USS Dark Fire (IC)

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

He gave her a teasing look. “So you can compute faster than a Vulcan, you’re a polyglot, but you can’t sing? C’mon Seja, we gotta get to fixing that.”

The Capellini sounded intriguing. He placed an order for the dish, but avoided the bread sticks. He didn’t know how soon he’d be displaying the SB, and didn’t want to be so short on time that he’d have to carry garlic breath with him.

Araiza leaned forward to listen to the whispering with more ease. “I’ll keep it in mind next time I make foccacia,” he replied. “Seems hidden away then. Maybe you can give me a private tour. Nothing more attractive than stealing garlic heads, right?”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1050​

Yeto:
“The stars when the ship is quiet,” she sighed. “But yes, we will gather some Garlic, soon, I hope. As long as one night when you're not on duty you enjoy the stars with me."

“I’ve been offered Commissions several times, but I prefer working amongst other’s instead of Leading. One cannot save a coworker from an office or a chair.”

“And the next time you make foccacia, I’d better get a taste.” She smiled, actually hoping to taste the item, she’d never had homemade bread before, Italian or otherwise, except in here.​

When the server brought the bread sticks she took a bite of the warm buttery bread and grinned.

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

“We’ll see,” he replied. While any actual possibilities were still in the air, he knew he had to bring up his preferences sooner or later.

It was around a year and a half after he forcefully became available again when he had begun to indulge in casual sex by every means of the word. No matter how many people he slept with, he didn’t seem to develop feelings or get attached. To some, it was the best method. To others, it ended in heartbreak or messy endings. To him, it was irrelevant; he always made it clear sex was just sex. Rarely did he say no. Rarely did he have a reason to say no in the first place—it was a failproof distraction. Araiza hated having too much time to think. Until the day his brain decided to stop pestering him, he’d keep bringing his colleagues into his bedroom.

“You should consider it. Ships like this need some good leaders,” he proposed. “Not naming names, of course, but there’s always need for improvement.”

He could talk about baking all day. “You’d love it. Bread’s a great way to blow off steam, plus I get brownie points with everyone that I can cash in later.”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1115

Yito:​

“Teach me,” Yito said giving a pleading look. “I’ve never learned. I know the mechanics of it and can make things as well as the replicator, but I’ve never learned the nuances of scratching cooking, or baking.”

Would he still talk to her if he knew the date she came online? The day she woke up naked on a table. The Dr Looking down at her, those old eyes searching hers for the meanings of the universe.

Did he understand the difference between her and servo unit in the maintenance bay? Or was she just another piece of equipment that was discarded in the rubbish been when it wasn’t needed anymore?

But he had asked her to eat and seemed to be going beyond basic greetings. Maybe he needed a friend. Was he as lonely as she was?​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

He shook his head playfully. “No. I hate teaching people stuff.” Araiza already struggled with patience. It’d cost him an officer that very morning. “Look into simulations, maybe they can be insightful or whatever.”

Taking a sip of his water, he shifted his foot, reassuring himself that the case was still underneath it. “Usually I don’t do pasta for breakfast but there’s always a first time.”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1125

Yito:
“You’ve been working longer than you realize,” Yito told him, pointing at the wall chronometer. “It’s almost 1130, Perfect time for lunch.”

“But if this is the first meal of the day, you should eat breakfast when you get up.”

Hmm she’d have to rely on the holodeck training modules then. To bad, it might have been fun.

“So what do you have planned for the day other than your demonstration?”​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

“It’s not usually the first, just had a tight schedule this time around,” Araiza shrugged as he took a bite of his meal. He thought of the time he wasted the night prior trying to come up with some new armory, only to get a proposal underway with the new information he was provided. Granted, maybe it could be useful for the future. Staying up all night didn’t have to be in vain.

Other than the demonstration? “Work. We have a lot of artillery to assemble after this attack we just had. You?”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1130

Yito:
“I’ll be doing maintenance on the shield emitters throughout the inside of the ship, that way if we get boarded again, we can isolate sections and eject them back into space.”

“And then tonight after hours I’ll go to the observation deck and watch the stars, even though they are blurred by the velocity we’ll be traveling.”

“What do you normally eat for breakfast?” She finally asked.​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

“Good call on you guys’ behalf. When you do those isolations, what places on board are prioritized? You know, out of curiosity.”

