Crossover

Posted on Tue Mar 29th, 2011 @ 2:37pm by Lieutenant JG Malia Jacy & Vice Admiral Iluvar

Mission: Episode 2.1 - "Unanswered Questions"
Location: Pandora/SB 386
Timeline: MD-01; 1030 hours

ON: [[USS Pandora, Officer's Quarters, Mission Day 01, 1030 hours]]

Mali moved in rhythm with the drum beats emanating from the computer system. Though the music was partially to aid in getting prepared for her visit to her mother’s ancestral reservation on Earth, the Ops officer enjoyed native music in any event. There was something that was so primal yet so peaceful in the story it told – truth be told it soothed her soul. One more clamp and she was ready to go … never mind the fact that she wasn’t set to depart from the Starbase for another eight hours. Speaking of which…

Mali checked the mirror, straightened the band around each of the braids that hung over her shoulders and smiled to herself brightly. There was a part of her that didn’t want to leave the Pandora; visits to Earth always left her feeling connected to something greater than herself, but they also found her homesick until a starship was back in view. Secretly she also loved the fact that while the rest of the tribe looked up at the stars and dreamed, she knew what it was like to view them up close and personal and having the ability to gaze up at them while her mind pictured them from a much closer vantage point made her feel pretty special. While she was on the topic of special, she decided she’d browse the Starbase before leaving – maybe she could find some things to take to Earth with her for her cousins. Grabbing her pack, she departed for 386 and the wonders she knew it must hold.

[[Upper Promenade, Starbase 386]]

Thomas (PNPC) made his way along the outer edge of the station's upper promenade. Things had pretty much gotten back to normal...well, as normal as could be expected on the Federation Frontier. Having served aboard Starbase 386 for longer than a majority of the senior staff, it hadn't taken him long to realize that "normal" was an extremely relative term.

After a cursory glance at a PaDD, Malia had located the (for all purposes) 'you are here' spot and a quick search of the surrounding areas. With an adventuresome shrug, she picked Flannigan's as a starting point. She was thirsty and the pub sounded pleasantly ethnic. A bounce in her step and a hum on her lips set her forward on her course. So lost in trivial thought was she, that she didn't notice the man passing by her until she'd literally bumped into him. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry!" She considered offering that she hadn't seen him but wasn't sure it mattered.

The sudden impact of colliding with another individual had brought Thomas abruptly out of his own thoughts. He had seen the young woman heading in the opposite direction, but had not expected her to be close enough that they would run into one another. “Excuse me,” Thomas said somewhat embarrassedly, “I didn’t mean to…my apologies, miss…”

"Malia," she offered with a sympathetic smile. "But, unless you bumped in to me intentionally, I can't see why you're apologizing." She tilted her head slightly. "May I ask where you're headed in such a hurry?"

Thomas opened his mouth to reply, hesitated, and closed it again just as quickly. He wasn’t actually officially on duty at this point and he had been trying to do a better job of keeping his duty hours separate from his personal time. It wasn’t something that he always succeeded at, but Charlie (NPC) had said he was doing better.

“Nowhere in particular, I guess,” the young Betazoid replied, realizing as soon as the words were out of his mouth how contradictory they sounded.

"That sounds awfully adventurous." Malia cleared her throat slightly. "Anywhere you could suggest that may be a little more visitor's speed than others? I had been heading to the Pub, but I've never visited here before and I'd really like to utilize the time I have to get a 'feel' for it."

"Well, if it's your first time, I would suggest starting with Flanagan's," Thomas replied thoughtfully, "most visitors seem to like it. They keep coming back, so I suppose...anyway, there's quite a few shops on the Promenade. Depending on what you're looking for, you could probably find it here."

"Excellent, thanks." Malia glanced downward and stooped, picking up a small object and giving it a cursory once-over as she rose. "Odd," she held it up and moved it. "Yours?" she offered it to Thomas.

Thomas studied the small object in the woman's hand for a moment before giving her a curious look. He felt his pace quicken slightly at the thought of nearly having lost the charm, which had been a recent gift from Charlie. "Yeah," he said slowly, realizing that the woman was still waiting for an answer, "I...uhh...how did you..."

"Well, we are the only two currently standing in this spot. Throw in the physical collision, and it was a likely possibility that belonged to one of us; and it's not mine." She winked at the man. "Thanks for the information on the base." With a small wave and a larger smile, Malia moved past Thomas toward her destination.

Looking from the charm in his open palm to the woman who was now walking lightly away from him, Thomas couldn't help but smile a little at the strangeness of their brief conversation. One certainly didn't encounter people with such a strong sense of positive emotion everyday. Shaking his head from side to side, Thomas closed his fist protectively around the charm and continued on his way along the Promenade.

OFF:

A JP

by

Lt. JG Malia Jacy
Chief Operations Officer
USS Pandora

and

Ensign Thomas Gates (PNPC)
Executive Officer's Yeoman
Starbase 386
Played by: Commander Arthur Richardson