S1E9 The Bright Side of Life

[Dylan Torngate]

[Deck 8- Lounge]

Dylan sat in the back corner of the room, watching. He was enjoying his time off duty as the ship sailed at impulse through the stars. The Challenger, freshly fixed (again) had been yanked from deep exploration of the gamma quadrant, and instead was set to patrol the border of the Tholian Assembly. It was Starfleet's little subtle way of telling Dylan his ship wasn't useful anymore.

The Tholian assembly hadn't given the Federation trouble in decades. Occasional contact, rarely face-to-face, and overall, boring. Even the Tholian ambassador rarely left his compound on Earth. It was pretty much one of the most backward assignments in the Federation.

But, here the Challenger was- patrolling at impulse, sending scanning beams into Tholian space, and the Tholians sending one of their own ships, an Orb Weaver class, to exactly mirror the Challenger, reflecting the sensor beams back into Federation space. Thus it had always been, each side only getting a reflected image of their own ship from sensors. Back and forth for days, until one or the other ship was called away. It was similar to a standoff, or a game of chicken. Who would bink first?

Usually, it was the Federation ship.

But instead, here Dylan sat, watching his crew and generally waiting for... anything... to happen. But of course it didn't, as he waited and watched for the next big thing, or anything he could think about later. Thankfully, he wasn't in charge here. The one place on the ship he could be left alone, for the most part.

[Olivia Briggs]

[Deck 8 - Lounge]

Liv could currently be found crouching on the floor behind the bar top, restocking one of the cooler units with a selection of old Earth beers mostly pale ales and one in particular that seemed to be popular amongst the crew who frequented the Lounge. This is what she always liked about her job keeping things different and unique and also giving the crew a taste of home especially when they were out in deep space for weeks at a time sometimes longer. She also enjoyed being manager and getting to alternate between the Lounge and the Mess Hall especially with the staff she had helping her including their old childminder Jeessa who still occasionally watched Elijah when Alex wasn't available.

Life was certainly good at the moment even more so since their relaxing stay on Andoria and being able to celebrate not only Elijah's first Christmas but also her and Kyle's since they had been reunited. She hoped that her husband would pop by and had already spotted the Captain at one of the tables but wasn't going to interrupt him unless he needed anything. For now she returned to the cooler unit and once she was finished turned her attention to mixing pitchers of cocktails including some of her own creations.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Deck 7 - CMO's Quarters

Lizzie was relaxing in her quarters. Due to the monotonous nature of the mission, she had taken time time to herself. Knowing that she was only a hundred feet or so from Sickbay meant she could respond to any emergencies.

She was seated on her sofa watching Alys, who was now crawling, move around the room. All the doors were closed and there was a pile of the little girls toys on the rug.

Having explored one corner of the room near the replicator, Alys made her way at surprising speed back to her toys. There she found her favourite purple bear and sat down and began playing with it, gurgling in conversation.

Lizzie smiled as she took a sip of apple juice. At the sound of the glass, Alys looked up and waved the bear at her Mother.

"Watcha got there?" Lizzie asked her Daughter.

Alys giggled as she waived the bear again. She then made her way over to where Lizzie was sitting and held her hands up in the universal signal for being picked up.

Putting her glass down on a side table, she bent and picked Alys up. The little girl reached over to where Lizzie had put the glass down and tried to grab it. Lizzie immediately pulled her Daughter away.

"Oh no you don't!" Lizzie said. "That one is mine. Yours is here." She added, picking up the bottle with some apple juice in it.

Alys immediately grabbed it and began to drink. Soon the little girls eyes began to droop and before long she was asleep.

Lizzie immediately put Alys down in her crib. Then, switching on the monitor, she went back to the living room and picked up her PADD to catch up on her reading.

[Lek]

[Engineering]

Lek sat at his station near the warp core and smiled. He was running yet another configuration of the shield grid to see if he could boost output and further. His research had produced a six percent increase, but he wanted twenty-five percent and he was determined to each that goal before he spoke to Joreb Erix the chief engineer.

"Not like it will matter, I could triple the shield output and he'd still say no because it was me making the suggestion. I understand why he's upset about me ejecting the warp core, but there wasn't time to explain. It's not my fault the Romulan stunned him. It's not like Erix was the only one stunned. Me and that Romulan got stunned even harder. I wonder if all Betazoids are this vindictive of if it's just him?"

