For the Trill Who Has Everything

Posted on Thu Dec 27th, 2012 @ 12:07pm by Ensign Soraya Xel & Lieutenant Jonathan "Jack" Mantell

Mission: Funzone
Location: USS Arizona, Various
Timeline: Following "Crass-assed Pass"

The Operations Department was one of the least glamorous areas of the ship, though in many ways, perhaps one of the most crucial. The Operations office managed personnel assignments, duty rosters, storage arrangements, supplies, operation of replication and transportation systems, and encompassed almost the entirety of vessel maintenance which didn't fall under the specialized purview of Engineering.

Unlike many departments, which got to rest during a station stopover, spacedock was one of the busiest times for Operations. People from departments all over the ship as well as starbase personnel were coming and going, ensuring they had the stock they needed, that personnel were finding their way around, and that the minor issues around the ship were all resolved before departure.

Operations was a room clearly not designed for the influx of personnel, as they seemed to flood the space, with no particular order or grouping. There was a fairly large mob outside what could only be the Quartermaster's Office. The one area that was distinctly deserted was the Chief's office. It looked completely cleaned out and closed. It appeared that, at least for the moment, Soraya did not have a boss.

As a primarily enlisted department, Ensign Soraya Xel stood as one of the more senior personnel in the department. However, she found her presence in the department largely overlooked, as crewmen from all the various subdivisions of Operations carried about their business.

Jack stepped off the bridge and into the turbolift, ripping apart the closure of his uniform as he did so. It was done. The next shift's pilot, an ensign whose name the boy hadn't even bothered to learn, had taken over on the bridge. The boy made a mental note to look over the department manifest later. Right now, though, he was too tired to do anything besides return to his quarters and sleep. He leaned his forehead against the turbolift wall and closed his eyes, his opened jacket coming apart to hang in the silent air.

"Deck-" the boy began to issue the command to the turbolift. He hesistated, and then the realization sunk in at last. His quarters! In all the hustle and bustle of getting settled in to a new ship, the Miran had forgotten to find out where his quarters were located. "Computer," he asked, "where is the ship's Quartermaster?"

[The Quartermaster is located on Deck 13, Section 4.]

As Jack exited the turbolift, he immediately noticed that he was not the only person in his situation. The line stretched out the door of the Operation's Department office, long enough that some new personnel were sitting, some catching up on their reading or paperwork, while a few enterprising crewmen near the end of the line had set up a full entertainment system and were in the middle of a particularly intense level of Mugato Kong. Falling in step at the end of the line, one of the gamers turned to the boy and, after giving him an appraising glance, said he could move ahead of them.

After catching sight of his rank, most of the line did the same, and Jack moved quickly into the department office. Now he could see that the Quartermaster's area was swarming with people, and most of those with yellow collars were speaking as quickly as they could to the ones in the line -no, now it was more of a mob. The rest of the office was mostly empty, but for the few Operations personnel quietly attending to various other tasks.

The boy surveyed the rest of the office, realizing that his chance of getting in with a member of the Quartermaster's staff was hopeless. A few junior crewman were simply running messages back and forth, most of the senior personnel were tied up with helping the crew. And then there was her. She was standing there so simply, but powerfully, as if the deck had gone out of its way to ensure her stature. Her long, brown hair tumbled gracefully around her face, and onto her shoulders, almost masking the presence of the single pip on her gold collar. Of the spots that dotted the path from her neck to her forehead, there could be no disguise, for here stood a Trill, and she was magnificent.

Jack, however, could barely stand. His stomach, though full of a meal just hours prior, felt suddenly empty. His throat, on the other hand, felt as if someone had their hand against it and was slowly tightening. His stomach jumped, was there something inside it, dancing on its walls? The boy's palms grew damp, and he wiped them on his uniform pants. He took a deep breath, and found it caught in his throat. He cleared it, then cleared it again, finally giving up. Breathing out a few short breaths, the Miran youth took a step forward.

Placing his thumbs through the belt-less beltloops, the boy walked forward. He tried clearing his throat again, softly this time, and stepped in front of the Trill woman. Jack looked up, and up, and just when it seemed as if his head could tip no further, his eyes found her face. "Hey," he said, then quickly cleared his throat again, loudly. In a lower voice now, Jack started again, "Hey." Crap, he should have planned out what he was going to say. "I, uhh, I need, uhh, umm," oh man, this wasn't going well, "well, you see, I, uhh, umm, I need," HELP! "I, uh, my quarters, umm, well, I, uhh..." The boy finally trailed off, staring helplessly at the Ops Ensign before him.

Soraya looked for the source of the voice for a moment, before looking down, seeing the face of a young boy looking up at her. "Heyy," she began, with the voice she'd use to address a child, before she caught his rank, "... Lieutenant." She momentarily scolded herself, she was the last one who should be judging people on appearances. "Can I help you?"

