Are you there yet?

Posted on Thu Dec 9th, 2021 @ 5:53pm by Lieutenant Myne Redal & Lieutenant Sapphire Morgan [Lalor]
Edited on on Thu Dec 23rd, 2021 @ 10:26pm

Mission: Season 5: Episode 3: CAPETOWN
Location: Lounge
Timeline: MD03 1030
1918 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

//ON//

'Are you there yet?' The message sent asked. Well, to be honest, it wasn't the only one, for the past twenty minutes the same message had been sent every minute or less. Myne frowned at her PaDD confused, looking at its display, then at its back. Then bringing up the base system to check if it was sending anything.

'Are you there yet?' She sent another message then literally hit the PaDD against the table a few times. It was sturdy, not easy to break, and sometimes hitting stuff made it work. Still, no confirmation. Frowning again she sighs and let her precious possession rest on the table in the lounge she was sitting at. Instead taking her cold slug-o-cola and looked around.

'Where is she?' Myne asked herself. 'Should I send another message?' She felt anxious, not due to any external factors. Sleep had been in short supply lately, her dreams being haunted by memories she had long wished forgotten. And she could not talk to anyone, her only source of relief was the people she had grown attached to, but even then she was worried she was pushing her luck with them.

The doors to the lounge opened and the woman Myne had been waiting on raced in. She all but skidded on heeled boots to a stop, looked around, and then spotting Myne headed for her. Sapphire flung herself into a seat opposite Myne. "Sorry" she gasped out. "Engineering had an issue and I was working with them."

"Oh, no worries. I just arrived here as well!" Myne lied so expertly she couldn't even fool a rock. "I didn't send too many messages, did I? There are no guidelines on how many times you can message a friend, so I went with my gut. Also... erm, did you even receive them? I think the transmitter in my PaDD is busted, again." She sighed. "So, how was engineering? Did they forget which end of the screwdriver is the one they need to use?"

"You didn't send too many, I am just sorry I could not reply to them. That said some Engineers do need to go back to school." Sapphire smiled.

"Well, Engineering is not Operations by far. Ops rocks!" Myne giggled and relaxed. "So, are you hungry? I got some really fun Ferengi dishes you could try. Really super duper tasty and good for your figure. No fat, and high protein! And it is not weird at all!! I read that on Earth, some cultures like Hindia and Shina eat stuff like this too!!"

"Have you ever eat Egyptian food?" Sapphire asked with a smile.

"Erm! Give me a moment!" Taking her PaDD she quickly typed on in and then her eyes opened. "Ah, a place on Earth fascination with tridimensional geometry? Nope, never ate Egyptian food. Does it come in geometric shapes?" She asked excited all of the sudden at the potential mathematical-themed food.

Sapphire laughed. "No, it does not. And Egypt is more than tridimensional geometry. It has a deep culture that still fascinates archeologists to this day." Sapphire smiled now. "I think next time we are on Earth you need to visit Egypt with me."

"Well, I am fascinated by math, so fine! I will visit Egypt with you. If ever go back to Earth anytime soon. Though I really wanna measure those pyramids and stone blocks piece by piece really." The Trill chuckles already planning on a program to do this for her and dreaming about data crunching.

"Oh that has been done years ago" Sapphire grinned. "But as I said there is more than the pyramids. Food, Mummies, History."

"Mummies? What are those?" Myne asked looking at Sapphire and tilting her head. "Like mothers or something else? This place sounds really strange, which makes it even more curious. Also, has anyone even decided to use a ship's scanner to scan for more things to uncover?"

"Mummies are the mummified remains of the rulers of Egypt. And yes they have. The Pyramids are tombs."

Her jaw drops and she looks at Sapphire stunned. "Why, would anyone, in their right minds do something so gross? And tombs? That is terribly unsanitary!! Think of the microbes and other nasties coming out of a corpse and lingering in the air!!" Myne explained shocked by such a barbaric practice.

Sapphire began to laugh at that. "Ancient cultures do a lot of crazy things Myne."

"Explains why they are ancient and not current anymore. Sheesh, so much space wasted on a tomb. Imagine the possibilities of using a pyramid-like that for example as a fort! Or a palace! Deserts are hot, it would keep people and food inside at a better temperature and be damned hard to siege and assault!! Really, Humans are strange sometimes." Stopping to look at Sapphire, Myne looked embarrassed. "Crap, forgot you are a Human as well. Sorry Sapphire!!"

"All good. Ancients also believed that the Pyramids were made by Aliens or we used as landing pads for Alien spaceships." Sapphire grinned.

Myne started to laugh at that wholeheartedly. "Now see! That I can believe. Waaay more plausible than a tomb for something so big. Oh... maybe the Ferengi visited Earth in the past and played off as a prank and a business opportunity? Totally sounds like something they would do!!"

"Maybe, then there is Area 51 in the old USA, where Aliens were supposed to visit nightly. The first contact was well recorded with the Vulcans. Anything before that, is just myth."

