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Ship's Lounge - A lunchtime meeting

Posted Nov. 20, 2019, 10:24 a.m. by Ensign Kiama Naim (Scientist) (Silke Fahl)

Posted by Ensign Shon Baht (Medical Officer) in Ship’s Lounge - A lunchtime meeting

Posted by Ensign Kiama Naim (Scientist) in Ship’s Lounge - A lunchtime meeting

Posted by Ensign Shon Baht (Medical Officer) in Ship’s Lounge - A lunchtime meeting
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip)
Kiama met his gaze and smiled at him, wondering why he was suddenly worried. She was unaware of her stiff posture as it was so deeply ingrained in her, so she hazard a guess that what he said was the explanation of his emotions. She could, of course, simply read his mind, but she also tried to do her best to respect other people’s privacy. “You are welcome! I’m glad you excepted. And while I already thought that you were personable during my boarding evaluation, I think being off duty helps pretty much everyone in that regard,” she replied sincerely. “So, when you aren’t treating various patients, what do you like to do?”

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon smiled. “I suppose it is your turn to ask me some questions, huh?” he said teasingly. Then he paused. “Well, I’ve always enjoyed theater. So most of my holodeck time is used rehearsing musical numbers,” he chuckled. “Bolian theater tends to be a bit… dramatic by earth standards, but there are some great old human plays I’ve been practicing too.” Shon paused. “Forgive me if this sounds ignorant, but I haven’t looked into betazoid dramas because I figured they probably have a lot of telepathic subtext I just couldn’t replicate. Is that the case?”

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

Kiama chuckled softly in reply to his tease and then listened with delight. She always loved to hear about what people felt passionate about, even if it was something she had no personal interest in. But the play of positive emotions and seeing something from a different perspective was something very precious to her. “I must admit that my knowledge of theatre is rather scarce. My mother made me go to plays and the opera with her and my father a lot and it was never a pleasant experience for me to be honest. But to answer your question: yes and no. The traditional plays always have a telepathic subtext if they aren’t entirely telepathic. But especially since Betazed joined the Federation there seems be a shift. All the modern plays I remember relied solely on spoken communication. And of course body language and facial expressions. Or at least there never seemed to be an intentional telepathic subtext that I could pick up,” she replied thoughtfully. “Though I’m really not the right person to ask any questions about Betazoid theatre.”

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon frowned as he swallowed another spoonful of his lunch. “I’m sorry you haven’t enjoyed your previous theatre experiences. But,” he said leaning in and looking around as if checking to make sure no one was overhearing, “I’ve never enjoyed opera either.” Sitting back, he snickered. “Believe me, the plays I like are a lot more fun. We should go see one together sometime! Don’t worry, I wouldn’t be performing,” he jested.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Kiama replied, “Maybe I really should give the theatre another chance. Judging it by the circumstances under which I went so far isn’t exactly fair, I guess.” Looking Shon straight in the eyes, she continued, “Thank you for the offer. I’m sure I’ll take you up on it. And your secret about opera is save with me.” She winked as she said that last sentence.

Placing both elbows on the table and folding his hands in front of his mouth, Shon gazed out the window with a far-off look. “Those telepathic plays do sound fascinating though. What a shame, to simply not be capable of experiencing the full extent of all the beauty the galaxy has to offer.”

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

After eating a few more individual maccaroni and a small piece of chicken, Kiama mused, “It has it advantages. But as everything in life it also has it’s downsides. ” For a moment her eyes seemed to glaze over as her thoughts drifted to some far away place.

Shaking her head ever so slightly, Kiama sat - if possible - even straighter then before. “I’m sorry for getting lost in my own mind for moment.” She then tilted her head slightly to the left and added, “Of all the plays you’ve watched to this day, what has been your favourite one? And which of the roles you played did you like best?”

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon’s jaw tightened for a second, some of his anxiety from earlier in the meal returning. Despite his best efforts to be disarming, it hadn’t seemed to have had much effect on Kiama’s demeanor. He waved a hand dismissively at her question. “Oh, my favorite is an old earth play called Little Shop of Horrors, it’s a little eccentric but that’s why I like it. And it’s a bit ironic given my studies, but my favorite part to play is Fiyero, a flippant man whose main message is that we should shun education and structure.”

Kiama had just been about to ask what exactly those two plays were about, when Shon continued talking.

“But enough about me,” Shon said as a way of moving on as he stirred his chowder. “I can’t help but notice you seem a little tense. I hope that’s not a symptom of a hard transition to the Manhattan.”

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

Blinking at him in confusion and her brow slightly furrowed, Kiama tilted her head ever so slightly to the left. It wasn’t more than a second or two later, that the scientist felt heat rush into her cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I’m not tense at all and I apologise for making you feel uncomfortable and worried. Sitting with a prefect posture at a dinning table and taking only small bites, is something that has been drilled into me for most of my life. I wasn’t even aware of it.” Shaking her head slightly while trying to sit less stiffly, she added, “Some habits really die hard.”

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon smiled in bewilderment. “It’s refreshing to have my attempts at subtlety so immediately seen through. But as you can no-doubt tell, I am very relieved that my assumptions were misplaced. I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m passing judgement on your table manners,” he chuckled with a twinge of embarrassment. “With so many different kinds of people in Starfleet, cultures are bound to have some awkward interactions.”

Kiama nodded and smiled slightly lopsidedly. “Indeed. Even between peoples who have been members of the Federation for a long time.” After a brief pause she added, “But I guess that with the wast number of members plus every other species we made contact with, it isn’t surprising things don’t always go smoothly. And really, not even between two members of the same species does communication always go smoothly.”

“But,” Shon said with renewed energy, “I am genuinely interested about how your experience on the Manhattan has been so far, too! Anything interesting to report? Any juicy drama you’ve picked up on from the science department?” He curled a finger around his upper lip and rested his chin on a hand propped up by his elbow on the table, looking at Kiama expectantly.

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

“For the most part I’ve been working more or less on my own, to be honest. Analysing samples a probe brought back and filing my findings. In general nothing out of the ordinary,” Kiama replied. “Though I did find some interesting micro organisms in one of the samples. They seem to able to adapt to their surroundings and new environments at an incredibly fast rate.” Without missing a beat she went full detail into what she’d tried so far and how those organisms had reacted. There was a glitter of excitement in her eyes and for the first time since sitting down, she wasn’t sitting stiffly any more. While her back was still straight, she was also leaning forward and used her hands a lot. Without noticing it she only just missed her cup twice.

~Ensign Naim, Scientist


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