The U.S.S. Enterprise

It was early spring in the southern hemisphere of Maros An, but the coming summer had yet to entirely chase away the lingering chill in the air around the Andeti Military Base, the sentries on duty still in winter uniforms against a bitter wind blowing in from colder latitudes. Though there was no such respite for the sole miserable squad of recruits doing laps under the watchful eye of a drill sergeant. The rain threatened by the grey clouds above had yet to fall, but nevertheless most of those off duty were choosing to remain indoors. The majority were sitting in small groups around the mess hall with steaming mugs of haji to ward off the cold, some in various stages of consuming late lunches or early dinners.

On seeing a familiar figure enter, a couple of people from the group containing most of the off-duty members of the cryptography team waved over at her. "Hey Kerin, over here," one of them called. There was some shuffling and mumbled half-complaints as the group shifted to open up a space at the table.

Jim supposed that, maybe, since they were docked and he had nothing pressing to do, it would have made more sense to wander the starbase a while, get off the ship. It would’ve been a change of scenery, and maybe, if he had time in the next few days, he would leave, but for now, he needed to spend some time with his girl.

With only essential, working crew on duty in Engineering (plus Scotty, he could only assume, who never seemed to be off duty) it was a little less hectic than usual down there. Even moreso than usual, everyone had a maintenance task and was completely absorbed in it. Jim moved through the various turns and quirks of the Engineering deck with ease, not knowing all his girl’s secrets yet, but definitely getting there. When crew caught his eye, he would stop and chat, offer praise from Captain Kirk or idle commentary from Jim as he felt it necessary. All in all, it was a nice afternoon.

((ooc: random open post ftw, just because y’all deserve a chance to work out dynamics with my Kirk if you want. Feel free to find him wandering Engineering, on his way to the mess afterwards, or by paging him and being like ‘sir, wtf are you doing?’))

Really, it was just Bones. Why should one really hot night and a hella lot of ship-related stress change the epic Kirk-McCoy dynamic that had kept them thriving at the Academy? It probably had a whole lot to do with growing up and all that panicking and... Oh, to hell with it.

Jim was jumpy from a nightmare, details to remain undisclosed by his subconscious unless absolutely necessary, and pacing the hall in front of the CMO’s quarters. At some obscene hour in the middle of the morning when, really, Bones was going to grump for being woken up. But Jim needed him, in that stupid little way he always needed Bones when he got really stressed, and they’d been distant the past few weeks anyway and, damnit, Jim just needed his Bones. Which was why the Captain’s override code was coming out on the doctor’s door. Slipping quietly inside, Jim toed off his shoes near the door and crept into Bones’ bedroom.

Standing at the foot of the bed in the dark, he whispered a sharp, urgent, “Bones.”

The rec room was unusually quiet for an evening on the ship; with shifts turning over and exhausted crew members eager for relaxation and good company the room was usually at least semi-crowded and abuzz with the din of easy conversation between friends. Regardless, with the exception of a few relatively quiet officers in the far corner, the room was empty. Spock mused that while the change in atmosphere was not unpleasant it was most certainly unusual, and perhaps a bit unsettling; an unexpected break in an otherwise predictable pattern.

He sat alone at a table, a three-dimensional chess board laid out before him, its tiers messy with pieces in the midst of a vicious game against himself. While it had begun as a good exercise in finding ways out of his own strategies, he was beginning to find the process of outthinking his moves predictable and lacking in challenge.

A pro, and possibly a con, of that ease of play was that it gave him an opportunity to turn his attention inward and reflect on the circumstances and subsequent choices that had led him to be on the Enterprise. From his hybrid status to the destruction of his planet and death of his mother, he mentally retraced his steps, wondering if he had made the most logical choice in signing on as First Officer. Finding that train of thought to be distasteful he attempted to focus on the present. His eyebrows drawn together in thought, he moved a pawn up onto a higher tier, and then moved an opposing rook to claim it.

