Pug and Plants (Part II)

Posted on 09/25/2020 @ 7:49pm by Lieutenant Commander Kiernan Gallagher VII & Lieutenant Oskar Ruseka MD
Edited on on 03/02/2021 @ 6:31pm

Mission: Sum of our Experiences
Location: USS Nightingale | Deck 3 | Arboretum
Timeline: Day 0 at 0000

"Oh and thank you...for the quartz if you can procure it for me that is" replied Oskar. "If you are Chief of Environmental Sciences, are you sure that you don't want me to address you as sir?" asked Oskar. "I'll address you however you wish me to. I have no problems taking orders from a clearly younger superior officer though if I'm, to be frank, you look no older than some of my students."

"You should see me without the beard, I look like I'm on the verge of puberty." A sound that was supposedly a chuckle, escaped his lips. "Honest, Kiernan is fine, especially in a setting like here," Kiernan said. He wasn't comfortable being called sir, especially by someone who was clearly older than himself. "On duty, doctor or lieutenant is fine, though I don't know... I suppose I am not hung up on such things." This time he shrugged. "I think Starfleet worries about it more than I do, though they saw fit to give me the degrees and the pips, I suppose I should use them once in a while." He felt like he was rambling non-sense again, so he quickly closed his mouth and let the briefest of moments go by.

Oskar nodded in agreement. Everything that Kiernan was saying made perfect sense to Oskar. He had experienced these feelings himself. "You are absolutely right, Kiernan. I know how you feel. Guys like us...we're scientists first and foremost. They provide us with these uniforms, throw a few rank pips on our uniforms, and promote us from time to time; However, we live and breathe science. That's what we care about. We are here to seek out new life and civilizations, to study the littlest things we find out here. To make advancements in medicine and technology. Our degrees aren't in whipping out a phaser and blasting a hole through something" rambled the older man. "You can just call me Oskar if nobody else is around to reprimand us for dropping rank and not being professionally stuffy."

Kiernan smiled at that, and then nodded his agreement. "Oskar it is," he replied. He stood there for a moment, taking in the other man, his features, memorizing every little detail - he was doing this without even really realizing it. Then he realized it, and he felt himself grow warm and flushed by it. He cleared his throat, a reflex most humans did to distract not only the other person but themselves as well. In these situations, his mind did what it did best - wrestle with each and every part. He wasn't sure what to do next, and he bit on his lower lip in thought. The silence began to stretch and the older man who stood before him was looking expectant.

Say something, Kier, just say something... anything... just do it!

"Would you like to go for a walk with Otis and I sometime?"

Normally, Oskar would not fathom socializing with someone so much younger than he was, mostly because he had just spent so much time lecturing to students that probably were not much younger than Kiernan was; However, this was not an academic environment, the roles were not the same, and Oskar was not Kiernan's superior in any sense, a respected elder scientist maybe, but superior? No. They were of equal rank, but Kiernan oversaw the Environmental Sciences within the greater Science Department. Oskar was simply a science officer within the Laboratory Sciences. They were shipmates and colleagues aboard the USS Nightingale, and if Oskar was going to make this his home, for the time being, he would need to socialize.

"Two science officers and a pug, strolling through the arboretum, or walking about the ship? Kiernan, I would be honored to" replied Oskar with a smile on his face and gentility in the tone of his voice. "I cannot think of any company that would be more suited to engaging me in conversation than a fellow science officer, especially one who knows his chemistry" added Oskar warmly and welcoming of the thought. "Then, there is Otis. You cannot say no to a face like his, that adorable dog of yours."

As Kiernan looked down at Otis, he couldn't help but smile. He felt his heart swell with love for the pup. "He is very adorable, isn't he?" he replied softly. There was just so much love for his pug, and frankly, he didn't know what he would ever do without Otis. Otis was only three years old, Kiernan hoped he still had plenty of years ahead with his dog. He looked back up at Oskar, the smile broadened. "Then it's a date..."

Kiernan's cheeks went beet red, which didn't take much against his pale skin.

"I mean... not a date, I mean... well, you know what I mean." He stammered and then groaned in embarrassment.

"Oy..."

This is amusing thought Oskar as he observed the younger man's social awkwardness being notched up a level by level with each passing moment. For what reason? Oskar suspected, but did not want to be so presumptuous. "Very adorable and I imagine he will age to a very handsome little guy. I have no immediate plans on leaving the Nightingale. So, perhaps I will be around to see the little guy mature. I have a feeling he will be watching me work more often" said Oskar.

"A date" replied Oskar with a smile. "Not all dates involve candlelit dinners and wine. "Walking around the arboretum or the rest of the Nightingale with you and Otis sounds just as delightful. Schedules permitting, if you ever want to grab something in the Mess Hall together, that would be perfectly fine with me. I hate dining alone" he added.

And I'm used to dining alone, Kiernan thought. Most nights, it was just he and Otis... well, most meals really. Dogs were not typically allowed in the mess hall, so it was rare that Kiernan at there. However, if he had someone to eat with that might be different. "I'd like that," Kiernan said. "I typically just eat in my quarters, so it will be nice to share a meal with another human being." He looked to Otis, and smiled lovingly at his best friend. "I love Otis with all that I am, but sometimes it's nice to have someone who can respond and not just look at me with a tilted head as if I'm nuts."

"Oh, I'm sure he doesn't think you are nuts, Kiernan. If anything, he probably is wondering why someone like you is sitting alone in your quarters having your meals alone. You should be in the Mess Hall or somewhere having a shared meal with some friends" commented Oskar. "Otis seems like a wonderful companion, but some bipedal interaction does the mind wonders. Join me some time...I think you'll like it" added Oskar in jest.

Kiernan smiled at that. "I'd definitely like to join you," he said, a bit too eagerly. Reel it back in Ker, he reminded himself. He didn't want to sound so eager, especially around this new person. "I mean, it sounds nice, I'm sure I will like it," he added, is tone back on the softer side. He figured he had embarrassed himself for one evening. "So um..." he reached behind him and rubbed the back of his neck. "I should probably leave you to your work sans pug interference." He managed the smallest of smiles. "It was nice to meet you, Oskar."

"The pleasure was mine" replied Oskar. "You two have a wonderful day, and try not to pee on too many plants" teased the older science officer with a bit of a smirk as he watched the little pug.

Kiernan smiled, almost in embarrassment, waved slightly and then tugged on the leash gently to get Otis moving. After Kiernan and Otis left the holodeck, he stopped, knelt down one one knee and looked at his pug. Otis tilted his head in curiosity, and then sat down on his own haunches. "Oh Otis, you are something else, what are you up to anyway?" He gave his beloved pug a quick scratch on the top of his head, and then pulled himself back up. Otis followed suit and fell in step with his human.


A FLASHBACK POST BY:

Lieutenant Oskar R. Ruseka, MD

&

Lieutenant Kiernan M. Gallagher VII, PhD

&

Otis the Pug