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EPI: S [D03|2100] Moving Day

[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder| Main Sickbay | Deck 11 |Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Swift

MOVING DAY

STARDATE: 57655.31
APRIL 18, 2381
2100 HRS

Reggie hadn’t seen a day this intense since the war.  Two separate engagements launching off of two separate bases of operations, one in a ship not really designed to be in a fight, the next after a quick orientation to a new spacecraft and an even quicker transfer to a new assignment and a second engagement.  Of course when she landed on the Theurgy’s flight deck, there had been the requisite debrief.  After that it was a matter of getting her first orientation aboard Theurgy before she was finally dismissed to her own devices. 

Of course, there was nothing from keeping her from being dismissed to Sickbay earlier, and there were a few of the many she had already met who had almost insisted she go.  The bump on her head had turned into a goose egg, and the abrasion on her left jaw still stung, though it had stopped bleeding before she landed.  Despite their suggestion she get checked out, she declined.  From what Reggie had heard, there were significant injuries and casualties on board and she would not add to the crowd with little more than a bump and a cut.  So, she took her time on the flight deck, waiting for the fervor to die down before availing herself of a medical workup.

It didn’t surprise her though to find Main sickbay still crowded and a bustle of activity, though by her eye it seemed that things were under control and no longer in crisis.  However she was no medical expert, not by a long shot, so she would make her presence light until she could speak to someone.  No one was at the receptionist seat, so she ventured in a little deeper taking an empathic read of the room.  Yes.  Under control, but focused and still tense.

The collision at her shoulder almost knocked her off balance and she turned to see the woman, slightly curled bleach blond hair hanging just above her shoulders, medical uniform.

“I…I’m sorry, Lieutenant,” she said eying the one gold and one black pip on her collar.  “I wasn’t paying attention.  I’m Lieutenant Regiene Suder.”  She extended her hand in typical human greeting, a friendly smile accompanying the gesture.  “I’m, uh one of the new pilots and I wanted to see if I could get the medical stuff out of the way so I could get on the flight line.”

Her head throbbed, a momentary dull pain but enough to make her pull back in a wince.

“Oh… and get my head looked at.  Took a bump or two against the Romulans.”

Recovering, Reggie turned to look at her again, this time noticing perhaps her most distinguishing feature.

“Nice eyes,” she commented.  “Love the color.”

Re: EPI S: [D03 | 2100 ] Moving Day

Reply #1 –
[ Lt. JG Kate Foster | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring

Twice Kate had been ordered to call it an end to her shift, and twice she’d somehow managed to wind up sticking around regardless of said orders. Normally she would have more than welcomed the opportunity to escape sickbay, especially when the only pressing matters left to be attended to were rather dull, but right now, solace and sleep were two things she desperately wanted to avoid. Lingering in the recesses of her thoughts like a panther in the shadows ready to pounce, was the omnipresent sensation of unease that her brother had instilled in her via some kind of psychic terror nearly twenty-four hours earlier. She could scarcely discern the specifics of the horrors she had seen, or the finer details of whatever meaning they beheld, but the emotional impact of his actions had yet to wane in any appreciable way for her. It was why the dark circles hanging under her eyes, accentuating their shimmering orangish hue by contrast, were growing darker with each passing hour she staved off rest. It was why she was working on her tenth, or was it her eleventh, red leaf tea of the day; no doubt her kidney numbers would have been anything but nominal if she’d subjected herself to a blood test.

“Get going, Kate!” blurted Ensign Janteel, Kate’s immediate subordinate within the surgical team, a wryness hinted by the slight grin across his face. “I’ve got this. Go get some rest!” he added as he disappeared behind a bulkhead, probably headed to check in on the more serious patients they’d been caring for.

Sighing heavily, Kate cast a weary smile back at the Bajoran as though she were finally relented in her situation.

“Ohhh! Oooh, oh sorry!” She suddenly held up both hands as way of proffering an apology to the woman she’d so inadvertently bumped into, internally swearing at herself due to the momentary lapse in coordination and awareness. “No, it’s my fault entirely! I umm... wasn’t paying attention. Sorry. It’s just... it’s been a long shift, y’know?” She explained, brushing her hair back behind her ear after it had flung itself loose in the commotion. “I’m Kate... erm, Lieutenant Kate Foster.” Now holding out her hand to more appropriately greet the other woman, Kate felt some flushness find the pale features of her face. “Ohh... I mean, Doctor Lieutenant Kate Foster, or... just Doctor Foster.” Clearing her throat for a second, she recognized the manner in which she was fidgeting, and desperately clasped her hands behind her back to hide them. “Kate’s fine.” Nodding in an attempt to diffuse the awkwardness of her introduction, Kate cleared her throat audibly before tilting her head to one side as she listened to the new pilot explain her reason for having come to sickbay.

Blinking once she’d finished, Kate kept nodding like a deer caught in headlights as an uncomfortable silence permeated between them, only broken up as the other officer expanded on the injuries she’d sustained and outlined additional details for her visit. As flattery and compliments began to fly though, Kate seemed confused for a moment, as though she had forgotten the unusual coloration of her eyes.

“Oh... oh right, my eyes! Yeah, oh, thanks!” she said simply, another prolonged silence going on after as she went blank once more. It did eventually hit her, the implication being made, and with another sigh the slender blonde rolled her eyes in understanding. “Duh, you’re wondering if I can help you with all of that, or if I can point you in the direction of someone who can.” Peering about, there were a few options within shouting distance she could call on to take over, allowing her to carry out the order made to call it a night, but then again, this was an opportunity to delay just a little longer. After all, she rationalized, she had almost knocked the poor woman over, and something as simple as an onboarding bio-scan wouldn’t take too long to complete. After having mulled it over, Kate knew she had to seize on the opportunity before anyone caught her hanging about and thrice ordered her to end her shift. “Umm... I can do it.” She finally said, a hand motioning to her left in the direction of a smaller Medical Lab where they might find some privacy, and a place to effectively hide from everyone who might have yelled at her.

