Would You Care To Join Me?

Posted on Sun Feb 5th, 2023 @ 2:13pm by Captain Tristan Faust & Lieutenant Azrel Vox & Cadet Freshman Grade Poppy Koppelman
Edited on on Tue Feb 14th, 2023 @ 9:48am

1,948 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 2: Rendezvous At Starbase 10
Location: Deck 5: Mess Hall 1
Timeline: M2 MD03 (2268.6.05) 1200

Even though he was technically on shore leave, the Captain was always running back and forth between the ship and the starbase. At the moment he was aboard ship sitting in the abandoned mess hall eating a chicken sandwich with coffee. There were some status reports sitting next to him on the table. The ship seemed eery in its deserted state and Tristan didn't like it. Still it was better than the insane rush the past few weeks had been. Oh well... he had thought to himself.

Aze and Poppy where outside the messhall.

"The captain is in the messhall right now Cadet, here is your opportunity to meet him and ask the random computer generated questions. Don't worry if they are ones like I got. I will be right there to support you and besides, the captain is a professional, he knows all to well that the questions are random. " Aze said trying to reassure the young cadet.

Poppy nodded nervously and gulped, trying to raise enough spit to clear her throat, which was bone dry though fear. All of a sudden, all of the neat and clever things she had practiced saying to the Captain in the mirror in her quarters, dissolved: all she could remember was her standard patter, that would have to do.

Vox didn't exactly have to push her in through the swishing open doors, but her reassuring presence sort of propelled the knock-kneed girl forward. She was suddenly aware that her legs, which usually moved of their own accord, had to be willed to take one step after another.

They stopped in front of the Captain - gosh, he looked more handsome than ever! - and before he could even open his mouth she started to blurt out her patter without daring to even look at him.

"Hi there! How are you today, Sir? I'm fine, thank you! I'm Freshman Cadet Poppy Koppelman. I'm human. I'm temporary acting assistant records officer on the USS Midway. Pleased to meet you. Did you know that there are over 3,567 separate data discs to be maintained and filed on a Constitution Class Starship?" Then she accidentally dropped the stylus from her sweaty hands, it bounced on the deck once and ended up on the floor between the great man's regulation Star Fleet boots.

"Oh no!" gasped Poppy and tried to bend down on her haunches to pick it up, simultaneously keeping hold of her clipboard, reaching for the stylus and modestly tugging down the hem of her ridiculously short uniform: all of which took one more hand than she actually possessed!

The Captain looked at her and then smiled, trying to hold back a chuckle, "Good afternoon cadet," he said, "I am doing well, I hope you are doing the same... Why don't you sit down and try that again? Maybe a tad slower." He paused, "Yes, I am aware there are over 3,500 separate data discs to be maintained," he responded, "It is my job to know."

"3,567 actually, Sir." mumbled Poppy as she raised herself, stylus in hand now and collapsed a little unsteadily onto the seat.

"Vox pulled out a chair for the nervous Cadet to sit on and once she had taken her seat, Vox sat down next to her. She put her hand on the cadet's shoulder to reassure her.

"Thanks" the nervous girl smiled at the comforting Trill woman. She looked so cool and 'together' compared to her. So pretty, too. She was glad she was her friend.

She took a big breath and tried again, forcing herself to speak slower.

"So, I have to ask these questions, Sir, to ensure data integrity. 'Oh' you ask yourself 'why don't they just get the computer itself to do those checks?' 'Well' I reply 'what if the computer error is simply replicating itself? We need a method that is outside of any capability of interference from that, so human intervention is required.' she explained like she was talking to a five year old.

"Are you getting this, Sir?" she asked, wondering because she thought his wonderful blue eyes were glazing over a little.

"Yes cadet," the Captain responded, "I was once a science officer..."

"So, Captain Tristan Stefan Faust, Captain of the USS Midway..." she said that part with her eyes closed and a slight smile on her face, she wanted him to know that she knew his full name off by heart.

"Question One: what is your Mother's full name?"

Without realising it, she half whispered, half mouthed the answer to him Anna Martin Faust like she was scared he'd get it wrong, and she wanted to help him.

"Anna Martin Faust," the Captain responded with a sigh. He was hoping these would get more interesting but they probably wouldn't.

"Super!" Poppy beamed, bopping the clipboard with her stylus.

"Okalydokaly, Question two: What sort of ancient earth vehicle did you personally restore to full working order?" the Captain got this one correct too, no doubt helped by the subtle 'Puh' for Pontiac noise that Poppy made with her lips to remind him.

The Captain was a bit confused with these extremely odd questions, "A 1964 Pontiac Le Mans.." he answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Say, this is fun!" she smiled at Aze.

"You are doing well. " she replied with a smile.

"And last but not least... what was the name of your best friend who was tragically... killed... on... active... service." Her voice slowed and her mouth dropped open as she listened to what she was saying. Her eyes slowly looked upward and into the Captain's face. If she could have been transported out into the vacuum of space at that very moment, she would have welcomed it.

