Ensign Gila Sadar - Different Viewpoints
Ensign Sadar
(( Holodeck 4, Deck 3, USS Artemis ))
Yalu: It’s a pleasure to meet you officially, Ensign. ::glances down at his garb:: But this is an informal social gathering. No need to stand on ceremony if you’d be more comfortable otherwise.
Gila blinked. For a moment, she feared that the Lieutenant Commander’s words should be taken as one of those dreaded ‘please break form and address me by first name’-situations that she’d had quite a few of over the past few weeks, but thankfully, it hinged on her comfortability level. That meant it was okay to ignore the allowance completely, yes? Regardless of the comfortable clothes that her superior officers had opted into for the outing, Gila remained firmly in her uniform and Yael-robe, and while she did accept the chair - with slow and deliberate movements - she didn’t quite go ‘off attention’, per se.
Silveira: It is a pleasure to be in your company again, Sada.
Yalu: Would you care for a drink, Ensign? Hiro has some Terran distilled liquor, and I’m happy to share some of my glurtch, a non-alcoholic beverage from Tiburon. Of course, the computer could replicate just about anything else you might enjoy.
Silveira: I admit I would be curious to see how you would react to this, but since I am a Tactical Officer, not a Doctor, I would advise you against it.
Jones: I also have some root beer in the cooler, if you'd like to try a non-alcoholic Earth beverage. ::to no one in particular:: It also mixes really well with whiskey.
Gila processed their many suggestions at a slower pace than was probably appropriate, twisting her anxiety ring a few times with each question posed to her. Eventually, she looked towards the Counselor.
Sadar: I, uhh… I don’t drink alcohol.
Yalu: I was never a big fan of alcohol, myself.
Silveira shrugged and took another sip from his glass, winking at her. She meant to ask him about this peculiar habit of his. Was it a tic of the nerves above the eye? Was it an OCD response? He was winking at a very disproportionate rate, and it was starting to concern her. For now, however, she vowed to at least leave her practitioner-duties behind. According to a number of fellow medical students, nothing ruins freetime like talking about work. Gila didn’t relate - at all - but she could accept that others didn’t share her love of thorough examination of the latest medical journals as a way to de-stress.
Sadar: I, uhh…
There was a mysterious fog/steam-like gaseous movement emanating from the lip of the thermos that the First Officer occasionally drank from, and yet, it didn’t seem like a heated drink. Which was a sound decision, of course, given the toasty whether simulated in the Holodeck. Gila was curious - she’d never heard of glurtch before, and she’d of course never been to Tiburon before - but the idea of ‘sharing’ with the First Officer immediately sent her reeling. Instead, she made a mental note to try it in the safety of her quarters, and turned towards the Counselor.
Sadar: I’ll try a root beer. I never tried one while on Earth.
She lifted herself slightly from her chair so her long arms could reach the cooler - after affirming with a glance that it was permissible for her to access it - and retrieved one of the beverages contained within.
Yalu: So, Ensign, I noticed in your record that you graduated from the Academy campus on Starbase 118. Did you attend any classes in San Francisco during your time as a cadet?
Sadar: I did. My first two years were actually at the Campus in San Francisco.
Jones: I spent a little time there early on, but moved to the 118 campus. It was easier to focus on studies.
Gila nodded in agreement with Lieutenant Jones.
Sadar: That’s true. A Xenology professor I wanted to study under started a research project out of Starbase 118, so I switched campuses so I could take his classes.
Silveira: The 118, that brings memories. It was my first posting… ::He shook his head and smiled. It felt so long ago.:: Had some good moments in that floating mushroom. ::He looked up and raised his finger.:: Isn’t it in that direction?
Jones: I uh ... ::looking around the skyscape:: I think it's that way.
Yalu: response
As the group of officers discussed amongst themselves in which direction the Starbase in question could be found - was it from the viewpoint of Wyoming, Earth or the Artemis’ current position? - Gila hesitantly tested out the root beer. She blinked in slight confusion and wonder as she realized that - as opposed to the eponymous ‘beer’ that she’d already tried - this beverage was sweet. She didn’t know the full range of ingredients used, but she did recognize the taste of vanilla and then something akin to the sweet sauce she'd once tried on ice cream. It was, however, carbonated, so after taking a moment to focus on resisting scrounging her face at the feeling of fizzy bubbles assaulting the roof of her throat, eyes squeezed tightly together as she did so, she took another sip. Despite the sweetness, it didn’t taste like sweets. It was an herbal kind of sweetness, refreshing without being clangy. All in all, she liked it quite a bit.
Silveira: Like I said my brother is the astronomer, not me.
Gila refocused on the conversation happening around her, the root beer still held up near her mouth as she hunched her shoulders.
