STF

Vanessa, Kalos, and why one should never ask family for help during a sporting event

Posted June 5, 2022, 3:46 p.m. by Ensign Kalos Onovren (Engineer) (Mason Marcy)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Vanessa Slade (CNS) in Vanessa, Kalos, and why one should never ask family for help during a sporting event

Posted by Ensign Kalos Onovren (Engineer) in Vanessa, Kalos, and why one should never ask family for help during a sporting event

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Vanessa Slade (CNS) in Vanessa, Kalos, and why one should never use ask family for help during a sporting event
Posted by… suppressed (15) by the Post Ghost! 👻
According to the rule of Archimedes Lever if one had a place to stand, a balance point, and a lever long enough they could move anything. The reality of this rule however was far messier. The drip in the sink in the bathroom had been going on long enough to make Vanessa nuts. Calling home one night she recounted the situation to her mother who then in turn told Vanessa’s brothers Dennis, Dallas, and Dylan. Normally matters such as faulty power, construction jobs, vehicle maintenance, and water issues were handled by the family business in one form or another. The family didn’t pave roads but since they covered any manner of repairs, the joke was about all roads leading to Rome was twisted to all roads lead to us. In time and after a lot of beers one night, the catchy slogan in South Boston morphed into the family slogan of If you don’t use us, it’s your own asphalt.

Unfortunately Vanessa, for the first time in her life was out of service all range. This however did not stop her brother’s egos nor her mother’s iron-fisted control over the family. Two weeks after a casual comment about a drippy faucet, the story had morphed into a case of the Tell-tale heart, and Vanessa ten seconds from becoming the old man of the tale. Another two weeks of Vanessa promising to contact Den, Dal, or Dyl and her brothers swearing to their mom they had tried to get in contact with Vanessa resulted in the matriarch herself becoming involved much to the chagrin of all involved.

Now Vanessa was wedged half in a wall panel and half out with one of the care package gifts her brother had sent her. “Okay so I just tighten… this…clah....mmmmpppahh,” Vanessa said struggling with the hydrowrench in her hand.

“What the hell ah you doing Pastrnak? Get the puck in the zone. Why ah you letting jahry neah it,” was Dennis’ thickly accented response. While the PaDD was placed on the mantle above the holovision, no one was watching what Vanessa was doing.

“Dennis, it is not moving” Vanessa grunted trying to twist the wrench that did not seem to want to move.

“Yeah yeah just put some ahh,” Dennis yelled back before a sharp cuff on the back of his head cut off the words. “Mah why you hitting me?” Rubbing the spot, he did not give back anymore lip once saw who had gib smacked him.

“Dennis you know i don’t like that kind of language. that is youh sistah. Don’t use wawds like that around hah,” Valeria Slade replied bringing in a mountain of food for her sons that were simultaneously watching the hockey game and helping their sister.

“Mah trust me she had said and heahd wawse.” Dylan’s comment brought another gib smack across the back of his head from his mother as she moved across the room “Owww why ah you hitting me. He said it?”

“Youh both know why,” Valeria glared at her son’s with a disapproving glance before turning her attention back to her daughter on the screen. “Vanessa honey how ah you doing. Ah you eating?”

“Not right now mom,” she tried to keep the annoyed tone out of her voice. “Okay, Dennis this thing is not mooovinnnnng.” Vanessa popped her head out of the small space and looked up at the PaDD. “Maybe I should just call engineering.”

“Ah hell no. No one is fixin’ my sistah’s pipes but us,” Dennis finally glanced at the screen eliciting a series of locker room snickers from the other brother’s in the room. “Youh all ah sick.”

“You should see a therapist? Hey Nessie,” Dallas’ voice added itself to the conversation. “You know a therapist faw, Dennis?”

Sitting forward on the couch, Dylan directed more than half his attention to his sister. “Ness, get a hammah and whack it a couple of times. It will loos’n it up.” The momentary spot of attention on his younger sister was immediately pulled away by a fight between the Bruins and Penguins on the ice.

“Ness, get a hammah and whack it a couple of times. It will loos’n it up,” she imitated her brother as she struck the fitting. Instantly what was a drip turned into a spray that was completely drenching Vanessa. On top of that a small alarm began to sound in her quarters.

Vanessa (not an engineering officer) Slade CNS

From Engineering Kalos noticed heard a soft ping and referenced the master display to see what the problem was. Tracing his finger over the large cutaway display until he found the flashing blue indicator light indicating that there was water in a place where it shouldn’t be-the counselors quarters.
grabbing a repair kit Kalos left engineering and headed to see what the problem was.
arriving at her quarters Kalos rang the door chime and waited for Vanessa to answer.

