Breakfast Encounter

Posted on Sun Sep 26th, 2010 @ 9:28am by Commander Fala Awen & Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: USS Pandora, Mess Hall
Timeline: Day 16, 0730

::BACKPOST::

[[USS Pandora, Mess Hall, Day 16, 0730]]

Still rather frustrated and unsettled with their current mission, Awen had finally decided to go to the Mess Hall to get something to eat. The Bajoran hadn't gotten as much sleep as usual, but hoped that getting out of her quarters would somehow help expand her thoughts. Her eyes glanced around quickly as she walked in, and then she headed for a replicator. "Two kava rolls, three hot groatcakes with syrup of squill on the side, and a cup of Deka tea, hot."

The counselor glanced up from the adjacent replicator with eyebrows raised as her own coffee and schnecke hummed into existence in front of her. She caught the lieutenant's eye and tried to replace her surprise with a small smile but knew she hadn't quite made it and chose to explain. "I thought I was the only person in this sector who liked syrup of squill."

Awen raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Hannah. She didn't know the woman very well, which was just fine with her - the Bajoran wasn't fond of counselors; she preferred to work out any issues on her own. However, she had been fairly helpful during Awen's first mission on the Tethys. As she picked up her tray, she replied, "Apparently not, Counselor. I discovered it went quite well with groatcakes during one of my visits to Bajor after Academy."

The counselor nodded, retrieving her own meal. "That would explain why I picked up the habit from a Bajoran." She smiled. "Would you like some company, lieutenant?"

The Bajoran paused for a moment before replying, "You're welcome to join me if you'd like." She didn't want to appear rude and thus far it didn't seem that the counselor was trying to evaluate her, so she saw no harm in it. Awen made her way to a table near the back of the room and sat her tray down before taking a seat herself.

Hannah awaited her own meal as it shimmered into existence before sliding it from the replicator and slipping into a seat across from the Bajoran. She took a long drink of her coffee in silence as her companion began to eat. Feeling the warm liquid wash into her stomach she immediately felt rejuvenated and her smile became more genuine. "I'm surprised you've managed to find any time for a meal. I always thought that most security officers didn't know the meaning of regular meal times."

Awen raised an eyebrow, "Some do, and some do not. In a situation such as this, where there are many questions and few answers, it can get quite frustrating; a lot of Security officers decide to train to relieve stress. What some fail to take into account is that at least some of the calories burned while training need to be replaced. Usually the more experienced officers will try to keep somewhat regular meal times, which is healthier for them and helps keep them going, while the younger ones tend to think they're invincible and ignore it."

The counselor was impressed by the woman's insight into her peoples' psychology and nodded. "I think that's true of most Starfleet officers. They aren't exactly known for being under-driven." She smiled and took another bite of her meal. "How are your people taking the stress of the mission?" She had meant it to be conversational and hoped that the Chief would take it as such.

"As well as can be expected," Awen replied before taking a sip of her tea. "Most are frustrated and don't like simply sitting around, but we try to keep them occupied to take their minds off of it. Has your department been busy?"

Hannah laughed. "The busiest I've seen it since we returned from the Mirror Universe." She sighed. "I think the whole crew needs something to get their minds off this mission. Something productive to do." She shook her head. "I suppose all we can do is wait for something more interesting next mission and hope no one snaps in the meantime." She smiled at what was supposed to be a joke. Maybe she too was feeling the strain because she could feel it fall flat even as she said it.

Awen raised her eyebrow slightly at Hannah's comment, though she realized the counselor was trying to lighten the conversation. "We may not get all the answers we seek, but sooner or later this mission will be over. I think the crew will rest easier once we're out of Romulan space."

The counselor nodded, realizing her joke had fallen flat, and became uncharacteristically serious. "Have you had much dealings with the Romulans, Commander?"

"Not until I came aboard the Tethys and Pandora," Awen replied. "Many of my early service days were spent in the Science Department, actually, so I was more inclined to be dealing with spatial anomalies and astrometrics than Romulans. One of my previous assignments did have the ship I was on entering the Romulan Neutral Zone, but we didn't have direct dealings with the Romulans."

"I haven't had much to do with them either, to be honest." Hannah took a sip of coffee and shifted topics. "But now I've got to ask, how did you move from science to security? That's not exactly common, is it?" She didn't mean it as a criticism, in fact 'unusual' was rather more of a compliment.

Awen shook her head, "No, it's not. I found Science to be interesting, particularly regarding things such as the Celestial Temple...the Bajoran wormhole...so I studied that in Academy. However, my CO on the Athena knew of my background with the Bajoran Resistance and asked me to lead an away team to retrieve a hostage. I've been in the Security/Tactical Department ever since."

The counselor was fascinated, most of the scientists she had known wouldn't have known a phaser rifle from a Klingon disruptor. "Somehow it doesn't surprise me that you were in the Resistance." She smiled. "But how did you come to join Starfleet? I was under the impression that most members of the Resistance Cells stayed with the Bajoran militia."

The Bajoran hesitated slightly, but decided to mostly explain what had happened, "During a mission with my Resistance Cell, some of us were captured. I managed to escape, but the Cardassians were looking for me, so I had to leave Bajor. A StarFleet vessel ended up finding me and, once their mission was over, I went to Academy."

Hannah nodded, trying not to look too impressed. It was certainly a very different path from her own. "Do you get back to Bajor very often?"

"No," Awen said simply. She didn't particularly want to talk about it, but decided to elaborate slightly rather than potentially have to answer more questions, "Usually I'm fairly busy in my assignments and shoreleaves aren't long enough to go back. I've been back a few times since I left though."

"I can understand that. I don't get back to Betazed nearly as often as I'd like either." She looked down at her now empty dish and then back up to the Commander. "I suppose I should be heading off. It was . . ." She smiled retrieving her tray and beginning to stand.

The Bajoran nodded, "Good day, Counselor."

The counselor didn't look back as she headed for the door but her mind was still on the Bajoran and her rather vague history. Andeti had a feeling that she would be a very interesting person to know better, assuming the young woman allowed anyone to do so.

OFF

by

Lieutenant Commander Fala Awen
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

and

Lieutenant jg Hannah Andeti
Chief Counselor
USS Pandora