Meet Meghan

Posted on Sat Jul 18th, 2020 @ 9:19pm by Chief Engineer Michael Burnstein & Meghan Massachusetts (*)

Mission: Mission 11 - Prospecting
Location: Deck 7 - Rec Room
Timeline: MD 04 22:00
1897 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Meghan was worried that was clear as she paced first her passenger cabin and then the empty lounge or whatever they liked to call it on the ship. It was a familiar routine when worry hit but right now it was not what was needed. She knew what was wrong but the crew were keeping it from them that was clear but what she could not fathom was why they would keep it from them when it was a logical step with the ship twenty-four hours over departure. No one would give an answer onboard but one sweet chat with a woman on the colony had told her all she needed to know.

They were a reliable bunch why she was using them to hitch a lift and keep out of trouble best she could, she did not want to go home after all this time. The universe had so many freedoms that she enjoyed. She knew that life was cruel, and nobody knew it more than she did. Things like justice and fairness were merely myths now but the crew seemed to be bucking the trend along with other groups that she had heard about. Humans, however, were resilient; they just kept on going, fighting for survival, happiness, even though they had a certain notion of what awaited them at the very end. Meghan liked them and why she tried to stay among them after all the years of exploring.

“Good Day.” She called as someone finally ventured into the lounge

Burnie looked up from his single-minded pursuit of coffee and noticed the woman. A passenger he assumed since he hadn't seen her before, or at least noticed her before - he was an engineer after all and new people weren't high on his list of things to notice. "Good day, ma'am," he replied tentatively. "Settling in?"


"No need to call me ma'am. I am called Meghan but yes I am settling in well. It is nice to be finally exploring the passenger areas." She said with a small smile offering the seat next to her if he wanted. "You look like you could use a coffee?" She mused as if by magic another cup was across from her but obviously it had always been there just hidden by the notice that was on display. "Bring the canister over if you want. I am sure I can drink more myself."

"Okay, Meghan, you have a deal," he said, grabbing the cannister and coming over to take the offered seat. "I'm Burnie, Chief Engineer. Pleased to meet you."

The woman nodded leaning back in her chair for a moment looking him over. "You look tired Chief Engineer?" She prompted taking the canister and poured out the coffee allowing him to do what he needed to make it how he wanted.

"Yeah..." Burnie took the coffee and drank it black. "It's been a busy. Replacement parts, rescuing friends from a collapsed mine shaft..." He ran a hand over hair still disheveled from a brief nap to fend off complete exhaustion. "...bunch of other things. Not exactly a relaxing shore leave here."

Chestnut, short hair hanged over a lean, tense face. Dancing black eyes, set concealed within their sockets, watched him carefully. He was the most honest of the crew so far. The composed looking woman raised an eyebrow at all the disadvantage he had, had in the last few days. "Sounds like you could use a proper shore leave." She mused with a small smile sipping her own coffee. "Are you friends okay?" She wondered

"Yeah..." Burnie took a drag of his coffee. A real shore leave felt a long way off. "My friends are both in medbay, but they should be okay, eventually. Thanks."

Meghan smiled a little at him watching him carefully. "Well, that is positive. I am sure they will make a quick recovery." Meghan drank her own coffee enjoying the flavour. The ship might be run down but the coffee was good. "You do not quite look happy about it all though?"

Burnie tipped his head side to side. "Let's just say an awful lot went wrong for it to have ever happened to begin with."

"Oh. One of those situations. I have been there many times. But they all seemed to come clean in the wash as the earth expression goes." Meghan mused a little matching his mannerism before looking deep into her coffee. It was was easy to get caught up in a situation and dive in without thinking, she had done it more time than she cared to remember.

"Sounds like you have a few stories there," he remarked, cocking his head in an attitude of listening since he really didn't want to talk about his day. "What's your story?"

Meghan watched him back and looked away for a moment trying to figure out some words that would explain it all to someone in a way they could understand. It was more than a few stories and many that she was sure she had forgotten over the years. "Me I am just travelling the universe. Me and my friend." No one here needed to know the woman she travelled with was a bodyguard or would even suspect as they were so close.

Burnie nodded. "I did that for a bit. In fact, I met one of the friends that's in medbay that way. Both of us were sort of wandering and it made sense to have someone to wander with for back up." He took another sip of coffee. "I guess you could say we're still doing that by signing on here, just with more people around to depend on."

