Elevator Music

Posted on Tue Sep 1, 2015 @ 11:00am by Lieutenant JG Alistair Wood & Ensign Kaliko Mahelona
Edited on on Tue Sep 1, 2015 @ 11:14am

2,363 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Fallout
Location: Turbolift

=ON=

The station was big. Well big was probably not the right word to describe just how gigantic the place truly was. Getting used to where anything in this city in space was located was bound to be a chore. One that could be rather time consuming. At least in the beginning. Not that the new Chief of Ops wasn't up to the challenge. He just wasn't aware until now how truly overwhelming this new job might be.

Alistair dragged a large trunk behind him while trying not to drop the two books in his arms. Sure he could have had these belongings transported to his quarters like his other belongings were, but he really didn't want to risk losing any of his treasures to some freak accident. Besides, other than being awkward to drag due to its size, the trunk really wasn't that difficult to move. It did have wheels on the bottom. Still, had he known he would be walking as far as he already had been from the docking ring just to find the right turbolift, he might have decided to say 'to hell with it' and had himself transported to his quarters. Treasures and all. Then again getting familiar with the layout of the station was part of the reason for walking in the first place, so the new chief really shouldn't have been so contradictory with himself. Besides, he could see the turbolift he was looking for ahead of him. At least he hoped it was the one he was looking for. It would be rather embarrassing to get on the wrong lift considering his position. Of course, the immediate problem was getting to it before the doors closed him out and left him standing around awkwardly like a guy in a woman's clothing store waiting for his significant other to decide what to buy.

"Hold the doors please!" Alistair shouted as he broke into a half sprint, half jog to get to the elevator before the doors slid shut. The books in his arms threatened to leap away from him with each step causing the ops officer to adjust his grip even more poorly so as not to lose them. Everytime he shifted them to get one to cooperate the other would move precariously close to slipping through his grasp.

Kaliko looked up from her PADD and saw the man struggling to the lift. She put her hand out to hold the door open. "Hey, don't rush...you'll drop your books!" She exclaimed and caught the ones about to slip from his grasp.

"Thank you," Alistair said with the exasperated sound of someone who forgot to take a breath before speaking. The small, smooth, delicate hand that saved his classic volumes caught his attention long before he raised his head to see the lovely young woman standing before him. Alistair abruptly stood up straight and cleared his throat. He really hadn't been ready to talk to a girl one on one like this already. Surely this couldn't be coincidence that he was now about to take a ride with her even if only for a few minutes. "Yes, well... I didn't wish to miss the lift. After all, I've only just arrived. There is still so much to see and little time to see it before I have to get to work." Yes, that is good. Make small conversation to break the ice. "Oh how very rude of me. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Alistair Wood." The man said as he fumbled his books once more while dropping his chest to the floor with a thud causing himself to cringe at the sound. "Yes... well that didn't go quite as smoothly as I had hoped." the embarrassed man said as he held his hand out to the young woman.

Kaliko laughed and took his hand. "My name is Kaliko Mahelona. It's nice nice to meet you." She nodded at the books. "I see you like the ancient classics as well. What's your favourite?" She smiled at him, trying to put him at ease.

She liked books? That was a surprise in this day and age. Most people preferred PADDs to actual paper. Not only were they easier to carry around, but you could have a large number of them on one PADD so that you didn't have to carry around all the extra weight. Alistair had no such feelings. He liked the feel of paper. The smell of the pulp. The look of something not found on a screen. "My favorites?" Alistair questioned as the thoughts raced through his mind, "Well let's see... I had these with me to read on my way here. This tome is a collection of stories by a human author by the name of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is about a detective and his partner who solve seemingly unsolvable crimes by using their wits. This other one..." Alistair paused for a moment wondering if he should admit to what it was or not only to ultimately give in, "This one is called Anne of Green Gables. It's a bit fantastical in the sense that a young girl ends up growing up and developing into a wonderful young lady. It's really not my cup of tea, but the prose is well written and the story itself has some moments that are quite powerful even if they lack the excitement of say Dumas's Three Musketeers. But I digress. You asked what my favourite one is. To that I am not precisely certain what the answer is. You see I have a deep fondness for literature. Specifically literature of the late 19th century. For some reason that period of time was rife with incredible tales and imagination. Moreso perhaps than any time I can think of when it comes to Earth based literature. I suppose that really doesn't answer your question very well, but it truly is the best I can do." Alistair smiled meekly, "I seem to be prattling on. I apologize. Perhaps you could tell me a little about your taste in books. I gather from your intonation of liking ancient classics that you and I may actually have something in common which would be nice considering you are the first person I've met here so far. What kinds of books do you yourself enjoy?"

"You're holding one of them in your hands. I love Anne of Green Gables! I did the tourist thing when I was younger and went to the setting and walked through Green Gables! I've read the series so many times I've lost count! I did my thesis on ancient stories and how they related then and now. When I would read Anne's story I always felt like I was a friend of hers sharing her joys...and sorrows. I fell in love when she fell in love...I..." She looked at him and blushed. "I'm sorry, I'm getting carried away." Most of her friends didn't understand the joy she got from reading real paper books but he might. "I have a few other favourites but I'd start rambling again."

