Seeing Eye To Eye

Posted on 24 Jun 2016 @ 8:38am by Ensign Aidan Crehan & Lieutenant JG Daniella Blake & Ensign Kelly Khan

3,035 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Risky Business
Location: Talon's
Timeline: MD 1 || 1300 Hours

Kelly was almost vibrating with energy as she turned the Helm over to another Flight officer reluctantly once Alpha shift was over at thirteen hundred hours. It had been her first official turn at the Helm during the launch of the Black Hawk other than maintaining orbit at Yolvanda II, but actually being able to engage warp and send the Akira class ship towards a destination was exhilarating.

"Yeah... Ha Ha! Finally someone let me out of my cage, now, time for me is nothing cause I'm counting no age. Now I couldn't be there, Now you shouldn't be scared. I'm good at repairs!" She sang as she rode the turbolift to deck six and exited to head down the corridor to Talon's.

The tiny brunette headed into Talon's and moved to the counter. "I'll have a Buffalo Chicken Salad, please," she said. "And a green tea with honey and ginseng for a drink."

Dani heard about Talon's during her trip back to her quarters. Based on what people were saying, it was one of the best places to be, so she thought she'd give it a try. She made her way inside and looked around. Not bad, she thought as she made her way toward the counter, and as soon as she had the bartenders attention, a smile formed. "An Asian chicken salad with a lemonade, please." She looked to her side and spotted Kelly. Finally, someone who was her height. No longer was she a shorty among a world of giants.

Things had been rather hectic in the Science labs what with the little bit he and everyone else had been informed of. But it was now his lunch break and Aidan was going to take full advantage of it. The El Aurian walked into Talon's and noticed that it wasn't quite full. But he expected it to fill up fast. He walked up to the counter to get his order in before more people showed up. "I will have a Golubtsy and a cup of coffee to drink, please." He looked down the counter and saw Kelly whom he remembered from their karaoke night and another young lady he did not recognize. Aidan was always one for meeting new people. One could say it was in his blood. He made his way down to where the two ladies were standing. "Excuse me, do you mind if I join you?"

Kelly took note of the blonde out of the corner of her eye before she turned and blinked. The woman was as tall as she was! "Oh wow...another fun sized person aboard!" she exclaimed happily. "I thought I'd never meet someone I could see eye to eye with. Kelly Khan, Flight Cadet," she said as she offered her hand as she caught sight of the cadet that the others called Grandpa. "Sure! Well, as long as you can handle the awesomeness of our incredible stature."

Dani laughed at Kelly's comment and looked toward Aidan. Like him, she loved meeting new people. In her field, being a people person was definitely necessary. "Like she said... you have to be able to handle the awesomeness of our incredible stature." She smiled between the two of them. "Lieutenant Daniella Blake, Head Nurse. But, I prefer to be called Dani. Doesn't matter if I'm on duty or not."

Aidan looked from Kelly to Dani and smiled. "That, I believe I can handle. Aidan Crehan, Science Cadet. Nice to see you again Kelly and nice to meet you Dani. And you can both call me Aidan any time." He looked at the two shorter ladies of the same height. He smiled as he thought of Mila, who appeared about four or five inches taller than these two. Mila.

"Nice to meet you, Dani and I know who you are, Grandpa," Kelly said with a grin a parsec wide. "I'm just kidding, Aidan. I'm just Kelly. What are you two up to?"

"Trying to get into the swing of things. I just started. Today is my first official day," The blonde haired woman said. "It's nice to meet you both, but... I think we should find ourselves a table."

"I think that would be a very good idea, Dani," said Aidan. He looked at Kelly and smiled, "Grandpa...young lady, I am old enough to be your grandfather many times over. As far as what I'm up to, just trying to keep up with my assignments in the labs. What about you, Kelly?"

Kelly grabbed her order as the other two orders were placed on counter as well before nodding to Dani's command and laughed at Aidan as she headed for a table. "You may be, but you aren't, Aidan. You aren't going to believe this, but I actually had Alpha shift today and they put me at the helm! I took the ship out at warp seven! It was so amazing and much better than maintaining a stationary orbit around Plague Planet." She shuddered. "I never want to go back there, no matter how much fun I had."

Dani grabbed her own order and followed Kelly to the table, then settled down. "I'm kind of glad that I missed out on that, but should anything like it happen again, I'll be ready for it."

Aidan grabbed his meal and followed the two young ladies to the table. "The virus and sickness side of it was certainly unbearable." He remembered Mila as she started getting a sore throat. Then as he sat with her in Sickbay. Then he smiled, "But it was still a good shore leave." He turned his attention towards Dani. "I am certain that the medical staff would be appreciative of any help you could offer." As they arrived at the table, he waited for them to take their seats before he sat down.

