SD241307.22 || Joint Log || LtCmdr Dahe'el & Dr Cannon M.D || Illuminating conversation.

Posted on Mon Jul 22nd, 2013 @ 7:35pm by Lieutenant JG Adrianna Baciami

1,706 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Secret Meetings
Location: Main Engineering / Personal Quarters

Thrum, Thrum

Almar closed his eyes and placed his feet up on the desk, the paperwork was gone, Main Engineering was quiet and the night shift was well underway, the medical staff had cleared him for full duties and for once he felt at peace, the first time since the incident on Earth.

Thrum, Thrum

Therapeutic was the word to describe the sound and feel of the Quantite Fusion Core, it was something the Cardassian had come to rely on, one thing that should remain constant against the turmoil of his mind.

Thrum, Thrum

"Excuse me," came a quiet voice, interrupting the man's peace, "I was wondering if you could help me, if you're not busy." A short ginger human, woman stood in the doorway, nervous and yet hiding it well.

Opening his eyes slowly, Almar placed his feet down on the deck and looked over to the door, a slight smile on his face, "For once, Lieutenant, I am not busy." the Cardassian replied with a glance at her collar, "What can I help you with?"

"Call me Mackenzie, Doc, or Cannon, I'm not one for formalities unless you make me unhappy," she grinned, "actually the lighting in my room is a bit... flickery and the one light has gone out totally."

"You'll be best off calling me Chief," Almar replied as he pushed himself to his feet and fished his toolbelt off the wall, strapping it around his waist before zipping up his jacket, "Lead the way Doc, we'll get your light sorted."

"Ok... chief," she smiled and gestured towards the door and walked by his side, "I grew up to be independant, but I cannot sort these lights out myself, mainly because of my lack of height." Mackenzie tried to make polite conversation.

"You are... quite small," the large Cardassian replied with a light chuckle as he gave a nod to his assistant on the way out, "Being over six foot means I can reach most things," he added as they stepped into the turbolift.

"I'd imagine being tall would have it's benefits in your profession," she smiled and stood next to him as the turbo lift got them to the right floor.

"Sometimes," Almar replied before a bit of thought, "Although there are times when being smaller comes in handy, some of the jefferies tubes can feel quite cramped," he added with a smile.

"I've never heard tht expression before," she mused, "jefferies tubes."

"That's what the crawl ways between decks and sections are called, they let us access the systems that are hidden in the bowels of the ship," the Cardassian replied, "They also allow people to move between decks when the turbolifts are offline."

"Interesting," she smiled up to him, "The last ship I was on, was quite... well... no-one really got on well with eachother, so I never learned much about the rest of the ship and stuff. Anyway," as they walked down a corridor Mackenzie gestured towards her quarters, "Here we are."

Stepping in through the door, Almar could instantly see the problem, just as the doctor had described it, "Computer, Diagnostic protocols, Personal Quarters, Doctor MacKenzie Cannon." he stated as he moved under the flickering light and pulled out a tricorder, "Shut down and diagnose lighting panel Delta Four."

Mackenzie nodded at her name and then sat on a chair and watched the Cardassian at work.

[Panel Delta Four is functioning according to Starfleet Guidelines.] the computer replied as Almar scanned it.

"Lying computer," he muttered under his breath as he reached up and unhooked the cover, letting it drop so he could access the interior of the panel.

"It's odd you knew my full name 'chief'" Mackenzie stated smirking, intrigued.

"It's on the door," the Cardassian replied with a sly smile as he reached for a tool on his belt and began rerouting power away from the lighting module, "People seem to forget that."

Mackenzie thought for a moment, "It is?" She shrugged, "learn something new everyday I guess."

"Everyone has their name on the door of their quarters," Almar replied with a slight smile as he dropped the tool back into its slot on his belt and took out another to begin repairing the circuitry.

"Thanks for doing this by the way, I hope I didn't disturb your relaxing time," she stood up and got herself a glass of water.

"I'm pulling the night shift," Almar replied as a few sparks flew from one of the components, he removed it with a quick flick of his wrist and began replacing it, "I'm on duty anyway," he added with a chuckle.

