Star Trek Iliad: Early Morning Conversation

[Silverbird]

Stardate 56948.24
Turbolift 1

“Deck 9.”

T’Vara placed a hand gently against the wall of the turbolift and closed her eyes, letting its steady hum wash over her as it began its descent. It was the Vulcan’s custom to wake early each day, and today was no different in that regard, but this morning she felt a little unsteady, ill-rested. To her surprise she actually slept quite on her first night aboard the starship — deeper than she would have liked, actually — but despite that, the feeling persisted.

Perhaps it was simply the lingering after-effects of the previous night’s activities. The Vulcan’s eyes, when she opened them, were still a little bloodshot — tinged green, rather than the human red — and there were slight, dark shadows beneath them. On the other hand, it may have been apprehension over the conversation the Vulcan was preparing to have — though she thought that was unlikely.

The turbolift reached its destination, the doors whooshed open, and T’Vara took a moment to adjust her uniform before stepping through. She’d just showered before departing, and was dressed once more in her new uniform, freshly cleaned and pressed, which the captain had not yet seen her in. She stopped in front of the entrance to her friend’s quarters and paused for another moment, then squared her shoulders and pressed the buzzer.

Between their sudden departure and the state of the ship, T’Vara hadn’t found time to speak with Captain Nellis properly the previous day. This would be their first real opportunity since his graduation.

@east

 

[east]

Nellis awoke slowly, a groan escaped him as he heard the buzzer go off. He hadn't expected any company yet, and he was a bit scrambled. He hadn't even gotten himself together for a sonic shower and now he had company. The night had been a bit of a late one. It wasn't exactly a peaceful rest, but he had slept for a while at least. Getting out of bed wasn't exactly painful, but he had to be quick and throw together something decent.

"One moment." He shouted groggily as he got to his feet, and tried to get himself up and somewhat decent, giving his face a quick splash of water from the sink in his bathroom to help himself wake up.

He couldn't hide the fact that he had just woken up completely. He was answering the door in his Pajamas and was a bit surprised to see T'Vara at the door. He smiled at his old friend and gestured for her to come in. "Please make yourself comfortable, what brings you to my quarters so early? Do you drink coffee? I think my Replicator can handle that... it seems to boil everything I order."

That had been the reason that he had been down in the mess hall at a late hour trying to fix a public replicator, there was now one place he knew he could get his morning supply of sugary goodness. "It's been a while T'Vara, and it's good to see you again."

 

[Silverbird]

It came as no surprise to T’Vara that she’d caught the Captain before he’d awoke. It was consistent with the person she’d known back at the Academy. The door muffled the noises from inside well enough that even her sensitive Vulcan hearing couldn’t tell exactly what he was doing, but it was easy enough to guess. With little option but to wait, T’Vara did so, apparently patiently, with her hands clasped behind her back. She was still standing that way, in an almost formal military pose, when the door slid open to reveal the captain in his pajamas.

“Good morning, Captain,” she greeted him flatly. It wasn’t a particular warm greeting from an old friend, but then, hers rarely were. She accepted his invitation to enter the room with a slight nod, stepping carefully past him to enter the room without making contact. Despite his words, however, she did not really make herself comfortable; rather, she found a place to stand near the centre of the room, lingering somewhat awkwardly with her hands still clasped behind her back.

“I was hoping that we might talk,” she said, but despite saying that, she fell silent a moment later — reluctant to get to the point that had actually brought her here. It was illogical, she knew. For a moment she cast her eyes wordlessly across his quarters, landing on the messy bed visible through the doorway. They lingered there, until the Captain brought up coffee in his bustling, welcoming manner.

“A coffee would be pleasant,” she replied, looking towards him with another nod. “Aesan, if the replicator has a pattern for it. I assume ‘cold’ is out of reach, so… ‘boiled’ will be sufficient.”

That said, the Vulcan lapsed into an uncomfortable silence again. When the Captain mentioned that it was good to see her, T’Vara gave only a slight nod in response and looked away again, this time to a space on his wall which was clearly intended to hold some kind of art centerpiece, but so far was unadorned.

“Captain…” she said at last. Her tone was even as usual, but somehow more controlled than usual — and almost hesitant. Reluctant. There was no logical sense in putting it off further. “Was it your decision to make me the chief science officer of this vessel? Or was that choice imposed upon you by Starfleet?”

