Making Friends

Posted on Tue Jun 1st, 2010 @ 8:48am by Lieutenant JG Kalyka Meral & Lieutenant Commander Karma Sinclair

1,312 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Transitions
Location: Davy Jones' Locker

Five hours of checking and rechecking systems and then fixing the problems found had left Kayla with a rather empty stomach. It growled unhappily. She put her hand on her stomach. She checked the time and was shocked to find that it was 1300. She needed to eat soon. She thought about going to the messhall, but decided to check out the lounge instead. She kept hearing about people meeting at Davy Jones' locker, but clearly that was on the starbase...it wasn't aboard the ship, right?

She exited the turbolift onto Deck 10 and found out where Davy Jones' locker was: it was the lounge. It had a captain's wheel on the observation deck, wooden beams across the ceiling, a treasure chest behind the bar, and fish netting on some of the walls along and she even spotted a board with the different naval knots on it. She walked towards the end of the bar, taking it all in. It was amazing.

Then she saw the same guy sitting alone farther down the bar. He kept looking over at a group of men who were talking and laughing before looking back at his food and playing with it.

Kalyka's shoulders sagged. Not here even one day and she had already hurt someone. Even spooks need friends, she told herself before trying to push aside her distrust of intel officers and walking up to the man.

She stood next to the barstool next to him. "Hi," she said smiling. "You never came back. This seat taken?"

"No, it's not," Karma said, glancing at her. "You were busy and I didn't want to intrude again," he told her.

She quirked an eyebrow at that and said, "I'm not busy now. May I sit down?"

"Of course you can," he said to her without looking up from his food.

Kalyka sat next to him and ordered a salad with a side of fruit salad with moba fruit. Sipping her Altair water, she smiled at him. "So what's your name?"

"Karma Sinclair," he said to her, extending his hand.

Kalyka took his hand, wrapping her thumb around his in the Bajoran fashion. "Kalyka Meral." She took a bite of chicken. "What kind of music do you like?" Inwardly she cringed. Music? She was asking him about what kind of music he liked? He'd know that she was taking pity on him now for sure.

Karma looked at her and sighed. "Earth's late twentieth-century rock music," he said to her. "Look, I know you don't want to be here so you can go to your friends if you want."

Kalyka smile was wiped off her face. "I haven't made any friends yet. Just jumped right into the job. What do you say about being my first?"

Karma looked at her for a moment, trying to determine her intentions. It was such a large change from her earlier actions. Deciding to take a chance, he nodded and said, "I'd like that."

Kalyka began to relax. "So you listen to rock? I don't listen to much rock myself. If it's Earth music, it's either classical like Beethoven, Bach, or Chopin, or Country like Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, and Brad Paisley."

"I listen to all of that from time to time," Karma replied. "But I prefer the classics like Metallica and AC/DC." He paused and pushed his food around the plate. "What else do you like to do?"

Swallowing her moba fruit, Kalyka thought about what else to tell him. "I'm starting to learn ballroom and latin dancing. It's rather fun, but it also keeps me in shape." Indeed, she was curvy but not overweight by any means; on the contrary, she was somewhere between curvy and slender.

Karma glanced at her body and smiled. She was right about staying in shape. "I paint and try to play the violin," he told her.

Kalyka gave a wry smile. "I have absolutely no artistic talent at all. No, I'm more of a mechanical mind. It's why I'm in engineering. I fixed things around our farm on Bajor and wanted to make a difference, so I became a Starfleet engineer."

"I couldn't fix something to save my life," Karma said with a small laugh. "I always seem to find the spare parts the manufacturers put into things before they ship them out."

She chuckled. "There generally are no spare parts. But I know what you mean. My father could break anything, even a stembolt."

"Is there anything else you enjoy doing?" he asked her, pushing his food around again.

"Racquetball, springball, and languages." She frowned. It felt a lot like an interrogation now. Maybe it was time to turn the tide. "What about you? What else do you do besides your art?"

"Work," he said simply. "I don't have much of a life so I spend most of my time working."

Pity welled up inside Meral again, but she tried to keep it off her face. "Well, if you don't want to work tomorrow, how about getting together for a game of racquetball?"

"I've never played but I'm willing to give it a try," he said to her.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," she teased. She finished her lunch and wanted to get back to the engineroom, but she had another half hour if she wanted it. She stayed where she was. "The point of the game is to keep the ball in motion. If you let the ball hit somewhere other than one of the targets, then you lose that round. The first one to lose three rounds loses the game. I'll be able to explain it in more detail when we're actually on the court."

"Sounds complicated," Karma replied. "It does sound interesting though. Is it difficult to get the hang of it?"

Kalyka thought for a moment. "It's difficult to keep the ball on the targets but you'll get better if you keep practicing."

"I'll give it a try but if you and I are going to be friends we might have to find less strenuous things to do."

Kalyka smothered a laugh at that. "Okay, what would you suggest?"

"Fishing, swimming, camping," Karma said. "I haven't been camping in years."

Kalyka frowned. "I've never been fishing. I grew up near a fishing village, but we sold moba fruit from our farm and sometimes jam."

"Fishing isn't exactly one of my favorite things to do," Karma admitted. "It's more about the quiet and the solitude," he added.

Meral raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you suggest it?"

"Sometimes it's pleasant to fish with a friend," Karma replied. "It's a bonding experience even if nothing is said."

She considered for a moment then conceded. "Fair enough. We'll play racquetball tomorrow, and the day after we'll go fishing?" she proposed.

"That sounds like a plan," he said to her. "When are we going to play?"

"How about tomorrow at 1700 hours? That'll give us a short rest after work and give us time to eat afterward."

"1700 sounds perfect," Karma said with a nod. "Is there any special equipment or attire I should know about?"

Kalyka thought for a moment. "You need a racquet of course, and you should wear clothes you can easily move in and comfortable athletic shoes."

"I'll have to replicate the racquet, but the rest of it won't be a problem," he said to her.

She checked the time. It was almost 1400. "I have to go. I still have the rest of the ship to check for bugs and things, but I will see you tomorrow?"

"I'll be there," he said to her. "And thank you, for taking the time to talk to me."

Kalyka smiled at him. "You're welcome. See you tomorrow." She turned and walked out back to engineering.

OFF:

Lt Karma Sinclair
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Calypso

LtJG Kalyka Meral
Chief Engieneer
USS Calypso

 

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