Eight-Pack

Posted on Thu Oct 10th, 2024 @ 12:00am by Lieutenant Irynya & Ensign Noah Balsam & Lieutenant JG Sheldon Parsons & Ensign Tamblem Dravor

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: Deck 5, Dormitory 5-01
Timeline: Mission Day 5 at 1900

[Dormitory 5-01]
[Deck Five near Security, Armory and Brig]
[1900 Hours, Day 5]

"The communal showers and bathrooms are on the other side of the dorm-" a loud beep echoed in the narrow and utilitarian feeling corridor. Crewman Turnbull was guiding the displaced Lieutenant JG Irynya, Ensign Sheldon Parsons and Ensign Noah Balsam along with his superior officer, Tamblem Dravor. The door was a heavy double door, like a cargo door in miniature. It slid open more slowly than the door to 4-13. And before the door had completely opened, a Bolian sidled through and stopped.

He wore a yellow uniform and had a phaser on his hip, much like Turnbull did. It was indicative of where the displaced were assigned: these were a Security dorm. "Ah, you must be the temporaries," the Bolian stated with a shiver of nervous energy. It looked like he wanted to say, Don't touch my stuff.. What he said was, "You're assigned to the starboard and port cubicles on the other side. Near the bathrooms." His eyes shifted to the nearer of the double cubbies to their right- likely his spot. "Welcome." And the Bolian departed quickly.

"That's Chell. He sleeps above me. Over here are Ratal and Wells." Turnbull gestured. "Garment replicators are in the shower zone, we have to share with the Engineering Dorm on the other side of the showers. They have their own garment replicators." Turnbull held their breath, "Uh, no replicators here, we usually get our chow in the Mess. Not Gless' Mess, the other one. The common rec area is on deck six, one floor down."

Irynya, the only woman of the incoming bunch, was at the back of the group. She'd been following along quietly--unusually so for her--and although her gait seemed relaxed, there was a line of tension in her that would only really be picked up by someone who knew her well. She had missed Timmoz terribly throughout the day--finding herself at a loss when it came to juggling the ridiculousness of things and also the job that she was currently doing. His job. It had been the kind of thing that she'd have gone to him to talk about... to think about. The kind of thing that she might have gone to him for help on. She'd been half tempted to go sit by him in stasis when they'd gotten her cleaned up and evaluated enough that she was allowed out of the containment field.

"Thanks," she'd said softly as the Bolian brushed past her, his notable scent pricking at her nostrils for a few moments after he had departed.

Technically, Dravor didn't need to be displaced like the other three, but with the others now having a vacancy, he had switched, displacing himself. The Trill wondered how Sheldon would react since he had yet to consult the engineer, but there was no doubt that he would know in the next few minutes. As the other three no doubt expected, he was about to return to his quarters. He opened a locker and tossed a duffel bag, Dravor written on the front, onto a top bunk, turning to face the others, but Sheldon he locked onto, "Uh, Surprise, roomies, and dibs on the top bunk."

Noah had quietly sidled inside with the other displaced from his unit as well as Dravor. Dravor's inclusion had initially made Noah wonder if they were in some sort of quarantine- a possibly eclipsed when Turnbull had turned up and started showing them around what would be their eight-person hallway-like dorm. Now Noah quietly put his bag of supplies on the other top bunk. He was still heavily processing what had happened and kept reaching to touch what had been his torn nostril and broken nose. It hurt- or better to describe, it felt sore. It it felt like it had. At least... he was thinking it did.

Noah looked about. He desperately wanted to go home. They had not been allowed to collect anything of personal import. And the last time Noah had seen any semblance of his home, Sheldon and Dravor's fighting the Peters-creature had heavily damaged the interior bulkhead that directly serviced Noah's personal space. As Turnbull nodded- with a special nod to Dravor as comrade in arms- and took his leave, Noah just stared into space.

Irynya was the first of the group to actually register Dravor's comment through the haze of WTF that still coursed through her. She was much calmer now and, though the panic she'd felt that morning still licked around the edges of her mind, it wasn't in control. And Dravor's comment was unquestionably a good distraction. Not bothering to care which bunk she was taking she dropped her bags by one wall and walked across to wrap the Trill in a hug. "Yay," she exclaimed, grinning as she did, though her usually bubbly intensity was more subdued than usual. "When did this happen?"

Noah looked on, glancing at Sheldon in an attempt to gauge how his fellow engineer felt about this arrangement. He sidled a little closer to the taller engineer and nudged him in the ribs. They'd shared dinner boxes from Debbie's and a movie only a couple of hours ago. And had a nice roommate to roommate, friend to friend talk. Noah grinned like an idiot wingman hovering at the side of his friend wanting to go in for the flirt.

Tamblem nibbled on his lip, shrugging his shoulders toward Iry, "About an hour ago. My bunkmate recently got pretty serious with one of the Mahoney twins, so I offered to switch," His cheeks flushed slightly as his story left out how he elected not to take the swapie's room, and he couldn't avoid a glance toward the engineer. "I hope you all don't mind me crashing the party," he chuckled, albeit a bit more nervously than the Trill had expected he would.

