey to either turn around or go away, which
triggered the Cebuella to stick out its tongue at the
Marine before doing as it had been told.
"You are right," the Chief Science Officer said,
calling up the astrometric file of a specific world.
"On WREA IV, any man who has openly displayed an
interest in a woman is obliged by the social etiquette
of that world to cut off a finger and offer it to the
'Lady' in question. Once the woman has deemed the
suitor worthy of her affection and accepted the man
into her family, his finger is returned to him which,
thanks to their metamorphic metabolism, becomes fully
reattached within a matter of days. Of course those
who had displayed interest in the woman and were
turned down find themselves with one less finger which
can take decades to grow back."
"Ouch!" The Enaran said, glancing down at his hands
and trying to imagine life with a few less digits.
"Then of course there are the CONHALJ of EPSILLON CETI
V who have to spend an entire solar rotation, which is
roughly equal to four hundred and fifty EARTH days,
isolated on a deserted island without any food to
prove themselves worthy of becoming a mate. This
through the display of their courage, strength, will
of character and resourcefulness in providing for
himself during an entire year. Needless to say that
the mortality rate of males on that world is
exceptional high, which is a balance to the fact that
only one female is born to every twenty males. My
guess is that the culture evolved this way to avoid
wars being fought every time multiple males became
interested in one female, and it could also be argued
that this is another way to insure the survival of the
fittest," the scientist said, having returned in full
force into the world that she felt most comfortable
in: science.
"As interesting as this cultural seminar has been,"
the Enaran Marine said finding himself suddenly much
more sober than he had been only a few minutes ago,
"there are several items concerning our next mission
which require my attention."
"Pravat?" The Shillian woman said, turning around just
as the Enaran was about to leave the Astrometrics Lab.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure," the Marine said with a nod before
making a hasty exit, just in case the Chief Science
Officer had decided to go onto another long
explanation about something dealing with anything.
---
And
Acting Executive Officer
"To see the world in a grain of sand, 2005 post #505
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 12, Astrometrics Lab
Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
USS HATHOR
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
