Afternoon Tea

Posted on Fri Feb 25th, 2022 @ 10:47am by Lieutenant Commander Tyrus Acevedo & Lieutenant Helena Wells & Lieutenant JG Summer Wyse & Ensign Zachary Chandler

2,170 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: The Silent Scream
Location: USS Wolff | Corridor

Lieutenant Commander Tyrus Acevedo walked walking alongside the Wolff's beautiful and perceptive Ship's Counsellor, Lieutenant jg Summer Wyse. The two had been conversing back and forth from deck to deck, a turbolift ride of professionalism laced with sexual tension and flirtatious jousting about. "Ladies first," he said as their present turbolift ride came to a smooth end mid conversation.

“Thank you kind sir” Summer grinned as she stepped up ready to exit the turbolift, purposely giving Tyrus a charming smile.

Ty being a gentleman stood as the doors opened and gestured for Summer to exit ahead of him, a brief pause in their ongoing discussion. They had been discussing crew evaluations and of course Aiko Kiroshi was a source is discomfort. "We are going to have to do something about her," Ty stated sharply.

He let out a frustrated sigh. "She's been doing better, but she isn't exactly the social butterfly people are used to. The lieutenant has the pleasantness of a cactus."

“Well not everyone is comfortable in other people’s company” Summer smiled. “It may just be that she is socially awkward, not used to interacting with others. Admittedly being on a starship she does need to work with others.

Ty scoffed. "Oh, she needs a lot of work, but I am glad to hear that you are optimistic about it," the First Officer replied as the two rounded the corridor. Being a bit distracted, Ty's reflexes were not what they should have been.

"Sorry there, Ensign," Ty said as he steadied himself noticing he had collided shoulders with Ensign Chandler from Engineering. "Actually...you may be the person we're looking for."

Zack steadied himself as well, with a hand placed briefly on the Commander's shoulder while he made sure he had his balance.

"No problem, sir." Zack smiled then in a questioning lilt added "Person you were looking for?"

"Yes," Ty replied swiftly. "The Counsellor and I were just having a bit of a discussion about the Chief Engineer. You're in Engineering, Ensign, off the record..what's your take on the lieutenant?"

"Oh" Zack was momentarily blind sided by the question. "Um. Well, to be honest. I haven't really worked with Lieutenant Kiroshi much. She put me through my paces of course, just to make sure I wasn't going to blow up the ship or anything. She's a bit of a stickler, but I think that's a good thing in an engineer. She's never said anything to me that I would consider inappropriate." He added. Not really sure of where the questioning was going.

Summer smiled. “Thank you Ensign, sorry if that made you feel awkward. The Commander is trying to get a consensus about the Lieutenant.”

"Well, hope I could help. Ensign Larson might have more to offer. She's much higher on the totem pole than I am." Zack offered with an easy grin.

Ty nodded "I'll be sure to check with her. Would you care to join us for Afternoon tea, Ensign?" Ty looked at Summer with a smile. It was his attempt to engage with the crew, to be social and approachable.

"Oh, sure." Zack agreed easily enough. He'd played baseball with the man, and as for Summer well he'd nearly whined to the counselor about his lack of a sexual partner. What was a little tea after all that? "But do I get kicked out of tea club if I don't like milk in my tea?"

"Oh not in my book," replied Ty. "You may have some issues with HG," teased Ty a bit "but something tells me she isn't as snooty as that accent sounds when it is lecturing me about science like I'm a disobedient and daft schoolboy" the First Officer added. "Besides, would you really want milk in every tea? Milk and Chamomile? That just sounds unpleasant."

Zack stifled a chuckle at the mention of the Science Officer. He then wrinkled his nose at the mention of chamomile, his face looking a bit like an overgrown toddler about to have a strop. "The milk is fine, but chamomile." He mock shuddered. "Lead on." He grinned, mentioning to them both.

"Right?" Ty added and shrugged. "A Doctor once recommended I drink chamomile tea to help me relax and sleep at night. One sip and that was the end of it for me. The stuff tastes like barnyard. I literally felt like I was drinking hay."

Summer grinned. “I have to admit I’ve never really been one for tea, in-fact any hot drink really. I don’t mind hot chocolate but that’s about it. I’m more of a cold drink person.”

"Cold tea?" Ty suggested. "If you aren't a hot type."

“Not really” Summer shook her head. “Fizzy drinks, squashes, fruit juices, all good with me.”

"Or a nice cold beer." Zack added with a grin. "Not on duty of course."

"Tea makes me think of HG," Tyrus Acevedo commented. "Perhaps..." he reached over and tapped his comm badge.

=/\= "Lieutenant Commander Acevedo to HG," the First Officer said summoning the woman who did not care to be called much other than HG. It was short and sweet. Ty liked it. "Are you busy?"

