Hello again

Posted on Mon Jul 12th, 2021 @ 2:13pm by Lieutenant JG Irynya & Andrew Munro

Mission: The Waiting Game
Location: Grand Delphinium Resort, Isle of Delphi, Risa
Timeline: Mission Day 45 - 21:00 hours

[ Grand Delphinium Resort ]
[ Isle of Delphi, Risa ]
[ Mission Day 42 - 21:30 hours ]

As the elevator descended, Andrew reflected on the day he'd spent with Björn. Whilst Björn's personal effects were being moved to the resort, they'd gone walking in the foothills of the island's mountainous region and found the perfect spot with stunning views where they could enjoy a picnic and each other's company. It was far from the spots normally frequented by the tourists and that carried the benefit of being able to experience the local wildlife. He always enjoyed listening to the birdsong of the local avians, analogous to the parakeets of Earth, and had wanted to share that with his paramour. He couldn't take every day off work though, and had an early start in the morning, so was heading back to his own apartment to ensure that he wouldn't be too 'tempted' to stay up late.

A soft chime and a gentle bump signaled that the descent had concluded. The doors slid open to reveal a lobby that certainly lived up to the promise in the resort's name. A wide corridor dotted with columns of marbled stone that held up a high ceiling led away from the elevator in a gentle curve that led to the main foyer and the rest of the resort. Ornate chandeliers illuminated the passage, contributing a soft and warm light to the relaxing ambiance. Elegant but comfortable-looking chairs and sofas were tastefully situated around the elevator lobby and all the way along the corridor and the air was lightly scented by the fresh tropical blooms that were arranged at just about every focal point.

Andrew's arrival drew the attention of a few people seated nearby and so he offered them a friendly smile by way of apology for not being the person they were waiting for, and then made his way towards the main foyer. Near the end of the corridor where it joined the foyer, two Risian women ended a chat with a laugh and a hug before the elder of the two disappeared into a door marked 'Staff Only'. As he approached, he thought there was something familiar about the long dark hair flowing down the back of the remaining woman.

"Irynya?" Andrew queried.

It had been a good day for Irynya. One that included time with family and friends. That was laid back and for even a short time had given her space away from her own brain and the swirling reminders of dead Vidiian's floating across the viewscreen. Her doing. So she hadn't been paying attention as her she parted from her mother who wanted to make some last preparations before tomorrow's tourist flights.

Hearing her name spoken as a question she whirled, searching for the source of the voice, and landing on the smiling face of Andrew Munro, whom she had met only a few days before in the most unusual encounter she had with another officer, let alone her commanding officer, in a long time.

"Andrew!" she exclaimed, a smile spreading across her face. She stepped forward extending arms for a hug under the assumption that the man would be fine with it considering she had last seen him wearing a leather harness. "What brings you to the resort at this hour?"

It was an unnecessary question -- she knew that Captain Kodak was set to move in to his new suite today -- and yet she couldn't help the inquiry all the same.

Andrew reciprocated the warm hug for a few seconds before separating. "Actually, I was just heading back to my apartment. I have work in the morning and I need to be sure to get some sleep first." Given the circumstances of their last meeting, he figured she'd have a good idea of why he may not get much sleep if he stayed at the resort.

"How have you been?" Andrew asked, but rather than waiting for a response he grinned and added "Are you managing to be a guest?"

A strange look crossed the Risian's features--something between discomfort and sadness--before her face cleared. "I don't know if managing to be is the right word. It's hard to truly be a guest when you grew up in a place."

Shaking off a lingering feeling of uncertainty and resuming her earlier grin, she considered the time. IT was certainly getting later, but it wasn't yet late. "It's not too terribly late yet. Any interest in a quick drink before you head home if I promise not to keep you up?"

"I'm just teasing," Andrew said with a smile. "I can't imagine how strange that must feel for you." He couldn't imagine what it would be like to grow up in a place as grand as this either. The resort was still largely unfamiliar to him, but the offer of a drink sounded good and he was eager to learn more about the people in Björn's life. "I could go for a drink or two, which bar do you recommend?"

The younger woman thought a moment, considering their options. It was early enough that no one place would be terribly crowded, but late enough to make leaving the resort a little less desirable. After a moment she settled on the tiki bar she had taken to frequenting after an amusing run in with Sheldon Parsons and Tamblem Dravor shortly after their arrival.

"There's a great beachside tiki bar," she explained. "I've been enjoying the ambiance there lately. It's outside and the drinks are good. Shall we?"

Taking Andrew's arm, she led him out of the building and down a series of walk ways until they found themselves facing the beach. A long thatched room overhung a bar surrounded by tall chairs and then ringed by tables. Irynya navigated them to an open table making sure to signal the bartender to send one before she sat.

"So..." she began, trying to think of an appropriate conversation starter for a man who was clearly her superior officer's lover, ".. what do you do here on Risa?"

"It's conservation work mainly," Andrew summarized. "The Federation is leaning on the Risian Hedony to increase the number of visitors that the planet can host, but the weather control systems here are set for the comfort of the guests and that isn't ideal for the native flora and fauna. The two sides reached a compromise position in which the Federation would provide additional scientific resources to Risa to assess the environmental impact of creating new resorts and expanding existing ones. I'm one of those resources."

