Ensign Morro Caras - "polite dinner conversation"
Morro Caras
((Senior Officer’s Mess, Deck 2, U.S.S. Octavia E. Butler))
Promontory: Well, (beat) we all come from somewhere!
Lahl: Oh yeah, there’s no one single way to be here.
Nis: We're sorry to hear how rough that must have been for you and your sister.
Caras: Ah yes, I didn’t mean to make it sound so grave. I’m honestly very glad to be here and glad to have the vocation that I do have.
Promontory: We’re glad to have you. (looking around) All of you. I’ve read the mission reports and I’m very impressed with your first showing. Fine additions to the crew all around!
Lahl: Thank you sir.
Nis: We just did our job.
But she smiled pridefully and blushed a little.
Caras: What about you Commander? Why did the Captain tell you she picked you as her first officer?
Caras was hoping that was an appropriate question to ask. He actually didn’t even know why they were here. He had assumed that it was a “getting to know you better” kind of scenario and not that they had been picked for some secret mission. If it was, Promontory had learned that Caras required way too many calories and might not be great on survival missions.
Promontory: (nodding solemnly) I believe it was because of my great hair.
That surprised Caras for a moment. Promontory’s hair was good, but was it good enough to give him command? It was probably true that if someone with Promontory’s hair came up to Morro on a battlefield and said “come with me if you want to live” he’d follow that hair anywhere. The solemn nod is what threw Caras off. It took a good six seconds to realize that the first officer was joking. Morro stifled a giggle.
Lahl: How very droll Commander.
Nis: It is really great. Wait, is that really why you . . . Starfleet doesn't really promote based on hair right?
Morro was glad he and the doctor were on the same wavelength.
Caras: No, he’d be a Vice admiral by now.
Promontory: So… anyone have any big plans for Port Coray or Deep Space 14? You got to enjoy your leave while you can.
Lahl: I’m sure my time on Port Coray will be uneventful. For Deep Space 14, I’m hoping to get some work in on Parrises Squares.
Caras nearly gasped at Lahl being so dismissive about Port Coray. There were all kinds of things to see and interesting people to meet. Maybe he wouldn’t ask her to the night market he was planning on sneaking off to. oOParrises Squares, I had no idea Lahl was attuned to that level of sportOo
Nis: Oh, we'd love to, but we keep getting dragged into medical emergencies. The Butler goes hard, shore leave or not. We'd love to see Deep Space 14, though. The arboretum sounds wonderful, and I've been wanting to try the food at Souv-lucky Day.
Caras wondered what that was, and noted that he might have to try it.
Lahl: Response
Caras: I plan on hitting the Port nightlife. Hoping to pick up the local dance moves and try the drinks and fare. What about you sir?
Promontory: I took out the Gamma Flyer with Roger Hartmann—we just had to give this ring another buzz and see how it compared to Denali Station.
Caras watched as Nis and Lahl reached for some cheeses at the same time. He wondered if they had some kind of link.
Lahl: That sounds interesting.
Caras: Lieutenant Cabrillo mentioned the Denali Invitational when we were on duty last. Hope it can still keep up. This ring certainly seems… rustic
Nis: What is it like? We heard they needed Starfleet's help keeping the tech going.
Lahl: At the very least, from my time on the ring, it seemed very advanced, and very, very, old.
Nis: One of Nis's former hosts was an archaeologist, and I think she'd say the technical term for its age was 'old as balls.'
Caras: ::snort:: that is certainly one way to put it.
A crude way, but it reminded him of what the senior engineers would say on most of the ships he found himself on. Lahl truly was an old soul.
Promontory: Response
Lahl: What is your plan for Port Coray or DS14 Commander? Anything fun?
Promontory: Response
Caras: a novel pursuit
Nis: If you do get the chance, let us know and we'd love to come along. Unless anyone gets hurt in Port Coray. Then we'll be . . . on the ship, probably. Please don't get hurt on Port Coray.
Caras felt a little sorry for Nis. Since she’d been on the ship she’d been worked to the bone. He hoped that they would get a reprieve in medical. He made a note not to do anything too careless.
((OOC: He in fact, would go on to do the opposite))
Lahl: I see, makes sense. New question for the group, what is everyone’s family situations? If you’re willing to share. I have one brother.
Nis: Is he joined?
Lahl: Response
Nis: My brothers aren't--they're kind of jealous, but usually in a playful way. They've always been playful, like that time they locked me in the basement for three hours. Very playful. :: She glanced at the table, resentful at the memory of slamming her fists against the basement door while they flickered the lights and shouted about ghosts down there :: Anyway, we're pretty middle class. Nis has had a couple of hosts who were, like, really rich, but not us. We're normal.
Caras: My sister and I haven’t spoken since I graduated from the academy. She’s also very dodgy with wherever she is. She’s probably getting into trouble somewhere in the alpha quadrant.Our situation was abnormal, but I believe as far as siblings go, we’re pretty normal.
Morro knew they were fairly normal Orion siblings, but he didn’t know what that meant. Perhaps the relationships of other cultures treated them far differently. He was certain in that actually. A pair of Orion siblings did not act like a pair of Vulcan siblings.
Promontory: Response
Nis: Oh, we didn't mean other situations are, like, ab-- uh . . . :: Eats some more cheese. :: Right.
Morro watched as Nis adorably sank into her chair. It seemed much like himself, her mouth outran her mind. His mind just only tended to do it when it was an engineering situation. Z’Mat had curtailed him from being a motor mouth so as to not endanger their jobs when he was very young.
Caras: My sister and I did get into a lot of trouble together. Mostly trouble our parents put us up to, but my sister Z’Mat was always the one that was in charge when we’d be on a ship. She took care of me when our parents wouldn’t. She’s the one that set up a lot of my training and education.
Promontory/Lahl: Response
Caras: I suppose that isn’t too strange in the grand scheme of things. Older siblings are often like that and younger siblings make it more difficult.
Promontory/Lahl/Nis: Response
Caras: My sister made me take::pauses looking for phrasing: special engineering courses and made me join the seekers guild back where i’m from.
Nis: Response
Caras: Ah the seekers guild is short for the pleasure seekers and it’s a very Orion oriented guild that may be… not appropriate for dinner conversation.
The pleasure seekers weren’t obscene, as a matter of fact in the Vale their company was highly sought after and seen as sacred and a status symbol. They were seen there as honored hosts and in a way, artists. They were certainly not in the Vale however.
Promontory/Lahl/Nis: Response
Tags! / TBC
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Ensign Morro Caras
Engineering Officer
USS Octavia E. Butler
O240106MC1