LT. Arlill, Ensign Nilsen, Lt. Maxwell, Ensign Herrick. Lt. Promotory, Lt. Johnson, Zarah, Lt. Nijal, Ensign Vomek, Rox, Lt. Cabrillo: JOPA: Some say goodbye, and some say hello… (Part 1)
Erik J
(( “Special Restoration Area” (a.k.a. Bowling Alley) - Deck 7 - USS ‘Oumuamua ))
Toxin had only been with the ‘Oumuamua for less than a year, but it occurred to him that he had become the highest ranking junior officer, something that no doubt would make his mother proud, if he could reach her. But he had to put that out of his mind, he had a mission at hand, one that he’d assigned himself.
There were a lot of things to consider. Which officers advanced in rank since the last time we met? Who’s joined the ‘Oumuamua and not yet in the JOPA ranks, well besides his roommate Lhandon? oO Well, let’s see, Avander has just become a full Lieutenant, and they had at least 3 no 4 JOPA meetings?Oo
In his hand he held a PADD on which he had carefully curated a list of junior officers not yet part of JOPA.
Arlill: =/\= Arlill to Nilsen, Herrick, Kovacs, Winters, Tyber, Elaryn, Roxy, Vomek, Taylor, Johnson, Elaryn, Maxwell and Nijal; please report to the Bowling Alley, Immediately. =/\=
Arlill wasn’t going to admit it to anyone else, but he was a bit nervous, he hadn’t called this size assembly ever, and half of them were his rank.
It was an order to report, but the order didn’t go through to one person properly. Instead, it went to another person with the same last name. Oops.
S. Johnson: =/\= Toxin, are you calling me to go bowling? =/\=
Arlill: =/\= Oh sorry Sasha, I was looking for Zarah?=/\=
S. Johnson: =/\=Zarah, huh? I didn’t know you two were bowling buddies.=/\=
The Engineer chuckled. She had no problem with her daughter making friends on the ship, but she hadn’t realised that she’d made one of the HCO officer.
Arlill: =/\= Yes, thank you. =/\=
S. Johnson: =/\= Best to ping her as Zarah. Good talking with ya. =/\=
Arlill: =/\= Arlill to Zarah Johnson, please report to the Bowling Alley. =/\=
Soon the door opened and the engineering Junior Officers began to join him, he’d assumed they’d make it there first, since the bowling alley was only a few decks down.
Arlill: Hey Zarah (beat) How’s it going Zi (beat) Thanks for coming Josh.
Z. Johnson: Hi there!
Zarah stepped in with as much confidence as a full fledged ensign. She’d weaseled her way into JOPA and was the most junior of all the members there, but it didn’t bother her one bit . Taking a seat, she glanced around and offered a grin to those who had already gathered.
Herrick: Hey… Toxin.
Arlill: Hey Josh, glad you could join us.
It felt a bit too casual for Josh to refer to a senior officer by first name, but this was JOPA and they were off duty so he did his best to try and fit in.
Nijal: (with a wink) We’re here to represent the engineers. Can’t get much more lower-decky than the bottom of the ship.
Rox had never tried the sport, but had always wanted to. She’d had an uncle who played on Turkana IV and claimed it was great fun. Rox hadn't come to bowl or to watch. Her first priority was to find Lieutenant Nijal. The Cardassian woman had a way of standing out in a crowd and Rox hustled over to her with her bell earrings jingling in her ears.
Rox: ::tapping Nijal on the shoulder:: Hello, um Lieutenant Nijal. Ahh, I’m Crewman Queen. I wondered if I could speak with you.
On a normal day Rox did not love using her rank and last name, but in this instance she was willing to endure it.
Nijal: You sure can! (beat) You’re Rox, right?
Zi’s usually ebullient reaction dulled a little as she realized who the other woman was. She knew that Rox had remained aboard after extensive questioning back in the Alpha Quadrant, and even though her abilities were apparently unavailable to her, Zi still felt a little odd about the fact that Rox was apparently some kind of little god.
