Chance meeting
Posted on Thu Oct 6th, 2022 @ 11:07pm by Ensign Rachel Sinclair & Corporal Rairror Thoran
Edited on on Wed Oct 12th, 2022 @ 3:36am
1,563 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Episode 13 - Crooked River
Location: After 11 Lounge - Deck 11 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD002 1300 hrs
Corporal Rairror Thoran sat alone at a table nursing a glass of cranberry and pineapple juice. In his hand was a PADD containing some upgrades he wished to make to his MARVEL's onboard ordinance. He was working on a proposal to his CO, about the upgrades.
Walking into the Pioneer’s lounge, Rachel was just coming off shift and was looking for a nice relaxing drink. Her current case load was pretty intense but thankfully the Security Chief had kept her workload regular enough that she could handle it. After grabbing a glass of tea from the replicator, Rachel turned around and spotted a large, green skinned person sitting by themself reading over a few PADDs. Figuring she might as well put her social skills to the test, she carefully walked over to them, “excuse me, May I join you?”
Raising his head at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. "Of course." He said raising from his chair. "I'm Corporal Rairror Thoran."
“Ensign Rachel Sinclair” she said, taking a seat across from Rairror, “so what department are you in? I don’t recognise you from the security staff” Rachel asked, figuring she’d try to get some kind of conversation going.
Once Rachel was seated, he returned to his seat. "Nice to meet you, Ensign. I'm a Marine, a weapons specialist." He said.
“A marine? Did you choose that path because of the uniform colour?” Rachel asked, looking down at the gold on her uniform, “I mean, the gold for security is nice but I think the Marine green just looks better”
"No, but I do look good in green." He said giving her a brief smile. "I joined the Marines, because I wanted to do my part. Some people helped me when I was in a bad place, and I wanted to confirm their faith in me." The Orion replied.
“I know what you mean, my father put a lot of faith in me and I try not to let him down, and as he’s an intelligence officer I’m sure if I ever mess up he’d find out one way or another” Rachel said with a slight shrug, “I’ve just got to try my best”
"That's all we can do." Rairror agreed. "I don't remember my parents, I don't even know their names." He added. "All I remember is being a slave." His voice subdued.
Rachel instantly froze as Rairror’s words hit her. It took her a moment but eventually she found her tongue, “y..you were a slave?” She asked as her hands started to shake as she started to feel a panic attack come on. Quickly putting her hands under the table, Rachel sat on them in an attempt to keep them from shaking and in hopes that Rairror didn’t see.
"Yes, and I can tell from your slave tattoos, you were too." Rairror said it wasn't an accusation, just an indication that he experience some of what she had. "I appreciate your decision in having them coloured, it turns a symbol of ugliness and brutality into a thing of beauty." He added hoping his words would help to soothe the panic in her eyes.
Taking a few breaths in, Rachel nodded, “that’s what I was hoping for. I gave a lot of thought to having them removed, but I decided to keep them as a reminder and a promise to do better” she said, looking at Rairror with a slight look of hope. Finally she’d found someone who understood what she’d been through and she could relate to him as well. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you escape?”
"My Master and his associates owned a series of bars and casinos on several worlds, which acted as a front for Syndicate's illegal activities." Rairorr began. "I was a bodyguard and bouncer at a club on Trezahl IV. One night the Local Law Enforcement Led by Captain Gwenal Tern, raided the club. I saw my opportunity and aided in the capture of Master and surrendered to Tern's people. I was arrested and my sentence was greatly reduced when I testified against My former master. After I finished my incarceration, I was free."
“After years of being treated like dirt, My Orion master got sick of me standing around like a soulless mannequin and sold me off. I guess he didn’t like to look at the results of his mistreatment of me. Fortunately I was sold to an undercover Intelligence agent who freed me and eventually adopted me” Rachel explained as the expression on her face became solemn, “I don’t remember my parents either. I think I get glimpses of them every so often when I sleep, but it’s little more then flashes and I forget again when I wake”
Rairror raised his glass in a toast. "To our parents, wherever they may be." He said.
Picking up her tea, Rachel raised her cup to match Rairror’s, “to our parents” she said with a solemn tone.
"So, what made you choose Security? You said your 'guardian' was in intel, why did you not follow in their shoes?" Rairror asked.
After a moment of thought, Rachel gave a shrug, “Security just sounded more exciting. I’m not much of a scientist so the blue uniform didn’t seem the way to go and to be fair I never gave engineering or operations a thought. Yes, I could’ve joined Intelligence, but I guess I wanted to chart my own course and get out from under my father’s wings. Why did you choose the Marines?”
"Well, I was at a bit of a loss after I received my freedom." Rairror began. "I knew I needed some sort of structure. I was still in touch with the prosecuting attorney and she suggested the Marines. I looked into it and enlisted the next day." He said.
“I guess that makes sense. From what I hear the Marine Corps can be quite challenging at times.” Rachel said, trying to think of what to say next. She was not very good at making conversation without resorting to talking about their jobs. After a moment, she thought of something that might work, “Would you ever join the officers Corps?”
Rairror thought about it for a moment. "No. I'm a simple man, and I'm fine as I am. Things get complicated when you're an officer."
“What do you mean? I’m am officer and it doesn’t seem so complicated” Rachel asked, his words worrying her a little, “true I’m only an ensign, but still I don’t think it’s too bad”
Rairror looked a little ashamed. "Its the admin work I'm worried about mostly, I can read and write, but it takes me a while to write down things and I don't have a very large written vocabulary." He admitted. "I might have a learning difficulty called dyslexia."
Recognising his worries, Rachel gently put a hand onto his forearm, “that’s perfectly understandable. If you want, I can help you with that. For now, may I suggest using the voice to text feature. That way you don’t need to write, all you’d need to do is simply talk into a PADD and it will do the writing for you.”
"Thank you, I'll look into that." Rairror said. "So, what do you do for fun when you're off duty?" He asked.
Looking a little surprised, Rachel realised that she didn’t really have any off-duty activities, “well, um……” she stuttered, trying to think of an answer, “to be honest, I don’t really do anything. Like, when I’m off duty I tend to just sit in my quarters reading manuals to try and keep up to date with my officer and security training. What do you do?”
"I workout, or tinker with weapons, but my favourite activity is to eat Ice Cream sundaes while watching 20th and 21st Century Earth Action movies, especially those starring Arnold Schwarzenagger." Rarrior replied.
“I’m sorry, what’s a movie? Is it like a holodeck program?” Rachel asked, genuinely curious about what he was saying, “and this Arnold shorts-and-egger? Is he a performer of some kind?”
"A movie is like a holo program, only its 2D and non-interactive." Rairror explained. "And Arnold Schwarzenagger was a former body builder and actor. His characters fought cloaked aliens, machines, corrupt business men, evil scientists, terrorists and totalitarian states where criminals were forced into gladiatorial games for the entertainment of the populous." He said.
“That sounds awesome, maybe you could show me some of these movies? Are they in the computers database?” Rachel asked
"Yes, they in the computer database, and I'd like that. I was introduced to them by a fellow Marine on USS Williamstown." He said.
“Great, how about after our shifts in a couple of days? Give us time to prepare or whatever” Rachel said, as she started to get excited about seeing these ‘movies’
"Sounds good to me." Rairror said with a slight smile."
A Joint Post By
Ensign Rachel Sinclair
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer, USS Pioneer
Corporal Rairror Thoran
Weapons Specialist, The Cure
USS Pioneer
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