"Do you think they have Vulcans kept prisoners down there in Area 51? Oooh, ok, we're not going there. I am an alien on your world and I would rather not have Redal voided from me through invasive means!!" Myne shivered at the thought.

Sapphire laughed "No fear of that. Earth is the headquarters of the Federation remember, Aliens are not endangered on Earth."

"Are you sure?" Myne asked looking very serious. Well, looking actually silly, trying not to laugh, but trying to seem serious. "You know, Earth is full of strange things, your people are very weird and chaotic. From hunting aliens to leading a whole federation of aliens. Really really strange."

"You think Earth is weird? Think how weird Trill is to us. And how weird Klingons are to Cardassians. All races have their weirdness." Sapphire said with a smile.

"We are weird? Why? We are rather straightforward, rather uniform in our culture and traditions, history too. Actually, we are kind of boring if I think about it. Klingons are fun and very consistent in their violence. And you just know a Cardassian will try to swindle you and stab you in the back. Predictable. But you Humans are seriously off the charts. Can never guess what you will do next. So unpredictable! And your history is a whirlwind of contradictions and such polarizing things." Myne said, clearly having already managed to place other species in their own niches apart from Humans. That keep leaving her confused.

"And likewise back to you" Sapphire smiled. "Every Race is confusing to other races."

"That's not true!! Like, the Ferengi I think are viewed with a universal reticence and wary by everyone!!" Myne snickered. "Those Ferengi wear their profits on their sleeves! So predictable and delightful!"

"Sure they are now, but when we first made contact with the ferengi they were confusing, their wanting profit over everything else. I am sure the Vulcans had issues with them."

"Well, I don't get that. The Ferengi are the easiest species to deal with for me. You know where you stand at all times! Profit above all!" She chuckled and smiled.

"Yes well you are a joined trill and that does help." Sapphire said with a smile.

Taking a moment to reply, Myne chuckled. "Yeah, that's right, comes with some benefits. So, now back to more important things. Sapphire, anyone special in your life?" She asked chuckling.

"Ah yes, I am dating Scott Gregory" Sapphire said with a small smile.

"Oh, seems like everyone aboard this ship is entangled one way or another. Let me guess, he's in Security?" The Trill asked, her curiosity peaked.

"No.. he is in Operations with us." Sapphire said, her smile growing.

"Whaaaat?" Myne blushed instantly. "Crap, don't tell Chief Baeryn about this! I really should read the personnel files of the department. Oh wait, was he at the department gathering?! I really need to pay more attention..." The Trill complained and sighed.

"Its all good. Lieutenant Whavi does not really know officially about Scott and I. We are not flaunting it."

"Wait, were you two making kissy faces and holding hands at the department gathering?" She asked thinking trying to remember if she paid enough attention. "Well, that's a good idea, though I think Chief Baeyrin won't really care that much. As long as you keep doing your jobs right, you know?"

Sapphire laughed softly. "Oh we are definitely keeping it separate."

"Well, I am glad people on this ship have fun and you know, people that care for them. Yay! Still, I need to pay attention some more!"

"I am sure you could gather a group of officers to gather information easily enough."

Myne nodded. "Yeah, I'd rather do it myself. Will write a subroutine for it. Have you given some thought to joining the Super Garrett Fan Club? Only one latinum per month!!"

Sapphire shook her head. "Ah no thanks, I will pass on that." She said with a wry smile.

"Oh come on!!! I will waver the one latinum per month!! Because you are my friend, and this goes against the Rules of Acquisition, no fee!! Just join up, it will be fun!! All the Super Garrett songs, cartoons and posters you could wish for!!" Myne did her best to sell her friend on the best thing ever!

"I would suggest you speak with the kids on board, they might be interested." Sapphire replied with a smile.

"Kids? No no no!! Also, no, no and of course, heck no!" Myne's reaction had been instinctive and a bit panicked. "I am so not good with kids. Also not good to be around kids." Bringing her hands together she took an almost academic posture and continued. "Kids are a hazard. They are like q-bits, you never know what state they are in. Worse, they like that Schroter's dog in a box thingy on Earth! Leave it to Humans to invent the craziest things. I'd rather leech latinum off of adults, thank you very much!"

"Schrodinger" Sapphire corrected with a smile. "And you may find that the children are more interested in Super Garrett."

"In that case, I will take my best Super Garrett shirt with me. And maybe replicate a few more for the kids to give out when the tour is over? If the kids wear them, maybe I can trick the parents into actually buying more merchandise afterward!" The excited Trill clapped her hands at the idea of potentially making some coin.

Sapphire laughed softly. "Good Luck" she said honestly.

"Thank you! Don't worry, give me enough time and I'll get you joining the club as well! Already have the perfect spot picked out in one of the cargo holds that belong to Ops." Myne bragged happily. "All the best stuff is there too, I made sure of that!! Made a veritable labyrinth!"

//OFF//

Lieutenant JG Myne Redal
Assistant Chief Operations Officer
USS Elysium

Lieutenant Sapphire Morgan
Operations Officer
USS Elysium