The New Officer and the Troublemaker
A collab by MiddleEarthRoze and POOHEAD189
Neil had gotten quite bored outside, letting out a breath as he stepped onto the ship. He wondered if he could meet anyone new on the ship, heading past the main shuttle bay and found himself just at the entrance of the observation lounge. He blinked, his head tilted as he beheld an alien girl he'd never seen before. "Hi." he said amiably, giving her a wave and his signature smile. "New to the building or is it just that big?" he joked.
As it happened, Lyra has become slightly more distracted along her path to the sickbay. Partly because in asking someone where it was, they gave both vauge directions, and informed her that their CMO wasn't currently in there; the other reason was the Observation Lounge she had happened upon. It was by chance, really; as she had walked by, someone had walked out - and there she saw the view of Earth.
It was a breath-taking sight; well, to her, most things in space were. But there was just something special about Earth - so much different to her own planet, and yet, so much similar. Lyra had found that typical of many planets and species she had happened across, and it was an exceptionally intriguing fact to consider. Despite the lightyears in distance and difference in cultures, there were still common concepts to be found across the stars. And as she gazed out of the lounge window, admiring the blue beauty of Earth, Lyra found herself thinking once more of home.
It wasn't really the best time to be feeling homesick... and thankfully, the arrival of a human distracted her from those somewhat sombre thoughts. Returning his smile, Lyra's warm, friendly exterior returned in full.
"Your Orion is certainly big; one of the largest ships I've yet to serve on." She began, walking over to him. He had a pleasnt smile; warm eyes. Good attributes in all species, in her opinion. "But yes, I am also new. Your new Chief of Security, in fact; Lieutenant Illyria Kan'Dosha." Thinking she was safe with a handshake with a human, she extended one in welcome, smile not withholding. "But you can call me Lyra - I'm not on duty just yet, after all."
His dark eyes brightened, and his smile grew warmer as he shook her hand. She seemed genuinely nice, and as much of a troublemaker as he was, he wasn't going to do anything that would potentially make misfortune on a legitimately kind individual. Especially a cute girl. He found her small scars kind of endearing. It showed she'd been places in her life. "Well, allow me to welcome you on the ship." he said. "I'm Ensign Edwards, one of the Engineers. Call me Neil though. And allow me to apologize in advance upon hearing about your new position. I have a tendancy to get on the bad side of the security crew just because I tend to...what's the word...let's just say I get eccentric."
He shrugged as if to say 'it's me, what can you do?' and grinned, before looking past her and getting a very lovely view of Earth. "Have you ever been before?" he asked, nodding toward the big blue planet below them. "To Earth."
Chuckling at Neil's premature apology, Lyra wasn't particularly bothered. She knew the type; caution was sometimes thrown to the wind in order to get a job done - usually involving improvising of some sort. The sort were definitely common among engineers, but then, the job demanded ingenuity at times. Besides, she could hardly complain - she herself sometimes had bouts of... "eccentric" behaviour too.
Following Neil's gaze to the view of Earth, Lyra nodded, curls bouncing as she did - she hadn't found the time nor patience to tame them today, so for now, they hung loose. However, something would have to be done before meeting with the Captain; Lyra had to look as professional as possible for her first impression, despite the fact said first impression would be dashed to pieces the second her true, bouncy nature came out on the Bridge.
"Uhuh - I just came from there, my last ship dropped me off a week or so ago. It's a very beautiful planet. If I didn't enjoy my job so much, I'd stay there."
Neil looked at her for a moment as she gazed at earth, before joining her in looking at his home planet. "I am glad I grew up there." he admitted. "Made me what I am, which some might say that it's a bad thing but-" he shrugged. "I like it. Earth too. Though I gotta be honest, one of the reasons I'm here is to get away from it. New worlds and experiences sound like something that's too good to pass up, even if we are stuck in endless regulations on the ship."
Miraculiously, Neil seemed to pull an apple out of nowhere from some fold in his pants, which was very odd considering the very plain, easily recognizeably flat pants the crew members were tasked with wearing had very little room to carry things in. He rolled it down his shoulder and spun it on his finger for a moment. "Hungry?" he asked. Sometimes from the scheduling, people tended to miss meals and she seemed to be preoccupied in her head over something. Perhaps it was food?
