Day 06 [0145 hrs.] Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

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Day 06 [0145 hrs.] Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

January 30, 2022, 07:16:57 AM

"Faen ta deg-!" Sarah all but hissed to the replicator as its replication tray once more came out empty after the fifth or sixth fevered attempt at gaining a cup of lavender chai. A soft buzzing sound could be heard in the inner workings of the replicator- so one could assume that it was functioning at first glance, but a sudden rapid-fire thudding after the order was input could be heard just below the view screen, and just above the replication ray. It sounded like something was jammed, or at least locking up every time the command was given- no doubt backing it up even further. An aggravated growl came from the recesses of Sarah's throat as she splayed her fingers across her face and dragged them down, ending in a messy rub of her face and eyes. She knew Theurgy was not exactly a cruise liner of all things, they'd been through countless battles and the damage they'd received had been amassed as a near catastrophe for the ship and crew. And yet here she still flew- one faulty replicator should be the least of her concerns when it came to luxuries.

And yet.

She looked to the replicator with genuine annoyance, blonde brows knitting deeply in the middle as she practically pouted as if her wanton emotionalism would sway the machine to act right for sake of her own wants. But damn it all, she was tired. The workload here was no child's play. The injured aboard Theurgy were serious and numbered in the several dozens- Sickbay was fully manned and there still was little time for charting and changing linens and logging medicines and even sitting down to take a lunch. It was hard, harder than Oneida by a long shot in almost every aspect, but she had volunteered after all. What had she really thought she was getting into here?

She just wanted lavender chai. It was nearly 0200 and she'd barely slept. She'd gotten off shift and came directly back to her quarters to disrobe, shower, and redress in her nightgown to lounge in and read to unwind. Unfortunately, that book had been a little too good and it was now the wee hours of the morning and her shift coming up at 0600 sharp. Even just an hour or two would be of some assistance, but she'd psyched herself out so bad that she was full and wide awake..she needed the chai, she needed that damn lavender chai.

"Why is it always meeeee this happens toooooo!?"

Petite hands went to her face once more, covering the pale skin fully as she curled in on herself in divine self-disgust. She was going to have to call Operations. Reaping her fingers down once more, more than likely giving herself even worse baggy eyelids in the process, she, with great indignance, plopped down onto the seat of her personal workstation and booted up the conn with a waggle of her finger over the glass screen. The actual work request was simple enough, but she just hated the idea of calling down one of the night-crew Ops to fix a replicator when she should, in theory, be asleep and not bothering anyone. A few clicks on her pink-painted nails on the screen and the work order was sent in, Sarah sighing beleaguered as she sat back in the conn chair with a soft huff of breath- awaiting whatever officer they'd send down.

--------------------------------------------

TO: OPERATIONS
FROM: ENS. S. BJØRGE, MEDICAL
CC: NONE
SUBJECT: WORK REQUEST: BROKEN REPLICATOR

BROKEN REPLICATOR, UNKNOWN ORIGIN OF MALFUNCTION
DECK 11, VECTOR 02, PERSONAL QUARTERS

THANK YOU

-ENS. S. BJØRGE

Re: Day 02 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #1 – January 30, 2022, 03:48:04 PM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Operations | Deck 12 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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Several decks above Sarah, Alistair was in a similar quandary; worn out and having less-than-kind thoughts about the Theurgy's computer. Oh, he liked Thea well enough; his ire was directed instead at her extraordinarily complex internal systems and the numerous non-sentient computers within her hulls. The Theurgy was arguably the most complex and powerful computer system that the Federation had ever built, even disregarding the artificial intelligence at its core. It was an incredible achievement.

For the poor code monkeys assigned to managing that system, it was also a giant pain in the ass.

The Close In Weapons System (CIWS) project, some harebrained scheme to put a bunch of low-yield cannons on the Theurgy's hull, had created a lot of extra work for Alistair. The Theurgy had not been designed for such weapons, and thus her computer system had to be reprogrammed to accommodate them, as did the power systems, then the EPS, then the tactical systems, the backups, the safeties, targeting arrays, networking...

After fifteen solid hours of work, almost all of it spent sitting at a desk in the Ops centre staring at code and program networks, Alistair knew that he had to leave it for the night. The work he'd done coding everything, on top of the work done by a dozen other people plus Thea herself, would surely be sufficient for the CIWS test the following morning. Now, at nearly two in the morning, Alistair's focus was on a single number.

95.85% power-transfer efficiency.

After spending the past three hours with that on his screen, he was really starting to hate that fucking number.

"Okay, let's throw this at you," Alistair grumbled, typing rapidly. On his screen, code, circuit diagrams and power-transfer readouts flashed by almost too fast to see. By that point, Alistair was working more through sheer annoyance than anything else, a forgotten cup of coffee sitting dangerously close to his left elbow. "Alright...forget that conduit...reroute...there!"

Alistair sat back, arms up in the air expectantly as he watched his screen, waiting. Recalculating...96.04% power-transfer efficiency achieved. Efficiency now corresponds to the minimum required by regulations.

"FUCK YEAH!" Alistair shouted, leaping to his feet and fist-pumping in celebration. After a moment of standing there, grinning stupidly, he looked around, the silliness of what he'd just done now reaching him. Fortunately there was nobody else around, and Alistair sighed in relief. He glanced at the time and winced, but Alistair could hardly complain. He'd known the price when he'd started the work, and he had paid it willingly, but now was time for his reward: a warm, comfy bed.

