A Chance Meeting

Posted on Sun Nov 21st, 2010 @ 11:01am by Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti & Lieutenant JG Malia Jacy & Vice Admiral Iluvar

Mission: Episode 1.3 - "The Time of Trial"
Location: Arboretum, USS Pandora
Timeline: Mission Day 03, 1358 hours

::BACKPOST::

ON: [[Arboretum, USS Pandora, Mission Day 03, 1358 hours]]

Hannah had been well aware before today of the arrival of the new Chief of Operations but she was surprised that it had taken them so long to meet each other face-to-face. Certainly most senior officers chose against visiting her office, at least voluntarily, but in the daily running of the ship she had gotten to know them fairly well. With the well cleaned tray from Myrin's cake in hand, Andeti decided to rectify that and made for the arboretum, Ms Jacy's reported location.

"And this," Mali was explaining to Thomas though he probably didn't need it, "is also commonly called a 'Spath'. It's a great indoor plant because it doesn't need a lot of light or water. It also acts as a purifier for the air; though it's mildly poisonous." She caressed the flower gently and smiled. It'd always reminded her of an unfolded Calla Lily.

Thomas admired the plant as the lieutenant briefly explained its features to him. She certainly seemed to be in her element no matter where she was or what was going on around her. "Poisonous when ingested or through skin contact," he asked out of curiosity.

"Ingested," she informed him. "Now, this one here ..." the pair moved a few feet down.

The door to the expansive garden slid open and the counselor felt the familiar wash of damp air as she stepped inside. She hadn't had many opportunities to return here since the Pandora's commission but whenever she did she was surprised by how little it felt like shipboard living.

Thomas felt the presence of another individual enter the room as he followed the lieutenant to another grove of brightly colored ivy. Being that the Arboretum was a public area aboard the Pandora, he didn't see any need to dwell on the feeling. "Any idea what this is," he asked Jacy, waving his arm in the direction of the ivy.

"English Ivy," Mali nodded after a few moments consideration. "Ivy is one of the more fascinating plants, in my opinion. The way that, if left alone, it can take over anything it comes across. And yet, when properly cared for and with a bit of application becomes an actual living art piece."

The counselor was in no great rush to find the Lieutenant and took a few moments to enjoy the living silence before the pair came into view. They seemed to be in the middle of a rather in depth discussion of the foliage and she stopped before approaching. If Ms Jacy weren't alone she could always meet up later. The counselor continued to move towards the pair with every intention of continuing past them when the woman's explanation drew her attention and she found herself listening. It was a public place afterall and if her attention annoyed the couple they could simply move on.

"Something we can help you with, lieutenant," Thomas asked, glancing over in the direction of the woman waiting a short distance off.

Hannah smiled. "Not at all." She looked at Jacy. "I just wasn't aware that we had a botanist on board. Other than Aris of course." She grinned.

Mali's cheeks colored slightly as she shook her head. "Not at all. I'm just a great fan of Mother Nature," she smiled at the counselor. "And Thomas just happened to have asked about one of the few plants in here I know something about." The Ops officer found her arms folding across her chest of their own volition.

"Ensign Thomas Rolands, interim Assistant Chief Engineer," Thomas said by way of greeting as he extended his hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you..." He trailed off, hoping that the lieutenant would offer up her name so that he wouldn't have to refer to her as 'hey you' or 'lieutenant' all the time.

The counselor took the man's hand and as she did noticed his darker eyes. Careful to keep her usual blocks in place she smiled. "Counselor Andeti, Hannah." She returned to the woman in gold. "And you must be the new Chief of Ops."

"Assistant, actually," Mali smiled slowly. "I met one of your counselors just the other day. Myrin? He seems like he'd be fun to work with." She wasn't quite sure why she felt the need to babble; but here she was doing so anyway.

Hannah chuckled. "Interesting is a more appropriate definition, I think." She took the opportunity to offer the woman her plate. "And I'm sure he would have returned this to you himself except he..." she trailed off and then laughed. "Actually, I think he would have left it to collect dust on my desk until you came back."

Her fingers reached for the plate but her eyes stayed on the counselor. For a fleeting moment she felt very much the minority, in the midst of two other races and as it passed she wondered where it had come from. She was no stranger to the company of other life forms. "Good to know," Malia nodded, "I'll be sure not to bring anything to the counseling office that I'm not willing to go without." Her eyes glanced over at Thomas; the man had seemed still since she met him, but now especially so.

As the two women had been talking, Thomas had turned his attention to his surroundings. He didn't really feel as if it was his place to be involved in their conversation at the moment, particularly since it seemed to be something of a personal matter. Instead, his eyes traced the ivy that the lieutenant had described for him, following it along the edge until it reached another plant with which he was not familiar. He paused in his gaze to admire it a moment before realizing that the conversation had stopped.

Hannah offered the man a smile, hoping she hadn't made him feel uncomfortable. "I didn't mean to monopolize the Lieutenant's attention. I'll let you two get back to it."

"Not at all, lieutenant," Thomas said with a friendly smile, "I've only recently transferred aboard and Lieutenant Jacy was kind enough to offer me a tour of the Pandora. You're welcome to join us if you'd like." He glanced briefly over in his the direction of his guide to see if he might have overstepped his bounds in making such an offer, but when she didn't appear disappointed about it, he figured that it had not been too forward an offer.

The counselor nodded. "I would love to. It'll be interesting to get a newcomer's perspective on the matter. What do you think so far Mr Rolands?"

"She's quite an impressive ship," Thomas replied, knowing that it was a rather cliche response, "My most recent assignment was aboard an Intrepid-class vessel, so it is interesting to see some of the differences between the two."

Mali brightened. "My first three years after graduation were spent on an Intrepid class," she mentioned. "I have quite fond memories of it myself." Though that had less to do with the ship and more to do with the woman who she'd served under.

Now Hannah felt herself fading into the background as the two technical experts discussed a class of ship she had never served on, but she didn't resent it and tried to smile so as not to interrupt their fun.

"The Intrepid-class has its strengths, but this is my first time aboard the Luna-class," Thomas said, "so it's kinda like stepping into a new world in some ways." He glanced between the two women, wondering if now might be an appropriate time as any to ask them a question that he could tell had been weighing on Lieutenant Warrington's mind ever since they had set foot aboard the Pandora. "If you don't mind my asking," he continued, "I hate to sound like a complete outsider, but do either of you know what's going on with the admiral?"

For Mali, there was a fine line between gossip and information, sometimes so fine that if you didn't pay very close attention you wouldn't see the sheen of it at all. "Which admiral would that be?" She smiled softly and gave Thomas a quick wink.

The counselor was surprised by the question and glanced at the Ops officer before answering. "Nothing concrete, no." She looked at him for a moment before pressing forward. She wasn't usually a gossip, but she, like most of the crew, was concerned.

"Well, it's just...there's been a rumor circulating around," Thomas explained, knowing well enough not to take a ship's scuttlebutt at face value, "I was just curious if the admiral was actually...before an board of inquiry."

Hannah nodded. "That seems to be about all that anybody knows." She frowned, making her own dissatisfaction with the situation clear. She took a breath and looked at Jacy. "Well, where to first?"

Malia chuckled and again her lips parted in a wide grin. "I thought we could be accommodating counselor; why don't you pick?"

OFF:

A JP by

Ensign Thomas Rolands (PNPC)
Interim Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Pandora
Played by: Capt Iluvar

and

Lt jg Hannah Andeti
Chief Counselor
USS Pandora

and

Lt. JG Malia Jacy
Assistant Chief Operations Officer
USS Pandora