Do You Want to Meet a Dragon? (Part I)

Posted on Sat Feb 8th, 2025 @ 10:49pm by Lieutenant Lily Marlow & Ensign Koziki Thass & Lieutenant JG Vanya Karolyi

Mission: A Dragon named Guardian
Location: Lily's quarters/ Cargo Bay 8
Timeline: MD 002 1400
1464 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

When the briefing was over, and people were exiting the room, Lily went to catch up to Vanya.

"Hello there, welcome to the Majestic. As what was stated, I'm Lily, and I am the ACMO." Lily gave an inner wince at what she felt, was a slightly awkward introduction.

"Thank you." She smiled at Lily. "I'm Vanya. I'm an archivist and data analyst. Nice to meet you." She was curious. Did Lily really want to welcome her, or did she have questions? Or perhaps it was the intel officer speaking.

"Do you have time for some tea? I am in the mood for some tea, and I could use some right now. The talk about Adna Station still gives me the shivers when I think about it." giving a slight shiver having said the name of that station.

"I'd love some." But in truth, she was more curious about Lily. It was an occupational hazard for someone who dealt in information. "I don't know much about the station, except for what I've read in reports, which is very little."

"We'll go to my quarters and have some tea and I'll tell you about what happened. Well, I'll make certain it is an abridged version as sometimes I can get a little bit long winded." giving a laugh, as she led the way to the turbolift. As the doors to the turbolift closed and Lily had given the deck designation, she commented. "Captain Rutherford and I used to serve together on another ship. He was the Captain of the USS Nighthawk when I did my cadet cruise. Then later on, I ended up as an ACMO on the ship. It was pretty amusing with his reaction when I appeared. And in some aspect it was repeated when he arrived on this ship."

"That's an interesting series of coincidences. Have you been on many ships?" Vanya wondered at the odds of service twice with the same captain, which would vary depending on the number of transfers and her time in Starfleet.

"For my cadet cruise it was the USS Nighthawk. Then it was the USS Nightingale for two years, a medical ship. Then from there, I went to the USS Nighthawk. Perhaps someone felt that I would be useful and would be a good fit, due to my knowing the Captain. There had been a rumor that a certain cadet had the audacity to confront the Captain about his health and his eating habits." Lily's eyes dancing with laughter. "It was a surprise to both Captain Rutherford and I when I was assigned to his ship as an ACMO, upon the Nighthawk. I made a few friends." her demeanor changed to one of somberness. "I also lost a few friends during a battle with pirates." Lily took a drink of her tea to stop her words.

"Yes. Starfleet is not always a safe place to work." Vanya knew that all too well, although she seldom spoke of her own loss.

"I won't give up serving in Starfleet, unless I have to. I don't see that happening anytime soon though. After I recovered from injuries from that battle, I signed onto the USS Majestic. After the Adna Station event, Commodore Saulitis ended up leaving and she turned the keys over to Captain Rutherford. There you have it in a nutshell of change of Command. And I don't believe in coincidences at all, for he and I to be on the same ship once again."

Vanya nodded. "Can you tell me about the Adna Station event?"

They had arrived at Lily's quarters during the conversation, the door opening at her touch. "Welcome to my humble abode, and I will tell you about Adna Station once we have tea. And perhaps some tea biscuits if you are interested."

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Lily's room

From standing in the door, to the left would be seen a small desk for Lily's work she does there. To the left of the desk would be a small dining table where four could fit. Along the right of the dining table would be a small kitchenette, complete with a small two burner stove and an oven on an island plus a sink against the wall and a small 'fridge'. Somewhat dividing the kitchen and the living room is a planter which has herbs growing in it with a grow lamp to help the growth. A sofa is on the other side of the planter which curves around slightly to where the stars could be seen. This gave enough room, to the right there is an electric piano, and on the right of that set into the corner is a sewing machine, with some shelves against the wall which separated the living room from the bedroom.

Directly to the right of the door, is what looks like a wall but instead it is the back of a book shelf about six feet in height and four feet in width. Lily had created her own little book nook area with a holographic fireplace and a comfortable chair where she can read books. Lily had also gotten herself a tub along with a sonic shower wanting to have the capability to have a soak.

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"Make yourself comfortable while I get the tea water boiling." Lily stated, walking over and getting the tea pot out from the shelf, filling it with water and placing it upon the two burner stove.

Vanya went over to the bookshelf to see what sort of books Lily liked while she waited for the tea. "I like your quarters."

"Thank you, I like it as well." Lily digging out the tea biscuits she had on hand.

Upon the book shelves were a variety of books. There were classic books, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man of La Mancha, Phantom of the Opera. There were several books with music titles. Books of sewing , and others were of Acupuncture, acupressure, Herbal Medicine. Gardening books. Girl of the Limberlost. There were also books of sword and sorcery.

Vanya turned from the book. "Nice collection. You have quite a range of interests."

"I am an avid reader." Lily giving a smile. The teapot upon the burner gave out a whistle letting her know that the water was ready. "What sort of tea would you like? I have quite the assortment. Here. Have a look to see if something is there that you like." placing out tea cups along with some honey and lemon. "These lemons are from my Aunt's orchard."

That caught Vanya's interest. "Really? That's good of her to send them." She selected a lemon ginger tea. She wasn't quite sure what to make of Lily, but she was not the type of person she usually met on a Starship.

"She sent me a crate load of not only lemons, but oranges, limes, and some apples. I've been keeping them in stasis so I can make them last until I can get some more." Her eyes crinkled up with amusement, "When I first came on board, I carried with me a hand bag that held various fruit and went around meeting some of the crew members, offering them an apple or and orange. They weren't expecting something like that."

"That's an excellent way to make a first impression. I'm sure they're better tasting than the replicated ones as well." Lily was turning out to be a surprise in more ways than one. The other woman was also more observant than most, which Vanya appreciated.

Lily retrieved some small cakes. Chocolate and there were some lemon as well. "I made these; hope you like them. The lemon cake I used fresh lemons." Lily poured water, over her own lemon ginger tea, and offered to pour the water over Vanya's tea as well. After pouring, Lily set the kettle upon a hot pad. "Tell me a little bit about yourself, if you don't mind that is."

"I don't mind." She took a lemon cake and set it on her plate. "I'm from Romanov. It was a small colony that had nothing of interest except the people who loved music and literature. It was attacked during the Dominion war. The only survivors were those of us off world for a school trip. We were all sent to live with foster families." She shrugged. "I finished school, went to college, married. My husband worked for Starfleet Intelligence. Since I studied computers, I helped him." She paused, watching her tea to see when it looked ready. "He died in the line of duty. I kept working for Starfleet and eventually decided to go through the academy." She looked up at Lily. "What about you?"

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant JG Vanya Karolyi
Data Analyst/Archivist
USS Majestic

Lieutenant Lily Marlow
ACMO
USS Majestic