Queen Realness

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 5:38am by Commander Mindo & Ignatius & Raven Mattel
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 4:55pm

Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Deck 5 - Pandora's Box

A Mission Post by Ignatius & Lieutenant Mindo & Raven Mattel
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Deck 5 - Pandora's Box
Timeline:
Mon May 21st, 2018 @ 10:25am

With the crew either pulling double shifts or resting after coming off double shifts, the Rec Deck was a ghost town. Essential power was being diverted back to the repair operations hoping to restore the engines and shields, so the majority of the entertainment precinct was closed down for the time being. This left very little to do for shop owner Ignatius and performer Raven Mattel, except to hang out in the only major facility still open, Pandora's Box. The two cut a strikingly different image as they sat in the deserted mess hall. Ignatius was dressed in his classically stylish grey coat and black collarless shirt, while Raven was wearing a bright pink dress and vinyl platform shoes in white. Neither of them, however, was wearing a smile.

"I miss Risa." Raven commented as she stared into her drink, stirring it slowly with her straw.

"I miss New York." Ignatius agreed with a sigh.

"Do you think everyone's okay?" Raven asked, looking thoughtful for a moment. "You know, no fatalities? I'd hate to be sitting here all bored and glum while people have... gone to that great drag club in the sky."

Ignatius shrugged, "Usually they would make an announcement about that, but the news has been very minimal either way. We'll be last to know, I'm sure."

Raven took a long sip of her drink and tasted it in her mouth for a few seconds. She swallowed resentfully, knowing all too well that she could make a far more tasteful and stronger cocktail if given the chance. "This has not been the introduction to the Pandora I was expecting."

"This is real life." Ignatius replied, his tone carrying a little bit of edge. "This is life on the front line."

"Woooork." Raven said, clicking her fingers half-heartedly.

The two were surprised when the doors to the Pandora's Box opened and this pity party had a new arrival.

It was Lt. Mindo, entering the place with an unzipped uniform jacket and a bottle of something. He looked around the room and saw no one but Ignatius and Raven sitting alone at the only occupied table. Mindo went to the bar and grabbed himself a glass, along with two more for the others.

"Cosmic thoughts, everyone?" he said, setting everything on the table and climbing up into an empty chair. His hair was disheveled and he looked exhausted. "I brought some tranya. Figured I could find someone to help me enjoy it."

“Lieutenant Mindo!” Ignatius smiled, reaching out to shake the Chief Engineer’s hand. “You look like hell, young man, if you don’t mind me saying.”

Mindo smiled and shook Ignatius' hand. "I feel like hell," he said.

Raven tilted her head back as she surmised the new guest. But more importantly, she was eyeing off his bottle of alcohol. “And yet he brings us a little taste of heaven. You came at just the right time, Lieutenant. The name’s Raven.” She demurred her long slender hand to shake with Mindo as well.

"Very nice to meet you, ma'am," said Mindo, taking her hand and giving it a small kiss.

“My, my!” Raven smiled, “Here we are lost in the middle of nowhere and I happen upon the two remaining gentlemen in the universe.”

Ignatius gave a laugh, “I’d say Mr. Mindo has me trumped there, Raven.”

Raven raised her eyebrows, but then her ruby red lips morphed into a surprised O-shape. “Oh wait, Mindo? You’re the creator of Little Caesars? The whole reason why I’m here!”

"I'm the one and the same," said Mindo. "You must be my new barista. Have you seen the place yet?"

"Ugh, well, I was on the way there when the ship decided to go for a spin." Raven remarked dryly. "But I saw plenty of images from the database, and it looks like a blast! How long did it take you to program?"

"It was actually a program I started a few assignments ago, but never finished until now. I guess it's been a labor of love for about... two years? Most of the actual programming was done here, though."

"Wow." Ignatius said with a nod, both he and Raven looking to the Chief Engineer with amazement. "I don't think I've ever worked on anything for that long."

"Me either." Raven agreed, "But I can tell this ship needs a bit of fun. Fancy restaurants and bars with a view are nice for those straight-laced officer types, but life needs a little kick every now and then." She gave one of her long slender legs a playful kick off to the side to demonstrate her point. "Any idea how long it will be until we can use the holodeck again?"

Mindo sighed. "Holodecks are not high priority right now, I'm sorry to say. There hasn't really been much time for what's left of our crew to relax. I'm supposed to be getting two hours of sleep in my quarters right now, but I'm a little too wired for that."

"I think I'm just avoiding the mess in my store." Ignatius sighed loudly. "I suppose the big advantage of having a holodeck business is that there's no clean up."