His thoughts lingering on that, Alistair took his coffee to the replicator for disposal, yawning as fatigue finally started to creep in. He was halfway to the door when an insistent beeping came from the workstation that he'd just vacated, and Alistair stopped, staring at it in bafflement.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered, then sighed in resignation as he walked back over to it, skimming the message quickly. He lifted a finger to forward it to Engineering, or better yet, forward it to whoever was manning Ops on the Bridge. Alistair paused however, considering, then shook his head wearily. Engineering was overworked and understaffed, and he knew that there was only one other Ops officer on duty tonight. The work request would take hours for anyone to get to it...whereas he was available right then and there.

"Well, Ensign S B-jor...Bor...B-gorge...how the heck do you pronounce that?" he said, frowning. "Whoever you are, it's your lucky day. Evening. Morning. Whatever."

With that, Alistair grabbed a toolkit from a locker and headed out into the corridor. It only took him a few minutes to find the crew quarters on Deck 11, and he tapped the chime. Alistair glanced down at himself, realising that he might not look his best after pulling a double shift, but he shrugged, too worn out to really give a damn.

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #2 – January 30, 2022, 07:04:38 PM

[Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

Sarah's head turned towards the threshold of the quarters' entrance as a chime sounded not but five, perhaps six minutes later after she'd sent the work request, something she hadn't expected to hear for the better part of another hour or two if she were incredibly lucky. The night shift was a skeleton crew at best, and even more so with the recent battles. Getting volunteers for these positions wasn't exactly tea and cake.

Standing to her bare feet, she gave a struggled stretch with arms high above her head to strain and pull the sore muscles of her back, a quick sigh of relief was breathed out when she dropped her arms back down to her sides and brushed her long, unbraided hair back over her shoulder. Wrapping the stark white robe a bit tighter around herself to hide her nightgown for modesty's sake, she padded over to the door and tapped the entrance key, allowing the doors to open with a swish of compressed air to reveal the Ops officer that'd been sent down for her.

"Alistair!"

Came his name out of her mouth before she could really stop herself. The tall, muscular form of the Lieutenant she'd made fast friends with in sickbay several days ago stood an imposing form in her doorway, nearly blocking her view to the outside were it not for his legs. She had to crane her head upwards to look at him properly, her expression no doubt one of deep surprise and delight at seeing him after several days of no contact. They'd both been impossibly busy, she hadn't taken it personally of course. He more than her even more so she imagined.

"Hello! Hello, hi! It is so good to see you!" She chimed excitedly, stepping aside to allow him entrance into her quarters, she all but shuffling him inside in the context of being a good host. "I am so sorry I have not reached out sooner, sickbay has been so busy and I have been so tired I have not had the energy to socialize but I have thought of you often! I in fact thought of sending you a PADD message tonight but then I got into my book and it was getting so good and I got sidetracked and suddenly it was nearly 0130 hours then- oh may I get you a cup of?- no. No. My replicator is broken. That is actually why I am awake! I am waiting on Operations to send someone down to fix it for me. Why are you up so late? Early? Not to say I am not so happy to see you!"

It was only then she spotted Alistair's toolbag..and the fact he was still very much in uniform. He was the Ops they'd sent..and she was an idiot. A hand came up to her cheek, the heat of her embarrassment in both the fact she was a little too excited to see him, paired with the fact she had completely misunderstood his reasoning to visit. She really could not believe she was messing up this bad.

"Hah..because..you are awake because you are here to..to fix my replli- I. I am so sorry, Alistair. I would like to cease living, ah, if that is okay."

Gods alive and divine winds, please let her die.

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #3 – January 30, 2022, 07:41:06 PM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Operations | Deck 12 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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Alistair's overworked brain quite thoroughly short-circuited when the door opened. The last thing he had expected to see was Sarah, least of all in a robe, her blonde hair over one shoulder. He couldn't say anything, literally stunned by both the surprise and the beautiful woman in front of him, babbling excitedly as she was. He'd thought she looked good in a uniform, but the sight of Sarah in more relaxed evening apparel, her hair over one shoulder, was another level of wow entirely.

"Hi," he replied awkwardly as Sarah hurried him inside her quarters. Alistair glanced around briefly, noting that they were smaller than his, but Sarah's exciting babbling drew his attention to her again. As she rambled, he simply stood there and smiled goofily, enjoying the moment; darn, Sarah was cute like this. Outrageously so. As surprises went, this was one of the most welcome that he'd had in a long while.

As Sarah realised why he was there, he chuckled. "Oh, please don't, I like you living. You know, being alive. Existing." Smooth, Alistair. Real smooth. "I'm sorry, I should've looked you earlier as well. I feel like an idiot for not doing it sooner. I've, uh, been thinking of you too." Yep. Super smooth. Nevertheless, Alistair's smile seemed permanently affixed now as he met Sarah's green eyes. "It's good to see you again, Sarah, outside Sickbay. I didn't know it was you who put in the work request until you opened the door, but I'm glad you did."

With that, Alistair cleared his throat, still plainly a happy fellow. He pointed at the replicator, grateful for the excuse to change the subject. "So what's the issue with your replicator? Is it replicating the wrong things, or is it not replicating at all?"

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #4 – January 31, 2022, 03:55:30 AM

[Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

They both were just having a night, weren't they? Awkward stammers, incredibly stupid word choices, and an almost painful level of tension stood between them despite their almost dog-like thrill of seeing each other. Even if Alistair thought himself as cumbrous and less-than-smooth, Sarah could not have been any more delighted to see him despite her own mirrored self-consciousness. They each gave a small chuckle at the tension between them as the subject was dutifully changed by Alistair, much to her appreciation.

"No no no! It is okay! I know you are so busy, so it is just as well that I was too. But hey! We can hang out now? I mean..I know it is a work call but, two birds and a rock, yes?"

