Joint Personal BACK Log - Bio & Eng - Ens Lionza & LtJG Mallow - "Ship or Station Crew?"

Posted on 241708.10 @ 6:12pm by Lieutenant Hober Mallow & Lieutenant Maria Lionza
Edited on on 241708.11 @ 6:52pm

Mission: Reconstruction and Refocus
Location: Various Locations

.:// Drydock //:.

Hober Mallow had come off of alpha shift looking for some fun but had run out of holodeck time until the next cycle. The Enterprise was not due to leave for a day or so, giving him time to explore the station the ship was docked at. The drydock did not have the capacity for the civilian population found on a proper space port, and lacked the eclectic mix of privately owned bars one would expect on a station promenade. However, the engineering station did house a large enough population of Starfleet officers and their families to boast a few off duty officer clubs and lounges; these were Mallow’s targets.

Hober tugged the lapels of his ratty coal-black leather jacket forward and down, bringing the oversized jacket to rest squarely on his shoulders. A few steps undid his effort as the jacket slipped back into its usual position, the collar sticking out from the nape of his neck. Mallow sauntered down the relatively short promenade scanning for potential.

Luckily for Maria she had finished her deal when she bumped into a man on her way back to the Enterprise. "Da ugh damn't! Please pay attention!" Maria growled between coming down from her synthesized blissful state and the fact that she had to deal with Vargas.

Hober turned to look at the sudden obstacle, previously distracted from casing the different lounges for atmosphere, and craned his neck slightly downwards to do so. He disengaged by taking a step back with both hands in the air, "Woah there, you could take the same advice, and look up," he snapped quicker than he would have liked, but the instant blame for the collision got the better of him.

Maria snorted in annoyance looking at the much taller man. He was right she should've been looking but coming caused some other disadvantages like not paying attention to her surroundings. "Sh...." Maria started but stopped closing her eyes and clutching her satchel as she took some long breaths. "Sorry."

Mallow was ready to double down on the hostility with another quip, but instead was left befuddled with the three-sixty turn of tone. "Uh..don't worry about it," he said maneuvering his slacking jacket back onto his shoulders. He scanned her from head to toe, she looked human, but he couldn't be sure, her protracted fingers holding her bag was a source of doubt. With a quiet snort at the humor in the situation he continued, "I wasn't really looking forwards either," he nodded to the row of lounge entrances.

Maria wasn't a huge drinker at most maybe a glass or really half glass of wine at dinner and that was rare. "A drink? On me. Let's call it an apology."

Hober held a hand up to his temple, picking at the peeling cultural paint the Wadi tattoo along their forehead each morning. Mallow's lazy application of his paint would be considered blasphemous among the more culturally pious of his species, but the engineer couldn't be bothered to reapply it multiple times during the day. "Sure. Lets," deciding to give in to the detour to his evening plans fate had thrown him.

"Please lead the way." Maria said as she had to try really hard to keep her street punk attitude from creeping out again. The more she adopted these personalities she found that it took longer and longer to shed it.

Mallow took a step forward towards the officer's club they were in front of, he stopped abruptly and turned to the woman before proceeding, "Two problems," he said holding up two fingers, "one, this is an officers club," he pulled back the right front of his jacket, a Starfleet insignia pinned to his chest, "do you have one of these?"

Pulling her satchel in front of her her long gingers opened and disappeared into it. After a few seconds of rummaging she pulled hers out. "You mean this?"

"You work here?" Hober asked pointing to the promenade deck plating. He slowly started to take a step towards the lounge and waiting for the brunette to match his gait.

Maria looked at the man confused by his question. "What do you mean?" She said looking at the plating and not getting it.

"Station or Enterprise crew?" he asked. Mallow assumed she was either station or Enterprise crew, being the only ship under service, why would another ship's crew member be here.

"Enterprise. The new biologist." Maria said following Hober into the lounge.

"How about that. I'm there to." Hober put a finger to his lips, "let me guess, you're a bridge rat...operations." He ventured a wild guess.

"Are you death?" Maria asked feeling irritation happening at every turn. "Sorry....no like I said I am the new biologist."

"Am I what?" he asked looking down at her quizzically. This woman is strange, he thought. The engineer figured it was a seat yourself sort of establishment and motioned to the first empty table he saw, maintaining a raised eyebrow. Hober recalled their conversation so far, wondering if he missed something she said, "I don't remember you mentioning biologist...either way I guessed wrong."

