[JP] LT JG Roy Bancroft & PNPC LT JG Charlotte Brexis - You've Got an Acquaintance in Me (Part 2)
Samantha Richards
(( Main Mess Hall – Deck 3, USS Artemis-A ))
The first thing Charlotte thought about as they entered the mess hall, was how hungry she was.
Bancroft: ::hastily:: And here we are – the mess hall! Seating over here, replicators over there. They serve… food. You know how replicators work. ::beat:: This concludes your wildly informative tour of the USS Artemis-A. Please watch your step as you exit the ride, and enjoy the rest of your non-date.
Brexis: No sir, while this isn’t a date, we can still sit and eat something. As friends. ::beat:: or begrudged acquaintances. I’ll treat you the same either way.
It was a fair point. As desperate as Roy was to disappear into the nearest jeffries tube, even he had to admit that trying to abandon her this hastily had probably veered too far into the ‘impolite’ category.
The two moved toward the replicator. Charlotte ordered an array of snacks that in no way constituted a meal, but she called it that anyway.
Proudly, she turned to Roy holding the tray, overflowing with a menagerie of chocolate, french fries and a large uttaberry juice to wash it down with.
Brexis: Before you judge me, you must know it takes a delicate balance of junk food, working out and a dash of wrecklessness to maintain this body.
Bancroft: ::eyeing the uttaberry juice:: Those poor, brave little antioxidants. They have no idea what they’re walking into. I look forward to witnessing this – It’s not every day I get to see a juice file for medical asylum, after all.
Charlotte shook her head in amusement because all she heard was, “Good job picking a healthy drink”.
Roy keyed in one of his usuals: grilled chicken over quinoa, asparagus on the side. Predictable. Balanced. Something in his life had to be, after all.
They carried their respective culinary philosophies across the mess hall, settling at a two-top near one of the broad viewports that dominated the room. Outside, Ferenginar swirled with stormy indifference, lightning threading lazily through layers of brooding cloud cover.
Bancroft: ::spearing a piece of chicken:: So tell me, Lieutenant Charlotte Brexis… aside from the high-fructose bravado on display, what actually makes you tick? Hobbies? Secret obsessions? Things you do when you’re not busy trying to short-circuit poor, unsuspecting medical officers?
He took a bite and chewed with practiced calm, letting the steady neutrality of grilled chicken center him. It was comfort food in the most literal sense – predictable, unassuming, and nearly immune to chaos. A stark contrast to his current dining companion, whose entire personality seemed engineered to upend calm wherever she found it.
Brexis: I think it’s safe to assume none of my obsessions are a secret. ::unwrapping a piece of chocolate:: When I am not brushing up on my hand-to-hand combat, I like the water. Swimming, paddleboarding, cliff jumping. That sort of thing. ::Taking a bite:: I like to go fast and I will try anything once. ::beat:: Twice to be sure.
Bancroft: ::unsurprised nodding:: Yep, that tracks. ::beat:: And what drew you to Starfleet? Family history? A MacKenzieBot recruiting holo? Or was it more of a ‘woke up one day and wanted to see the stars’ situation?
There it was. One of the questions she hated the most. Family. It wasn’t that she wasn’t okay talking about it, but it opened the door for people to feel sorry for her. She didn’t love that. She spent plenty of her younger years doing that for herself.
Her tone shifted ever so slightly.
Brexis: Starfleet was my way of finding my place and my purpose. ::Looking down at her tray:: When your family dies, you tend to find that connection somewhere else. Starfleet offered that for me. ::Shifting her eyes back up to Roy:: Nothing helps an angry orphaned child like the love and structure found in an organization like Starfleet.
Charlotte let out a dry chuckle and shrugged.
Brexis: Not to put a damper on our not-date. ::Leaning forward:: Your turn. Tell me about you. I am giving you the honor of being my first friend here. I need to know all the nitty gritty details.
Roy inhaled deeply, held it, then let it out again slowly, the weight of her words landing with more impact than she’d probably intended. He hadn’t expected her to go there – not so soon, anyway. And yet… she had. Armor off, finally. Just like that.
He set his fork down, not dramatically, but deliberately. His eyes didn’t leave hers.
Bancroft: ::half-smile, holding up a finger:: Ah – let’s not get carried away. Acquaintances. Friendship requires at least three shared traumatic experiences.
