Tents Situation

Posted on Mon Dec 24th, 2018 @ 3:35am by Lieutenant JG Gallia Norris

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Cortic Base Camp
2443 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Yawning and stretching, Julia left post-op and looked about. She wondered where to spend the night. Her husband and child were safe in a shelter, she had talked to them several hours ago and wasn’t worried. But going to the shelter wouldn’t do. She was needed where she was, and in case there was a sudden new influx of wounded, she’d have to be close by. Seeing the Deltan from before, she approached the bald woman. “Hey… Liara, was it?”

“Liorga, actually.” Liorga replied, “But I’m glad I ran into you. Where are you staying tonight? I think Estelle would probably enjoy it if you were to join us in our tent. She’s missed you, plus there’s an extra space. And I promise to keep Dorso away.”

“Dorso?” Julia wondered. “And yes, I’d love that. Not that we’d get a lot of time catching up, I’m exhausted and Stella didn’t look any better last I saw her… but having a meal together, getting to know her new friends, that’d be nice.”

“Can’t promise anything better than replicated.” Liorga shrugged, pointing the way to their shelter, “But you will probably enjoy the women you’ll spend the night with. They’re an… interesting bunch.”

“I’m married, actually”, Julia said. “I don’t think my husband would like me enjoying the women while he’s not around to watch.”

“Not like that.” Liorga laughed, “Besides, I think every woman in the tent is taken. I know the hot surgeon is.”

“Heh, the one that got away”, Julia laughed. “No, I’m glad she’s found someone. I’ve tried. Maybe I wasn’t obvious enough, or she didn’t like me that way. We were great friends, though… until the day I just left and didn’t have the courage to face her. I messed up, I’m no longer ashamed to admit, but when I saw her today she didn’t say a word except she was glad to see me.”

“Wow.” Liorga said, a little gobsmacked by the idea that this woman had wanted the same woman she now had. Shouldn’t be surprised, I guess, she thought, besides, Estelle would never stray. “I mean, I don’t know what to say to that. I feel bad for you, but not, because if anyone profited from that it’s me.” She’d had plenty of lovers in her life, but never one she wanted to take home and introduce to her dad, only Estelle, “I know she cares about you. Even if it wasn’t easy being green.”

Julia laughed. “It was a lot of fun being green, truth be told. Except some of the guys being a little more hands-on than I’d have liked, and claiming they couldn’t help themselves because Orion girls were irresistible and all that. Proof of the placebo effect, if I’ve ever seen one.” Though it really wasn’t, it was just an excuse.

“Is that why you made Estelle bald?” Liorga asked, laughing, “To see if they’d do the same to her once she became a Deltan?”

“Is it?” Julia grinned. “You can’t make me admit to anything.”

“Oh, great.” Liorga rolled her eyes, “I got another one taking the fifth. Which is probably how the whole mess started to begin with.” If there was one thing Liorga knew about cadets it was this: where there’s four, there’s a fifth.

“What is ‘the fifth’?” Julia asked. “I’m not planning on causing a mess, and you’re completely safe from any shenanigans as far as I’m concerned. I wouldn’t do that during an emergency.” ‘I’ve learnt from my mistakes’, she thought.

“Freedom from self incrimination.” Liorga laughed, “And I’m not worried about your pranks. Seriously, good luck decorating a tree with my hair, right?”

“I would have to adapt previous strategies to new challenges, obviously”, Julia admitted.

“Well, you can figure it out over dinner.” Liorga smiled, “From what I’ve heard Ensign Norris is a real genius in the repli-kitchen.”

“I’ve seen people burn food trying to heat it up again in the replicator”, Julia smirked. “Had this co-worker, a PhD in psychology, really smart. Couldn’t cook to save her life, and shouldn’t to save those of others.”

“Ya know, I used to know a woman of similar skill.” Liorga nodded, “Got banned from her own kitchen. Thank God she was pretty…”

“Your girlfriend is a good chef, though”, Julia smiled. “I gained almost five kilos staying with her at the Academy. I even had to participate in some of the sports, and who likes doing that? Certainly hard to afford the time as a medical student.”

