The Socially Awkward Calm Before the Storm

Posted on Sun Oct 7th, 2018 @ 10:45pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Asa Dael

Mission: Hera v Hera
Location: Ten Forward
Timeline: 2395, en route to Meroset 347

The door to Ten Forward slid open with the telltale woosh one would expect on a Starfleet vessel and Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Dox hesitantly walked in. She was a short, thickly proportioned young woman, just past thirty. Her wide hips and ample middle weren't common in Starfleet but she was good at her job and passed all her physicals. Her hair was a thick, curly auburn mess tucked into a bun in the back that had given up being neat a little while ago. She had just come off of a 12 hour shift and was off duty, so she undid the bun and let her hair fall naturally just past her shoulders.

The room was about half filled with various crew memebers talking and drinking. It wasn't particularly busy, but it felt overly so to the awkward and anxious new ships pilot. Dox scanned the room from the side off the door looking for as isolated a seat as she could find. In her hands crossed infront of her was the PaDD with the mission specs she received from Rita Paris just a few short minutes ago that she wanted to read over.

It was the gregarious First Officer that recommended that the tightly wound lieutenant could use some relaxation after an appropriately tense, but friendly meeting to discuss the mission ahead. Dox had only been on board the HERA for a couple of days, but had used the replicator in her quarters to eat and had actively avoided the mess hall and ten forward. So far, she had only met a handful of officers that were now her crewmates: the statuesque First Officer, who confounded Dox in her anacronistic uniform and in-your-face command style. Not "in-your-face" bad, per say, Dox thought. But it was clear that her new Commander didn't have patience for Dox's tendency for emotionally shutting down. In their three meetings, Paris blasted through her defenses in a good way and Dox was beginning to feel more relaxed around the Commander, in spite of her own efforts to keep a stick up her own ass.

The meeting with the Captain and Chief Medical Officer went fairly well. Nothing overly eventfully and Dox didn't stick her feet in her mouth overtly bad, as she could remember. She misgendered the doctor, which was embarrassing but Dox tried not to think too much into it and let it bother her too much. Dox figured that kind of ignorance was probably intensly annoying for the doctor, who seemed very friendly and open, and she didn't want to make the situation any more awkward by making it all about her.

The meeting with the ships COUNCILOR, that Dox wasn't happy with the outcome of the most. She went in hyper defensive and on-guard because the Councilor is a Betazoid and Dox couldn't get past her reluctance around telepaths. Especially telepaths who's job was to get into your head. The councilor, Ensign Avender Jurot, assuered Dox that she wouldn't read her mind, but reminded the pilot that she absolutely could a few times in the short session... a point that did not fill her with comfort. Dox agreed to give her a chance and the rest of the meeting was perfunctory. But Dox was still worried about how it went and her own behavior and was not looking forward to having to see the ships Councilor again.

"May I help you?" One of the servers asked, snapping Melanie Dox out of her exceedingly long moment of introspection with a mild shock. "Huh?" The momentarily confused junior officer replied. "Uh... Yes. Please. Apple Cider and... Do you have a beef stew?"

The server chuckled lightly, "Of course, Lieutenant. Just have a seat and we'll bring it right out."

Of course they have beef stew, idiot. the slightly embarrassed officer thought. They have replicators. Dox walked over to a small table with two chairs near the starboard window and took a seat facing the window. She adored being in space, having grown up on freighters most of her life.

Smuggling freighters She thought, letting her mind drift back to her... difficult childhood for just a moment before pulling up the PaDD to distract herself with the details of the upcoming mission. The ship was apparently warping to Metroset 347 to encounter what could only be described as a literal Goddess. The U.S.S. Hera was being sent to face off with the Goddess Hera, straight out of ancient Earth mythology and she had some sort of charriots that would be attacking the ship. Dox studied all the available data on the PaDD about the presumed capabilities of these charriots so she would have some idea how to out fly them. She was once again lost deep in thought when the server interrupted her again. "Your cider and stew, Lieutenant. Enjoy, and please let me know if I can get you anything else."

"Thanks." Dox said, slightly distractedly. She began slowly pecking at her food while continuing to read.

After a whirlwind of activity since their arrival on the Hera, Doctor Dael felt the need to decompress, and was hoping to get to know their crew-mates better. They entered ten forward and went to ask for something to snack on.

“Something snacky- say fondue with fruit and crackers to dip? And a small amount of Romulan sausage, with fizzy fruit drink please,” the young doctor ordered, completely unaware how their choice of beverage showed their age.