“Yeah, follow me and we’ll get this done quick.” Hastily, Kate trod down the corridor that led to the lab and entered it, having left the aluminum tumbler she had been drinking from a minute or so earlier laying square in the middle of the carpeted decking, it’s red-tinted contents soaking into the gray material. Poking her head back out of the door, she looked back at Reggie.

“Don’t... don’t worry about that, someone will get it later.”

Re: EPI S: [D03 | 2100 ] Moving Day

Reply #2 –
[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder| Main Sickbay | Deck 11 |Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Swift 

For a moment, Reggie wondered if she would be better off excusing herself from ‘Doctor Lieutenant’s presence and finding someone else among the staff a little less frazzled.  The fatigue was evident on Kate’s face and the flustered confusion radiated as if she were a human pulsar.  Yet despite the initial confusion, there was something about this woman which Reggie found intriguing and it pleased her that the young blonde was willing to help her. 

As they walked, she caught herself humming a little diddy from her jukebox program, but caught herself after just a few bars.  She hadn’t thought about that that particular song in quite some time.  It always served as a reminder of her academy days accompanied by the sense of regret that always followed when she remembered her.

The one who got away.

The break in Kate’s stride as she set her cup down on the deck drew her attention and Reggie reached to pick it up, only to stop mid motion as Kate told her someone else would take care of it.  The scent of cinnamon combined with the red hue of the liquid took her back to a visit she made to Deep Space Nine during her time in the Bajoran sector.  What had that Cardassian called it?

“Is that Red Leaf Tea?”

If she remembered correctly, that drink was damn high in it’s caffeine content.  No wonder she was so scattered when they’d bumped into each other.  If Kate was even half as tired as she looked, and had been drinking Red Leaf… girl was wired.

Re: EPI S: [D03 | 2100 ] Moving Day

Reply #3 –
[ Lt. JG Kate Foster | Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring

Tapping at the controls beneath a large viewer, Kate called up a baseline medical record template which she could use for Lieutenant Suder. Immediately she had begun filling in all of the relevant biometrics which she’d ascertained from simple visual inspection, while simultaneously she tasked Thea with recovering any and all documents which might’ve been floating around in Oneida’s computer cores. “Hmm?” blinking as her newest patient raised a question, Kate spun round and glanced at the pilot a moment as her the haphazard cross-wiring in her spent mind finished searching for an answer. “Ohh... oh, uhh yeah.” She answered, a hand swiping along the glass surface of the viewer as she transferred relevant data without so much as thinking. Procedures like this one, or rather, examinations were second-hand nature to her at this point; she very well could’ve completed it blindfolded. “I uhh picked it up as a habit a few years ago, when I was assigned to the recovery efforts on Cardassia Prime. It has nearly twice the caffeine content as coffee. And it tastes better too.”

“Anyway, if you wouldn’t mind removing your duty jacket and slacks.” Kate stepped over to lift the lid on the bio-scanner.

“Technically, Starfleet Medical regulations, which are out of date for these newer scanners, still demand full nudity, but I’m not some crazed maniacal alien robot who’s so beholden to said outdated regulations.” Kate had heard nightmares of the sort of examinations that V-Nine had been conducting on members of the crew and was adamant that she’d not put her patients through such an embarrassing ordeal.

Unless they annoyed her.

Yawning, she returned to the large viewer as the template began to auto-populate with additional relevant medical data as it was being downloaded. “Betazoid?” she said aloud, not having picked up on the telltale black eyes of her comrade. “I guess that explains the eyes.” She added, not looking back, then realizing it was a bit of a rude comment, all things considered. “I mean, your eyes. It explains your eyes. Not mine. Umm... never mind.” Though as the biometrics of Suder were being populated thanks to the uplink with Oneida, Kate soon saw mention of augmented visual prosthetics, and it dawned on her that the woman behind her, didn't have the eyes of a Betazoid, rather she had machine eyes. "Oh... ocular replacement surgery. Guess I missed that some how." She said absently, bringing a hand to rub her face, annoyed with herself that her exhaustion was compromising her ability to appropriately care for her patients, even in such a simple and routine procedure as a medical exam.

Patiently waiting for Suder to finish undressing, Kate tilted her head to one side as a tune came to mind from somewhere, as though she’d absently heard it from someone a moment earlier and it hadn’t even registered. “...you said you’d meet, now it’s quarter to two...” Softly singing the lyrics to the old song, one she had always liked, so much indeed that she’d actually attended a Halloween Party dressed as the singer years earlier, Kate swayed her head from side to side without even realizing she was doing it, until again, sluggishly late, it hit her. Clearing her throat as a mild blush came to her face, she tried to return to focusing on work, rather than distractions like music or old Halloween costumes. “So... you’re a pilot?” she asked, trying to make small talk in absence of her having no confidence in anything else to discuss, given how utterly spent she was. “Umm... a lot of you guys coming in for exams lately.” Realizing how she was effectively crashing and burning, she let her eyes drift in their focus as the computer continued to compile data onto the monitor for her.

“...I’m hangin’ but I’m still wantin’ you...” she whispered under her breath.

Re: EPI S: [D03 | 2100 ] Moving Day

Reply #4 –
[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 |Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Swift 

Reggie chuckled at Kate’s comments about the eyes as she undressed for the exam.  “Nah, I get what you’re saying.  That said, I’m not sure if you have access to my medical records, but in case you don’t you should probably know that my eyes are cybernetic.  I was blinded back in 2372 and had to have the implants put in.”

