[BACKSIM] Lt. Robin Hopper: If It Wasn’t For The Nights
Robin Hopper
((OOC – In an effort to finish off the last few outstanding backsims and focus on the mission, I’m pushing this scene forward in accordance with our 48/72 hour rules!))
((Amity Outpost – Beijing District, Chief of Mission's Accommodations))
Tidrid: But enough chatting, let’s get started on this fish…
Tidrid moved about the kitchen, preparing to serve their dinner. Robin, coming to her senses, put her feet back on the floor and stood up – a little wobbly – and followed the others to the dining table eagerly. As they sat, Mr. Vataix arrived at the table and placed the sizzling fish in the center of the table. A moment later, he returned with a dish of sautéed vegetables, placing it closer to Robin.
Tidrid: I heard you might appreciate a slight variation…
Hopper: Mmm… Thank you so much. ::Glancing at the fish:: That jumper does look amazing, though. ::To Richards:: There you go, another unconventional art form!
Wong: It smells fantastic! Thank you for this wonderful meal.
Richards: Agreed. Thank you. ::taking a deep breath:: Reminds me of home, strangely enough.
Vataix/Tidrid: Response
As they all tucked into their dinners, Robin could barely contain her joy. After three weeks of eating cold replicated fare on a transport, the hot flavorful sautée was simply divine. It was going to be difficult to pace herself. In an effort to do so, she took a sip of Ikaia’s contribution. The wine paired remarkably well with the meal, considering one typically paired a white with fish or veggies.
Hopper: ::Trying not to talk with her mouth full:: This is lovely. Mmm. Words can’t express.
Wong: The fish is to die for! Compliments to the chef!
Richards: It’s nice to have a home-cooked meal. ::smiling:: It’s been a while.
Vataix/Tidrid: Response
There was another short quiet as everyone enjoyed their meal. A few bites in now, and feeling a small surge of energy, Robin asked a question she’d had on her mind since arriving.
Hopper: I’d love to know more about the goings-on here on Amity. I feel like I learned a lot today already, but surely there is so much more happening. I keep hearing murmurings about noble Betazoids and upcoming birthday parties… What’s everyone up to?
Wong: Oh ah! Yeah! It’s my birthday recently. I was planning with Iko to throw a bit of a birthday celebration for not just her’s and mine, but we’re also going to combine it with the Wils.
Richards: A great, big, birthday bash, huh? That sounds like fun!
Vataix/Tidrid: Response
She listened intently, soaking in the news while stacking slices of mushroom, asparagus, and pepper to skewer with her fork.
Hopper: Well, with a station this size I can only imagine there’s always more going on than one person can keep track of! ::A glance to Nathan:: Oh, you should tell them about the progress we made today on your shuttle!
As Nathan choked on his food for a moment, Robin wondered if she ought not to have brought it up – oO But wasn’t it Ambassador Vataix who sanctioned the project in the first place…? Oo She looked at the Engineer, concerned and bemused, as he composed himself.
Wong: You’ve been working on a shuttle, huh? Do tell us about it, Nathan!
Vataix/Tidrid: Response
He took another drink of his water before speaking.
Richards: Well, I have most of the systems installed and ready to go, and thanks to Robin ::glancing quickly at Hopper:: we have figured out a way for everything to work together. There is obviously still a lot of work to do before she takes off, ::smiling:: but we are headed in the right direction!
She blinked, still a little startled by his initial reaction, before getting back into the flow of the conversation.
Hopper: Oh, uh, yes. My method might be a little bit ‘backwards’ by the standards of a proper computer engineer – but we’ve essentially ‘tricked’ the ship’s systems into playing nicely with each other. I do think we might want to get someone from Ops to take a look at it before, you know, sending into space or anything.
Wong: So how did you come across this shuttle? I think Mister Tidrid knows a thing or two about them. Actually way more than just a thing or two.
Richards: Tidrid and I actually chatted a bit about it before you guys showed up. ::lightly tapping his fork on his plate:: As for how I found it… ::looking at Wong:: remember when you told me I needed to be in my quarters resting? I was out…wandering around…and stumbled upon it down in the Cellar.
Robin noted the look between Richards and Wong. oO So that explains it… Yes, I see that Kivik was right. He is a scamp! Oo Rather than say anything, she watched Richards squirm with a little bit of guilty pleasure as she skewered a slice of herbed potato and chewed it, smiling.
Vataix/Tidrid: Response
Wong: That reminds me, I really need to take you up on flying lessons, Mister Tidrid.
Vataix/Tidrid: Response
Hopper: ::Looking around at everyone else’s plates:: Well everyone seems to be enjoying the fish as much as I’m enjoying my stir fry. First Gentleman, shuttle pilot, caring father, and a cook to boot! ::Jokingly to Rivi:: Is there anything Tidrid can’t do?
Wong: Hmmm! Reminds me of some of the things I caught back home. I used to do a lot of fishing back home on the islands.
Vataix/Tidrid: Response
Hopper: It’s a shame we never got over to Hawaii during our time at the Academy. I mean, California was lovely – but from what I’ve heard, the islands are basically a paradise.
Richards: I always wanted to visit Hawaii. Never got the chance to.
Wong: Response
Vataix/Tidrid: Response
Hopper: ::Bumping Ikaia with her elbow:: You’ll have to take me there some time during shore leave. I could finally meet your family!
She looked around the table, noting a strange fleeting look on Richards’ face. She kept getting the feeling that she was setting him on edge, but she couldn’t quite place it – was it the shuttle thing?
Richards: So, how did you guys end up meeting at the Academy?
Hopper: Ooooh… Let’s see. I think we technically met through a mutual friend, Alieth – oh, I should say Lieutenant Commander Alieth, now. These two were going through Starfleet Medical and I was finishing up my PhD through the Science Division. We had a few overlapping classes, as well. ::To Ikaia:: Am I forgetting anything?
