Late Night Introductions

Posted on Sun Sep 15th, 2024 @ 1:31pm by Lieutenant Commander Caradan Eunidas & Lieutenant Daniel Keith

Mission: The Only Thing Left Was Hope
Location: Transport
Timeline: Post "Urgent Reunions"

The ship they were on was a bit cramped. It was clearly over capacity. Caradan hoped they would not have to pick up many more of the Pandora's crew before actually finding the ship. Some of the crew were sleeping on the deck of the vessel, in cots, in closets, wherever they could find a place to comfortably lay their head. Caradan needed only a corner, cabinet space maybe, an empty drawer, wherever her regeneration bowl could fit without spilling over. Preferring real clothes and a real uniform over mimicking them, she had her duffels stacked in a corner along with her regeneration bowl. She stepped over the random sleeping body as she made her way through the cargo bay / makeshift barracks to the cot of "LT Daniel Keith?" she said as she arrived.

Daniel was sleeping, well not really what he was doing was lying atop two crates with a blanket thrown over them and he had his eyes closed. When a voice interrupted his rest. Cracking one eye open he sees a woman standing over him, next to his cot. Now opening the other eye he takes notice of her. She has sharp, observant eyes. Her face is all he can see of her as the rest of her figure is covered. Pants, long sleeve shirt, gloves on her hands and a al-amira light tight on her head and tucked under the neck of her shirt. He sits up and looks closer, *A Changeling* He thinks but isn't alarmed by the sight. "That would be me." He replies pleasantly and asks a question of his own. "Who might you be?"

"Lt Caradan Eunidas, Chief of Security U.S.S. Pandora. I noticed," that he had not been sleeping, hence why she stepped over, but she did not want to mention that; the level of detail she attended to, "that you are the Chief Tactical officer. And since we will be working in tandem often enough, I wanted to introduce myself."

Daniel smiled at both her and her explanation. "Most observant. A credit to you and your vocation." He replied with a smile of his own. He swung his legs the crates, so he was now sitting up. Thrusting out his right hand towards her, he stated, "A pleasure to meet you Caradan Eunidas. You are right, we will be working in tandem so, best to get to know one another."

"Um," and that was automatic. Caradan took the entirety of a quarter step back; restrained herself from retreating further. "Apologies if I do not shake hands." She fiddled with her own; pulled on her gloves to ensure a snug fit. Her next thought was to explain why, because it was only reasonable for him to wonder why she had an aversion to shaking hands. It was also something she did not want to get into, especially here. "I..." she sought something to break the ice, "I saw this is your third ship assignment, with also a Starbase on your resume."

If Caradan's reaction upset or bothered Daniel he didn't show it. He smiled at her and replied. "Sure thing, no problem Caradan." He answered easily and sat looking at her with an easy smile on his face. When she mentioned she saw this was his third assignment he nodded again. "Yes, the starbase was a good experience and I enjoyed but on a starship is where I want to be. Out among the stars, seeing and experiencing things you could never do on a starbase." He paused and asked a question of his own, "What about you? Served on a starship before?"

"Yes," she said, "only one really. The U.S.S. Tornado. I was the Chief Engineer in fact. While on mission needed radio silence, my captain needed a new First Officer and selected me. That thrust me into my first position outside of Engineering. I learned..." and it was there that her words trailed off. Her thoughts continued though. For it was there that she learned what it meant to lead, to be captured and become a POW, to be tortured, both physically and mentally, to lose people. "I learned that I needed to be flexible and versatile. For me, engineering was not my end all. Once the mission was over, the Tornado was decommissioned. It did see a lot of action. But I studied Command back at the Academy. And then I..." caught herself about to detail her second posting which showed up nowhere in her record. It was a posting with a man who called himself Lynch and the super secret Section that he worked for. "...then I turned to Security after feeling that is where I belong. The Pandora is only my second assignment, first as Chief of Security." Caradan looked at her hands as she fidgeted with them. Her explanation was about right. A lot left out, but it was true all the same. "Are you bringing anyone along with you?" she asked as she took her eyes away from her hands. "Family maybe?"

