Interlude – Finding Friendship
by Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant Jana Kasikova
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"Hello?" said Dunham unsually as he walked into what looked like an empty lab. There was a loud clang, as he put down the large, battered and rusted metal disk on the lab table that he had carried in. It was a piece of Earth history that Dunham was trying to get authenticated, so he had come down to the archaeological department of the science labs to see what they could do.
"Over here!" Jana replied from the office attached to what had become her lab. She was processing more of her work from the latest dig. She got up and stood in the door to see a man standing there. Jana recognized him but she didn't think that they had actually met face to face before. She smiled to him, "Can I help you with something?"
"Yes please." said Dunham enthusiastically. He picked the heavy rusted metal disk over and carried to Jana, "I was wandering if you could authenticate this for me?" Dunham paused a moment. "Sorry were are my manners I'm Rick" he tried to hold his hand out to shake but couldn't as he was carrying the disk in both hands.
Jana simpled, "It is nice to meet you, I'm Jana. I can try and authenticate this for you, here place it on the table here and I can see what I can do." She smiled and waited for Rick to put the item on the table. "Where did you get it?" She asked.
Dunham hefted the metal disk onto table with a bit of a grunt. He smiled "I t was in my parents loft on earth, I got it shipped in, I'm a bit of a fan of 20th century avionics."
Jana nodded. "I love the 20th century period." She looked up at him and blushed slightly. "Let's see if we can clean some of the rust off and go from there?" She asked the computer to start cleaning off the rust at level one. "It is going to take a few hours, did you want to go do something?" She asked blushing again. She wasn't sure why he was able to make her blush but she liked it. "I will lock the lab so no one can enter, except for us."
Dunham smiled and nodded, "Sounds like plan," he looked at the time keeping piece on his wrist, "I haven't got anything else planned, how about we go for walk, and you can tell me all about how you love 20th century avionics?"
Jana looked at his wrist, "I haven't seen a watch in a long while...may I see?" She asked, "it isn't so much avionics...and it isn't just the 20th century, its basically from the 13th to the 20th."
"Use to be dad's," said Dunham with a fond smile at the memory of his farther. "It was used by Russian Cosmonaut's in the late 20the century. That's allot of history to be familiar with," said Dunham with smile in reference to her statement of 13th to 20th century history
"I suppose I am a bookworm." She blushed again. "I read any chance a get. I haven't met many people here so I read instead. I work all over the quadrant, exploring every place I can get. I do like the watch. My ancestors were treated badly by the Russians and they actually escaped the Communists during the Cold War. Not that I would hold it against any Russian now...just a little bit of history." She bit her lower lip to keep from rambling, Jana knew she was doing it and she always did when she was nervous and around new people.
"Don't worry about," said Dunham with a grin and an affectionate bump with his elbow to her ribs. "There haven't been any communists in Russia for a long long time, besides I'm only half Russian on my Farther's side, The other half...well I'm not sure my mum was born on a space station, but her parents were from Lunar. Shall we go for that walk?"
Jana's blush deepened not clueing in that he was Russian, or at least part. She turned to check the computer and its readings one last time and they headed towards the door. She locked it as they left. "Where do you want to go?" She asked.
"I was going to ask you the same question. How about the...." he paused for a moment in thought, "arboretum?"
"Sounds lovely, I don't believe I have been there before." She replied and fell into step with him, walking close enough to him that their hands brushed. Jana moved slightly so they weren't so close and hoped that Rick wouldn't notice.
Dunham felt the gentle brush of skin against his hand, he instinctively felt guilty, thinking he had been walking to close to her, and so thrust both hands into his pockets. As they walked along Dunham made conversation, genuinely interested in what the young scientist had to say, "so how did you get into archaeology and starfleet?"
"Archaeology is in my blood, I am one in a long line or archaeologists. I was actually born out on a dig my parents were on." She laughed and her eyes lit up as she spoke. "I suppose Starfleet gave me the means of pursuing my passion, instead of wandering aimlessly though the quadrant...what about you?"