"I guess but still," she flinched at the sparks, "just don't kill yourself on the electrics. Though if you were going to, I guess it would be a good idea to do it with me here."

"I'll be fine," the Cardassian replied as he sealed up the work he had been doing, "I think it was just a malfunctioning detection system," he added as he replaced the cover, "Computer, activate lighting panel Delta Four."

She waited to see if his handy work had paid off, "you make it sound so simple."

The light flickered for a few moments before powering up fully, a smile spread across the Cardassian's face as he moved over towards the other light which had stopped working, "One down."

"At least I know that the engineering department has good members of staff," she muttered pleased.

"I try my best," Almar replied as he began to mirror the routine on the second lighting panel, taking his time and scanning for any faults, "I'm just glad that some people around here see me as an Engineer first, others only see my race first, which given what my people have just done, is never a good thing."

"Prejudice is common, I'm afraid. I cannot judge you by race, I'm a doctor first and foremost. You are an engineer before a Cardassian. I have no issues with you as an individual. Why should someone blame an entirity when an individual probably had nothing to do with it," she smiled, "You've given me no reason to 'hate' you, if anything, by fixing my lights, you'll have saved me from another hour of migraine." Mackenzie chuckled, "Plus, by your reasoning: I should be judged as a violent, quick tempered person just because of my hair colour and the stereotypes that come with it back home."

"The Humans I met on Earth did not share your views, least of all when they nearly killed me," Almar replied as he replaced the cover on the light and asked the computer to activate it, which it did with a flash of light, illuminating the scales of his face and neck, "They only saw my grey skin and scales, not the Starfleet uniform I wore."

"I cannot apologise for them, I'm afraid, but it makes me feel bad as a human when I see what we do to others," she ran her fingers through her hair, "You won't judge me on being human because of what my race did to you, right?"

"Do you think they would approve me for duty if I did?" the Cardassian replied with a slight smile, "I am a Starfleet Officer first, I do not judge a people based on their worst."

A smirk crossed her face, "Jolly good. Thanks for fixing the lights by the way. I think it was only those two."

"Only doing my job," Almar replied with a slight nod, "If anything else starts giving you trouble, just get me on my comm badge and I'll either come up myself, or send someone to fix it."

"Thank you anyway," she smiled and stood up holding out her hand, "And if you ever do wind up electrocuting yourself, you know how to get hold of me."

The Cardassian shook her hand gently and offered her a friendly smile, "I'm sure I'll be in good hands if that happens," he replied before turning on his heels and heading for the door.

"You know," she stopped him, "We're not all like that- humans, I mean."

"Like I said Doc, they wouldn't have let me back on duty if I thought that," Almar replied as he looked back over his shoulder, "Not all Cardassians are war-mongering reptiles, some of us desire peace."

"Just because you're fit for duty, doesn't mean you still wade in the past. I'm no counselor, so I can't judge though. I can see in your eyes you are not one of the extremists. I think you're a helpful guy," she warmly smiled and shrugged as she spoke.

"I'm a Starfleet Officer, it is my duty to protect the Federation, to serve this ship in the best way possible," the Cardassian replied as he turned slightly, "Some of us still believe in honouring our word."

"It's a good way to be," Mackenzie nodded, "You seem to focused, do you not make any judgements or decisions outside of your work mind-set?"

"I do, but I judge each person on their own merits," Almar replied with a slight nod, "I'm also a professional, regardless of my feelings towards a person, if they require my help, I am duty bound to assist them."

"You must excuse me, I'm new here and the last ship I was on was far from 'professional' in their mannerisms. It's all new to me," she sighed folding her arms across her chest, quite vulnerable, "I'm sorry, I'm keeping you from your work."

"Believe it or not, there isn't much that needs doing on a ship like this during the night," came the reply, followed by a light chuckle, "I'll be heading back to file the maintenance reports on your lights, then putting my feet up again, peaceful."

"Ah, well if you ever get bored and want to show me around this place, you know where I am," she chuckled unsure of herself.

"I'll let you know when I'm off duty," Almar replied as he turned and continued walking down the corridor, "Until next time, Doc."

"Good-bye 'chief'," she waited for the doors to shut before getting changed into so casual clothes for a relaxing evening.

 

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