Daniel listened as Caradan told her tale when she had finished, he spoke. "So, you have command experience, that is good. The more officers that do increase our chances for survival in any mission." Daniel answered even as he caught her hesitation as she told her story. He looked at Caradan as it was his turn to talk. "My wife Olivia. She is my wife, my best friend, lover and confidant. She is all the family I need." He finished with a smile.

Caradan did not exactly smile, but one tugged at the edges of her mouth anyway. "That is good. I..." left her own people and then lost a number of her comrades from the Tornado then lost contact with the rest. "...do not have anyone but do like to think of my crewmates as family." She, at least, had thought that once, long ago. Losing people was hard and she felt losing would become easier if only she would not get close anymore. "I do find it difficult to fully grasp the...um..." she was sure they did not fully enjoy the term 'solid' and she knew the concept was adopted by more than just humans, but she decided on that term regardless, "...the human concept of coupling. I am no stranger to..." and Caradan stopped herself from using the word 'love.' Her former lover, from the Tornado, was thrust into her life once again as he was another crew member under Captain Temple. "...no stranger to witnessing relationships unfold and develop. Not too dissimilar than a ship's crew. And you are right. It is good to have command experience. I studied it but decided it was not for me. At least, not yet." Not after leading her crew into battle and losing many.

Caradan had to force herself to stop fiddling with her hands. Though Daniel could not see it through her silk gloves, she had turned her hands and fingers into stone, forbidding herself from flexing them, as it was too obvious, even to her, that she had a nervous tick about her. A Changeling...with a nervous tick...eventhough their kind did not have any nerves to speak of. Unless if they mimicked them of course.

"Rest assured," she said with a forced smile, "under my watch, the security of our ship and crew will be assured."

Daniel sat and when Caradan had finished, and he felt she was holding something back but he wasn't going to press her. After all she came to speak to him and that spoke volumes to him. "That isn't true Caradan. I mean yes the crew is your fAMILY. IT IS MINE AND Olivia's family as well but what meant and i know we just met but I would like you to think of yourself as part of Olvias and my family. We don't know anyone onboard outside of you. So, please consider yourself part of our family." Daniel finished with a smile and hoped Caradan could sense his sincerity in him telling. offering her to be included in his and Olivia's family. "After all." He added, "No one should be alone, no one."

Alone. After untold years in the Great Link where an individual's thoughts were known to all, immediately, where arguments and even wars could be fought and settled within seconds, where there is no privacy at all, being alone had become the only thing Caradan wanted. It took some years, but the infernal silence almost claimed her sanity. Yes, she needed to belong somewhere and be a part of a family to some degree, but she was also fearing becoming too close, to anyone. She had allowed herself to be intimate once and was not looking forward to letting that happen again.

"Thank you," she said, "for the sentiment. I do look forward to being..." and she trailed off. The word 'family' was what she wanted to say but found the idea and the connotations both foreign and bit too sensitive still. "I look forward to it," she corrected herself. "Your wife. I understand she is the Extra-Terrestrial Archeologist and Anthropologist. During our travels, I am sure she will prove invaluable to all as I am sure she is to you."

"You are welcome Caradan." Daniel replied with a smile. "I hope you do consider a part of Olivia's and my family." He paused as Caradan mentioned Olivia's fields of study. "That is correct. She has degrees in both Archelogy as well as Anthropology. You can rest assured we will be glad we have her out here with us and you can be sure she will prove herself invaluable. You won't find anyone better." Daniel answered as he finished singing Olivia's praises. It was obvious he was quite proud of her and her accomplishments.

Along with introducing herself to him, Caradan had another reason for speaking with him. She had a few opportunities before but found herself deciding against it the more she thought about it. This time, however, upon thinking it, she had stood and had stepped over to him. Despite her final chance at ignoring it all, Caradan went with it. "I, uh...I would like to get her help with something. Once we are settled aboard the Pandora that is. Once we have the equipment and the time to spare. But...being an anthropologist, she would know more of this than I. You see, there is still so much Starfleet does not know about Changelings; things that we...I...do not even know. Despite everything..." Dominion War, "...there are many unknowns. It is not like we have a complex biology, but we are complex so to speak."

