S3-M9: Downtime

[Kirok]

[Private Holosuite - September 6, 2399 - 0800]

Kirok knelt over the Hunter.  Turned the akai so the handle was pointed down.  Prepared to bash the Hunter with a final blow.

But his senses told him that the being was unconscious.  Defenseless, no longer a threat. And Star Fleet does not kill.

"End program" the Captain called out.  Feeling that he had successfully played out how things should have played out that day.  For now, though, it was time to return to reality.

[Amarande Xiiv]

[Katra - Promenade]

Balan was fixated on Amarade as she was sharing. He placed his fist under his chin as he placed his elbow on the edge of the table as he leaned in to hear her.

"From my observation Vulcans hold their emotions inside. When you grew up on Vulcan. Did you have a hard time making friends? And what do Vulcans do for fun?" he asked.

Knowing more about Vulcans could help him to talk to Kirok in the future. He would love to hear Captain's Kirok's story. Everyone had a story.

[Katra Station - Promenade]

"For fun? They insult each other with logic sometimes, there are bullies and those who are friendly. They're not emotionless, far from it," Amarande said softly. "I grew up on Vulcan until I was about ten or so, the rest of the time, I grew up on Trill. But when I was on Vulcan, I was very different from everyone around me but I attended the same school and performed excellently, sometimes better than most of my peers. They'd tease me about my spots, though my older sisters got it worse since they were half Vulcan. My brother, Skon, and I were just adopted and a bit...off-limits to some of the worst teasing but we bore it well, all of us. Once my mother took the assignment to Trill, we packed everything up and moved. I did make a few friends, though. We still keep in contact. All of them perform excellently in their professions."

She paused for a few moments, sipping her tea and thinking back with clarity on that time in her life.

[Balan]

[Katra Station - Promenade]

"For fun? They insult each other with logic sometimes, there are bullies and those who are friendly. They're not emotionless, far from it," Amarande said softly. "I grew up on Vulcan until I was about ten or so, the rest of the time, I grew up on Trill. But when I was on Vulcan, I was very different from everyone around me but I attended the same school and performed excellently, sometimes better than most of my peers. They'd tease me about my spots, though my older sisters got it worse since they were half Vulcan. My brother, Skon, and I were just adopted and a bit...off-limits to some of the worst teasing but we bore it well, all of us. Once my mother took the assignment to Trill, we packed everything up and moved. I did make a few friends, though. We still keep in contact. All of them perform excellently in their professions."

She paused for a few moments, sipping her tea and thinking back with clarity on that time in her life.

[Katra station - Promenade]

There was that time quiet sat between the two of them. Balan had sipped his tea which was feeling cool and bitter. Once while his eyes looked at other officers, residents and visitors on the Starbase.

"œI am enjoying your company, Amarande," he shared to her. "œCan I ask you something which confused me greatly since I was on the station. Your last name. Is that your last name or numbers?" He blushed as he asked. One would wonder why there was an extra i in the numerical numbers.

[Gideon Drake]

[Katra Station | Shared Personal Quarters with Gideon Drake]

"No clue."

Serena shrugged and undressed. "You'll have to visit later, I'm not dressed properly!" She called to the door and slid into the bathtub.

[Lieutenant JG Gideon Drake | Gideon and Serena's Quarters | Katra Station]

Gideon smiled as Serena slid into his lap into the tub. Small as she was, it was like he felt like a comfy chair.

"Feels good, doesn't it, Serena?" he said smoothly. "At least I'm not an umbrella."

He slid down the tub and kissed her back.

:: Crew Quarters | Katra Station ::

It was the fifth night in a row that Kyan had been awakened in the middle of the night by the same nightmare. More than an annoyance now, it was a full blown problem, to which he didn't have an answer. Well, not one that he liked anyway. He signed in resignation, dreading what he had to do next.

"Computer." Kyan called out, exhaustion and defeat etched onto his words. "Schedule an appointment with that counselor the now, and put it on the schedule in the Security Office so I can remember it."

