Kaya Som
Engineering/Ops
Site Historian
Yaya! You have survived! That's too bad!
Posts: 804 Likes: 108
Rank: Senior Chief Petty Officer
Position: Chief of Engineering
Species: Trill
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Post by Kaya Som on May 27, 2021 16:15:53 GMT
[ 2381.05.18 | Denius remote research lab, Kerelia Sector ]
On the Nyberrite Alliance side of Denius III drifts a dusty remote research lab. Normally, the tiny station is unoccupied, only occasionally refitted for whatever scientific survey the Federation or its allies would be conducting in this remote part of the Beta Quadrant. As it happens, for the next seventy-two hours, a small contingent is in residence to monitor a possible nebula collision. The light crew is composed of little more than a Starfleet engineer to monitor the equipment, a freelance Andorian hacker to parse and secure the data channels, and a Nyberrite grunt to represent their interests, the nebula being partially in their space.
We are now twelve hours in.Chief Petty Officer Kaya Som of Trill had her feet up on the console and was stripped down to her undershirt. She had a handful of round playing cards and had been playing target practice with an unzipped duffel. It was good to be off Frontier for a few days, but now questioned the wisdom of trading one station in for a smaller one. On the other hand, though she was technically on duty, there was no one around to enforce the normal decorums. "I'd absolutely make an exception for Perry," she mused, continuing the not-strictly-appropriate work conversation. She spoke of presumed dead Commodore Calvin Perry. They'd met once. Briefly. Awkwardly. But she was undeterred. "Pre-explosion and mysterious disappearance, of course." Kaya had an almost-strict no-human-men rule as she found them to be reliably insufferable. Even though Trill culture tended to value a slow and reserved approach to romantic attachments, Kaya had decided if she'd never be Joined there was little incentive to go along with expectations. Charlie Fox, Kova Sh'qaleq
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Kova Sh'qaleq
Civilian
Posts: 516 Likes: 34
Position: Security Consultant
Species: Andorian
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Post by Kova Sh'qaleq on May 27, 2021 16:55:59 GMT
[ Kova Sh'qaleq - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector] The Andorian furiously polished the side of her black leather booth. There was a scuff there, and she was just beginning to realize that it was almost deep enough to be a tear. "Z'tōk![fn]equivalent of f-bomb[/fn] she mumbled the curse. This was definitely going to count towards expenses when she reported her costs to her employer. It was just her luck that some lazy ass had clumsily left a sheet of metal haphazardly stacked in a room with a malfunctioning light. It was only a glancing thought, as she realized that it may not be left over from the last crew. Her eyes narrowed as she quickly narrowed the list of possible suspects to one, and began polishing once more. In an effort to distract herself, she actually found herself listening to Kaya's musings. What exactly had she been talking about? She had mentioned Perry, the station's former commander. Perhaps it wasn't too difficult to infer. She shrug as she considered the possibility. "I dunno. I honestly don't think we ever officially met." The Andorian shrugged and began to consider possibilities of her own. "I'd say that Talorian... what's-his-face... L'Sho? Kova nodded slowly. There was something oddly charming about his asshole-esque personality. She'd never met him in person either, but could recall that actually being a requirement.