She walked him over to the replicator, its preview light now trembling and flashing on and off. It was obviously short-circuiting somehow but Sarah was simply not technologically inclined enough to be able to parse what it meant. "Ah, well, it is not replicating at all-but it also makes a bit of a knocking noise like-" She gave a pause before looking at the screen once more. "One lavender chai, please?" Being sure to include the polite phrasing at the end.

The replicator however had other plans. The light blinked as if hearing her, much as it had before, but as the soft knocking and whirring started up, it began sounding more backed up than anything. Several thuds sounded off behind the screen, the clatter of porcelain teacups and saucers sounding off. This might get messy. "The poor thing- I have tried to ask the computer to do a reboot on it, but nothing seems to have worked. Also- How did you not know it was me? I think I am the only Bjørge in Starfleet."

Another quick pause settled in on her as she realized she had never told Alistair her last name when they'd met, insisting he simply call her "Sarah" as she had been recovering from the frustration of another nurse not pronouncing it correctly just as he'd walked in for his exam.

"I just keep answering my own questions. I never did tell you my last name, did I?" She sighed softly, annoyed with herself. "It is Bjørge. Bee-yarrow-gee." She slowed down the rolling 'R' of her tongue to help him pronounce it. The 'G' at the end was a hard 'G' like 'Garden' while the 'yarrow' held a rolling 'R'. It certainly did not look like how it was actually pronounced- but she was sure that if she heard "Nurse BahGorgie" one more time, she would flip over a biobed in a blackout rage.

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #5 – January 31, 2022, 09:16:48 PM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Operations | Deck 12 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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"Bee-yarrow-gee," Alistair repeated carefully, then nodded. "Bjørge. Got it, I'll remember that." With that, he glanced at the replicator, frowning as his fatigued brain began to work the problem. "This is weird. I didn't even know that a replicator could make that sound. It doesn't have any moving parts, after all, just a fancy transporter. The replication cycle definitely completed, so where did the tea go?"

Supressing a yawn, Alistair set his toolkit down on the deck and stepped over to the replicator, eyeing it warily. He stuck his head inside the lit alcove, contorting uncomfortably to examine the top side, making an odd hmph noise as he peered up at it. "Looks fine from this angle," he said, squinting. "Weird. Most replicator malfunctions happen because of an impact of some sort from inside here, but I don't see any cracks or impact marks." Alistair pulled back, stretching and rolling his shoulders, before reaching up with one hand to begin working the control panel.

"Power flow is good," he muttered as he worked, "ODN connection is stable, transporter is reading fine, self-diagnostics aren't reporting anything wonky...okay, let's go into the replicator logs. Maybe the last person to live here once replicated something weird enough to break this thing." Alistair's hand stopped just before he pressed the button, and he glanced over his shoulder at Sarah. "Er...I don't want to violate your privacy. I know that some people replicate things that they might not want to be public knowledge. If you prefer, I could blank out the actual item names and limit the logs to the dimensions and mass of each replication. That's all I need for this, anyway; it'll just take a bit longer."

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #6 – February 02, 2022, 11:59:53 PM

[Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

A grin reached the corners of her eyes at his attempt at her family name, surprised that he'd rolled his 'r' so well considering his rather proper British accent. But that might be a compliment for another time as his focus rerouted back towards the replicator. She watched as he took a few steps towards it and set his tool bag on the counter to begin looking it over and under for any obvious physical signs of wear and tear or anything she might have allegedly done. Well. Besides backorder copious amounts of lavender chai tea. Moving one of her many potted plants that sat nearby the replicator out of his way, the colorfully painted terracotta was dutifully set on the table nearby that also held an accumulation of various flowers, succulents, and a few old, paper books that had some rather ..saucy images on the front. Sarah quickly turned one over to hide it before looking back to her much taller friend.

"You know as good as it is to see you, I was under the impression you worked Alpha shift..and it is far into Delta. Did you switch shifts?" She asked softly, busying herself with straightening a few things about the room as he worked. She hadn't been expecting company, thus her room was not as tidy as it normally would be, causing her some healthy amount of both anxiety and embarrassment. Pinks and florals seemed to be a running theme about the room, a mass of pillows, excess plush, colorful blankets and a scented air-mister that lightly scented the room in something similar to mandarin finished off the painfully girlish room. All things she had no doubt transferred over from the Oneida for her comfort.

She watched with some level of mild amusement as Alistair contorted himself to fit his large upper half beneath the replicator alcove, the poor thing looking more squished than a newborn. She took a step closer to stand next to the Lieutenant as he worked, ever at the ready to hand him a tool should he need one so he would not have to re-contort himself.

"I wish I had better diagnostic information, but unfortunately my knowledge base of replicators amounts to 'pretty please may I have cheesecake?' and it appears." She responded with a bit of a chuckle, turning her gaze to where he went as she tried to follow along with his explanation, but it did little good as she had no context. Engineering had never been high on her abilities list, though she had taken, and shortly failed, a beginners class. As Alistair turned to face her, his expression one of mild concern, or care, perhaps? She nodded along to show she was unbothered and quickly laid a hand on his forearm as if to extinguish any hitch of anxiety he may have felt.

"I have not ordered anything untoward, and so I have nothing to hide. I have replicated ah.. three times? Well! Untrue. I have asked the replicator for three individual things. Such as, ahm- a book to read before bed, a small watering can for my plants, and.. about 12 repeated orders for lavender chai tea. I kept asking thinking maybe it did not understand me. But that is when I realized it might be malfunctioning." She admitted with a bit of a grimace, her hands folding behind her back guiltily.

