Beg, Steal or Borrow – A-maze-ing! Pt 1
by Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
ON:
Jenna Minton arrived in the Bajoran Gardens a few moments earlier than she had arranged with John and, wandering in the beautiful setting, enjoying the scents that the exotic plants gave off in this section of the planting, she sat down on a stone bench and closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the sounds and smells. She could hear trickling water from a few yards away, the sound of insects much like the Vulcan 'Trcykn' of her childhood visits and camping trips with her father.
John rushed through the station as quickly as he could. There was a Vulcan on the deck he was on waiting for him to meet her, but he had no idea where he was going. He had forgot his padd in his quarters with the map and he only remembered the deck number. Now he was wandering around the station unsure of where to go. It wasn't long before he wandered into a lovely looking place that soothed him despite the panic he was experiencing. He quickly walked up behind someone who was sitting on a stone bench to ask directions.
Jenna opened her eyes at the sound of approaching footsteps and saw John. She looked up at him with a wide, peaceful grin on her face.
"Oh hi! Isn't it lovely here?" she greeted him, standing up and hugging him briefly in welcome.
"Excuse me ma'am," Elliott began but his voice tightened when he realized it was Jenna! "Oh, ah, I mean.." he cheeks colored as he hugged her back. "Hi there. I hope I'm not too terribly late." He looked around. "Wow, this place is quite amazing. Come here often?"
Jenna grinned. "Just what are you implying?" she teased. "Are you suggesting I meet people here frequently?"
"Oh, no no," John quickly attempted to recover his face burning. "I didn't mean that at all. It's just that..well, I was thinking because. Nevermind." He chuckled nervously.
"aww, I shouldn't tease, it isn't fair." she relented. "I knew you didn't mean *that* and yes, I love it here, I come almost every lunch time, when I'm not meeting Mercy and Bryan. Have you met Bryan yet?"
John shook his head. "No, I dont recall a Bryan. Though if I have, I might not remember. This station is big and I am so damn new. Mercy seemed down and mentioned sickbay. Is everything alright?" He began to worry that he might of come on a little strong to Mercy and she might have been taken. But he didn't mean anything. At least he didn't think he did. The girl he was talking to seemed plenty nice anyways.
"Mercy's head over heels over Bryan but he got hurt in the station attack. She's worried about him, that's all." Jenna explained. "I'm glad you made it. Did you get lost? You're right, this Station is just HUGE. Anyway, it doesn't matter, you're here now. Would you like to see more of the garden? Or do you want to go get some dinner?"
"I'm not terribly hungry right now," John admitted, motioning towards the gardens. "How about we walk around and talk a bit. I did get lost a bit, yes, but I found my way here, haha." He started walking slowly, side by side with the pretty Vulcan.
Jenna's half human side loved flowers, plants and trees but her Vulcan side saw them as necessary and pleasant to look at but could find nothing in them to get emotional about.
"Well, tell me a little bit about yourself." Elliott suggested. "How did you get to Starfleet and DS5?" He was quite curious and he enjoyed the sound of her voice a great deal. He could hardly tell he was smiling.
"Oh, I'm very boring!" Jenna declared. "My father was from Vulcan and my mother was from Earth. He was a diplomat on a starbase near Tau Ceti and she was a zeno-biologist stationed there too. I was born on Vulcan and we lived there until I was about 8 yrs old when my father died and my mother returned to Earth where we lived with her brother until I was 18 and I went to the Starfleet Academy. My Mum still lives there now..... How about you?"
"Wow, sounds intense," John remarked. "Me? Well, nothing much really. I grew up on on Earth. In Sacramento, so it was close to Starfleet and everything. Growing up I didn't do much. Was more interested in my school padds than anything. When I got old enough I joined starfleet. Kinda typical story of course. Just me. Well, and my cat if I get permission to bring her aboard. I'm going crazy without her, haha"
"Awww!" Jenna was touched. "That's so cute. How old is she? What breed? Colour?" she was full of questions about the cat now.
John chuckled, suddenly embarrassed by his cat. "Well, her name is Tiger. She's only a couple years old now. Domestic shorthair, standard Earth variant. She's a mix of gray with black stripes and a white under-belly. She is adorable. I haven't seen her since I graduated the Academy. Hope she still remembers me."
"Of *course* she does!" Jenna announced with conviction. "They never forget kindness. It shows you have a good heart that you miss her too" she added, showing that she was impressed.
John smiled, feeling a lot better about himself. "Well, I do miss her and I will see maybe about bringing her here. So, how do you like it here on DS5? Never been on a space station this big. I feel so small, haha."
