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Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Arboretum | Deck 22 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ
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Frank had spent the last few days working, getting up to speed, and tottering around the deck. There was plenty to do while they were in dock, Blue wasn't joking, the Theurgy had been ridden hard and put away wet. Although by the time he got here, things were mostly done, so he'd just been handling odds and ends. But now, he had a mission in mind, and the Theurgy had a genuine honest-to-goodness arboretum. Not a lab, a true, three tiered space, with plants, trees, and all the rest; Or so he was told.

Not let down upon his entrance to the arboretum, he took a deep breath. It wasn't as though he missed the planetside life. He'd never lived on one long enough to become accustomed. He was a space brat through and through. He'd never spent more than a fortnight planet-side until he'd gone to the Bessemer program in his early teens. But this, this was novel, this was everything he did actually enjoy about planets, in a triple tiered engineering marvel, right here on Deck 22 of the USS Theurgy. It was spectacular, and so green, with a little pond that gently babbled, bushes, grass, benches, the works. It was almost open enough to make him feel uncomfortable, but his mind was set to ease, given if he tried hard enough, he could still see a bulkhead. And the sight of that tritanium comforted him enough that he could relax enough to appreciate the space. With that in mind, he took a moment to savor the soft damp smell in the air, letting it fill his lungs, before he got down to business.

Slowly he scanned around the open space, looking for someone who might oversee this place. He was looking for supplies for woodworking, scrap cuttings from the trees mainly, branches that had been pruned and the like. He could replicate wood of course, but as soon as he'd heard there were trees growing aboard the Theurgy, he wanted some genuine one of a kind space-wood. Naturally he'd not be permitted to fell an oak for a new dining table, or a canoe, but he might be able to get some scraps from the routine trimmings that had to be done. Then again, he wasn't a botanist, he had nothing to do with plants, maybe these trees were engineered to grow into a particular shape. Either he'd be leaving with wood, or an education, and each option would leave him thoroughly satisfied.

People lounged on the grass, and he saw plenty of red and yellow uniforms, but not as much science green as he would have liked. So he started to walk about the area, taking his time, even stopping to bend down and run his fingers through the water of one of the ponds before he went on his way. Eventually he came upon a woman, knelt down knuckle deep in a planter bed, planting...something. Brown haired, with fair skin, and clearly absorbed in her work, this had to be someone that might be able to help him.  She was planting....a plant Frank was sure of that! Beyond that, until it grew into a tree, he couldn't tell you what it was. He'd hover for a moment, but figured that was a bit rude, and so he knelt down next to her, "Excuse me..." He looked for her rank pips, "Lieutenant" he would wait a moment, "Would you like a hand?" He'd try and discern what she was doing while he knelt next to her, "If you have a moment, may I borrow it?" He raised a brow as he waited patiently.

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #1 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Hands in the Dirt | Heart in Paradise | Re-centering]
@uytrereee




There was nothing quite as centering for a Botanist as hands in the dirt.  The grit, the cool temperatures, the way that her fingers could brush against the roots of the large tree that offered a beautiful canopy to the Arboretum cafe.  The beauty of the tree was not that it just boasted lovely green leaves but that in the root of each leaf, where it met the branch, there were small glorious flowers.  They were pink, with white middles, and purple centers.  It was gorgeous and one of her favorite trees in the whole place.  She wasn't currently planting more trees, though, no, she had a small pod of new seedlings that they had cultivated in the lab.  They were small flowering plants that would require little artificial sunlight to grow and allow for them to flourish with a lovely aroma that many people favored.  They hadn't bloomed yet, but given another week or so and the addition of actual ground they would flourish, she had no doubt.

Her heart was still aching, it had not been that long since everything fell apart.  Zeph was not used to living by herself.  Though, she had Jasper, who was romping around out of sight at the moment.  She could hear him though, and most of the people knew him from dealing with her through the Arboretum lately.  She only let him romp when she was certain no one would be really bothered and where she was, there wasn't anyone laying out and reading or listening to their holo novels or listening to their music.  So he was free to roam where she was working at any rate. 

Zeph knew that she could wear gloves, but she had never been that sort of Botanist, at least, not unless she was trying out something with plants she had no experience before.  So she preferred the stain of dirt on her fingers, the feel of it underneath her fingernails, and the scent of it long after she washed her hands and headed back to her Quarters which were barren and empty.  Though she had started moving some of her beloved plants from the lab over to her Quarters, and some of the bright cushions were finally being unpacked.  But, nothing was set up, she didn't have the heart, everything reminded her of Khorin.

A gruff voice startled her from her work.  Zeph jumped slightly, and fell onto her butt.  She wasn't overly graceful, in fact, clumsy was often associated with her.  She looked up at the semi-grey bearded man who stood there.  He knelt down closer to her as Zephyr lifted a dirt stained hand and brushed her bangs behind her ear and returned to her work.  He inquired if he could offer a hand, and her brow rose. 

“You would like to plant?” she asked curiously as her hazel green eyes shifted back over to him.  They were green around the edges and a lovely soft brown around the pupil causing a bleed over in the middle of the iris that she had always found was her best feature.

He asked if she had a moment, and if so, could he borrow it.  Zeph's lips quirked, and it brought her face to life slightly.  Even underneath the pallid color of ill-care and the dark heavy circles underneath her eyes.  It would be easy to imagine what a full smile could do to her face and those eyes of hers.  “Sure, borrow away, I've nothing pressing.” she admitted as she sat back on her heels a moment giving him her full attention.  He wouldn't be able to tell she was full Betazoid, because her eyes weren't black.  When she was corrected on the Savi ship, she had re-corrected her eyes only upon returning to the ship.  However, she had left herself at Full Betazoid because she had never felt the need to change back.

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #2 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Arboretum | Growing Roots ] Attn: @BZ
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Frank's brow rose immediately as she fell onto her bum, and he'd lean forward to offer her a giant paw in assistance. He chuckled softly and said, "I'm sorry to have startled you, you were the only science officer I could spot, well the only one that seemed to be doing any work anyway." He'd lower himself to a kneel as well, since she was sitting on her heels. At her question, he gave a shrug, and said gently, "Seems only fair yes? That if I'm going to take your time, I might help you with your work." Frank always appreciated when a junior engineer was asking him for something, that they held a light for him, or handed him tools.

As he met her eyes, he warmed ever so slightly in his gut. They were soft, and gentle, and complimented by her fine featured face. The green neck of her uniform even accentuated the gentle dance of mint and mud that swirled about her iris. He offered her that bear's paw again, this time not for grounding but for greetings, "I'm Frank, nice to meet you." He nodded gently, and looked her over, and truly it was nice to meet her. She looked to be as tall as him, if half the weight, pretty in a cute next-door, approachable kind of way. Plus he'd found her wrist deep in dirt, working, and hard work was ever the aphrodisiac to a career Engineer.

As she quirked ever so slightly, he smiled back, a warm smile that reached to his eyes, and he nodded gently, "Glad to hear it." He rocked his head back and forth, "It's a bit of an odd question, but what do you do with the waste trimmings from the trees?" He elaborated, "Because I do small projects sometimes, woodworking, and while I can replicate wood, I think it would be very redeeming to work with some samples that were grown here, /aboard/ the Theurgy." He shrugged, "Consider me a romantic, but I was hoping I might be able to take a few trimmings when they're cut. I'd even pitch in on my off-shifts to help weed or trim or what have you, in exchange."

He nodded, "They wouldn't have to be too big, just whatever can be spared. I just want to work with something that's a piece of the Theurgy. Not every day you get a chance to work with a genuine piece of...." He looked to the tree they were perched beneath, with its beautiful flowers, a myriad of pinks, purples, and whites, "...well whatever this beauty is. What is she anyway?" He ran his hand over the trunk, and then slowly his eyes turned again around the massive room, "This place really is quite amazing, I've never been one for planetside life, but this, this is everything I enjoy about a planet. The sights, the smells, even the air tastes a bit different." Likely due to the blend of oxygen and hydrocarbon gasses that plants naturally gave off, but Frank wasn't a biochemist. "It's truly..." He turned his eyes back to her, "...beautiful in here." Something in his voice maybe said that he didn't just mean the plants.

The compliment came on the wings of his scan about the room, maybe it was in the way she carried herself, or the apparent nature of her lack of sleeping, but something told him that she could use a bit of warming right now, and Frank was a giver by nature. He would say lightly to her, "You've got lovely eyes, by the way. I hope that's not inappropriate to say."

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #3 –
[Lt.  Zephyr Praise | Kindness | Flattery | Favors]
@uytrereee




She didn't bother with his hand, for Zeph, falling was just a daily thing.  Though, through gaining her confidence she fell a whole lot less than she had when she was in the Academy years.  Now she could actually occasionally wear a pair of heals and not kill her ankles.  But, right now, with her confidence shaken and going through all of the struggles that she was, she was not nearly as stable as she had been just weeks ago.  As he lowered himself to her position, she looked over at him and rose her brow.  Most people came in here seeking advice or new plants, or whatever it was they wanted to get out of the Arboretum and few ever volunteered to help.  Zeph was often found in here, since her main love in life was Botany-

At the thought of love, her mind slammed down on that thought because right now she did not want to cry, not in the presence of a stranger, and honestly, she felt as though she had cried enough over the things that had happened recently.  Truth was, she was lucky to still be on the ship and not cast off on Aldea hoping to find some other way to run from the Azurite station.  As much as she wanted to stay, she wanted to be safe, and here she wasn't sure how people were going to handle the news of what she had created, and now she stood against all of it very much alone.  At least, it felt that way.

“I could certainly use help.” she said with a bit of a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

He reached out his hand for her, she took a look at the hand and found that he was likely someone that worked with his hands.  Probably an Engineer or Security officer, she couldn't guess which one, but both of those departments she had dated and had ill-luck in the love department.  Not that he was going to date her, or that she was interested, her heart was still pretty torn asunder at the moment.  She reached over, and looked at her dirty hand, but he was asking to help which meant his would be about the same by the end.  So she slid her delicate hand into his own. 

“Zephyr.” she said with a bit of a more true smile.

He wanted to know if there were any wood trimming that he could use to work with.  He wanted to make some things but would prefer to use natural wood instead of the replicated stuff he could get from the computer.  She could appreciate that, as she had never had much use for replicated anything.  Her favorite thing to eat in the world was bacon.  But replicated bacon was nothing on real bacon and she had a hard time eating it.  Sometimes the craving was hard enough she went after it anyway just to get something, but it was always a cheap flavor.  He promised that if she could give him some wood he would exchange his assistant in weeding and what not in his off shifts to pay her back.

Zeph chuckled.  “You must be desperate if you're willing to pull weeds, not even the officers assigned here like doing that.”