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #7 – February 03, 2022, 02:12:26 AM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Operations | Deck 12 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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"Yeah, that all tracks," Alistair said as he skimmed the log, concentrating hard on the details so that he could forget Sarah's light touch on his arm. "There's the tea, the watering can, the book...Behind Romulan Palace Walls? Sounds nice. You don't see many Romulan books; I might look that one up. Romulan political fiction sounds interesting, especially if we're going to be dealing with them soon." He hummed as he continued scrolling, completely oblivious to Sarah. "Syntheholic whiskey, pillow case, loofa, gagh, underwear of...uh, various sizes...okay, nothing here seems too odd."

Alistair turned to go to his toolkit, only to belatedly realise that Sarah was in his way and rather closer than he expected, small though she was. He smiled down at her out of habit, glancing pointedly down at the toolkit. "Uh, excuse me," he said politely, "could you...uh, hand me the tricorder? The normal one, not the weird one."

"To answer your earlier question," he said as he opened the tricorder and began scanning, "I'm an idiot." Alistair looked up abruptly then as he realised what he'd said, and he winced. "Well, I mean...there's a project that Tactical is running, and I was doing some work on shipwide operating systems before their test in the morning, but I underestimated how big a project it would be, because I'm used to working on small ships. Turns out there's a difference in complexity between a little old frigate and a kilometer-long state-of-the-art dreadnought. Go figure." Alistair shrugged. "I was dumb enough not to remember that before I started work, so it took much longer than I expected."

He glanced at Sarah sheepishly. "When I start a project, especially an interesting one, I tend to...uh, get a bit obsessive. I don't want to stop. It's an issue for me." Alistair sighed as he examined the tricorder's small display, then glanced up at Sarah with a curious look. "So that's my story. What about you?" He glanced between Sarah in her evening wear and the comfortable-looking floral-themed bed. "Feeling okay?"

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #8 – February 07, 2022, 03:29:32 AM

[Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

Sarah nodded along silently as he listed off the items that had been replicated, though a quick, wordless stammer spread across her lips as he read aloud the book she'd replicated for 'before bed'. Heat flashed across her cheeks and forehead, but far too embarrassed to explain to him that while it certainly had political facets, it certainly wasn't a political book. She simply nodded again as it didn't seem to catch his eyes, or if it did, he'd been too polite to call her out on it. Though it was an interesting tidbit to know that they would be meeting Romulans soon- a species she didn't have much interaction with- so her curiosity was tangible. She watched for several moments longer as he scanned and worked before Alistair turned to look at her, his expression was somewhat unreadable before he spoke.

"Oh! Yes, of course." She responded with a smile, pleased she was finally being allowed to help, though she wondered if he actually wanted the help or was simply tiding over her anxiety at having nothing to do. Regardless of his intentions, she happily scurried over to his tool bag and fetched him the aforementioned 'normal' tricorder, though she had initially picked up the 'weird' one at first, giving it a look over, and setting it back down. She handed him the tricorder tool with both hands, watching as he took it and proceeded to scan.

"You are hardly an idiot for having a healthy enthusiasm for your work. One might almost raise a brow if you did not get so involved, otherwise why are you in Starfleet, you know? Hyper focusing is a hallmark of a good officer, I think." She return fired with a grin, hoping he knew she meant these things with profound earnestness.

"But you have been enjoying yourself otherwise, yes? Insomnia notwithstanding. Ah-" She paused for a moment, pressing her delicate fingers to her lips as if thinking. "You know, I was ordering that lavender chai to help myself to sleep, before you go, maybe we can share a cup, and maybe it will help you sleep?" She offered with a small, hopeful tint to her voice. "But as for me? Busy. Very busy. It seems as if ever since I have arrived I have been in either sickbay or my quarters. I mean, I do not mean to complain? I came here very much with the intention to work! But I found that tonight if I do not limit my enjoyments, I will find myself awake at nearly 0200 with a shift at 0600 coming up fast. So I tried to drink tea to lull myself off and- well. Now you are here so it has been a bit of a, how you say? Snowball."

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #9 – February 08, 2022, 03:15:37 AM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Operations | Deck 12 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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Alistair was smiling as Sarah talked, although his eyes remained focused on the tricorder. He couldn't help his natural reaction. Even tired as he was (and that fatigue was catching up fast), he was rather enjoying listening to Sarah talk, even about trivial things. Her speech and mannerisms were slightly different to when they'd met in Sickbay, now that she was off-duty, and it was a treat to listen to. Alistair's brain was too fried for him to analyse it; he simply stood there and enjoyed the moment.

"I'd be happy to have tea with you, thank you," he said, glancing at Sarah warmly. "After that, yeah, we really both need to sleep, but we'll sleep content, I think. Just for three hours or so, I guess, but that's enough to work off." Looking back at his tricorder, Alistair held back a mighty yawn, and it took him a few moments to catch what he was seeing on the tricorder readout. "Got it! The targeting sensor is misaligned. It must've been banged out of place. The ship did sustain a lot of hard hits during the last battle. I guess a concussive impact against the armour gave this part of the hull a good whack."

Alistair folded the tricorder back up, handing it back to Sarah. "Every time you replicated tea, it did replicate, it just appeared somewhere...uh, else. Maybe in the next room over, maybe in a Jeffries tube above or below us, who knows. There's probably a bunch of cups of tea just lying around, waiting to be found. Would've been weird if someone just came across them."

With that, Alistair raised his hands above the replicator to the panel above it. "This is an easy fix, don't worry," he said confidently to Sarah as he tapped a tiny button at the corner of the rectangular panel, but Alistair then frowned as the panel didn't budge. "Oh come on." Slightly embarrassed, he glanced at Sarah, holding out a finger. "Just...uh...one moment, then it'll be an easy fix."