Her words were like honey as they reached the boy's ears, and her melodic tones drew him deeper under her spell. "I, uhh," the boy tried once more, before an idea lit upon him. "Yeah," Jack started again, in the same gruff voice as before, "my, uhh, my friend can't find his quarters. They're right next to mine, so I figured if you'd show me there, I could show him."

Soraya smiled at the bo... Lieutenant. She realized she didn't know her way around the ship yet either. However, she didn't intend to look the fool in front of a senior officer. She held up the PADD she was carrying, "Name?"

"Lieutenant Jack Mantell," the boy responded almost immediately, the name rolling off his tongue as by routine. It took him a second to realize that she was asking for his friend's name, so Jack provided the only other department head he had met so far. "Oh, my friend's name is Lieutenant Three of Seven. He may be Borg, but I think his software is glitchy or something," the boy explained.

Soraya looked up the location of Lieutenant Mantell's quarters, noting that he was, in fact, senior staff. And that Lieutenant Three of Seven's (an oddity she would most certainly have to meet later) quarters were nearly on the other side of the ship and he'd been aboard for years. She looked down from the PADD, "Alright, sir, would you follow me?" she turned back towards the door, and pushed her way through the line blocking it.

The boy followed the Trill woman through the crowd as if in a dream. If someone was elbowing his cheek or brushing his jacket, Jack didn't mind. All that mattered was to see the Ensign again. Breaking through the line, Jack saw her walk through the door and scampered after her. "Hey," came again the gruff Jack as he sidled up next to her in the hallway.

"So, you're a Miran then?" Soraya asked, despite having already read as much, but lacking a better start for a conversation.

Having answered the question, or one like it, several times in that day already would have normally caused Jack to grow irritated with all the repetition. He didn't feel irritated at all by the Trill's question, but rather excited that the woman was taking an interest. Eagerly, he nodded, "Yeah, I am. And you're p-" Jack caught the word before it could finish, quickly correcting himself with, "And you're a Trill."

Soraya nodded, "I don't think any of my previous hosts have met a Miran before. I take it there's not too many of you?" She stepped into the turbolift and turned back towards the door, "Deck 3."

Jack fell in step behind the Trill, and entered the turbolift with her. "Yeah, we're a pretty rare commodity," the Miran youth chirped. "A real catch, you might say!" He grinned his best, despite the muscles in his face already getting sore. Jack didn't seem to mind, though. "So you're a joined Trill?"

The question raised a few more, and in his excitement, the boy blurted them out, "How many hosts have you had before? Can you remember all their lives?" Jack closed his mouth abruptly, thinking that might not be the best way to impress the Trill. He started again, his voice lower once more, "Uhh, I mean, that's cool."

Soraya laughed, "It's been... interesting. I'm kind of new at all of it. Still sorting everything out." The turbolift doors opened, and she led Jack down the gently-curved corridor along the outside of the ship's saucer section.

On hearing of her troubles, the boy glanced up at the Trill woman. For her to be having trouble with something, that was nothing less than a tragedy. "Well, if you ever want to talk with someone with some experience in adjusting to the unusual, I'm your man!"

"It's funny, because I've gone through it before. But it's never any easier," Soraya replied, "Waking up as a new person." Soraya was now sure they had to be at least halfway around the saucer section, as Deck 3 was not actually that large.

If Jack noticed that their route had taken them around Deck 3 already, he didn't give any indication. In fact, there was none. The youth was far too absorbed in listening to the Trill, in watching as her hair bounce against her shoulders as she walked. He barely noticed the other crew walking the halls or the stares that they were giving to his person. The boy had only eyes for her.

"Okay, here it is," Soraya said, stopping fairly suddenly, "Your quarters are here. Lieutenant Three's quarters are on the other side of the deck." She really hoped he hadn't noticed that she had apparently missed it the first time around. "Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?" she asked.

At the mention of Three, Jack ducked his eyes. He gave her a sheepish grin and remarked, "Oh, right, well, I knew they were around here somewhere." He stared at the door, which was already marked with his rank and name. They had arrived, and that meant that she was going to leave him. On a ship this size, who knew when they would see each other again? "Wait," the boy began, "you didn't even tell me your name!"

"Ensign Soraya Wr..." she started, before stopping again, "Soraya Xel. Have a good evening, Lieutenant." She turned and walked away.

Ensign Soraya Xel. Her name seemed just as magical as the person it represented. Jack stepped inside his quarters and turned around, watched her depart. As the doors closed, shutting off his sight of Xel's retreating frame, the Miran youth locked her name and image in his mind. Then, letting his smile dropped, the boy suddenly remembered that he was tired, and went to find somewhere to lie down.