Old Friends

Posted on Fri Apr 1st, 2011 @ 5:01pm by Ensign Matthew Lessly & Vice Admiral Iluvar

Mission: Episode 2.1 - "Unanswered Questions"
Location: SB-386 Promenade
Timeline: Shoreleave 02, 1208

ON: [[Promenade, Stabase 386, Shoreleave 02, 1208]]

Matt and John (PNPC) made their way down the promenade hallway, stopping every few feet to look at one of the small merchant carts or to gaze into one of the stores lining the hallway. John had been to the starbase several times during his time on the Frontier but it was a new experience for Matt, which made it more fun for John.

"It's amazing how different 386 is from DS9." John commented. "It's got so much more of an open feel to it, don't you think?"

Matt looked briefly up from the rack of shirts he was combing through. "Yeah... but it's still Cardassian. The infrastructure was already here when Starfleet retook the system, they only finished it."

John shrugged and walked over to a nearby shelf where the store owner had placed a series of older books. Taking one off the shelf, he thumbed through the pages, waiting for Matt to finish clothes shopping.

"Well, well, well...will you look at what the cat dragged in," Jake (PNPC) said as he approached from the opposite side of the Promenade along with Thomas (PNPC), "I thought they had you pegged down somewhere in Sector 001...or did they decide to let you go already?"

John quirked an eyebrow, recognizing the voice. Turning, he chuckled slightly, "Yeah, well, you know me. They couldn't keep me in one place with a tractor beam. How have you been, Jake?" he asked, smiling broadly.

"Well enough, I suppose," Jake replied with an equally broad smile, "Thomas and I managed to land a temporary assignment aboard the Pandora since we left the Frontier and I'd say its been going pretty well. You know I could never stay still for very long either." He held up his hands as if to indicate that there wasn't really anything he could do about that particular trait.

John smiled and glanced over at Matt. "The Pandora you say? Matt never mentioned that he was on the same ship as you in our transmissions..." he said, partially to joke with Jake and partially wondering if Matt honestly didn't know about them. It was possible, though, because Matt had only been on the Frontier for a short time before Jake left.

"Oh...we've all been keeping quite busy," Thomas offered with a smile, "but I'm sure Matt can tell you all about that." He'd also been surprised to run into Lieutenant Forest on the Promenade of Starbase 386, though not quite as surprised as Jake it seemed. Then again, the two of them had developed much more of a professional relationship than he and Forest had.

John nodded, glad to hear that the two engineers had somehow managed to stick together for their assignments since the Frontier. "So," he began, "Matt and I were trying to make our way down to the bar. Would you two care to join us?"

The two engineers exchanged a look with one another as the briefly considered the offer. "I suppose we really don't have anything better to do," Jake replied jokingly, a smile on his face, "We could probably spare a minute or two..."

John smiled and walked over to Matt. "What do you say? We can always come back after we're done."

Matt looked at John and then over his shoulder slightly at Jake and Thomas. "I suppose so." he responded, putting the shirt he had been inspecting back on the rack.

The four officers walked out of the store area and down the hall a while before coming to the main entrance to Red's. Entering and looking around, they found an empty table and sat down before looking at the menu.

"So..." Thomas said as he perused the establishment's menu for something that might peak his interest, "how have things been for you at the yards?"

John looked up from his menu and mulled the question a little bit. "It's been keeping me busy. A lot of it is just making sure none of the workbees or shuttles run into each other. I've gotten to see a couple of new commissionings though."

"Wow...they really have been keeping you busy," Thomas said with a smile, "I suppose I can't really imagine keeping track of all those smaller craft buzzing around all the time, but I guess being able to witness a commissioning or two would certainly make it worthwhile."

"What about you two?" John asked. "Do you know where you're going to be heading now that you're leaving the Pandora?"

Jake shrugged, lowering his menu as he considered the question for a moment. "You know...I'm not really sure," he replied, "We took the assignment to the Pandora knowing that it was only going to be temporary, but it turned out to be a bit longer than Starfleet Operations was expecting it to be, I think. Depending on the need, I'm sure we'll have a little bit of time before we find out what our next assignment is going to be. Thomas and I will probably just hang out around here, help out where we can, and wait until we're told where to go next."