A slight frown appeared on Lyra's face as she looked at the fruit, trying to remember which one it was. Banana? No, that was the odd yellow one.
"Oh - an apple, yes?" Finally remembering, she shook her head with a smile. "Not so hungry - besides, I can't eat much in the way of fruit. Different digestive system, and all that. I remember trying cherries for the same time, and ate a whole bowl becuase I liked them so much." Now laughing, Lyra probably considered the situation a lot more humorous than her previous CMO aboard the
USS Cochrane. "I was in bed for two days with stomach cramps - didn't stop me liking them though."
Neil chuckled, then bit into the apple. "Well I'll be sure to share some beef jerky next time." he joked. Actually, thinking on that now he really wanted some too. "And yes it's an apple." He tilted his head and regarded her. "Not that I am complaining but you seem very personable for Chief Security. Either that or I have been extremely unlikely in running into security in the past. How'd you come by the job, Lyra? You don't mind me calling you Lyra?"
"Lyra's fine." She began with a companionable smile - she was asked this question a lot. She couldn't understand why Security Officer's had to be solemn and stoic all the time - she had found people were generally more cooperative if you treated them nicely. Why use shackles when you can just smile? "I suppose I just preferred this route out of all the others. I mean, Starfleet was an obvious choice for me - I'd left home and wanted to see the Universe. This was the best place to do that." She paused then, looking back out of the window; not towards Earth, but to the glittering void of space and stars in the distance.
"I'm stern when I need to be, and obviously impressed enough people over the years to get this job. It's my first time in a commanding role, but I think I'll do alright. Well... hope so, anyway. Everyone else will be the judge of that." Pausing, another confused frown settled on her face as she looked back to Neil.
"What's beef jerky?"
He regarded her a moment, and then nodded. For once, his face was genuine. Well...it was often genuine. But for once his face was purely genuine without mischief. "I believe you'll do grand." he said. "Just because every security officer has been a hard ass doesn't mean it necessarily works. Hell I still have a job and that alone means they haven't done their's in some respects. I-...what."
Neil was taken aback. "Are you telling me...that you have a carnivorous diet and you've never tasted the best piece of meat in the galaxy?" Once he realized what he had said, it took his full willpower not to burst into laughter from the innuendo he had inadvertently made. But this was too important for him to mess up. "Beef jerky is...well it's incredible. Especially Teriyaki. Beef Jerky is beef, meat from a cow, salted and seasoned and....ooooo it's just good."
Ears perking up in understanding, Lyra recalled what "beef" tasted like. It was one of the most popular meats for humans, as she believed. Chicken was a common one too.
"It certainly sounds delicious - I'll have to try some for dinner." She replied with a grin; that was yet another thing to add to her list of foods to try. Among them was "sushi", "lasagne", and something called a "corndog".
"And thank you for having faith in me - a possibily risky action, but I am grateful for it anyway." Chuckling softly, Lyra had a somewhat mischievous look in her eye. She had hopes that other people on the ship would be as welcoming as Neil, but even now, she knew it wasn't likely. Some sorts just never got along with her type of personality. Hopefully the CMO she had yet to meet would be pleasant enough; it would make for an awkward examamination otherwise.
"Oh, would you happen to know the way to the sickbay? I have a date to keep."
There it was... that glint in her eye. He could tell he was quite lucky to have her aboard. He'd seen that look in his own eye far too much by his reflection on the ship's reflective walls. Most people who saw it thought of trouble, but to him it meant the promise of fun and adventure.
Neil was an odd one. He took so much pleasure in the simplest, silliest things that it had unintended side effects, such as making him a convincing actor. With a practiced but subtle bow, he held out his arm for her to take. "I would be delighted to escort you, m'lady." he said, his Kentish accent surprisingly well polished. His smile showed it was both a jest, but also an honest proposal simultaneously.
Although not fully understanding the purpose of his switched accent and jovial manner, Lyra smiled in amusement anyway as she took his arm. Neil seemed to be a good balance between kind and humourous - she had hopes they could be friends. Well, by the way he was describing himself, she'd likely be spending lots of time with anyway - just to get him out of trouble.
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