LT Tamio K'Wara - The Flirter Veteran

[LT Tamio K'Wara]

(( Rooftop Gazebo - Ana Kersna, Rylor ))

As Starflirt Soirrées go, this one had been pretty good so far. They had gotten to put a proper face and attitude to the elusive ‘Vitor Silveira’, who they’d heard much of in their six months aboard the vessel, but had less chance to encounter, and they got to welcome Natasha to the more ‘above board’ event of socializing. Not too bad, all-in-all.

The conversation also brought more surprising information to light, such as the fact that the deceptively young-looking Vitor Silveira was, in fact, a father. A Starfleet father.

K’Wara: Must be difficult…

While Tamio was, for all intents and purposes, considered a ‘Starfleet brat’ (in colloquial terms), their father had served on the same station for their entire lifespan and was unlikely to ever leave it. It wasn’t the same as it likely was for Jonathan, whose father got reassigned every couple of years.

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.

Tamio nodded.

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.”

Tamio couldn’t exactly say Nat was wrong about that one, and they winked at her, conspiratorially.

Silveira: Your Old Man is wise.

K’Wara: ::fond smile:: He has his moments. In my case, the non-Starfleet parent was the one Quadrant-hopping every other week, so he had his work cut out for him. I’d say he did pretty well for himself. ::looks to Nat:: What about you? Family still back on Luna?

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.

That sounded like Baggage TM, and definitely not something intended for a Soirrée conversation.

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.

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.

Tamio nodded in agreement. While the concept of ‘found family’ wasn’t new or original by any means, and had a long and storied connotation especially in human culture, they did feel that Starfleet crews likely understood this more than most. As much as Tamio loved and adored their parents, their parents were sectors away, over near Gorn Space.

The crew? They were the ones they rubbed shoulders with every day.

Silveira: The ties that bind us are sometimes sewed in different ways.

K’Wara: Your crew is a second family you didn’t get to choose. So you find your own little nook in it. ::smiles over the lip of their glass:: Preferably far away from the airlock.

Silveira: In a way we are also like family. I call dibbs on being the funny uncle.

Despite their very short acquaintance, Tamio felt confident saying that this role fit Vitor to a T.

Cole: ::laughing:: I call mysterious Aunt. The one who shows up with unnerving insight, excellent gifts, and absolutely no useful explanations.

K’Wara: You’re probably more the ‘steam drum Aunt’ who rolls in with loud music, opinions and a couple of thousand knick-knacks you picked up on an exotic backpacker trip to the moons of Andor.

That mental image seemed particularly hilarious to Vitor, who tried to avoid choking on his drink.

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.

Cole: Normal is overrated and boring.

Tamio raised a glass the very second Vitor did.

Silveira: I would drink to that.

K’Wara: To definitely not being boring.

Tamio clinked their glass together with their two conversation partners, before leaning back in their seat.

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?

Silveira: You have to narrow that down… Recently? At the Academy? In each rank? In each ship? I mean… ::he frowned and shrugged:: I can quickly think of two dozen of them… It’s better if any of you goes first…

K’Wara: I didn’t think Lt. Commanders were allowed to share misdeeds with junior deckers? ::glint in their eye:: Something about ‘leading by example’?

Though, looking at Vitor Silveira, they didn’t think ‘leading by example’ was much his style. It might be a Sec/Tac thing more so than a Vitor Stone Silveira thing, though.

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.

It was not hard imagining Cadet Natasha Cole arguing with a professor. At all.

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.

K’Wara: First mistake: never underestimate the gusto of a cadet who sees a ‘No’ as a dare.

They could easily count some odd hundreds of fellow officers who had most likely counted amongst that demographic during the Academy, even from before Tamio worked there themself.

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.

oO Of course you did Oo

Tamio tried their utmost to not smile at that mental image, and failed miserably. Even as a former proctor, who made misbehaving Cadets their personal problem every other evening, the idea of the situation Nat described was hilarious.

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.

Nat seemed to look between her two senior officers, suddenly (despite the lack of uniform) seemingly remembering who it was she was talking to.

Cole: In my defense, it was for security.

Silveira: Yeah… Very thoughtful of you…

K’Wara: Not the worst thing I’ve heard a cadet get up to, and at least you just interrupted a nightcap. Downright polite of you, from my perspective.

Urged by Natasha’s story, it seemed it was now Vitor’s turn.

Silveira: I think I have a very good one… From when I was still an Ensign… The first time…

K’Wara: ::raised eyebrow:: First time?

Vitor seemed to have anticipated the question.

Silveira: Check my record and you’ll see…But when I was a young Ensign in Ops we had, as always, a situation on the border. Klingons, Romulans were at each other's throats again and we were on alert. So when your friendly Tactical officer see’s one of his comrades, Ben Livingston, chatting with an unknown officer, a rather cute one I must add, I noticed something suspicious so I barged in and joined their conversation. ::he grinned mischievously:: In my very own indiscreet way.

K’Wara: As you do.

Tamio couldn’t honestly say that they hadn’t done something exceedingly similar numerous times as an Ensign. In their defense, they were a pilot. Being a desperately needy wingman was practically in the job description. 

Cole: Response

Silveira: Well the… Ensign… or Officer wasn’t holding any clear rank pips. And due to the alertness of the situation… So I confronted her, much to Ben’s dismay… Obviously something was wrong… I mean, who could she be? A spy? An enemy? A friend? Someone with a crush on Ben? ::Vitor winked before adding another option:: All the above?

K’Wara: ::smirk:: I guess reading body language from a distance wasn’t one of your core competences in your young age? So, which was it?

Cole: Response

Silveira: No… It was Fleet Captain Idril Mar. She was paying a discreet visit to the 118 and let's say she wasn't pleased with my welcoming.... Thankfully I hadn't put her under arrest or anything more serious... You have no idea what a dress down from a Fleet Captain feel's like. Not as bad as Captain MacKenzie, but let's say I almost felt the air of the airlock...

Tamio chuckled slightly at that mental image. They hadn’t met Fleet Captain Mar personally, though they recalled seeing her on the News every once in a while back when they served on the Churchill.

Cole: Response

K’Wara: I’d need a few more drinks for that to happen.

Then, a familiar chime rang above their heads, and Tamio looked up.

K’Wara: Time for me to switch tables.

Cole/Silveira: Response

K’Wara: The Soirrées are usually set up so that every new Flirter gets paired up with a more Veteran one, who’s attended these things a couple of times at least. ::winks at the both of them:: I was your Veteran. ::stands from their seat:: It was a pleasure talking with both of you, in a more informal setting.

Cole/Silveira: Response

Tamio bowed to the two of them with a flourish and a coy smirk, before leaving the table behind to mingle with some more hapless Flirters, who needed a more experienced chaperone to guide them through the evening.

TAG/End Scene for Tamio K’Wara

(((OOC: Dipping out of this one, as I’ve got a lot of scenes running at the moment. Thanks to you both <3 It was fun! )))

LT Tamio K’Wara

Chief of Ops

USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1