He asked her what the tree they were under was, and Zeph shifted since her knees were starting to hurt.  She sat herself down on her butt and crossed her legs in front of her.  “This is a pacifica nymotiis columnae flora”  She explained as though it made complete sense.  “It's not native to Earth, it's actually a species from a small planet called Convalis.  I've never been there, but I've researched it.” she stated as she looked back over to him.

He told her that the place was amazing and it was everything he loved about being on a planet.  She nodded.  “That's what I love about it too, it's a special place.  I can't tell you how excited I was to find this here, when I came on board.”

He changed the subject telling her that she had lovely eyes, and Zeph looked away but a blush rose to her cheeks which she forced back down as quickly as possible.  “Thanks.” she said though her voice was much more sad than it had been a moment ago when she was talking about the large tree over head.

“So, wood.  Lets get you some, we turned most of it into mulch to feed back into the beds.  So we keep a bunch of the trimmings, but we probably have some that will be useful to you.” she said rising up from her spot and brushing off her backside.  “Come on.” she motioned for him to follow her on the pathway.  They would head around the lovely fountain in the center flanked on many sides by benches and a single swing.  She walked towards the back of the arboretum but the place was huge and it would take some time.

“Are you new?” she asked curiously.  “I'm fairly new myself, so I don't know many people yet.  I also don't get out much, so I might have just missed you.”

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #4 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Arboretum | Budding Interest | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ
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Frank noted she just sorta, fell. That was indicative of a clumsy person, and he just smirked to himself a little. He would see her raised brow, and would give a shrug, he didn't know exactly what she was curious over, so he just shrugged. He gave a slow nod as she said she could use the help, and he smiled gently, his tone lowering, "Yeah I thought you might." Perhaps he meant more than just planting though, she seemed like maybe she needed a friend right now. He couldn't exactly say why he thought that, maybe it was that most of her smiles didn't quite reach her eyes, and most of her speech didn't quite reach the soul. But Frank was here now, and at least for the length of this encounter, he might be a bit of warmth in her day.

He grinned softly as she took his hand, and he would gently shake it, not looking to pulverize her poor mit in his palm. As she introduced herself, he offered politely, "Well it's very nice to meet you Zephyr. Are you a botanist? I assumed as much, since you're working here." He too liked bacon, his favorite breakfast was homemade bacon and eggs, it was a filling meal, and warmed your belly, although he could tolerate it from a replicator, as he'd been eating out of them all his life. "Zephyr's a nice name, what're the origins if you don't mind me asking? Frank's pretty simple, old world Earth, Francis, likely etymologically based in ancient Franciscans as they were labeled by ancient Anglicans." He did like history oh so much, "But Zephyr...that's like a soft breeze, by dictionary standards anyway."

As she chuckled at him, he shook his head slowly, and would say, "I just believe in working for my meals." He laughed,"But yeah I am pretty desperate, I left most of my passion projects at my old post, didn't have much time to bring them, so it'd go a long way to making me feel at home here, if I could start a new project, yanno?" He was trying to grow some roots, he figured she could understand. "Besides, the best way to make friends, is to give them a piece of something hand made."

He'd sit down with her, right on his rump, and would listen, "Pacifica nymotiis columnae flora." He mouthed the words out, they sounded foreign to him, he was used to saying things like, 'Lattice, carburized, martensite, and if you do that again I'll hit you with this hydrospanner'. He nodded slowly, "Well it's really pretty, maybe you'll get to see it native one day."

He nodded, "It's the perfect place for a picnic. Do you like picnics? I imagine you feel pretty lucky having all this space to work with, and not just a lab. It'd be like me having a true test range. Oh, I'm an Engineer by the way, Assistant Chief working for Blue, that's uh Lieutenant Commander Blue Tiran, then again you probably knew that." He babbled a little, blushing a bit himself as he caught himself explaining things she no doubt knew already, "Sorry, you just seem really approachable."

As she blushed, he smiled, and gave a nod while he said lightly, "Yeah, you're welcome." He could hear the sadness, and he mused, maybe she was feeling down, maybe she'd been rejected or dumped, with all the Theurgy had been through, maybe one of her loves had died. All of a sudden he felt really guilty, but he pushed it aside, onward and through.

He would nod, "Wood." As she explained, he gave a nod, "Yeah I figured a lot of it got recycled, makes sense with the limited biomass I imagine, but I really appreciate you taking the time." He nodded softly, and would stand with her, following close behind, as he looked around the place, admiring each little thing as they passed it.

"Yes, I'm fairly new, I came aboard when the Vor'nak arrived, so I've been aboard about four days. But I've already got my post, I'll be Assistant Chiefing, chasing Ensigns about the deck, and then running Vector One should the ship separate for any length of time." He paused, "I uh, came from the Magellan, I was the Assistant Chief there too, after I got the lowdown on what was really going on. I packed my bags and spirited away like a thief in the night. Did you come aboard with the Klingons? I hitched a ride with some of them." He doubted it, he felt like he would have seen her, but then again, he hadn't seen a lot of Starfleet on board.

"Well, one newbie to another, it's really nice to meet you. I've not met a lot of people yet, mostly just the Chief, a couple people in the below deck, an Orion holoprogrammer, and my bunk." He chuckled, "But now I've met you, and I'm glad for it." He smiled, "So today's been a worthwhile day." He motioned to the fountain, and said lightly, "What a beaut." For whatever reason, maybe Blue was rubbing off on him, he reached into his pocket, and produced none other than a sugar covered lie, a lemon bar, unwrapped it, broke it in two, and offered her half, "Lemon Bar?"

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #5 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Botany – The Only Love | Wood for Friends? | New Acquaintances]
@uytrereee




“Yeah, I'm the Theurgy's resident Botanist and Botanical Mastermind.” she chuckled, a litlte bit before her face fell.  That Botanical mastermind business had landed her precisely where she was, alone again.  But, that wasn't something that was going to be told to Frank.  He didn't deserve her burdens and he certainly wasn't the one she was going to lean on to soothe her wounded heart.  Not that he couldn't, it's just, maybe she needed to stand on her own.  Maybe she was desperate and in fear and on a strange ship she had gone and stood beside Khorin.  But, he too, had been in need.  Accused of murder and thrown in the Brig.  Zeph had sat with him that entire night waiting for him to be released, not leaving his side.  She was the one that had calmed him down from the murderous rage the Savi had inflicted on him before she could harm any one else.  After all of that, she had stood beside him, slept beside him, and loved him.

All for nothing.

“Nothing special.  My father was human, so, I suppose he picked it out.  My sisters have weirder names, and they are worse.  But then, I'm pretty sure mom picked those out.” she gave a shrug, eluding that her mother was probably not human.

He had apparently left the projects he had been working on behind on his old ship when he transferred quickly to the Theurgy.  She could understand that too, having left, or rather run away from the Azurite station after she had realized her work had been used for nefarious things after she had tried to get rid of it all.  She had left everything behind and gotten out the only way that she knew how.  She was a fugitive and she was glad that Ives was taking pity on her and allowing her to stay here despite the truth of the matter coming to light.

“You're going to try to bribe yourself into friendships with wooden artifacts?” she chuckled teasingly looking over at him.  “Gifts have a nice meaning, true, but I think the more rare the gift, the more it means.  So just, don't hand them out to all the pretty girls.” she teased as they walked.

He told her that it looked like this was the perfect place for picnics and asked if she liked them.  “Well yes, I do.” she admitted.  “But, I haven't been on one in ages, though this place seems like a popular spot for them.  I see a lot of officers in here on dates, or lunches, or naps.  Whatever it is, there's something just calming about nature.” she admitted with a shrug, she felt it too, but in a deeper more meaningful way, she thought.

He mentioned that he was an Engineer.  Score one for Zephyr, she thought to herself.  He told her that he worked with Blue Tiran as the Assistant Chief Engineer.  Zeph laughed.  “That one is colorful, and mean, but I think she's not really mean.  I think she's vastly understood and hides her pain really well.” she admitted as they walked.  “I tried to help her once, big mistake.  But, we worked together recently on a project and I got used to her rough exterior.  She's really quite smart.”

He told her that he felt that she was approachable and she chuckled again.  “yeah I hear that a lot.  Maybe too approachable.” she sighed

He told her his story about how he came on board, where he was stationed, and what was going on in his life.  Sometimes Zeph felt like she missed her calling as a counselor the way people tended to open up to her in the way that they did.  She listened, and then he asked her if she had come on board with the Klingon.

“No, I was on the Versant.  I had some trouble at my last posting, and was on the way off when the Savi beamed the transport I was using onboard the Versant.  I came here with the rest of the Theurgy survivors.” she admitted though she didn't use a whole lot of emotion when talking about the Versant, she had fared better than most on board the ship.

As they continued their walk he pulled something yello out of his pocket and broke it in half.  A dusting of white powder across the top.  Zeph was not overly much of one for sweets, but it seemed wrong not to take some.  So she held out her dirty fingers and allowed him to drop it into her palm.  Carefully she took a bite, there was a bit of bitterness with the sweet, it was an unusual but pleasant taste.  “That's pretty good, thanks.” she said softly.

“So why did you come to the Theurgy after hearing all the trouble that it is in?” she asked him curiously.  “I mean, you were on a different ship, but you transferred here because you wanted to.  Why?”

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #6 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Arboretum | A Picnic Perhaps? | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ
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He smiled as she chuckled, and he offered, "You've got the dirt under your nails to prove it." He winked at her, saw her face fall back to where she started. For now he just studied her, that was a scientist's first job, observe. Then you test a theory, and if you're wrong, start over. He gave a nod, "Yeah? My parents were both humans, obviously. Didn't get to know my mom much, died when I was real young, too young to really remember." He raised a brow, "But your mom, she was something else?" He stroked his chin, "Probably not a Vulcan or a Bajoran, well maybe....I don't know why I'm pretending to guess, the only way I will is pure luck, xenobiology was never my strong suit." He laughed gently, stroking his beard as he settled back to quiet, mainly just watching her, trying to be warm and jovial.

He raised a brow, "Bribery is such a dirty word, but no not really. First the friendships come, then the gifts." He nodded gently, "You'll see, I think we're already going to be friends, I just get that feeling, so maybe one day you'll get a present." He nodded, "You're a pretty girl, you like trees, you're practically a perfect receiver of a gift from me." He laughed some more, enjoying her company, she really was inviting.

As she said she hadn't been on a picnic in a while, he saw his chance, and he offered smooth as butter, "Well would you come on one with me?" He raised a brow, "I mean it doesn't have to be here, I know you work here, but uh, I would like to take you on a date. It doesn't have to be a picnic, but that sounds nice." He nodded sagely, not wanting to sound desperate, but really hoping she accepted as he looked towards her stunning eyes again to gauge a response. He looked around, "It's simple I think, that's what makes it so calming, at least to me." He shrugged, "It's not overstimulating like so many other parts of our lives aboard a starship." He shrugged again, "But maybe it's just something that can't be explained."