Walking over to Dox, Asa asked permission to join the other, sitting with both feet tucked under their legs in an adjoining chair and smiling brightly.

“Heya! How ya’ doing?” they chirped in greeting.

Once again, startled to attention, Dox shot up from her PaDD, still chewing a bit of her stew. "Um..." She swallowed awkwardly then chuckled with mild embarrassment at the moment. "Uh... Hi. I mean, good evening Doctor. I'm... I'm fine." Dox paused for a brief moment, her mind scrambling to remember the basic rules of conversation. "How are you?"

“Glad as heck to be off my feet! Wanna get cheesy with me?” they replied with a wink as the server brought over a generous serving of fondue (complete with fruits from at least three different worlds), Romulan sausage and a pinkish-purplish fizzy fruit punch.

The doctor was bubbling with their typical fidgety energy and did not look ashamed of the horrible pun in the slightest as they devoured a sausage and motioned for Dox to help herself to whatever she fancied. With a gulp of the punch, it occurred to Asa they probably had a purple mustache at this point, and they wiped their mouth and said, “Sorry, I do love replicators though, don’t you? I would definitely burn something if I tried to cook. And burning punch, while unlikely, does sound like a feat I could manage.”

Taken aback by the doctors extreme display of energy, Dox's eyes buldged slightly in her head as she gestured to her barely touched bowl of stew. "Uh, no thank you. I'm good. I'm..." But as she spoke, she tilted her head quizically, looking at the plate of food as it was not a dish she had ever seen before. "Um. What IS that? Is that melted cheese?"

With a laugh, Asa replied "Yep! It's fondue- a traditional Earth dish, although they tend to reserve it for more special occasions, can't figure out why. One is a sweet cheese, the other is savory, and you dip fruits and crackers into them. Please, feel free to try some, it really is delicious. I never did understand why humans only eat foods on special occasions....after all, if it tastes good, why wait?"

Having grown up on a smuggling freighter that had the cheapest of surplus replicators, Dox had very little experience with foods like fondue and it was something that rarely came up during her time at the academy or on starbases. She has always kept to herself and so she was taken aback by the doctors offer, but the fondue smelled delicious and she was actively trying to to break her old cycles of being anti-social.

"Okay, thanks Doctor." Dox awkwardly picked up a cracker, dipped it in the cheese and took a bite. "Wow. Yeah, that is... That's really good, yeah."

Asa laughed freely in joy at the others enjoyment. They always felt life should be enjoyed, and although they had their share of personal tragedy, they decided upon entering Starfleet to focus on finding ways to enjoy where they are every day.

"Ha, I do love some of the Earth foods. Growing up, I was pretty much a whatever-I-can-scrounge person. When I entered Starfleet, I used every opportunity I had to steal over to wherever the locals in San Francisco hung out, and I picked up some interesting recipes along the way. Wait till you try a shrimp baja taco or ricotta lemon pancake. So, do you cook? I try, but, well, got a lot of learning to do there."

"Cook? Uh, no. No, not really." Dox replied shortly and a little nervously. "I'm fine with a replicator." She added, realizing that she probably needed to engage more in the conversation or risk coming across as rude. And she was trying to make a conscious effort to be more social.

"So... where are you from then?" Dox asked with a slight nervous twinge in her voice, hoping it wasn't a loaded or inappropriate question as such things were generally a problem for her. She never quite knew how personal was too personal, but figured that the Doctor mentioned Earth as a place she WASN'T from so it seemed safe enough to ask.

"Grew up on Bajor. After leaving the Nexus, my family settled there with a few others," the doctor replied slightly shrugging one shoulder, "Family decided to be a bit weird, but Bajor was beautiful. There were some Bajoran doctors that really helped me learn about medicine when I was younger, including how to look for natural remedies and think creatively. How about you?" they replied, not letting the chipper slip from their voice.

While most of her personal history was well recorded in her personnel files, especially her medical ones, the fact that her family was smugglers wasn't common knowledge outside of higher ups and her commanding officers. Some of the details of that past were in sealed files that were for "eyes only" and Melanie was always reluctant to give up too much information. But as the chief medical officer, she knew that they would have access to the information. It was also an aspect of socialization that Dox was horrible at: realizing that asking a question often meant that same question was to be bounced back at her.