Wong: Response
The trio had met often throughout their time at the Academy, though both Ikaia and Robin had always been closer with their mutual friend, Alieth, than with each other. Looking back on it, Robin wasn’t sure why that was exactly. Wong seemed like such a sweet fun guy, who was obviously very dedicated to his friends and his career. Robin shared that mentality.
Vataix/Tidrid: Response
Richards: ::Smiling:: It’s good to have long running and lasting friendships.
Wong: Response
Hopper: Totally! Actually, I’m really glad Ikaia and I were able to reconnect here. ::Patting Ikaia’s hand:: I’m considering it an unexpected bonus of transferring to Amity!
Vataix/Tidrid/Richards/Wong: Response
Hopper: Oh, I started asking Ikaia earlier – is there anywhere to go dancing here on Amity? I heard there’s a karaoke bar, which sounds amazing, but I’ve barely had a chance to take in the sights yet. ::With a glance to Richards:: But I’d love for someone to show me around.
She took another sip of wine, deciding she had thus far paced herself adequately to avoid passing out face-first in her stir fry. She wasn’t sure if it was her exhaustion or the wine or just the setting of the meal, but she was finding Nathan strangely hard to ‘read’... Earlier in the shuttle he’d seemed so playful. Here he struck her as much more reserved.
Taking a questionable second sip of wine, she decided to chalk it up to nerves over having a meal with so many superior officers. She remembered the first time her previous division chief had invited her to dinner at her quarters, she’d practically checked herself into sickbay. As an Ensign, dinner with your CO was practically unheard of.
Whatever the case, she looked forward to seeing him again tomorrow to continue their work on the shuttle. Hopefully whatever his hang-up was this evening, it wouldn’t carry forward.
Vataix/Tidrid/Richards/Wong: Response
Hopper: ::Laughing:: Well, I’m up for seeing everything eventually! But you know, one place at a time. Like I said, it’s a big station… As for tonight, I have to admit I’m looking forward to going back to my hotel room and having a proper rest in a bed with an above-standard-issue mattress.
Now she was fantasizing about sleep… Perhaps the wine had been a mistake after all. She leaned her head, absent-mindedly on Ikaia’s shoulder again as the others continued talking. Slowly picking away at the last few morsels on her plate, she wondered if there would be a dessert – and if there was, whether or not she could eat it without slipping into a food-induced coma.
oO At least we’ve got the CMO here… Oo
Vataix/Tidrid/Richards/Wong: Response
Hopper: ::Getting more visibly sleepy:: I’d love to know more about all of you as well… How you got here, where you’re from. You all seem like such interesting people.
oO SOS! Red alert! Stop drinking! Oo
Vataix/Tidrid/Richards/Wong: Response
((OOC Note – We can continue to backsim here if y’all want, but I’m going to flash forward to close off Robin’s scene here!))
((Later that night, Talaxi Palms Hotel – Hopper’s Room))
The rest of the evening felt like a bit of a blur. Between her already-exhausted state going into the dinner, the large nutrient-dense meal, and the wine… Robin felt nearly ready to crawl into bed and hibernate for a month. Only she knew that tomorrow would be just as busy – perhaps moreso. Not only was there a meeting to discuss the ongoing ‘Ukinix’ situation, and another afternoon of working on Richards’ shuttle project – there was also an upcoming mission to attend to with a mountain of notes on planetary habitability to sift through.
As the door slid shut behind her, she kicked off her shoes and walked over to the azure-colored travel case she had brought with her aboard the shuttle from the Alpha Quadrant. She patted it lovingly, before unlatching it and opening it, revealing a vintage 20th-Century Crosley turntable – a genuine artifact of Pre-World-War-III technology and one of her most prized possessions. She flipped briefly through her catalog of records, replicated from a stored portable pattern buffer, and pulled out ABBA’s 1979 album, Voulez-Vous.
Sliding the vinyl record from its cardboard sleeve, she placed it on the turntable and activated the mechanism. The arm swung, automated, to pick up at the last place she had been listening…
Does your mother know that you're out?
Well, I can dance with you, honey, if you think it's funny
Does your mother know that you're out?
And I can chat with you, baby, flirt a little maybe…
As the end of ‘Does Your Mother Know’ faded out, Robin smiled. Somehow ABBA always managed to be improbably-appropriate, no matter what mood she was in or what life was throwing at her. There was something beautiful to her about the subtle melancholy, blended with good humour, into the energetic and bouncy disco trappings of their music that just resonated with her. The music was deep – deeper certainly than most people would give them credit for.
I got appointments, work I have to do
Keeping me so busy all the day through
They're the things that keep me from thinking of you
Oh, baby, I miss you so, I know I'm never gonna make it…
Shimmying to the bathroom, she removed her makeup and changed from her dress into a soft oversized t-shirt for bed. Finally, as the song was winding down, she crossed the room to her beloved Stromanthe Triostar and deactivated its ultraviolet grow light. The room grew dark.
Somehow I'd be doing alright if it wasn't for the nights
(If it wasn't for the nights I think that I could make it)
I'd have courage left to fight if it wasn't for the nights
(If it wasn't for the nights I think that I could take it)
How I fear the time when shadows start to fall
Sitting here alone and staring at the wall
Even I could see a light if it wasn't for the nights…
As the song finally ended, she turned off the record player and crawled into bed. After years aboard the Wall Street and weeks aboard the QSD transport, the king-sized hotel bed felt as though it stretched forever. As exhaustion finally overtook her, and she began to fall into sleep, she felt as though the sheets were giving way, engulfing her in the darkness – a cozy, comforting, but lonely dreamscape.
END Scene for Hopper