This question was not fun and the color drained from the Captain's face as he answered, "Lt. Commander Joseph Amato..." He said.

"Correct" said Poppy quietly, and there was a 'bloop' noise as she tapped the requisite tick-box on the screen with her stylus. There was a deathly silence, Poppy didn't know where to look and decided she had better get her odious self out of the Captain's sight. She was just about to rise when...

The Captain paused for a moment, "Now Cadet, how about you answer some questions... First, why do you look and sound so familiar?" He asked.

She sat back down again quickly. Oh golly gosh! He must remember her from when she trod on his toe, getting his autograph after the talk he gave at the Academy! Oh no. This was worse than the question about his dead friend. At least that wasn't her fault. She had to think fast.

"Oh, that's easy, Sir. I bear an amazing and uncanny resemblance to one of the von Trapp children in the 20th Century musical movie film called The Sound of Music. Look..."

She suddenly stood bolt upright, grasping onto her clipboard and began to sing in a very horrible and out of tune voice "Up on the hill there's a lonely goatherd, yoddle-o-dle o-dle o-dle yo- hee hee!" Luckily she stopped at that point ('leave 'em wanting more' was her motto) and sat down again.

"I can also do 'What are we going to do about Maria?', 'Favourite Things' and "Doe, a Deer'." she informed him, in case he wanted to book her for the next Midway talent night.

The Captain chuckled, "No it isn't that although I enjoy that movie... Unfortunately Mr. Dienstag always has to remind me that none of it is infact Austrian or accurate..." He said. He smiled when he had the answer.

“Really? Oh, that is so interesting, Captain!” Poppy gushed, staring at him agog. There were more stars in her eyes that could be seen through the transparent steel window that looked out into the galaxy in the rec room.

Unfortunately, he remembered.

"Ah yes, you were the student will all the questions when I gave that lecture at the academy...” Tristan said finally.

Poppy nodded, shyly. “You got me. S... Sorry about treading on you toe and everything, and knocking all you photographs on the floor. A girl behind pushed me.”

“It's fine cadet," Tristan responded, "But I never understood why someone interested in administration was sitting in an astronavigation lecture but still."

Poppy had decided it was best not to fib to the Captain, he was obviously possessed of an intelligence and an ability to remember small details that would catch you out. She let out a rather grating and juvenile giggle.

“All us girls went because we thought you were handsome! They all said the lecture was really boring, but I thought it was the most interesting thing I’d ever heard. The way you went through that list of 143 different Star types and their magnetic and gravitational properties was just soooooo interesting. And the way you took along all those photographs of yourself to sign, what a wonderful, thoughtful thing to do. I’ve never seen a guest lecturer do that before.”

Aze listened intently to the conversation. She looked at Tristan and then back at Poppy and couldn't help but wondered if by giving support to Poppy, she was actually playing matchmaker between the two. She smiled. Plenty of other fish in the sea if these two are meant to be, she thought.

The Captain nodded, "Thank you... It is a rather boring lecture and they pulled me in at the last minute since I was available after the Ticonderoga set in to dock..." The Captain raised an eyebrow, "I don't recall bringing headshots along... Unless you meant the program for the lecture which wasn't my idea. It wasn't my idea." The Captain looked at Aze, the look conveyed his discomfort with the conversation.

Aze noted the captain's look and turned to Poppy. "I think we have taken up plenty of the good Captain's time and perhaps we should leave him in peace." She said getting up from her seat and motioning Poppy to do the same.

"Oh! Yes! Sorry!" Miss Koppelman snapped herself out of her Faustian daydream (wherein the great man stood up, looked at Lt. Vox and bellowed 'Please leave us! Poppy and I need to be alone!) She got to her feet and sort of walked backwards away from him, trying not to stumble: it seemed like sacrilege to turn her back on him, plus also, she was still paranoid from two days ago when she had spent over three hours walking around the ship with the back of her dress tucked into her regulation red Star Fleet pants, until a friendly passing Edosian had let her know about her wardrobe malfunction.

"Not a problem cadet," Tristan responded, "I hope you are successful with your data integrity mission." He would need to keep an eye on this one. Something was going on in her head and he wasn't sure what.

Aze motioned Poppy towards the doors of the mess-hall and the two left the captain in peace. Once outside the mess-hall and the doors had closed, Aze turned to Poppy.

"I think you did really well there Cadet. Keep up the good work. I have to get back to duty so perhaps we might have a coffee sometime."

"Oh, thank you sooooo much, Lieutenant." gushed poppy "I think he really likes me! Do you think he noticed when I dropped my stylus? Oh, who cares, I think I rescued it. And he remembered me! Oh..." but she realised she was outstaying her welcome. She gave Aze a little wave and virtually skipped off down the corridor. This little episode was over.

 

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