First Days

Posted on Mon May 6th, 2019 @ 5:25am by Lieutenant JG Gallia Norris

Mission: Episode 1: Hell is a four letter word
Location: Lounge
1984 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

It was her first evening on duty in the mess hall and Jessica was using a cheat sheet on her PADD to keep everything straight. People who didn’t want things from the replicators wanted their drinks mixed fresh, and even though she hadn’t signed up as bartender, she was put to work as one. Not that she was complaining, if they thought she was good for more challenging work, that could only work in her favour, no? She was hoping the crew wouldn’t get too creative with their orders just yet, though.

“Synthale with orange juice”, she said as she placed a drink in front of a young woman in teal who had just come from her shift and failed to remove a stain of white goo on her collar, which made Jessica wonder what was going on in the science labs. “Enjoy, your fruitiness.”

Gallia walked in with, of all people, Ludmilla Brett right behind her. Taking a seat across from Jessica, she smiled, “Well, an’ a bonny good evenin’ to ya, Jessica dear.” She said warmly, “Got a to go order for me an’ the ol’ ball an’ chain back there.”

Ludmilla laughed a little, Gallia… Lieutenant Norris, was funny. She leaned across the bar to kiss Jessica’s cheek, “And I’m here to see you.”

Jessica beamed at them. “So good to see you! It’s been exciting, in a good way. Hardest part is remembering faces, so many new people. What can I get you?”

“You’ll never learn ‘em all, not on a starship.” Gallia shook her head, “Always new people comin’ an’ goin’, never stops. As for what ya can get me, I wouldnae refuse a Scotch on the rocks.”

“Ugh, could you be any more stereotypical?” Milla laughed and rolled her eyes, “It’s like my family full of Vodka pounders. I’ll take a…. Jess, is it possible we have those Ferengi colas we drank on DS9? I’d love one of those.”

“It’d have to be from the replicator”, Jessica said. “I’ve checked, they’re not in stock. Apparently nobody else ever requested slog-o-cola.” The replicated version wasn’t as good, as it was a knock-off with slightly changed recipe, for licensing reasons. People wanting to make a profit stood in the way of others having nice things, some things never changed, not even in the Federation. While she waited for Ludmilla’s response, she reached for a glass, filled it with two ice cubes and poured a shot of a pure malt on it, a blend that was distilled on a nearby colony world and thus in plentiful supply on Deep Space Nine, and the Elysium had acquired a generous supply.

“That’ll be okay.” Milla shrugged, “I’ll just remember to buy a lot when we get back to DS9.” She’d come to really enjoy slug-o-cola, one of many welcome surprises from the day she met Jessica.

“Oh, now that’s heaven.” Gallia moaned as she sipped the whisky, “That’s the next best thing ta bein’ in Aberdeen.”

Jessica retrieved the slime cola from the replicator behind her, and placed it on the counter in front of Ludmilla. “The second-slimiest cola in the galaxy”, she winked. Someone walking by made a face in their general direction upon hearing the words, and Jessica called, “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!”

“I’ll stick ta ma stereotypical Scotch, thank ya.” Gallia laughed, “An’ the Cadet’s drink’s on me. Sort of a thank you for your help with that inventory.”

“Well, you know, whole world going crazy, might as well keep myself busy.” Ludmilla laughed, taking a sip of her drink, you could tell this wasn’t exactly the real thing, figured the Ferengi probably kept it under wraps like KFC’s secret recipe.

“Have you even tried it?” Jessica asked. “Big advantage, no alcohol. Doesn’t do much for thirst, though, and made me pack on a few kilos.” It was no diet beverage, that was for sure.

“You needed them though.” Ludmilla said honestly, “You look fabulous.” That was a definite truth, Jessica looked absolutely fantastic, the new scenery was doing her wonders, plus, as Ludmilla remembered from their greeting, her hair smelled beautiful.

“I’ve not tried it, I’ll admit that.” Gallia nodded, “Maybe one day soon.”

“Wait until we get the real stuff though, Lieutenant.” Ludmilla said quickly, “Trust me, it’s way worth it.”

Jessica took a sip from her own glass, which was under the counter and contained just water. “So, how overworked are you after your first day on starship duty?” she asked.

“It wasn’t so bad.” Ludmilla answered, “Just had a lot of stuff to scan into the inventory. The tricorder does most of the work, but it’s still a lot of walking and looking for stuff. You’d be amazed how many power cells there are on a ship this size.”

“An’ ya didnae even do the ones in the armory.” Gallia added, fortunately sec/tac did those their self, it would’ve been another couple of thousand at least.

“I heard someone mention earlier they were going to take advantage of a holographic foot rubber after a day on their feet”, Jessica said. “I didn’t know those existed but they sound useful.”

“Oh, Jess, everything exists in holographic form at this point.” Ludmilla laughed, “You can get the whole massage experience from a holographic masseuse, it’s great.”

“Oh, aye, they’re great an’ what not.” Gallia shrugged, “But I wouldnae trade a real human touch for it.” Soda wasn’t the only place where the real thing was just better.

