Messing around in the mess hall

Posted on Sat Apr 29th, 2023 @ 3:30pm by Commander Qillin Wren & Crewman Tetayn Wren & Captain Linda Wilson & Lieutenant Commander Rayek trLhoell & Lieutenant Commander Klarth

2,899 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: A whole new world
Location: Mess Hall
Timeline: after Pod People

Captain Linda Wilson and a security detail had escorted Lt. Commander Wren to the mess hall. "Have at it, Wren. I know you are hungry! Order whatever you want."

Cautionary tales from his childhood tickled at the back of Qillin's mind: children fed until plump and comatose, only for them to be jailed or enslaved by the evil aliens later. He tried to set those intrusive thoughts aside and asked for bread and soup, something simple to reintroduce his stomach to foods other than the ration packets he had sustained himself on for the past weeks.

After Qillin ordered his food Ull walked in. "Hello, Captain." he nodded to Captain Wilson. He turned and nodded towards Qillin. "Hello. I am Commander Arkyn. Welcome aboard USS Lionheart."

"Commander Arkyn. It's nice to meet you at last! Thank you for the welcome." She looked him over. There were very few Orions in Starfleet. She had to admit it was nice to see another.

The security crewman assigned to watch over the escape pod-rescued Lieutenant Commander, noted the arrival of his Department Head and straightened his alert status just a tad more to impress. Unlike the Captain, who was more relaxed, the crewman saw his Department Heads - Arkyn and tr'Lhoell, as those type of people who you did not want to get on the bad side of.

The Andorian crewman, ch'Oqysron by family name, was also a no-nonsense-type of person, which was probably why the Romulan chose him for tasks over most others. ch'Oqysron could be relied on to be proficient and professional at all times.

Ull looked over the Andorian assigned to watch Qillin, and then looked back at Captain Wilson. "My apologies for not meeting with you earlier, Captain. It has been quite busy lately." He then shifts his look at Qillin. "Do you mind if I join you? I have not eaten yet today myself."

"By all means, join us, Commander. Lt. Cmdr. Qillin, meet our Chief of Security, Ull Arkyn."

Qillin nodded, "Nice to meet you," he said out of obligation rather than politeness. On any other day, in any other circumstance, his manners were much better.

Ull waited for a response from Qillin before getting a small plate of food. It looked like a salmon sandwich. He took a seat and began eating. "So where are you from?" he asked after eating his first bite.

"I'm from the USS Orinoco. It was destroyed," Qillin answered with the ship's name that he had called home until recently. He watched the Starfleet officers for any signs that their minds had been destroyed and replaced by Vulcan invaders.

Ull thought long and hard for any reference of the Orinoco from their dimension, but nothing came to mind. "My condolences on the loss of your ship. How long were you stationed onboard? What kind of ship was it? It isn't a name I recognize from our own home."

"I served there for nearly seven years, first as the assistant chief engineer. I was promoted to chief last year. It was a Frigate class. We were on patrol of the border when we were attacked a few weeks ago, " Qillin offered.

Ull shook his head. "Who was it that attacked you? Please, tell me everything you can. We are still trying to keep our bearings straight now that we are here. We need to know what we could be facing, so we can make the appropriate preparations." He then took another bite of his sandwich.

"I want to know how you got to this dimension," Qillin said. Multiple dimensions were theoretical only. Moving an entire ship into a different dimension was ridiculous.

Ull thought about it for a second before responding. "I have been busy lately, but as far as I can remember we just flew into a rift that was hanging there in space. The next thing we knew we were here with you." Ull's memory fails him for any other information that could provide insight into how they got here.

"That is classified for the moment." Captain Wilson said. "However, we are here and want to help!"

"I think my information is also classified," Qillin folded his hands on the table. "I've given you my name, rank, and posting. Anything more you need, you can call HQ."

Ull smiled at Qillin. "Will you give us the required frequencies so that we may contact your HQ? Is it still located on Earth?"

Lieutenant JG Suri Shadai had come in for lunch and absentmindedly gotten some food. She was about to sit down and eat when she saw the captain. She immediately went over and said, "Captain Wilson, I didn't expect to ever see you in the mess hall. I am so glad to have a chance to introduce myself. Suri Shadai stationed in Engineering."

"Well nice to meet you Lt Shadai. I don't usually come in here, but Lt. Qillin and his female companion were just picked up in a life pod, so we were trying to get him to trust us. Why don't you join us?" she asked. Perhaps a younger officer might help Qillin trust them more. While it is unusual for a captain to dine with junior officers, it wasn't unheard of and it was good to keep in touch with the junior members of the crew.

It was unthinkable to pass up a chance at eating with the captain. Shadai sat down at the table.

