Lieutenant Amelia Semara - Switchboard Operator

[Max]

(( OOC: I've been informed it's cool to assume the Cartography group will get their scheme working shortly, so I can tag Matthews.  Feel free to have anyone in Cartography listen in to comms or modify however. ))

(( Observatory, Jorogumo ))

Progress.  Slow and plodding, but there was no telling if the naked truth would set them free, or turn them all into bug-food.  For the hundredth time, Amelia caught her empathic awareness trying to wend itself through the thick cushion of life the Velithari ship created and find Ras - or at least some assurance they still perceived a he as she and that the team was okay.  One more person who she needed to be completely honest with.

Another twisting analogy with music, but now it was time to stop playing coy with the truth.  Either Rana would understand, or she wouldn't, and Amelia would be responsible for the consequences either way.

Semara: :: A nod :: That's what meetin' a new species is like every time.  We can talk, but we don't actually understand each other, do we?  Makes sense that would be confusin' or even scary.  I know it is for me.

Amelia's smile twisted into a complicated shape at the admission.  It wasn't much of a material risk, but it was a personal one.  Then again, the whole time Amelia had been sampling the currents around her, feeling out the emotional world of the Velithari around her - squishy and yielding and hard-to-pin-down as it was - without revealing her own trepidation.  She took a slow breath, smile reshaping into something a little warmer, more inviting.  Now they shared that fear.

Semara: And that's why Dewitt is followin' Starfleet regulation 46A - no uncoded messages when they might be overheard and there's a risk of hostility.  :: A more clever smile. :: Ain't bad for a man, right?  :: Beat :: See, if y'all got a sign that says "keep out", we ain't able to read it.  We ain't sure why you took Matthews - the human male - or if it was intended as a hostile move.  :: A patient, but pointed beat :: Was it?

Amelia felt an emotional lightning strike inside a hot thundercloud inside the Captain.  Not quite anger, but something like it.  Not aimed at Amelia, though.  So the Velithari could be emphatically felt vibrantly and loudly, but they were a deeply cautious people - apparently with their feelings as much as with outsiders.  Her fingers entwined and tightened, waiting for the reaction to the revelation.

Rana: This male--he has a name? Matews? He was in danger. Given what you have learned about our nebula, and what we assumed about your bonded males...we thought perhaps it would be best if he was uninjured.

In danger.  Uninjured.  Amelia's whole body exhaled.  So this whole incident was a misunderstanding, and the Velithari were doing what they thought best.

Semara: I really appreciate that.  Uninjured would be best... :: Beat :: But Matthews wasn't in danger.  :: Beat :: Or no special danger.  An EVA ain't ever completely without risk, but we would'a brought him back aboard the moment he finished his task if you hadn't taken him.  We didn't realize the significance a' the nebula to y'all.

Suspicion seemed the word of the day.  Rana's feelings had gone back to lurking in the underbrush, almost certainly unaware Amelia could perceive what she was feeling.

Rana: I would believe that you would want him back, regardless of his ::considering previous interactions:: strangeness. We have scanned him more thoroughly, in case his own system carried potentially dangerous microbes to us or the nebula. To my knowledge, he should be the same as he was when he unwisely exited your ship.

Amelia couldn't help but give a giddy chuckle.  Matthews did have a habit of getting covered in something viscous and sticky in the labs.  He'd probably be right at home with the scanner goo.  Maybe the difficulty would be convincing him to leave.  Rana was right - he was definitely strange.  Endearingly so, most of the time.

Semara: :: Still smiling. :: That's wonderful news.  And you're right - we would like him back.

See?  Not horse murderers.  She knew it.

Rana: Lieutenant Semara -- may I address you as such? This is an appropriate title? It seems that there is more to the males of your species than of ours. They seem...capable, if disrespectful. You mentioned that Matews was instructed, and this communications assistant of the captain's...is it the bonding that changes them?