-Ensign Onovren, engineer

From outside of the quarters, the engineer could hear a smattering of curse words that would have been more common in a security team or a marine brigade. “Ugh coming. I am coming,” she growled from inside the room as the trill indicated someone was at the door. Opening up the door she simply said “what?” The engineer on the other side of the door was greeted by a woman in a pair of sweat pants, hair askew pulled high into a ponytail, and a standard ships PT shirt. The shirt however was drenched with water and clinging to her body as if she had just fallen into a pool. In her right hand, was a hammer. It was clear that she was frustrated about something and not expecting company. “Oh..hello…what can I do for you,” she immediately changed seeing the officer. Her tone pushing some loose strands of hair off her face with the back of her hand as she waited for his reply.

Vanessa Slade CNS

“It looks like I’ve found the problem.” Kalos said as the counselor, who was unusually wet, welcomed him in.
“I take it then that the family wasn’t much help” Kalos continued, noticing the holovision which Vanessa forgot to turn off in her haste to get to the door.
approaching the bathroom Kalos asked lightheartedly, “What did you do to it? You know it’s not supposed to do that.”
Kalos set the repair kit on the table, noticing the hammer and the rather large puddle it was sitting in.
Kalos opened the kit and extracted his tricorder and then shut off the water to the bathroom so he could enter without getting drenched.
“You know, next time before you go hitting things with a hammer you should always run a diagnostic with a tricorder” he said pointing to the display, looks like hitting the pipe here turned a small leak into…” he gestured around. “This mess.”
going back to his repair kit, Kalos retrieved a sonic coupler. “I’ll show you what all you need to do if something like this happens again.” Kalos said gesturing to the broken pipe. “It looks like you completely sheared off the faucet from the pipe so to recouple the two all you have to do is align the two parts and pass the coupling tool over the affected area throughly. Then all that’s left is to turn the water back on.”
Getting up Kalos activated the water flow to the bathroom again with his tricorder.
“While I am here is there anything else you need?”

-Ensign Kalos Onovren, engineer

“Hey nice wawk,” a voice said from the PaDD. Its thick accent was understandable in short bursts. Now that the game was over, all the attention from the couch in Boston was directed to the PaDD and Vanessa’s room halfway across the quadrant. Small conversation began to break out between the brothers as they discussed Kalos’ work. While not everything could be heard or understood the general message of good work was implied.

“I got it Danny,” Vanessa said extending her hand to the engineer. “Thank you,” she left the sentence open to learn the ensign’s name.

Vanessa Slade CNS

“Kalos, The name’s Kalos.” he said picking up his repair kit
“Is there anything else you need while I am here?”

-Ensign Kalos Onovren, Engineer

“Yeah. Nessie bring the PaDD ‘round,” Dennis said moving to a more upright position on the couch as he took a sip of his beer.

“Dennis I am not taking up anymore of Kalos time chit chatting,” she rolled her eyes at her brother. “Besides he doesn’t need to be interrogated by you.”

“Dude why youh gotta be like that. Kalos,” Danny chimed in. “So are you like all around construction and engineering or something. She broke a lighting panel,” he swung his beer at at his sister.

“Ness can be a one woman wrecking ball,” Dylan joked and got a high five from one of her other brothers sitting on the couch. What once was just a simple service call was now turning into a comm call Vanessa wasn’t sure Kalos even wanted.

Vanessa Slade. CNS

Sensing Vanessa’s embarrassment kalos said, “Its okay. Now lets see that lighting panel”

-Ensign Onovren, Engineer

“Oh hello,” a new voice and face appeared on the screen belonging to what could reasonably be assumed as Vanessa’s mother. “Are you Vanessa’s new friend?”

“Mah,” Vanessa spread her hands as her eyes widened.

“Well I am just glad to know you ain’t just sittin’ ahround youh’re room. Can she get you a drink,” Valerie Slade offered throwing a dish rag over her shoulder. “Ness, get the man a drink.”

Looking at Kalos she shrugged and mouthed the words “sorry” before stating, “can I get you something to drink.”

Vanessa SLade CNS

“Nah, Dont want you to break the replicator too” he said jokingly sensing that she didn’t really want to use the replicator right now.
“Because then I would have to fix that too. Let’s just look at that lighting panel that you broke.”

-Ensign Onovren, Engineer

A bout of laughter filled the room but not from Vanessa or Kalos. “Oh my god Nessie I like him,” one of her three brother’s paused laughing hard enough to speak.

Moving to the lighting panel, Vanessa sat down in a chair so Kalos could work. “It was on the fritz for a few days and then died. I tried to do it via correspondence course,” she nodded to the PaDD, “but now you are here. Are you new to the ship,” she asked.

