Strange Fish (Kali)

[Rosiuh Aviad]

Rosiuh stepped into the holodeck's programmed display and sighed in relief. Softly filtered light filled the large room as he moved across the carpet letting his mind open and expand. Only the faint hum of distant machinery greeted him. The constant mental clamor of the station's decks were a distant clamor that he could easily ignore. Behind clear walls, displays of ocean life swam in vivid displays of silent color. He knew they were created by the holodeck. He would have felt their primitive emotions if they were real.

He'd called up this program for the soothing nature of the displays. Personally, he had not real interest in Earth's fish species, but the ancient and revered Monterey Bay Aquariums were known for their wide variety of excellent displays. It had been the most appealing in his list of options the computer had called up for him. Selecting one of the larger reef tanks, Rosiuh sat down in front of it and composed himself to meditate. He'd just started the breathing exercises as his eyes tracked the endlessly circling fish beyond the glass wall when he heard the hiss of the door as a new presence entered.

Looking up he glanced around to see who had joined him, they did not feel familiar. No one here felt familiar.

[Kali Reyes]

[Holodeck]

Double-time it, Kali!

She only wanted to mess around in the Promenade while the Discovery visited for much needed repairs. It wasn't her fault that she may have attracted the wrong people, maybe smiled the wrong way.

Sometimes her social charisma can be a curse. Kali found herself politely excusing from the Promenade and getting the heck out of dodge from her latest admirer who quite simply wouldn't take no for an answer. She thought she managed to ditch the Bolian on the turbolift and honestly she pressed any button to take her elsewhere. To her surprise, she found herself in the repli-mat area.

"Oh, my gold desert rose! One who so sweetly blossoms in a garden of gunmetal steel-"

Kali covered her mouth and hid behind the wall to suffocate her squeal of surprise. She very quietly remained until the Bolian's horrible poetry was out of earshot and then jettisoned for the nearest holodeck room for safety. Bailing on the Bolian was far from her agenda when she found herself strangely enough in an aquarium.

"Huh." Kali tapped on the mirror-shined tank glass to her right and watched a school of tiny silver fish scramble away from her. She suppressed a squeal. "Fish!" Both palms stained the glass now when she leaned closer and watched the aquatic universe all around her. It reminded her of her prior dream of installing a giant fish tank of her own in her personal quarters. It was just the matter of getting the clearance from her superiors.

There was something about aquariums that really stirred Kali's soul. Maybe it was the soothing sound of the filter going or the way the fish moved elegantly in their own zero gravity. Or maybe it just reminded her of the rare times she shared living space with her father in his study. They were never at each other's throats while in the presence of his very expensive aquarium shelves.

Someone must be here. Otherwise the program wouldn't activate - unless this was a real secret aquarium disguised as a holodeck. "Yoo-hoo!" she called out into the maze. "Anybody home?!"

[Rosiuh Aviad]

Emotions washed over him as Rosiuh assessed the invader. The corners of his mouth quirked up with a delight that was not his own. His head tilted slightly as he studied the emotional wave the newcomer emitted, black eyes staring into blankly at the tank in front of him. He almost answered telepathically before he caught himself. Reluctantly he drew back into himself once more. "Yes, Over here," Rosiuh replied as he unfolded from his seat and stood up. Males were a lesser caste in Betazoid society and a houseless male was about as low as you could get. She was older than him and he was unsure of her rank if she had any. "Ma'am." He added as a precaution as he glanced awkwardly around unsure if he should retreat and leave the holodeck. 

[Kali Reyes]

"Ah-ha!" she crowed when she came across another living being. "So you're the mastermind behind this shindig. Nice dreads by the way." She made an L-shape with her fingers and pretended to shoot with them. His pips say cadet, but in reality, it said 'please mess with me'. Cadets were pretty adorable in their own way. "Chief Kali Reyes of the USS Discovery, by the way."

The aquarium thing was pretty odd, but it looked like he was using it to meditate. She put her hands on her hips and admired the fish around them. "Nostalgic for home?" He looked pretty human to her.

[Rosiuh Aviad]

Rosiuh's dark eyes widened faintly as she suddenly turned, stalking towards him. He had picked up no ill intent from his initial reading of her, though. He'd met people like her at Academy. Hail hearty fellow! Well met! types that could be overwhelming at first, but easily dealt with as long as you humored them.

"Cadet Rosiuh Aviad, Starbase Columbus medical team, Ma'am." He copied her introduction politely, coming to an uncertain attention. He was off duty, but she was an officer. "Did you want to use the holodeck, Ma'am?" Better to ask and possibly give himself an open line of retreat, if needed.

Her question caught him off guard as he glanced around in mild confusion. "No, Ma'am," Rosiuh shook his head faintly. "I'm from Betazed. The Monterey Bay Aquariums are an Earth facility. I was looking for somewhere quiet. The main decks can be," He debated the right word before settling back on his first choice, it was the most truthful option. "overwhelming."

[Kali Reyes]

"Ohhh, I see." She scrutinized him for a moment and, lo and behold, there be those infamous black eyes. What really alarmed her was she was now taking note of the faint ridges along his forehead. "And Klingon to boot too, Cadet Aviad? Looks like a prominent clan ridge right there." But honestly, there were so many ridged people, she could be wrong. At this point, one had to be a master at identifying ridges.

She waved him off casually. "I didn't mean to invade. Just wanted to lie low for a bit. Do you wanna go back to meditating? Because I can be quiet. I've got plenty of practice with a certain Vulcan."

