Captain Meet Captain

Posted on Fri Jun 7th, 2024 @ 6:23pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Captain Jaivir Vohra

Mission: Contagion
Location: Mess Hall
Timeline: Day 368
2663 words - 5.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Leroux had chosen the mess hall as the meeting place, believing its casual atmosphere would make for a more relaxed introduction. So, it was where she was sat holding a peppermint tea when he appeared escorted by a MACO. The smell of freshly brewed tea mingled with the ambient hum of the ship, creating a momentary illusion of tranquillity amidst the pressing concerns of their meeting.

She had not expected him to look so human she knew better than to be deceived by appearances. It was not her place to enquire more when he was there to assist them with their current issues. “Thank you for coming to assist us, Captain.” She offered rising from her seat to stand. “Welcome to the Earth Starfleet Vessel Atlantis.”

Not unexpectedly, perhaps, Vohra had made the trip under escort with open curiosity, enough that the security detail responsible for his arrival had been well and truly bombarded by questions, some of which they weren't even sure they should have been answering. The nature of the crew, the ship, its presence in the sector, the origin of certain smells that, for some obscure reason, seemed to fascinate the man. It painted his as a confident and gregarious extrovert, perhaps a little too smug when it came to his own charisma, but nevertheless the type to take genuine interest in even the most lowly detail.

They were still a little nonplussed about his delight at an errant mop and bucket left out by the janitorial roster, for instance.

It was with that same sense of childish delight that he was taking in the layout of the messhall, his gaze wandering without the ability to focus on anything in particular before Leroux's welcome dragged him back and he consented, at least for the time being, to divert his eye contact directly. "This is quite the vessel indeed, Captain. I don't think I've seen one quite like it in these parts."

Beth found herself snorting through her nose at the comment of not seeing that type of ship in that part of the universe. “We are very far from home. Have you seen vessels like this in other parts?” She wondered indicating any chair of his choice as the MACO went to sulk by the door.

"There's an element of 'seen one, seen them all' when it comes to space-faring ships, Captain." Vohra took up the seat offered and immediately leaned back in the seat, one leg lifted to lay across the other. "But this is the first time I've encountered any representation from...Earth Starfleet, did you say?" He lifted his fingertips to rub at his chin. "Certainly sounds official."

"Call me Bethsabee or Beth if it is easier and less formal." She instructed finding the formality strange when it did not seem to suit him. "And yes it is what my planet's uniformed government calls themselves but its a long way away from here."

"If we're doing first names already, then call me Jai." An easy grin flashed, and the swarthy man tapped his thumb against his bent knee as he gaze once again travelled around the room. "This is a decent-sized space. How large is your crew?"

“Large enough that we are not bored of each other yet. And yourself? The woman with you on the screen is unlike any I have seen before.” Beth said turning it back onto the man. She took a sip of her drink relieved that it was settling her stomach.

"Trin?" In truth, the woman's name was beyond the man's ability to accurately pronounce and there had been an eventual truce regarding an alternative shortening, which also wasn't very precise and practically counted as a nickname at this point. "I guess she's something of a rare gem in these parts. There's eight of us on a good day, give or take a passenger or two we've squeezed in under sufferance."

“Trin…” Beth repeated and nodded. The woman was very rare in that she had met a lot of different species on Relea but none as intriguing as her. “Eight isn’t bad if you trust them all.”

"Wouldn't keep them around if I didn't." As cavalier as Vohra's tone was, there was a gravitas in its undertone that suggested he'd gone as far as to execute that reasoning at least once.

“So this creature out there?” Beth wondered jerking her thumb out the window at the base and a shuttle that was heading in their direction.

"An unusual one, for sure. The species is native to a planet way outside this sector, we've only had to deal with them in recent years because a shipment on its way to a private collection got itself blown to smithereens. It was assumed most of the plants didn't survive, but once the inquest revealed they'd been stupid enough to transport a female off-world..." Vohra hunched a shoulder. "Your average male is about a houseplant size. Turns out, the way they lure their prey has a mild effect on numerous sentient creatures and, from what I hear, if you head closer to their point of origin, you'll find a whole market for them. Anywhere where it pays to have a psychological advantage over whoever you're bargaining with." He waggled his fingers near his temple. "They mess with perception, veering towards hallucinogenic. Nothing like making your competition paranoid before negotiations start to really give you the upper hand."

