Ward Room Discussion

Posted on Sat Oct 1st, 2022 @ 11:09pm by Captain Rueben Gregnol & Chief Helmsman Kalahaeia t'Leiya

Mission: Mission 16: Hysperia
Location: Ward Room
Timeline: MD01 20:00
3887 words - 7.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Gregnol had not had much time to really get to know Kalahaeia until the fact they had been pretty much stuck on Hysperia after the ion storm and the breakdown of his ship. He walked into the wardroom and stopped having expected more senior crew members there instead of just the flight chief. Where were the rest of the crew? He had been hoping for an update from everyone instead of having to track them down individually.

“Please tell me with have some type of flight control system working now? And it does not have any type of modification?” He said by way of hello as he head to get a stiff drink after his day of trying to get the Hysperian dock master to just listen to what he wanted and not to add dragon fire to his engines or unicorn breath to his computer system.

"Define 'working'." Kali shrugged her shoulders and eyebrows after quickly swallowing a bite of her sandwich. "If you mean restored function to the systems themselves, then yes. If you mean their ability to actually do much of anything though; they need to finish the last stuff with the power distribution and the engines and nacelles, too, for that."

"You did not tell me if there were any modifications?" He demanded sitting down and bringing the bottle with him as he had a feeling he was going to need it and did not want to keep getting up and down. He held out the bottle to her offering to pour her something before he filled his own.

"The only modifications are to our bank accounts," Kali said wryly. "Though, we were offered a discount on a paint job to make the nacelles look like dragon wings; which I'm fairly certain we declined."

"Fortunately my bank account can take it." Gregnol did not have any worries over credits or anything even with the work that had been put in so far. It made a dent but there would be no credit issues for a long time for the crew. "Fairly certain? I will make sure that it is a certainty. It is bad enough that we have a figurehead on her." It was a joke among the crew but seeing Barton had placed it once upon a time that Gregnol felt it would be bad luck to remove it now. He had even got it restored.

"I mean. I told them no; but I could totally see Burnie going for anything dragon-related." Kali joked, draining a good third of the glass she'd been poured in one long pull. "Though I can't say I'm entirely innocent on that sort of regard; they have real sword smiths here; I found a recommended one and commissioned a couple of things for myself."

Gregnol had already heard about Kali's deciding to commission herself some weaponry. He could not blame her but it did bring up the question was he going to have to secure loads of weapons that I’ve been created on the planet in the armoury lockers or was he going to allow the crew to have them in the quarters in their own mini armoury lockers. “I have heard about it.” He admitted. “Do I dare ask what you have gotten?”

"Couple of knives, a sword, quarterstaff with a blade built into it; that kind of assortment." Kali ticked off the list with the easy and not really that impressed handling of someone who'd grown up with those sorts of things in the house: Handling swords and other assorted bladed weapons might be a skill only a small number of humans interested in historical techniques or arts learned, but it was still a garden-variety not simply past but present, 'you probably started learning it as a child' skill for a Romulan, one Kali clearly fell within that norm on despite the location of her upbringing. "Apparently this particular smith lights his fires with - you guessed it - the shop mascot, a mid-size dragon he hatched from an egg and raised himself." There was a bit more awe in these last words than there had been describing the assortment of sharp objects; apparently while 'bundle of swords and knives' was an everyday-enough object set for Kali, 'hatch your own dragon' was most certainly not. "I may need to take bets on how many people will be trying to bring dragon eggs back to the ship. Could probably make some serious money on those books."

“You know once we leave port I am going to have to get you to put that in the armoury or secure properly in quarters.” He had never considered mutiny or his crew dangerous but with medieval weapons hanging around who knew what was possible.

"There's plenty of room for it in the armory; it's not like I bought a javelin." Kali shrugged again.

“Good now back to the betting. I am at an unfair advantage here as I know of three that have already been caught.” He said trying to lighten the mood from what he had said about weapons onboard. It was the same as why there were no children onboard - too dangerous.

Kali snickered at this. "You'd think people would understand the danger of bringing potentially erratic fire breathing creatures on board a ship but...Well, maybe I'm at any unfair advantage there, though; 'fire inside what you're flying' ranked up there on any pilot's nightmare list when you were training for the war." 'The' war: Any descriptor of which one was left off; as like for most of her generation, there could only be one that fit the name in Kali's mind: The fight against the Dominion. "Maybe we should put a sign up: ' No Dragons'...."

