From: Jasmina Grosic (jgrosic_at_yahoo.de)
Date: Tue May 01 2007 - 12:07:12 PDT
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“A Letter From Home”
(continued from “Geoff’s Gala Garden and other locations”)
“Dear Gela,
How have you been? I hope everyone at home is doing well.
It has been a little while since my last letter, but on EARTH, in between assignments, there just wasn’t that much to report. When I left the GLASER, I was a little sad to leave the people I had made friends with behind. You know that sort of thing isn’t easy for me. But I’m certain there will be more than enough opportunities to meet new people on the GATEWAY station.
I arrived here this morning and let me tell you, it’s the most unusual place I’ve been assigned to so far…”
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Location: GATEWAY-2
Stardate: 2.70501.2058
Scene: Sickbay
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The doors to sickbay slid close behind Yao. The J’naii took a look around and then approached the man who appeared to be in charge.
“Doctor Gorman?” Yao asked.
The doctor looked up from a PADD he had been studying and smiled. “Yes, Lieutenant…?”
“Yao, sir.”
“Oh, you’re the new Chief Science Officer. Welcome to GATEWAY. What can I do for you?”
“I’m here for the standard check up.” Yao stated matter-of-factly.
“Did I forget your appointment? I was sure I didn’t call you to come in yet. That sort of thing isn’t something I usually forget.” The doctor looked puzzled.
“No, doctor, I don’t have an appointment, but I prefer to get these things done as soon as possible whenever I’m on a new assignment.”
“That’s unusual.” The doctor shook his head in amusement. “You’re probably one of the first officers I didn’t have to remind a dozen times and then almost drag in here for their physical, outside of Vulcans, of course.”
“What would be the point of postponing something that’s just for your own good?” Yao shrugged.
“What indeed?” the doctor agreed with a serious expression on his face, but inwardly, he was a little amused by the stiff behavior of the latest addition to the senior staff.
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Time Index: Half an hour later
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Doctor Gorman put the medical tricorder aside and gave the J’naii a reassuring smile. “Well, Lieutenant, you’ll be pleased to know that you’re perfectly healthy.”
Yao nodded and got off the biobed.
“So, are you starting work today or do you have some time to explore the station?” Jeffrey asked.
“Indeed I was planning to take a walk today. Are there any places you recommend?”
The doctor smiled innocently, then he said, “Be sure to stop by at the Schrodinger’s cat. It’s where the senior staff usually gathers after work.”
“Thank you doctor, I will.” Yao nodded and walked away.
**Kat is probably going to rip my head off when I tell her I sent that innocent lamb to the Schrodinger’s. But he does need to lighten up a little. Or she? I must remember to ask the Lieutenant about that the next time. How are you supposed to refer to someone who doesn’t have a gender? Anyway, I’ll make sure to check if everything is alright in an hour or so.** Jeff thought. Then his mind took a completely different direction, **I wonder if Kat saved me some of the leftovers from last night.**
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“So, after I completed the physical I started to explore the station. By the way, it was very pleasant that the doctor didn’t immediately jump onto the subject of me being a J’naii. Usually, for outworlders, that’s a rather intriguing subject. And not even that some of us …, but you know all about that. No, what I mean is, they are fascinated by us not having a specific gender. It’s normal to us, but some of them keep going on and on about it. You can’t imagine how annoying that can be sometimes.
Which brings us to the bar I visited after exploring some of the shops. It has a name that sounds pleasing to every scientist’s ear, but…”
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Scene: Schrodinger’s Cat
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The J’naii took a few cautious steps inside the bar which the doctor had recommended. With every step the shoes on Yao’s feet made a sound reminiscent of two pieces of Velcro being separated. The scientist raised both eyebrows in a mixture of surprise and disgust. Yao doubted that this was where the senior staff spent their leisure time. But when a waitress approached the new patron and asked what Yao would like to drink, out of politeness the J’naii sat down at the bar and ordered a cup of cocoa.
The steaming beverage arrived a minute or two later and Yao took a sip. Not before long, someone took the seat next to the J’naii. It was a Nausican. He looked at Yao and bared his teeth in the Nausican version of a smile.
“What’s a nice woman like you doing in a place like this?” he asked creatively.
Yao shifted uncomfortably on the seat and put the cocoa down. “I’m not a woman.”
After a few instants of digesting that information, the Nausican tried again, “a shapeshifter then? I got nothing against those. I’m all for variety, of you catch my drift.”
Yao sighed. This had to be the chattiest Nausican in the entire quadrant. It would probably have been best to just get up and walk away, but somehow the Nausican didn’t seem the type to accept being ignored. So, the J’naii said, “No, I’m not a shapeshifter. I’m a J’naii.”
The Nausican nodded, took a sip of his drink, looked blankly ahead and then said, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
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Time Index: Five minutes later
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The Nausican’s head was still resting on the bartop and Yao was getting ready to leave. There were a few paper napkins spread around the Nausican’s head which the bartender had generously provided. When Yao’s words had failed to get through to the Nausican, whose name was Perla, by the way, the J’naii had drawn some illustrations.
Perla raised his head. “You mean you don’t have…?” he asked for the umpteenth time.
A patient shake of the head from Yao.
“Then how do you…?”
Yao rummaged around on the bar top and produced illustration number four.
“Oh,” Was all the Nausican said before lowering his head again. A whole species that hadn’t and didn’t was more than he could wrap his head around.
As Yao left the establishment, the J’naii sighed. **Maybe I should carry a set of laminated cards around for these kinds of occasions. Then at least I wouldn’t have to keep doing the same drawings over and over again.**
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“And wouldn’t you believe it; I already made my first friend. He’s a Nausican, and we’ve arranged an anbojitsu training match for tomorrow. After I left the bar I went to meet the members of my new department. They seem a diverse and quite competent lot. Working with them should be interesting.
Later that day I went to the promenade again to catch a bite to eat. It wasn’t a very eventful afternoon, but I know there’ll be more things to report once I start working.
Give our parents a hug and take good care of yourself.
Yao”
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Scene: Chief Science Officer’s quarters
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After this first day on the station, Yao was just finishing a letter to Gela, the older sibling that was still living on the homeworld. Just before going to bed, Yao ordered the computer to dispatch the letter.
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Time Index: Next morning
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Yao woke up a little early, nervous about starting a new job. With a glass of fruit juice in one hand, the J’naii entered the living room. A small icon was flashing on the computer screen on the wall next to the replicator, indicating that Yao had received a message.
“Computer, display message,” Yao ordered and a letter from the homeworld appeared.
Yao began reading it with excitement but after the first sentence, the J’naii turned away from the screen with disappointment. It wasn’t a response at all. The letter read,
“Dear Gela,
How have you been?...”
and at the bottom of the screen was the all too familiar notice: Recipient refused acceptance of this letter.
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NRPG: Hello everyone! Thanks for the nice welcome. I’m still a little rusty because I haven’t posted in a while. I promise there will be more character interaction in my next post.
Also, is there something like a summary of your previous mission?
Jasmina Grosic «jgrosic_at_yahoo.de»
Lieutenant Yao
CSciO
GATEWAY STATION - 2
“…please stop putting quotes from Nietzsche at the end of your emails. Five years ago you were laughing your guts out over American Pie 2. What – suddenly you’ve magically turned into Noam Chomsky?” From JPod – Douglas Coupland
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