Scientifically Speaking

Posted on Sat Jun 27th, 2020 @ 7:54pm by Lieutenant JG Haru Hernandez & Lieutenant Alexis Aenera

Mission: Into The Delta Triangle
Location: USS Astraea | Mess Hall
Timeline: Shortly after leaving Earth...

{ON:}

It had been a busy morning. Haru was still settling in. He'd spent the day yesterday unpacking and most of the night. Usually he would take breakfast in his quarters but he'd showered and changed and had decided to have breakfast in the mess. He'd replicated an egg and veggie breakfast along with some toast and a pot of tea. He'd brought along his own tea bag, one of his favourites, blueberry cheesecake.

The hall had been empty when he'd arrived but as he looked up he saw that the room was full with not a table to spare.

Bacon and eggs were the poison this morning for Alexis, along with a massive mug of hot chocolate and she wasn't even in uniform, yet, instead wearing a blue blouse and skirt, just in case she needed to go straight to her science lab, where a white lab coat would be. Fortunately, Valenna wouldn't mind. Suddenly her nostrils flared as the aroma of something decadent hit them, the smell of dessert. Her eyes flicked around and landed on the man that was obviously seeking a place to sit and since she was the only one at the four-seat table... She raised her hand and waved, "C'mon over here, I don't bite... Much."

Haru saw the woman waving and headed over. He wasn't usually up for company in the morning but it was the only way to sit. He arrived at the table and slid his try on it. "Hello. Thank you for the offer of the seat."

Lexi scanned the tray, noting the steam from the teapot and attaching the smell of the cheesecake from it as well, "No worries, we're a pretty tight-knit group, breakfast isn't a sacred no-go spot for most of us, especially not me!" She grinned, then saluted with her fork and speared a piece of bacon with it, "Alexis Aenera, Science officer, specialist in astro and temporal physics."

"Haru Kaito Hernandez, Assistant Chief TACT/SEC." He noted her eye direction. "Blueberry cheesecake tea. Would you like a cup?"

"You mean I won't have to make up some sort of silly tax to get a taste?" Her eyes opened wide, "Cheesecake is one of the major food groups and you've found a way to make it into a successful hot drinkable product? I looooove cheesecake milkshakes, but I think people might look at me a bit funny if I had one of those in the morning, dontcha think?" Alexis shook her head, "But yes, I would love some! Please."

He gave a nod. "My grandmother came up with this blend." He paused allowing his recent loss of a grandmother he adored to wash over him. She would share the tea with everyone and sharing it with Alexis was a tribute to the woman. He picked up a spare cup and set it down pouring the tea into it. Gently he placed the tea pot on the table and with both hands he picked up the cup and presented it to Alexis. "It does not need sweetener. It is quite sweet yet you can taste a little tartness of the blueberry."

Lexi wrapped both of her hands around the cup and lifted it, inhaling the aroma that felt so thick she could almost chew on it, then took a sip and just about melted into her chair, “MMmmm, Omigosh this is absolutely delicious!” She grinned as she took another sip and winked at him, “That’s it, I’m going to be kidnapping you just so you can make this tea every day!” It was obvious she was kidding, at least about the kidnapping part.

He smiled and even chuckled a little, not the norm for someone with pointed ears. "Agreed. This tea is too good not t share." He poured a cup for himself and sipped at it too. "Have you been with the ship long?"

“Oh, for a while, you know..” Alexis chuckled herself, “I was actually dragooned in as the Chief Science Officer when I got on board, but thank the gods I’m no longer that! They pulled Valenna in from the Academy where she and I were both teaching and she outranks next, so I can officially go back to my research and way less stress.” She mock-wipes her brow, “I made a fair teacher I think, but this was way too much official paperwork to be going on about.”

"Paperwork can be fun. Quite meditative. I would tell you that I just boarded from earth but I have a feeling that it was obvious." He sipped his tea studying her. She seemed like quite a happy soul.

Her eyes seemed to glitter, “Oh, I kinda figured that out, I tend to recognize people pretty quick, especially since we’ve got about a hundred officers all told, counting Marines and pilots and all. The enlisted people are a bit harder to keep full track of, but I’ve got one of those wonderful photographic memories, so once I see someone or something, I’ll recognize them or it from the. On.”