"Enough morbid," Kelly said as she took a sip of her green tea. "Have you had a chance to explore the ship yet, Dani?"

"A little bit, but not too much. I've been trying to get settled in after checking in with the Chief Medical Officer. I'm going to explore a bit after lunch, I think. What do you two think? Is Black Hawk a good place to be?" The blonde asked.

Aidan cut off a piece of his food. "Yes, I like it very much," he answered Dani. "There are lots of people here to meet and cultures to get to know. And you never know what's going to happen aboard this ship. It is full of surprises."

Kelly ate a bite of her Buffalo Chicken Salad and swallowed it with a sip of her tea. "We have four recreation rooms, a pool, an arboretum, Null-G gym and weight room, and a standard gym. You've found your own way here, which is where we also do karaoke from time to time. Those are the most exciting parts of the ship."

"Sounds like I'm going to enjoy my time here," Dani commented as she began to stab some of her salad with her fork.

Aidan swallowed his bite and nodded. This was something he was going to have again. "With everything this ship has to offer, I have no doubt about that," he said. "As far as the karaoke," he smiled, "it is fun. I had never done anything like it before."

"You did a good job and it was fun," Kelly said. "I think you have a good voice, Aidan. I want to come and do it again some time. Even Elisha was good once we got her singing."

Aidan looked Kelly and smiled. "Thank you, and yes, it was lots of fun," he said. "Perhaps the next time, Dani could join us. If nothing more, as an impartial judge." He took a drink of his coffee. It was strong, but nowhere near the Russian stuff.

"I'd love to, though I've never actually sang in front of people before," Dani said. "That doesn't mean I won't, though."

"It's fun," Kelly said. "And easy since the words are on the screen in front of you. I love to sing but my roommate, Elisha is a better singer. Well, when we can blackmail her into singing."

Aidan grinned. "Is that what happened? I simply thought we were very persuasive in our peer pressure. Who blackmailed the poor girl?"

"I'm a bit feisty, so blackmail might not go over real well," The blonde said with a smile before taking a sip of her lemonade.

Kelly laughed "No one blackmailed her, but I threatened to," she told Aidan before she looked at Dani. "Feisty, hmm? I'm known to be feisty, too. What's your area of feistiness?"

"Spider monkey. I'm all over a person before they even realize it," Dani answered with a laugh. "I pack a pretty big attitude in a very small package."

The brunette cadet laughed even harder. "Spider...monkey!" she hooted as she held her sides. "I like you, Dani! That's awesome!"

Aidan had nodded to Kelly's answer about blackmail and chuckled as the two young ladies talked about how feisty they were. "A spider monkey...I have never heard that one used to describe an individual before. I could not even imagine that would be like on karaoke night." He sat there, smiling.

Dani couldn't help but laugh. "It's true. That's what I compare myself to." Suddenly, the laughing stopped and she found herself picking at her food. "I spent a lot of time that way on the last ship I served on."

"You were a spider monkey on your last ship?" Kelly asked. "Or just part time spider monkey and part time nurse? Or was the spider monkey a nurse?"

"Something like that. I constantly fought with the CMO almost to the point where it would have gotten physical a time or two had I not walked away," Dani answered softly.

Aidan took a drink of his coffee and then turned to Dani. "And you walked away. Sometimes that's the best thing to do. But now you're on a different ship with a different CMO. Things will be better here. This," he said, sitting back and gesturing to the entirety of the ship, "is a great place, as has already been pointed out." He looked at Kelly. "Perhaps we should have another karaoke night sometime."

"We should," she told Aidan before she looked at Dani. "Was he one of those department heads you hear about and are told to avoid?" Kelly asked Dani.

"Yes, and I requested a transfer. That's how I came to be here," She said, taking a sip of her drink. "Enough about that, though. This is a fresh start, and when karaoke happens again, let me know. I'll be here for it."

"A fresh start indeed," said Aidan. "And we will plan to have you here with the rest of us when we have our next karaoke night. I am certain that you will enjoy yourself and have a good time meeting some more of us. How else can this welcome committee help to ensure a fresh start for you?"

"I think the welcome committee has been doing a fine job thus far," Dani replied with a smile.

"Then next time we do karaoke, you're invited," Kelly said before she dug into her salad again.

Aidan had just swallowed another bite, followed by a drink of coffee. "So have you always been in the Medical field, Dani?"

"I have. I decided from a pretty young age I wanted to help other people, so thought becoming a nurse was the best way to do it. How about the two of you?" The blonde asked.

"My primary is Flight, but I have a secondary in Engineering and I'm on the Command track," Kelly replied. "So I have a little bit of everything under my belt."