Tag: Charlie Fox, Kaya Som
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Charlie Fox
Civilian
FOX NEWS
Posts: 730 Likes: 81
Position: Journalist
Species: A human of some kind
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Post by Charlie Fox on May 27, 2021 21:08:27 GMT
[Petty Officer Conor Lynch - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector]What exactly they were doing on at this research lab Conor Lynch had little clue, all he knew was that he'd drawn some sort of metaphorical short straw and here he was, "watching things". Joke was on that snide Lt. Sorcerer and his ilk, wasn't it? He didn't mind watching things. Or listening, in fact he was enjoying the chats that the others seemed happy to engage in. It was kind of like gossip in a way, but much better than Peggy's. He was actually learning stuff. It was also time for his tea. While the engineer spoke about Perry, whom Lynch was sure he'd met once or twice, but couldn't quite say, he plucked a metal box from his own duffel and set it carefully to one side. Then, a gingham cloth followed, which he spread over a free console. He was flipping the lid of the box, removing a parcel of some kind wrapped tightly in paper, when he weighed in with his two cents. "Can't say aul Perry's me type, either, nor tha' L'Sho fella. Seems a 'lil, I dunno, murdery," he said conversationally, though his eyes were focused on unwrapping his little self-gift. He pulled the last corner to reveal a tall, fluffy sandwich, made from proper Irish soda bread and containing a sharp cheddar, and a few dollops of HP brown sauce for added, deeper flavour. "I heard 'bout yer new Chief o' Security,[fn]Pierce Taggart[/fn] though," he continued, "He's supposed ta have a roguish kinda air to 'im." Once his sandwich was laid out he reached back into the duffel and pulled out a can of Beamish stout. He cracked it, the area filling with the sound of the click-hiss of the drink container. He set that down, too, to leave it to settle. Then he looked up at the ladies, and startled just a smidge. "Oh, would yas like some? I brough' plenty."
Tags: Kaya Som , Kova Sh'qaleq
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Kaya Som
Engineering/Ops
Site Historian
Yaya! You have survived! That's too bad!
Posts: 804 Likes: 108
Rank: Senior Chief Petty Officer
Position: Chief of Engineering
Species: Trill
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Post by Kaya Som on May 31, 2021 3:55:24 GMT
" What!" Kaya barked a laugh, utterly blind-sided by the most forbidden thirst she'd ever heard of. Lynch's response was more measured. Kaya leaned forward to search Kova's face to see if the normally stoic Andorian's face gave any hint she was joking. There was no such thing to be found. "Nuh-nuh-nuh, we are not just going to pretend that's a perfectly normal thing to say," Kaya said with a wagging raised index finger for all. " L'Sho!?" Kaya put her hands in her hair. The boredom and the fact that she hadn't slept recently enough had her a bit punchy it seemed. "L'Sho. You'd bump L'Sho? That guy? You'd ... let him into your Jeffries tube, explore his wormhole, launch that fishy rocket. Why...!?" She looked to Lynch for validation. He seemed rather occupied with setting out the most incongruous little picnic and choosing not L'Sho's for his passport, his appetite somehow still intact after finding out Kova and her fake fishy boyfriend. Charlie Fox , Kova Sh'qaleq
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Kova Sh'qaleq
Civilian
Posts: 516 Likes: 34
Position: Security Consultant
Species: Andorian
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Post by Kova Sh'qaleq on Jun 1, 2021 20:26:14 GMT
[ Kova Sh'qaleq - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector] Kova rolled her eyes at the mention of the new Head of Security, Taggert. Her paths hadn't crossed with the man, but he was familiar with Eastman. That alone gave him two strikes. She'd seen him from afar, and may have peeked at the pertinent facts from his file. "I believe the correct human expression is: meh?" She shrugged, making it certain she'd likely pass on Taggert. For now, he didn't seem to know who she was, and that was how the Andorian preferred it. Kova listened to Kaya's rather animated response to her selection of L'Sho. Had she misunderstood the parameters of this conversation. Yet, as Kaya so colorfully asked for clarification, Kova made certain to consider and reconsider her selection. "Yes," she affirmed. "He seems like the sort that knows how to... handle business. I doubt he requires the use of a map to find his way around." Kova paused to see if her response was satisfactory. "Or am I required to select a human?"
Tag: Charlie Fox , Kaya Som
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Charlie Fox
Civilian
FOX NEWS
Posts: 730 Likes: 81
Position: Journalist
Species: A human of some kind
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Post by Charlie Fox on Jun 1, 2021 21:36:04 GMT
[Petty Officer Conor Lynch - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector]Lynch took a large bite of his sandwich, secretly pleased that nobody else was interested in sharing it. The combination of flavours made his tongue tingle pleasantly and he closed his eyes for a moment to enjoy it. When Kaya Som uttered the phrase 'explore his wormhole', he almost choked on a delicious, cheesy morsel. He coughed, loudly, put his sandwich back down on the paper and gingham cloth, and proceeded to thump his chest. Once it was dislodged, he turned teary eyes toward Kova. "She's gorra point," he said, voice hoarse from the assault the sandwich had waged on his oesophagus, "Tha' one'd be liable ta murder ye when he got done wit ye."There were spiders like that, Lynch knew, but it was normally the female of the species that ate the poor, unsuspecting man's head. He settled back in to continue with his tea, but he was more cautious with his bites this time. "Humans are overrated, in anyways."
