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Pre Sim - Lounge - New Faces, New Friends? (Tag CNS, Brison)

Posted Sept. 18, 2020, 7:18 a.m. by Lieutenant Auleraine Brison (Engineering Officer) (Melissa Aragon)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Gravel Mardusk (Chief of Security) in Pre Sim - Lounge - New Faces, New Friends? (Tag CNS, Brison)

Posted by Lieutenant Auleraine Brison (Engineering Officer) in Pre Sim - Lounge - New Faces, New Friends? (Tag CNS, Brison)

Posted by Lieutenant Revna Edman (Counselor) in Pre Sim - Lounge - New Faces, New Friends? (Tag CNS, Brison)

(snip)
Mardusk chuckled a deep, throaty laugh. “Oh, if you want to see her face when she fell, I saved the vid feed. I show it to my team when they are having a bad day. Never fails to brighten a foul mood.” and he laughed again.

She grinned conspiratorily at Lera, “Don’t worry Lera, if I can get a hold of that vid I’m sure I can point out the equally memorable look on his face. Subtle and well concealed but there non-the-less.” This was purely guess work on Revna’s part. But she was sure that Mardusk was as taken aback by Lera as she had been by him. They wouldn’t be sitting at this table together if he hadn’t. And the comment was meant to ease Lera’s embarrassment some as well.

He looked at Lera and said “So I had my eval with the Counselor here earlier. You should get yours knocked out when you can.” The statement was off the cuff, but there was a subtle hint of concern in his voice that only Lera or someone very astute at listening would have been able to catch.

Mardusk, CoS

A quick flash of something… pain, perhaps… flashed on Lera’s face. It was gone swifter than her breath, though and she smiled. “Bet you say that to everyone who shows an interest in you.” She laughed but it was once more a bit off for her.

Revna was a very astute listener. She had to be to be as good at her job as she was. She had wondered if this was what Mardusk had been up to by inviting her to dinner. Not at first she hadn’t, but the longer she sat with them the more she had wondered. Before anyone else could respond to the concern in Mardusk’s voice, Revna sighed dramatically. “Really? You know Mardusk I’m not on duty all the time.” She laughed, easing the tension at the table emphasizing the joke. “I mean I’ve done evals in the lounge before, but I was so enjoying a friendly dinner.” She turned to Lera, “You don’t mind if I decline for tonight do you? I can always set something up tomorrow.” She looked like she was practically begging Lera to let her off the hook. Then she winked at her and nodded at Mardusk, “If you talk as much as him we’ll be here till after midnight.” Revna had already figured out that Lera was easily uncomfortable around others and that she felt out of place at times. Her own quick trip to the bar had made her unsettled. And the concern in Mardusk’s tone told her a lot. She’d do what she could for Lera, but she had to get her to trust her and talk first. Revna took a long sip of her drink.

Lt. Edman, Counselor

A non verbal ‘thanks’ came from Lera’s eyes as Revna made the ‘plea’. “Of course. Please, don’t let me be the one to fill your schedule,” she laughed and it was more relieved. “I am sure we can find time later. I think tonight we should certainly focus on food and friends. Yes?” She glanced back at Mardusk hoping he would understand. It cut her, slightly, that he would make such a suggestion with the woman right there. She hoped, deep down, that he had meant it as a joke. But in her heart, she knew he was saying it to also let the Counselor know she probably needed it.

Pushing her plate of chocolate towards the Counselor, she smiled. “I say we share this, while he eats his portion. I don’t recommend trying to share with him,” she turned and stuck her tongue out teasing him with a laugh. “He doesn’t play nice with others when it comes to desserts.” Glancing back at Revna she smiled. “Bet he didn’t bring that up during his talk with you. Did he?” She laughed once more and let it all pass as she took a bite of the cake, grateful for her morning gym workouts to keep her from getting too large to crawl thru Jeffries tubes.

Lera
Engineer

“Hey, you want my dessert you have the same chance as anyone else of getting it… none.” and he laughed. At that moment, a pair of voices began to raise up over the din of conversation.

Revna chuckled and looked at Lera, “I’m not dumb enough to brave that. I think I’ll just share with you.” She took a small bite. “And no he didn’t mention that, but then again I didn’t ask about his dessert sharing habits.” She seemed to ponder the idea, “I may have to add that to my list of required questions.”

Two Ensigns, one Science and one Engineering, were arguing loudly by the bank of replicators. “I was here first. You cut in front of me! For no reason! It’s not like these things run out of whatever you are trying to get.” said the Scientist. The Engineer responded in turn “You’ve been standing here for give freaking minutes! I don’t know how long you blue-backs get for a meal, but we actually have work to do in my department!”

Revna heard the commotion and turned to look, starting to stand up. She was a peace keeper and out of years of personal habit she’d made a name for herself on her previous ships. Before security she was often called first to defuse situations. But as the shouting started and the crowd gathered, Revna hesitated, her face going very pale. She sat pulling absently at the collar of her shirt her breath suddenly shallow and her mind obviously elsewhere.