Yalu: Response
Silveira: Brother from different parents. We are close friends… So close we end up calling each other that. ::Vitor frowned as they had been closer and they hadn’t spoken or written to each other in a long time. Looking to change the subject he pointed to Sada.:: You on the other hand have a proper brother, I mean, sister, right? ::he then pointed to Yalu and Jones:: And you guys, only kids like me?
Jones: I grew up an only child. I have chosen family though, and I think that counts for more sometimes.
Gila had to agree with that one.
Sadar: I do have a sister, but we didn’t really become ‘close’ until I left Mizabet. ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder’, is the appropriate Earth expression, I think. ::sips rootbeer::
Yalu: Response
Preoccupied with keeping up with the conversation happening, savoring this peculiar beverage she had been provided and ensuring that she didn’t accidentally do something incredibly dumb, Gila had completely missed the fact that a certain someone had appeared near them. Which was ironic, considering that this individual was exactly who Gila had hoped would be here in the first place.
MacKenzie: The good doctor seems to be an expert in avoiding the commanding officer – something none of you has managed to do so far.
Gila genuinely let out a small shriek as she realized that the Captain had approached them, sat down in a chair and already procured her own beverage. Scrambling to stand up from her hammock chair - and almost knocking it over in the process - she at least managed to have a firm grip on her root beer container. The only way she could possibly make this worse was to spill this sugary liquid all over her Commanding Officer.
Jones: You made it! Welcome, Cap'n!
Sadar: C-Captain! You’re here! That is, I mean, I-I’m sorry, I, uhh… ::deep breath:: oO Surely pretending that I wasn’t avoiding her is a bad call right now, right? Oo I’m sorry, I was- G-Gila Sadar, reporting… For duty…
She wanted to sink into the ground. Or be transported straight into space. Would an emergency beam out request be too extreme?
oO Can I go now? Oo
Silveira/Yalu: Responses
Gila slowly sat down, wishing she’d worn a Yael-robe one size larger so she could hide within her hood, but instead, she just lowered her face down so her eyes could focus on the beverage in her hands. Surely no one would realize that she was two shades more purple than usual in this lighting...
MacKenzie: ::pointing to the assorted drinkware:: What are we drinking?
Jones: A bit of this and that. Bourbon, root beer, glurtch.
Gila nodded in agreement, deciding that she’d said too much already.
Silveira/Yalu: Responses
MacKenzie: Any of you ever get to take in this view on Earth? There’s nothing like it – even holographic.
The Captain’s query caused Gila to raise her face upwards, to properly watch the now star speckled sky above them. It was marvelous. She recalled the first night she’d spent in the colony on Mizar IV after her departure from Mizabet. It was the first time she’d ever seen a sky so filled with stars before. This was almost comparable. A little too late, she realized that she’d never really taken the time to enjoy Earth while she was there. She’d been too focused, too occupied with proving herself, that she hadn’t truly experienced what life on an alien planet for two years had to offer.
Silveira/Yalu: Responses
Jones: I was a Chicago kid, so it was never this full a sky. Even with less light pollution than there used to be, we still have buildings that block the view somewhat.
Sadar: I never… Took the time.
Gila tried to imagine the view from her dorm room at the SanFran Academy, but all she could remember was the well-lit quad, the walk between her dorm room and the classrooms and the interior of the library building. It wasn’t until Medical at Starbase 118 she started doing things not directly related to studying, and at that point, well, the skyscape was all around you, not restrained to above.
Jones: ::to Sadar:: I've never visited the Mizar system. What are your evening skies like?
Now, that was an image that was summoned far easier to her mind.
Sadar: I grew up in Pozaron, the third largest city on the planet. The, uhh, ‘light pollution’ made it impossible to see stars at night. For a city kid, we barely notice the sky to begin with...
MacKenzie/Yalu/Silveira: Responses
Sadar: ::brief pause as she reminisces:: Mizarian cities are made almost entirely of tall skyscrapers, curved to reflect sunlight into the streets below, and made of the whitest metal you’ve ever seen. When the sun’s rays hit them from the horizon - morning or evening... ::slight sigh:: On days when it’s rained, or during mornings where the morning dew still sticks to the rises, they glimmer like… Like they were constructed out of pure rainbows.
Jones/Silveira/Yalu/MacKenzie: Response
Gila cleared her throat, visibly uncomfortable with her slight dip into nostalgia.
Sadar: A-Anyway, I didn’t see a starry sky until I, uhh… Moved to Mizar IV, and the Federation colony there. ::looking around:: Did you all grow up on Federation worlds? Is it more common to, uh… Migrate between planets while growing up?
Jones/Silveira/Yalu/MacKenzie: Response
TAG/TBC
Ensign Gila Sadar
Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1