Tags: Kaya Som , Kova Sh'qaleq
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Kaya Som
Engineering/Ops
Site Historian
Yaya! You have survived! That's too bad!
Posts: 804 Likes: 108
Rank: Senior Chief Petty Officer
Position: Chief of Engineering
Species: Trill
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Post by Kaya Som on Jun 3, 2021 2:50:11 GMT
"L'nora, ja'kala..." Kaya muttered loudly. [fn]Traditional Trill invocation, roughly, "watch over us, elders".[/fn] She wasn't cross, just bored. At least the company was interesting: she couldn't fault Kova Sh'qaleq for being strange - Kaya knew a rumor or few about her - and Lynch couldn't help being human. She leaned forward to wake up the panel and check that yes, the nebula was still there, and no, it had not yet ignited because the comet was still exactly where it was supposed to be, moving just as slowly as it had been before. That job done, she reset the little alarm she'd set for herself, dimmed the panel again and got to her feet in a huff. Lynch had the right idea. From her bag, she dug out her own provisions: a tightly rolled hasperat from Apazi's wrapped in foil, her kidza, [fn]A vapor smoking pipe thing.[/fn] and a nondescript thermos. "You're one of the good ones," Kaya assured Lynch and tousseled his hair on her way back to her chair. "Is it true people call you 'Cheesy'? And you let them?" To Kova, Kaya provided context. "He used to be Starfleet." Kova Sh'qaleq, Charlie Fox
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Kova Sh'qaleq
Civilian
Posts: 516 Likes: 34
Position: Security Consultant
Species: Andorian
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Post by Kova Sh'qaleq on Jun 3, 2021 3:59:40 GMT
[ Kova Sh'qaleq - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector] Kova swiveled slightly in her chair as she contemplated Kaya and Lynch's suggestion that L'Sho would probably try to murder her. Her lips curled only slightly as she turned away from the pair. "He wouldn't succeed, but he'd be welcome to try," the Andorian answered confidently. Kova was, however, admittedly surprised that Lynch had such a modest estimation of humans, saying that many of them were over-estimated. Kaya stated that he was one of the good ones. It wasn't until she pointed out to Lynch... or 'Cheesy'... used to be in Starfleet. Kova arched her eyebrow with some surprise. "Did you resign, or were you forced out?" While she waited for an answer, Kova decided to follow the example of the others. She picked up a cylindrical container and peeled off the cover. Inside was a warm boll of redbat noodles. Picking up a utensil from her bag she began to stir the contents, eventually spooning out some. The spoonful was met with a rather audible slurp.
Tag: Charlie Fox , Kaya Som
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Charlie Fox
Civilian
FOX NEWS
Posts: 730 Likes: 81
Position: Journalist
Species: A human of some kind
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Post by Charlie Fox on Jun 3, 2021 21:21:12 GMT
[Petty Officer Conor Lynch - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector]"Ah, dunno 'bout tha' now..." He muttered, colour brightening his face just a bit. He couldn't hide the happy little grin though, and he seemed pleased at Kaya's words. He ducked his head a little and focused on his sandwich for a few moments, until the subject of cheese was brought up. "I do, I don' mind, really. Am pretty sure s'cuz I like cheese so much, usedta keep some in me desk in the office an' all." Of course, there could be other reasons that they'd started calling him that, less pleasant reasons, but such was the nature of nicknames. "Could be worse. I knew a fella once, had a kink in his neck so his head was always cocked, like this." He leaned his head to his left, ear angled toward his shoulder. "Lads called 'im Ten Passed Two." People could be so cruel. Kova's question made him cock his own head in thought. He hadn't really considered it much, but now, since he'd left, he could see things through a different lens. "Both... I s'pose. They kept demotin' me.""Wha' 'bout youse?" He looked at Kova and then Kaya in turn. "Since we're sharin' an' all."