“Aye war and dragon fire do not overly mix.” He said quietly as he thought on how dragon fire might have helped in a few situations but that was not for him to judge as he had been nothing more than a cadet at that point. “Have you done any of the tours?” The man said thoughtful wondering if she had, had that chance as it was uniquely different.

"I did sign up to take a dragon ride the other day. Probably a good thing I wasn't raised here; they'd have been hard pressed to get me off those as a kid." The dragon-ride purveyor Kali had ridden with in fact had probably come away a bit disturbed; after a classic 'give the tourists a thrill ride' gambit had not only failed to produce any signs of surprise or nervousness from the passenger at various steep dives, but instead had led to requests to try something faster or flashier.

The Russian human couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of Kali as a child refusing to get off a Dragon. It was probably the same type of expression he saw on Liha when she did things that she did not want to do. Romulan stubbornness could power the universe if they could find ways to convert it. “Let’s be thankful that you were not here as a child then.” He said lightly letting the silence take over as he savoured his drink.

"Nah; I grew up on Earth, in Boston. Narrow little rowhouse; would not have fit a dragon even without the fire risk. Though I do think we were the only house on the block with a security system to rival half the Starfleet outposts out there." In some of her earliest memories that came to her sometimes in nightmares to this day, Kali could still remember occasional encounters with the reasons for those systems. As she'd gotten older, she'd come to realize in the last ten years that her parents on-the-face-incongruous decision to send her through the Earth public school system had possibly had to do in part with thinking she'd be safer at school than at home. The sentence of treason had been read on Tal and Aliereth's names, not hers (well, not until she'd grown up and joined the Federation's forces, that is); and looking back Kali suspected her mother and father had traded ruthlessly on the knowledge that no assassin who had managed to penetrate the heart of the Federation would burn their cover and risk an intergalactic incident just to strike at a kid who had been at best a tertiary target while surrounded by human witnesses. "How about you? Wish you'd had a dragon as a kid?"

He was surprised by that bit of knowledge being offered so freely but he needed to remind himself that Kali was a different spectrum of Romulan compared to Liha. Everything she shared was with a moment's of hesitation about how much it was giving away or could be used against her. "In London or Moscow..." He snorted again and shook his head already hearing what his father would say about it all. It would be a firm no in a harsh tone. His father had never even allowed the family to have a pet. "My father would never let us have an ant farm let alone anything else."

"Mine didn't, either." Kali might've been imagining it; but she almost thought she heard a hint of a perhaps...less than endearing...view of his father, in the captain's voice? She couldn't deny that she had her own anger at hers sometimes in some ways that their actions had affected her and her life; but she wouldn't say they were bad parents, just...reckless or unwise in their choices sometimes. Which she was too sometimes, in her own ways and times. Maybe that one ran in the family. "Wasn't entirely personal choice I don't think, though, in their case. I mean, we - " Kali waved a hand slightly at one pointed ear " - do keep pets. That my parents wouldn't I think was mostly about always having a fear that they might have to move quickly; either out of some need to flee an attack they couldn't counter, or fear of getting deported from the Federation for some reason. Hard enough to move quickly through planets and past or around borders with a kid, let alone a kid and a pet. Probably also a fair amount why they waited over 30 years after I was born before having any more kids. As to pet type though...Honestly, I suspect if they'd gone for a pet, 'ant farm' would have been near the bottom of their list of acceptable choices--risks turning into an ant infestation in your house. A cat or a dog or a set'leth or sehlat avoids that risk." The shadow of a sardonic grin crossed Kali's face for a moment, considering how they might have reacted to a dragon. "They'd probably have thought the small-breed dragons were a perfect pet, actually, if they could've done fireproofing - they would've had me out at the park every day training it to attack and fire-breathe and dive-bomb at an assailant on command and getting reinforcing sewn into all my shirts so it could ride on my shoulder to protect me."

“Ant farms are marvellous for science studies.” Gregnol commented thinking of the set up Barton had growing up with secured glass to avoid any of the issues that Kali had brought up. “This conversation had brought up why you and Burnie are friends.” He teased downing the rest of his glass but did not refill it.

