A Three Hour Tour

Posted on Mon May 18th, 2015 @ 1:07am by Lieutenant Bryce Kendrick & Ensign Six of Ten

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Various

* * * Deck 52 - Junior Staff (shared) Quarters * * *

It took him a while to find his way to Six’s quarters, having not been on deck 52 for any reason. He wondered if her bunk mate would be bothered by being shacked up with a former Borg but dismissed it quickly. Surely anyone in this day and age would be a bit more accepting of anyone who wore the uniform. He then dismissed that as well. Some people were assholes, plain and simple. But Six was a good person no matter her past. Hopefully that would dispel any issues someone might have with her. It was just those damned implants that kept people from accepting her right away.

He hit the door chime and waited. Deck 52 seemed a bit busy, then it struck him as to why. Even a base this large seemed to put all of their junior staff in shared quarters so almost every housing assignment on this and the other decks that were designated in this manner had double the occupancy, almost like a family deck might be. He did his fair share of nods to those passing and he saw everything from warrant officers to Lieutenants junior grade in various states or dress, and undress, scurrying around. You could imagine it almost being like a dormitory on a university campus since most of the people around him were younger in age.

The door opened to reveal Six, dressed casual. “Hi Bryce, come on in.” She stepped aside to let him enter. “I just need to put on my shoes.” The room looked somehow unfinished all around. One side still had small cargo containers, the other half was completely empty. “Welcome to my castle. I’m still unpacking.”

He looked around a bit as the door closed behind him. “So, you lucked out, I take it? Not having to share?”

“Not anymore.” She emerged from her small bedroom on one side back into the common room. Settling in one of the standard chairs, she pulled on a pair of sandals. “I had one when I arrived but she hit the trail this morning. Not even so much as a ‘see you later’ from her. She waited till I was gone to report in.” Six stood back up. “Ready.”

“Well, good riddance,” he said, “although that is kind of a shitty thing to do. Sorry, kid.” He stepped back out into the corridor and noticed several of the passing crew eyeballing the both of them. “Did you have a look at the station specs? Anything that tickles your fancy, or do you want to just go and see where the trip takes us?”

“Reading the station specs is like picking up a novel.” Six smiled for a moment. “No need to cover science or engineering or Ops. Those are pretty easy to get to, and I had to go up to C&C this morning to meet Commander Leroy. So let’s wander. Show me the fun parts first.”


“That I can do,” he said with an uncharacteristic smile. They walked to the turbolifts and he ran through several different areas of the station that she might like. Of course, his version of ‘fun parts’ on 900 versus hers may be different. He was, after all, 134 years old and she was a 22 year old young lady who’d had no real life outside of the Borg Collective, which, if he were to guess, were severely lacking in ‘fun parts’ on their tubs. He hoped he could do her justice.

“We’re headed to the Promenade, which is decks 271 through 286,” he said as the lift started. “If there are fun things to be found out here, that’s where they will be. Of course, we have all kinds of holodecks on station, along with those that are pay-for-play on the Promenade in certain shops, but there are even old-style movie cinemas with the big screen and everything, arts and crafts-type places, stores for miles and some of the best food anywhere.”

“Sounds almost overwhelming. I love movies though.” She smiled up at Bryce. “I’ve been using a lot of them as a cram course on non-collective life. Within reason of course. I don’t expect Superman to fly through the station but you get the idea. I learned that I love old Westerns but also learned that they don’t really apply anymore.”

He smirked. “Depends on which races you run into. Many of them are shoot first and ask questions later.” The lift doors opened and they stepped out onto deck 272. “And that bar fight? That was right out of a western.”

They stood a few meters away from the lifts and he stood there with her a moment, letting her take it all in before just charging into the fracas.

“It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but once you figure out what you like you can generally find it easier later.” They began walking, slowly nosing past some of the shops and allowing her to peek in. “You’ll probably find so many things down here that you’re interested in. I know I did.”

She stood in one spot, slowly turning as she surveyed the area around her. “This is..mind-boggling, Bryce.” A small shop two doors down caught her attention and she moved off in that direction, for the moment oblivious to the manner in which people moved out of her way. She stopped before a small Bajoran fruit seller. He seemed to look right past her as he unpacked one of several crates.

“It sure is,” he said, following her. “And just imagine this: you’ve only been on about twenty meters of one deck. Damn near anything you need is here.”

She watched the man for several seconds, then pointed to a rack holding that lovely sticky sweet jumja on a stick. “That.”

The shop owner looked dubious at even talking to Six, but Bryce stepped up. “Make it two,” he said, staring the man down for being so rude. “You’ve had these before?” he asked Six, trying to keep her from seeing the ogling she was getting from the Bajoran. “They’re good.” The jumja were handed over and Bryce put the cost on his own credit account.

“Thanks Bryce. I owe you.” She took one of the confections from him and had a lick, closing her eyes and giving a soft moan of pleasure. “This is amazing. We...that is I...know of it sort of second-hand but I never tasted it before.”

“Then today is your lucky day, and a day that may find you gaining about 100 pounds.” He had some of his own sweet as they continued walking. “I have a feeling that you’ll be wanting to try a bunch of this stuff for yourself, now that you can really go at it. But a word of warning, stay away from brussels sprouts. They’re nasty.”

They were in and out of shops almost constantly. Something would catch her eye and Bryce couldn’t help but enjoying it when her eyes sparkled with excitement over something new. He’d never really spent this much time window shopping, but he was having a good time and in good company, despite some of the leers they got from shoppers and shopkeepers alike.

He steered her through stores with different isolinear chips with music and videos on them, shops selling native wares from their home planets, clothing stores, housewares and, of course, restaurants. And that was just deck 272.