 

[east]

Having learned how to fix a replicator last night he knew that trying to get the thing to work would take an hour, it wasn't worth it when he knew where there was one that would work. Ordering T'Vara's coffee the liquid was still boiling for a moment, so he decided to leave it where it had been spawned for the time being. To let it cool off.

He nodded when T'Vara said she wanted to talk, and watched her drift into silence, and only after what felt like painful minutes did she actually talk.

"It is a touch or two more complex than that." All things in life were. He sat down on the sofa giving a slight yawn as he tried to shake the tiredness from his body. It was kind of impossible to tell what she wanted to hear that she had been assigned or if he had chosen her, but he knew her well enough to know that the truth was usually a good answer.

"Starfleet gave me a top five for my chief science officer. I reviewed their names and files, and yours was number three on the list. The others were fine, and had dissimilar skill sets but I had the added benefit of working with you in the past. It pushed your resume to the top of the pile." Nellis tried to be clinical with his recalling of events. He tried to put it as cleanly as he could.

"I didn't go out of my way to request you, but I jumped at the opportunity to work with you again. So I'd say the answer to that question is... yes." As all things in starfleet it was a little of colum a, and a bit of colum 2. No one decision was ever made by a singular person star fleet loved its review committees.

"Was nepotism your main concern in coming here this morning?" Nellis gave her a smile. "And please when we are off duty call me Nellis work doesn't start for a little while yet."

 

[Silverbird]

“... I see.”

T’Vara considered the captain’s words for a moment before giving a slight nod. Her posture shifted slightly; not relaxing, exactly, but there was a subtle change to the way she carried herself, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“That… is logical.”

The Vulcan turned to her friend, not exactly returning his smile, but with a slight softness about her eyes that let him know she appreciated his clarity and his honesty. After a moment she stepped across the room to join him, closing the space between them and sitting down a short distance away on his sofa, one leg tucked under the other and her hands folded in her lap.

“That was the main reason,” She admitted, a little guiltily — though her tone didn’t really give that away. “I apologize for waking you so early, Captain. It’s clear you could have used the sleep.”

She quirked one eyebrow as she considered him in his pajamas, emphasizing his rank teasingly despite his request. After a moment fixing her somewhat-disheveled friend under her frank gaze, however, she glanced away again.

“I don’t believe we’ve ever spoken about my family,” she said. This time her eyes landed on the coffee Nellis had replicated for her, still steaming away across the room. The rising vapour diffused the lights of the machine behind it, creating a gentle halo.

“My parents are both quite influential in their circles. I believe you know something of what that is like.” T’Vara inclined her head towards Nellis for a moment before continuing. “When my elder brother reached adulthood, he followed my father’s example and joined the Science Academy. Most outsiders would assume that advancement in Vulcan society is entirely driven by merit and success, a singularly logical process — and to an extent that is true…”

The Vulcan shook her head as she trailed off, the dark curl of hair around her pointed ears swaying with the movement. “Suffice to say that when I entered Starfleet, I promised myself that my successes would be my own. I have no desire to advance purely through the good will of others.”

 

[east]

Nellis wasn't the youngest person to ever make captain in star fleet history, but his career had certainly been fast tracked. It was common knowledge that his mother was an Admiral, and his father had been one of the first heroes of the dominion war. Hearing that T'Vara had parents of similar positions in the Vulcan science council made him nod, and snicker a little. Their approaches to life were probably exact opposite of one another.

"I can live without sleep, it's part of the job." Especially since they didn't have a ship counselor. There would be less of a barrier between him and the rest of the crews moral at the moment. He listened to her story nodding his head when she mentioned he could relate to her situation. He definitely could relate to that.

"I know nepotism plays a part in my life. With my parents being who they are, it was a forgone conclusion in my life that I would enroll in Starfleet as soon as I was able. Some people even accused my mother of pulling strings to get me enrolled, that my test scores during the academy were being altered. Every success I've ever had has been attributed to them regardless of how little or how large a roll they play in my life. Every commendation, every promotion, every transfer has been accused of being handed to me by my mother." Nellis leaned back into his seat.

"And with this one.... they would be right. I am only in the captains chair because my mother recommended me for the task. In human culture there is a need to do better than your parents, to have your deeds out perform theirs. The fact is, considering who came before me I can't outshine them without taking the advantage that they gave me, but I know it's selfish. I know there are a hundred other captains who would have murdered for this posting, and I stole it from them. Every commanding officer in Starfleet should look at me like I stabbed them in the back for that chair." He shook his head. He had no idea if he was making any sense or just rambling about his own situation. He liked that T'Vara had found a way to escape her parental shadow, liked that her joining Starfleet was an act of defiance, he never had the courage to break away like she had.

