[A1- SOL] LtCmdr Pandora - Watching the future

[d.vetri]

((Astrofori One, Starfleet Officer’s Lounge))

:: For the first time that she could summon from memory, Pandora watched as Washington’s face cracked into a wide smile. Her head tilted slightly to one side as she studied him, projecting the probability that he was going to do himself physical injury with the expression.::

:: Probably not.:: 

:: It still struck her as a profoundly unnatural sight, however.::

Washington: Well, what are you all standing around for? Party hard!

:: The assorted officers took that as their cue to break up into smaller groups, chatter mingling into a sort of amiable babble unless she tried to sort it out. Which she didn’t plan to, since it was the overall atmosphere that she was interested in.::

Kelrod: Commander Pandora, I'm not sure if you mind but congratulations on the award.

:: Looking at him over the rim of her glass, Pandora wondered to herself just why he would think she’d mind. Such statements were part of the protocol for such situations, was it not?::

Pandora: I do not, and thank you. 

:: There was more to come, however, as the next moments revealed.::

Kelrod: Just wanted to let you know that I've worked with few androids and from what I've seen, you're well deserving of them. Just an advice, if you allow me.

:: Sipping at her glass, since it seemed an apt moment to do so, she tilted her head and waited, her expression a silent invitation for him to continue.::

Kelrod: A bit of working on facial expressions and humor might do you good. :: beat :: I hope to see you again in the future.

:: Expressions and the like, she’d been working on perfecting for some time, and she liked to think she was making a fair amount of progress. There was, of course, room for improvement.::

:: Even more so in the case of humour, which seemed to carry a definition that varied wildly from individual to individual, let alone across cultural backgrounds. Still, at least most of her efforts on that score avoided *total* disaster.::

Pandora: It is always possible. In the meantime, good fortune to you.

:: He raised his glass to her and nodded before moving on to someone else, and Pandora’s own attention wandered to others as well. It was interesting to observe how they were all reacting to the possibility that they’d never encounter each other in person again, as well as how they dealt with the prospect.::

:: Sentiment was no doubt playing a significant part, though not in her case. For her, it was nothing more than an opportunity to expand her horizons, to encounter new things that would add to her collected experiences.::

:: And maybe, though the probability was vanishingly low, find some sliver of a clue as to why she’d been built.::

TBC

 

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Lieutenant Commander Pandora

Operations Officer

USS Invicta

Author ID O238506DV0