Just Put it Anywhere

Posted on Fri Oct 9th, 2009 @ 7:02pm by Lieutenant Commander Mark Anderson & Captain Benjamin Byrne

Mission: They Arrive on Tuesday...
Location: XO's Quarters, USS Endeavour
Timeline: MD04, 1043

ON: [[XO's Quarters, USS Endeavour, MD04, 1043]]

James (NPC) sat sideways in the chair, PADD in hand. As he scrolled down the screen, he wondered how his father's meeting with Commander Byrne was going. He couldn't help but feel anxious about his proposal, most of which had taken him a good two days to write-up. James wanted to be thorough, but not to wordy.

The young man looked up when he heard the doorchime sound. Figuring it was just the rest of their belongings he called out, "Come in."

Lhamepha (NPC) keyed the button that would open the door, and took a step inside. She had spent enough time around humans to recognize the distinctive mixture of high-pitched child-like tones and the more bass-like notes of an adult in a young human man's voice to understand that the person who had called her in would not be the XO, but rather one of his offspring. "Hello?" she said, upon seeing the young human's face.

James looked over toward the door and was surprised to see the strange alien standing in the doorway. Getting awkwardly to his feet, he turned to face the individual and asked, "Can I help you?"

Lhamepha made sure to move her lips in an approximation of a human smile - something she had been told was comforting to young humans. "I am Ensign Kitonuh," she replied, her voice distinctive of a Selkie who had passed their amphibious stage. Though her gills were covered by the distinctive bubble-like casings which contained the ocean water that the specially-designed suit oxygenated to allow her to breath, her mouth was open to the air, as was the rest of her head above the neck. Selkies were perfectly capable of surviving out of water even in their aquatic stage of life, but their lungs had by then atrophied and become simple air sacs, meaning that they could only breath without the aid of their hydration suit for a few minutes at most. This also had the effect of making almost every word an adult Selkie spoke be fully vocalised, making full use of their voicebox, and minimal use of the passing of air between lips, or teeth. "I have brought your belongings from the Raleigh?"

"Oh...right," James said, looking around the mostly empty room, "I guess you can just put them anywhere."

"Yessir," Lhamepha replied, before moving smoothly out of the room round to where she had left their belongings in the corridor. Only a few seconds later, an anti-gravity trolley floated into the quarters, followed by its aquatic controller. Manoeuvering the trolley to a rest underneath the viewports, she quietly went to fetch the second trolley.

James stepped gingerly out of the way and watched as the cargo containers were moved into the room. The ensign was efficient in her movements and James was surprised at how quickly the transfer was accomplished.

"There you are, young sir," Lhamepha said, her task completed, and two anti-grav. units loaded with cargo sitting side-by-side by the windows. "Just tell your father to let the quartermaster know when the trolleys have been emptied, and they'll be collected from your room. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

The appearance of the officer standing before him was still distracting James a little. He had never seen someone of her species before and he still was getting used to it. In fact, he figured it would take him some time to fully be used to it. Realizing that he was staring slightly, he quickly went over to check the containers. "I think that's it," he said offhandedly, doing his best not to stare at her again.

Lhamepha smiled again at the young human, attempting to show him that she wasn't offended by his natural curiosity at her appearance. It had come to be her experience that many humans - adults included - acted a little uncomfortable around a species that didn't resemble themselves - it seemed to be a natural trait to their own species. "I'm a Selkie," she explained kindly. "My home is the planet Pacifica. It's a mostly ocean world, so my species has grown to live under water."

"Wow," was all James managed to say in reply. He'd never heard of the planet or her species, but it sounded fascinating...like something he'd enjoy reading about.

"I'd be glad to show you and your father around if we ever visit my homeworld," Lhamepha said, bowing her head slightly, "Pacifica is a popular destination for Starfleet crews on shoreleave, and I believe it is within the Eleventh Fleet's patrol area. But I must go now, I have other duties which I must attend to."

"Thank you, Ensign," James said, "I'll be sure to let my father know about returning the cargo containers."

Lhamepha bowed her head even lower, before retreating out of the room and back into the corridor, where she turned and headed to the Operations office, to see if there had been any more tasks assigned to her yet.

Once the Selkie had left, James turned his attention to the cargo containers. There were only four containers total, but James knew that they had been efficiently packed. He looked over at the chronometer and sighed. His father was probably still meeting with the commander, which meant it looked like he was going to have to get started on his own. Unlatching the cover of the first container, he opened the lid and surveyed the contents. It was time to start unpacking.

OFF

Ensign Lhamepha Kitonuh (NPC)
Operations Officer
USS Endeavour - Played by Cmdr Byrne

and

James Anderson (NPC)
XO's Son
USS Endeavour - Played by Lt. Cmdr. Anderson