“There are some feet nobody will touch voluntarily”, Jessica grinned.

“I’m sure yours aren’t among them.” Ludmilla reassured, though she had seen one of the other cadets earlier, his feet were almost like some sort of mutant duck’s feet, she wasn’t sure if she’d touch them or not. ~Probably not…~

“Not any more”, Jessica smiled. “I’ve had them taken care of. Though I’m a bit less steady on them now, but I’m sure that’ll pass.”

“You’re really doing great.” Ludmilla said with a smile, “I’m so happy for you.”

Gallia wasn’t thick, not by any measure, she knew what was going on inside that young cadet’s mind, so when Kolina, the other waitress, made her way over to them with the take out she’d ordered, Gallia quickly downed her Scotch, “Well, I’ve a fiance an’ a sprog ta feed, ladies, if you’ll excuse me.” She quickly paid for her food and drinks, then exited.

“What’s a sprog?” Jessica wondered. “Can you eat that?”

“If you want to catch serious charges.” Ludmilla laughed, “That’s Scottish slang for a child, especially a small one. I think her baby is about to turn one. I only know because I had to ask what she was saying earlier.” It was a fact, the ginger engineer was very easy on the eye, but a little hard to understand.

“Definitely don’t want to eat that, then”, Jessica said. “Even my adventurous tongue has limits.”

“Right?” Milla chuckled, “So, how are you? Enjoying shipboard life so far?”

“I love it”, Jessica said. “Though that’s probably a bit selfish, seeing as we’re all worried about the command people. But compared to what I used to do, or have to do, even that is better.”

Ludmilla cringed for a second as her thoughts went back to what she imagined to be the horrors that her friend had experienced, struck by how things she would consider mundane or annoying must look like the greatest joys in the galaxy when seen through the filter of those experiences, “Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying your job.” She smiled, asking, “So what are you doing for fun?”

“Nothing”, she admitted. “I’m wondering who I’ll be rooming with. I’ve not had a room mate… ever. I slept in the cargo hold, by myself. So I’m holding off on decorating or anything until I know it’ll be okay.”

Ludmilla nodded as she listened, realizing the couple of nights she’d spent with her and Gunny Rhodes was probably the closest Jessica had ever come to having a roommate, “Well, you know, there’s all sorts of stuff to do on the holodeck. You should come when you get off, we’ll use one of Anje’s programs and go dancing or something.”

“No offence, Milla”, Jessica said. “But when I get off, I’ll definitely want off my feet for a while. But I’m definitely game for watching you dance and getting a foot rub for the duration.”

“Then let’s do the massage parlor.” Milla counter-offered, “We can both relax and enjoy a little rubdown.”

“Perfect”, Jessica agreed. “I go off-shift in about three hours.” The downside of working as the waitress, or in this case substitute bartender, was she was working when most of the crew were enjoying their time off, but Jessica wasn’t complaining. It wasn’t in her nature to complain, complaining had only ever ended badly for her.

“Okay, awesome.” Milla giggled, thrilled that Jessica would be joining her, ~Starts off a good night.~

Jessica was called away to wait on a table in the back briefly, there wasn’t always time to chat. In fact, except for an occasional few words here and there, there wasn’t much time for anything during the busy hours of the day.

Milla watched as Jessica tended to the other table, happy to see she was doing so well and enjoying it so much, she hoped to find that kind of happiness in anything one day. The fact that Jessica was beginning to round out wasn’t exactly a bad thing, either.

After several runs, which made sure she wasn’t just rounding out uncontrollably, Jessica asked, “You’re not mingling, don’t you want to make friends?”

“Actually, right now I want to enjoy my drink.” Ludmilla replied, knocking back the last bit of it, “Oh, and speaking of mingling and making friends, my birthday is next week. Going to have a party. You know, if you wanted to come with me.”

“Absolutely”, Jessica smiled. “I’d love to.” She refilled Ludmilla’s drink, figuring she’d want more. “I’ve heard parties are great.”

“They totally are.” Milla agreed, remembering that this would probably be Jessica’s first, “And you’re going to have so much fun with me…. At mine.”

Jessica nodded. “I’m going to have to ask for some advice, but I promise I’ll do my best.” She’d heard of this tradition to play pranks on people having birthday parties, another first for her, and she wanted to make it a good one.

“You’ll do fine.” Ludmilla promised, “Just show up and be your beautiful, fun, sweet self and everybody will love you.”

“You don’t have to butter me up, you know?” Jessica said. “I know I’ll be awkward, not knowing what to do, mostly watching. But that can be fun, too, I guess?”

“You’re so much more than awkward, Jessica.” Ludmilla said, “And that’s not being buttered up, that’s encouragement. Just trust me, huh?”

“You know I do”, Jessica smiled. She had from the moment she’d met her, and with the exception of that scary moment in the pylon, it had turned out well. And she couldn’t rightfully blame Ludmilla for that incident, now could she?

“Sweet, can’t wait.” Ludmilla replied, adding, “Okay, I’ll let you get back to work then meet on the holodeck after?”

"Yes", Jessica said, hurrying off to another patron.