One of Us

Posted on Tue Jun 27th, 2023 @ 3:13am by Lyndon Zahn & Indigo (*)

Mission: Fractures
3129 words - 6.3 OF Standard Post Measure

"So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how do you think that went? Do you think she likes me?"

There was a degree of dry resignation to the Risian's tone as Lyndon followed his blue-headed benefactor down an alleyway of their soon-to-be-shared home. When Indigo had first mentioned joining her crew, he had taken it as a light-hearted jest, especially after their conversation in front of the fire had elaborated a little more on her current life's pursuits. It seemed a noble enough cause, at least to Lyndon's sensibilities, but wasn't a lifestyle that most tended to view him capable of sustaining. He had been admittedly flattered once he'd realised her suggestion was in earnest but the price had been separation from Mykaia, since there little chance she'd be as interested and, if he was honest, he would have struggled to agree if it meant subjecting her to the risks. In the end, he had made his decision based on the whim of fate, as had been his tendency for most of his life. There had been no guarantee, after all, that Indigo's boss would want him. If the initial interview proceeded to an offer of position, he would have the answer he needed. The trouble was, he'd been so bamboozled by Kaylin that he actually had no idea if he was welcome or now inches away from having a bounty places on his head.

Indigo had been silent for the whole meeting other than the looks that had been between Kaylin and Indigo often. Indigo looked young but she often forgot her age and often forgot if she was joking or not when she told people she was old. She had seen Freecloud grow and grow until it was the world it was now and it was the only home but she still forgot how old she was compared to everyone else. "She does not like anyone," Indigo commented once they were far enough away.

Lyndon considered that for a moment. "Comparative dislike is a start, I suppose," he ventured, not overly sold on it being long-term acceptance. Hospitality was a significant part of the Risian ethos, after all, at least in terms of how they conducted themselves in front of outsiders. The idea that someone harboured intentional negativity towards him provoked a compulsion to change that perception, which hadn't worked necessarily all that well when it came to Tomas but failure was no excuse to stop trying. For now, he took small solace in the implication that it likely wasn't overly personal and lifted his gaze to consider the ceiling as they ventured further. "So, now what?"

“Now we get you moved in on the ship. You brought everything right?” She asked smiling just a little at the fact he looked like an earth puppy that had been kicked and still wanted to make everyone happy.

Everything didn't really amount to much. There had been a brief moment of mourning for the mementos he'd acquired during his time on Hysperia but practicality had won in that regard and Lyndon had sent the most sentimental with Kaia for safe-keeping. Now that they were moving back into a less stylised environment, he'd also traded out a lot of his clothing for a few combinations that would make more sense for the work he was about to undertake. He looked marginally less ridiculous in the simple get-up than he had trying to adopt Hysperian avant-garde and, at least this way, his jacket gave him pockets to bury his hands in whilst he tried to optimistically focus on the positives. After all, the way Indigo had put it, the Captain might just as easily have punched him in the face for his presumption.

Was probably too early to rule that out, actually.

"As much as I could fit into the suggested luggage," he grinned, an indication he'd listened to her advice.

Indigo smiled. It had to be a bit of an adjustment for the man to leave so much behind. Indigo’s life was only half there on the ship where her main life was back on Freecloud. “You could have brought more along to store on Freecloud.” She said gently looping her arm through his tugging him along.

"I could have," Lyndon agreed, "but it's just a bunch of things when it's all said and done. This way," he added with a grin, "I get to accumulate more fun stuff."

The woman just grinned back as they walked along the dock arm in arm towards the ship that they called their own. She had not revealed what type of ship it was so it was going to be a surprise to say the least for him. “I try not to accumulate.”

"Same." A sideways glance saw Lyndon's eyes twinkle with mischief. She'd seen the inside of his lodgings on Hysperia, and that had just been from a couple of months of staying in the same place. Staving off disbelief, he held up the index finger of his free hand. "That is not to say that I'm very successful at it."

“I would be inundated if i kept everything.” She said with a shrug as she stopped at a window and just started out at the ship taking in the ship that 15 years ago that would have brought terror to the sector before the fall of Romulan and the scattery of culture and ships. The warbird was now classed as a museum.

Lyndon slowed pace only because he was connected to someone inclined to savour the approach. Far more indicative of his nature was a compulsion to dash forward, to race towards the new and unusual with an enthusiasm that did very little to reduce his appeal as a small wriggly animal overcome with glee. "Is that it?"

“Very much.” The FRS Thrai boasted the distinctive avian-like design of the Romulan empire, resembling a predatory bird in flight. Its hull characteristic by the sleek lines and sharp angles, conveying both elegance and lethality. The ship's exterior was mostly coloured in shades of dark green and metallic grey, allowing it to blend into the darkness of space. “She is beautiful.”