Crewman ch'Oqysron, or 'Shon' as most people called him due to the difficulty of pronouncing his family name by most non-Andorians, gave a slight nod towards the Lieutenant after she was greeted by the captain. It didn't bother him that the Lieutenant hadn't even glanced his way. When working he was supposed to be rather invisible - just part of the background - until needed.

Ull nodded to LT Shadai in between bites of his sandwich.

"If this is an interrogation, I really don't understand what's going on here," Qillin addressed the captain and Ull at the same time.

Ull finished his sandwich and nodded to the captain’s words. He then looked at Qillin. "Trust me, I am much better at real interrogations than this." Ull then chuckled at his own little joke.

"Well, that's because it isn't an interrogation. We're friendly. Like we told you, we come from a parallel universe. We picked you up when we heard your distress call. We'd much prefer to be friends. I understand your reluctance to trust us, but we are making a good faith effort here. You are a guest, not a prisoner. Same with your companion. If you want us to contact Starfleet, we will do so! We were going to head to Starfleet command anyway. I assume they're on earth in your dimension?"

"Yes," Qillin answered cautiously, then tested his soup with equal wariness.

"What's this world like?" asked Shadai.

"What world?" Qillin asked. "Earth?"

"Sure Earth of course, but I mean all of it, said Shadai as she waved her hands all around her. "This whole dimension is largely new to us."

"Largely?" Qillin raised an eyebrow wondering how to quantify the expression.

"Well, you're the second stray we've picked up, the first one was an android who looks like a child but is thousands of years old," Shadai said.

Shon had been one of the security team sent along earlier that day that had found the odd android. How the engineering officer had learned about it so quickly was a testament to the speed of gossip on the ship. Still the security crewman didn't think it was appropriate for the junior officer to be sharing what could be classified intel so openly. The doctor had done the same in the Cargo Bay. Maybe the officer Academy didn't train their cadets well enough. It had certainly been drilled into the enlisted recruits not to go shooting your mouth off about sensitive material. It could cost you your career.

"I think the word you're looking for is 'entirely.'" Qillin responded. "If all you know of this universe are a two random hitchhikers, you know nothing."

The captain tapped her combadge. “Bridge, open a channel to Starfleet command. Let them know Cmdr. Qillin has been rescued along with his companion. We are headed to Starfleet headquarters. If they have any questions, I will be happy to answer them. Wilson out."

Ull looks at Qillin for a few moments before deciding his next questions. "What is Starfleet's Prime Directive? Are you currently at war with anyone? Are there any sorts of prejudice against any aliens that you feel we should know of?" He pauses to let Qillin think about them. "I will gladly answer any questions you have as well. Feel free to ask away."

"The Orinoco wasn't destroyed by accident. What is the size of your crew," Qillin accepted the offer to ask questions, even though they hadn't answered anything to this point - and what information he had gathered seemed to be instantly contradicted by the next person.

Ull didn't want it to seem that they were being uncooperative, and he did say that Qillin could ask anything. "We have a standard crew complement for this class of ship, around 570 people, though I believe our numbers have fluctuated with some of the refugees we took in from Gabriel Station. I'll be honest I haven't looked at the new numbers lately."

The Romulan, in the Security office, commed the Orion Security Chief. =/\= "We've located the girl - and Dr. Klarth has persuaded her to come out to join her companion in the Mess Hall." =/\=

Ull pauses as the call comes in on his earpiece. "Well, it looks like we will have some additional company for lunch." He then returns his attention to Qillin. "Orinoco was destroyed by the Vulcans? Are you engaged in a formal war with them, or just border disputes?"

"To be at war with someone, there needs to be strategy. The Vulcans are savages that attack for no known reason and with reckless disregard for intelligent life," Qillin answered. "Did you come to this universe voluntarily or by accident?"

Listening quietly from a short distance away, the Andorian 'Shon' had to smirk at that description of Vulcans. His ancestors had made the same claim about the Vulcans centuries ago. Not that he or any Andorian thought that now, but still, it was amusing to hear someone else state that the Vulcans were killers.

Ull thinks back to the events that brought them here. "We came here voluntarily. A while back a probe popped out of the rift that led us to here. We examined the probe and were on orders from Starfleet to explore this rift and see who the occupants were and how we could help." He decided to keep their story to its barebones, since Qillin didn't need to know about the attacks, or the assassination attempt, from their native universe.

Rubbing his head in thought, Qillin was reminded of his lack of personal hygiene. "Do you have the probe aboard this ship?" he asked. He wondered who would have sent a probe through a theoretical rift that purported to link alternate timelines. The skeptic in him pondered if Vulcans could be so clever as to con strangers into danger.