The waiter appeared almost as though he knew Andrew would finish his sentence at that very moment. "Good evening, may I bring you some drinks?" he asked with a warm smile.

"A Singapore Sling, please," Irynya ordered.

"I'll have a Mai Tai please," Andrew smiled back at the waiter. He'd developed a taste for rum recently, ever since sharing a bottle at Björn's villa.

As the waiter disappeared in the direction of the bar, Andrew's attention focused back on Irynya. "So what's your role on the ship?"

Irynya fiddled with a small pile of bar napkins sitting next to them, a small knot twisting in her stomach at the question. It wasn't that she was embarrassed at the answer, but every time she thought about her position pictures of space-frozen Vidiian's floating across the viewscreen appeared in her mind's eye. Her doing. Necessary, but her doing.

"I'm the Secondary Flight Controller," she explained. "Which is a fancy way of saying I fly the ship." She picked up the stack of napkins tapping the bottoms against the bar to shift them into a perfect pile before setting them back down. "Lieutenant Timmoz is Chief Flight Controller. I don't think he's planetside yet, but I'm sure you'll meet him at some point. I'm one of the Second Stringers." She used air quotes as she spoke the moniker. "Kind of like second shift. We take over when the main folks need a break or are off on a mission."

Their drinks arrived then and she took a sip, savoring the unusual cherry liquor mixed with the herbal benedictine. "Has Captain Kodak shared much about the Adelphi with you?"

"He told me what happened with the Vidiians, yeah." Andrew broke eye contact for a few moments as he replied, chastising himself for the careless line of questioning. It felt natural to ask the same question in return, but he'd been told about that precisely so that he could be careful. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up. It must have been traumatic."

He took a long sip of his drink and waited to see if she would prefer a different subject.

Setting her drink down Irynya turned to make sure her body language telegraphed the kind of openness she wanted to convey to the man. She could only imagine what it must feel like meeting a group of people who had been through an ordeal and, when wanting to get to know them, also worrying about stepping on landmines worth of subject matter.

"It's really ok," she replied. "I don't mind talking about it. I just didn't want to cause alarm if you didn't know much about it yet."

She picked up her drink and sipped again. "Traumatic is a good word for it," she continued after a moment. "I was lucky not to come in direct contact with any of the Vidiians although I know some of our crew definitely did." Pausing for another sip before she continued, she offered Andrew a small sad smile. "I piloted the ship that disabled the ones chasing us. It was a question of their lives or ours and, in the end, that math had to line up in favor of us. So we did what we had to do."

"It sounds like you have some impressive piloting skills," he complimented. "Astrodynamics just makes my head hurt."

Andrew toyed with his glass, swirling the liquid inside. It occurred to him that she had chosen to leave this idyllic place for something that sounded more than a little risky. "So what's it like to live out there, on a ship full time? I mean, does that kind of thing happen often?"

Irynya paused, sipping her drink slowly to consider her response. There were so many different ways she could answer there she wasn't quite sure where to start. "It's not that common among Risians, no," she began thoughtfully. "I'm far from the first Risian in Starfleet, but most of our people don't have the same... wanderlust that other races have." Staring down at her hands she pursed her lips. "It's funny because shipboard life is both extremely intimate-you're around the same people all of the time and you can't just go somewhere else to get away for a bit. It's very familial--complete with strong disagreements, clashing personalities, and deep rooted support for each other despite any differences we face."

She looked up from her drink to glance at her companion. "I wouldn't trade it for anything," she stated simply, her conviction echoing in her voice. "I will always love Risa and it will always be where I come from. But the stars... my ship... that's home."

Andrew had finished his drink whilst listening intently to Irynya describing her home. It wasn't that late yet, but he was still a long way from his apartment and he knew he should be leaving if he was going to get that decent night of sleep that he'd been promising himself.

"It's about time that I should be heading back," he said, almost apologetically. "It really was great running into you again."

They both stood up from the table and shared a warm hug before parting ways. Andrew left Irynya exchanging pleasantries with the Risians working in the bar as he entered the resort building again and made for the main door.

It wasn't a long walk to the main plaza on the island, and usually he'd be enjoying the cool breeze cutting through the tropical air and the sound of the native birds singing to each other in the trees lining the path. Andrew's thoughts were elsewhere though. Meeting Björn's crew had felt like meeting someone's family, and now to hear Irynya describe her crewmates as family and the ship as her home reinforced the point that this place wasn't Björn's home. They'd become close and he'd pushed that fact into the back of his mind to try to ignore it. It was easy to do since they didn't actually have a ship at the moment, or even know when they would have one next, but every so often a reminder came up that one day Björn, Irynya and the rest of the crew would all be leaving Risa behind, and him along with it.

The main plaza was quiet at this time of night and Andrew realized that he'd paid no attention to his surroundings for the entire walk there. The day he was concerned about was still at some indeterminate point in the future and he did his best to clear such thoughts from his mind as he stepped up onto the transporter pad.

"Suraya Bay," he commanded and then disappeared in a field of sparkling energy.

=/\= A joint post by... =/\=

Lieutenant JG Irynya
Secondary Flight Controller, Unassigned

and

Doctor Andrew Munro
Biologist, Federation Science Council