=^=Define busy commander,=^= HG responded. =^=I have to propagate a new strain of fungus, the computer is struggling on a multi-time dimensonal problem I gave it, and have an idea for the personal phase inverters to possible give a go at.=^=

=/\= "Too busy for a cup of tea with Counsellor Wyse, Ensign Chandler, and I? We are on our way to the ship's lounge for a little socializing over tea. Care to join us?:

=^=You should have led off with tea first Commander. On my way!=^=

HG went through the sterilizer and wiggled out of the suit. Spores could get into places you did not want them. As she passed the tables she spotted the personal wrist phase changers that she had come up with for Anthony when awhile back. She had played around with them but was not sure they were quite up to her standards yet. Oh they still phased alright but she wanted them to be able to selectively phase so one could manipulate things. A failing on there last mission. They had been either fully on, or fully off. Slapping one on she phased and walked through the door and down toward the lounge area. She passed through a couple of crew and they did not even pause. Now was the test, as she spotted the counselor and the first officer. To get a tea ordered, with only using manual input and one hand briefly showing and then phase it and the hand back. She got to the replicator. Her fingers briefly appeared and she entered by hand her request. The replicator went to work and the tea appeared but as she picked it up a swirl and it hit the bit of phase device which then shorted. A moment later the rest of her resolved. "Bugger!" she exclaimed. "Note to self, phase device needs to be water tight." She turned with tea in hand. "Sorry all," she said the several of the onlookers having seemingly appeared out of the air. "Testing a modification and not quite the result I was hoping."

Ty couldn't help but to smirk at HG's arrival. She was unique - quirky in many ways, but incredibly smart. She made him feel dumb whoever she opened her mouth, but that was perfectly fine by Ty. He was an engineer, plenty smart within his own box, but HG was a think outside the box kind of person. At least that was how Lieutenant Commander Tyrus Acevedo had come to view her.

"You got here quickly," he replied to HG. "Not abusing those site to site transporters are we?" He teased as he kindly made a bit of conversation with the woman.

HG turned waving her wrist. "Well when you can walk through walls and such, it makes it easy to take shortcuts. Besides you said tea."

"The magic word other than science," Ty teased. "Well, I'm glad you could join us. I was hoping to socialize with the crew more since I'm a bit of the new guy on the starship, and sitting on the bridge."

HG took her cup and took a seat. "Imagine if you will a vast underlying network of tea plants stretching all across the universe. A magical set of strands that would allow one to glide along it instantaneously from one part to another." She teased without actually referring to the experiments with the fungi.

Zack stared into his tea, momentarily trying to picture what HG was talking about. He gave a tiny shrug, giving up. He wasn't a theoretical physicist, and while it was a fun mental exercise, it didn't hold his fascination for long. "Is that what you are working on then? Planting tea leaves inside dark matter clusters?" He asked, clearly teasing.

Summer simply sat next to Tyrus, cradling her drink and listening to the conversation.

HG chuckled. "Well yes and no. No in that is not gigantic tea trees, yes in that if one can access it correctly, well, let's just say warp 9.9 would look like a Sunday stroll in the park." She waved a hand. "Even null space trap would be nothing, we would simply just 'jump' from there to else where as fast as you could blink you eye. Wormholes, conduits, heck even warp drive itself would be nothing but quaint old time technology. I would say that if it all works out, that one could even pop over the Andromeda galaxy in the time it currently takes us to warp from Earth to Alpha Centauri at today's maximum warp.."

"Sounds like 'espresso drive' to me," commented Ty. "I hate that we are stuck in this null space. I have a sense that the Captain is getting frustrated with not being able to get free, but I am trying my best to be optimistic. I know if we keep tracking those readings we keep getting some flashes of that we are bound to uncover something."

HG savoured her tea for a moment. "Optimistic is good, having a plan better. We’ll keep working at things."

Summer nodded. “It’s best to keep occupied, give people something to do just to keep their minds occupied.”

"You know my boss says something like that. Let me see." She thought a moment and then in a husky voice. "A HG without something to do is a dangerous HG."

"We will have to make sure that does not happen," Ty replied. "I have plans to keep you busy. This is a Luna class starship after all. I am sure we are bound to make a discovery or two, all that science stuff you and Edwards salivate over."

HG chuckled. "Not left to my own devices?" She held up the ruined phase inverter. "Neat device."

Zack had been paying attention to the back and forth banter, and while not shy, he was keenly aware that he was in the presence of senior officers. But the ruined phase inverter....He looked at it. "What happened there?"

"It appears that I have neglected to make it water proof or at least much more resistant. Luckily the last time had to use them with a primitive culture it more or less worked to keep us hidden. That was one of the other problems. One could not communicate unless one was in the same phase. Think I have that worked out but still things to go obviously. I have been working on other things and this little device has been put on back burner for now." HG tapped the ruined inverter.

Ty looked at the device. "Theoretically, that could come in handy some day. I would definitely encourage sorting any of the bugs out, and seeing if you could get it working. When you have the time of course."

"Of course," HG shrugged. "Hmm......maybe walk through the walls and see what the captain does in her off duty time?" She winked and chuckled.

Zack let out a soft chuff of amusement. "If you want some help,let me know. Though don't think I want to know what the CO does in her off duty time."

"Breast feed," replied Ty. "She's a mother and Captain. She does not have time for much else, and speaking of time, I thank you each for the company and tea, but I need to get some reports done of I'll be even more behind."

"Ah well then, perhaps not so much," HG chuckled a moment. "Well should go check to make sure the fungi are fat and happy. Guess actually going to have to take the long route." She got up and with several swallows finished her tea. "Any time there is tea, call."

"Of course, anytime," Ty replied.

OFF::

Lieutenant Commander Tyrus Acevedo
Executive Officer

Lt. HG Wells
Science

Lt jg Summer Wyse
Chief Counsellor

Ensign Zachary Chandler
Engineering Officer

 

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