Halla There

Posted on Mon Sep 9th, 2019 @ 7:46am by Petty Officer 2nd Class Halla Dezom (*) & Major Levi Drake
Edited on on Thu Dec 19th, 2019 @ 9:20pm

Mission: Cosmos
Location: Starbase 172
Timeline: MD 01 13:00
1572 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

The small café, located on the internal side of the star base’s docking facility, overlooking the various comings and goings of the numerous starships and shuttlecraft. The café was one of the many popular spots on the station to see the shipyard, as it also had a view of one of the four massive space doors as well.

Halla carried her bag and coffee through the maze of chairs and seats looking for a spare spot. She wasn’t in uniform but was wearing more muted colours than anyone who knew her would recognise but they suited her. “Um... do you mind... if I sit here?” She wondered softly as she looked at the man hunched over the PaDD. She didn’t take in anything unusual about him or the uniform just that he had a spare chair.

Levi glanced over, made a brief assessment of the newcomer, then nodded sharply, lifting his feet out of the way for her to take a seat. It was surprisingly busy - he figured there was an above-average number of starships passing through - and few people appeared comfortable interrupting the enormous marine sat by himself. He found himself peeking over the top edge of his PADD as she sat down; habitually noting features, stance, possessions. The mentality of a soldier was hard to lose, even when off-duty, he realised.

The woman nodded and smoothed her skirt down as she placed her coffee down on the table and shoved her bag underneath before sitting down. "Thank you." She said with a shy smile on her face. "So busy here," Halla added as a quick comment.

"Sure looks that way," Levi nodded. He glanced around. Mostly Starfleet uniforms. Didn't take a genius to figure she was probably one of them. "Most people are waiting for the USS Apache to depart. Sounds like they're shipping-out soon. You with them?" he inquired politely.

The woman was just about to have a sip of her drink as he spoke to her. Having expected him to just carry on with his drink without a word, she responded. “USS Cosmos via a long route.” She said with a small smile as she finally took the much-needed coffee.

He frowned momentarily, looking up at her again. He didn't recognise her face, which meant little as he'd not really spent a great deal of time with the non-marine contingent on board. "Huh. Me too," he replied, sitting up straighter. "Lt Drake, marine detachment," he said by way of introduction.

Halla put down her coffee mug and held out her hand to him. “It’ll be nice to see a familiar face.” She teased just slightly. “Petty Officer Halla Dezom.” She introduced herself with a smile at his frown.

"You're new onboard." That explained why he didn't recognise her. "Which section are you with?" He hoped not security; Professional rivalry, although minimal between the security and marine teams, was still a 'thing' with a lot of people he worked with.

“Science. I am a Technician.” Halla quickly explained wondering what was going on in his head. He was looking her over as if he was sizing her up. She popped a long curl behind her ear as she watched him back her hands wrapped around her hot mug.

"Technician. Sounds cryptic. What does a technician do, then? Work in a lab, run tests, that sort of thing?" he asked. Inwardly he couldn't think of anything worse, but he had to at least give her a chance.

“It’s low end. Nothing special. Not everyone has to have something interesting to do.,” she shrugged, not really wanting to explain to the man she just met, that she just cleaned up after officers and prepared experiments. The most interesting time had been when the science lab had started filling up with water leaving her trapped.

"Then why do it?" Levi replied abruptly. "Surely if it's neither interesting nor special, it's missing some sort of sense of fulfilment?" Indeed, in his head that sounded logical, but as a question asked aloud, he felt like maybe he was diminishing her. Unintentionally, of course.

The slender woman nodded at the man. She didn't forget that not everyone saw the universe she did at all, being a Science Technician allowed her to get off of the Trill Homeworld and away from everyone who worshipped the symbionts. "Preparing experiments and cleaning up after people is just a very small cog in the gears of Starfleet that allowed me to change my life." She said with a bright smile over her coffee mug. He might be trying to dismiss her but she wasn’t going to allow him to do that. She enjoyed her job and the opportunities it gave her.

"Cleaning up after people is something I know well enough," he replied with a smirk. "You said Starfleet changed your life?"

Halla laughed softly and shook her head. “Indeed it did but that is not something that needs to be discussed just after meeting. Do not want to put you off your coffee.” She said as her name was announced over the communication system.

He allowed himself the slightest chuckle. For a science geek, she was plucky, he thought to himself. It would have been difficult, considering some of the things he'd seen, for her to really put him off his coffee, but he let the point go. "Fair enough." He took a sip of his own drink, discarding the PADD for a moment. "So you're a Trill, right? I imagine you get asked a lot - hope it's not rude of me to ask if you're...you know..." he half-nodded towards her abdomen.

"Pregnant?" She asked pretending to be ignorant of what he was asking before her face broke into a big grin. "No. I am not joined." The woman got asked that a lot and it was why she had left the Trill Homeworld. It was all people cared about and she really did not.

Levi nodded slowly. He could sense from her brief answer that it might have been a difficult topic. Not something to push. He fell silent again, searching in the awkward moment for something to say. "I never married, either," he said, hoping that a moment of levity might break him out of the hole he'd started to dig.

The woman chuckled a little at that way of looking at the joining process. Halla was about to comment something more but stopped as her name was called again over the communication system. "That means they have found me quarters for the night so I don't have to sleep on the docking bay or observation lounge floor after a 30-hour transfer." She said with a sleepy smile towards him as she sipped on what was left of her coffee. "Seems they are very busy with a lot of comings and goings. The quartermaster did not seem sure there was any space for me somewhere and Cosmos has not got my personal record so I cannot join her until tomorrow."

"That's a shame. I'll happily let you board with me if they're not letting you. Make sure you get the tour before officially starting?" he suggested.

"I think I am fine as long as that summons is to tell me I have a bed for the night but how does a drink tonight sound?" The woman wondered standing up shouldering her bag. It sounded like a nice way to spend the last evening before a posting and this man had actually been pleasant to have a conversation with. "I have never been to Daucina or here before seems an interesting place. Don't think I will get a chance to explore once I start. You look like you could use some company."

Levi inclined his head and regarded her for a long moment. "Sure," he nodded. "There's a half-decent place I know about not too far from here, and most of the jarheads don't like to go there so you won't get too much attention from the wrong type of person. Shall I meet you there?"

The woman nodded grabbing up her travel mug. It would give her a few hours sleep and to actually rest after so long travelling. "Sure. What time and what is it called?" She said backing up a few steps nearly tripping over. "Sorry." She whispered, looking foolish.

The Vulcan Halla bumped into bowed her head, understanding that the contact was an accident.

"It's called the Deltan Whispers bar. How about 1900 hours, right outside?" Levi suggested.

“Yeah.Deltan Whispers sounds interesting.” She stumbled through trying not to blush and get herself more embarrassed. It was bad enough already that this man had seen just how awkward she was. "I will see you later then," Halla added as she quickly attempted to make a better exit.

"Later..." Levi said fleetingly as she departed. Weird, he noted, that he'd literally just met this young woman and suddenly he was arranging to meet her in a bar later. That said, she'd not hated him for his honesty and she was friendly enough to talk to. He finished his coffee quickly, snatched up his PADD, and started back towards the barracks.

OFF::

Petty Officer 2nd Class Halla Dezom
Scientific Lab Technician
USS Cosmos
(PNPC Gregnol)

Lt Levi Drake
Marine Detachment
USS Cosmos