He nodded as she said that Blue was colorful, saying softly, "She's not mean. I mean, I'm sure she can be mean, but in a fair way. She cares about the ship, she's motivated, and well, she swears like the men I grew up with." He laughed, "For me she's a perfect chief, direct and honest, but I can see how some might find her...abrasive." He shrugged, "Not for the faint of heart, then again, if you can't take the heat." He agreed when she said Blue was smart, "Oh without a doubt. Keen as a razor." He'd figured that out within a minute of meeting her, you just didn't get to be a Chief that young without real natural talent.

He shook his head, "No such thing as too approachable." He nodded, "Nothing wrong with being kind, and warm, and open. This universe is dark enough to make cynics out of all of us. But if you don't believe in joy, love, happiness, and your fellow man, what's the point?" He shrugged, "Surely you can exist without others, but that's not really living. It's just existing, subsiding." He believed that, he believed humanity was best together.

He heard that she was on board the Versant, that she had encountered the Savi, and he offered under his breath 'shit'. He rolled his shoulders, "Well, sorry. I've only heard some of the stories, but still." He even reached out an arm and gave her a light side hug about her shoulders, before taking his appendage back with an abashed "Sorry", realizing that just because she was so approachable, they were still veritable strangers. "That's a bum rap."

As she took the sweet he gave a grunt, speaking with his mouth full, "Yeah you're welcome, I like lemon bars, working with, or generally around the Chief always gets me thinking about them. She's a sugar slut." He laughed, "Don't tell her I said that. Me though, I like a sweet now and again, but I prefer savory stuff. Fresh bread, ripe cheese the blue kind in particular, meat, bacon, eggs, croissants." He mmm'd audibly while he rubbed his belly, "Bacon and egg on a croissant. There's this little bakery right near the Federation building in Paris, really popular, have to get there early in the morning or the line is outrageous. I only went there once, well I guess I only went to Paris once too but the breakfast sandwich I had there....I need to stop, I'm going to get too hungry, then we'll end up in the mess, not getting wood." He chuckled at himself.

As she asked him why he came to the Theurgy, he raised a brow, she was the second person to ask him that, and he offered plain as day, "Because that's what we do." He nodded gently, "Go boldly towards the unknown, make strides and sacrifice for the greater benefit of all life. I learned about the threat to the Federation from an old family friend, and knew right away that I had to pitch in any way I could. I'm not any good at flying, and I really don't any sort of fighting outside of a boxing ring or a phaser range, but I can hold the hull plating together on any ship ever made by the Federation, and put it back together when it breaks. And the only way I could pitch in, was by coming here." He nodded, "Maybe I'm just an idealist, but it makes sense to me." His pa had told him to do whatever he chose whole-ass, and this was what whole-assing it looked like to Frank.

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #7 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Shocking Proposals | Picnic Lunches | Too Soon To Try]
@uytrereee




He admitted that both his parents were human, she had figured that much was certain, but, she wasn't the kind to use her abilities to be overly nosy.  Her eyes shifted over to him as he asked her if her mother was something else.  She gave a nod.  “Yes, she is Betazoid.” she admitted softly, which would be default make her half, except that she had herself corrected thanks to the Savi.  She had decided not to get fully corrected though she had traded the black eyes of a Betazoid for the hazel green she had been born with.  Otherwise she had stayed fully Betazoid.  She was definitely not Vulcan or Romulan or anything else, but then he admitted not to being good at xenobiology.  A soft smile crossed her face. 

“I'm only gifted in xenobotany.”

He told her that gifts were for after he had made friends, and that she was a pretty girl, and nice, and would likely receive one.  She smirked softly but didn't answer that.  He probably didn't know she was the one that created the virus that had jacked up a large portion of the ship yet.  And just like Khorin he would probably abandon her too.  She supposed that she couldn't blame them, she had accidentally created a bioweapon that had really fucked up some people.  She had tried to destroy it, but, the station had kept it and used it against her wishes.

He asked her if she would mind coming on a picnic with him.  He told her it didn't even have to be here, it could be anywhere since this was where she worked.  He wanted to take her on a date.  The warmth in her face drained and paled, as she continued walking beside him.  “I don't think.. that's a good idea.” she admitted softly brushing her bangs behind her ear again.  “I don't.. I just.. recently got out of a relationship.. forcefully.  My boyfriend broke up with me .. a couple weeks ago .. and I'm not really sure it's.. it's time to date.” she admitted with a shrug of her slender shoulders.  She was thin, almost too thin, she hadn't been eating much of anything.  No real drive to and living alone meant she didn't have anyone to cook for except Jasper and she had taken to replicated his favorite fish.

He talked more about Blue, how she wasn't mean, she just was honest and straight forward.  Zeph nodded, that was all true.  Blue had some kind of internal pain, something that was old, as far as Zeph could feel.  Something formative, that could not easily be touched and could probably never truly be remedied.  Zephyr got to see Blue and her fiance, now husband, and she could tell the ways that Blue just unfolded in his presence, it was unique and sweet and Zeph hoped to find that one day.  She thought she had, twice now, but it had always turned into nothing when she needed that person the most.

She was starting to believe it was best to be single.

“I think there is, because apparently, I always chose poorly.” she shrugged, not arguing with him just stating the fact of how she felt about it right now.

When he called Blue Tiran a sugar slut, Zephyr finally laughed, out loud and fully.  Hazel green eyes sparkling brightly for a moment before it all faded back out, she shook her head.  “I'll  take it to my grave, I swear.” she chuckled again enjoying the terminology.  He was right, Blue would probably sock him with that massive wrench she had laying around, but it would still be hilarious for him to call her that to her face.  Though part of zeph thought she might be the sort that actually would find it funny.  Some people were able to laugh at themselves from time to time.  He said he liked eggs and bacon, Zeph smiled brightly again. 

“Bacon is my favorite food.  You know, I grew up on board starships and frequent visits to my mother's planet.  So I had never had bacon until I was dating a guy from Ireland.  He took me home at one point to  meet his parents, and they had bacon.  The real kind, mind you, not the replicated kind and I have never tasted anything better.” she admitted with a bit of a smile.

He explained why he was on the Theurgy and she gave a nod, it made sense.  She had needed a refuge and Khorin had vouched for her, as did her actions in assisting the Theurgy crew in the fight on the Versant.  She might not look it but she was trained by a special forces officer who had been her best friend back in the day.  Zeph had worked hard to keep her skills on going and was proud to say that they still worked well on her to this day.  She was not shy with a phaser or rifle, she could hold her own when it was necessary.  As they turned a corner to the back of the Arboretum she took him along a low lying wall, just over the other side he could see doors to the labs and various other spots but she lead him to a pile of wood, most of it was fresh, just a couple days old at most to today.  She motioned for the differing woods. 

“Here is what I've got.  You can help yourself to any that you feel like would work for you.” she stated stepping back to let him do what he needed.

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #8 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Arboretum | Never too Soon to Get back in the Saddle | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ
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He gave a slow smile, and would say, "Betazoid. Well, that's awesome. I only grew up with my dad, but I guess it was a group effort, it was a diverse crew." He gave a chuckle, not wanting to discount all of the others who had a hand in raising him. There'd been his tutor of course, and a whole host of mineral experts and roughnecks, it had been an interesting childhood, that was for certain. As she said she was only gifted in xenobotany, he gave a little smile back to her and offered, "I'm betting you have other hidden talents. Everyone does." He gave a nod, "Zephyr, Botanist by day, fighter pilot extraordinaire by night." He laughed gently, stroking his chin, "Zephyr, Botanist by day, exotic dancer by night" and gave her a little nudge, wanting to keep her smiling.

If Frank did find out she had made a virus that had affected the Theurgy, his perspective on it might be quite surprising. As an Engineer he battled frequently with the notion of pure science, versus weapons applications or otherwise. But perhaps they'd have that conversation one day, for now, he was determined to make this half human, half betazoid with pretty eyes smile.

He saw the warmth in her face drain, and had an immediate inclination as to what might be getting her down. He heard her say that she didn't think it was a good idea, and admittedly the disappointment seeped into his voice. He gave a slow hmm, and would say lightly, "Well alright. I'd really ask you to reconsider, that old adage about falling off a horse and all that, but I'm not going to force you to a picnic blanket at phaser point." He smiled, "But I'm sorry that happened, breakups are rough, especially aboard a starship where you're still in close confines with the person you loved." He would say lightly, "I'd still like to be your friend. Maybe one day you'll change your mind." He nodded, "I don't want to be too forward, but here goes nothing. I'm not one to pussyfoot around the issue either. you seem like you could use a friend right now, and I think I could make you smile, so why don't you let me try? Besides, I think I could get along good with you, when you decide to get back in the saddle, I want to be top of the list." He looked at her and raised a brow, with a warm inviting smile, and a wisdom that seemed much beyond his years, maybe it was the grey starting in his beard.

He shook his head lightly, and said, "Your experiences are not a reflection of who you are, but a reflection of who others are. Many people come and go out of your life, and sometimes when you're open, you're going to get hurt." He nodded gently, "I don't know if you're familiar with old earth prose and poetry, but there's a piece by a man called Max Ehrmann, he was a writer in a time when intellectuals were not valued in a way they are now. He wrote a piece that roughly translates to 'To have a good life, do these things' that I really enjoy. He wrote, 'Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.'." He took a pregnant pause and continued, "Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness." He nodded gently, "Deistic metaphors of the twentieth century aside, there's some kernels of wisdom to be found in old musings."

As she burst into full bodied laughter, and swore the secret to her grave, he gave a slow chuckle, "I believe that you will." As she said that she liked bacon though, he gave an excited nod. "I grew up on a mining freighter, so we ate a lot of replicated food, but my da' he'd always try and get fresh provisions when we could. I always enjoyed those breakfasts, mmm." He salivated just thinking about it, rubbing his rumbling belly again, damn he was hungry. "Well, why don't you let me cook you something for breakfast one of these days?" He raised a brow, "You look like you could do well by something home cooked, and I'm going to try as I might to get you to let me take you on a date. If I have to bribe you with pork products I will." He waited for her answer, "Hell we can go get lunch right now."

He had come to the Theurgy determined, he hadn't ended up here as it seemed some had, but he reckoned they were just as committed as he, for choosing a ship of damned men to be their last refuge. As they ended up at the wood pile, he beamed like a kid at Christmas. He bent down and started examining the different pieces, taking a few that were no thicker than his pointer finger, and then a few boughs that were a bit thicker, paying special attention to try and find straight pieces, and a piece from pacifica nymotiis columnae flora, if he could spy that particular flower. When he had half an armload, he would stand back up, looking jolly as could be, and said lightly, "These should do wonderfully. Thank you." He raised a brow, "So, you want to grab a bite? Don't lie to me and say you're not hungry. I can smell bullshit from...." He held two fingers under his nose and pretended to take a deep sniff, "At least that close." He just wanted to see her laugh again.

