Red Worlders Collide

Posted on Mon May 31st, 2021 @ 4:14pm by Lieutenant Nir Giorgiou & Ensign Ezra Gonzalez

Mission: The Place of Skulls
Location: Cabin 502; Deck 5
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 1240

[Cabin 502]
[Deck 5]
[1240 Hours]

The time was ticking, the press of the Bridge meeting at 1300 hours loomed. For such a small ship, it seemed that bureaucracy moved as slowly. There was chaos: it was clear that the last of the crew were wrangling to get aboard. Stewards took flatbeds of personal effects, dropping off at what felt like nearly every other door. Nir Giorgiou passed more than one officer or crewperson in a heated exchange about their quarters, or their personal items, or their particular needs.

He knew he'd taken a wrong turn when he began passing through an Enlisted area which was somehow more sedate, possibly even more organized. Maybe it was because they were used to sharing space with one another while the officers were in a new situation.

The quarters he'd been issued were a mix-up. He knew he was rooming with some kid, but the assigned door tag was for N. Oliveria and Timmoz. Cabin 502. And the Quartermaster hadn't yet seen any paperwork about them coming aboard but acknowledged it was "amiss." Nir had been tempted to sweep into some quarters, stake a claim to a sonic shower and a replicator, and sort it all out later.

He finally chose to make his intrusion on what was supposedly his quarters but weren't. He stepped inside. The walls of the small common area had several crates, all emblazoned with "Property of Starfleet Quartermaster and Supply." But he didn't immediately see or hear people. "Good enough," he thought, shouldering off his toolkit satchel.

Nir unzipped his one-piece and shrugged it off, its bunched top hanging at his waist. Then off came the black shirt marked, "TSIM" across the chest. He stepped inside the bath and finished off. He sidled into the small sonic shower. "Max setting, ebb flow," he said. He punched the disc at the center of the panel. He braced his hands on the wall as the lights shifted to a completely bathing, washing out turquoise blue. He felt the ebbing oscillation begin at his head and then begin to warble against his back and front simultaneously.

The press of time was still so acute though and Nir reluctantly punched the center disc again. The lights right from its bathing cool-shift and Nir stepped out. He approached the garment replicator. "Trunks. Size medium-tall. Plain." The computer chirped. "Uniform, standard one-piece. 43-33-34, relaxed. Operations." The computer chirped again as Nir pulled the black trunks from the alcove and pulled them up his legs. He seized the uniform, its shape materialized folded. In his other hand, his dirty uniform. He stepped out of the bathroom.

"Oh I'm sorry Sir." Nir froze. He looked up to a pair of steward yeomen carrying a case. "We're just finishing up." Nir looked at the chrono.

"No problem. This must be my roommate's gear." Nir said. The Yeomen looked at each other.

"Oh... this is marked 'to storage.' We thought." The Benzite said, fog pouring from her chest device and nostrils. Nir's eyes narrowed some as the doors opened again with a wash of cold air against Nir's skin. "Here, see. Contents of Cabin 502, to Quartermaster storage." The Benzite had taken a moment to fish out her PADD and handed it to the man. Nir tossed his dirty uniform on the crates behind and tucked the new uniform under an arm. He briefly made eye contact with the person in the doorway.

Ezra stopped in his tracks as he came across the scene. He looked back and forth between the three strangers, then took a couple of steps backward to check the room number.

"Oh. Um...I...think someone must have gotten confused. Th-this is 502, right? I was told I was being put in here, but...the tag says this is Timmoz and Nico's room." Another look around, then Ezra broke eye contact and whispered to himself, "No one in this room is green."

After what he realized was an uncomfortably long and awkward silence, Ezra looked up again and announced, "I...don't know...what to do now."

Nir's brows rose with some surprise, "Green?" He glanced again at the PADD. "We'll get this sorted out later. Please continue," Nir said to the Yeomen. "If N. Oliveria and Timmoz show up, we'll move again." The Yeomen went into motion, relieved, while Nir stepped back and removed his hardware from his dirty uniform. Pooled in his hand, he took the garment and dropped it into the replicator. He stabbed a key with a pinky and it re-claimed the matter in a fading whirl. Nir spoke from the open bathroom door. "You wouldn't happen to be Gonzalez would you?"

"Ensign, yes, that's me," Ezra said, twiddling his fingers and taking a couple of small steps into the room.

Suddenly realizing what rank the other man was when he pulled the pips off his discarded uniform, Ezra immediately stiffened and came to attention. "Lieutenant! You're-you're a...I'm so sorry, Sir. I apologize for my comment about being green, Sir. I didn't realize you were a superior officer at first. It's just that Lieutenant T-Timmoz is an Orion, Sir, so I just thought that--I'm sorry."

He pulled a face that was somewhere between a wince and a cringe. Great...only a few hours into my first day and I've already blown my mouth off with a torpedo.

It was Nir's turn to pull a face- his not a rictus of tension, but a mark of irreverence, "Relax, Gonzalez," he shook his head while he began the process of threading legs into his jumpsuit and then pulling it up to do the same with his arms. "If you go as stiff as stone every time I walk in this room, you're gonna develop back problems," Nir eyed him. "I'm Giorgiou. I'm not a Red-cuff. I'm an Engineer." Nir did up his one-piece and reached for his pips. "These don't mean much to me." He added as he began to clasp them on.

Ezra relaxed. "Oh. Um, I'm a scientist. Archeology, anthropology, cultural history...I'll probably be pretty busy, so I'll try to stay out of your way as much as possible."

Taking note of which side of the room Nir was coming from, Ezra indicated the other. "I, uh, I guess that'll be me. Oh, um...I'm autistic, so there's a good chance that I might do or say some weird things. Just...thought you should be aware."

"Alright," Nir said with a nod, feeling the pressure of time. He got fully dressed. "Choose a room, I'll take the other. And if Timmoz and Nico come asking where their stuff is, tell them to ask the Quartermaster," he said. Nir rolled up and fastened his sleeves at the elbow.

Ezra nodded and turned toward the room he had indicated. After having his bags beamed into the room, he first got situated by unpacking his favorite decorations and knickknacks and arranging them on the shelves. After taking a few more looks around the room, he felt that it was decorated to his satisfaction and sat down on the bed. He took a long, deep breath. This ship was...small. A lot smaller than Adelphi. That would take some getting used to.

A Post By

Lieutenant Nir Giorgiou
Chief Engineer

Ensign Ezra Gonzalez
Anthropologist