A Conversation
Posted on 02/15/2020 @ 1:56pm by
Edited on on 03/06/2020 @ 10:16pm
Mission:
S1E1: Out of the Barn
Location: USS Acadia, Guest Quarters, En Route to Starbase 614
Timeline: Day 1 at 0030
Tahlin sat at her terminal in the guest quarters she shared with a female Vulcan officer. The other woman had gone off to meditate somewhere in the ship, and this left Tahlin at loose ends. She'd be reaching Starbase 614 in the morning, and her new assignment, but she couldn't sleep. She'd been reading--a new Bajoran novel which was actually quite engaging...
The terminal beeped. "Incoming subspace transmission, Tenens Vilin," came the computers female voice.
Now what would my brother want? the Bajoran thought. Nothing could have happened--I'd have heard from my mother. "Computer," she said, "What is the nature of the message."
The computer responded promptly. "The message is a live audio link, origin, Peldor V."
"That's definitely in the region... Computer, open link."
The terminal whirred for a moment, then the warm, rich timbre of her brother's bass voice came over the speaker. "Tahlin, are you there?"
She smiled, even though he couldn't see her. "Vilin, I'm here... Did you just call to chat, or can I do something for you?"
"Oh, can't I just have a chat with my baby sister?" There was laughter in his voice.
"You can, though I'd question your timing. And, why aren't you using visual? Did Meris decide to do something... Interesting to you?"
His laughter rolled over her ears like warm honey. "No, not like last time... I just know that audio travels better through subspace, particularly when a ship is at warp. You are on your way to a new assignment, right? Your last letter said you'd taken a new posting."
"Chief of Security on the Crazy Horse. Luna-class."
"Science ship, right? Like the Intrepid?"
She giggled back at him. "You're probably one of the few civilians who can identify a Starfleet ship just from class... Yeah, science vessel. Larger crew than the Intrepid, though, and a bit bigger."
"Hmmm... Luna's have crew lounges, right?" he asked after a moment's pause.
Now Tahlin grew skeptical of his innocent motive for calling. "Yes..." she answered slowly, "Why's that?"
Vilin came back easily, "Oh, just, the company's looking for a Starfleet vessel to test a new prototype hologram on, and I said I'd ask around... You're the first person I thought of... You think your new captain would go for a talking parrot with adaptive algorithms thrown in?"
Tahlin laughed. "A parrot, seriously? Why are these holograms mostly Terran designs?..." She sobered. "I'm not sure, honestly. You said its a prototype? Does that mean I'd get a copy for free if I said I'd get as many people as possible to give you feedback?"
"Yep, that's exactly what I mean." replied the other Bajoran, popping the end of the word in the way of some humans and a few other races.
Tahlin considered the offer. I don't like using holograms unless I have to, but it would certainly add character, she thought. I could ask the captain about it... No--better ask the XO--don't want to seem demanding my first day there. Finally, she said, "If you can have the program on a data disc, and ready for me at Starbase 614, I'll do what I can."
Tahlin could hear the smile in his voice. "That's my baby sister--always looking for a good bargain. I can easily do that... You doing all right? And, thanks for giving this a shot."
Tahlin grinned, hoping he could pick it up. "No more jittery than my last transfer... I'll be alright... You--how are you and Meris doing?"
"Oh, fine," came the easy reply. "If we didn't both have to travel so much, I think he'd be angling to adopt a child or go through surrogacy."
"He was always the maternal type... Mother wants grandkids at some point--think about it."
"I will... Better go--lots to do today. I'll have the program ready for you at Starbase 614... And thanks again, Tahlin... Love you."
"Love you, too, Vilin... Talk to you later." Privately, she wondered how he could get that done in six, seven hours...
"Same..."
The screen clicked off. Tahlin sat back, and pondered a moment. Well, she thought, I always knew that having a holo-engineer and sales rep brother-in-law and brother respectively was going to be interesting, but this... Well, it'll make life interesting, for sure, and the worst that can happen is that she'll say no.
A post by:
Lieutenant (J.G) Lae'Or Tahlin
Chief of Security
USS Crazy Horse