"It's a kind of 'space-city' rather than a spacestation, I guess. You feel really lost at first, I know I did. But as you get used to little areas, then bigger regions, it all becomes easier to get your head round!" Jenna sympathised.
"Hey! Do you play cards?" she suddenly asked. "If you like, when we've finished our meal, I can take you to see some neat places where we can play or if you want we could do other things? There's sports places: like an Ice-rink, a bowling alley.... all sorts of old fashioned games... and plenty of modern ones too... holo-polo, hover-ball, laser hockey.... and there are shows.... LOADS of shows to see!"
John couldnt help but laugh. The other woman seemed to be a lot more human than Vulcan, especially with all of her emotion. He liked it. "I play cards and I am game for anything," he replied. "Shows are fun, holo whatevers, or even a nice drink in a quiet bar. I like a lot of different things. Maybe something...quieter for a first night out on the Station?"
Jenna looked a little bit crestfallen. "Oh, I'm sorry. Rushing you off to all sorts of noisy, busy places isn't very tactful is it?" she considered. "You must be pretty exhausted. Did you have a horrible long journey?"
"The trip was all right," John replied, staring off a bit in thought. "I spent some of it with a friend but she went to a different ship than me. I, of course, came here. It took longer than I expected, but it was all right. Kinda got here suddenly, then I got lost, then yelled at. It was eventful, haha."
Suddenly it occurred to her that perhaps he mightn't be fully settled in yet. "Hey! Do you have quarters of your own yet? Or are you in temporaries? Is there anything you need? I'm in the perfect department if you have ANY-thing you're missing or would like?" she offered.
"Well, the quarters I have seem to be fine. I think. A bit smaller than I am used to, but nothing horrible. Maybe it is temp living, I dunno." John smiled. "Thanks, I may have to get some things one of these days. For now I have just about everything I need. At least, material wise."
Jenna looked quizzical. "What do you need in other terms?" she asked outright.
"Oh, well, I guess there something I don't have," John replied quietly, coloring a little. He had meant a significant other, but he didn't want to come across as being too needy sounding. And this was a social occasion anyways. He had to repeat that a few times, but he wasn't sure if even he believed that.
"I'm sorry, I'm always too blunt, I didn't mean to be personal or nosey. I was just thinking that a guy as nice as you shouldn't have much he's missing. I was expecting you to have left a wife or fiancée somewhere?" she ventured, not realising this was hardly any less intrusive a question, despite her apology for her bluntness. Jenna found it hard to combine Vulcan matter-of-factness with social acceptability and it often got her into all sorts of scrapes.
Elliott shook his head. "No, none actually. I had a friend of sorts," he frowned slightly before trying to smile again. He hoped it didn't look too fake. "Things didn't work out. But that's alright. I'm here on DS5 now and theres where I'll be." His smile became more firm. "What about you? Anyone special? If you don't mind my asking, of course."
Jenna laughed, a soft warm chuckle. "How could I possibly mind you asking when I've been so bold in demanding this of you?" she smiled. "I should be better mannered. I seem to blunder into blurting out the most monstrous questions like a 5 year old. I really do apologise." Her pained expression was genuine. She only meant to be friendly.
"No no, its quite all right!" John exclaimed, spreading his hands as if pleading. "I don't mind at all. It takes a lot to hurt my feelings," he chuckled. "It's really ok. Be yourself. I know I'll make at least one lame joke and feel dumb before the nights over."
Finding John's company really warm and comfortable, already Jen wanted to see him again but he seemed a bit shy and she wasn't sure if that was his way, or if she was dominating the conversation and scaring him off.
"So...you're not seeing anyone currently?" John asked slowly, still smiling but with color growing in his cheeks.
"Oh no!" she answered lightly. "I'm not very good at relationships. I do try my best, but Mercy says I try too hard. I don't understand how that works though, because if you like someone, surely there's no such thing as trying *too* hard to make it work, you know?" Jenna sighed, genuinely confused by the niceties of dating.
John nodded. "I know what you mean. But both parties I think need to try. It doesn't seem to work with only one giving all the effort. Of course, I'm no counsellor." He laughed again. "Don't mind me. I think less than I should in conversations sometimes."
Jen chuckled again. "I never seem to think before I speak, so at least we already have one thing in common. I'm sure we can find more too!" she reassured him. "A mutually forgiving nature would come in handy it sounds like, so we can relax about saying the wrong thing because we're both okay about it."