Dunham smiled "Oh usual story, I was a starfleet brat, I grew up on starships both my parents were....are starfleet officers. I'd always wanted to be an officer since I was little. But it wasn't until I finished at the academy that I found my love for flying."
Jana nodded, "I am sure my parents would of been just as happy if I had not gone into archaeology or even Starfleet. " She shrugged, "either way it didn't really matter to them. If that makes any sense to you...I'm not sure if it makes sense to me." She laughed.
Dunham nodded and smiled sympathetically, only because he knew what his own family was like, "I understand, parents can be like that sometimes. But they always love you."
"I have never doubted that fact...my father is listed as MIA and I have still know that if he is still alive he thinks of me and mami." She replied.
Dunham put a hand on her shoulder, empathising with her feelings, "I know how you feel. My brother in law, a Marine, he's missing in action to, it can be...." he struggled a moment to find the right words "difficult for the family and those close to them."
"I don't even know if he is alive Rick...It would be so much easier if I knew...if he was dead let me mourn but we are stuck in limbo not sure if we should be happy or mourning." She sighed as they reached their destination.
Dunham sighed a little, knowing how she felt "sometimes you just need closure," he said admiring the canopy cast by the trees in the arboretum. The Silver birches lined the path through one of deep space five arboretum's. It could really be described a s a small forest, even having a small artificial stream with a wooden bridge across it.
"It is so lovely here...I cannot believe that I have never been here before." She replied, embarrassed to admit she had never been there before. Jana felt at home immediately, like she was back on Earth at her cabin in the mountains. It was a pleasant distraction from her father and his brother-in-law. Jana sighed contently and smiled at Rick. "Thank you for suggesting this place."
"My pleasure." said Dunham returning the smile. He looked about himself admiring the scenery, but the small enclosure of trees and grass couldn't help but remind him of his recent holiday. He rubbed his belly were the bullet wound had been unconsciously. "I do enjoy the countryside, almost as much as I enjoy flying."
"I think that is why I like going out on digs so much...I'm out in the open...not in sterile lifeless space."
Dunham chuckled a little at that. "Ironically, that's were I do my flying, and theirs nothing like flying a fighter through the inky dark void of the big black."
"This is going to sound ridiculous but it is too open for me. I get claustrophobic in really tight spots...but I am the same way in space." She laughed at how silly she sounded and she shook her head.
"So were do you feel most comfortable?" asked Dunham sincerely.
"Safely on a planet on a dig." She smiled. "I like knowing there is something firm below my feet...and not floating in or flying through space."
Dunham had grown around starships all his life. If he didn't have a engine hum underneath his feet then he would feel a little uncomfortable, even if he was out in the country side. He still found it a little hard to get use being planet side. "How are you finding living on the station?"
"Since arriving back on the station I was taken hostage...I'm thinking about asking for a transfer back to Headquarters on Earth." Jana looked up at Rick, "I'm really trying to adjust...I just wasn't expecting to be taken hostage."
Dunham stopped his walk and looked at the archaeologist with a sympathetic smile, his head slightly tilted. He couldn't find the words to explain to her that life on deep space five got very 'different'. Dunham put his arm around her shoulder, trying to be of some comfort. He struggled though to find his next words. "In my time here, I have been fired at by Romulans, flown through temporal anomaly's, blown up, shot, imprisoned and beaten by terrorists, but there is so much good on deep space five as well. The people here are amazing, allot of them are like family. I've made some good friends, met many characters and personalities, re-found faith, become closer to my own family, and found love. Deep Space five can be different....rough....but the positives, far out weigh the negatives in the end, give it a little time."
Jana nodded, "I will hold you to that Rick...I really wasn't looking for all that excitement here...just someplace to exist quietly and do my research." She looked out into their surroundings. "But...perhaps I have had too quiet of an existance and this is somewhere I need to be." For heaven's sake she had met someone and had slept with him, not something she was in the habit of doing.
Dunham smiled whimsically "deep space five has a way of bringing out parts of us that we didn't even know we had."
"It is almost as if the station is alive." She blushed and looked away from him.
"Yes it is, and it looks after those that look after it. Don't worry you'll do just fine here." said Dunham with a comforting smile.
