Round 20 JP Lt. DeVeau & Ensign Voss: Home Warming

[Sedrin Belasi]

((USS Garuda, Corridors ))

::Several new faces had joined the crew as of late, and one of them she'd caught sight of but they hadn't been officially introduced. Yet. That would all change very shortly. As she had been helping Delano, Alora realized she really needed to go ahead and give away some more of her babies and, she thought, it might be a good way to meet some of the newest arrivals.

As she had in the past, the science officer had appropriated a cart and proceeded to place a variety of plants. There were some other species among the violets, but that particular Terran plant made up most of the varieties she had available. Plants in hand, or rather in cart, she eased the contraption out into the hallway. By the time she arrived to her first 'house call', she'd already given away two, but she had several more plants of that variety so Voss would still have her choice. She asked the computer to indicate her arrival - then waited.::

((USS Garuda, R'raika Voss Personal Quarters))

:: Voss was sitting in one of the more comfortable cushions, the second act of Aktuh & Maylota was playing over her quarters speakers, not quite at an ear piercing volume, but still almost loud enough to be enjoyable. She twitched when the computer chimed in over her music- a visitor? Rolling off the cushion, she stood up and quickly gave her room a once over- good enough for company. She approached the door and keyed the console to open it- the cold air of the hallway almost felt like ice against her skin- standing in front of her was-::

Voss:: Lt. DeVeau, :: Voss offered DeVeau a warm smile as she glanced at the cart of plants:: I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk, would you like to come in? :: Voss stepped to the side and gestured to the room behind her:: I just finished moving in not too long ago- so don't mind the mess.

::Whoa, hot, but it wasn't completely unexpected. Vulcan was a hot planet, and Saveron had kept his quarters really hot too. Fortunately, she had a couple of plants that would do alright in such an environment while she had to keep them in miniature environmental regulators. What she did _not_ expect, however, was the smile. A Vulcan smiled. As far as Alora knew, Voss was a full Vulcan, so the sight struck her as out of place.::

DeVeau: Please, call me Alora.

::She honestly didn't see the point in formality unless they were working and it was still shore leave. Actually, Alora didn't mind when others used her first name even on the job.::

::Voss nodded as she turned her back to the woman and walked back to the large cushion she'd been sitting in, plopping down in a less than smooth manner she looked back to Alora and the open door. ::

Voss:: As you wish- but then you should call me R'raika.

DeVeau: Um. Would you hate me if I asked you to turn down the heat a bit?

Voss: If it gets you to come in and have a seat. Computer- lower the rooms ambient temperature to 23 degrees Celsius- vent the excess heat and recycle the current air to the desired parameters.

::As the air in the room was vented, it turned from hot to comfortably cool in a matter of moments- Voss pointed to a large cushion across from hers, the small table sitting between the two. ::

Voss: Please, bring in your cart and have a seat- ::Voss bapped her head slightly:: I should have offered you refreshments- would you like tea, bloodwine, root beer?

::Alora did as invited, thankful that the Vulcan had been receptive to the idea of cooling things down a bit. She wouldn’t have been able to withstand that sort of heat for _too_ long. The cart ambled along behind her willingly until she released it and it sat, waiting to be pushed around some more. Once she was certain it wasn’t going to roll off anywhere, she accepted the proffered seat as well as the offer for refreshment.::

DeVeau: Ooo, root beer. I haven’t had that in a while that sounds good.

:: R’raika gave a quick nod and rolled out of her cushion and hopped onto her feet in one quick motion. She hummed a little, almost matching the pace of the opera that was playing in the background and spoke quietly to her replicator::

Voss: Charlie, we need two large Terran Root Beers- chilled mugs, no ice.

DeVeau: So, nice to meet you. Do you mind if we converse in Vulcan? It’s such a lovely language and I always enjoy being able to use it.

::Voss had just grabbed the mugs and was walking back towards Alora when she commented about speaking in Vulcan- R’raika tried not to frown at the notion but didn’t hold back as well as she could have. ::

Voss: [Vulcan] We could- ::her Vulcan came out with a thick klingon accent almost, strongly reminiscent to the dialect one heard from Klingons coming from the First City. :: It has it’s place- ::she handed Alora the chilled mug :: I prefer Klingon to be honest- it is a far more honest language.