“Everyone needs someone to wander the stars with.” Meghan confirmed. “Ship seems okay. What do you think only the crew?” She had barely met anyone properly other than passengers. It was not unusual but to not even meet the Captain was odd to her.

"The ship is amazing, and as an engineer, I feel like she has enough personality to be a person I'm wandering the stars with," he replied, a fond smile bowing his lips as the glanced around the bulkheads. "But the regular crew here are good people, and my engineers are the best. As much as I love for this old ship, it takes a lot of work and dedication to keep her going. I've taken stints on merchant ships before, and generally the engineers aren't up to what I was used to in Starfleet, but there's not anyone here I can't count on."

Meghan smiled at the man and nodded. He seemed the sentimental type and that amused her because that used to be how she was towards humans mostly but that had been so love ago now. Now she just let them all pass by like ghosts and shades. She glanced around and looked at the ship. "Certainly has character. What would you say to her if you had one day to be able to communicate like we do here and now?" She wondered intrigued to actually listen to someone who sparked something in her to want to ask.

You're so beautiful, I love you... Burnie ducked his head, sure she'd think he was nuts if he voiced that. "I think I'd tell her how amazing she is - over a century old, refitted and patched over and over again, but still reliable and one of the most stunningly elegant ships ever built." Despite avoiding actually saying 'love', a somewhat smitten look had worked its way on his face as he talked.

Meghan smiled and nodded. She could agree with his estimation of how elegant the ship was and how it quite possibly was the most elegant or all the ships built. "She is pretty elegant. I have always enjoyed this class of ships." She admitted, it was almost impossible to find them anywhere other than museums and even then it was hard. "I think you are in love with the ship." Meghan grinned at the man seeing the way he lite up.

"I'm the Chief Engineer - it would be weird if I didn't love my ship," Burnie objected a little defensively. Then his mouth edged back into a crooked smile. "But this sweet old girl is really easy to love."

Meghan just laughed for a moment and shook her head looking deep into her coffee. "You know something you really should be careful what you wish for Chief Engineer. Things have a tendency to come true. Especially if you wish really hard." She winked.

Burnie shook his head. "Don't worry. As much as I sometimes feel like the ship has her own personality, I know she's inanimate. I'm not fantasizing about Rosie turning into real woman." He put a hand over his heart, looking up dramatically. "Our love is purely platonic."

"Sure it is." Meghan grinned a little wider as to how real this man was compared to others. If only the man knew that walls could talk and they certainly remembered. "I should hope a young man like yourself has themselves a partner than is less than platonic."

"There is... but it's still kind of new, so we'll see where it goes..." he ducked his head, suddenly a little shy about discussing it; last time he'd gotten involved with someone it hadn't turned out so well. "I don't want to say too much. A ship is kind of a fishbowl, and there are people who try to play matchmaker here as it is."

Meghan could not help but just shake her head at the way he suddenly went shy about it. It was adorable to see someone like that. "Well when you look like I say good luck." The woman shook her head at the word matchmaker she had met the one board who had tried to set her up the first dinner that she had, had which had made her eat in her quarters for the next few days. "Ah yes. I have met Eden."

Burnie laughed. "Yeah, Eden is ...special. She even tried to fix up my Romulan friend. That did not go over well at all." He shook his head, chuckling about the extended tirade he'd overheard to afterward. "But to be fair, I think she's just trying to make everyone as happy as she seems to be with Jake."

"Happiness is a rare element recently in the universe," Meghan said showing her age for just a moment before she pulled it back in. It was a flash and you missed it moment but something had been brewing before it was snuffed out. "Oh look at that. All the coffee is gone." She sighed. "You look like you could use some sleep as much as I could use more coffee."

"I was getting coffee because I have more to do before I can sleep," Burnie replied, getting up. "But I should get to it. It was nice meeting you Meghan. I hope you have good trip."

"You as well Chief Engineer." The woman answered with a smile for the man. She hoped to meet him again, he was the most engaging man she had met in years. "Hopefully the ship behaves for you." Meghan had no doubt it was going to be interesting for everyone involved.

OOC-Becca: What shall we name this? I've dated it late on MD04.