I See, I See (Judy/Stryker)

[Judith Eastman]

[CMO's Office - SBC]

Judy smiled.
"Yes, sure. We can," she stated. "How about 7:30 PM today?"

Sure, that'd mean taking a call from her study again, but that was fine.

[Stryker]

 Sven's quarters

"I think that could work."

Sven seemed eager to join the party.

[Judith Eastman]

[CMO's Office]

"Sounds good. See you in a few hours," Judy answered. Then, she hung up, and returned to her paperwork.

[Judy's Quarters - 7:30 PM]

After heading home at the actual end of her shift, as she had promised to Max, Judy got straight to work on dinner. Now, she was lounging on the couch in her housecoat, her silver-haired hubby by her side.

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

As promised, Sven called on time. He was still dressed in the white tank top and board shorts.

"Computer, patch me through to Judy Eastman, Starbase Columbia."

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy & Max's Quarters and/or the Subspace Net]

Putting you through to Lt. Cmdr. Judith Eastman-Williams, PhD, PsyD, MBA, MS, the computer informed Sven, as it then set a ringing in Judy's quarters.

"Work," the older woman muttered to her husband, leaving his side with a kiss as she headed for her study.
Max watched his wife go, looking just a little disappointed.

Judy sat down in her study and answered.

"Evenin', Sven," she answered.

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

"Evening." he said with a smile.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy & Max's Quarters]

Judy put on a pair of her glasses and pulled up her notes.

"How was the rest of the party?" she asked Sven.

She reached over to the side panel to turn up the temperature in the room a little. She was feeling a little chilly now, with her human heat source no longer with her.

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

"It was nice. I didn't realize that something like this could be fun. I did have some trouble making small talk at first."

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy & Max's Quarters, Deck 176, SBC]

Judy smiled, hearing an answer that seemed honest and productive.

"Small talk is always hard," she conceded. "Harder still for the inexperienced among us. What did you talk about?"

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

He took a deep breath, "Uh, well we talked about the holomatrix."

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy & Max's Quarters]

This wasn't something in Judy's particular background.

"So, was the person you were talking with also an engineer?" she asked.

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

Sven shifted in his seat. "Eh. No. He actually works in the sciences. Xeno-botanist.

The large man rubbed the back of his neck, slightly flushed.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy & Max's Quarters]

"Ah, a scientist," Judy replied, clearly surprised as well as pleased. "I've always had something of a soft spot for that department."

She'd served as a science officer in the past, even as high as a chief of science. While it had been a miserable experience, it had still left its mark on her.

[Stryker]

Sven's quarters

"And why do you say that? he asked.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy & Max's Quarters]

"Well, I used to be a science officer," Judy replied. "To be honest, it was miserable. Imagine a whole department of... snakes, basically. People whose minds are so fixated on their careers that they don't look up at those around them. It was a rotten place to serve, and a rotten place to lead a department in, and that was the USS Tempest, where I served in science."