Lt. JG Natasha Cole - The Company We Keep
Natasha Schell
Silveira: Well, my parents run a medium size trade company with it’s own ships. Paternal grandparents are retired on Earth and Maternal grandparents are retired on Risa. ::He winked as he leaned forward.:: Yes I grew up between Earth and Risa. You all know my significant other Nan… And only close ones missing are Thera and Jonathan. ::He smiled as he spoke their names.:: Thera and I had a relationship, back when we were in Ops. Jonathan is our son.
K’Wara: You have a child? ::examines:: I never would have guessed.
Cole: You really do save the interesting details for dramatic effect, don’t you?
Natasha leaned back in her chair, brows lifting as if recalibrating her entire read of him, then flagged down the attendant for another round. As she did Vitor opened his arms theatrically, and winked.
Silveira: What can I say? I am predictable.
Tamio nodded along with the story, giving it serious thought.
K’Wara: Must be difficult...
Cole: I’m guessing there’s no version of that where the timing ever feels ideal. Still… sounds like the kind of complication that matters.
Silveira: It is, and the proof of that is the fact our relationship didn’t work out. But we are friends and we have something in common that we both love. I am not saying it isn’t possible to work around that, but with the dangers we face I am not willing to risk having Jonathan here.
K’Wara: True. My old man always said “ship service is for when you’re young and adventurous - station life is for when you’re ready to settle down and be an adult.” Don't know if that's true yet.
Cole: ::smirking into her drink:: That sounds like parental code for “go be adventurous, just not so adventurous I can’t keep tabs on you.”
Vitor had sipped his drink before replying to Tamio.
Silveira: Your Old Man is wise.
K’Wara: Response
Cole: My family’s... complicated. ::half-smile:: Some of them are easy. My mom, Juno, Aunt Rea in her own deeply mysterious way. Others require a little more emotional hazard pay and stronger drinks.
She traced a fingertip around the rim of her glass before looking back up.
Cole: Still, I’ve learned that who shows up for you matters a lot more than who thinks they’re entitled to the title.
Silveira: That’s very true, on both accounts.
K’Wara: Response
She gave a small half-shrug, then looked between the two of them as if trusting them with a truth she didn’t hand out lightly.
Cole: I guess I’ve stopped measuring family strictly by blood. Some of the people who’ve shown up for me the most had no obligation to which, honestly, makes it mean more.
Silveira: The ties that bind us are sometimes sewed in different ways.
K’Wara: Response
Even though the conversation had drifted into heavier topic territory, Nat was still enjoying herself, and she was noticeably less nervous about this new experience.
Silveira: In a way we are also like family. I call dibbs on being the funny uncle.
Cole: ::laughing:: I call mysterious Aunt. The one who shows up with unnerving insight, excellent gifts, and absolutely no useful explanations.
Somewhere between the rounds of drinks and the unexpected honesty, Natasha realized her shoulders had finally loosened. The evening no longer felt like a social test. It felt like company.
K’Wara: Response
Vitor laughed and gestured for another drink, Nat gestured as well.
Silveira: Sorry, I was just picturing that. You have no idea how chaotic my mind can be.
Even in… ::He raised his fingers making the “air quotes”:: normal circumstances.
Natasha giggled at the idea of Vitor having a chaotic mind. The sound came easier than she expected, lighter than it had at the start of the evening.
Cole: Normal is overrated and boring.
K’Wara: Response
Silveira: I would drink to that.
Nat raised her glass to meet the raised glasses, clinking them and taking a drink. She was feeling
Cole: ::swirling her drink, eyes flicking between them:: All right then… What's the wildest thing you’ve ever done that would sound deeply ill-advised in an official report, but makes for a great story over drinks?
K’Wara/Silveira: Response
Cole: ::laughing softly:: Alright, fine. Since I asked. Second year at the Academy, I got into an argument with an instructor about a blind spot in one of the exterior security sweeps.
She let that sit for a beat, smile sharpening as she remembered it.
Cole: He was very sure no cadet could get from the roof access to the maintenance ledge outside Huxley Hall without tripping the sensors. I was very sure he was wrong.
She took another sip, clearly enjoying where this was going.
Cole: So I borrowed climbing gear, waited until after curfew, crossed three stories of exterior plating in the rain, and tapped on his office window at oh-two-hundred just to prove the point.
A pause.
Cole: He gave me demerits. ::beat, then with a smug little smile:: But he also recalibrated the whole sweep grid the next morning, so I maintain that I was right.
She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, smiling just shy of innocence.
Cole: In my defense, it was for security.
K’Wara/Silveira: Response
Tags/TBC
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Lt. JG Natasha Cole
Security Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240205NC4