Manners Maketh Man

Posted on Fri Oct 27th, 2023 @ 12:57pm by Petty Officer 3rd Class Nakata Akira & Lieutenant Magnus Volsung

2,004 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Shoreleave
Location: Lounge

[ON]

Magnus watched the stars as he sat in the lounge, waiting for Akira. He still wore his uniform, but he had removed the jacket and hung it over the back of the chair. It had allowed him to push up the sleeves of his shirt, showing the wrist cuff he wore. It was quiet, for once, and he allowed his mind to wander as he sat there and watched the stars.

"I hope I am not disturbing you?" Akira asked softly as he approached. Because it seemed like he was. Magnus looked calm, relaxed. He hadn't seen a Security Chief like it before. They were usually all...brooding and moody in the corner.

"No," Magnus said as he smiled, motioning to the seat. "How are you doing, Akira?" he tried the name out, hoping he was saying it right. It was good that he had wanted to meet up. It was good to...get to know people. And he had liked Akira what he met him, liked that recognition of someone else who wasn't a complete native in this world of technology and exploration.

"I am well, thank you. My conscience is clean now that my weapon is legal," Akira teased as he took a seat, setting the bubble tea down as he shifted the seat closer to him so he could see the view too. "And you? You look...relaxed."

"I am well too," Magnus said and gave a small nod, meeting his eyes. "I like relaxing here, with the stars." He looked back to them for a moment before he chuckled. "Was your conscience truly bothering you, Akira?"

"Well...perhaps that's not quite the right phrase," he conceded with a soft laugh, sitting back with a sigh. "I suppose...more worried I might get thrown into the brig at any moment."

He chuckled, looking at him with surprise before he shook his head. "No, don't worry about that. Truth is, the brig is mostly for decoration. If we have to use it, I haven't done my job properly." He tapped the table with a gentle finger for a moment, clearly thinking it over. "Saying that, when I first joined Starfleet, my Chief made us all stay in the brig for 48 hours, one at the time. So we'd know what it felt like."

Akira stared at him with wide eyed disbelief, shaking his head slowly from side to side. 48 hours? He would probably go insane if he'd be forced to do that. "Really?" he slowly took his straw into his mouth, boba bobbing up it as he watched him with astonishment.

Magnus nodded, watching him for a long moment before he smiled. "Don't look that worried. I found it a nice break. Did a lot of thinking..." he said and tapped his own head, before he winked. "And decided that no thanks, I'll pass on any long term stay in the brig. But it did make me appreciate that part of my job was to take care of people in the brig. Making sure they...were as comfortable as they could be all things considering."

Akira gave a slight shiver, shaking his head as he set his drink down with a frown. "Bring back flogging. I know I should be good at meditation, but it's always been a chore, not a pleasure."

"I think they'd worry that people would enjoy the flogging too much," Magnus said lightly, taking his own drink to sip. "I...don't think I meditate. I either talk to the gods, or I think. I never really manage to clear my head enough to do active meditation. Why isn't it a pleasure for you?"

Akira motioned to his head with a soft chuckle and an awkward shrug. "Same as you. It's never quiet. I mean, give me some paper and a brush, or a pen, or a padd, and I could spend days alone, just...getting it all out, but just my mind? There'd be no peace."

He nodded, watching Akira for a long moment before he smiled. "What is going on in your mind, Akira?" he asked, with interest. He was curious about what he had in his head.

"Lots of things," Akira shook his head absently, stirring his drink with the straw as he smiled absently. "My family. My work. I enjoy robotics. There's always something new to learn or create. It can be...consuming at times."

"You have a busy mind," Magnus said with a small nod of acknowledgement. Akira was an intelligent man, and many intelligent people had minds that worked fast. He had seen it in others. "What do you do to...still yourself? If meditation doesn't work that well?"

"Ah, well that's where my super illegal sword comes in," Akira teased as he leant to him with a soft grin. "Do you know much about kenjutsu? It's such a discipline, you have no choice but to concentrate. Well, unless I want to cut something off, which, I have no desire for..."

"I know nothing about kenjutsu," Magnus admitted with a smile, leaning closer to him. "And I think we encourage not cutting something off...if only to keep medical happy."

"Although, you must have some battlescars from your time serving?" Akira asked with genuine curiosity. He had a fancy that he could have been part of security....but he knew that was him just kidding himself with a fantasy.

"Mm..." he gave a small nod, watching him for a long moment. "Although medicine here is...good enough to leave few marks behind," he said before he held his hand out, so he could see the small scars from cuts there. "These were before I joined."

Akira took his hand, looking closely before tracing his fingertip down the silver lines he spotted. "Don't ever get them removed," he said solemnly, shaking his head gently.