Daniel sat and listened as Caradan revealed her ulterior motive for seeking him out. He was silent as she haltingly asked for Olivia's help. When she had finished, he tilted his head at her. "So, you used meeting me as an excuse to get me to talk to Olvia about you? Or has a means to break the ice with her or perhaps even to have me introduce you to her." His tone neutral, not accusing or angry just even, neutral. A few seconds passed as he just looked at her then he smiled. "It's all good Caradan. I'm sure Olivia will jump at the chance to study you and help you learn more about yourself and as for being complex. News flash, we are all complex in one way or another."

Caraan froze, nearly turned herself to stone, but realized who she was talking to; the Chief Tactical Officer. If anyone was going to be a master tactician, it would be him; able to see through all actions and deduce all ulterior motives. Thought Caradan was not necessarily using him, she could see how it certainly appeared that way. She made a mental note that, whenever she had another idea such as this, to punch herself in the face and then forget the whole thing. "You are, no doubt, correct," she finally said. "We are all complex. I will seek out her expertise once we are settled on board the ship." She regarded the man with a nod. "I will not keep you any longer," and she took a step back, ready to return to her corner of the makeshift barracks.

Daniel studied her a moment maybe two before he replied. "No need to run off Caradan unless you want to. I'm not mad or upset and I am enjoying our conversation. Getting to know you. For as you said we will undoubtedly being working together quite a lot, and I have no desire for there to be any problems between us. I prefer a good relationship, and I am sure you do as well. As for Olivia, I will tell her of you wanting to talk to her but leave the reason unsaid. That is for you to tell her unless you wish for me to alert her about what the topic of discussion will be."

"No...I...will...I, um," and she paused, drew a deep breath into a pair of lungs she did not even mean to mimic, "I am a terrible conversationalist," as she moved to sit upon a nearby crate. "On duty, talking about work, I have no trouble." She looked around, about the place as she could not keep her eyes fixed on any one thing. She blinked, looked at her hands, back to Daniel, away again. "Candid conversation," she shrugged, "talking about myself..." and she shook her head.

Daniel made no comment. That she was a terrible conversationalist was evident and didn't need to be highlighted. Instead, he took a different approach. "That's good that you realize that. So, we're going to work on you becoming a better conversationalist. You can do it. All you need is some practice, lots of practice." He amended, "And it starts now." So Caradan, "Have any funny or interesting stories from your time as a security officer and later chief?" He prompted her.

Caradan thought about the time she tracked down another Changeling who was ultimately disguised as an animal's rotting carcass, but she had been working with Lynch and his Section. Besides, she was under orders to tell no one of that on top of the fact that she was hired to track her own kind. She then thought about the time she actually managed to get drunk with Mindo, but Mindo was still a tender subject at the moment, not to mention the Pandora's XO. The funniest thing Caradan could think of was the times she thought herself a good leader and good strategist, having an amazing plan to bring down a rebel faction only to end up a POW.

Nothing worthwhile was coming to mind. Except...

"There was this one time, during my initial time at the Academy; I was training in Engineering then. A captain in security wanted to run a drill for all the students in the School of Command building. He locked down the building, set a dampening field so the highest setting for phasers was for low level stun, set me loose to infiltrate, mimic, and do my worst. He set off the infiltration alarm, announced a Changeling was loose in the building and wanted to see how long it would take for the students to work together and capture me. As long as no one died or was injured, I could incapacitate as I saw fit. There are ship captains out there right now who once found themselves bound and gagged and tossed into maintenance closets. In the end, it took them six hours to find and stun me. After I had managed to," and Caradan put up two fingers to quote, "'KILL' twelve of the cadets and reclassing lieutenants."

Caradan said all that without breaking even a small smile.

Daniel sat and listened attentively He knew of ways to as Caradan began her story. As he sat and listened, he was making mental notes about her ability to schange and mimic other forms including humans and other races. He knew of ways to combat a Changeling, Mirrors, would show their true form, retinal flares and of course fire would kill a changeling. He kept the information to himself though he had no doubt Caradan already knew all this and more. When Caradan had finished her story, he nodded and Said,"Very interesting. How did they finally recognize you and capture you? If you don't mind telling."