Tags: Kova Sh'qaleq , Kaya Som
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Kaya Som
Engineering/Ops
Site Historian
Yaya! You have survived! That's too bad!
Posts: 804 Likes: 108
Rank: Senior Chief Petty Officer
Position: Chief of Engineering
Species: Trill
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Post by Kaya Som on Jun 10, 2021 21:55:05 GMT
'Ten Past Two'! Kaya took a bad draw from her pipe as she tried to laugh and breathe at the same time. She waved her hand to clear the air of the purple vapor. By the time she'd properly cleared out her sinuses, Lynch was asking his own questions. "Nope, still in Starfleet," Kaya said, her voice still a little hoarse, stating the obvious. "Nearly ran away to, like, join a Klingon circus, but got high on nuts instead. Massive scandal, loads of time in medical, letters in the file. If I'm not careful they're going to promote me. They do that, you know, to try and keep you. Kova knows, right? Starfleet's been trying for Kova for awhile. Figure by this point, she'd have her own command if she said yes." Rumors, maybe, but Kaya remembered when she first met Kova, how they'd courted her. But here she was, still out of uniform. Charlie Fox, Kova Sh'qaleq
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Kova Sh'qaleq
Civilian
Posts: 516 Likes: 34
Position: Security Consultant
Species: Andorian
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Post by Kova Sh'qaleq on Jun 12, 2021 3:18:48 GMT
[ Kova Sh'qaleq - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector] Perhaps it was a genetic flaw in non-Andorians, but it seemed that both Humans and Trill had some sort of physiological defect that left them prone to choking. At least, that was what Kova was starting to conclude after Kaya struggled to swallow some of her meal. Kova listened as Lynch explained his demotions in Starfleet. Kaya even shared her recent woes, though Kova was now trying to determine if she was more intrigued by the Klingon circus or getting high on nuts. She then heard Kaya's rather romanticized view of Kova's 'tango' with Starfleet. It was nowhere near as glorious as the Trill believed. "Starfleet hasn't been nearly as noble as you may presume, where I'm concerned," Kova said. "Near the end of my third year at the Academy, I was expelled from the Academy and sent to a penal colony." Kova shrugged. "Most recently, I was left to rot in a Caldonian prison. In between those incarcerations, Starfleet has leveraged my services when they found it convenient to do so with no real commitment. It was foolish of me to expect better than I had already witnessed."
Tag: Charlie Fox , Kaya Som
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Charlie Fox
Civilian
FOX NEWS
Posts: 730 Likes: 81
Position: Journalist
Species: A human of some kind
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Post by Charlie Fox on Jun 13, 2021 22:44:53 GMT
[Petty Officer Conor Lynch - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector]He found himself grinning again when Kaya Som laughed and then almost choked. Lynch was actually feeling at ease, comfortable, and that was a rare thing in his work with the Nybbies. Sometimes he couldn't tell if their laughter was at his expense or for some other reason entirely, or if he was just being paranoid. It was nice not to have to worry about those kinds of things for a while. The seed of an idea that had been planted by a friend the week before began to take further root. Perhaps it was time to quit. Again. Despite his many failings in the Fleet and elsewhere, he'd never spent time in a prison! And here, this Andorian had not once, but twice gone to the slammer! His eyes swept from Kaya to Kova, sandwich forgotten, as he listened with rapt attention. "Jaysis! Whatcha do!?" All sorts of possibilities ran through Lynch's imagination. Attempted murder of an admiral, cheating on the astrometrics final, stealing a starship and going for a joyride. The last one was his favourite, but he quickly recovered his shock as he remembered his manners. "Tell me to mind me own business if ye don't wanna discuss it." He'd inherited the nosiness from his ma, but who wouldn't want to know? He bet it was a whopper story. He glanced back at Kaya and shook his head. His experience of Fleet life was very different to hers, it seemed. "They never did tha' fer me. I was shite at me job though." He grinned and took a bite of his cheese and brown sauce sandwich.