Jana smiled, "did you want to head back and see how the scans are going?"
Dunham nodded in agreement "good idea," he said following her back to the lab.
Once they arrived back at the lab Jana annouced the security clearance needed to enter the locked lab. She went to the table where the scans and cleansing were being completed. She smiled, Jana could of done the work herself but she wouldn't of made a new friend in Rick, he simply would of been another nameless face in the giant city of DS5. "So far so good...the rust is nearly gone Rick. I can start to make out the serial number on it. I will check it against my database."
"Excellent," said Dunham cheerily, he clapped his hands in excitement. Stepped up close behind Kasikova and leaned over her shoulder to see what she was doing. "Its looking good," he said with a smile.
Jana nodded, "Rick, looks to me like you got yourself a keeper..." She compared the serial number on the disc to the numbers on the PADD in her hand. "Congratulations." Jana smiled.
"looks like the drive shaft, from the steering column." Said Dunham with a smile. "But, is it from a Hurricane MK 1 or a Spitfire MK 1?" He scratched the stubble on his chin in thought. "its looking good though Jana, excellent job on cleaning it up."
"It wasn't me." She laughed, "you can thank the computer, although I did determine the settings. The serial number shows that is belonged to the Spitfire MK1...Here take a look." She handed him the PADD.
"Thank you computer." he said with a smile tapping the console affectionately. He then started to read the padd "This is is a bit history right here" indicating the metal disk with a wave of his hand. "My dad said it was found somewhere in kent."
"I have never been there before. I have been all over the galaxy and Europe but never there."
Dunham smiled and nodded. "If you've been all over Europe, you've probably been to Kent. It's an old name for one of the county's in England in the south east." Dunham began to exam the disk more intensely, "I'll hit the archives when I get a moment and see if I can connect this Spitfire with a pilot, see who flew her, dig up a bit of history as it were. Thank you for your help on this.
Off:
by Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant Jana Kasikova
Post Details
| Title | Finding Friendship | |
| Mission | Interlude | |
| Author(s) | Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant Jana Kasikova | |
| Posted | Mon Jul 26, 2010 @ 5:31pm | |
| Location | Science Lab Two | |
| Timeline | Interlude |
"Hello?" said Dunham unsually as he walked into what looked like an empty lab. There was a loud clang, as he put down the large, battered and rusted metal disk on the lab table that he had carried in. It was a piece of Earth history that Dunham was trying to get authenticated, so he had come down to the archaeological department of the science labs to see what they could do.
"Over here!" Jana replied from the office attached to what had become her lab. She was processing more of her work from the latest dig. She got up and stood in the door to see a man standing there. Jana recognized him but she didn't think that they had actually met face to face before. She smiled to him, "Can I help you with something?"
"Yes please." said Dunham enthusiastically. He picked the heavy rusted metal disk over and carried to Jana, "I was wandering if you could authenticate this for me?" Dunham paused a moment. "Sorry were are my manners I'm Rick" he tried to hold his hand out to shake but couldn't as he was carrying the disk in both hands.
Jana simpled, "It is nice to meet you, I'm Jana. I can try and authenticate this for you, here place it on the table here and I can see what I can do." She smiled and waited for Rick to put the item on the table. "Where did you get it?" She asked.
Dunham hefted the metal disk onto table with a bit of a grunt. He smiled "I t was in my parents loft on earth, I got it shipped in, I'm a bit of a fan of 20th century avionics."
Jana nodded. "I love the 20th century period." She looked up at him and blushed slightly. "Let's see if we can clean some of the rust off and go from there?" She asked the computer to start cleaning off the rust at level one. "It is going to take a few hours, did you want to go do something?" She asked blushing again. She wasn't sure why he was able to make her blush but she liked it. "I will lock the lab so no one can enter, except for us."
Dunham smiled and nodded, "Sounds like plan," he looked at the time keeping piece on his wrist, "I haven't got anything else planned, how about we go for walk, and you can tell me all about how you love 20th century avionics?"