"My view on it is... well... I could have protested, told them that I wasn't ready for command of a ship of this size, but then who knows when the next ship would become available? My career would be frozen, you don't turn down a chance like this and not be branded as a coward, and you can be a lot of things while sitting in that chair, but a coward is not one of them. To turn down this opportunity would have locked me out of a career, or worse put me behind a desk at a Starbase for the rest of my life." Nellis could argue that taking command of the Odyssey wasn't so much a gift as it was being thrown into the deep end of a pool and being told to sink or swim, his mother could not save him if something went wrong here. It also meant that this was the one place where Nellis could actually make a name for himself.

"Plus... I wanted it, I don't think there is anyone in Starfleet who wouldn't, and that just makes the fact that I stole it that much more... exhilarating. Currently, I don't think I can claim to own any success of my own, logically speaking it's pretty obvious why I am here. Do you think less of me for it?" He was genuinely curious if his friend did dislike his choice to take command of the Odyssey.

 

[Silverbird]

It was a fair question, but T’Vara’s answer did not come as immediately as perhaps Nellis would have preferred. The blue-eyed Vulcan considered him as she considered her answer, hands folded in her lap, looking out from beneath dark lashes as she evaluated, calculated, judged, her expression giving very little away. If he looked closely, he’d be able to see the green tinge and dark shadows that hinted at her own late night.

He was her oldest friend in Starfleet. She owed him an honest, true answer.

“No,” she concluded. “It would be hypocritical to judge you for the actions of your parents. Once you were put into that position, you made the right choice. Your logic is sound.”

The Vulcan placed a hand to either side of her seat and pushed herself upright, then turned her back on the Captain for a moment as she crossed over to the replicator. He hadn’t made the decision she’d have made, but — well, no, that wasn’t entirely true, was it? After all, she was here. She took hold of the replicated cup of coffee, feeling its warmth seep into her hands through the mug, and turned back to face Nellis.

“To be entirely transparent, Nellis, I do not believe that I am qualified to serve as your Chief Science Officer, either, regardless of what the committee may have thought. I am a capable scientist, but I do not have sufficient experience leading a team — or even serving aboard a starship for more than a brief period of time. However… I also wanted it. I suppose we will both have to learn quickly.”

She raised the coffee to her lips, but did not take a drink; just let the scent wash over her. The variety she’d requested was grown on her homeworld, and traditionally served cold, though humans in particular tended to get that wrong. The replicator’s approximation actually seemed to be quite accurate, even if the super-heating had significantly altered the aroma. It was a little nostalgic.

“Humans cannot live without sleep, by the way, if you were considering making a habit of that. Please tell me that you were up late because you were working, and not simply because you were too nervous to fall asleep.”

From across the room, it looked like her eyes sparkled through the steam. She was remembering a time she'd helped him study for an exam on quantum field interactions.

 

[east]

Nellis held his breath for the long time she pondered the question he had put forward. It felt like she was choking him in those moments, but as she came to her conclusion he was able to breath again, his body practically melted into his seat like he suddenly lacked any and all bones Nellis listened and watched her get her coffee. The fact that she found his logic sound on what had mostly been an emotional decision was oddly comforting for him, then again this was one of the reasons why he had cherished their friendship when they had been at the academy.

He only started to sit up when she started to confess that she didn't feel ready for her role. Being transparent with him he nodded slowly understanding what she meant. "Well for now, your science team, is... nearly non existent, we don't have the crew complement that a ship our size should have, so you have time to get to know the few people you working with. Our unique situation gives you a chance to gain the experience you believe you are lacking." It was the same for him in some way, the smaller crew complement meant that the captain could keep everyone on task, and make the decisions he needed too to keep them towards their objective.

"You did fine in the academy, you ran the majority of our group projects, if you could do that with a class of rowdy students, than I don't see why you can't keep command of a science team half the size, and hopefully better behaved." He picked himself up. "For what it is worth, I believe you are up to the task."

Nellis laughed a little when she brought up sleep. "A human can go well into 32 hours without any negative repercussions from a loss of sleep, and I got a good five hours in."