"Poor dear." Raven replied sympathetically. "I'll come help tomorrow, okay? Once I've settled in."

The clothier smiled in return, giving her a grateful nod. "Thanks, darling."

Mindo turned to Raven and poured her another glass. "Changing the subject," he said, "I hear you do a good song and dance."

"Honey, 'good' doesn't even begin to describe it." Raven replied with a heavy laugh, tipping her glass up to Mindo before taking a long swig. "Ah. Give me any number and I will storm the house down with it! I have my favourites of course, but I'm more than willing to learn some new ones to fit the theme of your Arcade."

Mindo grinned with an idea. "Our games are mostly from the 1980s, so songs from that era would do nicely. For some reason, I see you putting on an amazing show with the song 'Never Ending Story.' Heck, we could put clips from the movie in the background to compliment the performance."

"Never Ending Story?" Raven remarked, "Never heard of it. Sounds like one of those cheesy soap operas where the women wore large hats and slapped each other in a water fountain. If so, I am down for that."

"That sounds like great entertainment," said Mindo. "But it's actually a song from a popular twentieth-century Earth film. I can find you a copy if you like. The movie is also incredible if you don't mind the awful effects of the time."

"Please." Raven with a smile, eager to please her new boss as much as possible. She shifted a little in her chair as she took another swig of her drink. "So, gentlemen, I have a serious question for you both."

"Uh oh." Ignatius muttered, though his grin was evident.

Raven held up her hands, "I don't want to throw shade anywhere, I'm brand spankin' new to this ship, but I'm a little worried. Ignatius, after whatever happened today, you implied this wasn't the first time you'd experience some kind of major event like this. What does that mean?"

The clothier sighed a little. He could tell where this was heading and frowned. "Yes. A little while ago the Pandora went through what is called a Dark Matter nebula which knocked out our inertial dampeners. That time felt like being on an old-fashioned rollercoaster, while this was a far more vomit-inducing spinning."

"But still, not the first time recently where y'all were left clutching to furniture?" Raven asked pointedly. "I'm just going to speak my truth, I'm worried about what exactly I've signed up for here."

Mindo smiled and gave Ignatius a knowing look. "We're here on the Pandora to explore and discover," said Mindo. "Things being out of the ordinary is not out of the ordinary, if you know what I mean. The biggest reason I came to Starfleet was for assignments like this. The unknowing of what we will find. So don't be worried about things going terribly wrong. Chances are they will... just try to see it as an adventure."

Raven nodded along, "An adventure? Well I'm always up for some shenanigans." She took some air in through her teeth, wondering whether or not to push her point further. She was unused to being around Starfleet folks twenty-four / seven, or their attitude towards the work they do. "So what you're saying is that I should think about adding some stabilisers to my stilettos?"

She shrugged, "I guess I'm just wondering if this is part of deal or... if maybe this Captain is just making a bunch of mistakes?"

Mindo laughed. "You might say that. I see exploration as a series of educated mistakes. You learn from past mistakes so that you're careful when you make new ones. This incident with the Indigo Sky, for example. We had no idea what we were getting into when we found this place; but we made educated guesses as to its nature. We appear to have been wrong. So in picking up the pieces of that mistake, we learn to avoid similar errors in future cases like these."

Raven shrugged, “Seemed like that should’ve happened after the last time.” She took a deliberately slow sip of her drink.

“Raven.” Ignatius sighed loudly. “What are you fishing for?”

“I lost a good pair of stilettos out of this.” She replied, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t have the personal capital to keep repairing or replacing my shoes every week if this is what we’re supposed to accept to keep happening.”

“My store got turned upside and you don’t see me complaining. Not much anyway.” Ignatius said firmly. “It’s what you signed up for, girl.”

“Okaaay.” The queen replied, adding a little more emphasis on the end of the word. “I hear you, my friend. I’m just... adjusting. Damn near lost my weave as well.”

“Welcome to Starfleet.” He answered, slamming down his empty glass and giving a sigh. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should get to bed.”

The clothier gave a smile to Mindo and tipped his head to Raven. She waved meekly in response. Mattel relaxed back into her chair and contemplated the conversation for a bit. “I have a habit of doing that. Foot in mouth. I don’t mean anything by it, I’m just asking question.”

"No harm done," said Mindo.

“Here’s to you, Mr Mindo.” She smiled as she filled her glass once more and held it up to the Lieutenant. “And let us hope none of this conversation is held against me when considering my employment.” At this, She gave a large, husky bellowing laugh.

"You're fired," said Mindo. There was a long, awkward silence that hung in the air for a moment, until he added, "I'm kidding. Welcome to the Pandora, Raven!"

OFF