He opened his palm to Akira, watching the fingertips with a small smile. "No," he said, his voice soft. "I don't see the need in having scars removed. It tells the story of my body, same as my tattoos," he looked at Akira, meeting his eyes.

"Tattoos?" Akira asked with a grin, his eyes shining with warmth and curiosity. "Were they done by hand? The ones in my village were done by hand, so beautiful. What are they?"

"Ravens..." Magnus said as he smiled tapping his chest. "And some runes on my back. Done by hand, where I am from." He looked down, smiling to himself. "They've kept me whole so far."

"You think they protect you?" Akira asked, fascinated with the idea of it as he leant forward onto his elbows to be closer. "Is that what Ravens mean to your people?"

"Mm..." Magnus watched him for a long moment. "Huginn and Muninn, they brought information, news, secrets, to Odin All-Father..." he said, his voice soft as he held his eyes. "The runes, they keep my spirit safe. The body is not forever, no matter how attached we get to it."

Akira watched him with awe, setting his chin in his hand. "Then it must be so," he whispered softly with wonder. "My people see ravens as a good omen...if they're close, it means there has been divine intervention close by."

Magnus held his eyes with warmth at the way he looked at him. "My people see them the same way, but usually...Odin is watching. They can be an omen of death, but we...don't see death as a bad thing."

"That's very brave," Akira said softly, looking down with a weak smile as he nodded. Made sense with what he did know about Magnus' culture though. "Is that why you're in security?"

"No," Magnus shook his head before he made a face. "I'm not very good with technology even after all these years. So I got into the Academy because I was good at fighting and did well on the psych eval. Apparently I am a calm person. Starfleet recommended this line for me, I...joined because I liked the idea of sailing across the stars."

"That sounds beautiful," Akira looked back to him at that, smiling softly at the idea of it. "And you are. Calm, I mean. You can feel it, it's very reassuring. And very different from other Security Chiefs I've met," he admitted with a soft chuckle.

Magnus chuckled, unable to stop it as he watched Akira. "A lot of us feel we have to constantly prove ourselves as being tough to be taken serious. I...don't feel that way. I have nothing to prove to anyone, I do my job and I expect people to listen when I tell them things."

"It's reassuring," Akira assured with a warm and honest smile. "Knowing you'll keep calm in a crisis...like you're more concerned with keeping us safe than fighting people."

"Well, it is my number one priority. The safety of the crew is paramount to me," Magnus admitted before he gave a small shrug. "And upholding the rules and regulations of Starfleet, of course. But I've learned over the years that the letter of the law is not always the meaning of the law."

Akira smiled softly at that, knowing exactly what he was talking about, but he chuckled softly and looked down modestly. "Petty Officers can't afford to think like that."

Magnus smiled gently, watching him before he reached to touch his arm. "Akira, enlisted can think like that. We all swore the same oath, for Starfleet and the Federation. It is always the meaning that matters, that oath."

Akira looked to him with surprise, letting out a soft breath at what felt like a generous observation. "You really think so?" he asked quietly.

"I do," Magnus said, nodding as he held his eyes. "Some of us lose...track of that. We get sucked into the politics of it, the darker sides. We get...lost. And the only thing that keeps us from falling is those around us. Who reminds us of what this really is about. To explore. To learn. To grow. To accept others and treat them with the same respect we would like to be treated with. To not lose sight of who we are, or who they are, but to accept and co-exist peacefully."

Akira just watched him in silence for a long moment, in awe of what he was saying. He finally shook his head when he realised he'd stopped and he was just staring at him as the silence stretched. "That's the fleet I joined," he said softly before looking down, his throat tight.

"It's the fleet I joined too," Magnus said, watching him with a small smile. "Remember that. Always. It is what ties us all together, Akira. And when one of us forget...the rest will remind them."

Akira nodded slowly, looking across to him with hope. Somewhere, his brother was lost out in the dark of space. Maybe, just maybe, there was someone reminding him of the same thing. He hoped so at least. "Are you sure you're not a counsellor?" he teased.

"Pretty sure. I think the things I've done would mean I wouldn't be well suited," Magnus said with a small chuckle, shaking his head at it. "I wouldn't have the patience anyway. For true counselling."

"I understand that," Akira chuckled, shaking his head as he looked down into his drink with a grin. "I understand machines more than people anyway."

"Maybe you do," Magnus said and smiled, taking his own drink to sip. "Machines tend not to do unexpected things unless they're broken. People however..." he shook his head and laughed. "Oh, people do very unexpected things."

"You wouldn't have a job if they didn't," Akira suddenly joked, but looked down with a soft laugh at the slight jibe he'd sent his way.

"Exactly! So the gods watch over people, who keep me busy," Magnus said and nudged his foot with his own. "Or at least looking busy."


[OFF]

PO3 Nakata Akira
Operations

Lt. Magnus Vosung
Chief Security Officer

 

RSS Feed