"I... I grew up mostly on freighters. Cargo ships and stuff." Which was completely true, though omitted the more uncomfortable details. "I never even lived on a planet until I moved in with my Grandparents on Earth when I was a teenager. Ohio." She shifted the focus to a later period of her childhood hoping to avoid having to talk about her parents or the fact that they were smugglers.

"Hmmmm....Ohio..." Asa replied, thinking back to their memory of Earth and trying to remember where Ohio is. "That's near one of the Remarkable Lakes right? Always meant to visit those...."

"Yeah. Lake Erie." Dox knew they were called the great lakes but though better of correcting them. "But they're hardly all that remarkable, really. I wasn't a big fan of the place and signed up for Starfleet as soon as I was able."

"I think that's common for a lot of us from smaller outposts, cities, tribes, whatever ya wanna call 'em. It's just such a big universe...gotta see more of it than one lake, or one forest as the case may be for me, right?" Asa replied while voraciously eating a strawberry dipped in a cream cheese fondue. They stopped to chew briefly and realized the napkin supply was getting low.

"Huh, this stuff always makes more of a mess of my hands than I think it will. Oh well, worth it! So, you an adrenaline junkie? Roller coasters and such? I hear a lot of pilots are. Always meant to try one myself" Asa inquired energetically.

Scrunching her face, Dox pondered the doctor's question for a moment rather seriously, taking a drink of her cider before responding. "No. No, I wouldn't say so. It's not about adrenaline for me." Pausing again to consider going deeper, Dox decided to answer honestly in spite of her knee jerk desire to lock up again. "I think it's more... I guess it's a little bit about control." Her lips pursed slightly as the subject was slightly out of her admittedly limited comfort zone. "When I'm flying... I don't feel awkward like... Well... Everything else I do. It's where I feel like I fit." Dox took a bite of her stew, bracing for the doctors response.

"Oh, I completely know what you mean! I was one of the only kids in my settlement...religious nutbar cult and all...and I never really learned how to fit in with anyone my age. And El-Auriens are so boring . They are all so....old. They never change their minds about anything, and only try anything new if they are being actively chased by the Borg and being forced to. So when I got to the Academy, I kinda had to learn how to make friends. The security jocks all kinda sneered at me," the doctor babbled, pointing to their puny arms with a wry expression, "because I'm not built like a Klingon, and all I ever really wanted to do was help people, so medicine just...fit. Look at me! Saying 10 words to one of yours...see what I mean? No social skills. But put a med tricorder or tissue knitter in my hands, and I know what to do. Everything flows like a river....otherwise? Total disaster."

Asa barked a slight laugh, their eyes alight with mirth and joy at sharing an experience with another. "So, how do you let loose then? Everyone has something they like to do a bit wild. I paint, badly, but I still enjoy it. Wanna join some time? Oh, and hey, lets get dessert!"

"I'm terrible at letting loose." Dox replied with a slight chuckle, relaxing slightly at Asa's statement of having no social skills, undersitge feeling all too well. "Letting loose... Tightens me up." But she knew she was being less than forthcoming as she sat back in her seat and looked out the window. "I like to read. I like to... I don't know." She blushed slightly. "It's goofy, I guess."

"Lieutenant Dox, I had a roomate at Starfleet Medical that liked to sing loudly into her hairbrush after finals to unwind, and another that would weave rugs. He was really good at it too. I tried a couple of times and enjoyed the loom too, just saying, I doubt it's that goofy."

"i... I like to." Dox flushed again. "Well, growing up, the freighter had a TERRIBLE engine. It knocked all the time. And every time we remtered warp, it would knock a little different." She brushed her thick hair back slightly. "I used to... Well, I still do I guess. I'd use that as a kind of base rhythm and write little pieces of music. Nothing special, really. Just little pieces on a roll out keyboard I got from this Ferengi trader."

"That. Is. Awesome!" Asa replied enthusiastically emphatically. "Ya know, there is a lot of math involved in music, and it makes so much sense that your analytical mind would enjoy it. Plus music can reflect our moods, and by examining them, allow us to process them. At least that's what my psych professor said. Do you have a favorite type of music? Swing rhythm, military march, what have you?"

"I guess, anything with a strong beat." Dox was now a little bit more relaxed as the topic was shifting to a subject she found interesting that wasn't specifically about herself. Music was something that she greatly enjoyed and she buried herself in it growing up as a way to help her process her anger and harder emotions, and she found one specific style that she really loved for that. "But when I was a kid, my father, he exposed me to another of music from Earth. Old stuff that he thought came from an quote, unquote better time. But I really fell in love with... I don't know... Have you ever heard of metal?