She slipped off the tunic and her under garment before turning her attention to her slacks.  Kate was muttering under her breath as she worked.  She spoke quietly, but between what Reggie could hear with her ears and what the human was giving off telepathicaly, she understood

“…I’m hangin’ but I’m still wantin’ you…”

Her underwear fell into the pile of her discarded clothes and she slid onto the bio bed, the texture of the cool fabric a comforting feeling against her bare ass and legs.  The upper body portion of the bio bed had been raised slightly, reminding Reggie of what a lounger on a beach might look like.

“…I hate myself for loving you…”

Reggie settled in place, her right arm resting gnetly across her stomach, while her left reached up and behind her head.  She let her left leg lay flat on the bed but pulled her right leg up to bend at the knee.  She took in a breath and let it out, more to relax herself while she waited for Kate to finish her work.

The tune continued playing in her head.  It had come back to her unbidden along with the feeling of being warm as though she were sunning herself on a tropical beach after a massive rain storm had passed through.  The thought was silly of course, she hadn’t been to Risa in months, and the weather control grid there made sure there was no rain to be had.  What odd thoughts to be having.

“…I wanna walk, but I run back to you…”

Joan Jett.  That’s where she knew the lyrics from.  Kate had been humming a song by a 20th century musician from Earth.  Or had she been the one humming it?  What were the odds that Kate would know of her anyways?

“So,” Reggie asked casually, “you a fan of Joan Jett?”

Re: EPI S: [D03 | 2100 ] Moving Day

Reply #5 –
[ Lt. JG Kate Foster | Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring

“Thea’s getting what she can from the Oneida’s database. The umm... the rest I can fill in as we go along.”

Absently allowing Thea a chance to migrate any relevant data from the Oneida into their mainframe, so as to save the time of having to re-input the information a second time, Kate was oblivious to the newly-minted Lone Wolf disrobing behind her. Instead, she bobbed her head from side-to-side a few times in rhythm with the chorus of the little tune that had snaked it’s way into her mind, unknowingly let loose unto her by said Lone Wolf a moment earlier. Reaching out to touch at the controls once or twice in order to correctly input some missing data, Kate nodded in acknowledgement of the files describing the sort of ocular replacement Suder had undergone. The tech arguably made her an even better pilot, at least Kate imagined so. Completely lost to a moment of contemplation, she instinctively brought an empty hand up to her face in order to take a sip from the tumbler of Cardassian Red Leaf Tea she’d dropped and left behind in the midst of Sickbay just a moment earlier. Blinking, she nervously checked the motion and instead ran a hand through her hair, brushing it back in a futile attempt to hide the errant mistake.

“...free from the things that you do...” she completed the next lyric, suddenly realizing that she hadn’t been the voice to vocalize the previous line.

“Whoa! You know Joan Jett!? That’s awes--” spinning around in excitement that someone else knew the artist, one of her personal favorites, Kate couldn’t wait to share in her love of the 80s Rockstar. Though, as she caught glimpse of the beautiful woman, decidedly sans any sort of clothing despite Kate informing her that it wasn’t mandatory, and rather prominently displayed in an act of candor atop the bio-scanner, the blonde surgeon’s sentence stalled immediately. “--ohh! Oh! Wow! I uhh, sorry! I didn’t mean to... umm...” throwing up a hand to try and block view of Suder’s body, more-so in an offer of modesty on behalf of the pilot, it didn’t take long for the silliness of her prudish reaction to dawn on her. Clearing her throat, Kate dropped her hands, desperately trying to not seem so taken by the sight of the near perfect body before her, a paleness to her already pale features as a nervous smile crossed her face. “I umm, sorry... I just didn’t expect you to be... umm, never mind. It’s fine. Umm... I’m just going to close the lid on the scanner and get a good look.... erm, I mean, let the computer get a good look of your body, and any irregularities.”

Again, obviously trying not to make any lurid looks, to the point of near absurdity, the fact that Suder was Betazed hadn’t even yet settled in for Kate. Her efforts to try and remain professional, which was indeed her intent, were entirely unnecessary, because it would’ve been abundantly clear to the telepath, or anyone for that matter. Still, Kate’s relative unease with the situation, very much the result of her nerves having been frayed thin a few years earlier during court-martial, and the subsequent stint she’d spend in rehab on Vulcan, was a limiting factor in her comfort. “Umm... no, sorry, you’re fine. I mean, duh, even the blind can see that... I mean, it’s fine.” Shaking her head, and taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she let a little chortle escape before talking again. “Just umm, hang out and we’ll get this scan done.” With that, she lowered the lid on the scanner and with a few touches of an attached console, it began to hum softly with activity.

“So... yeah I umm... I’m a fan of Joan Jett.” She soon explained, checking behind her, Kate saw that the bio-scan was quickly approaching completion.

“I didn’t know anyone else living in this century even knew who she was.”

Re: EPI S: [D03 | 2100 ] Moving Day

Reply #6 –
[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder | Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 |Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Swift‍ 

At first, Reggie didn’t understand Kate’s reaction when she’d turned around.  But as the medical officer struggled to compose herself, Reggie realized…conciously realized for the first time that she’d stripped down nude.

“Oh, God,” she exclaimed.  “I’m so sorry Lieutenant!”

She moved to cover herself, looking for a blanket or even her uniform jacket but by the time she’d gotten her own damn self composed, Kate seemed to have calmed herself down.