'One moment' turned into a good couple minutes of grumbling, poking and prodding to convince the bulkhead panel to open, Alistair growing more embarrassed by the moment. He pressed the release button a few more times, held it down, jabbed it rapidly, all to no avail. Finally, standing with his hands on his hips and looking at the misbehaving bulkhead quizzically, Alistair shrugged in resignation. He got right up against the bulkhead, crouching down a little underneath for good measure, and simply grabbed the panel with his fingertips as he held down the release button with his thumb. The struggle only lasted a couple of moments as, finally, with the combination of brute strength and the button, the panel snapped out an inch-

-and a waterfall of brown liquid poured out from the gap right onto Alistair's shaved head. He suffered through it gamely, simply closing his eyes as it happened, not bothering to move. The brown waterfall stopped, and a moment of silence hung in Sarah's quarters, Alistair still half-crouched in front of the replicator. He sighed then glanced at Sarah, pointing above his head.

"Found the tea," he said, deadpan.

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #10 – February 11, 2022, 06:44:24 PM

[Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

She nodded a bit in reply, still horribly tired despite the good company. Three hours was nowhere near enough, but she'd forced herself to get used to early mornings once she'd transferred off from night shift, though admittedly she did prefer them. Once she was a bit more established as a nurse aboard Theurgy, she would likely request to go back to nights as she had been aboard the Oneida. "Three hours is better than nothing, to be sure. Thankfully I do not oversee or have anything difficult scheduled for today, only a few checkups and a patient thaw or two." She answered with a slender hand moving upwards to cover her mouth in another yawn. A sudden shiver and a shake of her shoulders and she was right again, but her exhaustion was as evident as his own.

"Stop that, it is contagious." She announced with as much authority as she could muster through her soft voice, continuing to watch him work with mild interest. She took the tricorder he'd given to her and gently placed it back in his tool bag where she found it, only just keeping herself from nosing around in there to see what else she could find. But somehow she found the willpower, though it might have had more to do with Alistair addressing her and keeping her attention focused on his surprisingly prim-sounding accent. "What a find for someone someday, just an errant cup of chai lying about." She chuckled. Thankfully it was a quick diagnosis, something she was sure he could fix within just a few moments. But as the moments passed by, quickly turning into minutes as she watched him struggle with the panel, she began to take on an awkward stance, almost leaning on tiptoes to see if she could somehow ease the strain. If she knew she wouldn't just get in the way with her paltry amount of upper body strength, she'd have offered to help push it out.

"No worries, take your time..ah..but if you need help opening, there is no shame in calling for help, no?" She offered, hoping to ease the blow of him possibly being unable to open the panel- but it was as if anything, her words only spurned on his stubbornness and the panel was suitably shunted open with a heavy creak of metal on metal and a subsequent slam.

And then a splash.

An avalanche of lavender-scented tea poured down atop his head, coating him and the top portion of his uniform with the thankfully since-cooled tea. The silence that hung in the air was heavy as Alistair deadpanned that he'd found the missing tea, though, in response, her face held the look of abject horror.

"At..least it was not fresh?"

Bad time to joke. Untying her robe quickly, she covered Alistair's head and shoulders with the soft material, wiping the clean-cut of his scalp clean of the sugary residue, her stammered apologies began in-between her awkward attempts to not laugh.

"I- I am SO sorry! Are you okay? You were not burned though, right? You poor thing, oh my gods. so..SO sorry, Alistair-"

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #11 – February 11, 2022, 07:54:02 PM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Operations | Deck 12 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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Something about Sarah's joking comment and subsequent attempts to remedy the damage with her robe just went sent Alistair over the edge. Alistair started to laugh, a deep belly laugh that completely overcame him as he held onto the replicator for support. Sarah followed suit, the two of them descending into half-manic cackling. They made an odd pair; Sarah in her sheer nightgown, Alistair's head and shoulders dripping wet with a white gown draped over him, both of them laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh, it's okay," Alistair chortled, using part of the robe to wipe his face. He looked at Sarah, saw her grin and almost started laughing again, but just managed to control himself. "My fault, I should've seen all that when I ran the scan." He sobered slightly as he cottoned on that Sarah had sacrificed a rather lovely piece of clothing, and he looked at her with more serious (but still affectionate) smile as he handed the robe back to her. "Uh, thanks."

With that, Alistair moved past Sarah to get to the toolkit, unthinkingly grasping her arm lightly as he sidled past. In the slightly awkward silence that followed what had just happened, he crouched down and reached into his toolkit, pulling out a little cube with some buttons on the side. He promptly returned to the replicator, smiling at Sarah again as he put the cube into the alcove, then pressed a couple of buttons on it, causing it to emit a shimmering blue vortex upward.

"Nearly done," he said as he unzipped his damp uniform jacket before tossing it over his shoulder. Alistair's gold undershirt was (through the magic of Starfleet material science) completely dry, although he unzipped it as well just a couple of inches for comfort's sake. He then pulled out the bulkhead panel a few inches further and carefully extended his arm inside it. The sound of tinkling crockery was distinct as Alistair searched blindly, then made a "aha!" sound as he found his prize.

At that, he slapped his hand down as hard as he could, grunting as he did so. Alistair glanced down at the shimmering vortex being emitted by the cube, frowned in annoyance, then slapped his hand down even harder. His effort was rewarded as the little cube beeped happily a few times before switching off.

"There we go, all fixed," Alistair said cheerfully as he pulled his arm back out, shaking his hand; holy crap, that had hurt! He took the cube and, after stepping back, gestured at the replicator as he looked at Sarah. "Go for it."

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #12 – February 17, 2022, 04:09:16 PM

[Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

A robe may have been lost to the good fight, but hearing Alistair's deep, chortling belly laugh was more than enough to make up for half of her negligee now impossibly stained with the purplish-brown of lavender chai. No matter, a new one could be replicated easily and even so, she thought he looked rather dashing in silk! But despite it all, the situation overall was just terribly funny, the poor guy, absolutely soaked in tea, she was only thankful a china cabinet worth of teacups and saucers hadn't landed on him as well. Small blessings she supposed.

