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[Note: T'Vas (of Challenger) and Madison Kennedy (of Discovery) are unaffected by this announcement and will continue on.]

Character(s) affected: Serena King
Assigned ship(s): Katra Station
Period of time absent: Indefinite
Date of last period of activity: Immediate
Date returning: N/A

Any relevant comments: The character has completed its arc and storylines overall, with no further room for expansion or creative outlets.

A massive thank you to my Katra family for your kindness, patience and plenty of good times and experiences.

Note: T'Vas (of Challenger) and Madison Kennedy (of Discovery) are unaffected by this announcement and will continue on.

[< Katra Station / Arboretum >]

< Katra Station / Arboretum >
Sirol's smile widened as Serena came closer and began to recite a piece of (Earth-?) poetry to the little one.
She carefully held their ECS closer to Serena, so the child would be able to hear it. Although they were yet too young to understand complex speech, they were undoubtedly perceptive and empathic, and would certainly understand that Serena sought to interact.

She musingly listened and maintained her smile, although the poem made her oddly thoughtful.
The piece reminded her of her own situation in life and the "˜contact' she and her brother had managed to maintain to their mother back before the destruction of their home worlds.
Musingly she stood there for some more seconds before she looked at Serena again and gave her a friendly nod.
"œThat was very beautiful and profound, is there a backstory to this piece?"

[Katra Station | Aboretum | BBQ Day]

"Oh, it is from ancient Earth."

Serena looked mildly at Sirol, the edges of her mouth creeping up. "Three great tenors with amazing voices and harmony. Domingo, Carreras and Pavarotti, I believe."

tag to Sirol
very soft squeaking emerald tags to Serena, Gideon and Kyan

https://www.shadowfleet.org/forum/katra-station/s3-m9-downtime/msg261454/#msg261454

Mini tag back

[[Katra Station | Promenade â†' Arboretum]]

[Katra Station | Promenade â†' Arboretum]

Xasik

Xasik chuckled at Sirol's comment about Emerald already being stimulated. It was true, the little one was already very excited.

"œWe'll meet you there soon, and don't worry, I'll be sure to bring my appetite." 

Making his way through the promenade and towards the Arboretum was a simple matter for Xasik. He weaved around people standing in the way but was careful not to rush and accidentally bump into anyone. In the ECS in his arms Emerald chirped happily as they took in all the sights and sounds along the way.

Upon finally entering the Arboretum, Xasik looked around and resisted the urge to hiss in discomfort. It was far too bright in here, but luckily he always brought his shades with him. He spotted a bench by the group of gathered people. He made a beeline to it when he noticed Sirol's lab coat on it and the Uropygi "˜guarding' it, making sure to give everyone a friendly wave as he walked. He was far too tired to be very social at the moment. He smiled as he approached the bench

"œHello, friend," he greeted the Uropygi as he dumped his bag down and placed Emerald down onto the ground to explore before sitting. He rifled through his bag and pulled out his shades and put them on to block out some of the harsher light in the Arboretum. He let out a massive yawn as he watched his child head directly for Sirol.
Typical Emerald.
Xasik had to smile. He offered the Uropygi a gentle stroke to the top of her head before focusing on Emerald again, going full speed towards Sirol and the group she was conversing with.

Emerald

As soon as they were on the ground, Emerald was off, rolling towards The Soft One as fast as they could. They had spotted her as soon as they had entered the area and had been mad that The Sharp One hadn't taken them over to her. But it didn't matter. The Sharp One had released them and they would simply take themself over to her.

"œPEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP!" Emerald chirped as loud as they could in excitement as they rolled faster than they ever had before, so fast in fact that they tripped along the way and had to scuttle back to their feet before taking off again at high speed. They were going so fast that they couldn't stop in time and crashed into The Soft One's foot. Deciding this was in fact fun, Emerald rolled their ECS into her foot again and again, laughing with delight as they did.
"œChirp chirp chirp! Chirp! Peep!" They laughed as they bumped into The Soft One's foot, ignoring The New Ones with her for now.