“My apologies, Kate.  You’d said I only needed to take off my jacket and slacks.  I guess my mind wandered and I heard you say something about nudity.  I wasn’t thinking.  I can cover up if you’d…”

She was cut off as Kate closed the clamshell scanner over her, stumbling over her words about getting a good look.

That. Was. Awkeard.

What had just come over her?  Culturally speaking, it was well known that Betazoids did not consider nudity a cultural taboo, like many others did, and Reggie was certainly happy for that as she’d often felt more comfortable in just her own skin than she did wearing any kind of fabric no matter how soft and luxurious it might be.  But she’d learned a long time ago not to flaunt herself like that around others, if for no other reason than out of respect for their own cultural beliefs and norms.  And yet…

It was just so out of place.  Sure if someone had come to her quarters unannounced, they might find her naked, but the privacy of her quarters was one thing…this…

She sighed and deflated.  Best to just move on with it.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I’m aware of Joan Jett’s music.  I’ve been building a personal music collection for years.  Most of it older terran music, a lot of classic rock.  You know… artists like Joan Jett, KISS, Led Zeppelin and  the like.  Even curated it into a holodeck program.”

She brushed a lock of stray hair off her face and rested her head on her hand.

“You know it’s funny you were singing that one to yourself,” Reggie mused.  “I’ve had that song in my head since I came aboard a few hours ago.  What a coincidence that…”

Her voice trailed off as realization hit her like a torpedo smashing into a hull.  Had she?  No… it was possible of course… but she’d learned as a child not to… and she woudln’t even if… but she’d been distracted enough to strip down, clearly her mind was wandering… was it possible even if unintentional….

“Kate...” she said.  “Lieutenant, I think I owe you an apology…”

Re: EPI S: [D03 | 2100 ] Moving Day

Reply #7 –
[ Lt. JG Kate Foster | Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring

The scanner bed closed, a genuinely amused smile crept across Kate’s face as she shook her head, the hilarity of the miscommunication between herself and her newest patient wouldn’t have been missed by an outside observer, of which there were thankfully none. Still, she had to stifle a smidgen of her own laughter as she went over to monitor the scanner readout as it began resolving in the computer. Her accidental choice of words, exposing that part of her brain which couldn’t necessarily contain any illicit thoughts that might’ve popped up upon viewing such a beautiful woman sans any clothing, Kate brought a hand to the back of her neck to try and maintain some sense of composure as the scanner continued to emanate a soft hum as it worked. Clearing her throat audibly, she tried to push said thoughts from her mind, since they were explicitly inappropriate in both the literal and figurative sense.

“Oh wow! Really?” she asked, her attention quickly spirited away from the previous point of focus, a sign of her general weariness, and also her sometimes flippant and utterly chaotic personality. “Yeah! Those groups and their music kick some serious ass! I love that kind of unabashed energetic party rock; just kind of thrashing it out and having as good a time as possible. Y’know? Like, umm... Just letting it hang?” She said excitedly, nearly falling off of the stool upon which she’d been so tentatively posed, her hands catching the control panel in front of her at the last second. Thankful for the fact that Suder couldn’t see her near fall through the scanner enclosure, Kate hastily tried to regain some composure before the alert from the computer chimed, signaling completion. “Oh... umm, you’re, um done.” She said simply, hopping off of the stool and crossing the short distance to where the scanner ran along the bulkhead.

Taking a steadying breath in order to reign in any nerved, Kate touched the lid of the scanner and slowly lifted it so that the Lieutenant might be able to sit up, her tangerine-eyes averting deliberately in an effort to not steal any new glimpses of her loveliness. “No, you don’t need to apologize again. It’s okay. Just... a misunderstanding. It’s okay, really. I mean, back in the day, it was standard procedure, remember I said as much?" Hoping to reassure the pilot, Kate forcibly turned her head that she might face Reggie, careful not to let her gaze wander from where it focused on her compatriot’s prosthetic eyes. “Computer scan is complete, I umm... just need to review the finer details, but no alarms sounded off, which means for the most part, you’re perfectly healthy.” Her smile broadening as the attentive aspect of her care as a professional returned, she’d not detected anything else which might’ve elicited any sort of explanation or apology on the part of the new Lone Wolf.

Re: EPI S: [D03 | 2100 ] Moving Day

Reply #8 –
[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder | Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 |Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Swift‍ 

Reggie sat up as Kate lifted the scanner lid.  A part of her considered grabbing a blanket to cover herself, but Kate had already seen her and so the deed there was done.  Nah, better to start getting dressed.  She reached for her undergarments, sliding her underwear up her legs and snug around her hips before she slipped into her bra,

“I don’t think you understand, Kate.  I’m not apologizing so much for the miscommunication about the clothes.  But rather,”

Her voioce trailed off as she slipped off the edge of the bio bed so she could stand as she fastened her pants around her waist.  Her tunic, jacket, and socks still sat in a pile all but ignored as Reggie slowly, respectfully, approached Kate.  She folded her hands together in front of her, as her eyes dropped.  For the moment she couldn’t look her in the eye.  At the same time, she could not say this while staring at the deck and her bare feet.

“Kate,” Reggie said, forcing her self to look at the woman.  She swept stray hair behind her right ear.  “I’ve been thinking about that Joan Jett song ever since I got on board.  I don’t know why it came to me all of a sudden, but it’s been that bug in my ear I can’t seem to get out of my head.”

She paused, trying to explain it.

“Look, what I’m saying is that… I think I might have accidentally projected that song at you telepathically.”

Yes, it was a violation of Betazoid social ethics.  But in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t all that big of a deal, she suspected.  Many were prone to the inadvertent projection of thoughts.  It was the forcible reading or extraction of thoughts that was really taboo.  Yet it felt like the weight of the world was on her because of it.  What the hell had her wound up so tight all of a sudden?

