Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Solal Segal (Oncology and Immunology) in Side sim - A Concert for the Ages

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Achilleas Petrakos (Chief Science Officer) in Side sim - A Concert for the Ages

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Solal Segal (Oncology and Immunology) in Side sim - A Concert for the Ages
Posted by… suppressed (26) by the Post Ghost! 👻
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The idea of practicing in public was pushing it for Solal. It was not a very Vulcan thing to do. But it would give them the opportunity to practice when the holodeck was occupied. “Perhaps we could get real ones next time the ship docks at a space station? I’m not sure…” He said. An instrument wasn’t the most common thing to just happen across.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

“Yeah… and I’m not an engineer or experienced with woodworking, so I don’t have the skills to make one. Though… we could see about replicating one. I’m sure the specifications for instruments could be found and input. Maybe get an engineers advice on how they’d go about it. Or maybe see if anyone in security knows someone who could acquire things. See if they might have a lead.” Achilleas replied while his excitement kept climbing at each knew idea.

CSO Petrakos

Solal nodded apprehensively, not wanting the whole ship to know what he was up to. “A replicated instrument would have to be very precise, but it would be faster than trying to acquire one.” He said. If they could decide the best way to acquire the instruments, they could involve the fewest possible people, which Solal preferred.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

“The database the holodeck uses for objects would likely be our best bet then. I imagine it’d have the measurements to the level of preciseness needed. Programming the replicator to the exact specifications is possible but I think getting some help from an engineer on that would be best.” Achilleas replied as he continued brainstorming.

CSO Petrakos

Solal nodded. “I agree. An engineer would be best at getting it precisely right. I am sure you would be more familiar with the correct person for the job than I?” He asked. Then they’d only have to ask one person. Perfect.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

“Well… despite being a department head, I’ve had very little interaction with the Chief Engineer or any of the other engineers. For the short period I was aboard the old Ogawa there was too much chaos and mayhem going on then we were stuck on the starbase.” Achilleas admitted that he’d been negligent in making social connections with the other department heads.

CSO Petrakos

“Wonderful.” said Solal, a rare show of sarcasm, complete with the human slight narrowing of the eyes. “I see chaos like the tea party event is not unheard of to this ship, then?” He asked. He supposed that was a reasonable enough reason for lacking social connections with others on the ship. Not that he’d imagine he’d be great at it, either. He couldn’t exactly fault Achilleas for that.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

“If you consider the ship being trapped in another dimension and needing to forcefully ram it’s way back to ours through a tear in space, then yeah, about par for the course.” Achilleas responded while not in any way accounting for the sarcasm. “Well and I’m a scientist who easily focuses on whatever has my attention at the moment. The tea party was one such thing that kind sidetracked my department for a bit but then my getting a girlfriend became a major focus for me personally.”

CSO Petrakos

Solal raised a brow. “An interesting tale.” He said. “I can’t say I’d be much better than you at networking with others on the ship,” he added with a shrug. “No need to excuse it with your girlfriend,” He added. Internally, he would be grinning. Externally, he showed the same Vulcan face.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

Achilleas shrugged in return. “Someday I’ll get around to rubbing elbows with my fellow senior staff. I haven’t been in any particular hurry or anything. Shouldn’t you be looking for a companion yourself?” He changed subjects suddenly. “I’m aware of a male Vulcan’s needs every seven years after hitting puberty.”

CSO Petrakos

Solal raised a brow. “Humans. Always talking about dating.” He commented, wanting to put the phase out of his mind. It would be coming sooner than he’d like, and spent the time he wasn’t dealing with that particular part of his vulcan lineage putting that particular part in the farthest back corner of his mind.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

“I think it’s just that Vulcans live longer than Humans, so we humans have to condense our efforts into a shorter timespan. So dating and procreating are important biological imperatives. What is your opinion on that as a doctor?” Achilleas inquired curiously as the conversation went down a rabbit hole.

CSO Petrakos

Now, that question was much more in Solal’s interest range. “Biologically, it makes perfect sense. Humans’ natural life expectancy is a mere seventy years with only forty to fifty of those being fertile years. And only a ten year optimal window, in the late twenties and early thirties, a time when the choice to raise a child is often a rather illogical one.” Apparently, he had quite the opinion on this topic as he went on, “While Vulcans have a life expectancy of 200 years have just twice the time yet only think about such things as a biological imperative once every seven years. A much better system.”

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

“I don’t know if the efficiency of only having the imperative every seven years is necessarily better. A couple of days of outpouring passion and then going back to bottling it up just doesn’t sound fun.” Achilleas replied with a skeptical look. “Though compared to Orions being trapped in lust by the pheromones of the females, I’d rather stick with every seven years.”

CSO Petrakos

“Our species continues sufficiently, and we live the majority of our lives without the burden of attempting to impress potential mates. This sounds like the best system to me,” Solal defended, though he had to agree with the second sentiment. “Orions are… interesting. I’d rather be completely human than even one-half Orion and have to deal with that system.”