He studied her. "Photographic memories are good to have." Sipping his tea he took advantage of her company. "Tell me about the ship a little."

Interpretation: possibly not so much about the ship, but more about its people, “Basically a standard Akira-class, so proportionately heavy on the weapons, lighter on the scientific side of the ship. Captain and XO are pretty good, though I do get distracted by Ichiko’s ears, don’t think it would be appropriate to just stroke them don’t you think?” She giggled again, it was a rather infectious giggle, “I think we really do have a good all around team on the ship, We’ve outsmarted Intelligence to preserve diplomatic relations with the Ts’usugi and uncovered an alien race that was literally harvesting stress hormones from us even as they were increasing them, all under a personal phased cloaking system. It’s been an interesting ride so far.”

His eyes widened. "It sounds as if it was. I have yet to meet everyone but I am starting to think that it is a rather interesting ship." He studied her. "I have never served on an Akira-class ship."

"They're that mid-range type of starship, enough people to have redundancies in the major areas and plenty of people in case we need to respond to an emergency. But, if the ship blows up, we only lose about five hundred fifty people." Alexis made a throwing away gesture, "I have no doubt that you won't be bored here on Astraea, and if you get that way, come see me! I've always got things I can use some help for one way or another." She smiled slyly, "I am rather glad we're not on a Galaxy or Sovereign or anything much larger. The Rhea was a Luna-class ship, so she was even smaller than an Akira."

He had to smile at that. A private inside joke. "Galaxy class ships can be fun. Lots of places to hide." He sipped more tea, refreshed Alexis' cup ad then sat back. "What about the doctor?" He left it open ended. He was not a fan of sickbay and doctors...he had a somewhat irrational fear of them. He hoped his new friend could at least lay those to rest.

"Calvin? he's a good doctor, pretty informal and he doesn't do anything that hurts." Her eyes bored into him, "But I'm guessing you were on a Galaxy before? Which one? I mean, I've never actually been on one, not even in a simulator. Are they as big as everyone makes them out to be? And those cozy little spaces, do they actually fit two people, or just one?"

He had to smile at her inquisitiveness. One could see the scientist within. "Well the USS Kirk the first ship I served on was a Galaxy Class. They are huge. It boggles the mind. It's like a city in space, blows the mind. As for the cozy spots," He blushed slightly. "They can fit two."

"I'll have to sneak on board one for a personal visit then, if I ever get the chance." Alexis pondered for a moment, "Perhaps to coordinate with their head researcher in regard to their listings of unknown spatial anomalies. Use that to get on board, then go exploring!"

He finished the last of his tea. "Well I should get my day started. I have to go through medical and counseling checks before duties." He looked at her. "If you'd like I can prepare a bit of the tea powder for you and bring it by your office later."

“Science Lab Three, it’s my personal office-lab, since I’ve already got things set up just how I like them.” Alexis’s eyes gleamed, “The life of a Science Officer isn’t all that glamorous, so I’ll probably just be working on lesson plans for my next class. I’ve got a refresher-slash-interested parties class going on.”

"Fascinating. They did not allow people to run classes like that on my previous posting. What are some of the topics that you discuss?"

"It was more of a recommendation by the Captain, since we shipped out with a lack of science personnel. But I;m open to bringing up literally any subject from basic chemistry all the way to temporal physics." She grinned.

"That does sound interesting. And anyone can join?"

"Anyone." Alexis confirmed, "My next one is in two days, the subject is going to be antimatter and interactions with normal matter among other things. Feel free to join us!"

He gave a nod. "Well I should go. My medical is approaching. I will come by to bring some of the tea powder to you later today then."

"All right, Haru, and yes, I would absolutely love you to drop by!"

He stood and gave a nod. "It was lovely meeting you today."

Alexis stood, reluctantly, but just as he had somewhere to go, she had a place to be as well, "And great to meet you too, we'll definitely have to get together again soon, too!"

He gave a nod and headed out. It was time to see the doctor.

{OFF:}

Lieutenant Alexis Aenera
Science Officer
USS Astraea

Lieutenant JG Haru Kaito Hernandez
Assistant Chief Tactical / Security Officer
USS Astraea