Re: EPI S: [D03 | 2100 ] Moving Day

Reply #9 –
[ Lt. JG Kate Foster | Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring

Averting her gaze away from Suder as the pilot sat up in the bio-scanner, having to forcibly compel herself not to look upon the lovely woman out of a sense of propriety, and given their Doctor/Patient standing, Kate considered returning to the nearby computer monitor to close out the report for review by one of her superiors.

“I umm...”

Though before she could turn away, the attention was called back, and she inadvertently looked back to face her patient, though she had already managed to slip into a few garments, covering up the more lurid parts of her body. Immediately, Kate was grateful for that, for as truly tired and depleted as she was, it proved somewhat difficult to effectively avert her attention elsewhere. “Hmm? Oh...” the explanation, though paused momentarily in its delivery didn’t seem to really hit home for the beleaguered Chief Surgeon. Raising an eyebrow curiously, as Reggie tried to find the right words, seemingly mirroring Kate’s force of habit as she swiped a stray bit of hair behind an ear, the blonde furrowed her face out of confusion before the words ‘telepathically’ started to settle in.

“Oh... oh...” she exclaimed, clearly a little unsettled at what it meant. Her aversion toward telepathy quite deeply seeded due to her brother’s lifelong abuse of it toward her, it had left her in a position of great discomfort when in the presence of those who could similarly make use of it, though they generally weren’t as careless or as intrusive as Stellan was. Thinking on it for a short moment, she realized that her brother was again having an effect on her, even though he was no where to be seen or heard of, and that thought was far more troubling for her. It was a conflict, as on one hand, she didn’t appreciate being telepathically interacted with, but on the other, she didn’t like that her brother was the reason behind it. Realizing her silence in reaction to Suder being so forthright with her, Kate shook her head to try and physically dismiss her mental discontentment.

“It’s... umm, it’s fine. It was an accident.” She admitted, her own hand running through her hair as she tucked a strand of blonde hair behind an ear. “You didn’t do it on purpose, I can... I can live with that.” Affording the pilot a smile, one which was a genuine reflection of the consideration being shown her, Kate shrugged her shoulders. “Seriously. It’s cool. I’m fine.” Taking a step backward so that her counterpart might have a bit more space to exit the bio-scanner and dress, Kate quickly closed out the medical file, and sent it for review by Doctor Kobol. “Besides... if it hadn’t happened, we might not have discovered a mutual interest in that kind of music.” In her mind, she liked the idea that not only was she not bothered by Reggie’s invasion, but that she was fine with it, in direct defiance of what her brother might’ve expected.

“What about Aerosmith? You like them too?” Kate asked, trying to steer the question back into a more comfortable direction as she once more turned back to face Suder. “We’re umm... we’re done... by the way.” She added, realizing she’d not explicitly said so.

Re: EPI: S [D03|2100] Moving Day

Reply #10 –
[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder| Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 |Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Swift‍ 

Reggie sighed, not quite placated by the inadvertent incident.  The woman had radiated discomfort, uncertainty, and… was that fear…when Reggie had brought it to her attention.  Yet her spoken words were of forgiveness and not worrying about it.  There was something else there, Reggie knew it.  But Kate clearly didn’t want to share it and given what had just happened, Reggie was not about to push.  So, she was content to accept Kate’s acceptance and let the medical officer steer the conversation back to music. 

She had heard of the group ‘Aerosmith’ in her research but she’d found their lead singer to be a bit more screamy than she personally preferred.  Oh what the hell was his name?    She couldn’t think of it, but as she did, she took extra care to not project her thoughts.    She didn’t care if she picked up any stray ones from those around her.  Hell she preferred to.  But she wouldn’t violate Kate like that again if she could help it. 

“They’re all right,” she said as she slipped into her undergarments.  “I don’t mind them, but I think their lead is just a bit too shrill for my taste.  I mean look at it this way,” she paused to slip her pants on.

“Take Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Crazy Train’, you ever heard that one?”  Reggie didn’t wait for Kate to respond.  “His first line is essentially him screaming for everyone to get aboard the proverbial train.  Okay.  Fine.  That works and I think he’s got the voice for it.  But you look at Aerosmith…Tyler!”  She snapped her fingers as his name came back to her.  “It just feels to me like Steven Tyler liked to scream because he could, and every time he does it sounded to me like someone grabbed him by the balls, ya know?”

Re: EPI: S [D03|2100] Moving Day

Reply #11 –
[ Lt. JG Kate Foster | Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring

Her attention having so quickly shifted away from work, now that the bio-scan had been completed, Kate allowed whatever insecurities and concerns that had been spirited within her fade, determined to not let her brother, of all people, be the one to undo her on this day.

Smiling genuinely as she listen and began to gauge the reaction of Suder upon the mention of Aerosmith, Kate was more than aware that the vocal stylizations of Steven Tyler weren’t necessarily for everyone, and when the response was somewhat tepid, the blonde surgeon made something of a teasingly disappointed face, sticking her tongue out at the pilot as she went about dressing. “Aww, c’mon man! Ozzy’s great! Prince of Darkness and all that, but Steven Tyler rules the Glam-Rock scene!” she began to counter-argue, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she leant back against the bulkhead just adjacent of the door. Indeed, Kate had long held the aforementioned group in high regard, at least in terms of the memories she’d made while listening to them, allowing herself to take a brief moment and recall well her wilder days of partying, and some of the friends and lovers she’d made while sharing in her enjoyment of said group. “My heart like... literally melts whenever I hear the opening orchestral chords of ‘don’t wanna miss a thing’! Ugh... so many nights spent just making out to that one.”

