LtJG Gila Sadar - As far as greetings go? The Standard Degree of Emotional Trauma.
Gila Sadar
((Docking Port 06 - Deep Space Nine))
Gila wasn’t the type to ‘get out’. She could probably count on one hand the amount of times she’d actually gotten off of the Ship in the time since she’d joined, and most of them had been on her very first shore leave. She’d literally only gone down to Betazed for the award ceremony, so - in the spirit of this ‘prolonged shore leave’ following the longest day ever - she found herself in an unrelated Docking Port on DS9, looking upon a medium-sized commercial freighter, slated to take its passengers on a small cruise through the Bajoran Wormhole, and into the Gamma Quadrant.
Child: I don’t want to go in the wormy-hole! That’s scary!
oO A fair assessment… A positive indication of the presence of base self-preservationist instincts. Oo
Mother: It’s a wormhole Avhan, and it’s okay to be afraid. But we can’t let our fear keep us from exploring. You are safe with me.
Gila took a deep breath, her growing anxieties tempered slightly by the mother’s words. Exploration. The core purpose at the very foundation of what the Federation was built on, and one that - in her humble opinion - the Artemis had done precious little of between being assailed by Suliban pirates, war criminals from another universe and time-travelling dimension-hopping Qs. Thusly, she had been positively surprised when she’d seen a ship-wide invite from Lieutenant Commander Dakora, revealing this opportunity for getting back to the roots of why the idea of Starfleet service actually appealed to her in the first place.
You know, beyond the whole ‘in shameful exile’-thing…
Last time the Lieutenant Commander had extended an invitation like this, it had been surfing on Ferasa, so this was altogether a more palatable suggestion. That didn’t mean that Gila relished the idea of openly greeting her senior officer without a well-formulated plan of attack, and thus, Gila bided her time at a distance, as she noted that a Vulcan - Ensign Savel? It was so hard to tell without the uniforms… The concept of ‘casual dress’ was really quite frustrating.
Of course, Gila still felt like a towering example of clumsy spectacle, as the only Mizarian in the queue - and likely on the station, considering the seclusionist tendencies of her people - and her incredibly stupid and entirely logical decision to waive the uniform and instead dress in her more demure juniper green Yael-robe only made her all-the-more uncomfortable...
Dakora: Mister Savel. ::He beamed.:: I was wondering if anyone from the Artemis was going to take me up on this offer.
Savel: You can cease your wondering, Commander, I have indeed arrived to join you on this tour.
Dakora: I see. ::He shrugged.:: I’ve never had a chance to make it to the Gamma Quadrant and since we were right here, on leave, I figured I had no excuse. Besides, I hear this NGB Tours outfit is the real deal. I hear they've even got exclusive access to some of the yet-uncharted areas.
Savel: Should that be true, then this will be a very intriguing tour indeed.
That was indeed an intriguing concept. Between the presence of the vessels in the Gamma Flotilla Expeditionary Task Force - and the diplomatic relations with the United Dominion of Planets (equal parts promising and strenuous) - she doubted that such a license came cheap. A short hiss from the docking port hatch made every passenger in the queue stand slightly more at attention - as much as civilians did so - and a Bolian stepped through to start guiding everyone through. As the line dwindled down and passengers boarded, the line shuffled forward.
Dakora: I wonder if anyone else from the Artie is going to make it?
Savel: I am unsure. I have not spoken to anyone about his particular trip. There could be any number of additional companions or we could be the only two to partake.
oO Please let there be more than just the three of us… No, wait, scratch that. Whenever I think stuff like this, the Captain finds a way to inject herself into the day. Oo
Almost as if to ensure that Addison MacKenzie - a very respected senior officer, to be sure, but still incredibly terrifying - hadn't suddenly appeared behind her while her attention had been elsewhere, Gila did a full turn, sufficiently alienating the, well, aliens behind her.
Thankfully, no such event had occurred.
Any: Response
Savel: It is possible that others are nervous about joining the two of us in a shuttle given how our last flight together ended. An illogical fear, to be sure, but most of them are.
Their last flight…?
Dakora/Any: Response
Savel: Very well, I will not bring that up here. Besides, it is safe to assume that we will not be chased and shot at by the Dominion. A tourist ship is not their normal target of choice.
The sensible child with the well-functioning self-preservation instinct overheard these comments, and immediately demonstrated - once more - why he was most certainly one of the most relatable individuals Gila had encountered in her time since leaving her home planet.
Child: Moooom! What is that man talking about? Are we really gonna get shooted at?
Mother: Of course not, Avhan. He doesn't know what he's talking about. I promise, we'll be totally fine. Like I said, you'll always be safe with me.
Dakora: Response
Those words seemed to calm Avhan, but a more than noticeable distance had manifested itself between him and the two Starfleet officers slightly ahead in the queue.
A not uncommon reaction to the Vulcan concept of subtlety, in Gila’s experience.
Savel: Commander, I would suggest that we not sit close to them when it is our turn to board. I believe the reasons are obvious.
Dakora/Any: Response
The line continued on once more, funneling Lieutenant Commander Dakora and Ensign Savel through first, then Avhan and his mother next. Gila felt her anxiety start to peak, as she realized that she’d soon be trapped in a commercial freighter, likely within view of the Lieutenant Commander, and she’d yet to have prepared a suitable excuse for why she hadn’t introduced herself yet…
Her mind started racing. Should she pretend she hadn’t seen them? No, the invite was ship-wide - it was illogical that she’d have missed the fact that the Lieutenant Commander was here, especially since she was relatively close to them in terms of placement in the queue. Should she exit the queue now so she could re enter it at the back? That way, she could use distance as a good excuse? But what of punctuality? Wouldn’t it be improper for her to showcase tardiness, especially after she’d already made a good case against the inadequacies as an Officer during the mission and the subsequent failure to convince the Lieutenant Commander of the need for her resignation? What if-
Bolian Freighter Crewman: Sorry Miss, you’re holding up the li-
Gila jumped, realizing that there was no protective barrier between her and the Bolian a few paces ahead, and she hurriedly moved forward, eager to not pose an issue to the queue of angry aliens forming behind her - who knew if any of them were xenovores - was that a word? - when the worst possible outcome of all occurred…
She tripped.
And it wasn’t in the ‘Oops, I skipped a step and almost stumbled to my knees’ kind of tripped. It was the ‘fully kicked my bloody foot into the raised step between the docking hatch and the freighter and went flying forward’ kind of tripped… Whose idea was it for the hatches to have a raised step in the first place!? Cardassian Engineers had questionable design ideas, and Gila’d very much like to take that up with them…
Thankfully, an individual hadn’t yet gone far enough into the freighter, and colliding with them stopped Gila from repeating prior successes with inflicting bodily harm upon herself through a failure to adhere to suitable safety standards when walking.
Sadar: ::groans:: S-Sorry…
Dakora/Savel/Any: Response
oO This is… The worst possible outcome! Oo
Gila struggled to find the words to express just how sorry she was, so instead she just stood there, stuttering gibberish while twisting her obsidian ring a few too many times for it to be inconspicuous.
Sadar: R-R-Right, o-of course, sorry, that was- uhh… ::swallows:: I’ll be more careful.
Dakora/Savel/Any: Response
Sadar: Oh, I’m-
Bolian Freighter Crewman: You’re holding up the line.
Gila’s face went a noticeable shade of deeper purple, as she skittered slightly forward, following the group further into the freighter, so they didn’t worsen the congestion by the hatch.
Dakora/Savel/Any: Response
TAGS/TBC
LtJG Gila Sadar
Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1