Caradan showed no restraint in continuing. "The other students had me cornered, down to a few offices and closets. They had the ventilation ducts covered, so I had little other choice. I mimicked one of the students, this cadet captain, before coming out of hiding. I went straight to that cadet captain and we fought; wrestled more like. We rolled about on the floor to the point that the others could not know who was who. To my misfortune, this cadet captain was an unpopular one. The others, and they had figured out that this was all a drill, but they had no objections to stunning us both until the cadet was on the floor, unconscious and soiling himself and I was unable to maintain form."

"I didn't want to do it, you know," she added before Daniel could say anything. "The drill, that is. And be the villain. I was still new to Starfleet and wanted to prove myself. But I was suddenly given two choices to make. On the one hand, I could be the villain in a drill full of students who were either Dominion War vets or had lost family in the war. Either way, they would have animosity toward Changelings. On the other hand, I could disobey this captain giving me a direct order to take part in this drill. I figured disobeying a direct order would be worse so I went with it. Only later, did I find out that he had no authorization to establish that drill. His superiors denied him setting up and running a Changeling Infiltration Drill, but he could do any other drill that he wanted. He waited until his superiors were away at a meeting before ordering me to take part." Caradan shrugged. "When they found out, I was being caught and the drill was winding down. I was counselled of course, but told I did nothing wrong. Only to see any orders in writing if they came from someone outside of my chain of command. The Security Captain was reprimanded and taken off the promotion list for 4 years. I..." and this was where Caradan was stuck on. "...I was taken advantage of. Probably sowed more distrust for Changelings during that drill. I guess I should have seen it coming."

Daniel nodded as Caradan added a follow-up to her story. "Should you have seen it coming? Probably but as you said you were following orders and no doubt wanted to prove you could follow orders and be trusted. Hindsight is a wonderful thing Caradan. You can see everything with absolute clarity and review where you made mistakes. This is the lesson from that encounter, don't be so trusting, so eager to prove yourself. As for sowing more distrust, it is possible but I'm willing to bet most don't feel that way." He straightened up. " As for me, I take people with an open mind. I don't hold the past against them." He paused for a moment before continuing his eyes locked on hers. So, in that regard, I'd like us to be friends and to trust one another when it comes to doing our job and protecting the ship and crew."

She could not keep her eyes locked on his though, and had to look away, around, back at him, down, at her hands. Caradan simply could not keep her eyes on any one person for too long. She thought, however. Trust was not going to be an issue. They both wore the uniform and operated under the same command, so her utmost trust in Daniel was already there. Friendship, on the other hand, felt a tall order to her. She forced herself to not discount the possibility outright. Caradan nodded and said, "I would like that." Her eyes connected with his again, for all of two seconds before sending them away elsewhere. She did not want to throw in any 'but's or conditions or say it will take time; anything of the sort. Friendships were necessary for a crew and a ship to function. Again she nodded, complete with repeating the same words, "I would like that."

Daniel watched with amusement as Caradan's eyes darted every which way an on occasion would lock on his for a few seconds before darting off again. It surprised him, her lack of eye contact as he thought she appeared to be otherwise very self-confident. He nodded in approval as she said she would like to be friends. Truth be told it was good for him and Olivia as they were probably the newest members of the crew and being friends with the security chief certainly couldn't hurt. "Excellent Caradan. I like that as well and it only makes sense for us to be friends as you are already a part of Olivia's and my family. Wouldn't look right if we weren't friends." He chuckled in good humor.

"I suppose not," she said. Caradan did not really what to make of Daniel's words. He seemed friendly enough, almost too friendly, or overly friendly with the intent on wanting something in return. She was expecting him to suddenly break in with something along the lines of, 'oh, I have a favor to ask of you.' She even reconnected her eyes with his for only a second, expecting exactly that, but those words never came. Of course, they wouldn't. He was the Chief Tactical Officer and certainly had more tact than that. Sometime soon, though, he would approach her with a favor to ask and...Caradan realized she was 'doom spiraling' as her Academy counselor had said on multiple occasions.