::She hadn’t expected that harsh lilt to what she normally thought of as a musical language. The gutteral intonation seemed at odds with the Modern Golic sound. If anything, it only heightened Alora’s curiousity.::

DeVeau: [Vulcan] I know some Klingon, we can switch to that if you prefer.

Voss: [V] It’s no skin off my teeth- and it’s good to stay in practice. ::Voss took a long pull of her root beer before coughing a little- :: it’s the bubbles, they tickle. I once tried adding bubbles to bloodwine- my friends were not impressed. ::A small, light laugh and she settles back onto her seat. She looks at the flowers and smiles again, it’s a large smile full of teeth and it reaches her eyes as she talks :: You’ve come with flowers, why?

DeVeau: [V] Yes it is.

::Which was why when she knew someone who spoke another language, Alora was always keen to use it - if she also had some knowledge of it. Sometimes it annoyed people, and sometimes it simply surprised them.::

DeVeau: [V] I plan to take over the Universe with plants.

::A grin broke out at the tease, and it was a joke that most Vulcans wouldn’t have gotten, but this Vulcan seemed a far cry different from those she had met before. In a way, she was testing the waters.::

:: Voss nodded, a serious expression on her face. ::

Voss: [V] The Jo’ran Sah of the Delta quadrant tried a similar tactic using fungal spores. Their tactics-- ::Voss paused, and lost the serious tone rather quickly, her nose scrunched up and she gave up on being so Vulcan:: So, a plant army then? ::She sipped her root beer with utter seriousness, she even arched an eyebrow.::

::That spurred a giggle which DeVeau couldn’t and didn’t bother to hide. A Vulcan with a sense of humour - who’d have thought! Although the woman was setting her at ease, Alora didn’t want to try anything _too_ familiar - at least til she got to know Voss better.::

DeVeau: [V] Yep. A plant army. I want some in every room of the ship. Gotta start small, build my way up.

:: Voss nodded again, sipping her root beer, she studied the bubbles a moment and smiled::

Voss: [V] Well, you have very pretty soldiers- :: she paused:: you don’t think my quarters will prove too hostile an environment for them? I’d hate to lock them up in little cells- the beauty of a flower is only really part of the joy they bring- there’s the scent- the tactile feel of the petals, the sense of life they bring to a place. It would be a waste to see them diminished by being locked behind glass.

DeVeau: [V] They are lovely indeed.

::African Violets were one of her favourite plants, and certainly the favourite among Terran species. Her mother had a few, but not as many as her grandmother had. SHe’d had rooms filled with the fuzzy-leafed plants, all of which Alora took when she had died. ::

DeVeau: [V] And yes, the heat would kill them, but they enjoy the environmental regulators and can break out when they really want to.

::She rose then to pluck a plant from the cart so she could carry it over to the Vulcan and plopped back in her seat once more.::

DeVeau: [V] That’s a ‘Buckeye Cranberry Sparkler’ - the name of the variety, that is. I have other varieties with all sorts of colours. And yes, it is nice to smell and feel, but these flowers don’t have any scent and you can always turn down the heat when you want to cuddle them. I wouldn’t touch their leaves _too_ much though.

:: Voss accepted the flower and ran a longer finger across one of the petals ::

Voss: [V] More of a look but don’t touch… ::she sniffed the flower:: It’s not a floral scent- but it smells green. Alive. It would make a suitable soldier for deployment here I would think. Did you bring one of these environmental regulators with you?

::Alora shook her head. They were easy to obtain but she generally used hers for plants that didn’t fare so well in a more terran environment. Although she loved her violets, Alora also enjoyed other types of plants and it was the only way she could keep certain species alive.::

DeVeau:[V] I don’t have any with me, but there’s a replicator programme for them already so you should be able to get one really easily.

:: Voss stood up and moved to the replicator, as she keyed in the parameters for the environmental regulator-::

Voss: [V] Alora, you first joined the majority of this crew when they were on the Mercury in 2390, and transferred over when that ship was ‘retired’ and the Garuda took it’s place- correct?

