Lt Ross - Tales from the Loop
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Hannah S
Dec 24, 2025, 7:29:12 AM (5 days ago) Dec 24
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((Evan Ross’s Quarters; Upper Habitat Section, StarBase 118))
He felt like an old man at a campfire, sharing war stories from long forgotten times - only that his war stories were stupid screw-ups and he was telling them to someone who had just quite literally seen telepath hell.
Voss: I mean, there is a kind of incredible poetic irony to spilling secrets as an intel officer. It’s a bold move.
He was glad she agreed.
Ross: I know, I know. It's just a stupid little story compared to what you've been through. But that day - believe me, I was mortified. Convinced they would kick me out again - but here I am, still doing jazz hands and all.
Voss: No, it’s not stupid! I can only imagine - I would have been praying for death. ::grinning:: I’m glad you’re still here. And curious how many drinks it takes to see jazz hands come out.
He raised his eyebrows with a grin, taking a demonstrative sip from his brandy, then pushed the chopping board with basil over the kitchen island, waiting for new instructions.
Ross: I never really thought I'd last long. Let alone get through the Academy. But somehow it all worked out in the end. How about you? Did you always want to do this?
Before she answered, Lyra looked around the kitchen, seemingly searching for something.
Voss: Well… some version of this, yes. Also, small sauce pans?
Ross was quick to dive into one of his cupboards, somewhat proud he knew what she was looking for - he handed the pan over and Voss scooped in the basil and garlic, and then grabbed the bottle of olive oil near the stove and poured in enough to cover the herbs inside.
He was glad she agreed.
Ross: I know, I know. It's just a stupid little story compared to what you've been through. But that day - believe me, I was mortified. Convinced they would kick me out again - but here I am, still doing jazz hands and all.
Voss: No, it’s not stupid! I can only imagine - I would have been praying for death. ::grinning:: I’m glad you’re still here. And curious how many drinks it takes to see jazz hands come out.
He raised his eyebrows with a grin, taking a demonstrative sip from his brandy, then pushed the chopping board with basil over the kitchen island, waiting for new instructions.
Ross: I never really thought I'd last long. Let alone get through the Academy. But somehow it all worked out in the end. How about you? Did you always want to do this?
Before she answered, Lyra looked around the kitchen, seemingly searching for something.
Voss: Well… some version of this, yes. Also, small sauce pans?
Ross was quick to dive into one of his cupboards, somewhat proud he knew what she was looking for - he handed the pan over and Voss scooped in the basil and garlic, and then grabbed the bottle of olive oil near the stove and poured in enough to cover the herbs inside.
He watched her intently and made a mental note - it seemed he had underestimated the amount of oil it took.
Voss: I knew I wanted to study the stars for… almost as long as I can remember, really. To study the world in general. I was the type of kid who couldn’t stop asking questions - I used to drive my parents up the wall. I wanted to know everything, and if I couldn’t learn it fast enough, I was inconsolable. It made me this kind of… I don’t know. This insatiable ball of excitement and anxiety. There was this bewildering, mysterious, magical universe out there and I just wanted to be in it. But honestly, ::laughing softly:: for a long time, I guess I pictured myself as some… some crazed hermit out in a remote outpost with nothing but telescopes to keep me company.
That thought made him smile. He knew a thing or two about being a crazed hermit out in a remote outpost - but she made it sound almost charming.
Ross: You know what, I can see that. I'm glad though you decided to participate in society eventually, I would have missed out on some interesting fun facts about art and stars. ::he smiled:: You mentioned your grandmother is the matriarch of your house, right? How was that for you?
Voss: I knew I wanted to study the stars for… almost as long as I can remember, really. To study the world in general. I was the type of kid who couldn’t stop asking questions - I used to drive my parents up the wall. I wanted to know everything, and if I couldn’t learn it fast enough, I was inconsolable. It made me this kind of… I don’t know. This insatiable ball of excitement and anxiety. There was this bewildering, mysterious, magical universe out there and I just wanted to be in it. But honestly, ::laughing softly:: for a long time, I guess I pictured myself as some… some crazed hermit out in a remote outpost with nothing but telescopes to keep me company.
That thought made him smile. He knew a thing or two about being a crazed hermit out in a remote outpost - but she made it sound almost charming.
Ross: You know what, I can see that. I'm glad though you decided to participate in society eventually, I would have missed out on some interesting fun facts about art and stars. ::he smiled:: You mentioned your grandmother is the matriarch of your house, right? How was that for you?
He was alway interested in the way other people in different societies grew up - except for Alora he had never been friends with a Betazoid, but he could imagine it was an environment of high social pressure.
Voss: I felt a little strangled growing up. Big family, even bigger expectations. I just wanted to get away from all of it. My initial plan was to go right from the Academy to the Daystrom Institute and live out my hermit dreams, but… the Academy was rough. The adjustment to life on Earth and trying to navigate how to be one of the only telepaths in the room… I didn’t handle it well.
He tilted his head lightly.
Ross: So... what happened?
She moved the pan to the stove and put it over a low heat to infuse while they worked on the rest of the recipe.
Voss: It just… I dealt with it by not dealing with it. I pulled back from everyone. Did nothing but go to class, study, and barely sleep. After a year and a half of that, I… I broke down. Took a leave of absence, went back home, convinced myself that I’d failed at the only thing I’d ever really wanted. It was all very dramatic.
She laughed, but he could tell it was a painful memory. Ross grimaced slightly, knowing all too well how hard it was to feel like an outsider at the Academy. Maybe being human had spared him some pain after all.
Ross: I'm sorry... that must have been hard. What made you change your mind?