John chuckled. "Sounds good," he replied. "I'm glad I have a little space then to make a fool of myself in a much more complete fashion. Well, lets go walk around, shall we?" With that he followed his new friend to their next destination. He didn't exactly know where they were going, but he was enjoying himself nonetheless.
Arriving on the leisure level of the promenade, Jenna pointed across to the turfed area with children's play equipment to one side, a few undulating rises, some small trees, shrubs and flower-beds and a floodlit leisure complex at the far end. "Do you fancy the Moonlight Maze?" she asked, spontaneously. "It's lit up to resemble a moonlit garden and you have to find your way around the same topiary maze that's there in the day-time but it's for adults only after 21:00hrs."
"A moonlight maze, huh?" John murmured as if tasting the words. He didn't know how to take that, in all honesty. The last time he had been in any sort of moonlit walk was with T'Gal, and that didn't end well for him. "The last maze I happened in was when I was about 12. I got lost and couldn't find my way out for an hour." he laughed. "But that was haystacks. Is that what they have here? Or little plastic tunnels with moonlight coming through view screens?" He grinned.
"Oh no, it's not a kids maze, the hedges are 9 foot tall and there's a cafe between there and the sports' pavilion where there's a map of it on the wall and people can go and get a look beforehand at what to expect, or you can just go in without a clue and see how lost you get." she explained, grinning.
"Now THAT sounds like fun," John joked, shaking his head. "Get lost until our next duty shift and require assistance. 'Hi, Commander, this is Elliott. I can't be there because I'm lost. Cant I get a transporter lock and beamed to my quarters?'"
"Noooooooo, it's a laugh! It takes a couple of hours to suss it out if you've never done it before, but I used to go there quite often with a group of mates and I kinda have an idea how to get round it, so we could do it in less than an hour." she said perhaps a little over-confidently seeing as it had been some time since she had been there. "There's another cafe in the centre so you can meet up and have a drink there - it's fun."
"So, let me get this straight," John attempted to clarify, finding the whole concept amusing. "There is a maze with the potential for being lost for hours and inside this maze there is a Cafe and the only way to get to it is to walk in there and hope to not get lost?"
tbc....
A JP between:
ENS John Elliott
Assistant Chief of Operations
and
CPO Jenna Minton
Administration Assistant
by Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
| Title | A-maze-ing! Pt 1 | |
| Mission | Beg, Steal or Borrow | |
| Author(s) | Commander Chelsea Dunham | |
| Posted | Wed Aug 19, 2009 @ 10:13pm | |
| Location | Promenade - Bajoran Gardens | |
| Timeline | SD9 - 19.30hrs |
Jenna Minton arrived in the Bajoran Gardens a few moments earlier than she had arranged with John and, wandering in the beautiful setting, enjoying the scents that the exotic plants gave off in this section of the planting, she sat down on a stone bench and closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the sounds and smells. She could hear trickling water from a few yards away, the sound of insects much like the Vulcan 'Trcykn' of her childhood visits and camping trips with her father.
John rushed through the station as quickly as he could. There was a Vulcan on the deck he was on waiting for him to meet her, but he had no idea where he was going. He had forgot his padd in his quarters with the map and he only remembered the deck number. Now he was wandering around the station unsure of where to go. It wasn't long before he wandered into a lovely looking place that soothed him despite the panic he was experiencing. He quickly walked up behind someone who was sitting on a stone bench to ask directions.
Jenna opened her eyes at the sound of approaching footsteps and saw John. She looked up at him with a wide, peaceful grin on her face.
"Oh hi! Isn't it lovely here?" she greeted him, standing up and hugging him briefly in welcome.
"Excuse me ma'am," Elliott began but his voice tightened when he realized it was Jenna! "Oh, ah, I mean.." he cheeks colored as he hugged her back. "Hi there. I hope I'm not too terribly late." He looked around. "Wow, this place is quite amazing. Come here often?"
Jenna grinned. "Just what are you implying?" she teased. "Are you suggesting I meet people here frequently?"
"Oh, no no," John quickly attempted to recover his face burning. "I didn't mean that at all. It's just that..well, I was thinking because. Nevermind." He chuckled nervously.
"aww, I shouldn't tease, it isn't fair." she relented. "I knew you didn't mean *that* and yes, I love it here, I come almost every lunch time, when I'm not meeting Mercy and Bryan. Have you met Bryan yet?"
John shook his head. "No, I dont recall a Bryan. Though if I have, I might not remember. This station is big and I am so damn new. Mercy seemed down and mentioned sickbay. Is everything alright?" He began to worry that he might of come on a little strong to Mercy and she might have been taken. But he didn't mean anything. At least he didn't think he did. The girl he was talking to seemed plenty nice anyways.