"No," Noah looked at Sheldon, "No I-I don't think anyone minds... right Shelly?"

Before the reveal, Sheldon had been taking in the reality of their current situation. While dinner and a geek sesh had been healing, suddenly being in the midst of a busy lower deck bunking berth was starting to set in. There were various people walking around in various states of dress, all moving here or there with a sense of purpose: they were on mission, whether professional or personal. But Shelly, Iry, and Noah-y were unmoored and adrift and the idea of living amongst the chaos down here wasn't something the engineer felt comfortable with. He didn't even have his anxiety-relieving unicorn slippers: one had been near-dissolved by that lime-green ooze while the other, coated in a mixture of the goop and his own blood, had been bagged and tagged for study in Sickbay.

As Noah verbally nudged him, though, Shelly came out of his mind palace -- where he dwelled alone with his deeper thoughts -- and looked at the stick bug with confusion. "Hmm?" he asked, eyes glazed over with distraction even as his mind worked to feed him data on the discussion his ears had heard but his brain hadn't been processed yet. As the data buffered and caught up, the notion of Dravor swapping rooms and joining their pod finally registered, though, and Shelly's eyes widened with a mixture of panic and, somehow, delight?

"Y-y-you're going to live with us?" the engineer asked, wildly looking to Iry for a port in the storm. "We're still sharing a room though, right? Or ar-are we sharing then?" he asked, gaze turning to Dravor. He sounded decidedly stuck between having the security blanket of sharing a space with a platonic friend vs. the thrilling but much scarier notion of moving in with a crush; a crush Sheldon hadn't even fully admitted to himself in terms of just how much he liked the Trill. He caught Noah's grin and suddenly made the weirdest of noises with his mouth: the shifting breaths of air approximated the sounds the robots had made two hours prior -- the noises they specifically made before changing forms and getting hell out of dodge. Panic had, apparently, set in.

Noah smiled at his friend- because he has been here more times than he cared to count. He caught the hint. "OK, Autobots transform... but... "He leaned over, "You're Optimus Prime, b-bud. You'll get back to Cybertron soon. You j-just have to spend a few nights with the um..." And there Noah's simile was falling apart. His brows knitted. There wasn't much in the way of love stories in what had turned out to be a probably-children's TV show. Ok he needed to reroute. "You-you already beat Megatron," he added, less certainly, about the mutagenic creature, his gaze shifting to Dravor and Irynya. "And and... well... nnnow you get some time with uh. The um." He looked at Dravor and smiled. "With the Matrix. Which'll make you stronger. As a reward." Noah's brows rose, much of this whispered between them.

Turnbull looked on and at Dravor. He kept his thoughts to himself and the context was almost completely absent. But all he could figure out was that the two engineers... were a couple of weirdos. "Ok, well, I'll leave you all to it." They clapped their hands together, "Excuse me," and he sidled through the crowd and out.

Noah smiled warmly at his friend. "D-do you need to talk outside for a moment?" He asked his fellow engineer. Noah understood- he had his own issues with anxiety.

Shelly had used Turnbull's departure to regroup some, in addition -- of course -- to the helpfulness of Noah's likening this situation to Optimus defeating Megatron and then getting to meditate into the Matrix of Leadership and commune with past Autobot leaders. In a way, that was comforting: like lowering into a hot bath and being with your thoughts for awhile before re-engaging in the outside world again. He focused on breathing deeply while conversation flowed around them.

Irynya considered herself fairly versed in geek references after living with Sheldon and Noah as long as she had, but this one eluded her to some degree. She eyed them both, sensing there was something more than simple cartoon references going on. Sheldon's rising alarm was also obvious to her and she couldn't help the tight hopefulness she felt in his direction. Yes... this was new... and also alarming... but in a good way. Or at least she thought it was the good way. Kind of like having a dry mouth and sweaty palms the first time you meet up with someone you were really really attracted to. Only... they were staying the night... for the forseeable future.

Ok... she had to admit her comparison fell apart pretty quickly and, since she didn't quite know how to engage with the two engineers she turned and grinned at Dravor, smile brightening a bit more. "Umm... I'll keep my bunk in Sheldon's room if you don't mind," she said companionably. Something niggled at the back of her mind. A question about whether that was really what Sheldon wanted. And equally some unformed urge toward having the ability to snuggle up with Noah less publicly. Not that she had any intention of doing more than cuddling, but there was something about not worrying about anyone else that appealed to her. Why hadn't that thought crossed her mind before?

This... no matter what... was not the time and so instead of giving that line of thinking any mind she leaned into Dravor, bumping him with her shoulder as she waited for his reaction.