[Katra Station | Aboretum | BBQ Day]

"Specialist, little one."

Serena disengaged herself from the conversation she was having to bow to the Reman and the Tholian... Child? Since she couldn't sing, she resorted to a sort of spoken poem to the small child in an encounter suit: "Teach your children well. Their father's hell did slowly go by. And feed them on your dreams. The one they pick's the one you'll know by. Don't you ever ask them why. If they told you, you would cry. So, just look at them and sigh, and know they love you."

[< Katra Station / Arboretum >]

[Lieutenant JG Gideon Drake | Arboretum | Katra Station]

Gideon turned to see a familiar Romulan woman approaching...then he remembered where he saw her. He had saved her on his first few days on Katra, when a bomb went off destroying part of the station.

"Ahh," he said. "Good to meet you again...Sirol, was it? As Serena said?"

He turned to Serena to explain. "I saved her life in my first few days on Katra. There was a fire in the shuttlebay and I got her out. I feel bad I didn't see her again; been busy flying and all. And when I met you, the most beautiful woman in the quadrant."

< Katra Station / Arboretum >

Sirol chuckled and slowly shook her head.
"œWell no, that was"¦ At least not my intention.
I happened to have the bag of fruit with me, and the colouring of this one reminded me of your uniform. This and you"¦ Pardon me stating this"¦ Smell mysteriously fruity..."
She awkwardly cleared her throat and gave Serena an apologising look.
She did not want to appear like someone who would go around and intentionally sniff people, but - as someone from a planet with no sunlight - her nose was quite sensitive, even without her deliberately searching for something.

Raising one eyebrow, her eyes seemed to widen as Sirol followed the small object Serena presented to the scientist.
"œOh. ...OH!
This, in fact, explains a lot actually."
Her smirk grew again as she leaned over a little and - discreetly - took in the smell. It was refreshing and pleasant.
"œWhat is it? I am still learning about many of the Federation food items. Is it something from your home world?"

Sirol tilted her head and did a polite bow towards Lieutenant Drake.
"œThe pleasure is all mine, Lieutenant. It is good to see you save and healthy after all that happened recently."

She paused for a moment while he explained the circumstances of their first meeting to Serena.
Yes, back when the pain caused by the violent detachment of the anomaly had become overbearing, and she had lacked the strength to fend for her own survival, it had been him to do it on her behalf. He had pulled her out of a pile of debris and had brought her to sickbay.
Long before the Tholians had saved her soul by giving her purpose, Drake had saved her hardware, and she never - in all those months - had gotten a proper chance or a suitable situation to sufficiently thank him.
Until now.

Reaching out one hand towards him as an offer, she did a calm bow towards Drake.
"œCausality never permitted us to properly speak ever since. But I owe you my sincerest thanks, Lieutenant.
Without you, I would be dead today.
I am very thankful for you possessing the quick reflexes and courage to assist me. I suppose a situation like this would normally call for a more"¦ Sophisticated speech - Unfortunately I was not aware of us meeting today, hence me having nothing prepared.
Nothing but my honest gratitude, and assurance, that - whenever you will need a helping hand - I will be with you at a minute's notice."
She smiled at him,  and repeated her bow, before she once more paused, and - as discreetly as possible - looked over her shoulder to check whether Captain Eydis or Specialist Freeman had already arrived, since she did not want to keep either of them waiting.
Luckily, so far they were not yet around, so Sirol had all the chance needed to properly converse with both, Lieutenant Drake and Serena.

[Katra Station | Aboretum | BBQ Day]

"We've been living together for four months. In some cultures, we'd be married with children."

Serena looked oddly at Gideon, then turned back to Sirol. "It... Is a metaphor for life. As we talked about so long ago, the uh, fishing rods for honour combat after drinking refreshing beverages, this would go hand in hand with those."