"You don't say."

It had become evident very early on that one of the areas Lyndon needed the most intervention was his tendency for open honesty. His was a culture who valued it, after all, and he wasn't used to being guarded and secretive with his thoughts and feelings. It took very little effort to understand how impressed he was with the ship, whose dangerous veneer very much resembled its Captain in its capacity for destructive allure, and the slowly-emerging grin that threatened to split his face in half was just the first hint of a level of enthusiasm that was going to land him in a veritable vat of disappointment one day if he didn't learn a little more restraint. Right now, it was all he could do to keep his jaw from hitting the ground.

"Surely nobody picks a fight with that, it's insane-looking!"

“You would be surprised.” Indigo said. The outer hull was reinforced with duranium and tritanium alloys, granting it exceptional resilience against enemy attacks but some people were just foolish and picked a fight cause they could.

"You're right, I'm definitely surprised." Turning his head to grin at her, finally able to wrench his eyes away, Lyndon added, "I expected it to be pretty cool but not this cool. Now I'm curious to see what else you have tucked away up your sleeve."

“I am old. I have tons ticked up my sleeves.” Indigo said grinning more. She tucked her arm through his again and started to tug him along again. She tugged him past the security barrier onto the actual ship. The interior of a Romulan warbird, was a blend of sleek, dark, and utilitarian design that had taken Indigo a long time to get used to. it reflected the Romulan culture, by excluded an air of mystery, efficiency, and military precision which Indigo could get on board with if she did not always live in the dark.

If the exterior had enflamed the Risian's imagination, the interior tipped it over the edge into wary reconsideration. The ship's main selling point, at least as far as first impressions went, seemed to be the art of intimidation and being close enough to reach out and interact with the unfamiliar interfaces only added layers of delicious trepidation. Fear wasn't something Lyndon felt too often, Risa didn't often lend itself towards the macabre, but he quite enjoyed risk taking and this seemed to be an excellent, if very extreme, example. He said nothing, though the slight parting of his lips and general darting about of his eyes suggested he was thinking plenty.

The blue-haired woman led him through the corridors giving him a bit of a whistle-stop tour of the ship before she ended up in the small mess room. “Not quite Hysperia but it keeps us fed.” The room was a lot brighter than the rest of the ship as it had been refitted recently but it did still have the regimented look.

"Is it self-serve?" Somehow, in Lyndon's visualisation of this lifestyle, there didn't seem a lot of room for a kitchen staff. If that were true, it became another area where he felt like he could be of some potential use once in a while. He enjoyed cooking, though didn't often get a lot of opportunity for it since leaving Risa. His fondness for food hadn't abated, however, and Indigo would possibly be amused to know that one of the things he'd worked into his minimal luggage was a good portion of the tea collection he'd amassed on Hysperia.

"Very much so but we do have access to a large amount of recipes for the replicators." She had survived on a lot worst food so replicator food was practically gourmet to her. "And if you really want to cook them is a stove back there but I have never seen it used." Indigo was not really sure it was working but it would be up to him to take the risk.

Even Lyndon had the intuition to determine that experimenting with unused kitchen appliances might not have been the best first step in forging this new alliance. Perhaps later down the track, when the crew had no reason to wish him ejected out the nearest airlock...hopefully. "I am a dab-hand at programming replicators, that's probably enough adventure for the time being." He glanced around the small space again. "Does the crew eat together?"

"Yeah. I would recommend it's the only adventure for now. Let us not rush this new routine." Indigo said smiling a little. "Sometimes. It all depends on the mission and vibe of the ship. Sometimes people just need to be alone." It all depended on who was mad at who and who was just not bothering to socialise. "I always try and eat breakfast with people."

Just not bothering to socialise was a foreign concept to Lyndon, as was being mad enough at anyone to skip a meal, if he was honest. The response gave him pause for thought and he surveyed the room with new appreciation for just how cosy it was. Not the best space, he supposed, to ensure privacy or a quiet moment if one was required. "Does the vibe of the ship ever extend to organised social events?" he asked, partially in jest since he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"Sometimes... if the vibe is right." Indigo smiled more. It was going to be a big change for the man she felt, working with Romulans was not always suited for all people. "I and Theo sometimes play cards," Theo was more than likely to be the person that the man found a vibe with more than anyone other than her. The human sulked but he did have a knack for being able to work between the groups onboard.

The Risian perked up at that. Then, before he said anything, he seemed to pause and take a moment to reflect. "Theo was that chap I met, right? Radiated a disapproving air that would have made a Vulcan grandmother mildly envious?" As an analogy, it didn't really work but Lyndon was preoccupied by the sneaking suspicion that he may have better lucking winning the human over than some of their other crewmates. "He did appear to find relaxing something of a challenge."