Coughing and clearing her throat of the leftover giggles, she aptly began to help Alistair clear away the mess, taking back the silken robe he'd used to wipe his head and face- his poor uniform would simply have to suffer until he was back in his quarters, she assumed. "My pleasure, though, you can keep it? Until you are back in your quarters..it will keep your back dry?" She offered, unsure if that'd really made any sense but moreover she just hated the idea of the Operations officer wandering the halls soaked to the bone.

He scooted past her afterward, his grip soft and enough to draw a hitch of breath out of her, but she otherwise said nothing about the contact..though internally she was close to hemorrhaging. He was intent to fix the replicator come hell or high water, or she supposed (thinking quietly to herself) high tea. Almost start-up another giggle-fest, she quickly stifled her laughter at the pun and moved to help the older officer where she could, but as it seemed, she wasn't much help when it seemed he already knew what to do.

She watched with great interest as he unzipped his uniform jacket, leaving him in the gold-colored undershirt that was much more formfitting. She would be a liar to say she didn't greatly appreciate his physique, but as things stood, he was just a friend and she likely shouldn't be staring at the exhausted officer like he was a buffet. Averting her eyes, she took a step back from the replicator and waited as he slammed the replicator vortex back into place before glancing at him again, a bit ashamed she kept ogling him as she did, but gods alive, surely he was used to it with shoulders like those?

At the happy little beeping trill given by his engineering cube..or whatever that thing was, she excitedly stepped over and clasped her hands between her chest, as if praying this worked.

"May I please have two lavender chais, please?" Her manners when talking to the computer impeccable as always.

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #13 – February 17, 2022, 06:41:35 PM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Operations | Deck 12 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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Alistair, for his part, was rather bemused by Sarah's lingering glances. Was there something wrong with him? Did the tea stain his scalp or something, or his shirt? Sarah seemed like the sort to be too polite to mention anything. As Sarah ordered the tea, Alistair checked his shirt quickly before feeling his scalp, wincing at how sticky it was. A hot shower was clearly in his immediate future before he could finally collapse into bed.

Thankfully, at Sarah's order, two cups fizzled into existence just as they were supposed to. Alistair's smile was automatic at Sarah's adorable stance, her hands clasped over her chest, as if she was beseeching a favour from an almighty deity rather than the ship's computer. Only then did Alistair's sleepy brain catch on to the nightgown that Sarah had been wearing underneath the robe, and just how sheer it was. The gown just about preserved her modesty, but the outline of her hips and chest was still distinct through the thin fabric.

A happy warmth spread in Alistair's chest as he took his tea from the replicator, and he sipped his tea to distract himself. Damn, why couldn't more of his work call-outs be to the quarters of beautiful women? This sure beat crawling around the Jefferies tubes with perpetually grumpy engineers.

"Hmm," Alistair hummed with satisfaction as he sipped the tea. "I see why you like this stuff. I kinda prefer drinking it to being dunked in it, but at least I smell great. Uh, I hope I smell great." He chuckled nervously, shaking his head. After a moment of companionable silence, Alistair idly fiddled with the little cube as he glanced around. "So I guess we're both new to the ship. Have you met anyone...um, nice? You know, made any friends, or...uh, more-than-friends? It can be hard transferring to such a big ship, especially after everything this crew has been through since leaving Earth."

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs] - Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #14 – February 20, 2022, 07:19:53 AM

[Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

Oh, contrary. If anything he'd long since smelt delectable ever since he'd stepped foot inside her quarters. There was something so tangibly exciting about the smell of sweat and grime on a man, but of course, she'd never say such a thing aloud lest she sound like she'd been sneaking whiffs and sniffs of him while he'd been working. She was already pretty odd, she didn't need to exacerbate any thoughts he might have to cement it.

Once she had ordered the teas and they had, just as they were supposed to, appeared from thin air, she happily took one of the teacups with an almost excitable bounce and eagerly slipped from it, closing her eyes as if it were liquid ambrosia from the gods themselves. Yes. Lavender chai was exactly what she'd needed.

"You do smell great!" She smiled, turning to face him with a pleased expression, another sip of her chai and she was all smiles once again. "But I do not recommend this as a cologne, it is a bit sticky~ You seem more of a..hm..pine musk..perhaps a leather type of man, yes? What do you usually wear?"

She was more of a lotion wearer than a perfume wearer, having slicked herself dewy-skinned with the potent scent of rose oil and cherry just after her shower. Alistair, to his benefit, did not seem to mind the scent, but it was arguable if he'd even noticed for how tired he was. "Yes, we are! I remember you telling me when we first met that you had only been on the ship two days longer than I had been..so I suppose that means you have been here a week, and I almost a week?" She mulled, giving a bit of thought to his question behind the rim of her teacup before answering.

"I have a few friends who have transferred over from the Oneida with me! But as far as making friends on Theurgy herself, you are the only one thus far outside of Head Nurse Vojona. But I am not so sure he counts as a friend so much as my boss?" She replied despondently, unsure of how to categorize the tall, blue nurse. "Ah, no more-than-friends either, I have been far too busy to gander at the proverbial carving station. Too much to do and so little time, I am barely sleeping much less fooling around." She laughed, tipping her teacup around between her fingertips and taking another sip from its opposite lip.

"What of you? Made friends? More than friends? Do you like your co-workers? The Captain? I have not even met the Captain- well. I say that because I imagine you would! You're a department head! Right? You said you were a department head, yes? I am suddenly...not sure I remember I was so distracted the first time we met..."