[Serena]

She steered towards Serena and Lieutenant Drake first. She had not seen either of them in over three months. One thing she immediately noticed though were the new pips on the collars of their uniforms.

Reaching into one of her bags are searched and quickly found what she had in mind, then walked over to the Lieutenants and did a polite hailing bow to Serena, followed by her offering her friend a fresh apricot.
"œI see someone got promoted. Congratulations! More than deserved if I might say so. How have you been doing since we last met?"
She then once more reached into her bag, pulling out a dragon fruit and offered it to Lieutenant Drake with a bow as well.
"œIt is more than welcome to see you two stick together and rank up alongside one another, despite all of Katra's hardships."

[Katra Station | Aboretum | BBQ Day]

"Sirol!"

Serena resisted the urge to reach out and give her friend a hug. The two of them hadn't spoken in... Some time. Though they had kept up some correspondence in between, their paths didn't seem to intersect all that often recently. She also looked down. Her gold utilities, beyond the thigh pocket with her book and the pockets full of tools and the Starfleet insignia, was unadorned. In fact, her pips were in a little box somewhere. With a quirk of her eyebrow, she remembered the 'Fleet news digests, which would be where the information came through.

Even as she processed the words, she smiled wryly: "Are you trying to tell me I'm soft on the outside, hard on the inside?" Patting herself down, she rummaged into her pockets. She knew Rihannsu treated symbolism and gifts. Which... Had symbolism. Finally, she pulled out what she was looking for: a sugar coated lemon, wrapped in a layer of keep-fresh plastic. It wasn't the same one she had originally, she had eaten them in turn before they could develop mold and bacteria. Still, the gesture would count, even if the meaning was lost.

[Lieutenant JG Gideon Drake | Arboretum | Katra Station]

The moment he got the invitation from the Captain, Gideon told Serena to go on ahead and he went back quickly to change to his dress uniform before going to the Arboretum. There was a bloody good reason for it; he was going to be in the presence of the Captain and it just didn't seem right, his choice of attire at the Blue Belles.

When he arrived back in with his dress uniform, he was intrigued by what he saw. A gathering of the crew, he wondered what was up.

"What ho, Serena," he said. "Sorry, just needed to change into something better. So what's all this, I wonder?"

[Katra Station | Aboretum | BBQ Day]

"Life and soul of the party you are."

Serena quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'm just here for the food and drinks." She canted her head in the Captain's direction.

[Katra Station | Aboretum | BBQ Day]

Kirok offered the Engineer a nod.  "Ms" he started to say, but corrected himself.  Apparently some of the younger officered did not wish to be called Ms or Mr, so the captain was trying to respect that wish, despite his preference for doing so with people didn't know very well.  It had been one of his, apparently failed, attempts to incorporate human customs into his otherwise Vulcan dominate but half Betazoid life.

"King.  What did you bring?  It does look interesting" Kirok corrected himself and managed to comment on the food she had brought.

He later offered Zero and his plus one a nod.   He did the same with Skargarr.  He had meant to speak to the Gorn prior to now, but was still puzzling out the best was to say 'thanks for saving my life, but" to the dog loving being.

Skar returned the nod.  "Captain, how are you doing? and your canine? is he recovering from his injuries?.  I hate those who harm canines and felines." Skar said quietly.

"You, How are you feeling Serena? I tried to stop by earlier to check on you before I went about my duties but you did not seem to be in your quarters at the time I stopped by." Skar said as he wanted to make sure the officers he served under were kept safe as possible.

[Katra Station | Aboretum | BBQ Day]

"An old Earth dish, Biryani. It's vegetarian, anyone can enjoy it."

Serena half bowed at the Captain, but then her expression turned to one of extreme irritation as she faced a Gorn. Dimly, she remembered this was the same security guard from some time ago. She had mildly surprised herself at the response. Maybe all her life, her Hong Kong background had drummed into her a sense of knowing one's place a hierarchy and addressing someone by their title was the correct method.

