Getting Out

Posted on Wed Sep 15th, 2021 @ 9:40pm by Lieutenant Irynya & Andrew Munro

Mission: The Place of Skulls
Location: Captain's Quarters - Deck 2
Timeline: Mission Day 11 at 2200

The door to the Captain's quarters looked just like any other door to an officer's quarters except that, unlike most of the crew, it was located on Deck 2. Irynya assumed that was to have proximity to the bridge, but it also meant that the likelihood of the Captain and his beau running into people as they came and went from their own quarters was much lower.

They had been onboard for 11 days and in that time she had barely caught more than a glance of Andrew Munro. By Irynya's standard he was practically Risian himself after spending a few years working on conservation on her home planet and she missed running into him at the Grand Delphinium as he came and went from visits to the Captain during their courtship.

Perhaps she should have called ahead, but she wasn't sure how Andrew was feeling after 11 days onboard and she was determined to see him and so she found herself standing outside of the Captain's quarters, realizing she should have checked to make sure Kodak was not home, and carrying a bottle of brilliant blue liquid by its neck.

There was no helping it, though, and so she stepped into the chime sensor alerting the room's occupant (or occupants) of her presence.

Andrew was startled by the door chime. It rarely went off since the Captain was normally summoned over the comm system and they hadn’t had visitors so far.

“Come in,” he said as he approached the door.

He was about to explain where the captain was to whoever the sliding doors revealed, but was momentarily lost for words when they revealed a familiar face instead.

“Irynya?” he squeaked, unable to mask the surprise in his voice.

The Risian's face lit up at the appearance of Andrew at the door. "Andrew!" she exclaimed, wrapping arms around the man for a hug before realizing herself and stepping back, looking from side to side as if Kodak might leap from behind a piece of furniture.

"Care for some company?" she asked, satisfied that she wasn't crashing a private moment between the two men. She held up the bottle, fluorescent blue liquid sloshing within. "This might be Romulan ale," she remarked with a grin. "At least that's what the guy on Risa told me it was. It could also be vodka they dyed bright blue. Care to find out with me?"

"Sure," Andrew grinned. "Björn went back to his ready room after dinner to finish up some work. Come on in."

Walking back to the sofa, he picked up a half-drunk mug of cocoa and returned it to the replicator. It faded out of existence in a shower of sparkles and was replaced by two empty glasses. He handed one to Irynya as he gestured towards the sofa.
"Shall we analyze this sample you've brought?"

She grinned, unstoppering the bottle and pouring a few fingers into each of their glasses before settling onto the sofa. "Yes," she remarked with a grin, "let's."

She sipped the bright blue liquid, the alcohol burning down her throat as she did causing her to sputter. "Well..." she remarked with a rasp, "that's not Romulan ale."

She took another sip, slower this time to try to determine what it might actually be. "Not vodka either," she commented.

Andrew, now curious as to what it could be, took a large sip but was unable to identify a taste before having to quickly swallow it in order to avoid spraying the liquid with an impending cough.

"Well it's strong," he eventually managed to say when the coughs subsided.

Still curious, he sniffed the glass. "It smells like a herbaceous flower I came across on one of the southern Risian islands when we were conducting a study on what the effects of expanding the local weather control grid might be. It was a striking blue color, come to think of it."

He took another sip and managed to control the urge to cough, but his fingers started to feel tingly and he wiggled them in front of his face. "Could it be some kind of Risian Moonshine?"

Iry giggled, the effects of whatever alcohol they were imbibing arriving far more rapidly than she had anticipated. "That sounds..." she giggled as she spoke, "... about right."

She peered into her glass which, since she had been sipping it steadily, was now close to empty. "I've missed your face, Andrew," she commented with a grin. "Tell me how life onboard is treating you." She knocked back the remaining blue liquid and then eyed the bottle, debating. Finally, she set her glass down determined to give the first round a moment to run its course before adding more on top of it.

"I'm starting to get used to it," Andrew smiled as he took another sip from his glass. "The first few days were rough. I wasn't sure how to make myself useful whilst Björn was commanding the ship. All the other scientists were busy working away on their own projects, but I'd left everything behind on Risa."

He took another sip. "I didn't even have a current project when I left because I'd taken so much time off to ..." His face flushed and he had his own fit of giggles. "Well you know that part"

Irynya arched her eyebrows suggestively at the other man. "That, I do," she agreed with a grin.

Andrew finished his drink and felt a renewed tingle in his fingers. "It is good to see you," he smiled, almost giggling again. "There's still so much that's new to me here that it's comforting to see someone familiar." He gestured towards her with his empty glass. "So how about yourself? I gather this ship must be quite a change for you too."