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs.] Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #15 – February 25, 2022, 02:55:26 AM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Operations | Deck 12 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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When Sarah explained her lack of opportunities for 'fooling around', Alistair's stomach flipped, and he barely contained a broad grin, hiding it behind his cup. Sure, he'd somewhat blundered into the question, but he sure as heck didn't regret it. On a conscious level, he knew that this was the absolute worst time imaginable to be thinking such things, and he should desist immediately.

On the other hand, it was taking monumental effort for Alistair not to stare at the visual feast that was Sarah in her nightgown, cheer in her green eyes, hips visible through the cloth, her golden hair glinting in the light reflected off the planet...

Stop it.

Unfortunately, the low lighting of Sarah's quarters, the precise spot she chose to stand in, the reflected light off Qo'nos through the window and Sarah's rather sheer gown all conspired to make the gown even more sheer, to the point of transparency. A potent heat began to build in Alistair's body at the realisation, and he cleared his throat, resolutely keeping his eyes up...although he couldn't avoid what his peripheral vision saw, and the effect it had.

Fuck.

"I'm deputy Ops chief now," Alistair said casually to Sarah's last question, leaning against the bulkhead as he mentally tried to slap his fatigued brain into behaving. "Which isn't saying much, since there's only a handful of us in Ops anyway. And, yeah, I've met Captain Ives." He chuckled, shaking his head. "You know all that FNN coverage, back when the Theurgy escaped? When they were painting Captain Ives as this...I don't know, this all-conquering demon of nightmare? Completely off track. Way off track."

He smiled as he thought back to that meeting. "You know, the very first thing the captain did? They asked if I was alright. I don't mean the usual thing either, when someone is asking the question just to be polite. The captain was serious, made sure that I'm taking care of myself, everything. Turns out that they used to be a counselor, a long time ago. I see why the crew has stayed so loyal to them, despite everything."

Focusing on something else proved to be a good distraction, and Alistair smiled amiably, relaxing once more as he focused on Sarah's eyes. "Otherwise, uh...I guess I haven't met anyone besides you." His eyes widened in alarm. "Friends, I mean," he corrected rapidly. "I suppose there's Commander Cross...I really need to take him up on that drink. He's a nice guy. Intense and swears way too much for a Vulcan, but nice. I haven't really had much opportunity for...what did you call it? Gandering at the carving station? That."

He grinned as a moment of silence passed. Then Alistair frowned. "Wait, you were distracted when we met? Sorry, I just realised that you said that...huh. You were really professional Sarah. I didn't even notice." He finished his tea, considering Sarah with a goofy (and utterly oblivious) grin. "So what was distracting you that morning?"

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs.] Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #16 – March 02, 2022, 04:34:20 AM

[ Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff

"Deputy Ops Chief is still impressive, congratulations are still in order!~" She cooed over the rim of her teacup, watching with soft eyes as he continued to speak of the friends he'd made..or at least his acquaintanceship with both the Captain and Commander Cross..whoever that was.

"I cannot say I remember every single bit of the news coverage of Theurgy, but I do remember some rumors of the Captain being untrustworthy, snake-like even." She replied, suddenly uncomfortable at the idea of speaking about her now-Commanding officer like that. "But I find that it is always best to reserve judgment until you know someone. I am glad to see that you feel much the same, no?" She offered, finally taking another sip of her chai before speaking once more.

"I am pleased to know the rumors are wrong. I have not met the Captain personally, but after meeting everyone that I have in sickbay, the other officers, and so on, I find it difficult to believe the Captain is anything less than a pillar among the crew. Though I have not even heard the name of Commander Cross..so I will take your word for it!"

The conversation between them was always plentiful, Alistair had a lot to say, and she was always eager to continue it further. But it was times like these that she wished she could hush herself sometimes- that way it would not end up with her admitting to such things as being distracted on the job..or moreover..by him.

Busted.

Sarah gave a nervous uptick of laughter at his questioning, realizing that she had outed herself. Of course, it wasn't so much that she was so distracted and was unable to provide care, she provided great care! She'd done everything right and had assuredly gone above and beyond what was needed of her to ensure Alistair's peace of mind. But. Come on. She was only human. Surely the powers that be could understand that she was only a woman, he only a man..and a man with very big muscles at that.

"Oh! Well. It was my first day, I was learning so much and there was so much going on, I had seen so many patients and cross-referencing your, Uhm, symptoms as well as remembering where everything was and what tests needed to be done! Of course, I was a bit distracted I just... I did not want you to know that in case you would not trust me to take care of you."

And certainly had nothing to do with the fact he was quite plainly the most handsome man she'd seen aboard as of yet.

"You still trust me though, yes? Even knowing what you do now?"

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs.] Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #17 – March 06, 2022, 11:48:50 PM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Operations | Deck 12 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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"Absolutely," Alistair said sincerely in response to Sarah's question. Realising that he'd professed his trust a bit more earnestly than the situation warranted, Alistair hid his embarrassment by moving to sip his tea, before realising that the cup was now empty. Instead he settled for simply basking in the view of the beautiful woman in front of him, although (with serious effort) his eyes didn't drift downward.

A very quiet voice in Alistair's head began whispering then, as true realisation bloomed. They were in Sarah's quarters. She was smiling, happy, and really seemed to like him. He very much liked her. It was late at night...they were having a good time...his jacket was off, and with the way that the dim light was hitting her gown, Sarah was as good as nude, and holy shit she's beautiful...perhaps...maybe...