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #9 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Don't Underestimate Heartbreak | It's Hard | Moving Forward]
@uytrereee




He wished for her to reconsider.  She wasn't sure that was the answer, and she didn't feel ready.  Honestly, she didn't want anyone to end up in the rebound territory and there was no way she was going to slap someone with that.  As much as it would be nice to have someone next to her during the day and someone to confide in, she didn't really want to push that on him.  No, she wasn't ready, the way her heart was it would be far too easy to fall for someone that showed her kindness and regret it later or become too dependent on them.  No, she just needed to continue healing while she could and enjoy life again, then she could figure out what she wanted to do romantically.  He admitted that he would still like to be her friend, that she could probably use one right now and he felt that he could make her smile.  A bit of a smirk quirked her lips she gave a nod.

“Lets just start there, with the friendship.” she said softly raising a finger and pointing at him as they walked.

He began to quote at her, and she smiled softly, though sadly.  It didn't reach her eyes, but they continued walking.  She was still putting her best face forward and getting through the day.  Every day was new and hard but better than the last.  She still hadn't really dealt with everything, she hadn't pulled out all the things from her boxes, but she was getting to that a little bit over time.  “I suppose there are, but I also think moving too quickly will end up in a relationship that isn't founded on mutual feelings rather instead it would be founded on the dependency of a broken heart.”

Once he learned that she liked bacon the picnic turned into having a home cooked meal.  Her brow rose, because he was promising her real bacon and that was something she hadn't had.  Of course he probably didn't have it either but maybe cooked replicated bacon would be all right this one time.  “Are you saying I”m too skinny?” she teased slightly and she nodded.  “Okay okay, you can feed me, you seem to have a drive and I have some time here in a bit.”

She almost headed off while he picked his wood out but she figured that would be rude.  So she stood there leaning against the low wall that she had lead him past moments ago.  Looking out over the arboretum, her very favorite place.  He spoke and pulled her back out of her thoughts she looked over at him as he told her that what he had would do really well.  “Sure, just shoot me a message any time you need some and I'll put a little to the side.” she admitted.

He asked her if she was ready to eat, and told her not to try to lie.  She chuckled and shook her head.  “Okay, well at least let me wash my hands, and we can go.” she said as she walked over to one of the labs, her name was engraved next to the plate that she brushed her hand on.  Inside there was a full wall of hydroponics botanical collection which dominated the far wall.  Two lab tables flanked the two walls of the room coming from the back wall.  One had a wall mounted console above it, the other had a special shelf, board, and hanging system where tubes of seeds, soil, and various seedlings were held.  Below that on the lab table was a collection of various potted oddities that she had been collecting and growing under a specialized lamp.  What she had come in here for was the sink where she proceeded to wash her hands cleaning underneath her fingernails and getting everything off before drying them and turning.

“Okay, so, I guess lead the way?” she said patting her pockets to make sure she had her PADD she motioned for him to do what he needed to show her where they would be eating today.

“How long does it take you to make your wooden gifts?” she asked once they headed out of her lab.

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #10 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Arboretum | Heartbreak and Breakfast| Let's go play with Wood | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ
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He just watched her for now, looking a bit silly with a massive paw full of branches, and a light smile on his face. He heard her response, and he saw her smirk and nod, and he offered lightly, "I'd like that. I'd like to be your friend." He gave a shrug, "Honestly if I had to pick between friendship and seeing you with your pants off, it'd be a hard choice, but I'd still pick friendship." He winked at her, trying to make her laugh.

As she offered her analysis though, he gave a nod saying lightly, "That's a very wise point of view for certain. Something I hadn't considered, which let's be honest, there's like eighteen things I haven't considered in this conversation. That's good old Frank though, very pointed towards the end-run." He chuckled again, and walked along, away from the wood pile now. He laughed as she said was she too skinny, "No, you're delightfully skinny, but everyone could use a good fat meal." He smirked patting his stomach, not flat like a twenty year old, but not overly round either, "But you could use a little meat on your bones." He nudged her with an elbow as she started to lighten a little, tease back. "Good, because I was really worried I was going to have to put you in a headlock. That'd be a hard one to explain to Security." He smirked, "No no Ensign you see, I'm dragging her to eat breakfast foods, it's for her own good really. There's no need to point a phaser at me."

He nodded lowly, "Awesome, thank you, I'll make sure not to bother you too often, I know you've got your own work to do." He walked with her towards her lab, spying the her name listed on the plate and he whistled softly, "Swanky." He rolled his shoulders, "They've not assigned me an office yet, although there's only the one in Main Engineering. And to be honest, it's just another place for me to accumulate my junk." He laughed gently, looking around, giving a slow hmm, "So this is what a Botanist's dungeon looks like." Blue had referred to her office as the Dungeon, and he had decided he liked the term, so he'd been using it a lot lately. While he waited for her to wash her hands, he slowly perused the space, wandering around it, leaning in to look at different instruments, and of course, the hydroponically grown plants. It was a new world to him, a lot of the tools looked the same, shears, tines; but there were certainly others that did not, analysis equipment he couldn't identify. Eventually he made his way back to Zephyr, but he was obviously curious about her work too. "Looks like you have a really nice setup here."

As she said to lead the way, he realized, he really hadn't thought this bit out, so as he thought, he let out a "Suuuure." He turned on his heels, and decided his quarters was the only place he could think of that actually had supplies to cook, or the holodeck. He settled on his quarters, that was fine. He waited for her to motion, and he set out, walking back out into the beautiful arboretum, and slowly scanning around for the way to go. Likely he'd need a little guidance from Zephyr, this was after all, the Barony of the Botanist.

At her question he shrugged, headed now for the exit of the Arboretum, eventually stepping into the hall, "How long is a piece of string?" He smirked as he finished his dad-joke, "I suppose it depends on the piece. I can make trinkets in one or two good four hour sessions, now it depends if I can get the holodeck time to work, as all of my genuine equipment got left behind." He rolled his shoulders, "Bigger pieces can take weeks, or months. I once made a wood replica of an Intrepid, that took me about four weeks of evenings. Here it'd definitely take longer, because no one is going to let me monopolize the Holodecks like that." He turned to her and raised a brow, "Would you like to see my workshop? I think I can make food on the Holodeck."

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #11 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Time for Lunch | Break Time | Finding Friends?]
@uytrereee




He told her that if he had to make the choice between being her friend or seeing her naked, he would almost prefer friendship.  Her brow rose, she didn't laugh but she just shook her head incredulously.  She knew that he was very witty and cute, and she thought he could be good to have around in her life regardless of what his role would be.  However, she wasn't sure what role he would play just yet.  Zeph could only just appreciate the fact that she was no longer alone, or that a friendship was beginning to bud.  Which was really important to her.  Thomas said that the ship did not feel like a prison to him, but then he had been here from the beginning and had a lot of people around him.  Maybe Zephyr needed some people around her too.

He told her that he felt she could use a big good meal, as they walked back through the arboretum.  That he didn't want to have to put her in a headlock and explain it to some Security ensign.  Causing Zeph to smile again as they walked.  “Well, that could be a story for a later date.  Hey kids, gather 'round while I regale you with my tales of getting arrested while just trying to feed a sad lonely Botanist.”  she grinned over at him feeling a little better and thankful for the distraction.

In her lab, he seemed impressed with the whole thing.  She supposed that it was lovely, it wasn't nearly as large as the lab she had on the Azurite but it was good enough for the things that she wanted to do here, or at least what she was working on.  He told her that he hadn't been given an office yet but it would just be full of his junk.  She smiled.  “I think Engineers are all the same in their collections of junk.” she told him with a shrug.  She had dated and been engaged to one in what seemed like a full lifetime ago, and she was all too knowledgeable about the type.  He called her place the dungeon and she chuckled.  “I mean, it's probably not completely wrong, I forget to leave it sometimes.”

As they walked, he told her that the length of time to carve his wooden masterpieces depended on the size.  She could understand that, there was no set time to how long it took her to create or grow a plant.  Some of them were faster than others, and there was all sorts of things to take into consideration when that was happening.  He said it could take weeks or months and some only days, but he only worked on it when he wasn't on his shift which made a lot of sense.  There was probably little use for wood shavings all over the floors of Engineering and if she knew Blue as well as she thought she did, Blue would not handle that kind of mess on her deck.  Zephyr did not know Blue outside of her sharp words and the emotional workload she got from the young woman, and that was in a really rough time for the young engineering chief.

“So.  How do you like the ship so far?  Working with Blue, that has to be an adventure.  I've only met her once, but, she left a lasting impression.”

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #12 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Hallway & Turbolift | Deck 22 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ
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He saw the incredulous headshake, and just had to chuckle. Sometimes Frank's humor toed the line between acceptable and court martial. Either way, he was enjoying her company, and she hadn't told him to hit the bricks, so that was nice. He had found a couple friends now it seemed, all women, but he could live with that. Less posturing and macho energy that way. As they walked, he just took the occasional glance at her, and smiled.

As they got into the hall, he gave a slow chuckle at her rendition of him retelling the story, and just eventually burst into laughter. He made an old man's voice and said, "Let me tell you sonny, back in my day you had to wrestle your women." He just chuckled gently, and would grin back at her, doubly thankful he was able to distract her. He remarked on her lab comments as they went on their way, giving a slow nod of agreements, "Yeah, I think we're all natural pack rats. I'm big on random tools, and scraps I think I can use for projects. Blue's office is a real dungeon, even by my standards." He laughed gently, "And I must shamefully admit, I love it." He chuckled gently, "Have you ever met Alfred, no it's Albert, yes, have you ever met Albert? Wonderful piece of technology he is." He nodded excitedly, "Has a real personality." He grinned, "I bet you've had some long overnighters in your lab yourself." He gave a roll of the shoulders, then again what young officer hadn't.

He'd round the corner to the turbolift, and stepped inside, and once Zephyr had joined him spoke, "Deck Twenty One." He looked to her and said, "I was thinking quarters, but the holodeck has a nice kitchen setup that someone programmed." He gave a nod, "Real interesting." Besides, his woodshop was there, so if she got interested, he could share. He'd put his saxophone back in his quarters, but that could be for another day.