"It's been... interesting," she remarked, her face thoughtful. "I have three roommates. So far, I have walked in on one of them naked, helped one of them with a panic attack, went on a holodeck adventure with the naked one, and learned that one of them wears light up rainbow unicorn slippers. Oh, and learned that I am in charge of flight control and now get to come up with duty rotations."

"They're all sweet," she added, considering Noah, Sheldon, and Kennedy each as she spoke. "The roommates, I mean." She hesitated then, chewing on her lower lip a moment, "One of them..." She paused, frowning lightly. "Let's just say he's got my attention."

"Ooh" Andrew cooed, picking up on the hint.

He picked up the bottle and refilled both glasses. It might help details flow as freely as the liquid, and they'd also be ready if a toast was in order.

"So tell me," Andrew grinned. "Is he cute?"

Irynya shot Andrew a look, grinning despite herself. "Umm... yes..." she said. "Cute... and utterly clueless."

She sighed, picking up the newly filled glass and taking a swig. The burn down her throat was starting to feel normal now, and she relished the temporary clearing of her senses before the warm blanket of strong alcohol returned.

"Aww, he sounds sweet" He took a swig from his glass and then a mischievous look appeared on his face. "He's not unicorn slippers, is he?"

"Uh.... no..." she said with a giggle. "That's Sheldon who, frankly, couldn't even look in my general direction in a bathing suit on Risa. I am," she looked meaningfully in Andrew's direction, blue liquor sloshing slightly as she gestured with it, "not his type."

"Oh," Andrew seemed confused for a second and then the penny dropped. "Oh, I see," he giggled. "Having so many roommates sounds ... interesting."

Andrew glanced around the spacious quarters. "I'm a little spoiled in the room and roomie department." He felt his face flush and realised that the alcohol had impaired his judgement a little. It might be how he felt, but he wasn't sure what he expected Irynya to do with that statement. Fortunately, he recalled the other part of her news and opted to change the subject.

"Before I forget, congratulations on taking over the Flight Control department," he smiled, raising his glass to celebrate her advancement.

"Oh no no no," she replied, grinning wolfishly at him. "You don't get off the hook that easily."

She tipped her glass at him nonetheless before tossing back another large gulp. "How is everything? I mean, for real how is it?"

Andrew stared at the liquid in his glass and let out a small sigh before meeting her enquiring gaze again.

"There's nothing I can complain about. I mean I get to be with Bjorn, the lab is fantastic, and the other scientists are great." His tone didn't seem to match the words. "But my connection to it all is through him. It's his ship, these are his quarters and the crew feels like his family. I don't have a problem with that exactly, but when he beamed down to Ch'othil and they ran into trouble down there, I didn't know if I was going to get him back."

Andrew took a slow sip of his drink as he considered how to wrap up his point without blabbering on. "I know there's always risk, and it's better to have him and the risk than to have neither. I guess my problem is that I haven't really made my own connections here yet. Except for you."

He smiled at her to emphasize the point. "After all, you didn't come here tonight with possible contraband for the Captain, did you?"

Iry nodded, taking in Andrew's thoughts before flashing him a grin. She scooted down the couch until she was sitting close enough to bump him with her shoulder. "No," she remarked, "I definitely came here looking for you."

She let her shoulder rest against his a moment longer then returned to the other side of the couch, giving him back his space. She wanted to say something comforting to reassure him that nothing bad would happen. Perhaps to tell him that the danger wasn't really danger. But that wouldn't be true, and she knew it. They had come back from the Delta Quadrant less a notable number of crew members. And they had already transferred two more off ship.

"You should come hang out with me," she remarked finally. "I know my quarters aren't as..." she gestured with her glass, "spacious, but we have a couch. You can tell me what you think of the cute one," she remarked with a wink before tipping her glass back again. "Come be friends with my friends," she said. "They'll love you."

Andrew felt a twinge of social anxiety. Would it bother them if he showed up in their private space? Would he share any interests with them or be able to connect over something else? He pushed it to the back of his mind. If he was invited, he would go. Besides, he was sure Irynya would save them all from any awkward silences.

"That sounds like fun," he agreed. "I guess I really should get out more"

Irynya grinned broadly, a girlish exclamation of "Yay!" escaping her as she did. "It's a date!"

=/\= A Mission Post By =/\=

Andrew Munro
Biologist

Lieutenant JG Irynya
Acting Chief Flight Controller