"Hey, I'm fine to bunk with Noah once we all return to our room," he smirked towards Shelly but turned to look back at Noah and scratched his head. "Who's Optimus Prime, again? Look, you guys know I can't keep all these superior heroes separate. Is he one of those Justice League guys?" Dravor had tried, but he was new to hobbies that didn't involve the gym, and he had admitted he'd somewhat enjoyed the top-of-table stuff he had been roped into so far.

"Leader of the Autobots," Noah began. "Uh b-but its an ancient animation from the twentieth century that some archivists on Earth uh just released to a forum I'm part of." He looked at Shelly, then Dravor, then Irynya. "From when I was at Ishikawa Station. Sort of a club... we find old archives and try to restore them. You know." Noah shrugged. "Everybody was all concerned making sure Bach and DaVinci survived the Post Atomic Horror. But wha-what about Rick Astley and the Thundercats."

Noah shrugged after a moment. "Not... not that Mr. Astley compared to Bach exactly in.. uhh you know... skill, bu-but he had a cultural trope that endured for a long time. A few decades. Almost up until World War III." He glanced at Sheldon, "Though. I guess? The acting in Thundercats is terrible... though." His mouth skewed, "Not everything in an archive is worth restoring. I guess." Noah nodded and sealed his mouth into a line, "OK, ramble over...." he rocked back on his heels. "I'll go... unpack." The lanky one shifted away, yawning and subconsciously touching his nose to somehow assure that Jens had fixed it to its original specs.

Tamblem blinked as Noah padded away, unsure if he knew any more than he did before the explanation, "Autobots?" He mouthed quietly, shaking his head. He wondered, "What were they automating?" He turned to his bunk to unpack. Now, Rick Astley, he remembered Noah mentioning earlier and playing his music. A few of his songs had made it onto Dravor's workout playlist. His mind drifted off to the song, absentmindedly, "Mm-mm, mm-mm, mm-mm-mm-mm, never gonna give you up..."

In the tradition of people who sense rabid enthusiasm, but know only enough about the topic to be slightly dangerous, Irynya listened to Noah's explanation with a grin... and a slightly vacant expression. Not that she wasn't listening, but her mind was still stuck back on the question about whether Sheldon might want Dravor in his room. There were privacy considerations there too. And she wanted Sheldon to have them if that was even something on his mind. On the other hand maybe she was well and thoroughly overthinking. It wasn't until both Noah and Dravor turned aside to settle the few belongings they had with them that Iry turned her attention directly to Sheldon.

With Dravor's focus at least not directly on him his deer caught in headlights posture had relaxed into rabbit holding very still in case the noise it heard was a predator. She closed the couple feet between them and tucked herself against his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in the way you might drape a blanket over yourself... or position a mannequiin. "Ok?" she asked quietly, peering up at him from her new position under his arm.

"Mostly?" Shelly quietly meeped and squeaked back. He'd been relieved to hear Irynya say she would still room with him. While the idea of swapping Dravor in for her was alluring from a certain standpoint, living with a romantic interest before you were ready could sometimes be disastrous. But he also felt a little guilty keeping Iry from easier access to Noah. He was happy for them and the relationship path it felt like they were on but, selfishly, Iry was The Shelly Whisperer. She could read him better than anyone -- even Noah -- and somehow, like in this very moment, always knew when he needed a soft comment here or a gentle push there. He couldn't rely on her as a crutch, though. It wasn't fair. "Thanks for staying with me, Iry. Means a lot," he said before nudging her back and moving to start unpacking as well.

Noah's voice rose with a note of exhausted uncertainty. "I-I have an idea... for some R&R for us. M-maybe invite Sickbay along. And Deb because..." He paused. "Um, Deb. I just need a few days to finish the programming..."

"Oh?" Shelly asked in response, turning back from the bunk he'd been assigned. "If it's Thundercats-related, I call Tygra. His invisibility whip would be amazing," the engineer commented as he continued to unpack.

Noah's eyes rounded like that was an even better idea, his mouth forming an Oh. "I-I'd call one of the twins. But no. Um. I was thinking..." And Noah dropped- somewhat inelegantly- into a battle ready stance as if he was holding some kind of sword. And then he made a, "Fzzzzz...." sound like something was activated. "You can't win, Darth...."

Comfortable that Sheldon was at least mostly ok Irynya had also turned to unpacking, but at Noah's shift into... what was that... a crouch? No... not low enough... whatever that pose could be called, she had turned to watch both amused and intrigued. She cottoned on to what he was doing when he said Darth. She didn't know much about this particular bit of Earth lore, but she remembered Darth... something... was a bad guy of a sort. Still curious she turned her back to her bunk, leaning backward so her butt rested on the bed and crossed her arms.

"I'm not exactly sure what this," she grinned, "is, but I'm in."

=/\= Roomie News With =/\=

Lieutenant Junior Grade Irynya
Acting Chief Flight Controller

Ensign Sheldon Cooper
Engineer

Ensign Noah Balsam
Systems Specialist

Ensign Tamblem Dravor
Security Officer