"What can I say....My first job was fighter pilot in the Dominion War." Kali remarked as she drained her glass as well; revealing the one thing she had in common with Liha besides the pointed ears; though the two of them had been in different fleets and the fact was one the captain almost certainly knew already. "I appreciate the proper application of firepower. Dragons are just a different sort of 'firepower'. He probably appreciates the 'fire' part more for it's own sake, though; whereas my folks would have been all about the applications."

“Mine would have been too.” Gregnol decided thoughtfully as the door swished open and Jeassaho walked in looking dirty and covered in grime from what ever she had been doing to refit engineering. “Hey baby.” He greeted as he stood to get her another glass.

“Hey yourself. Hey Kalahaeia.” Jeassaho greeted.

"Getting better at it." Kali grinned at Jeassaho, greeting her with a small wave. The engineer would probably never get the pronunciation perfect: Neither could Burnie for that matter; but she was getting close to 'as good as you could get without vulcanoid vocal chords', at least on a few words, mostly Kali's name. "Unfortunately I won't be able to return the favor properly though; my telepathy is still very much stuck at 'latent touch telepath' and likely to remain so." Kali laughed slightly; more comfortable with both 'admitting her distant ancestors had been Vulcans' and with 'getting close to telepaths' than most Romulans were; the latter one thanks to her one of her best friends from her fleet days having been a Betazoid.

“I am unlikely to ever manage it with this accent or vocal cords. But I thought you might appreciate your full name unless you prefer a shortened version.” Jeassaho said quietly as she moved to sit on a chair but the Captain pulled her close for a moment much to her protest over how she looked before he released her with a smile. He was not afraid to show affection and even less cared how she looked.

"Thanks." Kali poured herself something else to fill her glass; juice this time. "I'm fine with either, really. But it is nice to hear the long form sometimes."

“Does make me wonder if Cassie adjusted her name due to that.” He said passing over a full glass to his wife.

Kali, seeing the 'full' version of Cassie's name, had been able to hear in her head immediately the ways it differed when said properly from the version she used daily. It suddenly came to her now, though, that she hadn't thought to ask the half-Vulcan exactly which she preferred, from those capable of doing justice to either; and she appended it to a mental list to ask at some point. "It's possible. Or also possible someone adjusted it for her, though...I got mine bestowed on me in kindergarten when none of the teachers, most of the other kids, or the principal could pronounce everything, so my teacher came up with an easier version. Honestly that happened to the Andorian kids, too. And it kinda just stuck from there on out." Kali shrugged effortlessly: The psychological aspects of getting bestowed an 'extra' name were possibly even easier for a Romulan than for a human; already a part of the cultural framework; and neither Kali nor her parents had raised any eyebrows over her gaining another one. She wasn't quite sure how it would play out for a Vulcan, though; not to mention from the discussion during the storm, it sounded like Cassie had been rather older when she'd come to Earth.

Gregnol could understand how names were adjusted. He had standardised his own name as a child to take out the more Russian-sounding parts. “Something to think on. I had never considered that she might not be okay with the name and neither did I think on you. What do you prefer?” Gregnol wondered looking away from Jeassaho to continue the conversation as a trio instead of a duo. He might only have eyes for his wife but there was more in the room than her that deserved his respect.

"I suppose over the years I sorta...I dunno, I'm OK with either, really; I mostly sorta have tended to use one around humans and one around other Romulans." Outside observers might have noted a certain amount of code-switching linked even to which form of her name Kali was answering to at the time; almost as a proxy for which culture's behaviors were going to rank temporarily higher in her chaotic mix of such. "Never really developed a preference I guess. I do wish there were more Rihannsu speakers around though; mostly so I could use it more." Kali grinned sheepishly; then looked curiously over at Jeassaho. "Do you miss it, too? Being able to use your...native communication mode?" 'Native tongue' wasn't quite the right term for telepathy, after all; but she knew Nia had missed speaking that way - the most natural way for her - to others, among other species; and wondered if the engineer did, too.

“Nothing to miss with Leiddem a thorn in my side.” the woman commented with a laugh thinking about her brother. She barely went a day without speaking telepathically to the man so she practically had part of her family with her. She missed sometimes it being constantly but it had been nearly twenty years since she had lived solely with Betazoids.