Suddenly an almighty yawn broke the thick silence, a deep guttural yawn that began deep in the belly and rocked his entire body. Common sense persevered in Alistair's tired brain. Sarah had called for help, had the enjoyable accident of meeting a friend, and surely wanted to just get some sleep. Sure, she'd complimented his body back in Sickbay (an increasingly treasured memory), but that hardly meant that she'd want him to rip that gown off, toss her on the bed and ravish her until she cried out for mercy. Setting aside the open question of whether she even liked him in that way, it would be wildly inappropriate, wrong, too fast, and a thousand other bad things.

It was just a fantasy, and not the sort of the thing that he would ever do. It was completely unlike him. Yep, just a fantasy. An amazing, astonishing, glorious fantasy.

"Okay, I guess it's time for both of us to go to bed," Alistair said reluctantly, before his eyes widened. "Uh, beds. Plural." Great recovery, dumbass. "It's been nice seeing you again, Sarah. If you ever need technical help again, feel free to call me directly instead of Ops or Engineering and I'll be there pronto. Call it a perk of friendship."

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs.] Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #18 – March 14, 2022, 06:47:03 PM

Ens. Sarah Bjørge | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Griff
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Not that she really thought that the other officer would suddenly not trust her afterwards, but the warming sensation of his confirmation still flooded her all the same, bringing a deep smile to her lips that rounded the apples of her cheeks. Oof, ow, actually they were beginning to hurt. Had she really been smiling that much? Did he really make her smile so much? She was a fairly friendly person overall, it wasn't uncommon for her to smile and laugh to make nice with others, but this was a little different..he was so genuinely sweet and funny and awkward and just..so real. Not the fake pleasant she was so used to dealing with.

He was legitimately nice.

It was definitely an observation she would report back to Sabrina with, the other woman likely eager to hear of Sarah's late night adventure with the Operations officer. However, at his yawn and subsequent stumble over goodbye, she gave a quick laugh and a nod in agreement. It was very, very late and even though she'd been enjoying the company and the view, there was always next time. "Ah, I suppose it is getting upwards of nearly 0300, isn't it?" Sarah mused, her smile slightly faltering as she set her teacup aside and began the inevitable walk to the door to let him out. Well- he was perfectly able to leave on his own but social convection says it much more polite to escort your guest to the door.

"It was so lovely seeing you as well Alistair, handyman or no. Though thank you again for the help and the conversation, it is always a brightening to my day~" She replied with a small wink as the door opened and he was dutifully allowed to step out into the hallway. It wasn't until the much taller man had stepped out that she had realized how lonely and quiet her quarters were, a sudden urge to ask him to stay longer edged the tip of her tongue..but not only was it inappropriate, but who knew what he might think of her if she so easily tempted herself.

"A perk of our friendship would definitely be to see you again, let's do lunch? Maybe Thursday? And in the interim I promise to not break my replicator again."

A little bold, but it was only food, it wasn't as if she'd asked him to spend the night. It was just lunch, as friends. Because friends had lunch together.

Re: Day 06 [0145 hrs.] Seekers of Solace and Good Tea

Reply #19 – March 15, 2022, 12:36:36 AM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Junior Officer Quarters | Deck 11 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @SarahBerry

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"Lunch sounds great," Alistair said brightly, immediately buoyed by the thought. He simply stood there for a moment, grinning like a goof, before he belatedly realised that he was supposed to be leaving. "Uh, good night, Sarah. Sweet dreams. Looking forward to seeing you again."

With that he turned first to the left and took a few steps, realised that it was the wrong direction, then turned and started striding the other way, smiling awkwardly at Sarah (her door still open) as he passed by. Indeed, so cheerful was Alistair that he completely forgot that it had been far too long since he had last slept, least of all gotten a decent night's sleep at all. Only a few minutes later when he opened the doors to his quarters did the fatigue wash over him like a tidal wave. Yawning continuously, Alistair stripped as he ambled into his bathroom, leaving his clothes on the deck. Stepping into the shower, he only just remembered to remove his underwear in time, tossing them out of the stall before he turned on the water.

The warmth and steam enveloped him, and Alistair sighed in relief as he ducked his bald head into the water, cleaning off the sticky tea lazily. After he was done cleaning himself, he simply turned around and pressed his back to the wall, closing his eyes amidst the heat, water running down his body. Alistair didn't really want to go to bed. There, alone and in the dark, he couldn't ignore the memories, the images; the assimilated Cygnus bearing down on them, its graceful Galaxy-class lines corrupted by ugly Borg technology. The smell of Ensign Hi'li's green blood on his face. The smoke. The screaming. The crack of Commander Cak's carapace being ripped open. Captain Jiji's frantic pleading for mercy for her crew. The laughter. That fucking laughter.

Even the shower wasn't safe. Gritting his teeth, Alistair forced himself to focus on something else: Sarah. Her startling green eyes, her smile, that cheeky wink, her adorable accent. He focused on his breathing as he pictured her: her compassion, her honesty, her pure cheerfulness. He remembered the shape of her body underneath that sheer gown, her lovely blonde hair, her full lips, her shapely hips, the hint of her perfectly shaped breasts, her impossibly cute butt when she'd turned around...

Alistair opened his eyes in alarm when he realised where his thoughts were straying, and upon looking down, sure enough, his manhood was indeed rising to attention. After turning off the shower, he stared at the misbehaving appendage in askance for a long moment, then sighed.

"I am so screwed," he mumbled to himself, running a hand over his damp scalp. He hesitated, but couldn't deny his hand moving down towards his now fully erect shaft. "This is not healthy. This is really not healthy. This..." Alistair paused, then shook his head in resignation. "Oh, screw it."

With that, his thoughts lingering on Sarah, Alistair closed his eyes and began pumping his manhood until, a few minutes later, he finally achieved explosive relief. When he finally crawled into bed, it was the first decent sleep he'd gotten in far, far too long.

- FIN