Blinking in sudden realization at how she’d so randomly blurted that admission out to a relative stranger, Kate’s face went to a deep shade of red almost immediately. “Oh God! I can’t believe I just said that!” With a delicately slender hand, she tried to alleviate the embarrassment she felt by clutching at the back of her neck while averting her tangerine-gaze.

“Sorry...” she apologized, returning from whatever exhaustion fueled trip she’d been on.

Mercifully, fate intervened on her behalf an instant later as a voice from above called out to her. “Doctor Foster! Kate, I know you’re still in Sickbay somewhere. I’ve been finding your half-finished cups of red leaf tea everywhere, and they’re still warm, so I know they’re still fresh.” The voice, clearly belonging to a male member of the Medical Team, belonged to her immediate subordinate, Ensign Janteel, who’d forewarned her to head off-shift sooner, rather than later just an hour or so before. While the Ensign was outranked by Kate, their professional and personal relationship afforded more than a modicum of this sort of feedback and admonishment, as evidenced by the quizzically amused look now in Kate’s face as she peered up toward the ceiling while listening. “Go home, Kate! Get some rest! I mean it! Otherwise I’ll get Doctor Kobol down here, and he will call down someone from Security to make it happen.”

With a sigh, Kate glanced at Suder before tapping the combadge on her chest.

“Alright, alright, alright. You’ve got me Daran. I’m heading off now.” She answered, shaking her head as she pushed off of the bulkhead and uncrossed her arms. “Good night, Ensign!” She added before tapping the combadge twice, closing the channel and effectively signing off.

“Well... I umm... I guess that means we’re done here.” Taking a short pause, she pressed a finger against the console just next to the door to unlock it. “Ugh...” the situation of her quartering returning to her conscious thought, Kate reached for a nearby PADD, ready to exit the Lab whenever her patient was. “...I need to review the list of available domiciles.” She explained, opening a file made by the ship’s quartermaster, her finger scrolling through it. “I basically just got evicted from mine, because of...” a pause in her explanation, she weighed whether or not to expand on the situation with her brother, eventually deciding to keep it vague for the moment. “...my neighbor. We umm... we didn’t exactly get along too well. Guess I’m a little too loud.” She added with a smile and a shrug of her shoulders, as if to express how little she cared. “Dude was a real dork! Wasn’t as cool about music as some people are, y'know?” she hinted, winking wryly at Suder.

Re: EPI: S [D03|2100] Moving Day

Reply #12 –
[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder | Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 |Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Swift‍ 

Reggie chuckled at Kate’s inadvertent admission of guilt over ‘Don’t wanna miss a thing.”  That was one of two of Aerosmith’s songs she actually liked and she was about to say as much when the call came in admonishing Kate to get going for the night.

“Ewww,” she conceded. “Sounds like your neighbor had a real stick up their ass.  Who are they?  I should probably avoid them.”

She pulled her tunic over her head and cleared her hair from the collar.  “Don’t get me wrong.  Aerosmith’s got a couple of good ones.  I do enjoy ‘what kind of love are you on’.  But if you want to know who really gets me going, I can give you that in one word; KISS.  I mean talk about an unexpected experience.  One look at them and you think you’re going to be hearing some kind of big heavy metal big hair screamo group, but instead you get some of the best music in the genre backed up by one hell of a stage presence!  You ever seen Gene Simmons breathing fire while in the Demon persona?  Shit… that’s enough to give you nightmares right there.  Screw the Borg.”

She decided to omit any admission as to just how many times she’d ‘rocked and rolled’ all night with Kiss’s music providing ambiance.  Instead she slipped into her duty jacket but didn’t bother to zip it up.  She was off duty for the night and just going to strip out of it once she got to her quarters…wherever the hell they were aboard this beast of a ship.

“Oh, that reminds me.  I have to swing down by the Quartermaster’s office and pick up my gear and quarters assignment.  It should have been transferred over from the Oneida by now.  Interested in walking with me?”

Re: EPI: S [D03|2100] Moving Day

Reply #13 –
[ Lt. JG Kate Foster | Medical Lab 02 | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring

Lilting her head from side-to-side slightly when Reggie made mocking mention of Kate’s ‘roommate’, the blonde couldn’t help but allow a deviously affirmative grin cross her face. “You don’t know the half of it.” She explained without necessarily explaining in detail the tumultuous relationship she’d shared with Stellan. It didn’t feel like the time, or place really. Besides which, Kate had already let her brother get the best of her, and she was determined to not let him ruin this moment too. “He’s just some stuck-up asshole from the Counseling Department.” Clearing her throat, she recognized the deliberate vagueness of her answer, though it didn’t change her mind about going into detail about Stellan. Instead, she led Reggie out of the Medical Lab and fell in lock-step beside her as they made for an exit, her intent to call it a day in Sickbay made clear by now. “Unh! I love that song!” she exclaimed with exuberance, thankful for the excuse to shift subjects back to something other than her brother.

“KISS! Yes!” She added a second later, her delicate hand extending skyward with index and pinky fingers up in the Universal sign of Rock-and-Roll. “Like, totally!” She echoed Reggie’s thoughts of the group, nodding excitement as the smile on her face beamed ever brighter. ‘This chick is awesome!’ she thought to herself as they gradually made their way down the corridor together.

“...and Paul Stanley’s voice! So good!” she added, arching her back as a hand came to the center of her chest for emphasis.

