SD241805.13 |JL | Ens. Amelia Diangelo & Lt. Evan 'Weirdo' Merlin | A clear head

Posted on Sat Feb 18th, 2023 @ 6:50pm by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Lieutenant Ra'lin Sha'mer

2,304 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Genesis
Timeline: BACKLOG

The talk with Rochelle and then her father weighed heavily on her shoulders, still. Even if she did talk to them and cleared the air, sort of. Amelia had been strolling through the ship and for the most part kept to herself, with the occasional acknowledging nod or simple hi to those that greeted her. Amelia needed a walk, staying in her quarters was starting to drive her mad, the walls can’t talk… and that voice, was it her own voice? She had left a message with her father saying where she would be going a futile exercise as the all knowing one.., almost all knowing one.

It took a while before she reached her destination, the promenade, a large open commercial area on the station, the girl walked along the top level and gazed down at the people, shopping, talking they all looked so happy, so carefree, leaning on the railing the girl in her unusual blue outfit continued to observe the people below her.

"People watching?" a voice asked nearby. It belonged to a man in a Starfleet uniform, but the collar hung loose, obscuring both department colour and pips. His hair was a dark mop of curls which surrounded his face like a halo. The sea-coloured eyes under it were fixed on her. "You picked a great vantage point."

The young blond woman gave a short and simple nod, keeping her eyes fixated on the people below. “Have I? I wouldn’t know. It’s my first time here on this station sir.” Came softly out of her mouth and met his gaze, briefly giving him a friendly smile and moved her head again returned her attention to the shoppers below.

"Well, you can give the other spots a try," the man said, gesturing around the upper ring. "There's a restaurant over there called 'Point Lookout' which gives a great view of the areas below us. Ideal for people watchers." He indicated with a nod of his head an area which extended out from the ring, allowing the people who sat there to look all the way down. "Then there's the pillar over there," he pointed to the left, "that's where some security officers like to hang out when it gets busy. Good vantage point, easy access to the turbo lifts in case of trouble. Yours is a popular spot, too, so if you hang around for another hour or so, you just might find one of those guys come over to share your hangout."

“Or get into a fight…” The girl muttered away from him and under her breath. Looking back at him and she smiled again. “Actually, I’m not here to hang around, I just don’t know where to go to be honest and I might even wander into an area where I don’t belong or do something I shouldn’t, seem to be doing a lot of that lately. “ Amelia said with no pause, perhaps unconsciously Amelia wanted some company.

"Well, unless you want to hack your way into places where you shouldn't be, you won't get access since you're not part of the station's crew," the man said with an easy laugh. "But most places are actually open for the public. Most people just tend to cluster around the promenade, though, or visit the arboretum. Or they stick to the habitats or maybe the docking rings. It's an enormous station and if you wander off into her depts, it's actually not that hard to get lost." As he talked, a glass ball appeared in his hand as if by magic and began to weave an elegant dance, rolling from the palm of his hand to its back, across his wrist, back to the palm.

“Oh with my current sta..” The woman interrupted herself and became intrigued by the small device the man had rolling around in his hand Amelia pushed off the railing and took a step towards the man. “What is that, if I may ask?” The young Ensign said out of pure curiosity.

The man smiled brightly and extended his hand. The ball seemed to hover just above it. He answered with a quote he had used once before: "It's a crystal. Nothing more. But if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams…" And indeed, the ball tilted, rotated ever so slightly, and it seemed that indeed some images flowed across its surface, or maybe from within.

For a brief instant the girl’s attention had been sucked into the ball, hearing and displaying her desires, recent memories and that dream. Especially that last one had a strong impact on her, It caused the young girl to stumble back and grabbing onto the railing while placing her hand on her stomach where she had been hit, it snapped her back to reality and with a slight shocked and confusion expression Amelia looked at the man his crystal ball whilst still holding onto the railing. What was that thing, what did it do to her?

A quick motion of hand and wrist and the ball vanished. "That was unexpected," he murmured, more to himself apparently than to her. "What did you see?"

“I’m not sure, you didn’t see that?” Amelia asked softly while picking herself up, looking around environment to make sure she was where she had been a moment ago. It was a strange experience to say the least, she did become more curious about the device as the initial shock subsided.

The man smiled gently. "Ah, but lady, the ball never shows the same thing twice, and shows different things to different people. After all, are not your dreams unique, belonging to you alone?" The ball made a brief reappearance, twirled on the tips of his fingers before vanishing once more.

“Maybe, I wouldn’t know if they are mine alone though.” Amelia said remembering the dream more clearly. “It feels like there’s someone else is watching too, trying to take control.” She softly added looking away again seeking answers.

"That sounds like you might want to talk with a Counselor," the man said gravely. "It clearly bothers you."

“I haven’t taken the chance to see one. You could say I have a phobia, unless you’re one.” Amelia chuckled softly, “if that’s the case, do you always operate like this?” She joked with a laugh starting to find him amusing, even with that weird device of his.

"Oh, there are many people who try to avoid Counselors like the plague," the man laughed. "I really don't understand why, they're kind people and they listen to other people's problems, and try to help. But I've seen Admirals try to dodge meetings with them at all costs, so your kind of phobia is hardly unusual." He grinned. "No, I'm not a Counselor myself, though. Generally, when I have to come in action, the time for talking is long past." He grew pensive for a moment, shook his head. "Come to think of it, that's not entirely correct, these days," he added and smiled again.

