Girls Tour

Posted on Mon Sep 28th, 2020 @ 4:50am by Petty Officer 2nd Class Sofia Cipriani
Edited on on Mon Sep 28th, 2020 @ 4:15pm

1,415 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - New Home, Same Pioneers
Location: USS Pioneer - Deck Two
Timeline: MD011 1400 hrs

Eleanor glanced around at her new surroundings, this was her space, her retreat. Upon first inspection, her quarters were smaller than she was expecting, but they would be adequate, once she had it set up to her own liking. Suddenly she shivered, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.

"Hello." she instinctively called out, looking around, but there was no reply, no sound, nothing other than that odd stomach-churning feelings, the one that made you uncomfortable, nervous and on edge. 'Get a grip' she thought to herself as she stood and absorbed the unfamiliar surroundings.

Suddenly the door chime interrupted her thoughts, "Come in" she said in a soft welcome tone, at least the Crewman was punctual, something that she admired, there was nothing worse than people running late.

Sofia smiled as she entered the room. The meeting beforehand with the Captain could have been said to be quite formal, strict if not for a better word and Sofia had hoped this tour would give an insight into the new woman.

"Morning ma'am." Sofia began. "I hope you are settling in alright. I brought you this." She offered small carving of a horse, an Italian stallion. It had been something of a hobby she had 'inherited' from her late father, he was a carpenter. The wood was light and faint grains showing through but the carving itself was well made.

"Oh please, less of the ma'am, it's Eleanor of if you must get all pompous, Ensign will suffice," she replied taking the small carving of a wooden horse from the Crewman. She held it up, looking it over, "and thank you." she said a smile cropping over her face. "I know just the place in my office for this," she replied clasping it close to her chest, like a child with a toy that they didn't want to share.

"So would you like a drink before we set off out?" she asked the young women, with a smile.

"Sure, E-eleanor." Sofia replied. "After 11 is the ships social hub and I suppose there is no better place to start. Chloe, the owner, is lovely if not a bit on the outspoken side."

Eleanor couldn't help but smile at the Crewman, she was certainly trying, perhaps a bit too hard, but it was nice to see. "Oh one does like an outspoken person, you should see me when I get in a heated debate, they broke the mould with this one, quite frankly I do not know how the Diplomatic core copes with me, but then again, I guess they did not want to lose such an exceptional, gifted, women." she chuckled as she held onto her gift with one hand and gestured towards the door with the other, "I guess this tour starts with After 11."

"You'll get on well with Chloe then. She most certainly doesn't know when to close her mouth... amongst other things." Sofia said with a little smirk.

As they made their way there the doors of After 11 opened to reveal the Spanish dark wooden themed bar that Chloe had set up.

The girls chatted for several minutes while grabbing a drink in the ships bar, it had a good atmosphere and Eleanor liked it, she definitely was going to spend time here when she was off duty. "So, Sofia, anyone I should be wary of on this ship ?" she asked, getting down to asking questions she wanted to know the answer to.

"Well... I don't really like to talk negatively about people." Sofia admitted looking a little uncomfortable. "I mean everyone has been very nice to me since I came on board." she shrugged. "Cant say I'd get on the Captain's bad side, but he usually takes a while to piss off."

Eleanor noticed the wince, the question was uncomfortable. 'Too much, too soon.' she thought to herself, before smiling at Sofia. "I didn't mean to...well you know, some people are just well avoided, but it's good to know you try and get on with everyone," she said with a chuckle. "Me, I'm an open book, you'll know if I like you and you'll know if I don't, I'll never say anything behind a persons back that I wouldn't say to their face, so you always know where you stand with me."

"I value honesty above all else. So it is good to know that if you have anything to say I know you will." Sofia gave a little smile. "I do try and get on with everyone. I'm only 18 and too young to be making enemies on a ship I've just transferred to as my first assignment. I think Tyler... eh I mean Captain Malbrooke knows I'm loyal and a good person to have on your side. People keep telling me I have his ear... which sounds weird."

"Making enemies." Eleanor chuckled, "Oh my dear, you should read some of the death threats I've received. Never be afraid to speak your mind, stand your ground, first assignment or not, you need to leave your mark, distinguish yourself and if you have the Captain's ear, it sounds as thought your already doing that." Eleanor said, reassuring the young women, in some ways Sofia reminded her of how she was at such a young age. "But my door is always open, if you ever need anything, or you find yourself in trouble or need advice, you can come to me, being a diplomat I have a knack for getting things sorted."

"You've received death threats?" Sofia asked shocked. "I cant imagine anyone having the 'need' to send something like that. You would really need to hate someone to do that..." she kept going noticing she was rambling on a little as the thought got inside her head. "Sorry, but thank you. If I ever need help with something you're on my list."

"Oh, I don't know a diplomat who hasn't had death threats, someone always gets peeved off when they don't get their own way, and of course it's normally the Diplomats fault," she said, chuckling at the thought, she still remembered the first threat she got, she panicked like hell. "But yes, I mean it Sofia, my door is always open, so where is next on the grad tour?" she asked with eagerness.

"Well After 11 is the best place on the menu for places to visit on the ship, in my opinion," Sofia admitted. "Although we have the observation lounge, or we can visit the more 'important' parts of the ship. Bridge, engineering, the medical bay that you hopefully won't need but you know... death threats." she half-joked.

Eleanor laughed, this girl had a sense of humour and she appreciated the company especially after been new on board, it could be quite difficult to fit in, especially on a ship. "Oh, lead on, I want the full VIP tour," she said jokingly as she downed the remainder of her drink. "After you," she said motioning to the door.

((Two Hours Later))

The tour had certainly been informative, they must have explored every nook and cranny of the ship. Eleanor turned to look at Sofia, "Good job this ship only has 15 decks, or the tour might have lasted a week." she jokingly said, as they approached her quarters. "Nightcap?" she asked, thinking no better way to finish the evening.

"I know... but at least you know all the good spots now. I'd say I bet there's some that the Captain doesn't know but he loves this class of ship so he'll know everything down to the bulkhead numbers." she joked, more so with herself than anything.

As they stopped at Eleanor's door and an offered was given Sofia smiled. "Thank you, but I can't tonight. Studying for the Petty Officer exam and I have an early start with the Captain. Next time, I'm all yours." she smiled softly.

"Well..." she paused "Thank you, Crewman, I've had an enjoyable evening and thank you for taking the time to show me around, it is greatly appreciated, and I meant what I said earlier if you need anything, you know where I am," she said returning the smile. "Enjoy the rest of your evening," she said as she watched the young officer head off.

Ensign Eleanor Raine
Diplomatic Adviser, USS Pioneer

Crewman Sofia Cipriani
Yeoman, USS Pioneer

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