A Meeting in the Lounge

Posted on Mon Aug 13th, 2012 @ 11:19am by Yuris Eldar & Lieutenant Amanda Owens

Mission: Episode 1.0 - "Enduring Legacy"
Location: Lieutenant Owens' Quarters, USS Yorktown
Timeline: MD04, 1000 Hours

ON: [[Lieutenant Owens' Quarters, USS Yorktown, Mission Day 04, 1000 Hours]]

Amy (NPC) sighed as she moved from her bathroom to the bedroom. The twenty-minute shower she had restricted herself to had not given her enough time sort out the situation any better. What she needed was some more time alone, but she couldn’t just stay in her quarters all day. I think I’ll try the lounge, she decided. At least I don’t have a duty shift for quite a while. Deciding against wearing her uniform – which might indicate to others that she was on-duty – Amy instead pulled on some comfortable civilian clothes and headed down to the lounge.

[[Midway Lounge]]

The Midway Lounge had been open to patrons less than a week and already the room seemed as if it had always been a thriving hub of social life aboard the Yorktown. Yuris (PNPC) was not the least surprise how quickly news of his establishment had spread amongst the crew. There was a reason people said the only thing which traveled faster than warp ten was scuttlebutt and, while this sometimes made things difficult for those who wished to keep their own privacy, such an efficient distribution of news was what brought the constant stream of patrons moving through his door.

Yuris continued to survey the room from his position behind the bar while Greg (PNPC) moved back and forth amongst the occupied tables. It was a fair sized crowd given the fact they still had an hour or so before the lunch rush would be starting, but that was to be expected while the Yorktown remained docked. Duty shifts were slightly different when a starship was in port which meant more free time for personnel to engage in recreation. Things would certainly be settling down once they got underway.

Amy reached the lounge and stepped inside...then paused as she surveyed the amount of people already there. So much for privacy, she thought grimly. She scanned the room, looking for the place she was most likely to have time to think for herself.

The sound of the lounge doors automatically drew Yuris' attention from the room at large and he turned to see a young woman standing just inside the threshold of the room. She seemed to be considering her options before proceeding, which indicated this was most likely her first visit to the ship's lounge. It was clear, despite her civilian clothing, the young woman was an officer simply by the way she carried herself. There was something about her demeanor which seemed to indicate she was not exactly in the mood for socialization, however.

Crossing over to the bar, Amy slid onto a stool with a sigh. Maybe I should have stayed in my room, she thought. She caught sight of the lounge host drawing near; she hoped he wasn't the type to chat up every customer that came in, or she'd definitely head back to her room.

Three chairs over, Crewman Rick Daniels (NPC) glanced up at the appearance of the woman. A slow grin spread across his face; an attractive woman alone at the bar - what were his odds? Sliding over to sit next to her, he waved for another drink. Then, he smiled what he considered to be his "ladies man smile" and turned to introduce himself.

"Not interested," Amy said abruptly, before the man next to her could even say a word. She didn't recognize him, but his intentions were clear from the way he'd deliberately moved. He appeared momentarily thrown off, but quickly rallied himself.

"The name's Richard Daniels," Rick said smoothly. "You can call me Rick, though. I couldn't help but notice you sitting over here alone and -" He broke off as Amy leveled a gaze at him.

"I'm not interested," Amy said slowly and deliberately, hoping to make her meaning more clear.

"Oh," Rick said, taken aback. "Well, uh...sorry." Grabbing his drink, he shuffled away uncomfortably.

Amy sighed and hung her head for a moment, letting her hair fall in curtains to obscure her peripheral vision. Normally, she didn't let things like that get to her - it tended to be the natural response most people gave her, after all - but she was already in a bad mood from the training and Daniels' reaction only added to that bad mood.

Yuris observed the brief exchange from his position only a few feet away. He shifted slightly to his left as he reached down to grab a clean rag from beneath the counter-top, but did not make any move to engage the young woman. Her sharp responses only affirmed the El-Aurian's initial assessment that she was here to be alone. Though he did not take his focus off the young woman, Yuris appeared to turn his attention to wiping dry a few clean glasses as he continued to watch and to wait.

Unbeknownst to the young woman at the bar, someone else had also taken notice of her situation from the far side of the lounge. It would have been difficult to miss the small altercation which had just taken place even amidst the healthy crowd of patrons which currently occupied the recreational area. Eldred Skyler (PNPC) watched the wounded young man withdraw like a wounded animal to the safety of a few other junior officers before rising from his seat and slowly making his way across the room. There was no mistaking the woman's closed demeanor as Eldred approached. Despite clear indications she would have rather been left alone, the researcher did not hesitate to slide himself into the very bar stool the younger man had just vacated.

Amy sensed more than saw the next arrival at the seat near her. Why can't they just leave me alone? she wondered. "Look, I already made it clear that I'm not interested!" she snapped without bothering to afford him a glance. "Can't I just get some peace and quiet?"

"Had you wanted peace and quiet, you would have chosen to spend the remainder of the morning in your quarters," Eldred observed rather calmly as if not even having noticed the young woman's outburst.

