A Second Chance

Posted on Sat Apr 9th, 2011 @ 5:57am by Lieutenant JG Malia Jacy

Mission: Episode 2.1 - "Unanswered Questions"
Location: USS Pandora; Moretti's Quarters
Timeline: Shoreleave 03; 1930

ON: [[USS Pandora, Ensign Moretti’s Quarters, 1930]]

Terry had decided to go ahead and see if he could contact Velia. It had been a couple of days since he had talked to Commander Richardson and he presumed that Captain Iluvar had already spoken with Velia. It had really been bugging him that he didn’t know what happened to her. He knew there was no way that she would get booted out of the Fleet, but he hoped that nothing major had happened…considering something ‘Major’ already had.

Terry settled down at the desk in his quarters and tapped the control that allowed the screen to come up. He made the appropriate subspace connections and waited to see if Velia was there.

Velia (PNPC) glowered at the strewn articles of clothing adorning her bed and desk area. The captain had gone too easy on her, she'd decided. He may not have seen fit to properly reprimand her, but she wasn't some silly little girl - she had known better and she was not proud of herself. So first thing, she was going to do was scale down her personal effects. A little sacrifice never killed anyone. Well ... maybe it had, but that was not the point. The point was that short of waiting for one of those flogging whips to become available self deprivation was the most extreme measure she could think of. It was going to start with downsizing her wardrobe; followed by not using her credits to replicate more until she felt less guilty about the whole thing. And guilt just annoyed her and put her in a worse mood so she hoped it let up soon.

Terry kept waiting; the screen was still black. Oh no, she’s not there…she really did get the boot, he thought. He started going through his mind how he could find contact information for her. Maybe a family member, Starfleet records. What would he say when he finally found her? Ooops? Sorry? It’s completely my fault? I tried? Maybe he could tell her that he’s voluntarily going to go see the counselor. But what good would that do? This was the first time in his life that Major Terry Walsh of the Starfleet Marine Corp was unsure of his next step.

The console alerted Velia as she was mid-step, one arm raised in the air clutching her beloved hoodie, the other draped with workout pants and a pair of slippers dangling at her finger tips. "Put it through," she snapped. This was not the time for her mother to be calling, the ensign grumbled inwardly. The last thing she wanted to do was explain to the queen of gossip who was her mother that she'd screwed up already. "What?" she snapped, back still turned to the screen.

“Well aren’t we just a ray of ‘sunshine’ tonight, Velia.” Terry answered. He saw that she had her back to the screen and her personal effects scattered all around. He felt his stomach writhe as it prepared to give up its contents. She had gotten the boot.

It was the 'sunshine' that made her not even have to turn around, though she did. Were she any other woman, she might have wondered just what she looked like to him, in her current state. But because she wasn't any other woman, her only thought was that she wished it would have been her mother after all. "Major," the ensign nodded to him. Then, unable to stop it, "what's the occasion?"

“Just checking to see if my favorite pilot trainee was still in one piece.” Hesitation gripped him. “Looks like you’re packing or something? I hope I interrupted a vacation instead of something else?” Terry wasn’t at all sure where to go. “It is reassuring to see you in one piece, though.”

"I suppose," she eyed him hesitantly. "They allow you to stay too?"

That question was a relief. It told him that she hadn’t got kicked out. He let out a sigh and hoped it wasn’t visible. “Yeah, they did. Commander Richardson let me off with a warning and a suggestion to pre-train pilot trainees on the flight systems of a fighter.” He paused. “Well, since you’re staying in, how come all the packing? Captain Iluvar actually gonna let you off the ship again?

"Ha ha, flyboy." Velia's face made it clear she wasn't amused. "No thanks to you, but yes. Don't worry though, I promised the captain it wouldn't happen again." The remark was pointed. "And, I'm doing some spring cleaning, if you must know. We don't all live in flight suits." She'd noticed the rise and fall of his shoulders and it almost made her smile. Almost. "Is that all you wanted?"

“Of course, no more fighters for you. And no, that’s not all I wanted. We never set a date and time for our little hunting expedition. What works for you?”

Narrowed eyes scrutinized the screen. He couldn't be serious. "I'm not allowed to leave the ship," she informed him.

“Hey, I didn’t think he imposed a ship-board restriction on you?” asked Walsh.

"HE didn't. I'm imposing it upon myself. I understand why the captain made the decision he did but that's no excuse for me not to have to pay for my actions. And yours," she couldn't help throwing in.

“My what?” Walsh replied sarcastically.

"Your impaired judgment!" Velia threw her arms up in the air, hands flailing wildly. "I realize that the whole pilot thing involves some ability to take a slap on the wrist and wear it like a medal but ..." she would have kept going except he cut her off at the pass.

“Okay, okay, you twisted my arm.” He chuckled. “I’m going to do some counseling with Lt. Bernard and possibly some anger management classes. And all on my own, too.”

"How special," she said dryly, finally sitting down at the viewer and crossing her arms at her chest.

“So, if you can’t leave the ship, you want a visitor? Nice, quiet, and no trouble. I’m sure the Pandora has a holo-deck.”

Velia openly stared at him. Maybe this was his idea of his own personal punishment. "Why?"

“Well that wasn’t the response I expected. Where’s the biting, snide, retorts that you’re famous for? What happened to that old Marine that’s hiding somewhere in there? Huh, Sunshine?” Terry had come to think of Velia as more of a Marine brother, or sister in this case, than anything else. And like most Marines, he missed the smart-alecky conversations. Especially since being stationed where there weren’t really that many Marines.

The ensign was suspicious but nothing about the way Terry had asked told her she needed to be. The likelihood of this being some sort of repayment of a trouble favor was admittedly low; though Velia considered taking offense to the hidden marine comment. She'd sworn off of using her holo-credits as part of her plan for absolution, though. She weighed the pros and cons of accepting his offer silently for a few moments.

Terry sat there and watched Velia as she contemplated her answer.

Sighing, she relented. "Yeah, we have a holodeck." She was definitely leaving the safeties on, just in case. So far her holodeck excursions were evenly matched for an enjoyable time or ending up in sickbay ... she didn't have any desire to upset the balance. Velia leaned forward. "When were you thinking?"

“Hmm, you look pretty busy for the next few days, spring cleaning and all. How about after your self-imposed time of penance? I’d really hate to interrupt that.” He smiled and waited a second. “Unless you’ve got something else in mind?”

"I'm not cleaning anything in the holodeck," she snapped. "Besides, we do have a lounge here too, you know. Although, I don't go very often," Velia added quickly. At least, not of her own accord. But someplace public would probably be safest for his visit; just in case.

“A nice cup of bitterly strong coffee sounds better anyway. I’m always up for that. A day or two sound alright to you? I’ve got to start my ‘counseling’ sessions tomorrow.” With a smirk, he added, “I expect the first few to be intense.”

"Fantastic. It'll give me a two day head start," Velia's smirk mirrored Terry's. As much as she hated to admit it, Velia was hoping she could wheedle some information out of him about his counseling sessions and his reprimand.

“Alright, see you in two days…around 1630? Hey, wait a minute…head start?”

"Yep." Velia gave the screen a half wave and then severed the link. Satisfied, she returned to her sorting; anticipating the interrogation that was sure to come.

OFF:

A cross-simm post

by

Ensign Velia Moretti (PNPC)
Intelligence Officer
USS Pandora
Played by: Lt. JG Jacy

and

Major Terry Walsh
224th Dragonriders
Wing Vice Commander
Starbase 386