By Lt. SG Avery Breaux and Ensign Rada Dengar
Stardate 80124.14
--= During the Party: Arboretum =--
Stardate 80124.14
--= During the Party: Arboretum =--
Breaux noticed another Engineer, a young man with dark hair. Avery picked up a plate with a Ktarin chocolate dessert that had been sliced into several pieces.
From the looks of it, it was a tremendous looking cake that Fleur had put a great deal of effort into. Breaux put two forks on the platter and grabbed two plates. As he moved toward the young engineer, Avery passed Fleur, "You've caused me to be conflicted... I don't know which of your desserts to settle on..." He smiled and kept moving.
Breaux sidled up to his engineering mate, "I figure at the rate I'm consuming alcohol, I better have some cake...breakfast of champions...care to share? I'm Avery Breaux, I see we're engineering mates."
"Thank You, Sir" replied Rada whilst accepting the dessert. "I'm Ensign Rada Dengar, pleased to meet you," Rada transferred the dessert to his left hand and extended his right hand to the Lieutenant. Avery shook Rada's hand firmly.
Rada hated this part of contact with Terrans, he could never figure out the right amount of force to use. Whilst Rada knew that a firm grip was necessary, he had remembered once meeting a Klingon who mistook Rada for a Terran and offered his hand.
Rada must have gripped the Klingon's hand a little too hard and the Klingon took it as a challenge of strength. Rada couldn't write for a month after that. He was grateful that that did not happen this time.
Avery consumed a fork full of dessert making quite sure that his enjoyment could be clearly seen by any attractive French chefs that may be watching. Rada observed this but not knowing Breaux's feelings for Fleur, just assumed he must have an incredibly sweet tooth.
"How are you finding the systems on the Sera?" Breaux asked.
Rada swallowed a mouthful of the Ktarin Chocolate dessert, he knew that in certain cultures this level of indulgence could be considered criminal. One bite and he could understand why so many planets had an overcrowding problem in their prisons."I haven't had a chance to have much of a look at them yet," lied Rada.
"But this Gateway seems to be rather impressive." In reality Rada had spent every free moment he'd had studying the modifications to the Sera since he was posted here, with special consideration given to the Gateway. He did however believe it was safer to let people think he was working as a novice for as long as he could. That would at the very least excuse some mistakes.
"Yes, it does," conceded Avery, deciding it was best not to mention his preference for the gel packs. "But I would actually prefer to work on machines that are much more sophisticated, and I'm a bit cynical I suppose, I'm waiting to see what glitches may need to be ironed out...too long in Engineering I fear."
Rada couldn't think what Avery could be referring to, after seeing some of the technology on the Alchemy and the Sera, Rada couldn't believe it was possible to get much closer to the cutting edge without actually injuring oneself.
"Actually, Engineering has held me prisoner over the years, not that I didn't enjoy the challenges offered on the Erasmus, but...I always felt my passion was to be a doctor. Not so different in some respects," Avery elaborated.
Rada's first instinct was to blurt out that Avery was mad which was how he felt about anyone who would be a doctor. Rada thought that anyone who would attempt a warp core overhaul whilst the engine was still running had to be mad.
Of course Rada never followed his first instinct. "That's a good ambition," he commented. "How long have you been interested in medicine?"
"A long time now," explained Breaux then laughed adding, "too long I'm afraid. I would have been studying medicine before you were even born, and now I'm not sure that's what I want. Eventually I'll figure it out when I grow up..."
Rada wondered why Breaux wasn't a doctor already but knew from his own experience that the only thing worse than failure to achieve your dreams was to have to explain why you hadn't.
Whilst Rada might not have known exactly why, he did get the impression that this was not a simple case of a lack of ability.
"And you Rada...any dreams you're chasing?" Breaux inquired.
To which Rada had to concede that for far too long the answer had been "No."
Lt. SG Avery Breaux
Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Ensign Rada Dengar
Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Ensign Rada Dengar
Engineering Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012