"Unfortunately, my sisters are all way too young to consider that option." The couple of decades gap between them that raised eyebrows on Earth, Kali knew, wouldn't have been unusual at all in the Empire or it's successor states; to have a few children, raise them to adulthood, and sometimes then choose to have a second set. "But I don't think I'd have wanted them hanging out with me in Ferengi casinos the last few years, anyways." Kali made a face at the word 'Ferengi'. "Though they'd probably love this place. Wouldn't be able to get them off the dragons, either. You been down to the planet much?" The engineers, near as Kali could tell, had been the exception to that among the crew; sticking around to supervise the refit crews.

"Leiddem was here first." Gregnol teased making the Betazoid roll her eyes at the man. It was a stark reminder of how far they had come since Leiddem had been used at Gregnol's jailer and keeper.

"Yes, and you do not let me forget. Just remember I do have many other siblings." She teased back before answering the question raised. "Not really. Been to much going on." She admitted. Engineering had been an absolute mess until last week or so where they seemed to finally be getting on track.

"Hmm. Make sure you do, before we leave. Pretty cool." Kali shifted and stretched slightly, draining her glass of juice. "I'd recommend the dragon ride, if you like a thrill. Otherwise, the bathhouses at the hot springs are worth a stop. Though, if you hit up that last spot; some dude calling himself a 'wizard' will try to sell you a bunch of fancy bath stuff that makes cool effects but is seriously overpriced."

“We are not going anywhere any time soon.” Jeassaho said smiling. “But I am sure I will eventually.” Jeassaho was not disappointed as it was therapeutic to bring the ship back to action but she needed a break.

“We are. I’ve planned it.” Gregnol said winking at her. Jeassaho narrowed her eyes at him.

Kali observed both of them and raised one eyebrow slightly but opted not to comment, grabbing her empty juice glass - and a few other surplus items on the table - and going over to dispose of them. "Make sure someone takes Burnie, too." Kali remarked finally. "He'd go absolutely nuts over the dragons."

“Everyone is getting the opportunity. I am kicking everyone off the ship for the most part as there is no ship yes for the festival.” Gregnol reminded. It seemed a logical point to let everyone have a holiday after the hard work they had put in.

"Everyone?" One petite eyebrow trended upwards slightly again. "Eh, probably fine. Just make sure to lock stuff up tight so no one can steal it, I guess." Whether Kali meant the ship itself or everyone's stuff inside it was anyone's guess - possibly both - but the remark possibly belied too many years of late before this hanging around dodgy gambling dens.

"Yes everyone when and if ships security allows." Gregnol laughed a little at the assumption that the ship would be left and abandoned with everyone gone. Watches would still be presumed and security still assured like every other day. "No one is going to cause issues or steal your weapon." He teased.

"I'd be more worried about someone cleaning out the grotto." Kali laughed, but with a touch of seriousness too behind the words. "Seems like a goldmine of stuff. Seriously we could hold an auction if you want, if we ever need the money. I know a guy who could help set it up."

“Security will be onboard I promise. Will be allowed off but legal manning still has to be adhered to.” Gregnol assured.

“Yeah maybe one day.” Jeassaho gave him a dark look before plastering a smile on her face again as if nothing had gone between them.

Kali wasn't sure in the slightest what was playing out or why; but she got the distinct feeling one the engineer was covering for the captain in some way; or that the remark had taken on or dug up nuance she hadn't meant it to have. "Actually, speaking of festivals...I should go check how my dress is coming."

Kali inched towards the door slightly; she'd been preparing a few outfits for the event in question; including a gown whose custom design melded the best of 'Hyperian upper crust finery' with the sort of hidden practicality her aunt had kept built into her formal robes: A long, draping affair in satin and silks and velvets with embroidered gold and silver designs, but with a variety of hidden interior pockets, and cut higher in front than at the back and with a deceptive lacing that hid a quick-release in the front and at the sleeves and sides to let her slide out of it in an instant to reveal the under-tunic and leggings underneath if she needed to lose it quickly for a fight or other situation. With a custom weapons and equipment belt and boots to wear with it, of course. A few simpler pieces in elegant one-layer silks with simpler, sparser embroidery more like a long draped tunic and pants too; for wear in the less fancy events. Given most things in the universe were cut larger than she was though, everything was custom built from scratch and she kept having to pop off for fittings the last few days. She'd be interested to see what everyone else wore, though--if he could manage it, she had a vision of Burnie managing an outfit with flames licking at the air off the shoulders of it like fire-borne epaulets.

“See you later.” Gregnol called out as the women left. He really would have to do something about the grotto one day but not that day or even week. It was far to much on top of the refit.