Rox: ::sighing:: Ah, yes that would be me. I was involved in our recent temporal displacement.
Nijal: I remember. Vividly. I was on confetti-phasering duty for quite a while.
The conversation was not going the way Rox wanted it to and she began to fidget.
Rox: You had to clean out all the confetti eh? I am so sorry about that.
Nijal: (slight smile) Well, who hasn’t made a few choices they regret? Granted, mine don’t tend to involve time travel.
But now that she was talking to Rox, Zi found it difficult to sustain her irritation. Enough time had passed that even the boring cleaning had become a memory, and Rox’s mistakes had ended up benefiting Gelf (or so Zi chose to believe, even if she suspected they’d made some fairly unalterable modifications).
Rox: Well I wanted to talk to you because I’ve been assigned to be your roommate. I suffer from claustrophobia and Dr. Kel persuaded Commander Etan to allow me to have bigger quarters. The other room in your suite is unoccupied it seems.
That was very true, and as much as Zi had thought she would enjoy it, she had also found it a little lonely. She’d shared with Ensign Nhoush of medical when she was also an ensign, but her first promotion had brought reassignment, and ops had just – not – assigned her a roommate. She wouldn’t mind one at all, but – Rox? Zi was halfway to frowning before she caught herself. Even if she had caused a little trouble in the past, Rox was doing a very difficult thing in asking for this – and, after all, what member of JOPA hadn’t caused trouble in the past?
Nijal: It is, and I think I’d really like to have you as a roommate. (beat) Just, no confetti?
Rox: I mean of course no confetti, obviously. I have been learning to play the bass guitar, but I’ll take that elsewhere.
Nijal: (with a wicked grin) Oh, no, you can practice there – as long as I can keep the temperature at 50ºC, at least. Any lower and I’ll get cold.
Zi tried to show that she was kidding, but she’d never been good at winking or other human gestures, and it seemed Rox didn’t know.
Rox was not totally sure Nijal was angry or confused. Certainly it did not bode well that she had been the one to clean confetti out of the Intrepid. Rox did not like the idea of groveling, but she very much wanted the bigger quarters and was willing to endure some hardship to secure them.
Rox: Perhaps since you had to clean up my mess, I could be the one to make sure our shared space stayed tidy?
Nijal: Oh, sure, that sounds good to me!
Josh saw the doors open and Kovacs stepped through. This put a bit of a damper on Herrick’s mood; seeing him so quickly after their last encounter when he was practically forced into Sickbay.
Eli looked around the room, his eyes finally landing on Josh and staying there for a moment; he hadn’t reported anything up the chain… yet, and was debating if this was the right venue to follow up on their last conversation. However, fate had other plans as moments later, the remaining staff arrived and the attention focused back on their host with the most.
Arlill: Now that you’ve all arrived, please open the boxes on the tables before you with your name on them.
TBC!
LTJG Toxin Arlill
“The Best, Ace, Top, Pick of the Litter” Helm, Communications, & Operations Officer
USS 'Oumuamua NCC-81226
O239910TA
Ensign Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
"The Better Third Movie" Helm, Communications, & Operations Officer
USS Oumuamua
O240007LN1
2nd Lieutenant Arturo Maxwell
Marine Officer, 4/73 Marines.
USS Oumuamua: NCC-81226.
O239311AM0
Ensign Josh Herrick
Engineering Officer
USS ‘Oumuamua
O240005JH3
Lt Avander Promontory
Intelligence Officer
USS ‘Oumuamua
O239910AP4
Lt. Sasha Johnson & Zarah Johnson
Engineering Officer & Civilian
USS 'Oumuamua
M239008AD0
Lieutenant JG Zimedia Nijal
Engineering Officer
USS 'Oumuamua
V238208LV0
Ensign Simon Vomek & Rox
"Original" H/C/O Officer & Nurse - Crewman 2nd class
USS Oumuamua NCC-81226
T239811VK2
Lieutenant jg TK Cabrillo
Engineering Officer
USS Oumuamua
T239901JK1