Interesting Conversation

Posted on Sat Mar 11th, 2023 @ 3:56pm by Miran Lalor [Lalor] HRH & Cadet Sophomore Grade Gérard Dirsye [Reece]

Mission: Season 6: Episode 2: Survival
Location: Caves and Shuttle
Timeline: MD1 08h00l
2264 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Stranded again, gee would this be their routine and life? Miran sat on a crate near the departure point for crew heading up to the Elysium for repair duties. She had spent hours helping out in the medical tents and had signed up for debris clearing much to her sisters surprise. But Pene had not argued, and had simply nodded and waved her off.

But now Miran was waiting for the shuttle and as she waited she contemplated their situation. Andromeda had been bad but at least that planet had been warmer than this. No snow. L class but this P class was horrible. She knew that their Andorian crew members were having fun in the cold temperatures not that anyone else was.

"Hey" a voice said as someone sat down beside her.

She turned and looked at the cadet who had sat down beside her. She knew him. Gérard, one of Triston's classmates.

"Gérard." She said with a smile.

"Miran." He replied. "Haven't seen you around lately."

She merely shrugged. "One guess why."

"Ah yes, the lovely Clary." The young man smirked playfully as he spoke.

Miran rolled her eyes at that.

"Oh cheer up, Miri." He said, still smirking, knowing that only Triston got away with calling her that.

She narrowed her gaze at him.

"Clary is not a threat to you Miran."

"He is my best friend Gérard. And she treats me like I am worthless and he doesn't talk to me anymore."

Gérard merely sighed. Triston was his friend but in this his friend was being stupid. By ignoring a girl he had been friends with for years to please his current girlfriend, was stupid. Miran's friendship with Triston was well known and now with her seen to be on the outside, it made it interesting among the younger members of the crew. Several younger males had been watching the events closely. "You should fight for your friendship Miran."

"He does not care." Miran replied and pulled her jacket closer around her face. "And I am finding it hard to care for him these days." She was getting better at lying in the face of things.

Gérard sighed softly. He then did something he had never done before...he reached out and gently took Miran's hands into his own. "Mir," he began softly. "The two of you have been friends for years. If he is allowing someone else to dictate whom he can be friends with...then...he is an idiot." He gently pulled her to her feet and stood infront of her, holding her hands between his own, keeping them warm as he lookeddeep into her eyes. His near solid pools of obsidian seeming to be a perfect counter to her beautiful amber-brown eyes.

"Never by untrue to yourself. If someone or eonething is upsetting you, don't bottle it up and deny it exists. That will only cause you more pain." He leaned his face down to their hands and blew warm air over her fingers.

Miran considered his words, it hurt her that Triston allowed himself to follow Clary so much like a puppy dog. But when Gérard blew on their hands she gave a slight smile at that. "You hate the cold too huh?" She asked.

Giving Miran a handsome grin, Gérard replied. "The cold is okay sometimes. Though I do prefer a more temperate climate." He blew on her fingers again, feeling them warm under his own hands. "My family home is near the equator of Betazed."

Miran nodded. "I have visited that planet. My sister and I went there on leave once. It is a very nice place. Reminded me of Erisia in its climate." She turned as the runabout landed. "I am on debris detail up on the ship. What about you?"

Gérard looked over as well, as the runabout touched down. Once the dust settled, he looked back at Miran and replied. "I'm on one of the damage control teams. Today, we are going to start patching the holes in the hull. Once she's solid again, the real work inside, repairing the damaged systems can begin."

Miran watched the runabouts hatch open and an officer began taking names as the crew formed a line. "I helped clear out one of medical storage bays the other day. The Doc was glad to see the extra supplies we brought back down. But i know that he needs more of them."

Nodding, Gérard replied. "Those supplies will go a long way to getting the rest of the injured back on their feet." He smiled softly at her, aside he was actually seeing Miran for the very first time. His eyes were gentle, but they held an intensity deep inside. "You truly are a remarkable woman, Miran. Anyone would be a fool not to see that."

She gave a half shrug "Thank you but I am not that special." She gave him a smile as they joined the line. "And I have yet to finish what the humans call High School."

He chuckled softly as he brought her left hand up to his lips and gently kissed the back of her knuckles. "On my world, you would already be considered a full woman. Besides," he grinned softly, "The Humans have always been a rather odd species. So advanced in some aspects, yet so backwards in others."

She raised an eyebrow. "17 is an adult on Betazed?" She was curious. And she had to admit this was the longest conversation she had, had with Gérard, though she had known him since he had come to the ship for the Academy with Triston. "It's 18 for us on Erisia as well for the most part"

"Oh yes," he replied as they moved with the line towards the runabout. "In fact, for girls, it's sixteen. That's when you can legally get married and start your own home. It's when my mom and grandmother started theirs."

Miran nodded. "So why are you joining starfleet?" Miran asked curiously as they got closer to the front of the line.

He gave her the truth. "My family has been in Starfleet since Betazed joined the Federation. It's just an example of us giving thanks to the rest of civilized society. Especially after we were rescued during the Dominion War. Besides," he said after taking in a big lungful of air and letting it out slowly. "Had I not, we never would have met." He leaned on a little closer and whispered in her ear, "And I am so very glad that we did meet!"