Jana looked at his wrist, "I haven't seen a watch in a long while...may I see?" She asked, "it isn't so much avionics...and it isn't just the 20th century, its basically from the 13th to the 20th."
"Use to be dad's," said Dunham with a fond smile at the memory of his farther. "It was used by Russian Cosmonaut's in the late 20the century. That's allot of history to be familiar with," said Dunham with smile in reference to her statement of 13th to 20th century history
"I suppose I am a bookworm." She blushed again. "I read any chance a get. I haven't met many people here so I read instead. I work all over the quadrant, exploring every place I can get. I do like the watch. My ancestors were treated badly by the Russians and they actually escaped the Communists during the Cold War. Not that I would hold it against any Russian now...just a little bit of history." She bit her lower lip to keep from rambling, Jana knew she was doing it and she always did when she was nervous and around new people.
"Don't worry about," said Dunham with a grin and an affectionate bump with his elbow to her ribs. "There haven't been any communists in Russia for a long long time, besides I'm only half Russian on my Farther's side, The other half...well I'm not sure my mum was born on a space station, but her parents were from Lunar. Shall we go for that walk?"
Jana's blush deepened not clueing in that he was Russian, or at least part. She turned to check the computer and its readings one last time and they headed towards the door. She locked it as they left. "Where do you want to go?" She asked.
"I was going to ask you the same question. How about the...." he paused for a moment in thought, "arboretum?"
"Sounds lovely, I don't believe I have been there before." She replied and fell into step with him, walking close enough to him that their hands brushed. Jana moved slightly so they weren't so close and hoped that Rick wouldn't notice.
Dunham felt the gentle brush of skin against his hand, he instinctively felt guilty, thinking he had been walking to close to her, and so thrust both hands into his pockets. As they walked along Dunham made conversation, genuinely interested in what the young scientist had to say, "so how did you get into archaeology and starfleet?"
"Archaeology is in my blood, I am one in a long line or archaeologists. I was actually born out on a dig my parents were on." She laughed and her eyes lit up as she spoke. "I suppose Starfleet gave me the means of pursuing my passion, instead of wandering aimlessly though the quadrant...what about you?"
Dunham smiled "Oh usual story, I was a starfleet brat, I grew up on starships both my parents were....are starfleet officers. I'd always wanted to be an officer since I was little. But it wasn't until I finished at the academy that I found my love for flying."
Jana nodded, "I am sure my parents would of been just as happy if I had not gone into archaeology or even Starfleet. " She shrugged, "either way it didn't really matter to them. If that makes any sense to you...I'm not sure if it makes sense to me." She laughed.
Dunham nodded and smiled sympathetically, only because he knew what his own family was like, "I understand, parents can be like that sometimes. But they always love you."
"I have never doubted that fact...my father is listed as MIA and I have still know that if he is still alive he thinks of me and mami." She replied.
Dunham put a hand on her shoulder, empathising with her feelings, "I know how you feel. My brother in law, a Marine, he's missing in action to, it can be...." he struggled a moment to find the right words "difficult for the family and those close to them."
"I don't even know if he is alive Rick...It would be so much easier if I knew...if he was dead let me mourn but we are stuck in limbo not sure if we should be happy or mourning." She sighed as they reached their destination.
Dunham sighed a little, knowing how she felt "sometimes you just need closure," he said admiring the canopy cast by the trees in the arboretum. The Silver birches lined the path through one of deep space five arboretum's. It could really be described a s a small forest, even having a small artificial stream with a wooden bridge across it.
"It is so lovely here...I cannot believe that I have never been here before." She replied, embarrassed to admit she had never been there before. Jana felt at home immediately, like she was back on Earth at her cabin in the mountains. It was a pleasant distraction from her father and his brother-in-law. Jana sighed contently and smiled at Rick. "Thank you for suggesting this place."
"My pleasure." said Dunham returning the smile. He looked about himself admiring the scenery, but the small enclosure of trees and grass couldn't help but remind him of his recent holiday. He rubbed his belly were the bullet wound had been unconsciously. "I do enjoy the countryside, almost as much as I enjoy flying."