Finally, they stopped to have a seat on a bench with a good view of this level. “And this promenade is how many decks exactly?” she asked. The crowds were a colorful and varied view and she wasn’t sure she’d ever tire of watching them. A young man in what she recognized as a formal dinner jacket and tuxedo pants passed them by, hurrying off to somewhere, the crowd soon swallowing him up. “And how many people?”

“Sixteen decks to the Promenade and close to thirty-thousand fleet and marine personnel,” Bryce replied. “As for civilians?” He scoffed. “With the amount of traffic in and out, it’s a wonder if anyone can keep an accurate count. I think our slated lodging capacity for civilians on base is around five thousand, but that’s probably been modified since the base opened. I don’t think all of the decks were even open then, so that’s likely doubled.”

They sat quietly just people-watching. After about ten minutes, Bryce spoke up. “You know, I have to thank you for letting me show you around.” She looked at him confused. “Yeah, yeah, I know, but...I don’t do this,” he said, meaning the meandering they’d been doing. “I’m usually so busy working, holed up in my quarters or down in the underbelly of the station in the seedier bars hanging out. But it’s so much nicer up here and, going back to my roots, this is something I should do more often. Just sitting here watching and listening.”

“After talking to Commander Leroy, I suspect I’ll be up to my implants in work soon enough.” The memory of her conversation returned and she laughed. “I accidentally called him a hardass to his face this morning.”

He laughed. “I haven’t met him, but I hear he’s pretty serious about his science stuff. But if Wegener has him running Galileo, he must be a pretty good guy in all aspects. I know it’s a bit of a sore subject, but I have a feeling that the Commander won’t be leaving you translating languages, or whatever the hell it is you’re supposed to be doing, for long. You’re much too valuable to be stuck doing that shit.”

“We can hope.” Six continued to watch the beings moving about before them with undisguised curiosity.”Thank you for this. Next time I should check out those seedier bars you mentioned.” She smiled once more. “Riley is still expecting me to meet them for dinner. You coming?”

Bryce balked at the reminder. “Uh...I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t believe I’m that good of a dinner guest.” He looked out into the crowd and added, “Are you gonna’ go?”

“Well, it is Riley,” she answered, “and to be honest, I’m curious to meet a woman that he seems to be able to talk to without tripping over his own tongue. That will be worth the trip right there.”

“That would be something to see, although I can’t imagine he did very well in the beginning. His kryptonite seems to be women. But he always seems to have good taste.”

“Umm...yeah...it is. Trust me, I know. I…” Six stopped and shook her head. “Another story for another day.”

“Speaking of food, are you hungry yet?” Bryce asked, standing. “Despite the snacking, there’s one place I need to take you that you just can’t go without.”

“I am.” She got to her feet and looked up at Bryce. “Lead on, my good man.”

“Next I know you’ll be calling me Hoke Colburn,” he replied. “This way, Miss Daisy. We’re headed to Lao’s, the best Chinese cuisine this side of the wormhole. And I think you’ll really like the aquarium. It’s huge and the fish are nice to watch.”

“Let’s do it, then,” Six replied. They started off through the crowd once more.

The trip to Lao’s was a success and, as he thought, she was fascinated with the saltwater aquariums and the sea life within. After that he made sure to take her to the theaters and they browsed the movies they were showing and some that were coming up soon with many potentials that would need watching. More browsing, and a bit more shopping, and the day was almost done.

“I guess I should get you back to your quarters,” he said. “You’ll need to meet up with Riley soon.” As they headed to another bank of lifts, he asked, “You think you’ll be okay tonight?”

She gave him a sidelong look. “That mean you’re going to be antisocial?”

He stopped and sighed. “If you need backup, I’ll go. But you know I’m not the jovial type, so you’ll have to carry most of the conversation.”

“Me…” she laughed at the idea. “There’s always Riley, conversational wizard that he is.” Another thought occurred to her then. “What’s Reva like?”


“Nice?” he said, not really sure what to say about her. “Orion. Good engineer. I haven’t had much time with her but from what I can tell, she’s ok.”

“I saw the way his eyes lit u p when he mentioned her,” Six confided. “He’s a good guy, very charming once he gets past himself.” They paused at the turbolift and she pressed the button. “I need to get by my quarters, do some unpacking before dinner. I’ll leave it up to you if you want to come.”

The lift took them back to her deck and they rode in silence. As the doors opened he asked, “What time was the dinner again? In case I do decide to come and hang out.”

“1900 hours. He said “Cravings I think. He did mention the Nexus but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet, nor is my wardrobe.”

“Cravings?” he asked. “I don’t think I’ve even been there. Maybe I will join you. I hear they have one hell of a beer selection. And some pretty mean steaks.” He mulled it over quickly in his head. “Okay. I’ll be there.” After a quick smile he added, “And after today I have a feeling that I’ll be hanging out more on those benches in the Promenade. I had a pretty good time. Haven’t done that in ages.”

“Glad to be of service.” She stopped as they reached her door. “Thanks Bryce. You have made the first day bearable in addition to stopping that fight so I didn’t have to carve up someone.” She paused and shook her head. “No, not something I would do. Don’t worry.”

“Good to hear, kid. I guess I’ll see you later tonight. I may actually wear something a bit more presentable than these rags.” He’d been sporting torn jeans and a t-shirt. It was his day off so he wasn’t complaining.

“Later then.” She opened the doors and slipped inside. The idea of unpacking gave way to an examination of her closet. Time to decide what would be proper to wear.

****************************
Lt. Bryce Kendrick
Reluctant Dinner Invitee

Ensign Six
Playing Tourist