He rolled his shoulders, saying lightly, "She's a beauty. I'm going out in a few days to complete a hull survey, so I'll get to see her more intimately from the outside. But so far I've been impressed. From the manifests it looks like she took a real walloping in her last adventure, but she's a sturdy gal. She's got teeth. I've never been a fan of the idea of splitting a ship into vectors, it made sense for the Dominion War, but I like one big boat, not three smaller ones." He rolled his shoulders, "But she's a real marvel, that much is true. I'm going to enjoy working on her, even if it means I'll be putting her back together." As he spoke, a real smile of enjoyment crept onto his face, showing his passion for the work.

He laughed as she said Blue was an adventure, "She's, an interesting gal. We haven't worked too much with one another yet, but word around the ship is she drives the crew hard. She's a straight shooter like me, I like that. Hardnose, swears a bit much for my taste personally, and I grew up with miners, but she gets her point across, that's what matters." He gave a grin, "She does make an impression, that much is sure. She seems to share my passion for the work, and distaste for bullshit. I'm sure we're gonna get to be real close her and I."

In a few moments the turbolift would arrive to the prescribed deck, and he'd motion to the door politely, "After you."

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #13 –
[Lt.  Zephyr Praise | Heading for Holo | This is Not a Date | Bacon Calls – Smart Girls Answer]
@uytrereee




He admitted that Blue's office was like a dungeon, and that he loved it.  She smiled softly as they walked together out of the arboretum and to the corridor beyond.  Frank seemed nice enough, he deserved some good people to be around him and luckily he would probably find that here on the Theurgy.  It seemed to have mostly good people on board when you were the cause of their suffering.  Even though she had tried to do the right thing, that didn't mean the suffering it caused was negated, it just meant that she hadn't been the one to actually to release the virus.  However, for some, that didn't matter.  Still, Zeph had a feeling that Frank would not be lonely or considered new for all that long.  He would easily find a place to belong among the people on the ship.  Frank was curious if she had met Albert.

“No, but I remember when he was rescued from the Versant.  He and Blue got into it on a few occassions and it was hard at times not to laugh at their banter.” she admitted with a bit of a smile.  “He is amazing.  I think it would be cool to have a conversation with him.”

Frank switched topics to over nighters in the lab and she gave a nod.  “Any good scientist does, I”m sure you've done the same in Engineering.  Honestly, lately it's bee more over nighters than not, they just are easier than trying to sleep.  I'm tired but as soon as I lay down just.. poof... there goes my brain onto tons of things, and then I can't sleep.  Eventually sleep will return.” she chuckled softly.

They got onto the turbo and he decided they were going to a holodeck which was fine.  His quarters would probably be far too personal and they had only just met.  So she was fine with going to a holodeck which he promised was a great cool kitchen that she would like.  “Sounds like a plan.” she said as they headed upwards.

As they got to talking about the Theurgy herself she could hear the excitement in his voice the love for all things about the ship.  He was excited to do the hull examination and she found herself curious how one did that.  Being a dual trained officer, she could understand the exam from multiple angles however she had never thought about doing one on the hull of a ship.  She supposed it would enable him to find weak spots or something of the like.  It sounded like he was jazzed up and excited to do it so she hoped that whatever he did it would be a good time and he would get the results he was looking for.  “I can hear your passion for her, and it's nice, I think if every officer was as passionate as you are, we'd be in a better place.”

Frank went on to answer her questions about Blue.  He told her that she swore too much for him personally.  “I haven't found anyone except the First Officer who doesn't agree with that statement, and secretly I think he does too but I think he just is deaf to it at this point.” she chuckled as they rode the turbo.  “I don't think she is a bad person, I know that rumors around her are always negative but I think people don't see the whole picture.  Blue can be a bit much but she has whipped that deck into shape from what I hear.”

They arrived at the holodeck and she stepped into the room.  It was black with the grid pattern on the walls, while she waited for him to initiate the program that he was hoping to use for them tonight.  She was actually hungry but she had no real push to eat when she was home alone and often just couldn't be bothered to go replicate something for herself or she passed out on the couch for a few, or something. 

“Okay, so you're making breakfast, what can I do to help?” she asked when the deck came to life.

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #14 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Holodeck 04 | Deck 21 | A Datelike Not-Date | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @BZ
[Show/Hide]
He gave a slow smile as they walked, he didn't know anything about Zephyr's past. Maybe eventually he'd learn, and maybe it'd change the way he viewed her. But right now she was innocent as fresh snow to him, and he seemed to really enjoy being in her company. He heard her reply on Albert, and chuckled gently, "He's Blue's bitch." He smirked softly, "Or so I am told. I think his designation is like personal assistant or something, but Blue just refers to him as bitch." He laughed remembering her mouthing that to him.

He slowly shook his head and offered, "He's quite impressive. I've yet to decide if he is a true AI, or very cleverly programmed." He stroked his chin slowly, "Knowing Blue's work, it could honestly be either, I'd not put it past her to be that clever. Then again I'm not sure if she made him or not. I never bothered to ask, and it didn't come up." He stroked his beard more, as he thought, "Birds are curious pets really. Odd choice, it reflects on the personality of the creator, that much is sure." Frank tended to be prone to airy thoughtful ramblings. "Without a doubt it would be very cool. I'll introduce you sometime"

He gave a slow laugh, "I'm a control freak, so I have a tendency to work too much. But I think that's pretty typical Starfleet behavior. Starfleet attracts a certain type of person on purpose, this life isn't for everyone. It can be quite fatiguing, and it can be lonely." He rolled his shoulders, and would hear from her she'd been having trouble sleeping, which he'd guessed upon first meeting her. "Have you tried drinking?" He chuckled in a way that showed he was only mildly drinking, "Got me through the Dominion War, lot of sleepless nights prevented with a few tots of Aqua Vitae." 

He was certainly very excited to do the hull survey, mainly because it was his chance to show what he could do. Which to him was very important, he needed to demonstrate to Blue he was a worthwhile part of the crew. Maybe it was an unhealthy way to think, but it'd gotten him this far, there's not a chance that was going to change now. Old dog, new tricks, they didn't go together very well. He gave a slow roll of the shoulders, and he said, "Dad always said you spend a lot of your life working, so you might as well find something you enjoy. I just happened to enjoy this. I do have a love for this work, I hope that my crew shares such." He smiled at her, "I bet you like plants as much as I like metals no?" He shrugged, "Or maybe you secretly want to be a ballerina. That's fine Zephyr, you can tell me you secretly have a tutu. I'll show you mine" He nudged her with his elbow and smirked all the while.

He nodded to her statement that the first officer had grown deaf to it, her husband he knew by now, "It's pretty interesting what you get used to in a partner. You normalize a lot of behavior that would seem odd from a stranger. Blue's definitely not a bad person though, I think she loves this boat as much as I have loved any of mine, and that's important in a Chief Engineer. There's plenty of slouches that make it up the ranks, and that type can be a big headache to work for. I don't think I'm going to have that problem here." He gave a slow chuckle, "That she has, there's a few sleepers still, but I'll weed them out awfully quick. I only have a few rules, laziness breaks all of them."

He looked to the holodeck console and slowly navigated it to the program entitled 'Cozy Nook Overlooking Ocean' and initialized the sim. They'd find themselves standing in an intimate kitchen space, open concept with beautiful bamboo floors that ran to a floor to ceiling window which overlooked a calm blue sea. There was a center island, that was overhung by a hood, with stools on one side, and a range on the other built into the top. He gave a slow shrug, "I'm not sure that it's meant to be based on a real place, but I found it like four days ago, and I've been making meals here when I can get the deck time. It'll be harder once we're underway, people won't have the planet for leisure, but for now I haven't had to fight for time too badly." Especially since he was willing to use it in the middle of the night, that made things easier.

He smiled at her question, and offered, "Sit there and continue looking pretty?" He gave a laugh, and would start taking out a photonic bowl, a whisk, a knife and cutting board, and two frying pans, placing them on the induction range. He offered, "You can beat the eggs." He nodded, and offered to the computer, "Computer, please replicate four earth hen's eggs, one pound pork belly bacon, spring onions, salt and pepper, one half liter of cow's milk, two hundred fifty grams of cheddar cheese, two hundred grams butter. One pot of coffee black, two mugs, cream and sugar on side." He paused, "Please save this profile as bacon and omelettes breakfast for future use." When the affirmation chirp was received, and the food ingredients materialized on the countertop, he gave a smile, looking at her. "Don't act like you're not impressed."

He placed two frying pans on two 'burners' and motioned for her to join him, "Here, crack those eggs, add a splash of milk and whisk."

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #15 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | The Sea is Always Gorgeous | Retiring By the Sea is a Dream Now | Watch me Whisk Whisk]
@uytrereee




She rose her brow as he mentioned that a bird was an unusual pet choice and it said a lot about the creator.  She wondered what that meant, she had never thought about pets really being something that spoke too heavily about a person but she supposed that it might make sense.  She would have to ask on that one later because she was curious what he thought Albert said about Blue.  Zeph had not really done anything with Blue outside of the one time she had offered to talk to the wounded young Engineer.  But the backlash had been pretty severe.  So she hadn't confronted the woman again or sought her out.  Zeph had seen the young woman in the creation of a weapon that would help against the parasites.  She and some of the other scientists had worked together with Blue who created the chassis of the weapon while they worked on the Science aspects of it.  Blue was a brilliant inventor and they had succeeded in what their goals were.

“I do love my plants.” she said before she broke into a small laugh as he confronted her about secret tutu collections and how she really wanted to be a ballerina.  She probably had the figure for one but dancing had never been something she was good at and she was fairly clumsy.  “the times that I was able to spend on Betazed were wonderful.  We lived pretty close to a large forest and I would go out there all the time.  I would be in there more than school and was almost always in trouble for it.” she chuckled softly with a shrug.  “But that was where I felt grounded, it still is.  I love that we have an arboretum here.  When I'm in there, in the lab, or in Hydroponics, I feel at home, at peace and grounded.  I guess I'm just made for plants.”

She still had the scar on her arm that had been infected when she was young and had snuck out against her punishment to head off into the forest.  She had rescued a small owl with a wounded wing.  Her sister had studied the Veterinary arts and was able to help her heal the owl who was her pet for a while before he perished when her ship was stolen a long time ago while docked.  The owl had never been replaced, and that was something she missed sometimes, but, she had Jasper now. 

Inside, he got the kitchen set up.  As it came to life she gasped at the beautiful sea that greeted them outside a wall of windows.  She walked over to the windows and looked out at the sea as it lapped the sandy shore just down below them.  It was a moment of vertigo but it passed rather quickly as she just watched out.  The birds were soaring over head here and there, and she could hear their cries and the swish of the ocean waves as they crashed onto the beach.  She could see the sparkle of the sand in the warm sunlight down below.  As beautiful as it was, it also reminded her of Khorin. 

