The Palatine Layover

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 12:31am by Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri-Smith
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 2:01pm

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: Observation Lounge / Mess Hall
Timeline: Current

A Mission Post by Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri & Lieutenant JG Tyson Brookes
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: Observation Lounge / Mess Hall
Timeline: Current
Wed Feb 28th, 2018 @ 10:03am


Onboard the USS Palatine Tyson was relaxing back on one of the sofas that overlooked the large panoramic windows of the observation lounge.

He leaned back and raised his white Reebok sneakers, kicking them up across the side of the long comfy couch. He closed his eyes for a moment.

The starship velocity was vibrating through the bulkheads subtly. This feeling, the sense of velocity at warp speed was foreign to Tyson. His 20th-century body had never experienced all this technology and each time he had; the experience was overwhelming.

Tyson set aside a moment every day to shut out the overwhelming sounds, warp cycles, transporters, replicators, force fields, computer and medical technologies that presented 24th-century life. His headphones were on playing some cassette of duran duran or billy idol, whichever he slammed into the Sony Walkman that day. The music was soothing.

The room was dark and lit with pink and blue hues which represented the night time chronograph of the ship. A figure just then was seen in the corner of Brookes eyesight. She certainly was bodacious. Perhaps she was one of the USS Palatine crew?

A drink from his can of diet coke, Tyson then slide off his sneakers from the side of the sofa in front of him. The couch overlooked the observation windows. He flipped downward his earphones and toggled off the switch on the Walkman.

A slight smile formed. Tyson locked eye contact with the long dark haired Lt. “Hi, How goes it?” He gestured to the lounge and window he was enjoying. The view of the large clusters of stars and gaseous purple nebulae. “This view is to the max!”

Krysia had made her way to the observation lounge, sitting around on quarters could get pretty boring and not all starship Captains wanted people who were being ferried elsewhere messing with their ship when they had their own people to do the job although she hadn’t asked if there was anything she could do. She was star gazing when Tyson approached.

Krysia gave Tyson a curious look, “To the max?” she grinned, “I have to admit I haven’t heard it called that before but yes...” she looked towards the view outside the window, “it is beautiful.” She looked back towards Tyson, “That’s one thing about awaiting transfer that I do like, having time to take in the beauty of the star systems when you normally don’t get time to look. I’m Krysia by the way” she smiled warmly, “new Chief of Operations aboard the USS Pandora.”

“Tyson” he got up to present and extended his hand to Krysia and shook her hand. Tyson was relieved to meet another traveler on the Palatine. Especially someone is transferring to the Pandora. “Yeah, it’s like totally bitchin’.” He acknowledged the starscape which seemed to glitter behind him.

“Sit down weary traveler.” Tyson had gestured at the large sofa seating and tables of the observation lounge. “Tell me your Ops for the Pandora?... I’m transferring to the Pandora, Chief of Med.” He let a bit of pride boast in his chest.

"In that case it's nice to meet you Doctor, I've no doubt you'll have plenty to keep you busy aboard the Pandora." she smiled "I've also been assigned as alien archaeologist/anthropologist. "If you don't mind me asking you speak... Differently to other people in fact you sound like someone from earth's past?" she looked at Tyson curiously.

Tyson was a bit surprised as few officers had questioned his terms of speech and references from another time. It had bothered him, but it didn’t let it show. The man had come to have been counseled that he should expect such things, if somewhat rare, given the diversity of federation species and humanoids. Alien Archaeology, an Alien Archaeologist, Krysia, would be one to the point that out.

Less fragile and stiff he leaned inward, taking a drink from his can of coke. “It’s a… long story.” The references and platitudes of 1980s speech which was his last level of cultural development, and then the Starfleet regular basis of neutral communications, the language classes at the Academy.

“I was freeze-dried.” He almost always felt like some circus freak speaking about his nature, having been cryogenically frozen in the late Earth 1980s, the cradle of super consumerism the 20th century then fixed in the 24th century of equality and transhumanism. “And then cryogenically bought out of stasis back.. ” he thought it over, slipping down his geeky pair of sony walkman, stainless steel headband, and black styrofoam headphones, attached to a lithium carbon, dioxide tape cassette of fresh interstellar tracks.

“..say ten years. So I guess I am talking to the right person then. You being an alien archaeologist. What do you think you will find out in the Inconnu Expanse?” He asked Krysia interested as well, this federation was better than a tv show.

"That's a good question" she looked out at the view then back at Tyson, "but I'm sure it'll be fascinating!. I think I owe you an apology don't I?, I didn't mean to make you feel awkward."

"Awkward?" He had questioned. "No. Not at all."

"I'm an empath and a telepath" she tapped her head, "I sensed that I made you feel uncomfortable it wasn't my intention." She smiled, "I tend to say things before I stop and think about it, one of the downsides of getting it all in your head whether you want it or not."

Tyson smiled and nodded. "You know... Back in the day. A chick who could read a bro's mind," He had gestured to his forehead "That would be worth something." He chuckled. Krysia seemed unassuming. He had met few telepaths in his short decade in the 24th century.

"At least I know a good doctor if I need any help" she grinned, " my people the Drax are quite high on the psy scale they weren't sure if me being half human would interfere with my ability to cope, I was offered a neural implant to help with control but I turned it down I prefer to be me rather than a muted version" she shrugged her shoulders, "At the worst I'll be a gibbering wreck but I don't plan on it anytime soon and if it did happen then you'd have an interesting patient to work with."

Tyson listened to Krysia explain her background. He was aware of the large telepathic humanoid species that existed within the Federation. "I have not heard much about your planet Drax." He was aware of medical neural implants acting as a neuron modifier, but nothing that acted to mute feelings and psi frequencies. "Fascinating." Tyson sat back taking a drink from his can of cola, stifling a burp. "I couldn't imagine what it would take to constantly feel this... this varying emotional residues." He then wondered how far she could sense beyond a ships bulk head...

"What deck, quarters are you on?"

“Both my office & my quarters are on deck 3” she looked at Tyson curiously, “is there a specific reason you ask or do I get a feeling that you have an experiment in mind?”

"Well truth be told. How far can you get reception with those... thoughts?" He furrowed an eyebrow, it was an obvious question.

“Let’s just say I spent my share of time on my home world undergoing tests just to see how a half human would cope.” She grinned, “let’s say they were surprised what I could handle when they thought I wouldn’t.”

"What kind of testing are we talking?" He was aware of some federation kinds of testing.

“Mainly what range I had with my senses & what abilities I had, they weren’t sure if a half human could manage telepathy & empathy let alone telekinesis. So far the telekinesis is the only one I haven’t managed to do.” She shrugged her shoulders, “it may happen but no problem if it doesn’t. Anyway... I think I’ve harped on long enough about me I must be boring you.”

"No." Tyson shook his head. "It's rather fascinating to me." He got up and put his empty can of diet coke into the replicator.

"Hey, lets take a walk around this ship. I'm rather bored. Care to keep a fellow Lt. company?" He asked.

"Sure" Krysia smiled, "any plans on where you want to go?"

"Perhaps we can screw around with the Doctor of the Palatine and their staff?" He offered.

"Sounds like fun to me" she grinned "you lead I'll follow."