"Working." The computer replied. Then a few seconds later, "Task complete."

"Fine" Kyan sighed. "And since there's nae sleep tae have, I'll just go do something else."

He threw his blanket off and got out of bed. "And turn the lights on too." he ordered the computer. When the room was illuminated, Kyan walked over to his closet and keyed the door. It swished open to reveal several uniforms hanging on the rack. Most were the black and mustard jacket/pants/undershirt combination that was in service now. But there were also several others that were no longer being worn. Even though it took up closet space, Kyan had a personal tradition of keeping at least 1 of every uniform that he'd been issued since joining Starfleet in 2346.

He slid them all the one side and grabbed his hooded sweatshirt off one of the shelves. It was his favorite, and the most comfortable of all his civilian clothes. And it was warm. For whatever reason, the promenade was cold, especially at night. He'd gotten it shortly before graduating from the Academy in 2350.  Like the uniforms of that time, it was maroon with gold lettering. There was a Starfleet Academy logo on the front, and a list of his classmates on the back. The shirt was in pretty good condition, even though he wore it alot. There was some fraying on the cuffs of the sleeves, and at the end of the pullstring, and of course the letters were faded somewhat. There was also a small bloodstain on the front, almost faded away, from a fight he'd gotten into shortly after graduating. It had been so long now, Kyan couldn't even remember if the blood was his or the other guys's. Kyan pulled the hoodie on and put the hood up. After putting on a pair of shoes, he stuffed his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie and walked out the door.

Once he got to the promenade, he decided to check in on the new place opened by that Antican, Deej Cloten. Kyan declined to give him his freighter back, instead holding it as confiscated property. But since Cloten had given him everything he knew about the Orion slave trade, and specifically operations on verex III, he hadn't protested when he and his brother bought up the old casino and opened up a new bar/gambling spot. Of course the license was given with the stipulation that Cloten kept him informed about the goings on among the station's criminal element.

Cloten was a willing and eager snitch as it happened, which was handy in a place like Katra. And he played Domjot, which Kyan liked to play sometimes. He wasn't looking for a game now though. He intended to get a triple sweet raktajino and sit at the bar, listening to what the barflies were talking about. Maybe that would help take his mind off his recurring dreams.

The place seemed to be doing well. Kyan could hear the cacophony of gaming house noises as he approached. And when he came through the entry way, he saw that there were quite a few people inside. Picking out a spot at the bar where there wasn't someone sitting on either side of him, he climbed onto a barstool. "Raktajino", he called out. "Hot, triple sweet please."

[Deej Cloten | Chez Cloten | Promenade | Katra Station]

The holo of the more humanoid looking Cloten flickered. The real Cloten stepped out and scowled, a seven foot muscular Orion hulking behind and over him.

"Ah, well," he said. "Didn't expect that to work, did it? What can I do you for, K?"

He learned to be a little more respectful around Kyan Babyface since he worked with him. For one thing, he strove to stop calling him "Baby Face." At least when he's around.

[Amarande Xiiv]

[Katra station - Promenade]

There was that time quiet sat between the two of them. Balan had sipped his tea which was feeling cool and bitter. Once while his eyes looked at other officers, residents and visitors on the Starbase.

"œI am enjoying your company, Amarande," he shared to her. "œCan I ask you something which confused me greatly since I was on the station. Your last name. Is that your last name or numbers?" He blushed as he asked. One would wonder why there was an extra i in the numerical numbers.

[Katra - Promenade]

The quiet conversation was nice and she was enjoying it also as indicated by her more relaxed nature.

"Xiiv is my symbiont's name, X-i-i-v is pronounced Zeev," she said with a smile, at her nod the waiter brought her more fragrant tea, this time in a teapot. She poured more into her cup and enjoyed the scent of it before once more blowing across its surface. "When Joined, we take on the symbiont's name instead of our family name. I can see where it would be confusing since the Human use a Roman numeral system for some things."