The woman snorted. “Theo is the man you met. Former Starfleet. But funny thing about him. He is your roommate.” The woman admitted. She had been thinking when to drop that in.

Far from disappointed, Lyndon simply seemed surprised. The silence that followed was thoughtful, a chance for him to reflect on the fact that the ship obviously wasn't big enough for separate quarters. It also gave him ample time to realise that, whilst he was a sociable guy who didn't mind other people in his spaces, Theo hadn't seemed like the type to appreciate it. "Does he know yet?"

Indigo nodded at the man. Theo had taken it pretty well in her opinion. “He has no choice and he is ever the officer even if he isn’t in Starfleet anymore.” She was almost jealous to have Theo as a roommate. He seemed a decent man who would not inflict himself too much on the other person sharing the space.

"Never was much of one for sleeping alone," Lyndon offered, his lopsided smile giving no indication that he was being mischievous with that claim. Whatever stereotypes endured, the Risian spoke more from a place of extroversion than anything else. "I'm sure we'll make it work, even without our chief mediator there to tuck us in."

Indigo grinned back as she used the replicator to make a coffee. “Got no choice if we leave port.” The woman teased just a little. She was pretty sure that they would balance each other out enough to make things workable.

"Ever the practical one," Lyndon laughed, unable to fault her logic. "Still, a little guidance might not go astray. You know him far better than I do, what do you suggest I avoid?"

"Religion," Indigo said without missing a beat. She had only seen him lose his mind once in the last few months and it had been on a colony where slavers had used religion. No one had been able to hold him back at that time until he had been found hours later surrounded by captured slavers looking at bit bloodied.

That seemed to baffle the Risian for a moment, at least enough to provoke a thoughtful silence. Spirituality was not lost on Lyndon, his people had their cultural beliefs and practises as much as any other species, but outright religion was not something he'd ever considered a necessary part of his life. His brow flickered, wondering whether is ignorance of anything terribly specific to do with the topic was going to be a blessing or a curse. "Any particular one?," he asked.

She had no idea at all if she was honest but the subject had not been brought up since. There had not been a time or place since to. “Not a clue. He is human so something humanly.” She shrugged. “Stop over thinking it all.” She offered as she went to a window and looked over at the dark display before her.

He watched her for a moment, a slow smile breaking through his uncertainty. "Sure thing, boss." The teasing lilt to Lyndon's tone was far more reminiscent of the young salesman pitching his failing kissing booth to a sea of incensed festival-goers but his mood was definitely subdued, a lapse in impulsiveness to allow himself the introspection to adapt. This might not have been a life choice he'd ever expected but a night spent talking to the El Aurian had evoked something in him that the Risian was still trying to comprehend. The universe was a large place, and though it had often sent representatives to his planet, tourists were not always indicative of the broader spectrum.

Slowly, hands wedged into his pockets, Lyndon moved to stand beside his only connection to this vast unknown and allowed himself to take in the view she'd opted for. "So when do we leave?"

“Tomorrow.” She answered quietly not saying anything about the fact he called her boss. She was very much not the boss, she had enough of the for the Watchdog she wanted to just be a player out in the universe working for the rangers. She liked the freedom of being just being allowed to do what was right instead of what was needed.

"Any idea what we're doing?," he pressed gently. It had been enough to escape the meeting with the Captain unscathed and probably hired, there hadn't seemed a very good opportunity to quiz the woman on the ship's upcoming movements.

“Heading back to Freecloud. You did pack some colder weather clothing right?” She wondered as she caught his rejection and turned to look at him a bit.

"Ah, the infamous home-away-from-home." Leaning sideways, Lyndon nudged her gently. "Do I get a guided tour when we get there? Surely must be my turn to be the wide-eyed tourist." It suggested that he'd somehow been anything but that back on Hysperia, which was debatable at best, but the Risian's easy-going confidence presented its usual challenge when it came to correcting his assertions.

The blue haired woman’s eyebrow raised slowly as she looked him over. “I will give you a tour without a doubt. It will be fun.” She finally decided to say.

"Of course it will," replied the newest recruit with all the energy he'd presented with the first time they'd met. Enthusiasm may have been somewhat out of place given the impending situation but Lyndon wasn't one to let facts get in the way of a good mood, not if he could help it. "And maybe I can convince you to let me take you out for dinner. To say thank you."

“We shall see I have other work when we are on Freecloud.” The woman admitted. Being home did not necessarily mean that she was on holiday or anything. She had a role to play in Freecloud society as well to pay some bills. But I am sure we can find a moment or two.”

"I won't get in the way." And, though his faint smile was more a response to her immediate clarification, Lyndon extended it to the days and months to follow. If nothing else, whilst he tried to find his way, he could try to guarantee that much.