Viewing the stars could be fun, and Araiza was closed to asking to join, but he didn’t want to establish something… intimate. He did like having Yito around so far, and while the other kind of intimacy would work for him, seriousness would just spoil it all. “Sounds peaceful.”

“Human basics. Eggs and stuff. I like my protein early.”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1145

Yito:​

“Bridge, Secondary Bridge, and Engineering will have the heaviest shielding with additional shielding throughout the ship set to strategically detain and remove hostile incursions.” Yito replied.

“You could always join me on the Observation Deck, and flirt with me more.” She commented watching him. “You’re flirting less, more serious. What are you thinking about?”​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

It made sense, Araiza couldn’t possibly argue with such critical locations being protected. “How does the protection look for the civilians?”

He chuckled. He liked that she was direct. Might as well mirror the approach. “Look, I think you’re really attractive and so far I’m having fun, but I don’t wanna give the impression that I’m looking for commitment. If that’s what you’re looking for, I don’t wanna lead you on. Not something I plan on changing my mind on either.”

 

[milkmaiden38]

Lt Shino McLeo and Ensign Riley Cook

Shino knew he was doing the right thing, he was in engineering and walked over to Riley as she was adjusting something on the engineering panel. Riley turned to face him as he got closer. She gave her a strange look.

"Shino what are you doing here?" She asked

In his mind, he had no idea why she was surprised. Clearly, he was here to ask her on a date.

" Wanna catch a wave together, babe?” Shino explained

Riley paused for a few moments. "I'm sorry, but I can’t" Riley replied.

“What?” Shino asked, now he was confused

“Shino, I like you, but I’m not interested in dating you.” Riley was sympathy in her voice.

“We locked lips, Babe!” Shino pointed out

He could see the genuine look of sorrow in her face. “I’m sorry, Shino, I don’t want to lead you on. I’m interested in someone else.”

“Ahh” Shino groaned, bummed out. “That dude's super lucky”

Riley just smiled and leaned in and gave Shino a kiss on the cheek. “I hope you understand”

Shino nodded and walked away.

Then Riley said to herself “I’m not sure Captain Hora knows how lucky she is… but she will”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1200

Yito:​

“Civilian sections will be contained behind multiple levels of shielding as well, but the priority is to keep the ship from being taken.” She replied, unhappy with the Command decision, but she had to follow the order.

“Having a commitment with you would be comparable to you having a relationship with a hamster. I can expect to survive for fifteen hundred years barring destruction. You can expect to live for a hundred and fifty barring significant trauma or premature death.”

“Bluntly I will live ten times longer than your maximum possible lifespan. I will outlive everyone on this ship and the next ten generations. I would not expect to have a relationship with you.”

“As you said, ‘you’re really attractive and so far I’m having fun’. Besides, I’m a synthetic bioform. A TacComUnit. A commitment to me would not be reasonable.”

“I enjoy your face and voice, and from what I can see of your body based on how your uniform rests, you are in good physical condition. Hence, I should be able to enjoy your presence for many years, unless one of us is transferred to another ship. Which is always likely.”

“I do not make friends as they will all die of old age while I remain young. If we were in the nineteen or twentieth century on earth, Humans would have assumed I was a Vampire, feeding off others life energy or their blood to remain young.”​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

“I’m not really into the whole dating hamsters thing, but I see what you mean.” To live for so long sounded miserable. He was well aware of the unique age spans of different races, making him even more grateful to have been born a human.

He was flattered at her compliments, but the loneliness aspect of her future was quite sad. He knew all too well what it was like to outlive a loved one, but to not be able to ever form a connection again, platonic included, out of certainty that you’d watch them die was brutal. Araiza’s face reflected that pity, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

“For what it’s worth, vampires come back in style every few decades. I’m sure you could’ve profited off people,” he said lightheartedly.

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1215

Yito:​

“Yes, I would have blended in quite well, changing cities ever 8-10 years or so, or otherwise people would notice. Nice thing about living here on the starship, so many people change so often, nobody will notice I don’t age. Only a select few know I’m a synthetic.”

Looking down at the table she sighed, “And some that know don’t approve of a non-living coworker.”