She remembered the giant sand castle they had built.  On top of two hills of sand.  And a moat, because it had to be structurally defensive.  Khorin had always made everything into as big and bold and sturdy as possible.  They had spent hours building the sandcastle using shells and things from the sandy shore for accessories.  That was the day that they had found Jasper, moving around looking for fish and trying to feed himself but the little guy didn't have the skills yet.  She remembered the kisses, and the beautiful house that had a kitchen similar to this, looking out over the sea.  Not the same, but just similar.  She turned, as he began to speak and told her that she could sit and look pretty, but then handed her a bowl and some eggs asking her if she would whisk them.

“Sure.”

Crossing to the large island she sat down on one of the stools and pulled the bowl and eggs close by.  Carefully, she popped each egg against the rim of the bowl to break the shell and let the yolk and whites fall into the bowl setting the shells to the side.  Once she had enough eggs that with everything else he had just pulled into the holodeck, they would need she began to whisk.  Her arm moving quickly and with sure and practiced movements.  Zeph liked to cook and she wasn't half bad at it.  Some might assume she was vegetarian or something but she wasn't she loved her meat especially bacon.  So she was pretty into breakfast as long as it was bacon with a side of everything else.

“So I'm curious.” she said as she whisked.  “Earlier you mentioned that the creation of Albert said a lot about Blue.  That pets often do.  But, what do you think that tells you about her?” she asked curiously it was certainly something she had never heard of before.  She reached over and added a splash of milk before whisking again to whip them up into something that was almost frothy before she got up and brought the eggs over to the stove where he was already working.  Once he had the eggs she pulled herself up to sit on the counter beside the stove where he was cooking.

“So you grew up with a miner as a father and you love all things metal.  What about mom?  Siblings?”

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #16 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | A Cozy Nook with Company| Definitely Not a Date | A Fry Up ] Attn: @BZ
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Frank had a lot of opinions he just shared openly, they weren't all justified, but he couldn't help himself, he was a rambler through and through. He'd even found a song once, about a Ramblin' Man, but he couldn't find it again, so when he tried to explain it, he just sounded like he was telling tales. Blue was quite brilliant, but he thought that the Owl said a lot about her personality, and he'd try to articulate that to her.

He gave a slow smile, and would say to her, "I can tell. That's good, it's nice to have something that you love like that." He looked to the boughs of wood he'd brought with him, and picked a small white, purple, and pink flower off of the one branch he'd picked special, and would lightly place it in her hair unless stopped. "It's not a tutu, but it does suit you." He laughed gently, "That even rhymes." He rolled his shoulders, "Hopefully I might eventually get a metallurgical lab, but I'm not overly hopeful. I just have too much to do with organizing deck crews, and once we get underway it'll be much and more the same. Have to keep the Helmet in tip top shape, even though she's the least combat oriented of the vectors. Then again I think we'll be together for a while." He shrugged, "Although I have no basis for saying that, I don't know the Captain." He gave a slow chuckle, "Made for plants. Botanist Extraordinaire. You could be a holonovel star"

He held his place, while Zephyr went to go examine the artificial sea, and it looked like she was having a little moment. But eventually she was back with him, and she was ready to whisk, sitting in her place across from him. He watched her whisk, and he would say lightly, "Are you a secret cook and I'm going to be embarrassed? I'm only good enough to feed myself occasionally, but you almost look like you know what you're doing." He chuckled as he started to slice the slab of bacon into thick strips, which he would lay onto the preheated pan to his right with a satisfying sizzle and crackle. He took a few pinches of pepper and salt, trying to do up the sometimes bland tastes that came out of the replicator. He raised a brow, "You like it crispy or floppy? I'm a floppy person myself, I don't like it too burned. But most women I know like their food cremated." He chuckled, "There must be something to that, genetic or something, protecting young from foodborne illnesses." He looked back up from the pan, "So, cremated, or are you going to surprise me?"

At her first question, he hmm'd, stroking his beard, and stepping back from the pan so he didn't get burned by the splashes of grease, but keeping a close eye on the cooking meat, holding his hand out for the eggs when she had thoroughly whisked them, pouring them in the second pan, "Bacon and half an omelette, this should be a good evening breakfast." He spread the eggs out in the pan, and let them firm, eventually adding the cheese and other toppings, and folding.

"Well Owls by their nature are messy, nocturnal, they're not overly cuddly, quite fierce, and enjoy space to roam." He thought about it, "I have to imagine that someone who built a mechanical Owl, had to know those things, or at least enough about Owls to make a realistic replica." He rolled his shoulders, "Blue is also messy, not overly cuddly, she's definitely fierce, and I am fairly sure she's nocturnal." He laughed gently, "So it's an apt pairing really. We reflect ourselves in our creations, that's what I meant mostly. But then again, I could be full of shit."

At her second question, he didn't have to think that hard, "Mhm, Dad was a deuterium miner, operated a twenty seven man crew, and a travelling freighter. Mining's honest work, I think that's why I like it. You know pretty readily if you're doing a good or bad job, people are honest, hardworking, and often quite generous with one another." He paused, "No siblings, my mother died when I was three." He elaborated after a moment, "The Colliery stopped to help another vessel, and my mother contracted a novel sickness. She lasted about three more months from what dad's mentioned, but it affected her lymphatic system, and there was not much to be done about it without advanced intervention. That changed some stuff, Dad didn't want me to be a miner anymore." He gave a nod, "Took me a long time to figure out it was guilt that drove that decision, long after I left home, he figured the transient nature of that lifestyle, was the reason I didn't have a mom, and he didn't want that for my own life."

He thought some more, wondering how much he should share, "He got into doing work for Starfleet Intelligence, doing a lot of courier work, and transports into Cardassian space leading up to the war. That's how I got my tutor, and how I eventually got a chance to attend a Junior Academy." He gave a shrug, "Dad doesn't mine anymore, he sold the Colliery about eight years back, when he got diagnosed. Now he mostly just stays on Earth, needs a dry climate for his lungs." He nodded, "So he lives on the edge of a desert in....I can't remember the name now, not too far from San Francisco where he gets his treatments."

He looked to her, raising a brow, "That was probably more than you wanted to know."

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #17 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Omelet Time | Hungry for Bacon | Mmmmmm Bacon | Bacon is King]
@uytrereee




“I have cooked but I am not a cook.” she said looking over at her company for the meal.  “I used to cook quite often, for Jasper, my pet, and for my ex.” she gave a shrug.  “He is a Klingon and to feed him is .. a lot.  But, I guess that's not my problem anymore.”

She gave a shrug, but it was something that spoke to Zephyr she had cared a lot about the man, she had cooked for him, loved him, supported him, and yet now they weren't together. Zeph was in her own place and she was alone except for Jasper.  Jasper's needs tended to help because he was the one that made sure she got out of bed, food was made, she was cleaned, and the place was well cared for.  All of that was very important and Zeph was glad for him in more ways than one. 

Frank put the bacon in the pan and asked her if she liked it floppy or crispy.  She grinned.  “So wait.. hold on.  Women like it hard and crispy and men like their bacon flaccid?” she chuckled which turned into a laugh.  Her hazel-green eyes sparkled with delight as she let that sink in for a moment before she shook her head.  Drying her eyes after a good laugh, she took a deep breath and let it out.  “I like mine just crispy, not burnt, I don't like burnt bacon and it tastes as bad as it smells but yes, bacon is supposed to crunch when you eat it.  If it's soft then you didn't do it right and it needs about five more minutes.”

He began to tell her all about his theory when it came to the owl and Blue.  She could see his point on many of the angles he was talking about, she had Jasper and it made her wonder what he said about her.  Though it was hard to describe Jasper as she wasn't even sure what the heck he was, except that he was an Aldean native animal.

His father wasn't just a miner, he was other things as well.  However, it seemed that his mother had passed when he was young and he had mostly been raised by his dad.  Dad hadn't had time to find another woman to get with or fall for and it was probably easier not to go from person to person trying to find the one that would make the right wife and mother.  That would be complicated and truth was they probably had a good thing going as they were.  He had some kind of lung condition and lived in a dry climate in a desert back on Earth.  She smiled softly as he told her that it was probably more  than she wanted to know.

“It's nice that he was there for you though, I'm sorry about your mother.  My mother and I were never really all that close.  I was much closer to my father.  He was an Engineer, and I've always had a thing for Engineers somehow.  But then, I've also dated a fighter pilot so maybe I'm expanding.” she chuckled softly watching him add various toppings to the omelet and the scents began to permeate the room.  Hopping down off the counter she returned to the windows over looking the sea and leaned against one of the support beams to just enjoy the gorgeous views.  It might be fake, but who ever had programmed the holodeck had done a heck of a job, she had to admit.

“So you whittle wood into gifts for friends, yearn to play with metals, and are not afraid to work in the same environment as Blue Tiran, the Terror of Engineering.” she chuckled turning to face him with her back leaning against the windows.  “What else do you do in your spare time?”

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #18 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Chow Time | Getting to Know You ] Attn: @BZ
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He chuckled at her, "Oh yeah? What's your favorite thing to make, besides Bacon, as that's your favorite thing to eat." He waited for an answer, and while he did, he would ask her a couple more questions, "Jasper? Is he like, a cat or something?" He didn't know what types of pets Betazoid children kept, and with her half heritage it could have been something mighty strange for all he knew.

He stroked his beard, and gave a slow shrug, although he was quite surprised to find out her ex was a Klingon "I guess it's not, but you'll be making new meals for someone again soon. I'm not going to pretend to be some great sage, but it'll be easier with some time and some perspective I promise." He paused a moment, "Can I ask what happened between you two? Or is that too personal? I've been accused of being quite nosy." He was curious, but honestly he was nosy even if it came from a good place.

He laughed gently, and would see her devilish grin, and hear her joke, and just laughed softly, "Well all the women I've known anyway." He smirked, "I don't need rock hard meat around my mouth areas." He shook his head, "I could eat bacon one step from raw, just like any other meat for me." Which speaking of, his pieces were coming out of the pan, golden around the edges but soft and floppy as he had said. He left hers there, moving it to the center of the pan, scooting it around so it didn't burn. The omelette was done though, so he removed it, and cut it in twain, with a knife, half going onto each plate, "Should have asked before I put the eggs on. Now your omelette will be cold unless you eat it before." He offered the small plate to where she was sitting, just an omelette for now, "Okay, a few more minutes on your bacon, we can differ on the correct done-ness."

His dad had been his dad, but the crew had been as much his family too, most didn't come and go once they came to the Colliery, they came and stayed. He gave a slow chuckle, "Most people recoil a little when I tell them of my upbringing. It's not traditional Starfleet, that much is sure. I think people forget there are still big parts of galactic life, where all your needs aren't available at the push of a replicator. There's plenty of colonies out there, frontiers, things of that nature. People making their own lives and destinies" He gave a smile, "There were other children aboard, at least a couple, and I had a good teacher or two along the way, all the things a kid could want." He looked down at the pan, and her bacon looked done, and so without warning he was putting it on her plate for her.