:: As the regulator materialized, Voss gave it a small poke before picking it up and taking it to her desk- she brushed the crumpled up papers to one side and set the regulator down- ::

::Oh, so was she being interrogated? Alora’s mouth quirked a little in amusement. She supposed it didn’t matter if the Vulcan was an intelligence officer or not, it only made sense to inquire after crewmembers, learn something about them.::

DeVeau: [V] That I was indeedy. ::Her eyes followed the Vulcan’s motions as the plant was placed in its new home:: If you set the humidity factor to about eight, that will generate enough water so that you don’t have to take it out of the regulator just to water it. These plants will soak in moisture through their leaves.

:: Voss keyed in the parameters for the plant and sealed the case- she gave the little flowers a sad sort of smile and then walked back to her cushion. Sitting down, she gave Alora a friendly smile ::

Voss: [V] Thank you very much for the flower, she’ll make an excellent guard for my desk… ::she sipped the last of her root beer and set the mug down. :: I would like to discuss the evidence you found that implicated both the former First Officer Harrison Ross and Captain Quinn Reynolds. I would like to hear, in detail, about the genetic material you found on the device- how much was intentional contamination versus incidental contact, and could it be shown that one person- more than the other had more contact with the device- ::she paused, looked at her mug and seemed sad to see it empty :: the devices correlation with 83 Leonis, and if you can you verify that as fact and not speculation.

DeVeau: Oh.

::Well, so much for a friendly visit and pleasant conversation that was intended to get to know the other officer. It was, indeed, an interrogation though Alora hadn’t planned on discussing business.

DeVeau: Um, well, have you...

:: Voss stood up and moved to the replicator- she held her hand out to forestall Alora’s response to the questions and Alora paused mid sentence. ::

Voss: Charlie, a small glass of bloodwine, 2306- carbonated. ::Voss took the small mug from the replicator and turned back to face Alora. :: [V] This is an informal environment for such an inquiry- and I would understand if you would prefer a more formal setting- your office for example. ::Voss paused and took a small sip of the bloodwine. :: I would prefer to avoid any formal settings at present though. Ross is a known traitor, and Captain Reynolds, though apparently badly beaten, could still be seen as a ::Voss paused:: a risk. It is my obligation to sift through the evidence and send in a report to Starfleet Intelligence. I am going to be impartial- though in confidence here, I would say the situation leads me to favor Captain Reynolds. ::Voss took another pull from the mug:: But that kind of favoritism won’t do anyone any good if we can’t put a picture together that will convince Starfleet… ::that said, Voss drained the rest of her mug:: Thoughts, questions, and answers- please.

DeVeau: [V] I just have to admit, I didn’t really come here expecting an interrogation, but I’ll answer any questions you may have. Though, really, if you want to look at the report I made I can forward it to you. I’m always quite detailed because I want whomever is reading it to get the entire story.

Voss: [V] Interrogation? ::she laughs softly:: I could make it into an interrogation I guess- make you drink warm root beer and raise the lights up to a hundred percent… ::she moves back to the floor cushion and sits down:: I’m not ::she pauses:: you seem like someone who is very down to earth- practical even. I’m not after exact facts- more like impressions. For example- what are your thoughts on the Myr Luuk or the Community- were the former XO or Captain ever exposed to either party. The Myr Luuk’s new partnership with the Cardassians- does any of that tie in to what happened on the Garuda… a lot of strings to reach at and pull.

DeVeau: [V] Cold root beer is so much better though.

::Alora pitched her voice into a very unVulcanic whine, then sipped at that root beer as if she might fear R’raika would make good on her threat. She processed the questions as she consumed a little more of her drink then furrowed her brow.::

DeVeau: [V] Ross was on the away team with me so he had contact with the Bodhisattva, but...well, my Impression is that they’re kind of reluctant to deal with new people. They dealt with us and weren’t rude, but it was more like they did it because they didn’t have much choice in the matter.

::Which was pretty much the case.::

DeVeau: [V] Um. I’m not sure about the Myr Luuk. I didn’t really have contact with them at all, though the partnership is...interesting. I mean, they wanted an end to this war and I guess they felt like that was their only alternative.

::And of course the Cardassians would take advantage of anything that might be beneficial to them. There had to be something the Myr Luuk possessed that they wanted.::

DeVeau: [V] as to how it ties in, I’m not really sure. It might tie together in ways we’ve yet to see.

TBC

****

Lt. Alora DeVeau
Chief of Science
USS Garuda

&

Ensign R'raika Voss

Intelligence Officer

USS Garuda