Ensign Talyra - So Much For Quiet
V'Nille
(( Bridge, Deck 1, USS Thor ))
The Romulan raised an eyebrow at the two men. She was starting to get the sense, once more, that she was a bit of an odd one out here. There was much that living in the very humid frontier conditions on Bilire VI taught her that others never learned. For a group of Romulans scrambling to make a home out of an inhospitable environment, it was easy to see a pattern where taking the quiet for granted boded ill for the future.
Saa: Mr. Caras, regarding the updates, are there any issues we may encounter with the newest versions rolled out or issues that may have been affecting performance by them being out of date?
Caras: No, the rest of the systems are using the same version just fine on the other parts of the ship. The bridge is one of the only places that has stations that are always fully manned, in other places like engineering we can shut down projectors and terminals and use others, but here it gets rollouts a little slower.
Saa: What have the secondary scans revealed about that sector?
Tito: A few more minutes to completion but there’s an interesting EM reading from one of the stars. ::he turned to Ensign Talyra:: Care to elaborate Ensign?
Talyra looked up and blinked at Commander Tito for a moment before regaining composure. She wasn’t used to being put on the spot like this, but the data was there and she could answer the question.
Talyra: There’s some variation from the star’s luminosity that indicates it likely has a companion star, one that is not bright enough to register fully on its own. Gravity readings back up the theory.
Saa: Forward the data to the astrometrics lab for further investigation… ::shifting gears:: Do you two truly not believe in cursing oneself and those around you?
Talyra nodded and forwarded the data. When she looked back up, it seemed that Caras had stood up from his chair.
Caras: I just feel that you become a prisoner to a thing everyone fails to state or acknowledge even though they know it’s present. “We’re all having a good time” or “What a nice quiet day” doesn't challenge the fates or invite chaos.
Tito: I concur
oO Do I respond? No, too many higher ranked people here. Better to just keep quiet. Oo
Caras: I mean what it actually does is make people scared to speak up, in fear that if they do acknowledge that something is real that it will ruin it. It almost makes me feel like a performer if I don’t.
Saa: Acknowledging a nice... silence...::still avoiding the word:: is different that acknowledging the presence of silence in my opinion. ::She shifted:: Recognizing the joy in it's presence does not imply that is not the normal state.
Talyra: It just seems like every time someone does that, something bad happens soon after.
Caras: Right, so it’s a social thing that manipulates our behavior. The Shakespeare quote is very apt, not acknowledging reality is reserved for the stage. If the characters just go “We’re performers in a play” It ruins it. We know that, it’s agreed upon. So what is our agreement with Fate? “Don’t mention you’re having a pleasant time, or I'll destroy it?”
Oh, he was pacing now. The man was getting serious about this.
Tito: That is usually how a superstition begins.
Saa gestured at the stars on the viewscreen.
Saa: Usually all superstitions and beliefs have roots in experience, whether you believe those who adhere to fate as rational or not. ::She tilts her head:: Many who avoid the… questioning of a moment of peace have experienced events that followed such challenges that led to disaster. One could say from an anthropological perspective that is how Fate has become personified as a being to respect and fear.
Talyra nodded in agreement. That was the pattern at the root of this. She didn’t personally believe Fate was an actual being, but it was a useful framing for coping with unpredictability so she understood why the humans personified it.
Caras: I mean if that’s the case then, Fate is a terrible person and I want nothing to do with them. Fate hasn’t been very kind to me or any of my friends, so i’m not sure why i should play by any of its’ “rules”
Tito: I totally agree, Commander. But I don’t believe in fate anymore. I am a man of science.
I refuse to have something beyond my control to rule my life. When the unexpected happens I try to make the right decision. I don’t always do but I don’t let Fate set any rules.
Saa: Yet other forces rule our lives every day with set rules, physics binds us to rules that we must learn and study so we can move beyond them. ::She tilts her head:: How can we say fate is not something that exists in the same way?
Talyra: Well…
The other scientist in the room stood up straight next to her, calling attention to himself.
Tito: I would be cynical if I say we can completely control our fate. But I quit wondering why or how some unexpected event comes forth and changes one's life.
Caras: I suppose we have sense forces in this world that we still have no control over, even with all of our scientific advances. There are so many things we haven’t been able to master and control, and perhaps that is just another one of them.
Talyra: Oh, it’s usually pointless to wonder why, but finding out how it happened is useful information.
Saa: And if fate is truly a force with its rule, would one adhere to the rules or rebel in ways scientists have manipulated the rules of the universe to their advantage for years. ::She looks to Caras:: We wouldn’t have the warp drive if we didn’t learn to do such things would we?