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

Achilleas grinned. “I want to say that maybe a couple of days in a pheromone lustful state might be interesting, but after getting a person I love it just sounds exhausting. As for impressing potential mates… eh, well I consider myself very lucky to have basically stumbled upon one and I have no idea how it even happened. I don’t regret asking her out or anything but I certainly wasn’t looking to start a relationship..”

CSO Petrakos

“That is how it usually happens, isn’t it?” Solal said. He had watched a fair amount of Earth television, both old style and newer, and it was frequently portrayed that way. Whenever the character in the show was looking for a date, it appeared they could not find one. But their criteria were completely irrational. Hair color, facial structure, and other superficial reasons were often used as indicators of a good partner.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

Achilleas shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know really. I have a sister who went through several girlfriends over several summers and while none of them ended up being a permanent fixture she seemed to have no problem finding them. I was never really interested and my being the youngest meant that there was no pressure on me to do so. My older siblings had already settled down with their spouses, so the requirement of continuing the family line had already been satisfied.”

CSO Petrakos

Solal nodded. “I would rather stay in Starfleet than create a family,” he commented with a shrug. “I have little interest in returning to Vulcan.”

~ Lt JG Solal Segal, Science

“Won’t you have to when you hit that particular year though?” Achilleas asked curiously. “I know Vulcans can mate with humans but I thought that the time the particular impulse hits that it would be better to be on Vulcan during that time.”

CSO Petrakos

Solal nodded. “Yes, during that time it is best to return to Vulcan, until it passes. There are a few ways that may be able to control it, but should I have no choice but to return, it will be a temporary stay,” he replied. He had decided that long ago, and with his next time coming up within the next year or so, he’d have to put it to the test sooner than he’d like. When the time did come, he’d ask for the leave just in case, but he did intend to try the other methods he’d read about. Intense meditation would be the best bet.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

“What other ways are you talking about? I imagine it’s not quite as simple as barricade yourself in your room.” Achilleas asked next as his curiosity increased. He was also curious why Solal was so set against going to Vulcan except as a last result, but he sensed it might be an unwanted subject so he left it alone.

CSO Petrakos

“I read once, that a Vulcan in Starfleet satiated that particular time with a holodeck hologram,” said Solal, “like a placebo effect, tricking biology. I give it a low chance it works, though.” It wasn’t that he didn’t like Vulcan, but he had no family there, he didn’t know anyone. It wasn’t like he’d been betrothed to anyone like some Vulcans were, and it seemed interesting to go there just for… that.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

Achilleas laughed for long moment. “I’m sure that’d work for humans too, but I would not want to clean up whatever the resulting mess was. How does that work on the holodeck anyway? Like if my sweat drips off of my forehead to the floor.”

CSO Petrakos

Solal looked slightly uncomfortable. “I am not sure, but I assume the holodeck would make it seem real like it does with anything else. And I’ve got several months, more likely a year to figure out what to do about it,” he said, letting slip when his next ‘time’ would be.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

Achilleas nodded slowly. “Well if you need someone to tag along so you don’t feel out of place, I’ve always wanted to visit Vulcan and can be convinced to travel. Though I promised Ria my first leave would be to go visit Bajor with her.”

CSO Petrakos

Solal used his best Vulcan skills to swallow his embarrassment. “That is a kind offer. I will not ask you to go, but if you would like to go to see Vulcan it would be acceptable,” he said, carefully choosing his words, levelling his tone. “I have heard Bajor is quite an interesting place. I’m sure your leave with Ria will be most enjoyable.” He didn’t want to discourage Achilleas going, but he’d rather pretend he wasn’t as worried about it as he was.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

“I’ve never been anywhere but Earth, the old Ogawa, this new one obviously, and the starbase. So I’m likely to find any new planet rather interesting.” Achilleas admitted quite freely. He didn’t pick up on Solal’s embarrassment at all, which was either a good indicator of Solal’s stoic front or Achilleas’ obliviousness, but even if he had he wouldn’t have teased him about it. He didn’t consider the thoughts surrounding procreation or biological imperatives to be all that embarrassing since his family was very open about it.

CSO Petrakos

In Vulcan culture, Pon Farr was considered a private matter. And Solal’s family on Earth hadn’t been particularly open about that sort of thing either. That plus his disdain for emotions added up to one very reluctant to talk about that sort of thing person. “I’ve never been but Earth, the previous ship I was on, this Ogawa, and the starbase, either,” he told Achilleas, “And on Earth, I never left France except to attend the academy.” He had always wanted to go to Vulcan, but he couldn’t justify taking leave just to pointlessly visit a planet. He’d rather stay on the ship, rather work.

~ Lt JG Solal, Doctor

“Hey, we have that in common!” Achilleas said excitedly. “I’d never been around Earth except for San Francisco when attending the Academy and Greece where I lived. Well and around the Mediterranean sea when we went fishing or sailing. I never felt the urge to explore beyond where I lived. My interest was always elsewhere.”

CSO Petrakos