Vanessa Slade CNS

“Fresh out of the academy” Kalos said taking the cover off the light. “But I’ve been an engineer on a starship for quite a while now. Before Starfleet I was the head of spaceframe design for the Far Star class development project. And you, how long have you been here?” he said beginning work on the panel.

-Ensign Kalos Onovren, Engineer

“About a month,” she moved to the replicator and grabbed herself a beer. “Are you sure I can’t get you anything ,” asked.

“No, I’m okay, thanks though.” Kalos said beginning work on the lighting panel

“Before that I was stationed out of the Boston office of Star fleet. I worked with mostly veterans leaving Star fleet and entering the civilian world. This is my first placement ever not in Boston. In fact aside from a small jaunt during my cadet cruise I have never been off Earth until now.”

Vanessa Slade.

Bump

“I didn’t know there were offices in Boston. Or at least significant offices, Starfleet has offices everywhere after all. Tell me about Boston, I’ve never been, what’s it like?”

“Boston is amazing but I am biased. I was born and raised there until about a month ago. It has so much history and feels like a museum on one street and two streets over everything is shiny and new. If you are of North American descent it has a lot of meaning. Aside from that, there are tons of water activities and coffee. Boston runs on coffee,” she let out a laugh. “I am from a section in the city that is called SoBo or south Boston. The cities call us Southies and it is generally not a nice term but we are also proud of it. They call us that because we are not as wealthy as the North side. My family never had a lot but we are happy. I am one of ten. I have six more brothers that you didn’t get to meet yet. What is your family like,” she asked curling up in the chair.”

Vanessa Slade CNS

Scanning the lighting fixture Kalos found the problem: somehow the EPS relay in these quarters was malfunctioning, the light was just fine.
“This could be indicative of a bigger problem” Kalos muttered to himself. scanning the rest of the room he found the main EPS distribution node for these quarters.

“Are you just being polite and trying to say Vanessa stop touching things,” she laughed. “I hear that all the time from my family.” Noticing Kalos’ mood changed Vanessa got a little quieter and waited for Onovren to speak.

OOC: sorry for such a late reply I didn’t see it the first time and have been super busy since the bump.
OOC: No problem. Life is crazy for everyone. ~ Kate

-Kalos Onovren

Avoiding the counselors eyes, a melancholy look washed over Kalos’s face and he stopped what he was doing. Looking up at Vanessa Kalos explained,
“I just lost my father to PTSD induced psychosis, because he was betazoid the damage to his mind was too extensive for the doctors to do anything about.” Realizing that Vanessa needed more context, he clarified,

Vanessa grew more serious. Being a counselor meant you were always on duty. It was something she was used to and didn’t mind. People talked when they felt comfortable. Being vulnerable, didn’t happen from eight to four. It also didn’t take appointments. If Kalos wanted to talk, she would listen not because it was her job but because people needed someone to listen. For as much as she talked and joked, Vanessa was a good listener.

“He fought to defend Betazed during the dominion war. He saw terrible things happen during his time as a soldier, and as he got older his mind couldn’t handle it....” He trailed off,
“He died six months ago leaving my mother, sister and I behind.”
wiping a tear off his face, Kalos’s demeanor suddenly changed, “I’m sorry, you get enough of this kind of stuff all day and you asked me here for maintenance.”

“True but that doesn’t mean I am not always available if someone wants to talk.” She was careful not to press and make Kalos feel like this was a session. She wanted him to talk and feel comfortable. Setting the stage she moved to the replicator and made two cups of coffee and a cup of tea. While she did not drink tea herself, other people did like it.

finishing up the repair, Kalos replaced the wall panel that covered the power relay and packed up his tools. “That should do it. let me know if anything else breaks. Or maybe I should say, when something breaks.” He said, grinning. “While I am here is there anything else you need?”

-Kalos Onovren

“Someone to have a cup of coffee with me. Or tea,” she let out a small laugh. “I can’t say I won’t judge you if you take the tea but I might.” She hoped he saw it as a joke to slightly break the tension. Taking a seat on the couch, she set the cups down as if Kalos had already accepted the invitation. “It’s pretty lonely here being new. How long have you been on the ship?” Hopefully, Kalos would sit and share more. If he didn’t hopefully he would know the invitation was always an open ended one.

Vanessa Slade CNS

Kalos didn’t really want to talk about it, but sensing that the Vanessa wanted him to stay, he sat down.
“It might just be easier to show you.” He said, tapping his head, indicating he wanted to initiate a telepathic link.

OOC: Sorry about the length of all that, but its really important backstory for Kalos’s character. Hopefully its not a problem.

-Kalos Onovren


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