Beth nodded glancing to the base and finally understanding why the Luminari had been so afraid. It had not been their fault that they had received them as a potential hostile and did not let them in on what was really happening. She suddenly felt very sorry for them. "Certainly would give the upper hand to anyone

"The females are a whole different ball-game. Much bigger, for a start. Our friend out here is excessively overgrown because she's found fertile soil but we're still talking more the size of the house than just a houseplant. An increase in size means an increase in appetite, a far stronger psychological impact and, because she's a woman, the added bonus of being able to spawn."

"I do not know if it is an added bonus and plus I have seen males of some species able to spawn." Beth pointed out before looking at the base again. "That is definitely not the size of a house." The woman commented shaking her head at how big it must truly be. It was unnerving just how strange, wonderful and scary this part of the universe was.

"No, it is not. Word went out about a week ago that the Realians had picked up traces of it, though I don't suppose it would have meant much to you if you're not from around these parts. Been months and months since any previous sighting so I've no idea where she tucked herself away to gorge, was starting to sound more like a campfire story than an actual threat." Vohra hunched a shoulder. "At that size, her energy requirements will be massive, which is where your Luminari friends unfortunately come in. Poor bastards have likely been slowly sucked dry."

“They have lost quite a lot of their species. They left their planet to escape war and then ended up on their ship for generations to end here.” It was like to Beth that she was getting a glimpse into her future if she was not careful.

"The best we can do now is get what's left of them out the danger zone and then let the authorities deal with our bloated mistress. I've called for an evac and let them know what we're dealing with." Glancing upwards, Vohra squinted. "I don't think you'd fit many Luminari in here so we're a little at the mercy of the response time. Given what we're dealing with, I'd say we ought to be looking to start offloading in an hour, two at most."

“You sound human, Jai?” Beth finally asked the burning question that she had, had since she had seen him on the screen. “But I have not seen any other humans in these parts.” She said turning her attention on to him.

The nature of the question seemed to catch the other captain off-guard. If there was intrigue to be revealed, he would have expected a confession more along the lines of being less of an expert than he was passing himself off as and that, actually, the arrival of his ship was more a coincidental thing than not. He hadn't made up anything, and trusted his crew's analysis of available information such that he didn't think there was another explanation for current events, but it would become pretty apparent once the official response arrived that Captain Vohra was not any sort of decorated space trader.

This query, however, was unexpected.

"You'll have to fill me in," Jai replied with a half-grin, "on whether that's a compliment or not."

Beth raised an eyebrow at him and offered a smile. “Well, we are mostly human onboard and have not seen anyone outside of these 70 or so other humans in over a year. So I would say it is a compliment.” Beth assured gently. “But get the impression that might be a story for another day.” She could not help but see the off guard moment and she did not want to be rude but she could not help herself.

"There will be many of those, I'm sure." Despite his evasiveness, Vohra didn't seem overly perturbed by the other Captain's interest, veering more towards the vague sense of private amusement that suggested there was a joke hidden somewhere amongst everything he wasn't saying. "For now, I suggest we focus on getting your crew home safely."

Beth took that as a hint to not delve any further into him and focused on her crew and what was going on now. It sounded like they would meet him again. "I..."

"Captain ... the crew have returned." The MACO said from the doorway interrupting the conversation.

Despite himself, Vohra looked visibly impressed. "Efficient. I did have my crew patch through what we've been instructed is the best decontamination procedure following this kind of exposure. It's probably best for all the sector that you avoid unintentionally transporting spores about the place willy-nilly."

"We might be a lot of things but willy-nilly is not one of them," Beth assured taking another sip of her drink. She frowned at the taste as she got to the bottom of the mug and the dregs of the taste. "So tell me, Jai. What does your crew do around this sector?"