"Mercy's head over heels over Bryan but he got hurt in the station attack. She's worried about him, that's all." Jenna explained. "I'm glad you made it. Did you get lost? You're right, this Station is just HUGE. Anyway, it doesn't matter, you're here now. Would you like to see more of the garden? Or do you want to go get some dinner?"
"I'm not terribly hungry right now," John admitted, motioning towards the gardens. "How about we walk around and talk a bit. I did get lost a bit, yes, but I found my way here, haha." He started walking slowly, side by side with the pretty Vulcan.
Jenna's half human side loved flowers, plants and trees but her Vulcan side saw them as necessary and pleasant to look at but could find nothing in them to get emotional about.
"Well, tell me a little bit about yourself." Elliott suggested. "How did you get to Starfleet and DS5?" He was quite curious and he enjoyed the sound of her voice a great deal. He could hardly tell he was smiling.
"Oh, I'm very boring!" Jenna declared. "My father was from Vulcan and my mother was from Earth. He was a diplomat on a starbase near Tau Ceti and she was a zeno-biologist stationed there too. I was born on Vulcan and we lived there until I was about 8 yrs old when my father died and my mother returned to Earth where we lived with her brother until I was 18 and I went to the Starfleet Academy. My Mum still lives there now..... How about you?"
"Wow, sounds intense," John remarked. "Me? Well, nothing much really. I grew up on on Earth. In Sacramento, so it was close to Starfleet and everything. Growing up I didn't do much. Was more interested in my school padds than anything. When I got old enough I joined starfleet. Kinda typical story of course. Just me. Well, and my cat if I get permission to bring her aboard. I'm going crazy without her, haha"
"Awww!" Jenna was touched. "That's so cute. How old is she? What breed? Colour?" she was full of questions about the cat now.
John chuckled, suddenly embarrassed by his cat. "Well, her name is Tiger. She's only a couple years old now. Domestic shorthair, standard Earth variant. She's a mix of gray with black stripes and a white under-belly. She is adorable. I haven't seen her since I graduated the Academy. Hope she still remembers me."
"Of *course* she does!" Jenna announced with conviction. "They never forget kindness. It shows you have a good heart that you miss her too" she added, showing that she was impressed.
John smiled, feeling a lot better about himself. "Well, I do miss her and I will see maybe about bringing her here. So, how do you like it here on DS5? Never been on a space station this big. I feel so small, haha."
"It's a kind of 'space-city' rather than a spacestation, I guess. You feel really lost at first, I know I did. But as you get used to little areas, then bigger regions, it all becomes easier to get your head round!" Jenna sympathised.
"Hey! Do you play cards?" she suddenly asked. "If you like, when we've finished our meal, I can take you to see some neat places where we can play or if you want we could do other things? There's sports places: like an Ice-rink, a bowling alley.... all sorts of old fashioned games... and plenty of modern ones too... holo-polo, hover-ball, laser hockey.... and there are shows.... LOADS of shows to see!"
John couldnt help but laugh. The other woman seemed to be a lot more human than Vulcan, especially with all of her emotion. He liked it. "I play cards and I am game for anything," he replied. "Shows are fun, holo whatevers, or even a nice drink in a quiet bar. I like a lot of different things. Maybe something...quieter for a first night out on the Station?"
Jenna looked a little bit crestfallen. "Oh, I'm sorry. Rushing you off to all sorts of noisy, busy places isn't very tactful is it?" she considered. "You must be pretty exhausted. Did you have a horrible long journey?"
"The trip was all right," John replied, staring off a bit in thought. "I spent some of it with a friend but she went to a different ship than me. I, of course, came here. It took longer than I expected, but it was all right. Kinda got here suddenly, then I got lost, then yelled at. It was eventful, haha."
Suddenly it occurred to her that perhaps he mightn't be fully settled in yet. "Hey! Do you have quarters of your own yet? Or are you in temporaries? Is there anything you need? I'm in the perfect department if you have ANY-thing you're missing or would like?" she offered.
"Well, the quarters I have seem to be fine. I think. A bit smaller than I am used to, but nothing horrible. Maybe it is temp living, I dunno." John smiled. "Thanks, I may have to get some things one of these days. For now I have just about everything I need. At least, material wise."
Jenna looked quizzical. "What do you need in other terms?" she asked outright.
"Oh, well, I guess there something I don't have," John replied quietly, coloring a little. He had meant a significant other, but he didn't want to come across as being too needy sounding. And this was a social occasion anyways. He had to repeat that a few times, but he wasn't sure if even he believed that.