"Oooooo yes! I found out about it from the one nice security person I trained with. She used it to amp me up to learn self defense. Didn't understand what half the lyrics were referring to, but the beat is definitely a good one. I particularly enjoyed Coheed and Cambria and Disturbed. What are your favorites?" Asa could sense that Melanie was starting to relax and enjoyed seeing their new friend start to unwind. They hoped to learn more about her and were smiling broadly at the turn in conversation.

"Mötley Crüe, Black Sabbath, Metallica." Dox rattled off the centuries-old band names as freshly as if they were new. "My favorite is AC/DC. It helps me relax to just let my... energy... ride with the music if that makes sense. When I'm... angry, it sometimes can lessen when the song ends like it spent itself in the moment of the energy of the song". She sat back sharply and took a drink of her cider feeling concerned that she's gotten too animated. She found herself afraid that her momentary enthusiasm would damage whatever the doctor already thought of her. "Pardon me, Doctor. I didn't mean to ramble."

"No pardon needed, you weren't rambling, silly," Asa replied, their voice filled with affection. "You were just telling me about stuff you like after I asked. And if you ramble...well, I don't know what that makes me. A babbling brook I guess. But hey, everyone likes a river! See? Doing it again," there was a wink to accompany their words this time.

"But now for a very important question...do you want a chocolate lava cake?" the impish figure asked Dox.

Looking down at the PaDD on her lap, Dox considered that she should probably finish her meal and try and return to studying the information. But the evening was still young and she suspected that this sort of encounter was exactly the kind of situation that First Officer Rita Paris was hoping would occur. It was a good thing, Dox thought that unless they all died on their upcoming mission to fight a literal goddess, it would be nice to have a friend or two for a change and smiled. "Yeah, sure."

"Heck yeah!" Asa hopped up, practically sprinting over to ask the servers for two chocolate lava cakes with ice cream and hot fudge. Returning to the table, Asa waited somewhat impatiently. Dessert was always the best part of a meal, and better with a friend.

When the cakes arrived, Asa procured a few more napkins and took a huge bite, getting a bit of ice cream on their nose. "Oh good grief, this is goooooooooood. How is yours?" they looked up at Melanie unaware of the ice cream on their noise, and for all the world looking like a happy child.

With her first bite still untaken as her speed was no match for the energetic doctor, Dox let out the first unrestrained laugh in her time onboard as she noticed the ice cream strategically centered on their nose. It was a light, open laugh filled with legitimate joy and it was one that the usually nervous pilot was reluctant to share. "Sorry, Doctor. You've got..." She smiled a tight, wide smile and pointed to her own nose with her spoon. "...battle damage."

Asa tilted their head quizzically and realized what their new friend meant and let out a laugh of their own. Grabbing for a napkin, they removed the errant ice cream and said, "What a waste! Oh well, se la vie and all that. Come on, you gotta try it! This stuff is amazing! I mean, is there anything better than chocolate???"

Taking a bite, Dox let out a sincere "Mmmm." and thought on the doctor's comments with perhaps a bit more thought then was probably necessary. She paused and looked out the window. "I can think of a few things. Finally being back out here for starters.:

Asa followed the gaze of the peerless pilot and smiled. "Yeah, it's an awesome view isn't it? I grew up dreaming about traveling the stars. This is my first real jaunt out, and I'm already in love. There's just so much to learn, more than any one person can, but I'm darn well going to try..."

"Yeah." Dox replied, still looking out the windows into the vastness of space as the stars streaked past at warp. She took a last sip and finished her cider and set the glass down next to the mostly empty plates from the unexpected and turned back towards the doctor with a more relaxed smile. "Thanks. It was nice talking." She then waved the PaDD lightly about. "But I think it's time to review the mission data before it gets too late and get to bed."

"Yeah, this was a blast! You are a cool lady, ya' know that?" Asa replied with a goofy grin. "I guess I better get back to being an adult myself, more the pity. Catch ya' next time!"

"Absolutely. Thanks." Dox smiled as she made her way up and headed out of Ten-Forward. "Good night."

As she made her way down the corridor to the turbolift, Melanie realized that so far, life on the Hera might actually be more then she ever thought. And that idea brought her attention to the PaDD in her hands as she entered the turbolift.

"Deck 6, please." She instructed, as she glanced at the notes thinking about the mission ahead. And that she now had just a little bit more motivation to fly at her best tomorrow.