She stood toe to toe with the Gorn, realizing she was much shorter, but that didn't make one shred of difference. "Kindly don't address me in the familiar. I am easygoing, but it is a right to be earned over time, it is not given. We are Starfleet professionals, after all." Her eyes were quite ablaze at this point and she was seeing red. She hadn't meant to dress him down exactly, but there was still protocol to be followed. Biting her lip, she resorted to wandering off to grab a drink.

BBQ tag to the Captain

[Arboretum - September 16, 2399 - 1200]

As people began to arrive, Kirok moved away from the gardenia bush.  No need ruin the party with his sad thoughts.  No, it was time to enjoy the company of others.

So he moved closer to the food.  There were 3 types of salads, fresh fruits, and a variety of desserts.  For drink, there was fresh squeezed lemonade as well as a few other choices.

[Katra Station | Aboretum | BBQ Day]

"Captain!"

Serena would have waved, except she carried her own contribution. Wryly, she thought this ritual resembled the Lunar New Year celebrations when the whole extended family would gather, with each family bringing a dish to share, while everyone gossiped, caught up and otherwise did things a family should. Having thought long, she decided on a lightly spiced vegetarian biryani which was heaped like a small mountain. Although she would have gladly eaten the traditional versions, she recognized not everyone enjoyed meats (one uncle was vegan by choice as was his family, she had politely abstained during their meals together) and the carrots, peas, potatoes and corn mixed with the spiced rice was still quite good. Also trying to be open minded, this one was very mild. The last one she ordered for herself made hasperat seem tasteless.

For half a second, she wondered if this were any more similar to a Lunar New Year family gathering, she would have replicated a sic bo board and decided against it immediately. Apart from the fact that the Federation was a nominally moneyless society and that gambling was an even more confusing affair (even if for pocket change, a term which itself would have required a lengthy explanation itself). Though games of probability were taught in schools... Shaking her head to clear it, she set her contribution down on the table and nodded warmly.

I am humbled. I would like to shout out to all the other candidates and the great writers we have in our group!

[Katra Station | Counsellor's Office]

"Well."

Serena shrugged, but felt a small wave of fatigue. "I think my soul's better, but my brain hurts. From thinking and... Considering." She got up, a little unsteadily and had to hang on to the back of her chair to steady herself and couldn't quite stifle a yawn. "I suspect if we were to play chess you'd be studying me there. Thank you, Counsellor." Serena bowed somewhat formally and exited.

[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.

[Katra Station | Blue Bells]

"Thank you."

Serena strolled into Blue Bells. It... Had been some time since their first date here with Gideon. The Andorian run night club had an icy music theme, with the temperature kept low and everyone having puffs of vapor whenever they breathed out. For her part, she continued to wear her gold Engineering utilities with the sleeves rolled up past her elbows, not only because they were comfortable, but also a sort of emotional security blanket, with the tools in the pockets.

The piano had still been tucked over and the staff and quite a few patrons looked about expectantly. They remembered her earlier performances from the same date night as previous. Going from classical to some later jazz pieces. Conversations slowly died down and she became the centre of attention.

"Hey there Delilah, what's it like in New York City-" Almost immediately, the entire bar started wincing. Though the piano accompaniment was incredible, the singing was... Normally, Serena had excellent diction, using a very slight Received Pronunciation accent and able to get explanations across. When she sang... Her accent alternated between Australian, Cockney, New Zealand and Yorkshire. Her pitch went from Barry White with a head cold up to Alvin and the Chipmunks on helium.

Although she was definitely singing with passion, at that moment a glass shattered. Whether it was from a high note or a patron dropping their glass in shock, no one knew. All the other people in the bar knew that they wanted to plug their ears and run away screaming.

[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.

[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."