"By all means, ramble on," Alistair encouraged the young woman before realizing he hadn't told the turbolift where he wanted to go, "Deck 24." The hum of the lift filled the confined quarters as Alistair looked back at Kaliko and awaited to see if she would continue to ramble or not.

"Well...I've also love Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth is such a strong woman for that time period and she stood up for herself. After Anne she is my favourite heroine. I would read the book so often I often broke the spines of books. I would recycle them in the replicator and get new ones when the pages started to fall out. I have managed to locate a first edition of the book though which is safe from my hands in my quarters. I have a replicated copy I take with me when I travel or I go to the holodeck and play as Elizabeth." She blushed.

Alistair smiled. This was going swimmingly. No awkward silences. No need for feeling uncomfortable. Onboard for only a few minutes and already he was getting along with the people here. With any luck he would get along with the rest of the people here as well as he was with this girl. "I can relate. I've been through a few books myself having read them too many times." Yes, as long as he didn't say anything foolish this would work out just fine, "Well if you ever need any adjustments made to your holoprogram feel free to let me know. I have a knack for writing and editing them." Perfect! Offer some form of assistance in the future to set up a future conversation without making it seem weird. Yes, Alistair was feeling quite confident today. "Although you may need to wait a little bit. Having just arrived I should probably get myself acclimated to the station before taking on too many extra commitments. Perhaps if you are not too busy maybe you could give me a tour sometime." No! That may have been a mistake. It almost sounds too forward. "Not like a date or anything. Purely professional I assure you... Unless... Forget it. It's nothing."

Kali smiled and looked at him, "I only arrived a little while ago myself. I'm still learning my way around. Sometimes I still lose my way to my lab." She laughed. "I'm just heading back from there. I've been trying to put together a plan to explore that planet that came out of nowhere. I saw the video feed from the probe that was sent and I can't wait to explore it! It looks like there will be some scuba archaeology to be done too. I haven't done any scuba archaeology since I was last in Egypt!"

Turning back to his previous statement. "Why don't we drop this stuff off at your quarters and we explore the Promenade?"

"That would be delightful," Alistair replied only to realize that he was caught in a trap of bad timing. He still hadn't checked in with the Captain. Not that he had to do that immediately, but running off to play on the promenade before even reporting for duty might give a poor impression to those who have yet to meet him. Still, the decision to wander the promenade with such an attractive young woman was difficult to turn down. What if she didn't understand his predicament? It could very well make for some rather uncomfortable situations if they were to be working together. Especially if she was to be studying this new solar system that suddenly showed up. After all, on top of making sure everything on the station worked like a well oiled machine, he would be responsible for outfitting the away teams with resources and aiding them with sensor information. Perhaps even going on an away team at some point himself. Alistair raised his head and looked at the ceiling for a moment as the decision came forth. No matter what he chose it would be a bad choice, but in the end there really was no choice.

"I'm afraid we may need to wait to explore together. It wouldn't do to not check in for duty before doing other things," Alistair lowered his head to stare at the floor feeling horrible for having to turn the lovely woman down, "I am very sorry. I... Perhaps we could set a time to do this later?" The puppy dog eyes of a man who was either going to be elated or completely crushed looked up at Kaliko with anticipation of a response.

Kali saw the struggle flit across his face, she smiled to herself. He was a handsome man and he seemed to like the same sort of things that she did. She hadn't really looked at another man since Kai...that episode with Enzo was mistake...they had been friends in a past life and maybe one day they could be friends but she had embarrassed herself in front of him and she didn't know how to fix it...perhaps it was better to keep distance for now.

"Of course, you need to check in with her first. It wouldn't be good if we ran into her on the promenade and you hadn't checked in with her. You can always come find me when you're through and we can explore."

After a few more moments the turbolift stopped. "Well Alistair, this is me. Come find me after you've settled in." She smiled and stepped out of the elevator. Kali turned briefly and waved as the doors closed again.

Alistair smiled weakly and began to raise his hand to wave only to feel rather strange at waving back to her causing him to stop about halfway and end up looking at his hand. He felt like such an idiot. He didn't even say anything to her! His last opportunity to make a good impression and he went and became as awkward as a twelve year old who didn't know if he was a kid or a teenager. Neither option was one Alistair really wanted for a solution. Once the doors closed and the lift resumed its journey the new chief plopped down on his chest of goodies and cradled his books to his breast. The quiet of the lift leaving him with thundering thoughts in his noggin. Thoughts that he wished he could block out and instead just relax to enjoy what had transpired. "I wonder..." the chief bit the side of his lower lip as he looked around the inside of the elevator, "Maybe I should incorporate some music into these things.... break up the quiet a little... but what to play...?"

The doors soon opened to his own level stealing away the idea before he could even finish forming it completely. Standing up, Alistair gathered his belongings and hefted them up, "Alright then. I guess this is my stop. Time to see what else I've gotten myself into."

=OFF=

Ensign Kaliko Mahelona
Alien Archaeologist/Anthropologist

Lieutenant Alistair Wood
Chief of Operations

 

RSS Feed