Awkward Meeting

Posted on Wed Feb 1st, 2023 @ 11:33am by Executive Officer Jake Ford & Maras (*)

Mission: Mission 16: Hysperia
Location: SS Mary Rose
Timeline: First Day of Festival (MD05)
1705 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

The tour of the ship that she had received from Cassie and then Leiddem had not left her with many ideas of where exactly she was at the moment as she looked up and down the corridor. The ship was so quiet which was understandable as the majority of the crew were off, enjoying shore leave over the festival. Maras could have gotten off but she really didn’t want to meet too many people right then in there, but she was lost on the ship. She was sure her quarters were three compartments over from the turbo lift but there she was not at where she thought she would be after breakfast.

"Help you, miss?" The deep voice that broke the silence almost boomed.

Jake was still wearing his Hysperian garb, the semi-open tunic with the pants that probably needed some refining when it came to size. "You look a little lost. Can I help you find your way back to where you're meant to be?" he asked.

Maras jumped at the sudden voice let along the deepness of it and whirled around. "Yeah... sorry I am a little lost." She admitted to taking him in. He must be one of the Hysperian Engineers that Liddem mentioned were working on the ship. She was meant to be in the quarters that were assigned to her but this was nowhere near where it was meant to be. "I am meant to be on deck 5 compartment 29 but I think this is not even the right deck."

Jake smiled warmly. "Right deck, wrong side of the ship. Compartment 29 is on the port side. This is starboard." He motioned, as though that would help. "Tell you what, I can show you to where it is you need to get to if you like?"

The young woman nodded relieved that it was such a simple mistake. She had simply turned right instead of left coming out of the mess. She indicated for him to lead the way if he was sure he knew "If you know the way sure." She was a little bit relieved to find someone deep down as she had barely seen anyone other that the couple she had meant who were moving in together. "I thought all the Engineers were off for the festival?" She started to try and make small talk with the man.

"Hmm?" he responded, confused at the reference to Engineers before he realised that she'd inferred something from his clothing. "Oh, I'm not an engineer. Nah, this thing would have broken down long ago if I was in charge of keeping her in one piece. No - I'm actually the ship's XO. Just..." he pulled on the shirt with a grin. "Undercover right now. Don't go telling anyone."

Maras skin went a strange green colour to show that she was embarrassed. Why did it have to be the executive officer of all people that she mistook for someone else? “Sorry. Easy mistake to make especially so new onboard. I came at the worst time to mistake people.” She started to try and make excuses but shook her head. “Im Maras by the way.” The woman held out her hand in a human greeting.

"Jake Ford. But you can call me Jake," he kept the grin up as he shook the young woman's hand. "So what brought you to our humble starship, Maras?"

“Nice to meet you, Jake.” She said politely pulling back her hand and using it to put her hair behind her ear in a nervous habit she had picked up recently after washing out of the academy. “I am visiting family.” She admitted looking down the corridor to where the mess hall was that she had come out of. It had been such an easy mistake to turn the wrong way when the corridors all looked the same.

"Ah, that's good..." he nodded, about to continue when he spotted the slight point to her ears betraying the Vulcanoid heritage. In a moment he had a sudden panic that she might be a relative of Kali's...or, even more terrifying, one of Liha's. But the resemblance certainly wasn't there with either of them. Not to mention she actually seemed nice. That only left one option... "Cassie?" he concluded, a little more alarmed than he might have intended.

"Yeah, I am a relative of hers. She invited me to come and stay for a little bit to see the universe and to get away from some trouble I got into." Maras said smiling more at the mention of Cassie. The woman had not even known her until a month ago when she had come to her grandfather's funeral. "Are you okay?" She asked hearing the alarm in the man's tone.

Jake awkwardly cleared his throat, shaking his head quickly. "No...no...just that you, ah, don't look much like her, I suppose." Which was true, aside from the hereditary ears. And maybe the eyes, now that he thought about it. Strange that the connection between Maras and Cassie gave him such a start. Perhaps the concept that she had children - adult ones, at that - was somewhat disturbing to him.

“Well we are different people and a few generations removed.” The woman said raising an eyebrow at him. “Is it so hard to believe that she has a family? I thought that everyone on board was friends?”

"Mostly true," he nodded. In the back of his mind, he figured that at least one pointy-eared woman definitely wasn't his friend, but Maras didn't need to hear about that. "Cassie and I, are..." he took a moment to figure out a word. "Involved?"

“Oh..,” She realised that the man had to have some type of thing going with Cassie. It was the only thing that had to have the man looking so awkward looking. “Oh… Well…Hmmm,” It was the woman’s turn to look more awkward and green tinge returned to her face.

"Yeah." He felt almost as awkward. "So...I suppose at some point this meeting was inevitable, right?"

"Completely but it was not entirely unknown that someone had her heart or at least was close to her," Maras assured quickly summoning all her ability to act human to change the situation quickly.

"I'm not sure I'd say I had her heart..." he began, before shutting that line of thought down. "We're close, yes."

"It must be difficult for someone like Cassie lost out of time to have all these different worlds weighing down on her. My grandfather... her husband in 2246 always said he would rather have dealt with the knowledge of losing her than be her waking up 150 years in the future. So whilst yes this is awkward... I am happy for her." Maras was not sure that he was wrong either, it would be disconcerting to wake up one day in a completely different time and pace. It would not be something that she would list on her ways to live a long time.

"Well. That's a relief, then." Jake did his best to make it clear it was a light-hearted reply. He wasn't sure if she would follow that, but even if not she would likely see his reply as an earnest acceptance. "I think she was quite happy to have you around, if it helps at all. I think any link to her past would be helpful to deal with whatever sense of loss she might feel."

“I’m a tenuous link but I am trying to help her as much as she is trying to help me,” Maras said quickly with a shrug seeing his light-hearted attempts at humour for what it was. It was not the best but she had seen her more human cousins do similar things.

"I know she appreciates that," he said. "Must be strange, having an ancestor suddenly reappear in your life like that, though. Right?"

“I am a student of history. An ancestor turning up out of nowhere us a dream come true, especially one with such an interesting story.” Maras shrugged. It did not phase her at all in the slightest if she was honest with herself it was not the strangest thing to happen to her recently.

"I guess that makes sense," he mused thoughtfully. It was hard to see it from Cassie's perspective.

“What about you? Do you find it strange?” Maras wandered back as they stepped into the lift.

"Not as much as you would think..." he replied, carefully minding his words as thoughts of Eden sprung dangerously into his mind. "Cassie wasn't the only one in the transporter. As much as the others have gone their way, I did know some of them. And honestly, I think she was the most 'together' of those." He paused as the lift got underway. "Strange is maybe not the word I would use to describe things. Cassie is different to other women. She's smart and obviously beautiful, and curious about the universe..." he blinked, quickly clearing his throat as he recalled who he was talking to. "I mean...no. Not strange."

Maras could not help but hide her face and smile at what he was saying. It was adorable but she could see that he was trying to balance the weirdness of the situation and his own thought on it. "Scientist." She said simply trying to help him out. "You should tell her your thoughts though." She added as the lift stopped and the door opened. "I recognise this now. Cassie put some stickers on the walls so I would be able to track," She said pointing to some metallic blue stickers that were along the corridor.

"Ah, she's thoughtful like that," he smiled. "Well, I suppose you don't need me to find your way now, then. It was...very nice to meet you, Maras. I hope it's not the last time." He left it open, a little like a question.

"I am sure it will not be Jake. It was nice to meet you as well." Maras said just watching him for a moment before she offered a smile and started down the corridor following the stickers until she disappeared from sight.