Lek tapped a few inputs into his station prior to running another simulation and still smiled.

"At least being banished to the Tholian border has been blissfully quiet, and I've been able to avoid that petaQ Cleroux since being released from the brig. My sessions with Counselor Maddux is down to once a week and I'm feeling better about myself, even if I am friendless. Learning true validation comes from within has freed me of the need to worry about what others think about me."

Lek ran his simulations and noted this configuration yielded an eight percent increase, which kept him smiling as he continued to work on his goal in the blissful quiet of the Tholian sector.

[Bonnie Moors]

Hydroponics Lab - Deck 19

Bonnie never expected her lab to actually become a reality. She'd thought about it and only asked because Rhymus took her to the captain to ask. She guessed she had him to thank for that.

Bonnie had been setting up some of the minor systems in the lab slowly over the time that they'd been patrolling the Tholian border. They'd set the power to the room up but the systems had never actually been turned on and synced up; she wasn't sure if that was the drydock engineers way of saying the lab was useless but she didn't mind anyway, it gave her something to do whole they were patrolling.

Bonnie finished turning on the monitoring system and spun around towards the greenhouse in the centre of the room. She smiled slightly and stood up. All of the systems were turned on and ready, she could finally start planting. Bonnie stopped at the door before opening it and smiled slightly. She couldn't do this without the person who pretty much made her request it. She tapped her commbadge.

=^="Moors to Cleroux, meet me in the hydroponics lab on deck 19."=^= Bonnie finished, moving back and taking a seat in one of the few chairs in the room.

[Rhymus Cleroux]

[Deck 9 - Armory]

Rhymus read through the myriad reports of the day.  They came in waves, the things, as Security crew completed quiet patrols and unchanging armament inspections. The ship's most recent mission didn't help at all, as the drivel of day-to-day shipkeeping couldn't even be balanced by the chance of danger. There was none. At least not out here. And the days had gone from long to longer for the yellow-shirted members of Challenger's crew.

The man sat back, yawning as he finished the latest batch of 'no significant events' and 'everything is accounted for' reports. There wouldn't be another batch for another hour at least. Maybe if he just rested his eyes a bit...

Hydroponics Lab - Deck 19

=^="Moors to Cleroux, meet me in the hydroponics lab on deck 19."=^= Bonnie finished, moving back and taking a seat in one of the few chairs in the room.

Rhymus jerked, falling back in his chair and slamming into the floor. A batch of finished reports followed him down, scattering as they pelted him. He checked the chronometer on the wall, sighing as only an hour had passed. An all too short hour, he might add. He then scrambled to his feet, tapping his combadge as he made for the door.

"Right! Yes, I'm on my way!"

He began making his way towards the turbolift down when he stopped suddenly, made a 180, and jogged in the other direction.

[Deck 19 - Hydroponics Bay]

Rhymus almost skidded to a halt before the door to the room designated the Hydroponics Bay, with a small burlap sack in his hand. He had come straight there from his quarters, where he had all too frantically searched for the bag before making a mad dash for the lifts leading down to Deck 19. Now here, he stopped before the door to make sure he was ready to meet the woman inside. He fixed up his hair, sweeping it back and making sure it stayed down and practiced a few lines of dialogue in his head before finally entering the facility.

"Doctor Moors!" He said, his air of confidence ever present and the bag held in clasped hands behind his back. "I do hope I haven't kept you waiting long. What can I do for you today?"

[Bonnie Moors]

[Deck 9 - Armory]

Rhymus read through the myriad reports of the day.  They came in waves, the things, as Security crew completed quiet patrols and unchanging armament inspections. The ship's most recent mission didn't help at all, as the drivel of day-to-day shipkeeping couldn't even be balanced by the chance of danger. There was none. At least not out here. And the days had gone from long to longer for the yellow-shirted members of Challenger's crew.

The man sat back, yawning as he finished the latest batch of 'no significant events' and 'everything is accounted for' reports. There wouldn't be another batch for another hour at least. Maybe if he just rested his eyes a bit...