Stopping once Reggie did, she turned back to look on after the pilot, and nodded. “Yeah! Actually, that’s like... not a bad idea, I guess I should finalize my change of quarters with him. Umm...” glancing round, she spotted the nearest turbolift and motioned to it with both hands. “...turbolift?” Waiting a moment for a carriage to arrive and the doors to open, Kate ran one of her hands through her blonde hair and tucked it back behind an ear before resuming their conversation. “Back on the Shelby... my assignment before Theurgy... the Chief Engineer and I would share playlists of all sorts of kickass Rock from that era.” She grinned, fondly recalling the interactions she’d had with the man. “He would drive his people crazy... like, late at night when he was doing maintenance on the Warp Core, he’d blare Motley Crue and Van Halen all throughout Main Engineering. Ugh! The acoustics of that place were so totally awesome! I’d hang round while he did his thing, reviewing crew medical files and whatever else I had to get done.”

A second later, the turbolift doors opened and allowed a red-collared crewman to exit.

“Umm... hmm... Thea, where is the Quartermaster’s Office located?” Kate asked, not really knowing off-hand.

[The Quartermaster is located on Deck Ten. Vector Two. Fore.] answered Thea.

“Oh... not far at all. Umm... thank you Thea, take us there, please?” Kate asked, and the carriage began to move.

“So, how’d a Betazoid come to discover old Earth Rock-and-Roll, anyway? If you don’t mind me asking.” Flicking her head slightly, her hair slipping free from where she’d just tucked it behind her ear, she canted the level of her face to Reggie that she might listen to an explanation, genuinely curious as her tone would indicate.

“There’s got to be a story behind your love of KISS?”

Re: EPI: S [D03|2100] Moving Day

Reply #14 –
[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder | Turbo Lift en route to Vector 02 Deck 10 Forward | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Swift‍ 

Reggie had to stop herself from swooning at the names of Van Halen and Motley Crue.  It had been so long…too long since she’d thought of their music and, for a moment she was back in the cockpit of her Peregrine running CAP with the Crue in her ear.

“Hah.” She said.  “I have a very special relationship with Doctor Feelgood.”  She offered a playful wink. “And pumping some Van Halen into the engine room…damn.  I would have loved to hear the opening to ‘Jump’ echoing off the warp core.

The doors to the turbolift closed, and the car began moving once again.

“Oh you are going to roll your eyes when I lose all the street cred I’ve built up if I tell you that…”

She looked at Kate, her tangerine eyes a unique color she’d never seen in humanoid eyes.  For the briefest of moments she considered trying to pivot the conversation to the blonde’s eyes, but stopped herself just as quickly.  With cosmetic surgery being what it was, the story there didn’t have to be anything more than that Kate might have liked the color.  She noticed Kate looking back at her and it didn’t take a telepath to know the Doctor was not about to let that question go unanswered.

“Fine,” she said in mock defeat.  “I knew I wanted to be a pilot when I was a kid.  That was never in doubt.  But I wasn’t necessarily sure as to who I’d fly for.  I suspected that I’d be happiest in Starfleet, but I also considered doing civilian work.”

Her mind wandered to that time of her life, she’d long since left behind and almost forgotten only to have rock and roll talk revive it as if someone had unpacked and blown the dust off an old memory book. 

Damn….

“To help me decide, my parents arranged a family trip to Earth so I could visit the Academy and get a feel for it.  It wasn’t necessary, but it was a hell of a lot of fun.  While we were there, I insisted we pop up to Bozeman, Montana and visit the Zephram Cochrane memorial.  The Phoenix is in the Smithsonian, of course, but they’ve preserved Cochrane’s camp and the missile silo almost perfectly.  Did you know he had a jukebox loaded with rock and roll music?”

She paused again, really hoping Kate wouldn’t think the next bit was sappy.

“Apparently when he launched, he was playing Steppenwolf’s ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ during the ascent.  So I figured ‘eh what the hell’ and cued it up on his jukebox.  I liked it… though I kinda thing ‘born to be wild’ would have been a more appropriate choice.”

Reggie cleared her throat at her own digression as if reminding herself to keep going. 

“And the rest just fell in from there.  I started listening to more Steppenwolf, then branched out to other artists that I had found on his jukebox and went from there.  Found KISS, AC/DC, GnR, and a few others that way.  Funny thing about that…. I liked ‘em all better than I do Steppenwolf.”

Re: EPI: S [D03|2100] Moving Day

Reply #15 –
[ Lt. JG Kate Foster | Turbolift | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @P.C. Haring

Though exceedingly tired, Kate had managed to summon up a surprising bout of energy from some reserves hidden somewhere inside, then again, the opportunity to share in a bit of fond reverie over rock-n-roll wasn’t necessarily all that common in the 24th-century. Still, it was nice to make a friendly acquaintance all the same, and Reggie certainly seemed that at least.

“I can imagine.” She responded in kind to the playful teasing over ‘Doctor Feelgood’, a light giggle escaping her as she too winked wryly and leant back against the interior bulkhead of the turbolift. Already, Kate found herself appreciative of the pilot’s apparent mirrored sense of humor, another asset that was sometimes scarce, especially under such dire constraints as the crew of Theurgy operated. “It was... like, sort of almost biblical, y’know?” Letting her head rest backward, her tangerine-hued eyes shifting upward toward the lighting fixture above, Kate could distinctly remember the way in which the whole of Engineering would reverberate. “With the thrum of the warp core acting as a like... sort of added bass drum, the music just felt so vivid and alive!” her gaze went back to Reggie, a faint nod affirming how she’d missed her time aboard the quaint Saber-class starship, and it’s Chief Engineer that had a similar interest in rock.

“I’m all ears.” She said as a wholly positive reaffirming when Reggie seemed to relent under the pressure and relay her story.

