Change of Scenery.

Posted on Sunday May 17th, 2020 @ 14:17 hours by Kala Marika & Mercy

Mission: Safe Passage
Location: Airlock
Timeline: MD02 - Late Morning
1290 words - 2.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Kala hoisted her dufflebag onto her shoulder as she finished signing the last of the paperwork for the station's purser to settle her affairs on the station, quarters, meal tickets, the usual plethora of things civilians concerned themselves with, concerns starfleet officers rarely even considered give the fleet paid for most everything. "Hope you enjoy the contract Ms Marika." the purser said, "She's a good ship and a good captain." Kala nodded, "Thanks Chief, Bit of a change from the border runs. Looking forward to a change of scenery, new ports, etc, etc." Chief Ramirez smiled, "Well, stay safe Kala. And swing by next time your this way."

As she left, now free of any station fees, Kala couldn't help but think about the past couple years. It was almost two years to the day she'd resigned her commission, leaving her pips and badge on the desk of her quarters. She'd walked away from the fleet after an engineering incident aboard the old Nebula class cruiser she was stationed on. The root cause hadn't been her fault, or that of her teams, but the brass had been out to blame somebody, and she had no desire to be tarred with that brush. Midway through the investigation, once the cause was determined why the port nacelle had come loose at warp speed, causing the ship to violently transition out of subspace, sending a ship moving at warp 6 tumbling back into regular space.

The casualty list had thankfully been low, a rapid deceleration from warp would've subjected parts of the ship to lethal g-forces, but those areas had been empty as the ship was on a transit run between bases, only a few were killed, mercifully fast the doctor had remarked, one moment you were standing there, the next moment knocked unconscious before your brain could register pain as the bulkhead caved your head in. It'd not been a good day for the crew, and for that alone Kala had considered resigning. True death was a part of life, and people lost their lives all the time, mainly for pointless reasons, that she lost three freinds in the blink of any eye, pushed her in that direction.

Sighing, she hated going down that path with her memories, she made her way down towards the docking bays where civilian freighters berthed. She had her papers with her, and while she didn't see anyone blocking her way specifically, she did notice a very large, and very furry bipedal standing near the entrance. The creature, she wasn't sure what else she could call it, noticed her right away, and as the being turned it's head towards her, she understood why, a canid, good hearing, and almost uncanny sense of surrounding.

She wasn't sure what protocol was so didn't extend her hand, offending a being who was a good solid three feet taller then her, and looked like she could take on even the most crazed Klingon, she smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm transferring aboard this vessel, do you know by chance who I should be reporting to?"

An ear flicked to the sound of the voice before the massive being turned towards the source. A bajoran, petite, looking lighter than the weights the lupine being exercised with. She looked friendly enough, so was met with a smile. "New to the Fawkes, aye?" sounded the larger woman's voice, rich and warm, with a rumble to it. "Who to report to depends on what you're hired for," she added, her tail giving a twitch. "Name's Mercy, I'm the engineer onboard," she smiled, a massive hand extending in greet.

Kala accepted the creature's hand, personal enough she thought. "Kala Marika, and that's the Federation order of my name, not the Bajoran one. I'm hired on a recent contract as an Able Deck Hand. Not sure who I report to however, the contract didn't say much, just report to this airlock today and I'd be met by somebody." She smiled up at Mercy, "I'm technically not engineering staff but used to be. Formerly Starfleet, long story, was one of the duty shift Supervisors in main engineering."

"Former Starfleet, eh? Me too," Mercy smiled, tail giving a lazy wag. "Well, chances are you'll be reporting to me then, from time to time. Otherwise there's T'maekh, bosun. You'll likely be working for him a lot as well. Then there's Greg, ship's first mate. and Mayterial, the captain."

"I have to ask, if it's not improper, what species are you? I've never seen a large Canid species before." She adjusted her bag, "What sort of engineering work tends to happen underway? Haven't set foot inside a civilian engine bay since I resigned from the fleet. And you know how regulated fleet was about work being done."

"I'm a Sirran. Not many of us outside our home planet's sphere. I'm actually a bit on the small side as Sirran go," Mercy flashed a fangy grin, her voice thick and warm, resonating. "As for what kind of work needs done - I'm always looking for someone small enough for the access crawlspaces, I just don't fit. The rest depends on how good an engineer you are."

Small? That certainly surprised Kala given most of the humanoids she'd met, but there was always something new Kala had never encountered, standing before her would be one of those. "Well, I'm just over five feet, 120 pounds, haven't met a crawl-way I couldn't squeak through. As for my quals," she paused, "Four years as an engineer on the Phobos, two of those as beta shift duty supervisor. Before that, spent a year at Utopia Planitia overseeing construction of the Luna class. Beautiful ship by the way." She smiled, "I'll skip academics because that'd just make me sound like a snotty young brat."

"Yeah yeah, you'll get plenty of time to impress me later," Mercy waved dismissively, "when we're good and well underway. Best report to the Captain or First Mate first. Mayterial you can usually find on the bridge. Greg I'm not so sure of, he moves around a lot." Beat. "And, yes, the Luna's a pretty girl, kind of a spiritual successor to the Miranda class."

"Luna's beautiful inside and out, I'll give you that. I served on one of the old ladies tho, Nebula class. Few scars from the war, before my time, but she was an elegant lady, always turned heads." She ignored the dismissive wave, Mercy didn't know her yet, respect was earned, and would come in time. "I'll make for the bridge. Good meeting you Mercy."

"And you," much better than the last new crewmember she met, Mercy thought. "What do I call you? Kala or Marika?" she asked, not quite being certain from Kala's earlier comment. She new Bajorans said the family name first and wasn't quite sure what she'd meant with 'Federation order' of her name.

"Kala," she responded, "Family name is Marika so I answer to 'Able Seaman Marika' also." She grinned, "I assume you prefer Chief to just plain Mercy? Or is there a formal name I should address you by as well?"

"Chief. Mercy. Hell, even 'hey you' will work, long as I can tell you mean me," Mercy replied with a shrug. "I don't stand much on ceremony, Kala."

"I'll avoid 'hey you', seems to cause the most confusion, Chief or Mercy it is." She paused for a second, "Kala or Marika is fine for me, close friends call me Kali. I should probably let you go finish whatever you were doing and go meet my bosses."

"Depends on context and / or other people present," Mercy chuckled. "Was nice meeting you, Kala."

"You too Mercy. See you around." Kala remarked, ducking into the airlock, and her new contract.