There was no bite to his words – just warmth, offered with a wry smile and subtle note of respect.
He considered her for a moment longer before continuing, quieter now.
Bancroft: Dead parents. Bad parents. You’re welcome to join the club – we meet on Tuesdays. Mine are both, regrettably, still alive. I know that’s an indelicate thing to say, considering, but… meet them and I guarantee you’ll understand.
He didn’t laugh. He didn’t need to. The humor wasn’t a punchline, just a small buffer.
Brexis: ::Softly:: Do we get cool jackets? The bad/dead parents club should have cool jackets.
Charlotte’s guard tended to be her bravado and an upsetting amount of self confidence with a dash of humor in situations humor shouldn’t exist. Thankfully Roy didn’t seem to mind on any of those fronts.
Outside the viewport, a flash of lightning lit up Feringinar’s clouds like a heart beating through cracked ribs. He picked up his fork again, stared at his chicken like it might offer him a script, then finally spoke again.
Bancroft: You asked a question. ::sighing:: I genuinely love being a doctor. Always have. Unfortunate coincidence – my mother’s one, too. A brilliant one. So there were no gentle nudges growing up. Just clearly marked lines you didn’t dare fall short of. Meeting the bar of ‘exceptional’ was… assumed. Failure wasn’t discussed. Starfleet offered me the chance to set my own goalposts. ::beat:: Still working on that part.
Brexis: If it helps at all, you seem like a well rounded doctor. It’s not an easy thing to be. Don’t let the cloud of your parents' expectations take away your sunshine. ::Giving him a warm smile:: Everyone deserves light. Even the ones who were taught otherwise.
It wasn’t often that she genuinely tried to make someone feel better without taking off her shirt or dancing on a table. But the silence from Roy’s mind made her want to hear him. Really hear him, not by intruding on his mind, but asking questions and being real.
Bancroft: ::pointing his fork at her:: That may be the first motivational speech I’ve heard that didn’t make me want to walk out an airlock. So… thanks. I think.
There was a lopsided kind of warmth in his expression. Cautious. Like he was testing the temperature of this new trust.
Brexis: I think this counts as at least one traumatic experience. Trauma bonding at its finest. Just two more and you can officially classify me as a friend.
A silence settled between the two. A quiet understanding between two acquaintances. If Charlotte wasn’t mistaken, she had already told the doctor more in the short time they had sat at the table than to any Starfleet counselor over the last few years. It was eye opening and a bit frustrating.
Brexis: If you repeat anything I said to anyone, I will cut you. On a typical day I have at least one thing on my person that will cut you.
He laughed, then stopped abruptly as the realization dawned that there was a non-zero chance she wasn’t kidding.
Bancroft: Right. Noted.
Her eyes shifted towards the viewport, watching intently at the storm raging below.
Brexis: I get the feeling you don’t do fun very often. ::beat:: If ever. ::pointing towards Ferenginar:: Do you gamble?
Bancroft: ::tilting his head, dryly:: Only with my career, my body – missions only, it’s never popular – and my sleep schedule. Actual gambling? No.
That tracked.
Brexis: Okay. Low risk kinda guy. ::nodding to herself, then smirking in his direction:: Let’s go.
Roy stopped chewing midway through his last bite of chicken, then swallowed cautiously.
Bancroft: ::arching an eyebrow:: I just did a hearing test on you. Did I miss–
Brexis: Not gambling. But you are going to let your hair down and do something… different.
Bancroft: ::sniffing:: Of course. The natural next step after trauma bonding and uttaberry juice – spontaneity. Excellent.
She stood up and made her way around the table to him, grabbing him firmly on the shoulders and giving him a shake.
Brexis: Stop. Just go with the flow. We’re going dancing. ::letting her hands fall from his shoulders and onto her hips:: In the rain.
Roy shot her a cautious grin.
Bancroft: As friends?
Brexis: Nope. Acquaintances. I don’t even know if I like you yet.
End Scene
===
Lieutenant JG Roy Bancroft
Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240205RB1
And
Lieutenant JG Charlotte Brexis
Strategic Operations Officer
USS Artemis-A
As simmed by:
Samantha Richards
Civilian Scientist
((OOC RANK: Lieutenant JG))
USS ARTEMIS-A
A240103SR3