Voss: Amusingly… well, I guess not amusingly, but it was my mother who convinced me to go back. Even though she hated that I wanted to be a scientist. For all our issues, she… she wants me to be happy. Took about a year of therapy to actually make it back, but by the time I did, I was in a much better place. And I realized that I don’t want to be a hermit. Well, only a little. Little hermit vacations. ::smiling:: With pasta nights in between.
That made him smile. It hadn't been a lie - Lyra was incredibly open about her history and all setbacks attached to it. He appreciated her trust - and the sentiment of not being the only one in the room who had struggled with adjusting to life in Starfleet.
Ross: Well, I'm glad you made it here after all. Hermit life can get a little tiring I've heard.
Voss: You said you were in cargo before you joined Starfleet, right? What made you want to switch? Oh and also speaking of the pasta… ::she looked with trepidation at the sticky, floury mass on the counter:: I think we might be better off restarting the pasta from scratch. Do you have a kitchen scale?
He rubbed his forehead with a sigh.
Ross: Yeah... I guess we better. It's over there, let me grab it.
Voss: I felt a little strangled growing up. Big family, even bigger expectations. I just wanted to get away from all of it. My initial plan was to go right from the Academy to the Daystrom Institute and live out my hermit dreams, but… the Academy was rough. The adjustment to life on Earth and trying to navigate how to be one of the only telepaths in the room… I didn’t handle it well.
He tilted his head lightly.
Ross: So... what happened?
She moved the pan to the stove and put it over a low heat to infuse while they worked on the rest of the recipe.
Voss: It just… I dealt with it by not dealing with it. I pulled back from everyone. Did nothing but go to class, study, and barely sleep. After a year and a half of that, I… I broke down. Took a leave of absence, went back home, convinced myself that I’d failed at the only thing I’d ever really wanted. It was all very dramatic.
She laughed, but he could tell it was a painful memory. Ross grimaced slightly, knowing all too well how hard it was to feel like an outsider at the Academy. Maybe being human had spared him some pain after all.
Ross: I'm sorry... that must have been hard. What made you change your mind?
Voss: Amusingly… well, I guess not amusingly, but it was my mother who convinced me to go back. Even though she hated that I wanted to be a scientist. For all our issues, she… she wants me to be happy. Took about a year of therapy to actually make it back, but by the time I did, I was in a much better place. And I realized that I don’t want to be a hermit. Well, only a little. Little hermit vacations. ::smiling:: With pasta nights in between.
That made him smile. It hadn't been a lie - Lyra was incredibly open about her history and all setbacks attached to it. He appreciated her trust - and the sentiment of not being the only one in the room who had struggled with adjusting to life in Starfleet.
Ross: Well, I'm glad you made it here after all. Hermit life can get a little tiring I've heard.
Voss: You said you were in cargo before you joined Starfleet, right? What made you want to switch? Oh and also speaking of the pasta… ::she looked with trepidation at the sticky, floury mass on the counter:: I think we might be better off restarting the pasta from scratch. Do you have a kitchen scale?
He rubbed his forehead with a sigh.
Ross: Yeah... I guess we better. It's over there, let me grab it.
He stepped over to the scale and gathered all the ingredients he had made out to be pasta-crucial: eggs, olive oil and - of course - more flour. That stuff really got everywhere - he had no idea how anybody mastered its form. He gestured at the chaos and decided to follow her instructions once more. As they got to work, he remembered her question.
Ross: How about you'll lead, I'll follow. ::pondering for a moment:: I don't really recall what made me switch, really. I guess I'm a bit like you in a way, always fascinated with stars and space. Just the... vastness of it. But I was never much of a scientist. More of a... ::he shrugged:: Romantic. I just liked to be out there. And believe me, the whole hermit thing? Been there, done that. Somehow I always ended up being the guy they sent in to keep an eye on things in places no one had ever heard of. I mean - I liked it. You meet lots of interesting people out there.
Lonely people. People who had left once and never managed to return.
Voss: ?
Ross: It just got... tiring after a while. Constantly moving, never really... attaching. I thought it was just me, but looking back now, I don't think so. I think I just missed the right moment to leave the ride, and then I was... stuck somehow. And then I got really drunk one night and realised I had done nothing with my life that made any difference.
It sounded harsh - but it was said without remorse. He shrugged.
Voss: ?
Ross: I never thought the fleet would accept me. So you can imagine my surprise when they invited me to an assessment. And then, when I actually joined the Academy, I thought I'd be gone within a year. I was so much older than most of the other cadets... ::he grimaced:: suddenly it felt like High School again. I never really adjusted, so I kind of know what you're talking about. But being alone all the time before - I think that helped. I just did my thing, and sometimes I joined them for a night out. It was... alright. But I didn't really start believing in all this before I ended up here.
He gestured around the room, actually meaning the station, the life, the duty.
Voss: ?
Ross: I feel like... in the end it's always the people, no? The friends you can be yourself with. I mean, Corey, Maddie, they are still a lot younger, but it doesn't make as much of a difference now. And it's been the same on those secluded outposts. You were lonely until the nights where you grab a drink with the other hermits and realise they all have some stories worth listening to. I keep wondering... if I've really been lonely all this years, or just wanted to be. If I somehow... chose it for myself.
It was weird - he didn't know if any of this made any sense, and still he found himself saying it out loud. Loops he had kept to himself for a while now - loops without closure. If Lyra had any idea what he was talking about?
Voss: ?
***
Lieutenant Evan Ross
Intelligence Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
O240009ER2
Lieutenant Evan Ross
Intelligence Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
O240009ER2
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