Posted by Ensign Tabris Asam (Engineering Officer) in Settling In - Again - Sharah’s New Quarters

[snip]

“Olly was an excellent teacher. He had an endless amount of patience, and even more passion for what he did. It was contagious.” Sharah smiles at the memories. “It’s a good thing he had a lot of patience too. The first time I met him I destroyed his arboretum, running in and out of the different flower beds and strewing dirt everywhere.”

With a joy that can only come from enjoying another’s stories Tabris continued to listen as he though about how lovely this person must be. He took a second before saying, “Would I be correct in guessing when you first met him you were a small child? How did he react with you traipsing around?” As he listened he gave off a contented emotional signal, one where he felt like an old friend who was reminiscing about the past with someone he hasn’t caught up with in a long time. Perhaps that was given his heritage and the El-Aurian people’s reputation as listeners. Perhaps it was because Tabris could see Olly as much like himself.

“You would be. I was 10 when I met him and he ‘adopted me.’ He’s been a constant in my life ever since.” Sharah laughed, “He didn’t mind too much. Instead of getting mad he sat down on the floor with me and talked to me. He even hid me from the Klingon security guard who was looking for me. I ran away from my family. The security guard who was supposed to show us to our quarters went looking for me along with my brother.”
OOC: If you want to read this story, go to her profile and then there are two labeled “First encounters” They are listed in order.

Closing his notebook after finishing his notes he took a slow walk around the room, adjusted his glasses a little further up his nose as they had slipped down just a tad, and said. “Don’t you worry about the credits Lieutenant, we’re on a deep space mission and making sure you’re able to perform at your best is key. Now lets talk your color pallet shall we?” Tabris said as he pulled some color swatches from the back of his notebook.

Ensign Tabris Asam, Eng

“Color pallet?” Sharah hadn’t thought about color choices, not really, other than a pale yellow for the walls if the wood cabin idea didn’t pan out. “Nothing bright, more subdued. I prefer earth tones to anything else. Do you have any suggestions?” She took her water and sat down at the table and offered the ensign a seat across from her.
Lt. jg Fayth, CSO

Tabris slapped his forehead softly as he said, “Shoot I thought I brought my bag with me. Here, take a look at these and see if anything appeals to you while I replicate something.” Getting up Tabris handed the Lieutenant the 4 swatches he had on him, a few old earth style paint chips ranging from yellows to browns to some pastels. “Computer, would you please replicate item Tabris-1163? Thank you”. As he approached the replicator the swirling energy and matter coalesced into two items. One was a Pantone FHIC200 interior color book the other a ring bound copy of his old standard The Surface Texture Book. He brought them over and said, “You know I haven’t done interior design professionally since I got out of the business back in 2027 so most of what I know is a few hundred years out of date, but the log cabin look was ‘in’ back then so let’s go over some ideas” Tabris opened both books to some swatches and texture samples that he thought would work well.

Ensign Tabris Asam, Eng

Sharah looked at the books and was slightly overwhelmed. She hadn’t expected, what she thought was a simple request, to be so…involved? “Oh okay.” She opened the texture book and went through them. “I think, the only preference I have is that it’s natural materials. Well it will be replicated so based on natural materials. Synthetics are just too…I don’t know, they make me feel like I’m living in a holodeck, and nothing in a holodeck is real or authentic.” For Sharah there was a kind of peace in the holodeck, but it wasn’t real and though sometimes the illusion of quiet on a holodeck helped her focus she preferred the chaos of her real life to any illusion.

She opened the other book full of color samples and her eyes went wide. “That’s…a lot of colors.” She looked back at the picture she had of the cabin and back at the color choices. “I like the tone of the wood from the cabin. Browns, greens, burnt oranges, reds. I’m actually going to have more plants in here after we’re done.” She looks around. “I didn’t think it would be this…detailed.” She laughes a little turning the pages. The pastels caught her eye, because they reminded her of some of the flowers she intended to pot and bring in, but she wasn’t sure she wanted those colors on her walls.
Lt. jg Fayth, CSO

Tabris once again pulled out his paper notebook and pencil as he jotted down a few more notes, ‘natural materials’ and ‘no synthetic’ as well as ‘oak? maybe batten board accents with the wood construction. How about maple or walnut?’ There were a few scratched out notes, the walnut would be too dark for a main color and he wrote down ‘Elm, Cyprus, White Oak, Cherry, Redwood, or Russian Olive’ as he observed what colors her eyes were drawn too and made a mental note of that. He tried to figure out what a good rustic fabric or two would be for the upholstery as well as some others for the lighter more comfortable sections. He made a few notes about that as well with options such as burlap and tweed for the heavier use items such as chairs and any decorative fabric elements to stay in line with the rustic look, and for the softer touches he would suggest chenille and silk.

Tabris finished writing and chuckled, “I’m sure it’d be easier to tour rooms on the holodeck, but you have the one man in Starfleet who used to do this over 300 years ago and is stuck in his ways. Computer? Would you please replicate Tabris-1164? Thank you” He called out as he rose to grab the latest tool, a stack of samples known as the Sauers Wood Identification Kit, where he pulled out the pieces he had written down in his notebook. “Would you mind looking these over and seeing which you prefer? The tones in the wood you choose will affect what accent colors and paint choices we go with for the rest of your quarters. Also, in going with the fabric choices, what do you think of these two for the rustic element, and these two for their comfort?” Tabris asked, pulling the samples for each of his noted fabrics from The Surface Texture Book. “My thought is we start with the wood you want, the fabrics you want, and build your quarters from there. And remember we can replicate any of this how you want, if you did want a custom wood we can adjust the colors there as well, however these are as natural as the materials I was working back with on Earth. Sorry to say I’m not as familiar with other planet’s fauna and fabrics.”

Ensign Tabris Asam, Eng

Sharah took the cards and looked through them. She looked at the photo again. The photo wasn’t just an idea, it was a photo of home. The red elm looked most like the paneling in the cabin. And then she had an idea of how to bring something else from home into the room and picked the accent woods from that. “Red elm with forest cherry and ebony wood accents. For trim and furniture. Does that make sense?” Despite having no idea what she was doing Tabris’s enthusiasm was contagious and she was starting to enjoy herself. But she wasn’t sure if what she was picturing actually 1 would work and 2 if she was being clear about what she was thinking. “That’s okay. This cabin is on Earth so I’d rather use materials from Earth.” She glanced at his note pad and saw him write several types of fabric down and “No Burlap. And Chenille and Silk are a little too…much for my taste.” She’d be afraid to actually use whatever was covered in those fabrics and Sharah was practical and didn’t have use or desire for things simply because they were ‘pretty.’
Lt. jg Fayth, CSO