“Wouldn’t know.” Liorga shrugged, “I always had other, usually less pleasant, ways to keep thin. But, it’s all good now. Estelle feeds me well, so I’ve probably put on a couple myself since we’ve been together.”

“Replicator food’s not to your liking?” Julia wondered.

“I don’t mind it, I’ve been in thirty years.” Liorga replied, “But there’s nothing like the real thing.”

“One of the comforts living on a colony world, there’s always fresh produce”, Julia said. “I just hope we’ll find what’s causing this and get it handled soon. I’d rather like to continue living here.”

“I understand.” Liorga nodded, she barely remembered what it was like to have a home that didn’t move at or beyond the speed of light, and what she did remember wasn’t particularly happy… She pointed to the shelter just a few yards away, “There it is, home sweet home. We have a replicator, so anything you need we can provide. Also, we’ve got shower facilities. Kinda homey, if not home.”

“It’ll do just fine, thank you”, Julia said. “My family’s safe in a shelter, I can live with this for a few days.” Didn’t mean she wouldn’t prefer to go back to them. But circumstances said otherwise, and she had to do something useful while she could.

“Well, we’re happy to have you, even if it’s not the Ritz.” Liorga stated, she’d decided she liked Julia already, they understood each other.

Walking in, Julia waved hello at the others. “Hi. I was told you’ve got a spare cot for me?”

“Yeah, we have three spaces open.” Sami answered, remembering the other woman from before, “Julia, right?”

“Yes, that’s me.” She went to the replicator and got a shirt and a pair of shorts. “I’ll take that shower now, you’ll like being around me a lot more after.” It had been a long day, after all.

“Help yourself.” Liorga said, pointing the way, “If you need I can replicate some cosmetics and hygiene products for you while you shower.”

Julia cocked her head to the side. “Do you think I need anything specific?” She was planning to take a shower and put on some fresh clothes to hop into bed with. “I haven’t seen a mirror in a day and a half, I admit.”

“Well, figured you might want a toothbrush, deodorant, stuff like that.” Liorga laughed, “I mean, you look good considering.”

“I always do a really wide smile into the sonic shower”, Julia grinned. “Much more effective, actually.”

Sami giggled at Julia’s joke, at least she thought it was a joke, she didn’t have a whole lot of experience with sonic showers, relatively new as she was to Starfleet.

Liorga sighed and laughed, “Well, anything you want, you can make.” She said, “We’ve got replicator power for weeks if need be.”

“What I really want is an Irish coffee”, Julia grinned. “But I’m not sure I can afford it.”

“I’m sure you can.” Liorga replied, “I’ll have it waiting for you, unless you want it first.”

“Decaf, with extra whisky?” Julia grinned. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Sonic showers didn’t take long, and while effective, they weren’t as much fun as the real thing. At home, she could spend hours in the shower, usually with her husband. As it was, she returned wearing the shorts and shirt after only a minute and a half - 50% over what she’d announced. “This is better.”

“Decaf, extra whiskey.” Liorga smiled, handing the drink over, “Hope synthetic replicated whiskey is okay. Left all the good stuff on Elysium…”

“I’m partial to good scotch myself, but in coffee, it doesn’t matter as much”, Julia said. “Just none of that maize-based, what’s it called? Bourbon, I think. What you wash your feet with.”

“I like bourbon.” Liorga laughed, “Though not as much as I enjoy a good ale. Estelle can tell you about that.”

“I don’t know.” Sami shrugged, she’d never touched a drop; real or synthetic.

She took the coffee from Liorga and took a long, comforting sip. “That does hit the spot, no matter what.”

“Glad we could help.” Liorga smiled, “So where the hell is my woman?”

“Probably chatting up the Captain”, Julia said, sitting down on her cot. “Or rather, the other way around.”

Liorga forced herself to laugh, though that comment really pissed her off. Probably something from their past, she thought, deciding not to pursue the conversation.

And Julia was proven right. When Estelle entered, she turned to Liorga and asked, “Hey, can you check my ears for bite marks? That Captain, I swear, he was trying to chew my ear off. Blabbermouth. And here I thought I say a lot of silly things…”

It was then that Liorga realized who Julia had been referencing and started laughing hard, “That guy…” She snickered, thankful that Julia hadn’t been referring to Capt. Lalor, a woman with whom Liorga didn’t feel she could compete.