[Balan]

[Katra - Promenade]

The quiet conversation was nice and she was enjoying it also as indicated by her more relaxed nature.

"Xiiv is my symbiont's name, X-i-i-v is pronounced Zeev," she said with a smile, at her nod the waiter brought her more fragrant tea, this time in a teapot. She poured more into her cup and enjoyed the scent of it before once more blowing across its surface. "When Joined, we take on the symbiont's name instead of our family name. I can see where it would be confusing since the Human use a Roman numeral system for some things."

[Katra - Promenade ]

"œah I see. So Zeev then it is," he replied. Then he thought of something else. "œZeev shared their past experience to you? As they become part of you. As good and bad. Example if they had children and marriages would that be consider family like blood related?" He asked. He loved asking questions. Then he enjoyed hearing what they have to share.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

"Ah, well," he said. "Didn't expect that to work, did it? What can I do you for, K?"

Kyan frowned at the shortening of his name. Not because it offended him, which was almost impossible to do with words alone, but because he couldn't recall every hearing it before. He'd been called Mack quite a lot, and there was once a cadet at the academy who insisted upon calling him Lower K. That one had a high opinion of his comedic abilities. A Human on one of the starships he'd been on called him K-Y, which his friends thought was funny but no one else understood. None of those were particularly offensive. Although that K-Y Human had gotten his nose broke, but that was a separate issue. Then again, there was once a girl that called him KyKy, which he hadn't cared for at all, and told her so. She cried about it and all her friends thought HE was the bad guy for making her sad. Girls were weird, regardless of age or species.

"I need a triple sweet raktajino." he replied finally. Then, indicating the room with a glance. "Looks pretty good the now, and in less than a month too. I been seeing grups come out whining about their lost latinum all the time so."

[Serena King]

[Lieutenant JG Gideon Drake | Gideon and Serena's Quarters | Katra Station]

Gideon smiled as Serena slid into his lap into the tub. Small as she was, it was like he felt like a comfy chair.

"Feels good, doesn't it, Serena?" he said smoothly. "At least I'm not an umbrella."

He slid down the tub and kissed her back.

[Katra Station | Shared Personal Quarters with Gideon Drake]

"Yes."

Serena stretched and wiggled her toes, leaning back... "When we're done shriveling when the water gets cold, let's go to Blue Bells." She patted his arm and closed her eyes. "I have an idea."

[Gideon Drake]

[Katra Station | Shared Personal Quarters with Gideon Drake]

"Yes."

Serena stretched and wiggled her toes, leaning back... "When we're done shriveling when the water gets cold, let's go to Blue Bells." She patted his arm and closed her eyes. "I have an idea."

[Lieutenant JG Gideon Drake | Gideon and Serena's Quarters | Katra Station]

Gideon had been kissing her shoulders when he perked up at the Blue Belles and Serena's idea.

"Really?" he asked. "What do you have in mind?"

Kyan frowned at the shortening of his name. Not because it offended him, which was almost impossible to do with words alone, but because he couldn't recall every hearing it before. He'd been called Mack quite a lot, and there was once a cadet at the academy who insisted upon calling him Lower K. That one had a high opinion of his comedic abilities. A Human on one of the starships he'd been on called him K-Y, which his friends thought was funny but no one else understood. None of those were particularly offensive. Although that K-Y Human had gotten his nose broke, but that was a separate issue. Then again, there was once a girl that called him KyKy, which he hadn't cared for at all, and told her so. She cried about it and all her friends thought HE was the bad guy for making her sad. Girls were weird, regardless of age or species.

"I need a triple sweet raktajino." he replied finally. Then, indicating the room with a glance. "Looks pretty good the now, and in less than a month too. I been seeing grups come out whining about their lost latinum all the time so."

