JP - Ens Chevalier & Ens Gnai - Home, part 3
CPT Arianus
(( Quarter 0712, USS Artemis-A ))
Chevalier: Yup, exactly that one I meant. Open it.
At Ens. Chevalier’s prompting, Gnai carefully disassembled it. It put the parts to the side, fully planning to reassemble it later as soon as the pomp and circumstance of the gift-giving was finished. Ens. Chevalier might want it back, and if not, Gnai could use it to store whatever it was that he had gotten for it.
Within the box was a small cylinder, something that puzzled Gnai as it picked it up gingerly between the three fingers of its suit’s hand. It couldn’t exactly puzzle out what the thing was, but it certainly looked like some of the things that Gnai had seen in Ens. Chevalier’s room, strewn about his desk. Perhaps it was something that he had made?
Gnai: Thank you… What is this?
Jaseb watched Gnai to see how he would react, but he realized that expecting some expression was...unpremeditated…
Chevalier: It is an original Elthari oxidation filter for your suit. Self-cleaning graphene-something-something filter which breaks carbonic acid back to CO2 and water - absorbs CO2, and returns back clean oxygenated water. And filter the rest of what does not belong in clean water. Should outlast us both. ::pause:: You know, I studied the construction of your suit when I discovered you would be my roommate, and this was a thing that I thought would break the ice. You would not know, but my planet is quite … let’s say… polluted. So clean air and water are really important to maintain for survival. One of the few things we are good at. ::smiles::
A kind gesture, and a brief glimpse into a world that Gnai now knew that it would never want to visit. Galador II was perfect, there was little to no danger of contamination - the Galadorans had worked hard to make sure of that. But the thought was nice. And it supposed that if it ever needed to replace the water that it floated on while on the surface of such a polluted planet, this would come in handy.
Gnai: Oh, thank you. This will be useful if the Artemis ever goes to such a place. Did you make this?
Chevalier smiled and nodded.
Chevalier: Yea, I think this will come in handy for you, sooner or later. Even if you should visit Demon World or something similarly welcoming environment. Or if you would need to stay on the away mission for longer periods of time.
He gazed at the suit filter, visibly pondering the second part of the question.
Chevalier: Like, yes and no. I made the case housing and connectors to work with your suit systems, but the filter cloth itself is industrially made for our environmental suits. So, let’s say, like fifty percent handmade? ::blushes::
Gnai bobbed up and down in its tank, turning the filter over with the suit’s hands. Certainly useful, and very thoughtful of him. Funnily enough, Ens. Chevalier seemed to turn a bit of a different shade, much like how Gnai’s tendrils would sometimes flash with color. A rare occurrence, something that Gnai had seen a few times at the Academy, but had never really probed further into. Each instance had seemed wildly different when it had occurred. Maybe it was just a strange humanoid affectation.
Gnai: Interesting, why is your world so polluted that things like this are needed? Did your ::brief pause:: Father-Founder not think of that when settling it? When Galador was evacuated, the destination was picked out with care.
Chevalier let out a heavy sigh, his gaze fixed as though locked onto something visible only to him.
Chevalier: Progress needed for our survival as a nation, I guess? Like the planet itself is no win from the beginning. Class K. Frozen, waste rock. The only living organism now is lichen. The temperature is bone-chilling minus thirty degrees Celsius on a good day. So, if we needed to live underground or under domes from the start, it wouldn't really matter if it was going to be a bit more toxic or inhospitable outside… What else would you do with all the space that you will never use or live in?
That sounded horrible, to Gnai, filaments’ lights dimming as it pondered such a place. What sort of a wasteland did Ens. Chevalier come from?? Gnai couldn’t imagine wanting to live underground, detached from the planet’s surface. It had loved the oceans of Galador II, floating at the top of them to see out into the sky and up at the stars. Even though they had their dome cities as well on the planet, they weren’t sealed off. No, one could freely and safely travel between the city and the open ocean, and Gnai had taken much delight in doing so from time to time.
Gnai: But there are so many other planets out there, far better for humanoids to survive on?
Jaseb tilted his head and smiled.
oO That was a more valid argument than you could ever know, Gnai. But how do I describe the trap we fell into for you to understand? And where would we go anyway? Federation is on one side, Tholians on another.. Oo
Chevalier: That can be true, but it's not that simple. When we returned to the stars, at every place we could reach, we found neighbors, not a new place to call home.
That… had a sort of sense to it that Gnai guessed it could understand. The flight from Galador had been centuries ago, it had learned as it was growing up. The stories of the ancestral Galadorans and their collective mind had been passed down throughout the generations, inspiring their collaborative culture and piquing Gnai’s imagination for what else lay out in the stars.
Back then, when they had fled their doomed homeworld, there hadn’t been as much crowding as there was now, it supposed. The choice of a new world was far easier back then in the earlier galaxy, with more options available. As more species became warp-capable, more and more planets ended up being spoken for. There were still countless worlds out there that could support humanoid life, though, it thought. Surely it wouldn’t have been too hard to find a better one?
Gnai: How long ago was this?
Chevalier: Around the time my grandfather was born, so eighty-something years ago? Give or take. He died during the peacekeeping mission on Bayran, a planet in a nearby system, so I do not know much about him. ::moves fingers as he would count something:: 126 years ago if you would use our planetary calendar.
Gnai: Interesting. Such a new settlement then.
A chime sounded on a PADD in Gnai’s room, and it jumped off of the couch. Right, it had been getting ready to go on duty.
Gnai: Sorry, but the shift starts soon. It was nice to talk to you, and it’s good that you are better.
Chevalier: Yeah, no problem. I'll probably head to bed now, and then when I wake up, I'll check how many messages and PADDwork are wait…
The quarters' door swung open unexpectedly, and Petty Officer Black entered the living room, making his way to Jacob's room with a box in hand and a duffel bag on his back.
Black: ::nods to Gnai:: Hi, ensign roomie!
Interrupted mid-sentence, Jaseb watched Black the entire time until the door to his room closed behind him in disbelief. Then he turned to Gnai, motioned toward the door, and then gestured toward his own room.
Chevalier: Did you notice that my boyfriend moved in with us without even asking, or am I hallucinating?
Gnai: No… I think you’re right.
Huh. Another bunkmate. That would certainly be interesting. But enough dilly-dallying, Gnai had to make it to its shift. It left the filter on the couch, and with a wave, headed off to the science labs, ready to start work. What an interesting conversation.
THE END
--
Ensign Jaseb Chevalier
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1
&
Ensign Gnai
Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240102G11