At her apologies, he shrugged, "It's kind of hard to miss something you never really had, you know?" He stroked his chin, "I suppose there's some things I missed out on, and likely I've got some deficiencies because of it. But because I never really knew, it never bothered me that bad. I'm only reminded of it when I meet new people. My da' has a girlfriend in San Francisco I'm pretty sure now." He laughed gently, "They're cute together. He calls her a friend, but I know better, old dog." He chuckled gently some more.

He listened to her own familial story, and he smiled gently,  "You know, I am an Engineer."He winked at her, and waved his hands, "No no, stay away from those fighter pilots, fast and loose heart breakers." He chuckled, "All speed, no brains. No that's not fair either, I'm just being silly." He would hold up three fingers, "Pilots are fine, but I can give you three reasons Engineers are better." He waited a moment, and then held up the first finger, "Number one, we understand friction and lubrication." He waited for a reaction, and continued after, up came the second finger, "We can strip more than wires." He laughed all the while and came the third, "We do it with precision." He slapped his leg laughing, and once he'd quieted, finally started eating his meal. He tapped a bit of salt onto his omelette, and enjoyed the cheesy goodness, "Fats and salts, almost no way to make it taste bad."

As she went to the window, he'd not bother her to come back until she wanted to, "It's a little more than whittling, I have a few big tools, like a lathe, and a planer, router. I'd take a stab at making most anything in my photonic workshop." He rolled his shoulders, "Well I play Jazz Saxophone. I'll play for you if you want, I'll just have to fetch it from my quarters. Or I can save it for our second not-date" He stroked his chin, "I enjoy earth whiskey, Scottish to be precise. And I had a motorbike I enjoyed working on, a Blether RX-45, but that got left behind on the Magellan, there was no way for me to leave quickly and inconspicuously, and take that too. It's a shame, I loved that machine. I met an Orion like my second day aboard, she's working on a program for me, that should replicate it, so at least I can still ride. You'll have to let me take you sometime."

He shrugged, "Besides that, a lot of reading. I have a fascination with the old world of metals making, back in the days of blast furnaces, siemens furnaces, basic oxygen, and electric arc furnaces. Fascinating stuff. It's amazing how such primitve technology is the basis for all this." He motioned around the holodeck, "To Agricola, Carnegie or Bessemer, this would be nothing short of witchcraft."

He looked at her, "What do you do for fun?"

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #19 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Cooking Stories | Pets | Making Friends]
@uytrereee




Her favorite thing to eat outside of bacon.  Zeph had to think about it, she didn't really have a sweet tooth so it wasn't going to be desserts even though that seemed to be almost everyone's favorite answer.  She wasn't overly large on salad, though she ate them sometimes, she just thought about all thep lants they came from and they just .. weren't all that appetizing.  She really preferred something like vegetables and fruits, maybe more meat, so she was thinking about what she actually liked. 

“I love sushi.  Back in the Academy my best friend Tom and I would head out when he could drag me a way from my plants and books long enough, to this little sushi joint that over looked the water.  It was our favorite place to go.” she admitted.  “I still love that sushi even though I don't think I'll ever quite see Earth again.”

When he asked after Jasper she shook her head and pulled out her PADD.  Thumbing her access point she went to her images and pulled up a holo of the little guy.  He resembled a gryphon, but much smaller, he only came up to her knee when he was standing and that was just his head.  He had feathers and scales, a tale, a beak and everything.  She showed him the picture.  “That's Jasper, I'm not actually sure what he is, I never had time to figure it out.  He was adopted by me and .. uh .. my ex.  I took him with me when I got kicked out so... at least I'm not alone.” she shrugged putting her PADD back into her pocket.

He asked her what happened between herself and Khorin.  Zeph sighed as she scooted back on the counter more and leaned against the window.  She brought one of her legs up so that she could hug it to her chest and put her knee against her chest a little bit.  Looking out, and not at Frank while he cooked, she decided she might as well.  Everyone else already knew. 

“A while ago, a few months ago... I was at a different location.  There, I was the Lead Botanical Researcher for Botanical warfare and really all botanical creations.  I was tasked with building a certain plant and I worked hard at it.  Well, things went really awry and when the research got pulled from me, I figured it was for the best.  However, it seemed that it was just given to someone else with lower moral standards.  The vines I created, they contained a horrendous virus, called the Niga, at least on this ship it is, it was actually classified as the N1G1.  Anyway, someone on this ship came down with it and it was clear when I gave too much, unknown, information out, that it was me that had created it.  After a night in the Brig, a confrontation with that woman's man... things went down.  The man I thought was my Imzadi.. he couldn't take the truth.  He had lost someone during the Niga infestation and couldn't stand to look at the creator as someone he loved any more.  I was told to get out.  So, I .. did.”

She swallowed heavily and shrugged.  “That was a couple of weeks ago now.  I'm just going through my paces at this point.”

He handed her the omelet on the plate saying that it wasn't going to be warm when the bacon was ready she took the plate and gave him a soft smile as she lifted her fork and dug in.  As soon as the food hit her stomach she realized how hungry she really was, she hadn't really noticed before.  So she ate as he reminded her that he was an Engineer earning her a grin.  She shook her head and took another bite as he warned her off of pilots.  She laughed again and shook her head.  “Really?!  I had no idea!” she teased.  He began to talk about how Engineers would understand oil and friction causing Zeph to laugh and blush at the same time, and they knew how to strip more than wires.  “Wow.  That's a hard sell.” she winked over at him taking another bite of her waffle.  “You're a flirt.” she accused him.

As they ate he told her that he played the saxophone, and her brow rose.  She had never known a guy that played an instrument, she certainly did.  She had played the guitar for a while, she had once had a double neck guitar that her friend had given her a long time ago.  It was a lovely purple color, but she didn't have it anymore.  So much had been left behind on the Savi ship and there was no way to get it back.  She had lost and gained much on that stupid ship.  “I used to play guitar.” she admitted as they continued to eat.

He told her that he figured he could save music for their second not-date earning him another smile from Zeph.  He was easy to be around, which was refreshing for certain.  He enjoyed drinking and he enjoyed working on something she had no idea what it was but it had been left on his old ship anyway.  He had a fascination with old world metals and furnances.  Things like that.  He asked what she did for fun and she let out another long sigh.

“Plants?” she offered.  “Uh well, mostly these days I don't have much to do.  I like adventure.  I spend a lot of time in the gym.  I don't look like it but I'm pretty good at hand to hand.” she admitted with a shrug.  “I like to cook when I can, but more than that, I love my plants.  Even when I'm not on duty I'm often in the arboretum anyway..  I also am a Medical Doctor.” she pointed at herself.  “I'm dual trained.  So I moonlight in Sickbay when they need help or I feel the itch to help the sick and wounded.  I don't live a very exciting life I'm afraid.”

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #20 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | If We're going to be Friends I want to know Everything] Attn: @BZ
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Frank had a list of favorite foods. Knowing Frank he could probably tell you based on mood of the day, exactly what would be his favorite. He did enjoy eating, he enjoyed a scotch a bit more, but, well that was just straight up. He enjoyed savory grains, and cheeses, as well as meats. Although he couldn't say he was overly conscious of where they came from. He was a flavor fan, so he focused on that.

At her comment, he said lightly, "I can't say I've ever had earth sushi. I understand the concept, but in practice, I've not spent that much time on Earth. I went to Paris that one week, I've been to Scotland a few times, and the North Americas to see my pops, but besides that, most of my time has been spent on Starfleet vessels. Between duty stations I spent more time on Starbase 01 than on Earth proper." He shrugged, "Planets, I don't know, something bugs me. It has to be the lack of confined closures." He nodded gently, that was what he'd been told anyway, that starships were structured and enclosed, and anywhere else in any other existence was not like that. Starship dwellers, would have enjoyed caves.

As she showed him Jasper, he offered a, "Whoah! Look at him!" He would nod slowly, "Where'd you find him? He's, well he's interesting for sure. Like something from a myth. Jasper is definitely not a cat." He shook his head, "Not a cat at all. In fact, he could definitely eat a cat." He laughed softly, "You definitely have to introduce me to Jasper." As she said she was kicked out, he frowned, that was really shitty. "His loss." He nodded, "What does Jasper eat?"

She started to explain how she was a researcher, and she'd been working on botanical warfare, and something she had worked on, had been given to someone else, and made into something more horrible. He gave a slow nod, stroking his head, "Right but, you didn't really have control of the N1G1 plant, when it got released right? I mean, someone else made that call. You didn't pull the trigger, but you had a hand in making the gun?" He wanted to make sure he had it right. "I mean, maybe I'd feel differently if I'd suffered at the hands of it, but...Engineers and Scientists work on stuff all the time that has weapons applications. I guarantee you the inventor of the phaser slept fine at night. But it sounds like to me, you didn't like where your research was going, and ultimately it was taken away from you?"

He shrugged lightly, "I can see why someone might be mad at you, but, you're not really responsible. No more than Einstein or Fermi were responsible for the atomic bombings of the Second and Third World Wars." He nodded, "Scientists invent things based on their research, others choose how to use those inventions." He doubted his opinion would bring that much peace to her, but he was at least genuine.

He laughed softly, and would see her blush, and just smiled at that, it was really nice to see her smile and laugh, and blush. At her notion he was a flirt though, he gave a slow grin, and held up his hands as if he were at the end of a knife, "Alright, you got me, you caught me." He laughed at her, and said, "But I know it's working on you just a little." He winked at her, "Either way you've got nothing to worry about. This is not, a date." He put the emphasis where it mattered.

She said she used to play guitar, and he asked her lightly, "Why don't you anymore?" He gave a slow grin, "Hard work and music heal the soul, they're good for you." He smirked, "I would say so is bacon, but you already know that." He laughed gently, and heard her say the things she liked to do. He would say lightly, "Oh yeah? Hand to hand huh? I am a boxer myself. We should train together."

When she said she was also a medical doctor, "Geez you're a smart one aren't you?" He smiled, "Smart, pretty, easy going, and you have an adorable pet. I figure you'd be beating the guys off." He heard what he said and waved his hands, "Not like that! You know what I mean!"

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #21 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Be Patient | It's Hard to Trust When You Aren't Trusted | Walking a Lonely Life]
@uytrereee




Zeph gave a nod.  “I haven't been on Earth much either.  Obviously areas around the Academy, and I went to Ireland once with my at-the-time fiance.  But, that didn't work out and we only went once.  I've never been anywhere else.  I suppose I've seen my fair share of places, but I grew up on Starships and Betazed so there was no shortage of places to go, just not Terran.  But sushi was good and I enjoyed it, and it had the perfect view of the bay.”