“He likes to share war stories”, Estelle said. “With everybody, whether they’re willing to listen or not. I don’t exactly want to know the particulars of how many ketracel white tubes he collected, or how.”

White, the substance that made the Jem’Hadar as ferocious as they were, just hearing it mentioned sent a chill up Liorga’s spine, “Nothing more frightening to go up against than a squad of Jemmys hopped up on white.” She remembered aloud, visibly shuddering.

“You didnae tell me you faced off with the Jem’Hadar, Li.” Gallia interjected as she entered the room and took a seat, “That had to be horrifying…”

“Yeah, almost as horrifying as having a crazy Scottish girlfriend with a list of child care instructions a quadrant and a half long.” Liorga quipped, happy to have something else to focus on.

Estelle gave Liorga a hug. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Liorga smiled, leaning in close to her girlfriend, “War’s over, we won, and we’ll never have to deal with the Dominion again. We finished it this time, didn’t leave ourselves another war to fight. Just hope we’ll do that every time from now on.” She looked over at Gallia, though she thought about the Ensign’s child, silently praying that Tayalas would live a life free of conflict, strife, and bloodshed.

“Warfare isn’t so bad”, Mona said. “Fighting can be fun.”

“Not so much for those who aren’t asked, you know?” Estelle said.

“Every Scot loves a good scrap.’’ Gallia stated, quoting her Grandfather, a Marine assault engineer, “That bein’ said, I’m a quality over quantity girl meself.”

“Never been in one.” Sami said, “I mean, I’ve been in fights, but so far managed to avoid combat.”

“Probably won’t last forever.” Liorga told her, “The trick is to do what it takes to do your job and get out alive. Don’t try to be a hero, that’s how Lt. Conroy got killed, charging the damn Jemmys throwing grenades trying to save a bridge. He won the UFP pip, lost his life in the process, and we still lost the fracking bridge. Wonder if his Dad thought it was worth it, that damn pip in one box and his son in another…”

“We’ve had a pirate raid here a few years ago”, Julia said. “Planetary defences held, that bird of prey got shot down, crashed near the city. But we still have more than a hundred wounded. Sheer luck nobody got killed… except the pirates. Rogue Klingon house, the three survivors were executed by their own military.”

“Gotta love Klingons.” Liorga said, “They clean up their own messes really well.”

Estelle made a face. “It’s all a waste. I don’t like it.”

“So true.” Liorga agreed, laying her head on Estelle’s shoulder and kissing it; there was a reason she didn’t reflect on the war very often.

Gallia, realizing how dark the conversation had turned, decided it was time to change the subject, “So, I think it’s time for dinner. Who’s ready to tuck inta a good lasagna?”

“I’m ready to eat a horse”, Estelle chuckled.

“That’s more of a breakfast thing.” Sami joked.

“Breakfast?” Anje asked as she entered, “Did we miss dinner?”

“No, they were just horsing around”, Julia remarked, otherwise quietly enjoying her spiked coffee.

“Oh, hi.” Anje said, walking over to the new woman, “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. Anje Brett.”

“That’s Julia, my old roommate from the academy”, Estelle explained. “She’s been helping with triage and post-op. Liorga and I figured she’d fit in with us well enough.”

“I’ll try to behave well”, Julia said, remembering their earlier conversation.

“Julia? As in…” Anje asked, making a motion with her hands like a pair of clippers going through Estelle’s hair, “That Julia?”

“Yes, that’s me”, Julia chuckled. “But I didn’t use scissors.”

“I don’t even want to know.” Anje shook her head, protecting her hair with her hands, “Just remember, I didn’t dye you.”

“Oh no, I don’t start, don’t worry”, Julia chuckled. “Besides, I was young then. I’m sure we’ve all outgrown those pranks.”

“Speak for yourself”, Estelle smirked. “I refuse to grow up unless I have to. Bad enough I can’t prevent growing old.”

“Oh, boy….” Sami sighed, this was going to be an interesting living situation for the next few days, “I think I’ll help Gallia with dinner. Seems safer.”