Another sparkling giggle slipped out.  There was something so totally pure and earnest about the questions Rana asked... It made it easy for Amelia to forget how absurdly dangerous the whole situation still was.  She swayed a little, and took a step closer to the sharp and armored Captain.

Semara: Lieutenant Semara will do nicely.

She smiled, silently musing about the golden pin in her hair.  Not the time for a digression into Betazoid heraldry.

Semara: I s'pose you could say that the bondin' changes 'em.  :: Beat :: But the better answer to your question is - no one's posted to a Starfleet vessel without showin' some capability.  Male or female or somethin' else.  Bonded or otherwise.  :: Beat ::  You ain't got any men at all on this ship?

Rana: Response

Semara: But there ain't even one that helps run the ship or maintain your nebula or scan folks or somethin'?

It was tricky to hide the breathy disbelief from her voice... So she didn't.  Even in the deepest matriarchal moments in Betazoid cultural history, men were expected to be more than just hot hunks.  A lot more.  Bridging the gap with Rana was going to take so much more work than she imagined.

Rana: Response

Semara: Then we are real different.  One a' the core beliefs a' the Federation is that everyone's free to pursue their own limits - physical or intellectual.  :: A little chuckle. :: Even Mr. Matthews, whatever his eccentricities.  Some men are more capable, some less, and they're all given the chance to try doin' more when they're ready.  Same as for me, or anyone else.  :: Beat ::  As for bondin'...

An audible, low buzz below her collarbone stopped her from finishing her sentence, or discovering what Rana would make of the revelation.  Amelia's lips migrated to one side.

Unbeknownst to Amelia, the little combadge-that-could had picked up a carrier wave from the Khitomer, engineered by a collection of Ensigns, acknowledged the program sent to it, and managed to negotiate the multiplexing protocol-switching packet-forwarding somersaults (or whatever it was) required of it to pick up a hacked-together distress signal.

What she did know is that, while communicators normally weren't set to vibrate, she should probably take the call.  And who should it be?  Other than...

Matthews: =/\= Response =/\=

Oh, by the four... Why did Matthews have that same tone of voice he had when she caught him in the lab with the third mystery substance on his uniform in one week?  What was he up to?  As relieved as Amelia was to hear his voice, the slight breathy exasperation in her voice needed no extra performance for Rana's sake.

Hopefully the man wasn't so busy with whatever it was he wouldn't notice her response.

Semara: =/\= First officer Semara here.  I hear ya perfectly, Mister Matthews.  I'm here with Cap'n Rana.  We were just talkin' about you, as it happens...  :: Beat :: How are you doin'? =/\=

Connor's words finally clicked.  Feel the ripples indeed.  Now if only she didn't feel like a switchboard operator.

Matthews: =/\= Response =/\=

Semara: =/\= Happy to hear it.  :: Beat :: You might be glad to know this all seems like a bit of a misunderstandin'.  If you're willin' to behave and we all promise to respect their nebula, I think Cap'n Rana might be real obligin' and let you come back home. :: Beat :: That ain't a problem, is it? =/\=

Uncertain just what her "commanding voice" was supposed to sound like, Amelia's tone probably came out closer to an exhausted schoolteacher's cloudy threat of vague disappointment.  There would be no pizza party and movie if Matthews gave the wrong answer.

Matthews: =/\= Response =/\=

Semara: =/\= :: To Rana, but for both to hear. :: Cap'n Rana, would you let one of my crew see Matthews and take him back?  I'm happy to stay, if you like, and continue talkin'.  Like I said, we ain't meant for him to cause a problem for anyone. =/\=

Her eyes once more fell onto Rana's face, this time a little steadier.  A bit of the swirling pink nebula outside the observatory window reflected onto the woman's glossy, armored exoskeleton, giving a visual to how Amelia imagined the captain's thoughts.

Rana / Matthews: =/\= Response =/\=

Tag / TBC...

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Lieutenant Amelia Magnolia Semara

Intelligence Officer

USS Khitomer - NCC-62400

A239710MA0