"I think that is why I like going out on digs so much...I'm out in the open...not in sterile lifeless space."
Dunham chuckled a little at that. "Ironically, that's were I do my flying, and theirs nothing like flying a fighter through the inky dark void of the big black."
"This is going to sound ridiculous but it is too open for me. I get claustrophobic in really tight spots...but I am the same way in space." She laughed at how silly she sounded and she shook her head.
"So were do you feel most comfortable?" asked Dunham sincerely.
"Safely on a planet on a dig." She smiled. "I like knowing there is something firm below my feet...and not floating in or flying through space."
Dunham had grown around starships all his life. If he didn't have a engine hum underneath his feet then he would feel a little uncomfortable, even if he was out in the country side. He still found it a little hard to get use being planet side. "How are you finding living on the station?"
"Since arriving back on the station I was taken hostage...I'm thinking about asking for a transfer back to Headquarters on Earth." Jana looked up at Rick, "I'm really trying to adjust...I just wasn't expecting to be taken hostage."
Dunham stopped his walk and looked at the archaeologist with a sympathetic smile, his head slightly tilted. He couldn't find the words to explain to her that life on deep space five got very 'different'. Dunham put his arm around her shoulder, trying to be of some comfort. He struggled though to find his next words. "In my time here, I have been fired at by Romulans, flown through temporal anomaly's, blown up, shot, imprisoned and beaten by terrorists, but there is so much good on deep space five as well. The people here are amazing, allot of them are like family. I've made some good friends, met many characters and personalities, re-found faith, become closer to my own family, and found love. Deep Space five can be different....rough....but the positives, far out weigh the negatives in the end, give it a little time."
Jana nodded, "I will hold you to that Rick...I really wasn't looking for all that excitement here...just someplace to exist quietly and do my research." She looked out into their surroundings. "But...perhaps I have had too quiet of an existance and this is somewhere I need to be." For heaven's sake she had met someone and had slept with him, not something she was in the habit of doing.
Dunham smiled whimsically "deep space five has a way of bringing out parts of us that we didn't even know we had."
"It is almost as if the station is alive." She blushed and looked away from him.
"Yes it is, and it looks after those that look after it. Don't worry you'll do just fine here." said Dunham with a comforting smile.
Jana smiled, "did you want to head back and see how the scans are going?"
Dunham nodded in agreement "good idea," he said following her back to the lab.
Once they arrived back at the lab Jana annouced the security clearance needed to enter the locked lab. She went to the table where the scans and cleansing were being completed. She smiled, Jana could of done the work herself but she wouldn't of made a new friend in Rick, he simply would of been another nameless face in the giant city of DS5. "So far so good...the rust is nearly gone Rick. I can start to make out the serial number on it. I will check it against my database."
"Excellent," said Dunham cheerily, he clapped his hands in excitement. Stepped up close behind Kasikova and leaned over her shoulder to see what she was doing. "Its looking good," he said with a smile.
Jana nodded, "Rick, looks to me like you got yourself a keeper..." She compared the serial number on the disc to the numbers on the PADD in her hand. "Congratulations." Jana smiled.
"looks like the drive shaft, from the steering column." Said Dunham with a smile. "But, is it from a Hurricane MK 1 or a Spitfire MK 1?" He scratched the stubble on his chin in thought. "its looking good though Jana, excellent job on cleaning it up."
"It wasn't me." She laughed, "you can thank the computer, although I did determine the settings. The serial number shows that is belonged to the Spitfire MK1...Here take a look." She handed him the PADD.
"Thank you computer." he said with a smile tapping the console affectionately. He then started to read the padd "This is is a bit history right here" indicating the metal disk with a wave of his hand. "My dad said it was found somewhere in kent."
"I have never been there before. I have been all over the galaxy and Europe but never there."
Dunham smiled and nodded. "If you've been all over Europe, you've probably been to Kent. It's an old name for one of the county's in England in the south east." Dunham began to exam the disk more intensely, "I'll hit the archives when I get a moment and see if I can connect this Spitfire with a pilot, see who flew her, dig up a bit of history as it were. Thank you for your help on this.
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