“Really?” Kate asked in genuine surprise regarding Cochrane’s old jukebox. “I’d never heard that! That’s freaking epic!” She added, smiling brightly when the turbolift finally came to a halt, and the doors opened for them to exit. In all the years of study she’d spent on First Contact, Warp Core design, and all the rest of the ‘important’ facts about the man, she’d somehow never caught wind of his personal penchant for rock music. Given what she’d read of the man, it seemed almost a shocking realization, as most historians and the professors back at Starfleet spoke of him with such reverence, that sometimes she wondered if he’d been more a monk than a propulsion scientist and engineer. “Totally makes him feel more human, knowing he had such a passion. I mean, he always seemed so... bland... like a Vulcan... in all the vids, and according to the texts.” She explained, striding out of the turbolift ahead of Reggie.

“Steppenwolf has some good ones, but I’m with you... I definitely like a bunch of other groups more.” Clasping both of her delicately slender hands together behind her back, Kate realized that it was technically her turn to share in how she’d come to appreciate such and old and specific subset of music. “For me...” she hesitated a moment, a portion of her conscience eliciting a sense of caution over the subject, given the troubling details that lay within. “...it comes from my mom.” Flicking her head so as to physically dismiss a sudden rush of regret and pain that often-accompanied memories of her deceased mother, Kate tilted the pate of her head ever so slightly to one side before resuming her shared history. “My umm... my father left us when I was young, and it was up to Mom and I to kind of fend for ourselves. Anyway, I had some trouble making friends early on. I was kind of a weird kid, y’know? So, like, my Mom was like... my best friend, and when I would get home from school, if I’d had a bad day or something like that, she’d just throw on some Motley Crue, or Van Halen, and we’d just sing and dance until we were exhausted.”

As they rounded a corner, nearing a particular door demarcated with ’10 - Quartermaster’ on its exterior, Kate nodded subtly in its direction, hopeful that this would be a quick interaction, rather than anything prolonged or overly investigative. She’d hoped that the request for new lodging had come through from Commander Hathev, so that she might avoid having to explain the specific situation.

“So, ever since then, whenever I’ve been in a bad mood, or if I’d had a bad day, I would just... put on a record, as loud as the computer will let me, and sort of zone out.”

“Does that make sense?” she asked, a hand hovering at the call panel just outside of the Quartermaster’s office.

Re: EPI: S [D03|2100] Moving Day

Reply #16 –
[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder |  Vector 02 | Quartermasters Office | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Swift‍ 

Reggie fell silent as Kate shared her story and it was evident  there was more on her mind than she was sharing.  She’d already inadvertently entered Kate’s mind once and she wasn’t about to pry into her thoughts again, even by accident. 

“It makes all the sense in the world, Kate.  I can’t tell you how many times I blasted some music after an engagement during the war.  I um…” 

Her own voice trailed off as she recalled just how much she’d relied on loud music, vices, and the carnal diversions to pull her though the hell of those days.  At once she felt both excited, embarrassed, and somewhat horny at the memories of her naked, sweat sheen body wrapped up in the upgraded bedsheets she had replicated for herself.

They stepped into the quartermasters office and as she had seniority over Kate, Reggie did the honors.

“Lieutenants Regiene Suder and Kate Foster reporting.”

She felt silly for such a formal arrival to the quartermasters office, especially given that it was an enlisted crewman behind the desk.  So she loosened up.

“I’m here to get my quarters assignment.”

“Ahhh,” the crewman said as he reached for a PADD.  “One moment, Lieutenant.  Let me pull you up.”

He started tapping through records, muttering Reggie’s name under his breath over and over as he searched and transferred data.

“Lieutenant,” he said as he handed the PADD over.  “I have you assigned to Vector 2, Deck 16, compartment 359.  They aren’t the most glamorous quarters for the Lieutenant grade, but…”

“…but I’m guessing it has relatively easy access to the F.A.B.?”

The crewman nodded sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said as she made a show of flashing him a smile.  “I’ve been flying for a while.  I’m used to it.”

She took the offered PADD, and stepped back so Kate could attend to her business.

Re: EPI: S [D03|2100] Moving Day

Reply #17 –
[ Lt. Regiene “Reggie” Suder|  Vector 02 | Quartermasters Office | USS Theurgy] 

As it turned out, Kate also had to report for quarters assignment.  Reggie hadn’t caught the full set of details but apparently some argument with her former neighbor had caused the ship’s Chief Counselor, Hathev to order or to request reassignment.  It seemed odd to the Betazoid, but she did not push the matter, especially when Kate did not seem interested in discussing it in much detail.  She figured Kate would open up if and when she was ready.

But of particular excitement was that Kate had been assigned to Vector 2, Deck 16, Compartment 360.  At least Fosters new neighbor would be much cooler than her previous.

Reggie's bags were waiting for her in the quartermaster’s office, having been beamed over by the Oneida, but Kate’s were still in her previous assignment and Reggie agreed to accompany her to her old quarters to gather her gear to move it and as they walked, Reggie continued her conversation.

“So, over the years, I’ve curated my collection and used it for the basis of a juke box holodeck program I carry with me.  I can set up bands and play lists then mix and match them to various venues throughout time.”

It was luck, really, that Reggie still had that program.  With the destruction of TacConn Omega, most of her personal affects had been destroyed as well.  But she’d always kept a copy of the program aboard her fighter so she could listen to her collection while in the cockpit, even if she couldn’t render it on a holodeck.

“Really,” Kate asked.  “Say,” she said as she turned to Reggie, her tangerine eyes locking with the Betazoid’s ocular implants.  “That gives me an idea!”

At this point the Surgeon was practically vibrating and Reggie felt as though she might already know what was on her mind. 

“Want to host a classic rock concert for the crew?”



~Fin~
 
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