Milkshakes and Mischief

Posted on Wed Apr 29th, 2020 @ 5:35pm by Cole Gunnison & Lieutenant Farizah Alani & Ashe Zachariah

Mission: Around The World in 8 Days
Location: USS Astraea | Deck 5 | The Raging Deity
Timeline: Prior to arival at Earth

Lieutenant Farizah Alani needed something to do while off duty, but she had too much energy left in her to sleep, and after the day she had, she needed to be amongst the presence of people. Sitting in her office reading through security reports was hardly relaxing, and in some cases, it was more stressful than anything. The language used in reports was flat, dry, and to the point. Someone needs to offer some creative writing classes on this ship she thought to herself as she rode the turbolift down the Astraea's fifth deck. As untraditional and non-stereotypical as Farizah was in some ways; Farizah was on point Bolian in others. She liked a little flair for the dramatic, some added pizzazz.

The Bolian was shaking her hips and jiving to the beat of the music playing in her ears. She enjoyed a good jam after a long day and her stomach was reminding her that she had not had anything in quite some time. Detour to the raging deity it is she thought to herself as lipped the lyrics of the Earth tune by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine's "Conga" which made her look foolish as she passed by several people walking down to the corridor with her hips swaying. One ensign seemed to appreciate the sight and their hips tapped against one another as they passed one another.

Farizah smiled and continued on her way into the main lounge of the starship Astraea. She was not completely starving and felt as though a small snack might do her some good. She needed people right now. She needed to just be around them to soak up their collective energies. When she walked in she looked around. Everyone looked to be enjoying themselves and paired off with at least one other person. I hate snacking alone she thought to herself.

Then she saw him. A kid must have been no older than twelve or so, but old enough to have some autonomy. The kid was off by himself. There did not appear to be anyone his own age around him. Farizah waited a few minutes to see if a parent or guardian joined him, but there he was PaDD in hand just reading away, alone. Her target was acquired. Now, she'd just need a peace offering.

The Bolian headed over to the bar, where she saw 'rainbow brite'. "You're the one with the rainbow hair I've heard about," Farizah said with a smile. "Love the hair. As you can see...I just don't have the look for it," Farizah said with a wink. Farizah, like many Bolians, was completely bald. "You're a bartender. You probably know more about the care than I do...The young gentlemen over there in the corner, what's his story?" asked Farizah.

Ashe laughed and nodded slightly. "That's Mr Cole, he and I are grand friends! He likes to hang out down here sometimes while his Daddy's working, he's the one that keeps us all safe," she said with a wink.

"His Dad is the Chief Operations Officer. He's normally cared for by a Nanny I think, but I guess sometimes he likes to just come and hang out. Most of the crew love his presence, he's like everyone's kid brother. He's always gone as soon as Lieutenant Gunnison finishes his shifts."

As Farizah listened, she was interested to learn that the boy was not just a child of one of the members of the crew, but of the Chief Operations Officer. Farizah was new to the ship. She had not quite made friends with anyone, and she had not worked alongside the man that much, but she had said hello to him and knew his name. She could easily pick him out in a lineup if necessary. "Could you hook me up with two orders of fries? Oh and something to drink...but hold any alcohol or synthehol. He looks like a lightweight."

"You got it," Ashe replied with a grin. "I'll have them delivered to your table shortly. Shouldn't be more than five minutes or so?"

Farizah smiled. "Thank you" she said to the woman. Five minutes was more than enough time for her to head over to the kid and see what he was reading. She took the devices out of her ears so that she could hear better. Kids tended to speak softly unless they were screaming.

The Bolian Security Chief approached the boy and looked over his shoulder for a brief moment before she slid into the vacant seat across from him. "Hello there," she said with a pleasant smile. "Hope you don't mind, but I hate eating alone. I ordered us some fries and some beverages for us."

"Uh, hello," Cole said, setting down the padd from which he'd been reading Tom Readdy and the Latinum Thief of Derridian, the latest book in the Tom Readdy series. "Who are you?" Cole asked. "I'm Cole Gunnison," he quickly added as held out his hand as tried to remember his manners, as his mother had always tried to instill in him that, as a general rule, there was no reason to be rude to other people, especially when they hadn't been rude to you.