Rhymus jerked, falling back in his chair and slamming into the floor. A batch of finished reports followed him down, scattering as they pelted him. He checked the chronometer on the wall, sighing as only an hour had passed. An all too short hour, he might add. He then scrambled to his feet, tapping his combadge as he made for the door.

"Right! Yes, I'm on my way!"

He began making his way towards the turbolift down when he stopped suddenly, made a 180, and jogged in the other direction.

[Deck 19 - Hydroponics Bay]

Rhymus almost skidded to a halt before the door to the room designated the Hydroponics Bay, with a small burlap sack in his hand. He had come straight there from his quarters, where he had all too frantically searched for the bag before making a mad dash for the lifts leading down to Deck 19. Now here, he stopped before the door to make sure he was ready to meet the woman inside. He fixed up his hair, sweeping it back and making sure it stayed down and practiced a few lines of dialogue in his head before finally entering the facility.

"Doctor Moors!" He said, his air of confidence ever present and the bag held in clasped hands behind his back. "I do hope I haven't kept you waiting long. What can I do for you today?"

Hydroponics Bay

Bonnie smiled as the door opened and turned around to face him as he walked in. She nodded at the greeting and put her hand towards the room. "I got it, and I have you to thank for; I wouldn't have gone and asked if it weren't for you... So, thank you." She paused for a moment and stepped back, she pointed at the greenhouse door. "I figured that you should take the first step in given that you supported me in getting it."

"So. If you would do the honours..." She finished.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Bridge]

Kyle had drawn the short straw and was currently sitting on the Bridge as they needlessly patrolled along the Tholian border. He stifled a yawn and took another drink of his coffee. He turned toward the Ops station for the one millionth time in the last four hours. The officer manning the station shook his head and spoke even before Kyle got one word out.

"Nothing unusual, Sir." came the familiar response.

Kyle nodded and returned his attention to the forward view screen. "I'd rather be freezing my ass off back on Andoria." he muttered.

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[Federation Starship USS Challenger Á¢â,¬"œ Deck 13 - Enlisted Crew Quarters]

Rayek looked up from his PADD to glance to the chronometer on his desk. He had another 4 hours before the start of his shift.   He'd like to think that once working his boredom would be relieved but that was not likely to be the case - not given their current assignment - which he was certain everyone blamed on him and Lt Lek.

Rayek glanced over from his desk to the empty side of the common area where Grelek used to have his meditation mat set up.   The only up side so far had been Grelek requesting a room transfer.   He had moved out upon their return to the ship after Andoria.

Rayek wondered if another Vulcan would be assigned to the room, or if his reputation would deter that.

With a huff, Rayek pushed away from his desk.  It seemed a good time for a meal break.

[USS Challenger - Deck 8 - Lounge]

Rayek entered the lounge and from just inside the doorway he looked over the room.  He was quick to note the Captain's presence at the far end of the room, reading.  Of course.

Rayek selected out a seat at a table in an isolated corner opposite the Captain's position, saving the position as his by leaving his PADD at the table.  He then went to the lounge's replicator and ordered a Chai tea.  Rayek found the pumpkin spice very reminiscent of a tea that he used to drink back at home.  Rayek sat and quietly observed the room as he waited for his tea.

[Rhymus Cleroux]

Hydroponics Bay

Bonnie smiled as the door opened and turned around to face him as he walked in. She nodded at the greeting and put her hand towards the room. "I got it, and I have you to thank for; I wouldn't have gone and asked if it weren't for you... So, thank you." She paused for a moment and stepped back, she pointed at the greenhouse door. "I figured that you should take the first step in given that you supported me in getting it."

"So. If you would do the honours..." She finished.

[Deck 19 - Hydroponics]

"Very well, but first..."

Rhymus approached the woman, revealing the small burlap bag behind his back inside the bag were several rose seeds.

"A gift. I thought about getting a bouquet of flowers, but it might be more poetic to allow you to grow them yourself."

Having dropped off his gift, he accessed the door of the greenhouse and stepped inside. He smiled as he inspected the various shelves and racks that will hold whatever plants Bonnie decides to cultivate. He then turned back toward the door.

"It's very nice, Bonnie. But don't expect an invitation to your own place, come on in."

[Bonnie Moors]

[Deck 19 - Hydroponics]

"Very well, but first..."

Rhymus approached the woman, revealing the small burlap bag behind his back inside the bag were several rose seeds.