Looking up at him she said, "Only the stars will outlive me. Even Dark Fire only has an expected use span of five hundred years."​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

“Well, I wouldn’t worry about what other people think about. They’re probably jealous of you, or just outright boring,” Araiza insisted, twisting some of his food on his fork. “We’re all adults here. How pathetic does your life have to be to be so concerned about your coworkers?”

“If the stars will outlive you, then you’re not as permanent as you feel. We don’t know when the hell we’ll get attacked again. For all we know, both of us will be dead in a day,” he continued, more nonchalant than expected. “I’m just saying, don’t waste your time thinking if you don’t have to.”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1230

Yito:​

“I don’t have anything to take my mind off thinking when I’m not on duty. Even when I’m on duty I think.” Yito told him.

“Time to stop being morose,” she said with a smile. “I want to dance. Let's finish and go to a club.”

No matter how many coworkers told her she wasn’t a alive she felt that she was, and she wanted to feel alive. Even if she didn’t have a soul or a heart she could still dance.​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

He let out a respectful laugh. “Dancing’s a good start to distraction, but it’s noon and I still have work to get back to.” That and he’d reached the age where he had outgrown clubs. Araiza was no stranger to spending an evening with his coworkers at a bar, but he had enough loudness during his duties. He was yet to develop his second model, but it was an outline familiar enough to where he could do it on his own.

“Why not a raincheck and we grab a drink sometime soon? Maybe we can invite some of the others to cut this antisocial streak you got going,” he suggested.

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1230

Yito:​

“Ok,” she replied. She did have other work to do, but she did enjoy his presence. Yes she could pass for his daughter, but that made it all the more interesting.

“You go to work, and I’ll see you again, soon.” Finishing off her lasagna she used bread sticks to clean the plate with a flourish. “Waste not want not, and it helps the dishwasher.”​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ ALFREDO ARAIZA ▻​

“I’m sure they will appreciate your assistance,” Araiza teased, finishing his own food before he got on his feet. He wasn’t quite sure how to express his goodbyes, so he just provided a friendly nod, grabbed his case, and returned to his workshop. Maybe a friendly tone would be the best option.

Once back inside, he decided to take advantage of his newfound solitude and began to work on his second model.

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ XIANA MARLOWE ▻​

When the evening hours came, Xiana was promptly waiting outside the doctor and commander’s door, a dish of fresh cinnamon rolls in her hand towel-covered hands. It took one, or two, or three tries to get them to a great quality, but she hoped it was worth it.

After asking Dark Fire to notify her hosts of her arrival, the counselor stood in anticipation. In a dress that was both sensible enough for a relaxed dinner but still appealing, she had done her best to not overthink the evening. How perceptive was she supposed to be, truly?

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1800

L’Sa:​

Having changed from her duty clothes into a uniform L’Sa had made dinner and set it to stay warm on the stove. An odd feature on a Starship, but she preferred to make dinner as opposed to having it replicated.

Jordan had said he’d bee off shift soon, and she had informed the counselor to come when she was ready. She’d made prepared steak for Jordan and Xiana, and had a Vulcan dish for herself, with extra incase Xiana wished to try it. It was rather spicy though, so the Counselor would be warned before hand.
​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ XIANA MARLOWE ▻​

Upon the door opening, Xiana nodded politely. “Good evening. I brought dessert—oh dear,” she said, the newfound heaviness taking her by surprise when she stepped in. Holding tightly onto the dish, she readjusted her posture. It’d take a bit to become accustomed to their gravity.

“I’m okay! Where should I place this?” she asked, welcoming the new scent of food. It smelled divine.

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Stardate 29870527.1800

L’Sa:​

“I’ll take it,” L’Sa said. “After The Commander gets here I’ll adjust the settings. He’ll injure himself if they are adjusted before he gets here.”

Taking the dessert, she placed it on the counter, then turned to the Counselor and raised her fingers in the Vulcan greeting. “Dif-tor heh smusma. This is ‘Live Long and Prosper' The proper response is to repeat it back to the greeter.”​

 

[sereneotter00]

◅ XIANA MARLOWE ▻​

Right. Xiana didn’t have difficulty with the finger placement, which she returned, but her delivery of the Vulcan phrase would need some work. “Would ‘live long and prosper’ be sufficient while I work on getting the pronunciation right?” she asked, lowering her hand and attempting to casually rest her elbow on the counter for support.