LtCmdr. Talos Dakora - What's Not To Like?
Travis
((Sunset at Temtibi Lagoon - Risa))
Talos had happened to be in the right place at the right time to run into Doctor Sadar and the Artemis' new Ops Chief, Lieutenant Vailani at the scenic Temtibi Lagoon.
He'd sort of injected himself into their evening, without ever really asking, but he'd brought drinks, so he was sure they didn't mind. Besides, they were on Risa and a beautiful place like that practically demanded good company.
That said, he'd already managed to put his foot in his mouth– even if the handful of drinks he'd had before the most recent one on the beach had kept him from noticing. He forged on, mostly unfazed.
Dakora: So, how do you two know each other?
He waggled a finger between the two of them, only picking up on a sudden influx of annoyance just as the Bajoran among them began to speak.
Vailani: :: bluntly :: We both served on the Artemis. I actually nearly died but I was just a lowly ensign then, may as well have been invisible to you it seems.
Talos’ mouth opened to respond, but after a moment he closed it again. The response caught him off guard, but he was more embarrassed than offended.
He'd prided himself on knowing the name– if nothing else– of all of the Artemis' Officers during his tenure as XO. If she'd served on the Artemis before, it must've been before his reign.
Even now, he was still filling the Intelligence role after his temporary reassignment, so he hadn't been privy to her dossier.
Sadar: ::warning:: Vai-net.
The Mizarian Doctor looked like she wanted to retract within herself as she cautioned her friend. Talos continued to tread water dumbly, his arm hooked around one of the floats.
Dakora: Hey, no, it's fine. ::He made a show of smacking his head with his palm.:: I, uh, I'm sorry, I should've remembered that. I wasn't always the best at getting to know all of the crew when I was Intel Chief.
The beautiful glow of the algae and the warm tropical waters didn't make her response any less cold.
Vailani: Gila, don't you have to collect some samples?
He frowned. The sudden downturn in mood didn't sit well with him. That he'd been the one to kill the good vibes was even worse.
But he could fix it. Talos prided himself on his ability to make friends with anyone. Hells, he'd managed to win over Addison eventually. If he could do that, anything was possible.
Dakora: Look, I'm sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way. ::He flashed her a tentative smile.:: I'm happy to take it from the top, if you'd like?
But her tone remained as frigid as ever.
Vailani: :: frosty :: I'm fine. I just think we should focus on the task at hand. Can't all be cocktails and surfing and hiking.
Now that, Talos was nearly offended by. They were on leave! Why couldn't it all be surfing, cocktails and hiking? They all worked their asses off for months at a time with hardly any breaks.
He'd earned it and so had Gila and the rest of the hardworking Senior Staff. These damned workaholics were multiplying.
He was about to launch into an impassioned speech about the virtues of recreation when Gila chimed in.
Sadar: I-I’d welcome your help, Vai-net. ::scrambles for idea of how to distract her increasingly testy friend:: I-Is it possible you could gather some of the algae further that way, by those cliffs? Those would’ve been in the shade for half of the day, so I want to see whether there’s any difference to their luminescence compared to the others.
Vailani: Response
As the surly Bajoran paddled away to do as Gila had suggested, the most Mizarian of the trio edged closer to him in the water. She wore an expression of guilt like this whole thing was somehow her fault.
Sadar: P-Please don’t think ill of her, Sir. V-Vai-net is... She can be... ::searches for best word:: Testy, but she’s a brilliant officer and a good person.
He shrugged as best he could while paddling and hanging onto an inflatable float– which he’d only just realized was a cartoonish depiction of a tubby unicorn, complete with a pink mane.
Dakora: I’ll take your word for it. ::He grinned.:: Since I feel fairly certain that you won’t snap at me, I guess I’ll ask YOU how you two met.
Sadar: I was, uhh... O-One of my patients was, uhh, being... ‘Persistent’ while I was on break at the Continuum? ::fond smile:: V-Vai-net showed up and told them off for bothering me, and ended up sitting with me to ward them off. We’ve been friends since.
He laughed. It made sense, in a way. The meek doctor could definitely use a tough-older-sibling type.
Dakora: She seems like she hates a vacation almost as you…
Sadar: I can’t deny that.
With her work seemingly completed, their Bajoran friend, began making her way back over to them, possibly even reluctantly. He quickly shifted the conversation so that it wouldn’t appear the two had been talking about her behind her back.
Dakora: So, anyway, like I was saying, there’s this great little place down the coast, near the Maklau Beach Resort called Harmadu’s Paint Your Own Horg’ahns. You two should check it out! They’ll show you the traditional way of decorating and painting these great little Risian statues.
A small– slightly evil– part of him hoped that neither of them knew the significance of the Risian fertility idol. Something about the idea of Gila or her surly friend walking around with a Horg’ahn under their arm and wondering why they were being propositioned seemed utterly hilarious to him.
Vailani: Response
Sadar: Response
He swayed back and forth in the warm, tropical waters before pulling himself up and onto the pink unicorn inner-tube float. He decided to see if Vailani had cooled off any.
Dakora: You get those samples handled? ::He flashed her a wry grin.:: Leave it to Gila to find the only other person interested in sneaking a little science in on their vacation.
Vailani: Response
Sadar: Response
He raised his hands in mock surrender. Shifting on his ridiculous unicorn-innertube-throne.
Dakora: I’ve got no problem with science. ::He shrugged.:: The science of data collection and analysis was– is my bread-and-butter as an Intel Officer. But I don’t know if you’d catch me sneaking a cheeky scan of some glowing algae, just for giggles.
He realized he had probably entered the danger zone once again.
Dakora: Bu-but I’m impressed by your curiosity! Both of you!
Vailani/Sadar: Response
TBC
LtCmdr. Talos Dakora
First Officer
USS Artemis-A
O238811CD0