"Your father is an officer aboard," she replied to the young boy. It was her way of acknowledging she was somewhat aware of who he was. She took his hand and shook it. Human custom, but one she was used to. "Lieutenant Farizah Alani, Chief Tactical Officer" she introduced herself. "School stuff or something of your own choosing?" inquired the Bolian gesturing to the PaDD.

"It's of my choosing, kind of," Cole said. "My teacher says that reading is better than the holodeck. I kinda agree, sometimes. What about you? What do you like to do?"

She smiled at the boy. His inquisitiveness was amusing. "I like a lot of things Cole. I like to do yoga before I report to duty, but mostly I enjoy music and making things out of shells. Sometimes, I focus on my martial arts," she added.

Ashe waited for them to get settled before she interrupted. "Here we go," she said brightly a she carried the tray across to their table. "Two chocolate milkshakes, extra ice cream, just the way you like it Cole, and two bowls of fries. If you need anything else, just give me a shout." She set some bottled sauces and condiments on the table in front of them before walking away, content to let them do their thing.

"Thank you" said Farizah. "A little extra ice cream. I'll have to try that next time," she added with a chuckle.

"It does seem to make it better," Cole said. "Anyway, I like music, too, though more listening than any sort of performing. I'm thinking about starting up martial arts. My dad does martial arts, too - Karate and Kendo, though I think my dad may want me to hold off on the Kendo for a while, until I'm older. Something to do with a sharp sword being involved."

Farizah listened to what the boy had to say. She was intruiged by his interests. "Yeah, I would not really recommend holding off anything with sharp swords or bladed weapons for the time being," she said with a small smile. "Have you put any thought into learning Suus Mahna or Mok'bara?" asked the Bolian. "They are rather weaponless and put more into discipline of the body and movement," she added.

"Perhaps," Cole said. "I'm still thinking on it for now."

"Well, you have plenty of time to think about it," the Bolian replied with a pleasant tone and a smile to match. "Your dad will probably want to teach you, but if you ever want someone else to teach you then you're more than welcome to come see me, Cole. I can easily make room for you in one of my training sessions. Do you think you would want to follow in your father's footsteps? You're a little young right now, but in a few years you'll be about the age some start applying for the academy."

"Yeah," Cole said, "I'm not too sure what I want to do right now. There are a lot of interesting things out there. Sometimes I think about being like my dad, but sometimes I think about being like my mom. She was a lawyer back on Earth. And of course, some of my aunts and uncles do stuff for their work that I think is interesting, too."

"It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do when I was around your age. In fact, Starfleet was not on my radar much at your age, Cole," she confessed. "You have a bright future ahead of you and a blank canvas currently. Maybe learn more about what interest you," she offered.

"Which, right now, seems like...well, not everything, of course, but still quite a bit," Cole replied with a bit of a wry grin. "But, as it seems that grownups are sometime fond of telling me, I do have time to figure it all out." A moment later, he quickly added, "Don't take that the wrong way, please. It's just that sometimes it seems like people like to comment about my age, and it gets a little...well..."

"Old," Farizah replied swiftly. "I actually understand that quite well, Cole," she added with a small smile. "When you are a Bolian like myself, you are not looked at in the same way. It is not entirely out of the 'norm' for a Bolian to join Starfleet, but those that do are expected to go towards science or something more technically driven. They don't go into security very often. You will figure out your own route when you are ready," she added.

"I know," Cole said. "My dad says that there are times where he's still figuring out what he wants to do in life, and he's a lot older than I am!"

Farizah nodded "One never does actually figure that out fully, Cole," she said with a polite smile. "It is a never ending pursuit, and we often are happy with something for a short while, but then need to advance higher or find a new path to take. There's an old saying...many cultures have it, but roughly it means that life is not about the endpoint, but the spaces between," she added, fumbling a bit with it.

"I know what you mean," Cole said. "My dad likes that saying."

A student commotion nearby caused Farizah to stir from her seat and take a look around. Voices were raised and two individuals were shoving one another. The sound of a fist connecting with a jaw was audible and her communications badge immediately fluttered with small chirps. She immediately tapped it, knowing it had to be security with reports of the fight. "I have eyes on it right now, heading over to break it up," she said swiftly, closing the channel with another tap.

"Duty calls, Cole. I'll see you soon," she said leaving the seat and heading over to the middle of the small altercation, her hand idling on the holstered phaser. "You two knuckleheads better break this up right now unless you want to spend the night in my brig," she said cautioning the two individuals.