MCpt Luthas & Lt. Cmdr. Alora DeVeau - Prying but not prying, part 1 (NT)
bergsman.sc
((Botanical Research - Science Lab, Deck 518, StarBase 118))
Alora checked the manifest and compared it to the experiments that were currently in process. Familiarizing herself with the species they had and the ongoing research and development was important. She wanted to be thorough, and she didn’t want to accidentally change the parameters of any experiments that were going on. There were some fascinating experiments being conducted, and Alora found that tingle of excitement skipping up and down her spine.
The doors hissed open, but Alora missed the tell tale sign of someone arriving. It wasn’t until she heard a voice that she looked up.
DeVeau: Oh hello!
Luthas: Uh hi. :: Luthas looked around uncertainly. Next time he got called to the science department he was going to want a map with detailed directions like Kali always insisted on needing and everyone else ignored. :: I’m kinda lost and I was hoping that you could let me know where I needed to go?
DeVeau: Sure, how can I help you?
Luthas: I need to go to the biological weapons lab, but not the ones who research them, I need the ones that produce the counteractive agents. They’re in different spots apparently.
DeVeau: Really?
That seemed counterintuitive to Alora, but maybe there was a good reason for that, even if it didn’t make sense to her.
Luthas: The only instructions I was given were to head to the bio weapon lab. :: Sarcastically :: Clearly I should have asked for more detail.
Alora grinned and shook her head.
DeVeau: Ah, but there’s a bright side to all this.
Luthas: Oh?
DeVeau: It afforded the opportunity for us to meet. ::She extended a hand.:: I’m Alora.
Luthas: Luthas. :: He took the proffered hand and shook it. ::
Luthas. He didn’t give anything else. Definitely not a chatterbox, but that wasn’t uncommon among Vulcans. What was unexpected was that he was a Marine. He was the first Vulcan to take that duty post she’d ever met. Idly, she wondered if there were others and she was just completely oblivious to that fact. Also, there was the fact he was showing expression and emotion. Alora did know there was a small subset of Vulcans that lived with emotions, perhaps Luthas was one of them.
DeVeau: A pleasure to meet you, Luthas. It’s nice to meet new people. I guess like me you haven’t been here long.
Luthas: Yep. I’ve been here about... ::He idly scratched his jawline in thought. :: a couple months now? Got transferred from a planetary base near one of the border regions near the Klingon empire. You?
DeVeau: I’ve been here…
Alora paused for a moment to think about how much - or little - time had passed.
DeVeau: A little over a week now.
In some ways it felt longer. Not in a bad way, in a good way. She felt...comfortable.
DeVeau: So how are you liking the base?
Luthas: It’s really nice, much better than the last base I was stationed at.
DeVeau: What’s your favourite part?
Luthas: It’s a simple thing but that I have my own quarters. No more forced sharing.
DeVeau: Forced sharing?
Luthas: I have never had even a room to myself. Had to share as a child and it was dorms or barracks after I enlisted. :: He could leave stuff out and not worry about having to find out where someone had shoved it when he came back. :: What about you?
DeVeau: Definitely the arboretums, and the commercial sector. I love the diversity. Not that ships don’t have diversity, but it’s different here.
Luthas: I get you. Actual shops and restaurants that aren’t making you side eye their products or question their food.
DeVeau: Well, ships don’t generally have shops or restaurants, but yet.
Alora grinned a little and shook her head.
DeVeau: I love to look around, pick up momentos sometimes, though I have to be careful because there’s only so much room - even on a starbase.
Luthas: Never really was someone who picked up knicknacks or decorative stuff before. Mostly didn’t have the space. Now I suddenly have three or four times the space and no idea what to fill it with. :: He was far too used to being crammed into small spaces that even his hobby stuff was compact. ::
DeVeau: I hear you. I’ve had to find creative ways to keep as many plants as I possibly can. I’d have a menagerie too, but that’s impossible on a ship. At least I have my cat. It’s different here. I’m almost afraid to expand in case I get reassigned to a ship.
Which could happen. It had happened before. Alora hoped she’d at least be on the base for a good long while - it would be nice not to hop from one place to another for a bit.
Luthas: I haven’t been assigned to a starship yet, just planetary bases. I imagine science on a ship would be different than here right? More focused on a specific goal and area?
DeVeau: Well, yes. We did do experiments though, but they were more limited, and yes, science was more specific. What base were you on before?
Luthas: Siames Colony Base on Galen IV. It was a tiny place; the only reason they had marines stationed there was because of a border skirmish a couple of decades ago.
DeVeau: May I ask something that might seem...well, I hope it doesn’t, but it might seem a bit...forward?
Luthas: :: He raised an eyebrow. He had a good idea of what she would be asking. :: Shoot.
DeVeau: Why the marines? I’ll be honest, I’ve never known a Vulcan Marine before.
Unless he wasn't Vulcan - Alora hadn’t memorised the senior officer manifest. It was possible he was Romulan - and she’d find out in a second.
Luthas: :: He smirked. :: Not surprised, I’m the only Vulcan Marine I’ve ever met. As for why the marines well, my childhood guardian recommended it as a better fit for me than the other potential duty posts. She had been a marine so I figured she knew best. :: That all the other crew members who were ex-Starfleet agreed further cemented it. ::
DeVeau: Childhood...guardian?
Alora had the sense she should tread...lightly? Sensitively. It sounded like he had a history that wasn’t typical and possibly contained some hurt.
*****
Marine Captain Luthas
Marine Officer
Starbase 118 Ops
O239306IK0
&
Lt. Cmdr. Alora DeVeau
Science Officer
Starbase 118 Ops
M239008AD0