He told her that planets bothered him, he thought it might be the fact that there was a lack of a defined space, he didn't like the wide open spaces around it, and she supposed that made sense for someone that was born working mines and stayed in Engineering.  For her, she preferred the wide open spaces, the expanses of great forest and planets, she loved plains as far as the eye could see.  She could imagine all the plant life, the seeds, the sheer life that was growing across the plains and throughout the land.

As Zeph showed him Jasper he was surprised.  She chuckled softly and gave a nod as she pulled back from him now that he had seen the holo of Jasper.  He was definitely not a cat but it seemed that Frank wanted to meet the little guy at some point.  She chuckled.  “Okay, yeah, well I can arrange that, he was actually running around in the foliage of the arboretum earlier, I let him run when we are there.” she admitted as she brushed a bang out of her face and behind her ear.  “We found him on Aldea, looked all around for any others of his kind and couldn't find any, he was starving and alone, so we just kind of adopted him.” she smiled softly.  “He mostly likes fish, vegetables, and fruit.  But mostly fish, meat, he'll eat it raw or cooked he isn't too picky really.” she shrugged her shoulders as she put her PADD away.

He looked over at her and asked her if she had control of the plant.  “No, but no one seems to care and it isn't like I can prove that I went through the proper protocol.  From what I understand, I'm lucky I didn't get my rank stripped...” she swallowed heavily putting the half-eaten eggs down and she gave another sigh.  “I know this ship was hurt greatly based on something I created, but it wasn't created for malicious means, it was created on accident.  Many things are.. right?  But, I guess this will follow me for eternity.  I'm no longer Doctor Zephyr Praise, Botanist, I'm Zephyr Praise the creator of the Niga.” she said softly.

He asked why she didn't play anymore and she smiled.  “I left my instrument back on my last assignment.  And, I haven't really thought about playing since coming here.  I've been busy working.  After being the Doctor for all the crew stuck on the Versant, I came here and helped research and create a weapon against the parasites, and now... I guess I'm not sure what to play.” she admitted. 

Frank seemed intrigued by her hand to hand causing her to chuckle.  “Yeah I'm always down for a good spar.” she admitted.  He told her that he should be beating off guys causing Zeph to laugh hard for a long time brushing at tears under her eyes for a moment shaking her head.

“I .. just got out of a relationship .. I don't know.  I'm not sure if that is what's going to happen or not.  There's a lot of hate on the ship for me, because of the virus.”

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #22 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | You Got a Friend in Me ] Attn: @BZ
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He gave a slow nod, and said to her lightly, "Which is where you got your love for bacon all natural. See, I listen." He grinned, and would start quickly wolfing down the aforementioned meat, very hungry. He spoke between mouthfuls of egg and bacon, cheese and spring onions, happily sating his hungry belly, with brunch. "Oh yeah? What starships? Federation?" He gave a slow nod, and offered, "I've been in orbit of Betazed like, a hundred times at least, I've gone to the surface, maybe twice. I'm told it's a naturist's dream. The Opal Sea is supposed to be really beautiful right?" He knew the planet had been occupied by the Dominion during the war, and he offered, "Were you with any of the fleets that went near Betazed during the war? I was with the Cortez, the Fifth fleet." He'd actually been part of the repair that got the ship back into the fight, but he wasn't going to mention that, because it wasn't relevant, it was just bragging.

Jasper had certainly caught his eye, and he said lightly, "Yeah I have to meet that little guy." He motioned to the PADD saying lightly, "Fish, got it." He grinned, "Not too picky." He looked at her, "Not like you, miss crispy bacon." He feigned a tssk and shook his head slowly, "And here I thought I was dining with someone respectable." He chuckled, pushing his plate to the side, practically clean. "Best thing about the holodeck, no dishes." He rubbed his hands together, "I haaaaate dishes." He nodded once more, settling into his chair to sip his coffee.

He gave a shrug then once more, and said lightly, "That'd be some bullshit if you ask me. Sounds like you recognized the fucked up potential, and said 'hey, this is bad' and they took it from you. At that point, it's not really your fault anymore, if you ask me." He shrugged, "But I guess angry people aren't always the most logical people, so, I understand it to an extent." He talked through the problem, before realizing it was probably a raw wound, that he was poking at. He nodded, "I don't think you have a lot of maliciousness in you." He rolled his shoulders, "Well to me, from now on, you're Zephyr Praise, Plant Surgeon Extraordinaire and Friend." He smiled at her, "Now buck up, no pouting." He'd even stand up, and round the island, to give her a little one armed hug.

He stroked his chin as she said she left her instrument on her last assignment, "That sucks." The way he said it though, clearly showed his mind was wandering somewhere else, and in a moment or two he'd reveal, "I've never made a guitar before. Could be interesting." He raised a brow, "You ever played a bass?" He looked at her, "Because when I play jazz I use backing tracks, and I'm always looking for a bassist, rather than a backing track, would you maybe want to play with me sometime?" He looked at her with held breath, "Because it'd be kind of cool to play with someone else every once in a while. I like to play alone a lot, because I decompress, but sometimes it'd be nice to play with a friend." There he was, rambling, because he was nervous about her answer, like a schoolkid that had just asked a girl to homecoming.

He smiled, "Good, and don't think I'll go easy on you because you're a girl." Of course he wouldn't be hitting her like a man, that'd be a bit much, but he expected she'd bring her A-game, so he'd have to, or he'd get beaten up. As she started to laugh, he laughed with her, just because it was that genuine type of laughter, that sucked you in, and brought you along for the ride, so eventually he was red faced, and wiping a few tears himself, and he offered, "Good god I needed that." God was an archaic phrase, but it still sounded right.

He gave a shrug and offered, "Can't change what you did. Even if I don't think you were fully culpable for what happened, that doesn't matter. You can't change it, and if you could, you shouldn't anyway. I guess all you can do, is show the people around you, that you're more than the sum of your creations and mistakes. Time heals, and that's not just a bullshit anachronism, people really do forget over time. As you continue to plug on, you'll show that you're still the same old Zephyr they knew, and that you just made a mistake. We made peace with the Klingons after all." He nodded lightly, "Or I can keep you all to myself."

He laughed softly, "Brunch was alright?"

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #23 –
[Lt. Zephyr Praise | Brunch for the Soul | Kind Friends | A New Start?]
@uytrereee




“Um the Houston, and some others, I was on so briefly I don't remember.” she chuckled softly with a shrug of a singular shoulder.  He told her that he had been in orbit around her planet a tones of times but had only actually set food on the beautiful planet a couple of times.  She smirked.  “The Opal Sea is something of amazing beauty, if you've never seen it, it's definitely something that should be on your bucket list.”

he mentioned that he definitely wanted to meet Jasper in person and she gave a nod because that was fine with her.  Jasper tended to be a little worried about meeting new people, they made him nervous, but that was just him being an animal.  He got used to people with a little bit of time and he was adorably protective of Zephyr though he hadn't bitten anyone or anything yet.  He seemed to have adopted that habit after Khorin had left her and she began to live alone.

Arnold told her that the whole situation sounded messed up, Zeph could only shrug.  It might be messed up, and she totally agreed with that, but it was what it was.  She now had someone shadowing her every step and she also had so much less faith in the Theurgy and how it ran.  When she had first come on board, there was this distinct pride she felt for the ship and her crew by the people that worked it.  She had been mostly accepted even though she was totally a stranger and hadn't belonged to any ships before that they had partnerships with.  Now, she felt like she would forever be this satellite circling the interior of the ship's crew and trying to find a place to land.  Only working for them and not with them.  Most of her drive was gone, she found that she was almost, at this point, just kind of relegating herself to caring for the arboretum and the hydroponics rather than trying to better Science and Botany by working on new inventions and trying to find new things that could assist the Fleet.

It's just not worth the fall out.

“When you're an empath, it's really hard to block out all the hatred and anger directed towards you as you walk down the corridors.  Or get food, or try to live your life, or try to be doing your shift work.  I basically just go between the Arboretum and my Quarters.”  He gave her a one armed hug that she didn't fight off or anything, it was nice to have someone not judging her.  Thomas didn't seem to judge her but other than that she felt the anger, judgment, and toxic emotions coming from all angles on the ship.  She supposed she deserved it, but it was a constant punishment on top of the complete lack of trust that had come from the Captain.

For a change of pace he asked if she had ever played bass guitar, saying he had never made a guitar before but seemed like he might take on the task.  A quick nod was all the affirmation that he needed.  “Yeah, a little bit, with my friend on one of the first ships I ever served on.”  He asked her about brunch, hers was half-eaten but she gave a smile.

“It was great, thank you, I better head back to the lab before I get caught not doing my job.. whatever that is these days.” she said sliding off of the counter.  Zeph's pretty eyes looked over at Frank.  “Thanks for .. happening into my arboretum today.  It was nice and refreshing.” she admitted with a bit of a shrug.  “You'll have to show me some of your wood creations one day.  Thank you for brunch.” she said as she gave his arm a gentle squeeze and headed out on her own.  Back into the fray of negativity.
 

Re: Day 32 [1100 hrs.] Looking Forest and Relaxation

Reply #24 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | A Teensy Bit of Progress ] Attn: @BZ
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Frank nodded slowly as she said the Houston and a couple others, and he would hear her talk about Betazed. Everyone thought their homeworld was the tits, but the way Zephyr explained it, made him think she really meant it. He smiled gently, and said lightly, "Well tell you what, if we don't kick the bucket on this little foray we're in, maybe you can show it to me. As I said, most often it's a pretty girl that gets me to a planet." He chuckled softly, the last one had been fond of hunting, and had introduced him to hunting birds.

He saw her shrug as she heard his assessment of the situation, and he figured what was best now, was just to leave it for the moment. You couldn't make everything better in a day, no matter how badly Frank wanted to. He wasn't an Empath, but he certainly was feeling sorry for her. But with time, hopefully things would improve.

"Hey I get what you're saying. It's hard enough when you're not an Empath." He nodded lowly, "So I can't imagine what it's like to be able to actually feel what other people are feeling. But hey, if you're looking for another destination, I run my woodshop on here, usually a couple nights a week, come by, I can show you some woodworks, and you can get a look into the curious mind of Frank Arnold. You can even bring Jasper" He smiled at her, and settled in his chair.

As she said she'd played bass guitar, he knew exactly what he was making now. But now it seemed she was packing up to go, and he gave a nod, "Sure sure, don't let me keep you too long. But you're welcome. Thanks for entertaining me for a little while. It's nice to make your first friends on a new vessel." He gave her a little smile, and said, "You're welcome for brunch."

And then she squeezed his arm, and she was gone. And he had dishes...no he didn't, replicators were awesome.

-FIN-
 
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