Turning to open her mouth and offer a retort, Amy froze. "Oh," she said, rather inadequately. "Um....I'm really sorry. I thought..." She trailed off, feeling her cheeks warm with embarrassment.

"Understandable," Eldred said.

"Sorry," Amy muttered again. "Could you give me a moment?" Turning away, she took a couple of slow breaths to compose herself. When she turned back, she was smiling and most of the red flush had left her cheeks. "I'm Lieutenant Amy Owens, Assistant Security/Tactical Chief."

"Doctor Eldred Skyler, Cultural Research Specialist," Eldred replied with a small smile and an offered hand, "though most people just call me Eldred."

"Pleased to meet you, Eldred," Amy said, shaking the offered hand. "Again, I'm sorry about earlier. Today hasn't been my best day." What an understatement Amy thought to herself. In an effort to veer away from less pleasant topics - she was sure Eldred didn't want to waste his time here talking about her problems - Amy cast about for another subject. "Have you been settling in okay?" Ugh, how cliche can I be? she groaned inwardly.

"Well enough, I suppose," Eldred answered. Though the El-Aurian sensed there was more to the question than simple curiosity, he decided to allow Owens to steer the conversation for now. "This is my first time aboard a starship in...well, a long time," he continued, "but everything has turned out rather well for myself so far. What about you?"

Amy made a face. Well, might as well be honest, she decided. "I like my room, but that's about the only good thing that's happened so far," she said. "My superior had me run Security for our first joint training session with the Marines. It...didn't turn out well." Must be understatement day, she thought wryly.

The El-Aurian scholar nodded his head slowly at the young woman's response. He might not have been a Starfleet officer, but that didn't mean he couldn't empathize with Owens' situation. Instead of saying anything, however, he simply waited for her to continue the explanation.

With a sigh, Amy resigned herself to explaining her day. "So he sets me up to lead the Security teams," she said. "Understandable, right? I mean, I am the Assistant Chief, even if my background is in Tactical. But I'm afraid I didn't do too well; the Marines scored a lot more points, and I had a hard time coordinating the joint forces. Then, when we're all done, I find out that my superior was masquerading as a Marine! I mean, I know he was a Marine, and I guess I understand that he wanted me to get some experience leading the department, but did it have to be on our first joint training exercise?"

"What was the purpose of the exercise," Eldred asked.

"I'd have assumed it was to get our departments to work more closely with each other," Amy replied. "There's been a long history of tension between the Fleet and the Marine Corps, especially during onboard security. I get the feeling that Commander Thompson was also using it to test me out. It just irks me a little that I didn't see it coming, and that he did it on my first day."

Eldred allowed a moment for the response to settle in before asking, "Do you believe that purpose was accomplished?"

With a sigh, Amy glanced down. "Yeah, I guess so," she admitted.

"No one blames you for the outcome of the exercise nor would they fault you for feeling more than a bit frustrated at not having been included in the full plan," Eldred told her, "but perhaps you need to look at the situation from a different perspective...focus on what was accomplished."

"Well, I guess we figured out each other's style," Amy said. "And we completed the mission, even if it was pretty clumsy. And even though I messed up, we still made it through." With just a few words, Eldred had managed to lift Amy's spirit quite a bit - and it was mostly her doing the talking! She wondered how some people could just do that.

"...and there you have it," Eldred said.

"Have what?" Amy asked, now slightly confused.

"An understanding of why your superior did what he did," Eldred explained as he swirled his glass around, "and a bit more confidence in knowing what you've done has made a positive contribution around here."

Amy gave a grudging smile. "You're not a Betazoid, are you?" she asked. "You could make quite a living as a counselor."

Eldred let out a small chuckle at the young woman's question as he glanced down to watch the remaining liquid swirling around in his nearly empty glass. "Actually, I'm El-Aurian," he corrected her, "and I appreciate the observation, but cultural studies is really more my forte."

"Cultural studies?" Amy asked, brightening. "I did some cultural studies before I went to the Academy. I find other cultures fascinating."

"There's a lot to learn from studying how other cultures grow and change over time," Eldred said with a smile, "and when you have a few hundred years to watch these changes take place...well, that just makes it all the more exciting."

"I'll bet," Amy said, finding herself smiling again. He really did make my day better, she thought. I'm glad he stuck around when I was being a jerk. "Thanks for stopping by," she told him. "It's been nice talking to you, and I mean that sincerely. I look forward to speaking with you again, sometime."

"The pleasure was all mine," Eldred replied. He watched as the young woman settled her order with the man behind the bar before rising from her stool and disappearing through the large, wooden lounge doors into the corridor beyond. Their conversation had been rather interesting and a part of him wondered how things might have gone differently if he had not pushed a little when she had seemed to reject his attempts at conversation. Those thoughts were quickly put from his mind, however, as any El-Aurian knew quite well...there was no sense dwelling on what might have been.

OFF

A Joint Mission Post by:

Lieutenant Amanda Owens (PNPC)
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Yorktown
Played by: LtCmdr Thompson

Yuris Eldar (PNPC)
Midway Lounge Owner/Host
USS Yorktown
Played by: Capt Naros

and

Eldred Skyler, PhD (PNPC)
Cultural Research Specialist
USS Yorktown
Played by: Capt Naros