"I, um," Caradan started, with a seconds long reconnecting of the eyes with his. "It would not look good, to the crew, if we...did not...be friends." And it was the word 'friends' that she ad the hardest time getting out, but out it came. "Once we find the Pandora, we are, of course, going to operate on a skeleton crew until we can fill the ranks and the positions." She nodded with her head toward her area in the corner. There was no cot, just some duffels and an empty bowl sitting alone. "I am going to start working on a preliminary shift rotation. You and I will both have to double as Security and Tactical until we get the numbers."

Daniel was silent as Caradan spoke. He silently observed her, her words, her body language the way she avoided looking at him except for fleeting moments. When she had finished, he didn't rush a reply. He continued to observe her. Her hesitation over the word friend. *Surely it couldn't be foreign to her.* He thought. Finally, after a few seconds but probably felt like an eternity to Caradan he spoke. "Wow Caradan, not really a ringing endorsement for wanting to be friends. But then again that is probably my fault. I came on strong, wanting to make a good impression and be on good standing with the security chief. So, I apologize. As for having to double as both Security and Tactical, not a problem. I, we can handle it until we get more crew.

Caradan gave nods to her acceptance to his apology. She could only continue doom spiraling as she quested into what he was expecting; a song and dance? Perhaps if he knew the struggle it was for her to use the word 'friend' then maybe he would be the one performing the song and dance. She connected eyes with him, away, back again. "You're right. I mean...you're not at fault. I...uh..." and Caradan trailed off a little, not knowing what she had wanted to say next. "As my counselor told me...lots of times...one day at a time." She managed to maintain eye contact with him. Not with one eye though. She went back and forth between camera 1 and camera 2. "We will get there," she said as she repeated Counselor Lauda's words to her. She was not entirely confident in those words but hoped in the end result of their repeated use. "We will get there," she said again as she awkwardly extended her hand.

Daniel took the offered hand and gave it a firm handshake. "Caradan, please don't apologize. In my desire to make a good impression, I realize that I probably came on too strong and that it probably made you feel uneasy. I'd be most grateful if you could just overlook it." Daniel replied as he still held her hand. Then realizing he still had hold of said hand, he blushed and let go. "I think you have the right approach, or your counselor did when you one day at a time. I think that is a good philosophy. Take it on day at a time." He smiled. "Let's take it one day at a time."

Caradan connected eyes with Daniel briefly as she reclaimed her hand, flexed her fingers and fought against the desire to fiddle with them. She feigned a smile as she nodded in approval. "Yes," she said. "And thank you. I should...get back to my bunk..." but she did not really have a bunk, but a, "my bowl...my corner. I..." she wanted to get to work on a preliminary security rotation, but she also wanted, needed, to sound friendly toward him, "...will let you get some rest. I think we will need it when we get to wherever we are going." She stood and only took a half step back before she stopped. "Rest well. I look forward to working with you."

Daniel's eyes were on Caradan as she flexed her hand, saw her desire to fiddle with it but stopped. Saw her pasted on smile even as she nodded her head. Now he nodded his head. "Yes, you need to rest and your welcome." He answered smoothly evenly even if he felt he had disappointed her, He nodded again, "I'm sure we will have our hands full once we reach our destination and then again when we actually board the Pandora. I look forward to working with you as well Caradan."

Caradan turned and started away, stepping over sleeping and snoring bodies as she made her way back to her corner. Her regeneration bowl was tucked away in the corner surrounded by her duffels acting as walls. During her trek, Caradan realized she had not asked Daniel for any story of his own, any experience, even humorous ones, from his time as a Tactician. Friends normally asked after such things. She felt it was awkward to turn back and do just that, but, at the same time, felt small. She wanted to simply flow away and, thankfully, being a Changeling, she was able to do exactly that.

Arriving upon her duffels, Caradan laid down upon them as though upon a bed, stuck her hand into her regeneration bowl and allowed her being to flow into it. The clothes she wore, to any outside observer, appeared to simply deflate and flatten out nicely atop her bags.

From his vantage point, Daniel watched Caradan walk away an back to her duffel and bucket. From there, he watched as she laid down and just seemed to melt away. He knew she had returned to her regeneration bowl, but it was still quite extraordinary to watch in person. He hoped Olivia could help Caradan learn more about herself along with them becoming friends. Yet it seemed the idea was odd to Caradan. He hoped she learned to accept and like the idea.