[Rosiuh Aviad]

" My Mother tells me my father was a Klingon officer, Ma'am. I've never met him." Rosiuh admitted candidly. He'd found it was best to acknowledge his father's genetic contribution to his make up, up front. He knew his mother wouldn't lie to him. It simply wasn't the Betazoid way. Something about that particular genetic combination seemed to make people uneasy. Rosiuh understood from his research that Klingons weren't always the easiest people to get along with.

The set of his shoulders eased as she stated she had no interest in chasing him out of his hiding spot. A faint smile, this time of his own, eased the edges of his mouth up as she told him she was simply looking for a place to lie low for a bit. "You are not quiet," He informed her, amusedly. "At least, not at the moment. But as one person, you are easier to take, Ma'am. I don't mind company, I just wished to be away from the crowds."

He didn't understand her last reference to a Vulcan. He wasn't sure he was supposed to. "Vulcan, Ma'am?" Rosiuh prompted uncertain if she wished him to pursue the subject or if it was a throwaway comment that other species seemed to make so often.

[Kali Reyes]

Kali snapped her fingers in triumph. So he was a Klingon! "Nah, nah - never mind the Vulcan thing. I'm just trying to tell you that I am a very very very good meditation partner. Go ahead, sit, sit, sit!" She flapped at him dismissively with her newly manicured nails; another reason why she enjoyed the metropolitan area of the starbase. "I will just zip!" She mimed a zipping motion across her lips and mumbled, "M'and ah'm quiet!"

Lips pressed tight together, she made a big deal out of waltzing around the cadet and sliding along for the freshwater area of the aquarium. It wasn't as fabulous as the saltwater versions, but she could at least appreciate the sea of goldfish in one tank.

[Rosiuh Aviad]

Rosiuh ducked his head to hide his wider smile, looking back up only after he got his face back under control. "I'm half Betazoid, Ma'am. I can still 'hear' you." He informed her gently. "Your mind is very, busy. I can feel you even when you're not talking. I'm not complaining." Dark eyes flashed to her face as he hastened to add, not wanting to give offense. "It's not  a bad thing, just like a steady hum of conversation right at the edge of your hearing."

[Kali Reyes]

Her grin was playful over her shoulder. "So I've been told." Telepathic people either tended to love her or hate her for her mind, which she really couldn't help. She couldn't even remember a time where her mind was completely stilled. There was always something in the back of her head calculating, moving at the speed of light, sometimes even beyond her understanding. It was just a natural thing to her.

"Just think of it as white noise," Kali reasoned, turning back to the tank. "Like an engine humming. That always puts me to sleep. If you can't hear me, it'd probably be proof I'm dead."

[Rosiuh Aviad]

"You," He paused faintly. "like being busy," Rosiuh observed. "You like being thought of as busy. It's comforting to you," His dark eyes watched her as he spoke carefully, wary of overstepping his bounds. "to be thought of as constantly thinking, curious." He ventured softly, trying to sort through the small surface impressions he was picking up from her. "You like to be curious." He flashed her an amused smile.

Then suddenly flushed and dropped his gaze. "If I am being what you would consider rude, please tell me, Ma'am. I'm still adjusting to what is considered impolite outside of Betazoid culture. Joining Starfleet has been different from what I expected."

[Kali Reyes]

She tilted her head curiously at him. "Neat trick. Kind of sidesteps the busy work - like talking." It was all in jest, of course. Kali tried not to give the new kids too much grief than what they've already got on their plate.

Interested in sidestepping psychological session, she pointed out the fish tanks. "So, fish huh? They don't have fish on your planet or something?" She knew almost nothing about Betazeds aside from the obvious.

[Rosiuh Aviad]

"Betazed is much more peaceful than Earth, Ma'am. Our environment has a better state of natural preservation. Wild spaces are respected. The oceans make up much of the planet and have life very like Earth fish, but not exactly." Rosiuh took the hint as pointed and tried to ignore the ambient whispers of her mind.  He focused on trying to interact based solely on what he could observe from her body language. "This was one of the holodeck's mediative choices. The listing described it as a soothing environ."

"Reading you isn't intentional." Rosiuh crossed his arms over his midsection, hugging his elbows. "No matter how I try, some things will come through. It's a matter of proximity and the fact you have very a loud, clear thought pattern. I will do my best to shut you out, Ma'am." He offered as she did not seem comfortable with his surface observations. Rosiuh glanced around the room searching for a different subject. Everywhere he looked, tanks of fish met his gaze, as comfortable in their environments as he was uncomfortable out of his.

"Are you from Earth then, Ma'am?" He asked in a desperate bid for something acceptable to say.

[Kali Reyes]

Kali kind of sympathized with the poor schmuck. She too had her own control issues, some of it even debilitating. "Don't worry about it, kid. I'm getting used to it. I know like ten different people with varying shades of telepathy. You guys should form a club or something."

"But yeah, I'm from Earth," she said as she walked along the giant tank. Her fingers tapped along the glass in a gentle rhythm. "Ninety percent of the planet is water. Lots of fish. More than even this holodeck could hold. Though..." Kali leaned forward to poke at a spot of dirt. "That's an Aldebaran shellmouth. Definitely not from Earth."

[Rosiuh Aviad]

Rosiuh flushed a faint lavender hue at being referred to as a child. He knew in many species sense he would be considered so or barely out of childhood. Still, she might not be aware of her misjudgment of his status. As part Klingon, he aged differently from both Humans and most Betazoid. "Your pardon, Ma'am, but I am an adult, not a 'kid'. The Academy does not accept individuals who are not considered as mature by their species standard." He corrected her gently.