Tags: Kaya Som and Kova Sh'qaleq
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Kaya Som
Engineering/Ops
Site Historian
Yaya! You have survived! That's too bad!
Posts: 804 Likes: 108
Rank: Senior Chief Petty Officer
Position: Chief of Engineering
Species: Trill
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Post by Kaya Som on Jun 24, 2021 2:03:26 GMT
Kaya caught herself staring as Kova laid it on the line in the blunt manner that most Andorians shared. Everything she said was true, of course, or so Kaya had heard. She had no impulse to make any defense of the Federation and only the slightest pang of dissonance at the idea that Captain Grandma Eastman would be so callous, but at the end of the day, it was all unfortunately believable. "Because you're human," Kaya said to Lynch with the bluntness of an Andorian. However, because she didn't want to return to the topic of humans again, she pressed on. "It was a botched rescue mission, wasn't it? The Caldonia Five. That's why Harmon's been sacked," Kaya tried. "Intelligence officer. Because he went rogue and got five of them captured and central command wouldn't let Eastman do anything about it." Kaya's friend Charlie Fox had been among them. Charlie Fox, Kova Sh'qaleq
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Kova Sh'qaleq
Civilian
Posts: 516 Likes: 34
Position: Security Consultant
Species: Andorian
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Post by Kova Sh'qaleq on Jun 28, 2021 17:55:14 GMT
[ Kova Sh'qaleq - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector] Lynch was the first to speak up, clearly in disbelief that Kova had received the punishment that she had. He asked what she had done, but then prefaced that he could tell her to mind her own business if she chose to. "The charges were accessing a classified server," Kova began, "and attempting to traffic sensitive Starfleet assets." Kova chose her next few words carefully. She wasn't a liar, yet she hadn't protested the charges either for reasons that were her own. "One charge is accurate, the other is not."As the conversation continued, Kaya pointed out what Kova had suspected was the reason for the severity of her punishment. That she wasn't human. That was a great factor, but given that her own shreya never protested on her behalf also contributed to the stiffness of the penalty. The conversation then turned towards the more recent events, the situation on Caldonia. Kova had suspected that there was a story going around, and hearing Kaya's version certainly painted a picture. "Harmon is an ass," Kova stated. "If he has been reassigned or sacked, as you put it, there's more than enough reason why." Of course the mention of Eastman hadn't gone unnoticed either. "As for Captain Eastman... she's simply not the commander I thought she was."
Tag: Charlie Fox(Lynch), Kaya Som
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Charlie Fox
Civilian
FOX NEWS
Posts: 730 Likes: 81
Position: Journalist
Species: A human of some kind
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Post by Charlie Fox on Jun 30, 2021 12:48:41 GMT
[Petty Officer Conor Lynch - Denius Remote Research Lab, Kerelian Sector]Lynch might not be the brightest tool in the shed, but he caught Kova's meaning, he thought. You couldn't go trafficking information from a classified server without getting into the server first, now could ye? And so, if only one charge was accurate, then it was the first Kova was guilty of, and not the second. Inside, he was delighted he'd figured it out, but he was also a little disappointed that she had been punished for something she didn't do. It was unjust, unfair, but it was also in-line with many other stories he'd been hearing lately. When discussion turned to what had happened on Caldonia, his ears pricked up again. He was chewing thoughtfully on his delicious sandwich, listening to Kaya and then to Kova, feeling no need to offer anything himself. He knew nothing about it, so he'd take their superior knowledge on the subject as near-gospel. When the Andorian spoke of the Captain not being what she thought, Lynch did feel as though he had experience to offer in that area. "They never are, Kow-vih," he said, agreeing, shaking his head. His pronunciation of her name, though technically correct, sounded different in his accent. "Ye hope, but give 'em enough opportunity, an' they prove ye wrong eventually." They'd always hung him out to dry. He'd thought that the Alliance might be different; had hoped and been promised so much. "Nybbies the same, though."
Tags: Kaya Som and Kova Sh'qaleq
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