He walked into the adjacent room where he kept his wardrobe, stripping out of his pajamas as he kept the door open, but obscured himself in the next room so he could get dressed. Feeling comfortable around T'Vara, but also needing to get ready for his shift.

"I fixed a replicator." He said loud enough that his voice would carry across the vast captains quarters. "One of the main ones in the mess hall. I don't know what is going on, but every replicator on this ship burns everything it makes. They are considered tertiary systems so low priority on the already massive repair schedule, but the crew needs to be able to eat. So I took it on myself since I didn't have duties."

He walked out, wearing his uniform, more put together than when he had woken up. "I had a lovely time talking to our chief engineer after we got it fixed. P'rmess is..." A few different adjectives came to mind, cute, flirtatious, perhaps even a bit scandalous, but the one he settled on was "Fun. She's also very competent. her assignment to me was very last minute, and she is only acting chief engineer, but when this mission is over I'm planning on asking her to stay onboard. I mean she helped build this ship, so who would know it better?"

 

[Silverbird]

“Some humans, perhaps,” T’Vara muttered as Nellis turned his back to step into the other room, practically speaking into her coffee. Her voice was soft enough that it may not have been entirely clear whether she meant for him to hear it — but Nellis knew her well enough to know that it was quite intentional. Of course, if he glanced back he’d just see her taking an entirely innocent sip of the coffee, her expression entirely unchanged.

The moment he was out of the room, she lowered the coffee again. Her expression still was unchanged, but internally, she was grimacing. The scent of the coffee may have been close enough, but the burnt flavor was truly terrible. Still, she held onto the cup itself as the Captain changed, enjoying it as a source of heat and a slight reminder of home.

Though he was in the other room, her sensitive Vulcan ears were alert to the slight sounds of his movements; the light rustle of fabric as he pulled his pajama top over his torso, his footsteps against the deck as he moved towards his uniform. Her eyes lingered for the moment on the door to his quarters, and the shifting shadow that he cast against the opposite wall. T’Vara was grateful that things hadn’t changed between them in their time apart, that Nellis was still comfortable around her, but she had to wonder — did part of his comfort come down to the fact that she was Vulcan, and therefore without emotion? Would he have been so comfortable undressing himself with a young human woman waiting in the other room, even if their relationships were otherwise as they were?

Distracted, she took another sip of the coffee. This time she really did frown, eyebrows tightening slightly, before she put the beverage aside.

“I am sure the crew will appreciate your efforts,” she called back, her level tone at odds with the displeased look she was throwing at the coffee. “We could survive on emergency rations and burnt toast, but I am sure that it would not be good for morale.” She’d have to stop by the mess hall later.

When Nellis stepped out of his room, T’Vara considered him for a moment before giving an approving nod — and then crossed the room anyway, standing close as she adjusted his collar. It had looked fine, really, but it had been folded slightly incorrectly. She lowered her voice as she fixed it, speaking softly while they stood close together.

“I haven’t spent much time with Chief P’rmess yet, but I share your impression of her competence. She was quick to respond to several of the requests I made during our tests yesterday, despite her workload.” T’Vara considered the captain’s expression for a moment, and wondered what exactly he had meant by ‘fun’. His brief hesitation suggested a few possible interpretations, and she knew how he felt about so-called "cat girls", but she decided against probing further.

His collar fixed to her satisfaction, T’Vara stepped back and raised her voice to a more normal volume. “I spent the evening with Commander Stephens,” she said. For a moment she considered whether she should tell Nellis that the Commander had expressed interest in a relationship with her, before she decided against it. “The holodeck’s replicators are functioning a little better, but they have their own quirks. Do not drink the mead.”

 

[east]

When she approached to fix his collar, he did blush a little at the close contact between the two of them. It wasn't that he had shrugged her off because of her lack of emotions, he knew her well enough to know that she had her own quirks and interests. He had never pressed into a relationship with her because he wasn't sure if that would have changed their dynamic. Right now he needed a friend, and a counseling ear, he didn't know how their dynamic would change if he asked her to enter into a relationship. Plus the academy years had been chaos, with Nellis needing to be at the top of his class he had been more focused on his work and studies than any relationship. It wasn't a lack of interest that kept his hands at his side, but complete and total inexperience and nervousness.

"Understood, though I don't tend to drink alcohol regardless, you know I only have room enough in my heart for one beverage addiction, and it's not something I can get here." He said looking at his replicator with a look of annoyance, and disgust, like he wanted to throw it out the nearest airlock and get it off his ship. Who the hell wanted a boiled glass of coke, it was like this ship was taunting him.