“hm.., shall we take a walk?” Amelia interrupted the topic for a brief moment and extended her hand towards the upper walkway they were on. Seeing the red in his uniform she knew he was from the command department but which function did he have? Indulging her curiosity even more she squinted her eyes slightly pretending to be deep in thought, “Oh I know which department you work for! The marines!” The girl answered having it obviously off by a mile.

"Almost," the man said. "StratOps, which explains the red. I saw you looking," he added with a quick grin. "Try not to go for dim, it suits you ill." He began to walk while he talked, moving easily across the quiet upper promenade. "Did you have a place in mind?"

“I wanted to stretch my legs.” Amelia replied, “And I apologize, I didn’t mean to sound dim.” She added, remained silent while keeping some space between herself and the man.

The man lead her partway around the promenade, then turned into a wide, well-lit corridor. "So it was a deliberate lie, then?" he asked with a twitch of an eyebrow, and a faint smile lingered on his face. The ball reappeared and began its mesmerizing dance again.

The young ensign looked at the man and gave a short nod, admitting to her lie. “Yes but only to be humoro...us,” with a slight interruption in the word as she saw the ball again and becoming distracted, stepping more slowly the girl eventually attempt to stop walking at all only being focused on the shiny globe. "I had no... intention... of being mean, sir." The girl said half dazed, almost being taken by a magical spell of some kind.

The man, however, kept walking, so in order to remain mesmerized the young woman had to keep moving or risk falling behind. "Few people ever have, fortunately" he said pleasantly. "So, young walker, mind telling me your name?"

Still focused on the ball and trying to keep up with the man, Amelia didn’t want this, not this way. “My name is…,” The girl started and looked away up at the man’s face, breaking the concentration she had on the shiny crystal ball. “Sir, your hobby is fascinating but a bit distracting.” The ensign said politely. " It's Amelia, by the way."

"Pleasure to meet you, Amelia." With a final twirl, the ball vanished. The man gave a slight bow, making the curls on his head fall forward and flip back again. "I'm Evan Merlin, also known as 'Talks With Turbolifts', 'Clark Kent' or 'That Weirdo'."

“Wier-do? That’s an interesting nickname, sir.” Raising an eyebrow slightly and couldn’t help but chuckle at the bow. “How did you end up with that one?” The ensign asked curiously as she placed her hands behind her back, the woman could probably have guessed it, But then again she had the occasional urge to bring one of her guitars along to the office. Amelia ultimately refrained from doing so.

The man grinned. "That one just tends to follow me around. It's like: 'Merlin? I think I've heard of him, haven't I? Oh, wait – you mean that weirdo!'. 'Talks With Turbolifts' was actually when I just arrived on CST again – the 'lifts heading up to Central Ops are part of the old systems and tend to be somewhat temperamental. So when I asked it to stop shaking and rattling and stuff I was actually in the turbolift with my CO, so, well." He shrugged, sea-coloured eyes twinkling. "Clark Kent was when I gave an Engineer a tour of the station. She actually showed up during the masked ball later as Wonder Woman. Engineer-style, so with some interesting modifications. It was awesome!"

Amelia smiled delightedly, it was nice to hear his story. “That’s amazing, sounds like you have a lot of history on this station, seems like a lovely place, when the turbolifts work.” She jested a little. It was strange being here with him, having only just met him a few moments and despite that she thought he was hypnotizing her, she already liked him. “Have you been stationed here long?”

"A couple of months, I think. But this station and I go way back. My first memory is of arriving here." He smiled. "Of course, that's awhile back." He made a casual gesture with one hand, an airy wave. "Long story." Meanwhile they'd reached the end of the corridor and he gestured with his hand to the door, which opened obediently. In front of them stretched a quiet lounge, with magnificent windows which looked out into space. To the left, rotating gently towards them, was a bright nebula. Stars dotted the remaining space. "It's called the Stargazing Lounge. Actually, there are a few of them, on different locations on the station, but this is the Promenade one. It's always quiet at this time of day. A perfect place if you want to look at the stars."


The moment the doors had opened and they we’re far enough into the room magnificently lit by the nebula Amelia became amazed by its beauty. “This is... I., ” The girl spoke softly not believing what she saw, the closer she got to the large windows, the more of the beautiful gaseous cloud came into her view. “Woah.” Amelia whispered placing her hands on the glass to get as close to it as possible the young woman had never seen anything like it.

"The Ul-Kamari Expanse," the man said, gesturing towards the nebula. "It's where I came from. Well, sorta." He shrugged, then smiled. "I'll leave you here to your musings," he said quietly. "And really… when you go back to your ship, talk with a counselor. Something's bothering you, and maybe he or she can help." He gave an airy wave with his fingers and began to stroll away.

“Ul-Kamari…” She had heard of it, just never paid much attention to it, to any stellar phenomenon for that matter. The young woman could hear the words he spoke while keeping her gaze focused on cloud outside trying to study every detail, writing as much of it to memory. When she was done Amelia looked over her shoulder to thank him but he had already left, raising the corner of her mouth Amelia looked back at the cloud sighing softly. Raising her arm to her chest the woman pressed on her combadge lightly. “Ensign Diangelo to Commander Neyes.” She spoke softly, deciding to take the plunge.

---

Ensign Amelia Diangelo
Intelligence Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

&

Lt. Evan 'Weirdo' Merlin
Acting XO & Chief Strategic Operations
Cold Station Theta

 

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