[Deej Cloten | Chez Cloten | Promenade | Katra Station]

Cloten puffed his Deltan cigar for a moment, his long hairy Antican eyebrow raising. "Is that so?" he asked after he got the ciggie out of his mouth. "Bad luck on their part."

Of course, considering the rate people were losing latinum, and being cheap enough, given time, he might be able to buy his own moon. Snapping a finger at Baby Face's order, Cloten summoned a waiter, gave the order, and the waiter was back with the raktajino, as he requested, was back in an instant.

[Amarande Xiiv]

[Katra - Promenade ]

"œah I see. So Zeev then it is," he replied. Then he thought of something else. "œZeev shared their past experience to you? As they become part of you. As good and bad. Example if they had children and marriages would that be consider family like blood related?" He asked. He loved asking questions. Then he enjoyed hearing what they have to share.

[Katra - Promenade]

"We have a policy not to a part of the symbiont's previous life," she said, "but no they're not considered blood relatives past the former host. I am not related to past children at all. Xiiv retains memory, knowledge, and the life experiences of each host. To them, the families of the host, that woman or man is deceased once the host is transferred from one Trill to another."

[Kirok]

[Arboretum - September 6, 2399 - 0900]

Kirok showered and changed into some off duty attire.  He picked up Dillon and took the dog to his favorite place on the station.   The Arboretum.

Dillon had survived the surgery.  But the boxer was far from ok.  If fact, his prognosis was rather dire.

The poor mutt's head was oddly now curved to one side.  He stumbled when he walked.  And he was not eating, not well or regularly at least.

So, instead of walking Dillon the long distance Kirok beamed the two directly there.  Kirok placed Dillon on the ground.  And let the dogs sniff around to get his bearings.

[Xasik]

[Katra Station | Food Court]

Xasik

It hadn't taken long for Xasik to decide where to go for breakfast, in fact his stomach had made the choice for him. As soon as he had arrived on the Promenade he had headed straight to the food court, following the mouth watering scent of cooking meat right to the source, 'Meridian Stake and Ale'. He liked the place, despite him often being referred to as a "˜space vampire' and the name of his favourite restaurant having the word "˜stake' in its name. The irony was not lost on him.
The lighting inside was pleasantly dim and the atmosphere was friendly with music playing softly in the background. He had become a regular customer here since his arrival on Katra and the staff had become accustomed to him, and now little Emerald too.

Entering the establishment, Xasik gave a wave to the on duty staff as he approached the counter and placed his usual order - plenty of meat, cooked rare with a side of salad and fries. He also ordered a large peach flavoured iced tea to go with his meal. He wasn't really one to enjoy alcohol, especially not after just waking up. He chuckled as he was handed a shallow wooden bowl before he headed towards his favourite table in the back corner. It had two seats  and was the darkest part of the place. The staff had quickly learned that Xasik preferred the dark and no longer offered to try and add a bit more light for him.

Placing the bowl on the table in a prime position for viewing the rest of the restaurant, Xasik then placed the ECS containing Emerald in the bowl so the little one could watch all the people coming and going while Xasik ate. The bowl prevented Emerald from rolling the ECS off the table and getting into trouble, but was shallow enough for the Tholian hatchling to see everything going on around them unobstructed.
Xasik snorted when he realized that one of the staff had even written "˜Emerald' on the side of the bowl in green. Guess it was their bowl now.

It didn't take long for his order to arrive. The scent of the meat almost drove him crazy but Xasik restrained himself long enough to thank his server and wait the appropriately polite amount of time after they left to dig into his meal.

Emerald chirped and squeaked, happily people watching and playing with their favourite squeaky ball while Xasik ate. A few times they tried to roll the ECS to go and explore, but the bowl was sturdy and Xasik kept an eye on his child just to be sure.
Emerald seemed fascinated with all the people sitting down to eat or simply walking by. Xasik assumed it was all the different colours and species that fascinated the hatchling. He smiled as he watched his child observing everything going on around them.