This was the first time, outside of Mila, that he had shared anything about his background with anyone. Well, except maybe Quinn. Roommates did tend to talk and get to know one another. "My primary degree is in Archaeology and Anthropology. I'm also taking a secondary in Xenobiology and Microbiology. Science, particularly archaeology and anthropology, has been a favorite of mine for several decades. But I did work in a bookstore for two years back on Earth."

"It sounds like you're both going to be incredibly busy in the future," Dani commented with a smile.

"Not really," Kelly said. "All of mine is geared for being a test pilot for the Federation one day. I need to know what a ship can take without an engineer telling me lies, and I need to know how to fly, and I have to be a Commander or better to be a test pilot, which is where the Command track came from. Aidan, on the other hand, is a man of all talents, it seems."

"I would not go that far, Kelly," replied Aidan. "Age does not always mean talented. Besides, my science classes are giving me more of an understanding in the field, which is what I want. I intend to be a science officer and possibly a Chief Science Officer some day. You, Kelly, could end up with your own starship one day."

"Nah," Kelly said. "Only Captains and the lucky ones at that get their own ships. I just want to be a test pilot for the newest ships of the line. What do you want out of your career, Dani?"

"To help people. That's all I ever wanted," Dani replied.

"That is a wonderful quality, Dani," said Aidan. "The medical field is perfect someone with that kind of personality." He looked at his food and was beginning to be full. There was still a bit left, but not enough to worry about. He took another drink of his coffee. "So what does the rest of the day have in store for you two ladies?"

"Absolutely nothing," Kelly said. "I'm free until Alpha Shift again unless I run into Quinn before then. Ever since he got transferred from Engineering to Operations, I barely see him."

"I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to be doing. I don't really know anyone on board yet, so I'll likely find a nice corner somewhere to hang out in for a while. Or maybe I'll go for a swim," The blonde woman answered. "How about you, Aidan?"

"I have a few things to close up in the science labs before I finish my day," said Aidan. "After that, I'm not too sure what I will do." He took another sip of coffee. "I might go get a workout in."

"Why don't we go see a holo movie?" Kelly suggested.

"I'm in," Dani said with a smile. "The more the merrier, too."

Aidan looked at the two young ladies. "Well, I suppose I could join you. After I finish in the labs, that is. The gym will still be there tomorrow. Do you know what is being shown, Kelly?" In the back of his head, Aidan was wishing that Mila was with them. He would have enjoyed sitting next to her at a holo movie, sharing a snack and a drink. A smile crept across his face as it always did when his mind wondered to his Russian girlfriend.

"Thunder Road," Kelly replied. "It's a movie about a hard area of space and there are a group of good guys who have to make a run through the area to deliver supplies to a rebellion to overthrow a despotic ruler."

Aidan nodded. "That sounds interesting," he said. "I usually don't go to holo movies, but I think I would like to see this one. Good guys delivering supplies to overthrow a despot...it could almost pass for an actual history in some systems."

"Sounds like my kind of movie. I'm definitely on board with that. Just name the time and place, and I'll be there," Dani said, taking another sip of her lemonade.

"How does eighteen hundred hours at holodeck four sound?" Kelly suggested.

"Oh," said Aidan. "Eighteen hundred hours? Would either of you mind if I invited someone else to come along with us?" Aidan and Mila had been spending their evenings together as of late. And he didn't want this one to be any different. Especially since it would be their first holo movie.

"Sure," The blonde answered. "Sounds good to me."

"I don't have a problem with you inviting someone, Aidan," Kelly said. "Do you have anyone you'd want to invite, Dani?"

Dani shook her head. "No, I don't, but you two can go ahead and invite whoever you want to invite."

"Thank you both," said Aidan. Now all he had to do was send the message to Mila. "How about you, Kelly?"

"I don't mind," Kelly said. "Maybe I'll invite Quinn."

Aidan nodded. "And I believe that Mila would enjoy a night out at a holo movie."

"Then you guys should probably get with them. I've got some things to do back in medical, so I'm going to have to motor, but I'll see you guys soon. Thanks again." Dani offered them both a smile and rose to her feet. She brought her things to the recycler before heading out into the ship once again.

Kelly sputtered and muttered, then sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't have invited others," she said to Aidan. "Next time, it can be just you, me and her. Oh well...I'll cover that when we get to it. See you at eighteen hundred, Aidan?" she asked as she got up with her stuff.

"I believe you are right, Kelly," said Aidan. "Perhaps I should have thought twice about asking to invite someone. But, yes, next time it will be just the three of us." He scooted his chair back and looked at Kelly. "Yes, eighteen hundred it is. See you then." He prepared his things for the recycler and then got up.

"Until then," she said with a smile and headed out.

Aidan smiled and dipped his head. He then carried this plate and things to the recycler. This had the promise of being fun evening.

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