"A gift. I thought about getting a bouquet of flowers, but it might be more poetic to allow you to grow them yourself."

Having dropped off his gift, he accessed the door of the greenhouse and stepped inside. He smiled as he inspected the various shelves and racks that will hold whatever plants Bonnie decides to cultivate. He then turned back toward the door.

"It's very nice, Bonnie. But don't expect an invitation to your own place, come on in."

Hydroponics Bay

Bonnie's focus turned to the bag that he revealed from behind his back. Her expression turned to one of delight and surprise as he offered her the gift. "You shouldn't have..." Bonnie said, allowing the man to walk into the greenhouse. Bonnie followed him in.

Bonnie looked around the greenhouse in silence for a minute. She turned towards Rhymus and smiled. "Now I just need to get to work on planting things in here." She paused for a moment. "I'm just glad I've been able to make my mark on the ship." The room was fairly full with both of them in; the only reason they had breathing room was the fact that Bonnie was smaller than him. Bonnie made her way out of the greenhouse and waited until Rhymus followed her out.

Bonnie smiled at Rhymus and looked towards the seeds which she'd placed on the side earlier. "You helped me get the lab itself. The seeds were really unnecessary." Bonnie walked towards the man and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you, for everything." She said, releasing him from the hug and pointing towards the rose seeds. "Do you want to help me plant them?" She asked.

[Lek]

[Crew Lounge]

Lek entered the lounge for his lunch break feeling pretty good about his work that morning. He'd gotten up to 14% on his attempts to boost shield efficiency in his test and thought that was likely as good as was possible without a major overhaul. He ordered his lunch and looked around the lounge to see it was quite crowded.

"Figures."

He mumbled when he couldn't find a table and that led him to the corner of the dining area and the Romulan sitting alone at a table. Figuring he had nothing to lose by being seen with the other pariah in the crew he shrugged and stopped at his table.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[Lounge]

Rayek was only a third the way through his Chai when the Ferengi engineer approached his table with meal tray in hand.  Rayek glanced over towards the Captain in the corner, musing to himself about what thoughts must the man be thinking at the moment seeing the two of them together.  Rayek smirked.  "Not at all.  Have a seat" he said as he motioned to one of the chairs at the table.  "How are things in engineering?  I imagine things are a little tense between you and the other engineers. I apologize if my stunning your superior caused you any additional hardship."

[Lek]

PO2 Rayek
[Lounge]

Rayek was only a third the way through his Chai when the Ferengi engineer approached his table with meal tray in hand.  Rayek glanced over towards the Captain in the corner, musing to himself about what thoughts must the man be thinking at the moment seeing the two of them together.  Rayek smirked.  "Not at all.  Have a seat" he said as he motioned to one of the chairs at the table.  "How are things in engineering?  I imagine things are a little tense between you and the other engineers. I apologize if my stunning your superior caused you any additional hardship."

[Crew Lounge]

Lek sat down heavily and dug into his meal with gusto.

"Actually, things are fine for me. I've embraced the lack of friends on the ship and it's been remarkably liberating. Lieutenant Erix has always been been standoffish to me, so nothing has changed in engineering. I believe he resents my interventions over the last few missions that I got credit for something he failed to do. Stunning him was what had to be done, so I have no regrets on those grounds either. How are things in security? I suppose Cleroux is being obnoxious as ever."

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[Lounge]

[Crew Lounge]

Lek sat down heavily and dug into his meal with gusto.

"Actually, things are fine for me. I've embraced the lack of friends on the ship and it's been remarkably liberating. Lieutenant Erix has always been been standoffish to me, so nothing has changed in engineering. I believe he resents my interventions over the last few missions that I got credit for something he failed to do. Stunning him was what had to be done, so I have no regrets on those grounds either. How are things in security? I suppose Cleroux is being obnoxious as ever."

Rayek sipped at his Chai as the Ferengi described his work environment; and here he'd thought the Federation prided themselves on their tolerance for other species and that it was just his own people who were xenophobic.

"So Cleroux is obnoxious as a standard, not just to me.  Good to know. On whole the others are being civil. There's nothing they do or say in my presence that I can bring them up on charges for.  But I am patient man. I know the three that shot us and am biding my time."