John smirked slightly. "Well, I know it's not exactly the kind of jobs the two of you usually do, but I know that the San Francisco Yards have been looking for some engineers to help with building. I think there are even a few project leads available."

The two engineers exchanged another look with one another. Jake had made it pretty clear in the past that he wasn't interested in any kind of desk job. It always seemed as if the poor souls who were posted to assignments like that ended up becoming trapped. Being aboard ship and out in the field had always been where Jake had found the most interest. Yet his experience overseeing the refit of the Frontier had been an enlightening one. It certainly hadn't been what he had been expecting from a yard assignment, even if it had only been temporary.

"Project leads you say," Jake mused slowly as he considered the idea carefully. Like any good engineer, he had been keeping an eye on the latest to come out of the fleet yards and was understandably impressed by a good majority of it. Working as a project lead meant the opportunity to take what was learned in the field and incorporate it into the latest designs.

John smiled and nodded. "I could put a good word in for you, if you wanted." he said, noticing the waitress coming up to the table behind Matt and Jake.

"What can I get you four?" the young waitress asked with a broad smile.

“Why don’t we start off with a frosted mug of root beer,” Thomas said when he realized that he was going to end up being the one to order first, “and I’ll give the New England Clam Chowder a try.”

Matt looked down at the menu in his hand quickly before looking up at the waitress and smiling. "I'm going to go with an iced green tea and a tossed Bolian salad, please." Setting the menu down, he put a finger up quickly, adding, "Oh! And could you leave out the raknor eggs? They never quite agree with me."

"I think I'll have the same as Thomas," Jake said, handing his menu over to the waitress with a smile. He had been debating back and forth between a few different options, but the simplest seemed to be what Thomas had already selected. It had been awhile since he'd had a good clam chowder anyway.

John, even though he had had a few more moments to review the menu, sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, I always have this problem. Uh... I think I'll go with a Pineapple-water and a... uh... club sandwich."

The waitress smiled, nodded, and responded, "I'll be right back with your drinks."

Once the waitress had gone, Jake turned his attention back to the suggestion that he and Thomas might be interested in pursuing an assignment with the San Fransisco Fleet Yards. It certainly wasn't a choice to be made lightly, but he was surprised to find that he wasn't as opposed to the idea as he may have originally thought. "These project leaders...they're on the job-type positions, right," he asked casually, "You know my feelings about desk jobs."

John smirked, lowered his head, and chuckled. "Yes, I'm pretty sure they're the kind of jobs that you'd like. Most of the people working on the teams are enlisted, fresh from training, so you'd have your hands full but after what you've already been through, I'm sure you could handle it."

The fact that this was not supposed to be a desk job sounded promising, but the fact that it involved working with so many fresh enlistedmen made Jake a bit hesitant. He had experienced some difficulty with a few of the yard workers at Utopia during the Frontier's refit because of his condition. At the same time, he did feel as if he had grown more comfortable with his condition since then.

"Sounds like a challenge to me," Thomas said, sensing Jake's hesitation. He could tell that the senior engineer was weighing the options carefully and he knew that there were certain other considerations that were going to influence Jake's decision.

"Alright," Jake said, slowly nodding his head up and down, "Why not? Thomas and I both have experience overseeing refits. Besides, it would present a bit of an interesting challenge to be working on the construction of new starships."

John smiled broadly. "Ill put in a call to the shipyards once we're done. It'll be nice having some familiar faces around again." he responded. "Now, let's eat..."

OFF

A JP by:

Lieutenant John Forest (PNPC)
Dockmaster
San Fransisco Fleet Yards
Played by: Ens Lessly

Lieutenant Jake Warrington (PNPC)
Shipyard Foreman
San Fransisco Fleet Yards
Played by: Capt Iluvar

Ensign Matthew Lessly
Chief Science Officer
USS Pandora

and

Ensign Thomas Rolands (PNPC)
Assistant Shipyard Foreman
San Fransisco Fleet Yards
Played by: Capt Iluvar