Making Friends

Posted on Sun Jan 14th, 2018 @ 1:01pm by Lieutenant Commander Amber Quinn & Lieutenant Trei Jansum

785 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Cloud Surfing
Location: Lounge

It was just after his shift, and Trei needed a drink. He headed to the lounge, hoping the bartender had something for his headache. His assistant department head, Kaisilius, was on edge. He had an unhealthy obsession with blowing things up, but usually it was a minor nuisance, if that. With everything going on with the ship, Kaisilius was itching to go down to the engine room and blow up the Chief Engineer. Trei had relieved him of duty for the time being, and he was safely in the brig, with Bart watching over him. Bart was growling a lot because Kaisilius was, to put it delicately, going crazy.

Thus Trei's headache. He entered the lounge and headed towards the bar, and smiled. The XO was there. She was pretty, but what he respected more was that she was kind and protective of her people. And she had a sense of humor. He didn't trust anyone without a sense of humor. Maybe that's why he respected her so much as an officer. He had spent months here, and had not made one friend; time to make one.

He sat beside the XO, and smiled. "Hey," he said by way of greeting. "Do you know what's good here? I mostly eat in the mess hall."

Amber turned to smile at the Chief of Security. "It depends on who's in the kitchen. You can generally trust the staff to tell you what's good, but I don't recommend the special of the day. It's usually yesterday's leftovers."

Trei gave an understanding nod. "I'll be sure not to ask for it. My last ship did that too." He placed an order for a type of steak native to Betazed with greens and something on Earth he had discovered: Dr Pepper. It was a wondrous drink. He thought for a moment, then suggested that the two of them do something together as friends. "For instance, do you like to play Velocity?"

Amber raised an eyebrow. "Afraid not."

Trei sighed inwardly. "No one plays Velocity anymore. It's a great sport. They used to have professional competitions that went on for hours, it was great. I still have some of the vids. Do you follow any sports?" he asked as he took a bite of his meal.

"Terran football," she said. "Some still refer to it as soccer. I like to watch it when I have the time."

"I went to the Academy with a couple of guys who were from rural parts of North America, and they always referred to that game with the--pigskin, I think they called it? That they called football. I had never seen so many guys willing to bash each others' heads in," he said laughing. "But I haven't heard of soccer. How is that played?"

Amber chuckled. "It uses a ball with hexagonal shapes. The goal is to kick the ball through your opponents goal without using your hands while the other team tries to kick it away."

Trei nodded. "I may have to look at some vids sometime," he mused. "They can only use their feet?"

"Except the keeper. He or she can use hands in a specific area around the goal. And you can throw the ball in from the sidelines. But other than that, you only use your feet."

"I suppose that's why it's called football," Trei said. "I always wondered why the other game was called football when you go around knocking each other down."

Amber shrugged. "It does involve a ball, and they do kick it, but only sometimes, not as much as in international football. So, what other hobbies do you have?"

"My father insisted that my brother and I learn how to bake because of the matriarchal system we have. So he wanted his sons to learn to be good husbands. I've found that baking can be quite relaxing. So can cooking. Sometimes I'll experiment but it doesn't always come out right," he admitted chuckling. "One time I landed everyone in Sickbay."

Amber grinned. "That's the nature of experimenting. You always try it out first, just in case. You should see some of the interesting concoctions created over Bunsen burners or in test tubes. Scientists can get quite...creative...when they're bored or desperate."

Trei grinned. "I might have to see that. Maybe you could show me sometime. Get some ideas." He drained his drink and wiped his mouth. "I have to get back to the bridge. It was nice meeting you, Commander."

"Take care, lieutenant," Amber said, smiling politely at the security officer before turning back to ask the bartender about his family.

____
OFF

Lieutenant Trei Jansum
Chief Security Officer

Lieutenant Commander Amber Quinn
Executive Officer

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