"Do we? We should. It's down in engineering." Linda said. "if you want to take a look at it, you can, Commander. I'd love to hear what you have to say about it!"

"Yes, I'd like to take a look," Qillin agreed. "But maybe after a shower and a change of clothing?"

Ull looks at the state of Qillin and tries to imagine how long he had been in that escape pod, especially if it had run out of life support. "How long has it been since you have been able to shower and rest? I will take you to use my quarters, if you would like. Afterwards we can head down to engineering to look at the probe." Ull would of course wait for Qillin's companion to get here and make the same offer to her, after she gets a chance to eat.

"Sure, that sounds like a plan," Qillin answered. "It was a few weeks in the pod. We were knocked away from the regrouping from the Orinoco's explosion."

While Shon didn't care one way or the other where he watched their 'guest', he did wonder why the Chief had offered up his own personal quarters rather than a simple VIP suite which had more security features.

The captain was called away.

The door to the mess hall opened. Qillin looked over to the new arrivals and wasn’t sure exactly how he felt. In one regard, he was happy to see Tetayn looking safe. On the other hand, he frowned at her capture. She looked unharmed and wore a brave face as she looked around the room, locking eyes with him. She gave him the briefest of smiles, acknowledging him before returning her attention to the vocal Klingon.

Ull looked over at Tetayn and her escort, giving them all a smile as they walked in. "Please join us. Order anything you want and take your time eating. I was just enjoying some conversation with Lieutenant Commander Qillin here."

Ull paused to let them sit and let Tetayn get her food. "After you eat, I will escort you both to my stateroom so that you guys can freshen up. We will have clean uniforms brought up for you. Then we can head down to Engineering so you can check out the probe."

"I don't need a uniform," Tetayn explained as she slid her chair close to Qillin, trying to absorb some of his body heat. The ship's ambient temperature was a bit cool when running around in nightclothes. Their hands touched under the table and Qillin grasped hers, the question was written across his face.

When his grip relaxed, Tetayn ran her finger in his palm. Two letters, O K. Then he held tight again.

She looked at the soup and bread that Qillin had barely touched. With her free hand, she reached for the bread. "I'm not a Starfleet officer," she continued to address Ull. "But if I can stay close to Qillin, I'd appreciate that."

Ull smiled at the two visitors. "If you want to stay close you can. If you don't want a uniform, then I am sure we can find you some clothes to change into. Of course, it is up to you."

Tetayn set the bread down after breaking a small piece from it. “Well, I’m ready to ‘freshen up.’” She stood up again after barely sitting down. The others took their cues from her and Ull guided them out of the mess hall.


ULL'S STATE ROOM

In Ull’s stateroom, Tetayn took the initiative to use the bathroom first. She carefully pealed her clothing off and looked at Qillin’s doctoring skills in the mirror. He had done a passable job and she thought she might even heal without more scars. “Good job, big bro,” she commented before looking at the shower stall. The controls were strange, but intuitive. Soon she had it running, pleased to find that it would run hot water. She stepped in to wash away the weeks of escape pod living.

While she was in the shower, she heard Qillin at the door. “Tey, here’s some fresh clothes,” he announced. An awkward arm reached into the room, dropping the clothing on a small shelf, then quickly disappeared. She stepped out of the shower minutes later, her hair smelling of the masculine shampoo scent which she had found on a shelf. She appeared in the main living space and traded locations with Qillin.

While Qillin was away, Tetayn wandered around the stateroom slowly, and looked at Ull’s possessions with curiosity. She stopped at his desk and pointed at the gun she saw there. “That looks old.” Her hair dripped on her shoulders as she looked without touching.

Tetayn turned as Qillin returned to the main room looking like a proper officer, but she addressed Ull, “Where is that from?”

Ull smiled at Tetayn. He then walked over and picked up the revolver and reached out to hand it to Tetayn. "You can hold it up if you want. It is a replica of an 1851 Colt Navy revolver. I saw it in a few movies I was introduced to while attending Starfleet. I remember watching a film with Sherriff Bohannon carrying this style of revolver and I fell in love with the gun."

Meanwhile, after having run the errand for the Chief to fetch the locals clothing, Shon took position outside the Chief's quarters until called on again or dismissed.

The weapon was heavier than it looked and felt like it was entirely made of metal. Tetayn ran her fingers over the filigree detail before handing it back. "Does it still work?"

Ull chuckled slightly. "This one doesn't work. It is a non-firing replica."

“Interesting,” Tetayn said.

Qillin brushed his hands down the panels of his fresh uniform shirt to adjust its lay and gave it a good tug. “Let’s go check out the probe.” Laying around in the escape pod for week, he did not need to rest any longer. It was time to work.


OFF:
Lt Cmdr Ull Arkyn

 

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