"I'm sorry, I'm always too blunt, I didn't mean to be personal or nosey. I was just thinking that a guy as nice as you shouldn't have much he's missing. I was expecting you to have left a wife or fiancée somewhere?" she ventured, not realising this was hardly any less intrusive a question, despite her apology for her bluntness. Jenna found it hard to combine Vulcan matter-of-factness with social acceptability and it often got her into all sorts of scrapes.
Elliott shook his head. "No, none actually. I had a friend of sorts," he frowned slightly before trying to smile again. He hoped it didn't look too fake. "Things didn't work out. But that's alright. I'm here on DS5 now and theres where I'll be." His smile became more firm. "What about you? Anyone special? If you don't mind my asking, of course."
Jenna laughed, a soft warm chuckle. "How could I possibly mind you asking when I've been so bold in demanding this of you?" she smiled. "I should be better mannered. I seem to blunder into blurting out the most monstrous questions like a 5 year old. I really do apologise." Her pained expression was genuine. She only meant to be friendly.
"No no, its quite all right!" John exclaimed, spreading his hands as if pleading. "I don't mind at all. It takes a lot to hurt my feelings," he chuckled. "It's really ok. Be yourself. I know I'll make at least one lame joke and feel dumb before the nights over."
Finding John's company really warm and comfortable, already Jen wanted to see him again but he seemed a bit shy and she wasn't sure if that was his way, or if she was dominating the conversation and scaring him off.
"So...you're not seeing anyone currently?" John asked slowly, still smiling but with color growing in his cheeks.
"Oh no!" she answered lightly. "I'm not very good at relationships. I do try my best, but Mercy says I try too hard. I don't understand how that works though, because if you like someone, surely there's no such thing as trying *too* hard to make it work, you know?" Jenna sighed, genuinely confused by the niceties of dating.
John nodded. "I know what you mean. But both parties I think need to try. It doesn't seem to work with only one giving all the effort. Of course, I'm no counsellor." He laughed again. "Don't mind me. I think less than I should in conversations sometimes."
Jen chuckled again. "I never seem to think before I speak, so at least we already have one thing in common. I'm sure we can find more too!" she reassured him. "A mutually forgiving nature would come in handy it sounds like, so we can relax about saying the wrong thing because we're both okay about it."
John chuckled. "Sounds good," he replied. "I'm glad I have a little space then to make a fool of myself in a much more complete fashion. Well, lets go walk around, shall we?" With that he followed his new friend to their next destination. He didn't exactly know where they were going, but he was enjoying himself nonetheless.
Arriving on the leisure level of the promenade, Jenna pointed across to the turfed area with children's play equipment to one side, a few undulating rises, some small trees, shrubs and flower-beds and a floodlit leisure complex at the far end. "Do you fancy the Moonlight Maze?" she asked, spontaneously. "It's lit up to resemble a moonlit garden and you have to find your way around the same topiary maze that's there in the day-time but it's for adults only after 21:00hrs."
"A moonlight maze, huh?" John murmured as if tasting the words. He didn't know how to take that, in all honesty. The last time he had been in any sort of moonlit walk was with T'Gal, and that didn't end well for him. "The last maze I happened in was when I was about 12. I got lost and couldn't find my way out for an hour." he laughed. "But that was haystacks. Is that what they have here? Or little plastic tunnels with moonlight coming through view screens?" He grinned.
"Oh no, it's not a kids maze, the hedges are 9 foot tall and there's a cafe between there and the sports' pavilion where there's a map of it on the wall and people can go and get a look beforehand at what to expect, or you can just go in without a clue and see how lost you get." she explained, grinning.
"Now THAT sounds like fun," John joked, shaking his head. "Get lost until our next duty shift and require assistance. 'Hi, Commander, this is Elliott. I can't be there because I'm lost. Cant I get a transporter lock and beamed to my quarters?'"
"Noooooooo, it's a laugh! It takes a couple of hours to suss it out if you've never done it before, but I used to go there quite often with a group of mates and I kinda have an idea how to get round it, so we could do it in less than an hour." she said perhaps a little over-confidently seeing as it had been some time since she had been there. "There's another cafe in the centre so you can meet up and have a drink there - it's fun."
"So, let me get this straight," John attempted to clarify, finding the whole concept amusing. "There is a maze with the potential for being lost for hours and inside this maze there is a Cafe and the only way to get to it is to walk in there and hope to not get lost?"
tbc....
A JP between:
ENS John Elliott
Assistant Chief of Operations
and
CPO Jenna Minton
Administration Assistant