A Little More About You
Posted on Wed Jan 22nd, 2020 @ 1:55pm by Lieutenant Dessame Sar
Mission:
Character Development
Location: Mess Hall, Deck 2
Timeline: 1700 Hours
1320 words - 2.6 OF Standard Post Measure
It was late afternoon, maybe around 1700 so really it was nearly the evening but Dessame was coming off shift after running some drills with her personnel. She preached fitness to lead to a clear and focused mind, which usually led to positive results.
She was famished and entered the mess hall for a meal. Usually if she got so into her work she forgot to eat, so therefore lunch had been a casualty today. Heading over to the replicators she ordered a Betazoid vegetarian salad and water. The tray materialised and she looked for somewhere to sit.
Usually she would sit by herself, she liked her own company and there was no expectation of conversation that led to awkward silences and such. However, her therapist had been urging her to push herself into more 'social' situations and she had noticed the Chief of Science, Lieutenant Mortigar, sitting by himself near the window. He was staring out as if lost in his thoughts.
They were both new, both senior officers, and she had never met an Evoran before. A part of her was curious.
She took a deep breath before walking over, psyching herself up for this. She cleared her throat, "Is this seat taken Lieutenant?" she asked.
The vocalisation, seemingly out of nowhere, brought Mortigar back to reality. He turned his head and blinked at the woman, whom he didn’t know. “Oh! Where are my manners?” He asked, somewhat rhetorically, then stood up. “Please join me. I’m Mortigar although most people call me ‘Morty’. I don’t believe we’ve met...” he observed.
"Thank you, 'Morty'." Dessame replied awkwardly, she didn't really like nicknames but she would give it a go. "I am Dessame, it's nice to meet you." she said sitting down then watching as he did the same. "I must say I have never met a member of your species before."
That wasn’t surprising. “There are very few of my people in Starfleet,” he told her. “Maybe a dozen or less. I don’t recall the exact number. Evora is one of the Federation’s newer members. I think that it may take a generation or two before you see more of us on these starships.” Mortigar poked at his own leafy salad and ate what was on his fork.
"I think my people joined around 2273 if I remember my lessons well." She answered, then took a bite of her own salad. "It is always nice to see other species join Starfleet, and I find new species interesting to talk too as well. I am sure you have different views on a lot of things." She said thinking of the Orions once more. "Can I ask what made you join? If it is too personal I understand."
Mortigar smiled. "Not at all. I don't mind sharing," he told her. He then considered his answer for a moment. "I suppose that my primary reason for joining Starfleet was to discover the truths that the universe keeps mostly to itself. Even when first contact occurred between the Federation and my people, there were many Evorans who simply could not grasp that we weren't the only beings in existence. To this day there are still some who think all of this is a hoax... some kind of simulation being run by a higher power." The Lieutenant chuckled light. "I have always been a lot less stubborn than my kin."
"Wouldn't it be funny if it did turn out to be the biggest hoax of all?" she asked rhetorically. There was a small part of her that didn't really believe in the ideals that Starfleet were so outspoken about. She was more cynical than most, not as light as other Betazoids tended to be. "What if Starfleet only tell you the truths they want you to know?" She asked once more then taking a leaf from the bowl below and eating it. Looking at the man she smiled a little. "Sorry, a little too dark for this time in the evening."
The Evoran shrugged. If they couldn’t speak of such things now, when would be the right time? “This is why I love science,” Mortigar offered. “There are no.... half-truths. Something is either correct, or not. Realistically, it is inevitable that Starfleet will keep some information from us for whatever reason they deem necessary. I suppose that we simply have to deal with whatever comes our way.” Then, a thought occurred to the Lieutenant. “Do you doubt their sincerity?” He asked the woman.
"Not their sincerity, maybe their interests. Their 'curiosity'. " Dessame replied rather cryptically. "In the past 40 years Starfleet has engaged in skirmishes, posturing and wars with the Klingons, Romulans, Dominion, Borg, Breen, and Cardassians. Human ideals rule their thinking I believe most of the time, they go with their hearts and not their heads. If we hadn't pushed to much through the DS9 wormhole we could have avoided war, which in turn may have kept us cool with the Klingons and we would not have fought most of the races I mentioned. Starfleet can poke its nose in places it shouldn't in the name of exploration." she paused for a moment feeling like all she was doing was bad-mouthing them.
"Do not take me for a cynic Morty. I am grateful for them, they saved people on my home colony when it was destroyed. They do good work, help a lot of people and have given me some purpose I didn't expect to find."
“Hmmmm.” The Lieutenant ate a bunch of leaves as he contemplated Dessame’s words. “I believe the hearts of Starfleet’s best and brightest are in the right place. To my knowledge, Starfleet has never sought out armed conflict with anyone. It is as you inferred, whether intentionally or not, that peace cannot be achieved without risk to ourselves."
"True, Starfleet is not a military organisation so therefore they do not seek combat or any aggressive stance on things. I believe in that, that we should avoid conflict at all costs. Conflict has already cost me so much and I know the effects it can have."
"You won't get any argument from me," said the Evoran. "This may sound a little selfish but less fighting means more science. I think we could all use some more of that in our lives!" Mortigar chuckled and ate another forkful of his salad.
"Means less work for me too." Dessame said with a little laugh. "So by all means be as selfish in that respect all you want. I was never one for science, academically. I passed my classes but I don't think the subject took to me." She admitted. "I do believe it has immense value though, otherwise we wouldn't be sitting here, two different species on another species vessel whilst being a part of a galactic organisation."
“Of course,” Morty agreed. “Without it, neither of us would be here. Our peoples would not have made first contact with Starfleet.” He then pointed to Dessame’s coloured tunic with his fork. “I take it that you’re not in engineering then. Perhaps security?”
"Chief of Security yes." Dessame offered. "I am also guessing from the way you talked about science that you are in fact our new Chief of Science?" She asked knowing the answer. As he had said, there were not many Evorans in Starfleet and she had done a little homework.
“Your guess would be correct,” he answered. Mortigar then extended his hand towards the woman opposite him. “A pleasure to meet you.”
"And you." He was an interesting man, definitely not shy in expressing his thoughts and feelings on a subject. She liked that in a person, honesty. She continued to eat her meal and occasionally stared out to the stars as the moved on by.
Lieutenant Dessame Sar
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
Lieutenant Mortigar
Chief Science Officer