"What did you think of Commander stevens? what was your take on him? I'll be honest I don't know anything about him beyond a brief glance at his record."

"I've been thinking, about crew moral, there admittedly isn't a lot that can be done right now, our mission is time sensitive but we are going to be spending a lot of time at warp." He looked around his quarters for a moment. "What do you think about this space?" He said curious for her opinion for a moment. He didn't know if Vulcan's had a sense of Fung Shui, but he remembered her room at the academy when they had studied together.

"My quarters, has a main lounge area, it's own bath and shower, a bedroom with a king-sized bed, and basically all the perks that come with the command of a vessel of this size, but this space in particular, the lounge of my quarters." He gestured to the area.

"I was thinking about ways to host company here. but the furnature is very bare bones, and it isn't enough space for kitchen, but maybe there is some way to host a dinner or two here." She knew full well that Nellis had no idea how to cook for himself. "Maybe a card game night with the senior staff? I was thinking about ways to bring us together and feel more like a crew."

"When I remember my father's ship, the original Odyssey, I remember how he interacted with his senior staff, at times they felt more like a family at times, and I know things are different now, ships rarely have that sense of comradery after the dominion war tore us apart and made us think about how everyone and anyone could be a changeling, but... I want to find ways to recapture that old feeling." He smiled at her as he had a nostalgic feeling for a moment. "Or maybe a distance among command officers is a good thing, I'm still not entirely sure how I would feel if I had to give an order that ended up causing you to get hurt, but I know that is a part of my job as well, when it comes down to it the safety of the ship is all of our first priority."

 

[Silverbird]

“Commander Stephens is… interesting. More insightful regarding my people than I had expected, but also emotionally volatile. I believe that he feels deeply, and is prone to embracing and acting on those feelings in the moment without great concern for what the consequences might be in the long term. I suppose that is not a particularly original analysis from a Vulcan.”

The science officer inclined her head slightly, aware that her opinion was somewhat of a cliché. She didn’t really mean it as a harsh criticism; in fact, Stephen’s strong emotional responses were part of the reason she’d engaged in her game of questions with him in the first place. She’d hoped that understanding his feelings would help her to interrogate her own. That hadn’t really worked out as planned, and their conversation had left her with more to think about. She wasn’t ready to unpack all of that just yet, though, for now she simply added, “He also holds some strange beliefs on relations between humans and Vulcans.”

As the conversation moved onto Nellis’ quarters, T’Vara cast an analytical eye across their surroundings. Her room back at the academy had primarily been functional, but that function included serving as a welcoming place to study and rest, so it had not been without aesthetic consideration. In T’Vara’s case that meant a few personal touches, including frequently a display of whatever stellar phenomena had most recently occupied her studies. Of course, she’d also shared that space with a roommate for most of the time Nellis had been studying with her; it was only after he’d graduated, in the last year or so of her doctoral studies, that she’d gotten used to having a space entirely of her own again.

The big problem with Nellis’ ambitions, of course, was the lack of furniture. “It would be unwise to replicate furniture for the captain’s quarters while so many of the shipboard systems are still in need of repair,” she said. “However, in the starport on my homeworld, freighter captains would often use empty cargo containers as makeshift surfaces and seating.” She particularly remembered a Ferengi crew she’d been fond of, who’d often settle into a game of Tongo in the starport hangar while their ship was being unloaded. “Perhaps we could bring some up from the cargo bay?

“As for food… the mess hall galley will have supplies that we can make use of, though we may find ingredients lacking while the replicators are not properly functional. We can make use of that space to prepare anything that would require more room or facilities than we can fit here. I could show you how to prepare something from the rations we have available, if you have no objection to Vulcan cuisine.” Unlike Nellis, T’Vara was a capable cook — she came from a primarily agricultural world, where traditional cooking techniques were still a point of pride despite the proliferation of replicators. Of course, she still preferred the convenience they offered.

His nostalgic smile drew a small nod from the Vulcan, which turned into a slight tilt of her head as he began to suggest that some distance might be a good thing. His reasoning made sense, of course, and she was glad to hear that the idea was preying on his mind as well — but somehow, she found she didn’t particularly care to hear him say it out loud. She didn’t respond right away, instead stepping back and looking slowly around the room again as if still considering the furniture.