Lera saw the spectacle and guessed Mar would deal with it. Had he not been there, she would have gotten up. But as Revna sat down, she reached her hand to touch the other woman’s arm in concern and support. She smiled and mouthed, Watch this, just as Mardusk stood up.

A low growl came from Mardusk and said softly “Excuse me for a moment, won’t you ladies?” and he slid from the booth and began moving through the people who had stopped what they were doing to watch. As he moved, the onlookers parted as if he was an ocean going vessel cutting through high seas. He came up beside the two and bent low, putting his hands on his thighs and looking each one in the eye in turn. From the table, his words were inaudible and his back was to Jim dinner companions, but the reaction of the two was perfectly visible. First, shock. Then, slight protest followed immediately by a sharp straightening of the backs of the two and then a unison “Yes, sir Commander.” Mardusk straightened up and crossed his arms on his chest. The two picked up their meals and went to a table in direct line of sight to Mardusk’s seat with the two women and the Ensigns sat, shook hands, and began eating in silence.

Mardusk made his way back to the table and took a seat, picked up the pitcher of beer and took a large drink. Setting it down, he looked at the two women and said “Sorry about that. Now… where were we?”

Mardusk. CoS

Mardusk’s return seemed to snap Revna back from where ever her thoughts had gone. She picked up her glass, tossed the rest of the whisky back and slammed the glass down on the table harder than she should have. She swore silently to herself. This had to stop, before it happened again. She couldn’t do her job like that. She shook her head in apology to Lera. At Mardusk’s question she looked over at the bar and got Harry’s attention. “I’m getting you a whole other cake and pitcher of beer, on me, for saving me from having to deal with that.” She nodded towards the unruly ensigns now eating quietly.
Lt. Edman, Counselor

Lera laughed. “Well, you two can have it. I have a refit of three shuttles and two runabouts this week. Means my gym time will be zero.” She shook her head and nodded to her slice. “I’m gonna stick to just this or I won’t fit under a couple of those consoles.” She laughed at Revna and winked. “But you two, knock yourselves out. I’ll live vicariously thru you and your sugar comas.”

Lera
Engineer

Mardusk smiled and said “Just the beer. One cake a day is my limit. Gotta watch my girlish figure, ya know.”

Mardusk, CoS

Revna nodded almost spitting out her drink. A girly figure indeed, “Next time you want cake, it’s on me.” She wasn’t doing well though, and Mardusk, observant as he was, and possibly Lera too, would notice her breath was labored. “I think it’s past time for my meds. I don’t feel like the good doc chasing me down, so.” She turned to Lera, “It was really nice to meet you Lera. Come by in a couple of days and we’ll get up to some mischief.” She winked and gave the woman a side hug. She stood and turned to Mardusk, her back to Lera, she nodded slightly and gripped his shoulder in understanding. “Thank you for the invite Mardusk. We’ll do it again.” Revna stepped away from the table with a smile. She waved to Harry as she left. She got out the door and a few feet down the hallway before stopping to breath. She was never more grateful that her quarters were just down the corridor.
Lt. Edman, Counselor

Lera smiled and half hugged back. She had been about to offer to see the woman to her quarters, but since Mar didn’t seem concerned, she let the woman be. But she’d certainly check up on her later. “Sounds like fun,” she responded to the invitation for a get together in a few days.

Seeing the woman finally disappear behind the closed door, she took a bite of her cake in silence a moment before turning to Mar. “Why did you recommend I go see her? In the middle of dinner?” She wasn’t mad. But there was hurt in her eyes. “You could have said something to me in private if you were concerned.” She glanced up at him wondering why he would do something like that to embarrass her.

Lera
Engineer

Mardusk took a drink and said “One. Because I know you haven’t been. Two. I know you are putting it off. Three. Your nightmares aren’t getting better. Four. I know she -” and he tilted his head towards the door, “- notices things like that and I knew you’d give her a reason you hadn’t made it to her yet. And five, you know as well as I do that you are supposed to have regular appointments or you can get yanked off of ship-based duty. And if that happens, how ever will I ever fill my off duty hours, huh?” and he smiled at her. “So it was actually selfishness on my part. Pure and simple.”

Mardusk, CoS

Lera laughed. “Leave it to you to cover your own backside with something sweet to placate me.” She rose up and started to clear the table of all the plates. Leaning over to kiss his cheek, she smiled and whispered, “You big softy.” It never ceased to amaze her the level of compassion the man had, especially towards her. Even when he carried her in the corridors for shock value, he did it with a tenderness that folks didn’t see. Most saw possessiveness or even bragging. To her, it had become as natural as holding hands. Even in Mike’s, he would still pour her drinks when Mike left glasses and bottles for them at night when work had run later than he wanted to wait around.

For him she would make the effort. She would try and open up to Revna. Deep down she knew the woman was trained to help people with traumatic pasts like her. But she had honestly thought she had a pretty good handle on it. For Mar to go to these lengths to show her otherwise, meant she was much deeper entangled in it than she thought.

Lera
Eng


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