She gave a soft laugh at his words and chose to take a small chance. "You know you are a very interesting person Gérard, that said had I not had a friend in the Academy, we may not have met, as I am not looking to Starfleet when I finish school."

Gérard nodded as he listened. When Miran finished, he replied. "Then it seems as if the Fates had this all planned out." He gave her a warm grin, exposing some of his perfectly aligned teeth as he did so.

When it was their turn to board the runabout, Gérard let Miran enter first. He then followed her and moved to the aft section, sitting fown next to her.

"If I may be so bold," he whispered to her, "While I know it's nothing festive or elaborate, would you care to have dinner with me, after our shifts are over?"

Miran considered it. A meal away from the twins and Tristi would be welcome. She nodded. "Sure, sounds like a plan." She said brightly, cheered by the thought of dinner with someone new.

Gérard smiled and nodded. "Good. I'll reserve us a table at the mess tent," he said playfully. While the entire ship's company was living extremely sparing at the moment, it was still nice to try and act as some things were still normal.

The runabout began its lift off and around them people chatted or sat quietly. Miran let her gaze wander a bit because she wanted an idea of who would be up on the Elysium with them. "This is so different from last time," she said softly.

Looking over at her, Gérard responded quietly. "How do you mean?"

"I mean I was younger then, but even though we were stuck in another galaxy, and had so many losses, it didn't seem as bad as this. And the ship was not as bad as this. We were luckier then. An L Class world compared to a P class, and the Admiral was absent most of the time, so that part where my sister is run off her feet is the same." she shrugged. "And Civilians were not allowed up to the ship that time to help. Admiral's rules."

Gérard nodded thoughtfully. He of course had read about the ship's history during one of his classes. It was a requirement to graduate. "I guess, it all comes down to who is in command." He took a small breath, then asked softly, concern in his voice, "How is the Commodore? Has her sight returned yet?"

"Yes it has returned, though it was a pretty bad concussion, and Erisian's take head knocks pretty seriously." Miran said "The doc says it's something to do with our brain synapses."

Worry filled the Betazoid's features as he replied. "Will she make a full recovery? I can feel the worry coming off of you."

"Oh she will be fine. But as an Erisian, it's concerning as it can lead to other problems in later life." Miran said softly. "And she is my sister, so yes, I worry about her."

"I'm glad she will recover," Gérard stated. "I have a sister as well, Selena. She's my twin, actually. If anything were to happen to her, I would be lost."

"Is she on the Elysium?" Miran asked curiously.

Shaking his head, Gérard replied. "No, she didn't join Starfleet. She is, however, back home, attending Harvard, studying to earn her PHD in prehistoric archeology."

"An interesting subject," Miran said with a smile. "I had applied to the Sorbonne school of art in Paris a few months ago. I would have found out in two weeks if I was successful there."

Gérard nodded approvingly. "Very impressive, Miran!" He gave her a lop-sided grin as he spoke. "What style of art are you focused on and what medium do you prefer to use?"

She looked at her hands. "I am a painter. Oils, acrylics, Landscapes and such are currently my focus, though I did spend time with a family friend a few years ago who is a sculptor and that was interesting."

"I tried sculpture once myself," Gérard replied. "Though I prefer to do sketches."

She smiled. "I am not good at it. I think it's something to do with the fact that it can be so hard to let the medium control what it comes. I prefer to control the medium."

Nodding in agreement, Gérard replied. "Very true. Though, sometimes when I'm drawing, it almost feels like the image was there all along, I just brought it to the surface with my pencils."

"So what is your major in the science academy?" Miran asked, for some reason she didn't know it. Maybe she had never been told.

"Microbiology actually," he said with a shrug. "I like to see how everything is built."

She nodded. "Well that sounds interesting." Miran's grades were good, enough to get her into the academy if she was so inclined. "I always disliked biology and such, though the Doc thinks I should go into medical."

He grinned softly at that. "That's an interesting conundrum. Not being interested in something that someone else feels you are good for." A soft chuckle rolled from his throat.

"Yeah, but Doc understands. I think he is remembering a past mission where we ran into future versions of ourselves. My future self was a nurse."

Gérard nodded at this. "Well, Doc should remember that the future isn't set for us. What he saw was an alternate reality. " He chuckled as he continued. "My mother studied temporal mechanics when I was a kid. It was something she would tell me from time to time, especially when I would say that I wanted to travel to the future." He smiled at the happy memory.

"The future we saw, sucked big time." Miran shrugged. She glanced up as the shuttle turned slightly. "Though the present sure could use some work."

Nodding in agreement, Gérard paused to grin slightly. "Well, one good thing about the present. I got to meet you." He gave her an honest and handsome smile.

Despite herself, Miran smiled back honestly. "That is true." She replied.

There was a soft thud as the shuttle touched down. "And off to work we go" Moran said softly.

Gérard nodded and smiled softly. "My team is headed aft to work on the lateral sensors. How about yours?"

"Debris sorting deck 9." Miran replied as people around them moved and got into groups.

Standing as well, Gérard turned and offered his hand to Miran in a gentlemanly manner. "Then, I will say that I hope you have a safe and productive shift, and I look forward to dinner later." His eyes sparkled slightly as he smiled at the young woman.

Miran took his hand as she was helped to her feet. "Same to you" she said honestly.

OFF