Tito: Well, if by…. Pardon the redundancy, by fate we ever have Fate in front of us, I would honestly greet Fate with the most human expression.
Caras: like an idiom?
Saa: What human expression would that be, Lieutenant?
Tito smiled wickedly and opened his arms.
Tito: I would show Fate my middle finger.
oO Ah, the more succinct “most human expression”. My roommate would just talk its ear off. Oo
Saa: Middle finger..? ::tilts head:: What does that mean, why would you greet Fate with it?
Talyra had seen the commander make the gesture with her own hand and their engineer had reflected that gesture back at her. Now that same commander was looking flushed at the engineer, clearly embarrassed. Talyra shook her head with a brief smirk.
Saa: Mor- :;correcting:: Mr. Caras, are you making fun of me?
Caras: No! When someone does it to you you’re supposed to do it back right? Sometimes even with two.
He demonstrated. Saa crossed her arms and huffed in response. The gesture seemed curiously childish to Talyra, but she supposed that was just a signal of how comfortable these people were with each other.
Saa: Finish those updates, Mr. Caras. ::shakes her head:: Though I will say the riveting discussion of fate was very enjoyable and enlightening, it is always fascinating to learn how others view such unseen forces.
Caras: They are finished ::pause:: Captain. Also agreed.
Tito: I hope I haven’t offended anyone
Talyra shrugged. Her interest in the conversation was rapidly approaching zero anyway.
Saa: I’m a counselor; it's practically instinct now to hear all sides of a discussion, whether I agree or not. ::She smiles:: And sometimes, to purposely present the counterargument in order to learn the hearts and minds of those around me.
Caras: Well not to circle around a bit, but it was a discussion to keep our mind off the dullness of this mission at hand. As I said, no complaints yet, and Fate seems to be holding steady, like the Thor.
Tito: Agreed.
Saa: Though, yes, I to some extent do believe in the fate my people speak of. ::She smiles:: But really it's more…every time the q-word is invoked, I end up with a purple heart, and I am really trying to keep my promise to not earn any more.
Caras: Well I’ll try my best to not invoke it for the rest of the trip then.
Tito: And we can return our focus to proper work.
Talyra: Yes, sir. That would be good.
She heard a noise come from the Captain’s chair and after visually confirming it wasn’t something that needed her immediate attention, Talyra refocused on the data stream in front of her.
Caras: There is far more blue on the bridge now, more than any other color. I do count the teals with the blues
Tito: As you should Sir. But Gold has the most duty colours. Engineering, Operations, Security, Tactic… But is that a potential call out? Something between departments perhaps?
Caras: I’m not sure what kind of activities that engineering and sciences could go to head in that would be fair. And it can’t be physical, the moment security hears we left them out of something physical, they’ll make us all sorry.
Tito: And try to beat us to it…
Talyra held no interest in the interdepartmental rivalries that she had seen pop up before. She fervently hoped she wasn’t about to be voluntold into one now.
Caras: Mind if I take a look at that, ensign?
Comm Officer: It’s an SOS sir. I think it’s from the Syren’s Song, but something is interesting, it came with a fleet ID.
Talyra looked up at the mention of a SOS. Were things about to get “interesting”?
Caras: That’s Captain Promontory’s.
Tito: Ensign Talyra, assemble all the data we collected, send it to the Astrometics lab. We are likely stopping our survey.
Talyra: Very well, sir.
She started closing out existing scanning operations and compiling the data for easy transfer to Astrometrics. Hopefully, she’d be one of those that got to look at all that in detail later. Maybe even when she’s back on the Valkyrie. Some of this already looked like it’d be interesting to compare against readings taken in the Par’tha Expanse.
Caras: Sev…. Commander Saa? Orders?
Saa: Response
Talyra saw Tito dip his head at her with a deadpan expression. She returned the gaze with her own.
Tito: Experience told me we were about to move.
Talyra: … Of course, sir. Receiving a SOS does tend to get ships moving. I believe that is the goal of sending one, in fact.
Tito: Dropping some probes so we can return and finish our sweep. I suggest we track the message and head there.
Saa/Caras: Response
Tito: Captain Pormontory wouldn’t send that kind of message light heartedly.
Talyra: If we know the ship’s planned itinerary, that would cut down on tracing the source. Were any coordinates included in the SOS message?
Saa/Caras: Response
Tito: Aye Commander.
Saa/Caras: Response
Talyra: Commander Tito, the data we just got could be used to filter out the signal noise more efficiently.
Tito/Saa/Caras: Response
Talyra nodded. That much, she could do.
Tito/Saa/Caras: Response
Talyra: Oh, probe telemetry looks good so far, by the way.
Tito/Saa/Caras: Response