Settling In . . . Again

Posted on Sat Mar 27th, 2010 @ 6:03pm by Captain Liarra Von

Mission: Commissioned
Location: Liarra & Mara's Quarters
Timeline: Evening Before Launch

Mara eyed the top bunk, already obviously claimed by her room mate and frowned at it. The other woman hadn't even waited until she had arrived to ask about it. Of course, Lt. Allein could have come by earlier and thrown her stuff all around the room, claimed every spot she wanted but she would not have done so. Repaying the thought was the least her room mate could have done. She scowled. If this was any indication of how things were going to go then this was definitely not a good start. It was bad enough that she even had to share a room.

With a general scowl she tossed her duffel-bag onto her bunk -- the lower bunk -- and unzipped it.

It wasn't long before Allein's roommate returned. Liarra Von entered her quarters, a letter from her father in hand. She was expecting a new roommate after Dr. Jaro's short tenure, but was not aware that she had already arrived. Spotting the Bajoran already in a huff, she thought breaking the ice in a friendly manner was in order. "You must be my new roommate. I'm Lieutenant Von, but please, call me Liarra." The Trill offered her hand to the new engineer.

Mara took the woman's hands, reminding herself that she had to live with this woman and creating conflict right away was probably not the best idea. Well, not creating conflict, the security officer had done that, but she wasn't going to rise to the occasion, even if that's what she was looking for. "Lt. Allein Mara." She managed almost-neutrality and decided that she deserved a Raktijino for her effort.

After releasing her hand she went over to the replicator and ordered one. Sipping it, it occurred to her that she should probably offer one to "Liarra", but she wasn't about to get all chummy with the bunk-stealer. Instead she said "You can call me 'Mara'."

"It's nice to meet you, Mara. I hope you don't mind that I took the top bunk. My old roommate had requested the other one. I know some people are pretty particular about how they sleep," Liarra said with a grin. It seems like just yesterday that she and Sydney were having this same conversation.

The engineer eyed the security officer for a moment, but the spots immediately assuaged her suspicions that she might be some form of telepath. She felt herself relax, maybe it had been an honest mistake after all. "Don't worry about it." She forced a smile and with another sip of her drink felt it become more natural. "Would you like something to drink?"

Liarra thought about it for a short moment. "Sure. A Raktijino doesn't sound too bad."

Mara turned and ordered it, then handed it to the other woman. Without another word she returned to her bag and continued to unpack.

"Thank you," the Trill responded as she took the cup from Mara. She took a few sips while she watched the other woman unpack. "I know it's not very big, and as chief engineer you probably already know more about her than I do anyway, but I'd be happy to give you the grand tour of the Jackal."

The engineer wasn't sure immediately how to respond. How far exactly did her obligations as room mate push her social obligations? She decided to err on the side of caution and nodded. "I probably do, but alright. Have you been aboard long?"

"I haven't been on too terribly long. To be honest, I haven't had many responsibilities since we are still in dry dock. I've been spending a lot of my time learning the layout of the ship, trying to find places where intruders may hide. Fortunately, internal security is a little easier on a ship this size."

Allein didn't really care and sipped her Raktijino before answering. "I imagine it would be."

Liarra wasn't quite sure how to respond. Sydney had been far more talkative. So far, it felt a lot more like Mara just wanted to be alone. Liarra took a seat at the desk and sipped her coffee. She did still have that letter to attend to. Maybe she should give Mara some space. It wouldn't be good to upset her before they even left dry dock.

The Bajoran continued to unpack in the silence and somehow the other woman's ability to just let her alone encouraged Mara to ask "How is it that you know Cmdr Gunning?"

Von looked up from her letter, a little surprised that Mara was making conversation. "Alex and I knew each other from the USS Galaxy. I was one of his junior officers when he was chief tactical and security officer. He was my mentor, and we grew to be good friends. What about you?"

Mara nodded, not looking up. "We met when he was XO of the Galaxy. It was at Utopia for refit," she explained, choosing not to get into any details of their association. This woman seemed to have enough tact not to pry. It was kind of refreshing, actually.

"Refit at Utopia..." Liarra thought out loud. "Yeah, I remember that. I don't think I spent much time off the ship though," she said with a laugh. "Most likely, we didn't cross paths."

The engineer was grateful that Alex seemed to have kept their relationship quiet and she folded the last of her clothing neatly into place. She offered a half hearted smile to the Lieutenant. "I've got to get back to work. I'll try to be quiet when," she paused and corrected herself. "If I get in tonight." Without waiting for a response Allein turned and left the room.

The Trill was a little confused by how quickly Allein ran off, but then again, she did have a lot of work to do before launch. Still, she found the Bajoran interesting. She was a little surprised that Alex never mentioned Mara. I wonder what happened between them? she thought. It wasn't really her place to pry, but she was afraid her curiosity would get the better of her. She decided it would be best to leave it alone, at least for now.

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Lieutenant Liarra Von
Chief of Security
USS Jackal

Lieutenant Allein Mara
Chief Engineer
USS Jackal