Maria took a seat needing a drink curios if everyone on the Enterprise was this difficult to communicate with. "Vodka on the rocks with lime. Both mine and his drinks on my account." Maria said handing the man a black card to the waiter.

"Alpha currant-nector if you have it." he ordered, hoping they had the popular Wadi drink, he regularly thought that his people over valued the drink, but he was fond of it none the less. "Okay, so biologist. Old or new?"

"Neither." Maria said finding the question worded weirdly. ".....I've been studying botany, biology, zoology hell cryptozoology and any other -ology there is that's related to the science of biology." As Maria finished their drinks arrived.

"That's a lot of oology, though I meant, you new to the Enterprise or been around a while?" He nodded thanks to the waiter as he met the waiter's hands halfway and took the drink from him before it reached the table.

"New." Maria said downing the vodka in one gulp. "......oh have another err two more vodka on the rocks with lime." She said catching the waiter before he left. Maria could feel the booze dulling her senses causing that 'synthetic' blissful feeling.

Hober went to raise his glass, but stopped halfway, "Cheers..." he murmured, and took a sip of his own drink. Mallow put his glass down, but kept his hand wrapped around it, he leaned back in his chair resting his other hand on a knee. He studied the brunette across the table from him and snorted softly realizing something he had yet to ask, "What's your name?"

"Maria Lionza, you?" Maria asked nodding to the waiter as he placed a fresh drink as he took the empty glass away eyeing the tiny women. This time Maria only downed half the drink as she looked back to the man.

Hober mouthed the name silently before responding, "Hober Mallow." He had been awful at pronouncing other crew members name, and Maria's was no different. "Meryia Leenonsah" he tried, his attempts becoming audible.

"No. Mar-ree-a Lion-za. Lion in the Earth big cat." Maria said not minding her name being butchered.

"Mar-ree-yah Leonsha?" He looked to her for approval at his latest attempt, but tilted his head quizzically at her last set of words, "What's in a big earth cat?"

"Never mind," Maria said shaking her head and downing the remaining vodka and setting the glass down as she waited for her third drink feeling almost like herself.

"I was close," he said pointing a finger at her, holding his glass up his other hand. He brought the cup to his mouth and nursed a sip of his nectar, reeling slightly from the familiar bitterness. Bringing the glass back down to the table's surface he leaned forward, putting his his weight on the edge of the table, "So what's a biologist doing in such a hurry at this hour on a drydock?" he pried.

Her third drink finally arrived. "I was told we have 24 hours before we leave dock. And I had some personal things I needed to take care of before we left.

"Fair enough." Hober was hoping for a more interesting story to invigorate conversation. His eyes followed her third drink to the table, his first still unfinished. This woman is either a tank, or a high functioning alcoholic, at that size he thought. "First stop is the Gamma quadrant eh?" he offered as a topic.

"Is that where we are heading?" Maria asked as she slowly sipped her third drink.

"Captain's words, not much more than destination though," he took the last swig of his drink. "Who knows what brings us out that way. Only a few chula spaces away."

"Interesting. And sort of a homecoming for you?" Maria said looking at Hober. "Your Wadi, right?"

"That's right, but we will be as near Wadi space as close I am to pronouncing names right." Hober eyed the long fingers again, his curiosity winning, "Are you Human?"

"Terran." Maria said sounding disgusted at being called Human. "More specifically a Aurinian Terran."

"Areyouinya-- nevermind, I give up on that for now." Hober felt the distaste in the air, "Is Human a derogatory term now?"

"Yes for anyone that wasn't born n Earth." Maria said knowing that was a very blanket statement.

"So the spindly fingers are from being from Auri...Oria...Air..that place you said you're from? But you are still Terran?" Hober's curiosity dispensed with any form of tact he was holding onto.

Maria looked at her fingers she could feel the pull on her joints even in artificial gravity that was set for anyone that was born on normal gravity planet. "My planet has a significantly decreased gravity from other M class planets like Earth. "

"I bet you play a mean guitar."

"I don't." Maria said simply finishing her drink as she grew tired of this conversation. "I need to get back to the ship. I'lll leave myth open for a few more drinks just don't go crazy." Maria said waving the waiter over and giving him clear instructions with that done her black card was brought back to her. With that she stood grabbed her satchel and walked out of the lounge and finally back to the Enterprise.

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Lieutenant JG Hober Mallow
Engineering Officer
USS Enterprise

Ensign Maria Lionza
Biologist
USS Enterprise