"Depends who's hiring." The nonchalance behind the answer seemed overly-rehearsed. "Hauling cargo pays most of the bills though the occasional security contract comes up. Staying mobile across the trade routes usually tosses up enough to keep us afloat." Vohra regarded his counterpart with faint curiosity for a moment before asking, "And what about you, Captain? What does Earth Starfleet Vessel Atlantis bring to the table?"

"Nothing overly. We are just trying to get home." The woman admitted with a sad smile. She did not miss the way he spoke but she filed it away for investigation in the future. This was a meeting and trying to figure each other out as well as thank him for his assistance. "So how can we thank you for your assistance?"

There was genuine surprise in Vohra's raised eyebrows, though whatever aspect of Leroux's response caught him off-guard was not something the man sought to point out. "Just upholding our civic duty, Beth." The familiarity of his tone once again brought out a roguish twinkle. "No thanks required, though I do find myself wondering where you intend to go next. The way you speak of the journey home makes it sound like you're not exactly certain of success."

"We are many years from our planet, not knowing what is before us." She did not need to delve into that they were three generations at least from it but that was something that was known to her crew. "Why people like yourself are handy to know." She said playing on the fact she thought he liked compliments.

A slight half-smile rewarded the attempt, though Vohra seemed more intent on analysing his host's expression than basking in an intentional accolade. He studied Leroux for a moment in quiet contemplation and then, lifting his chin slightly, replied, "This is a dynamic region of space, Beth. If you start broadcasting a lack of direction, you may find yourself with far too many willing to point you places you'd rather not go. Finding something useful to offer whilst you pass through may not be a silly idea. Have you considered looking into local contracts?"

"Not really. The Realians offered stuff but..." She had put it to her senior officers at the time and they had all been unsure. "I will speak to the representative when they arrive." The Realians had not steered them wrong so far and had been more than willing to support and enable them to thrive if they wanted to stay or go.

"Even if you're headed in one direction, there's usually someone wanting to send something ahead. Not that I should be trying to stir up any competition," Jai winked. "But we don't get many ships of your size just passing through for no reason. You might find it easier," he concluded, a little cryptically, "to navigate certain diplomatic situations if you have a service you're willing to offer."

It was an opportunity they could take on if they knew the what and where but she was not going into any contract blind. "Navigate certain diplomatic situations?" She questioned quickly. If there was more trouble coming her way she wanted to try and get some more information if possible.

"You've got a good few months travelling in fairly populated space, Captain. The Realians have a good reach and they're not a bad bunch to deal with but there are always political agendas, particularly the further out you get. Not all of them are hostile," Vohra held up a hand to predict the interruption. "But you may find them wary of a ship that claims to be from so far away with no agenda other than to return. Trust is a valuable commodity not easily earned."

"Of course, it is not. Even in my home sector, it is not as easily earned." Trust was not something that came easily to the woman and many of her senior officers. It was something that was earned but she was sure that it was not anything they could not face together. "I will take it all under advisement."

Vohra dipped his head to concede the topic closed. "Well, you probably want to go check in with your people, and I should likely check the progress of our Realian transport so that we can update the Luminari on the evacuation schedule."

"That I do especially as they will be spending time decontaminating." Beth rose to her feet and offered the man her hand. "It has been a pleasure to meet you, Captain Jaivir Vohra." She said quietly.

A moment of lingering eye contact gave them both ample opportunity to complete a final assessment before Vohra reached out, took up the redheaded Captain's hand and winked at her as he pecked a kiss to the back of it. The gesture itself seemed to be a confidence, harkening back to earlier observations as it was undoubtedly a particularly human expression of deference, if not an entirely out-dated one. The fact that he promptly broke contact to flip her a casual salute only seemed to seal the taunting playfulness of the man's intent.

"We'll speak again before we part," Vohra declared with the utmost confidence and then took his leave, striding ahead of the long-suffering MACO who shot the Captain a look before turning to follow.