It didn't take the Reman long to finish his meal. He had been starving and the food was settling nicely in his stomach.  Reluctantly he got up from his seat and picked Emerald up.
"œWhat should we do today Little Pebble?" He asked the hatchling. Emerald clicked and peeped at him happily, squeezing their squeaky ball joyfully.
"œYou're absolutely right," Xasik smiled. He didn't know what Emerald had said, if they had said anything at all that is, but he liked to hold conversations with his child anyway. "œLet's wander the Promenade for a while and see if we can find something exciting. We might even bump into someone we know. Come on little Pebble."

Returning the bowl to the counter, Xasik tipped the staff generously before beginning the day's adventure.

-------------------------

Emerald

The sight of all the New Ones moving by them was always exciting to Emerald. So many different colours! They clicked happily as they watched all the colours while The Sharp One put things in his face, as he did many times. Emerald liked when The Sharp One brought them here. The Ones here always chirped and squeaked so happily, it made Emerald happy. The only thing missing was The Soft One and The Humming One. The Sharp One never brought them here and Emerald missed them. When their usual squeaking and chirping failed to draw them here, Emerald squeaked the ball that The Soft One had given them in the hopes that she would hear it and find them, The Humming One too. When this also failed Emerald resorted to trying to hum like The Humming One and The Soft One did. This sometimes worked and called both to Emerald, but this time it seemed they were out of luck.

Emerald grew tired from humming after a while and settled back down to simply enjoy all the colours of the New Ones going by and squeaking their ball happily. They chirped and squeaked excitedly when The Sharp One picked them up and squeaked at them in his deep tones before taking them to explore the area. Emerald tried humming for The Soft One and The Humming One as they explored.

[Serena King]

[Lieutenant JG Gideon Drake | Gideon and Serena's Quarters | Katra Station]

Gideon had been kissing her shoulders when he perked up at the Blue Belles and Serena's idea.

"Really?" he asked. "What do you have in mind?"

[Katra Station | Shared Personal Quarters with Gideon Drake]

"You'll have to wait and see."

Serena got out of the bath and tossed him a towel. "A universe of possibilities is waiting." She started drying off her hair and padded into the other room, grabbing a PADD along the way.

[Gideon Drake]

[Katra Station | Shared Personal Quarters with Gideon Drake]

"You'll have to wait and see."

Serena got out of the bath and tossed him a towel. "A universe of possibilities is waiting." She started drying off her hair and padded into the other room, grabbing a PADD along the way.

[Lieutenant JG Gideon Drake | Gideon and Serena's Quarters | Katra Station]

Serena arose, and it felt too fast. Bugger. He wanted to keep on with the moment, but then again, perhaps further romantic stimulation at the Blue Belles and then...well, perhaps Gideon could take her for the holosuite for some more private snogging?

Gideon arose himself and took his time dressing, baring all for Serena to see, trying to be tantalizing for her. He was soon dressed in the most casual outfit he had yet, one made to keep his slightly handsome physique open, a buttoned shirt unbuttoned and only kept on because it was goodly tucked in. And of course, he had the vest on, even if his shoulders were baring. His "attraction" outfit, as it were, but in this case, it was for Serena when they went to the Blue Belles.

He wondered what her surprise will be, naturally.

[Kirok]

[Arboretum - September 6, 2399 - 0900]

Dillon immediately caught the scent of his favorite plant in the Arboretum.  The gardenia bush which was currently in full bloom.  The dog tripped a time or two, but made his way over to it.

He did what he always did at the bush.  Brushed his back side against it.  Wagging his tongue the entire time - like it was the best thing in the world.

Then he tripped over his paws and fell to the ground.  "It's ok, Buddy" Kriok said.  His tone neutral, hiding his concern for the mutt.

But the stoic Captain settled down and sat in the grass beside his canine companion.  He reached his hand over and stroked the stop between the dogs ears.  "We'll just rest here for a bit" Kirok said.