It was late night ship time, most of the crew sleeping in preparation for the start of the away mission in the morning. Adrian was fairly sure he was meant to be sleeping too. Even after all this time, though, he still tended toward insomnia the night before a mission. So it was that rather than sleeping he was in the shuttle bay, checking over the shuttle he was supposed to be flying the next day. He knew the engineering department kept them in good shape, but he liked to check over himself all the same. It never hurt to be aware of any quirks she might have beforehand.

The systems check midway through running on the pilot's console, he swung round in his chair at a faint sound from just outside the shuttle. He came to his feet and ambled over to lean out of the open airlock; "Hey, someone there?"

It was the day before the Ravanna mission and everyone was busy preparing for their assignments. M'Ress was going to be the primary communications officer until Lieutenant Uhura assumed her normal duties. As well as this distinguished role, however, M'Ress still had her regular duties in the Communications Lab. One such duty was running errands. As one would imagine, that was a duty that kept her on her claws (or toes, as the Humans say) before a mission. Everyone wanted to tie up loose hair.

M'Ress didn't mind commuting throughout the ship. It gave her a chance to get to know more of her crew and become familiar with the ship. Also, she knew that once the mission began she would not have much opportunity to leave the Bridge. This was the perfect time to stretch her legs and wiggle her whiskers, as Caitians were fond of saying.

M'Ress put on her best approximation of a Human smile as she turned into the first department.

Christine had a bad habit of keeping things from herself, namely things like just how okay she wasn't. But today she was going to let herself in on a little secret so she could slap a few metaphorical bandaids on. Insecurities, with her, were running too deep these days. And she was still so tense from assorted happenings in her weeks aboard the Enterprise that she could feel the tension in her body. Honestly, she didn't understand how people not in tune with their bodies could even move when they were tense. She eased off the yoga for a few days, or went a week without slipping any of her dance shoes on and she felt stiff from it.

Which was probably why she so felt the need to kill two birds with one stone on some shifts at work. This one, for instance, found her in the CMO's office, the CMO himself not being around, looking out on a more or less empty Sickbay from the office floor. She was on the floor because she was currently in the downward dog pose of the simpliest sun salutation, about to walk her feet forward into the triangle pose. She kept her breathing deep and even, letting herself connect to the space that was not her office but one she frequently used anyway. And more importantly, letting all her stupid stress and insecurity float away and go to the airvents to die.

Gaila was in an excellent mood. She'd been apprehensive about the welcome party, but it had gone well. Very well. She certainly hadn't expected the Aian officers to be so charming and attractive. Sex always put her in a good mood, and she had too much energy to simply return to the ship and sleep, so she grabbed a few bottles from her bureau, put them into a bag so as to preserve some semblance of professionalism, and went to ring for entrance at Scotty's quarters. It had been too long since they'd hung out, and she needed to see someone who knew how to have a good time.

There was something deeply satisfying about leaving engineering to head back up to his quarters not because it was that or collapse, but because everything that needed doing had been done. They'd caught up with backlogged maintenance requests a few days ago, but the novelty hadn't quite worn off yet. It was a good feeling. There was a definite bounce in his step as he strolled into the turbolift.

On its way up the 'lift stopped at the level housing, amongst other things, the comms department. He smiled at Uhura as she stepped inside. "Alright?"

It had been three days, and Nyota felt exactly the same. Somehow she and Spock had managed to keep the breakup relatively quiet, and while a few people knew she was hoping it would take a while before the rumors really started flying. Hopefully when they did, most people would know better than to ask her about it.

They were both completely professional on the bridge, of course, and she was certain that no one could detect the change in their relationship who didn't already know. Off the bridge, she avoided him. She didn't want to, but as she'd explained she needed a little time to adjust to the idea of just being friends. She had absolutely no doubt that in the near future, they truly would be. Everything she really enjoyed about being with him was based more on mutual admiration than mutual attraction. It was definitely better this way.

But she still couldn't sleep, and so once again she found herself in the observation lounge, watching the stars. Eventually she would wander down to the communications lab and work on updating the algorithms for the universal translator, but for now she just wanted to sit and watch the brilliant lights flash by... and let herself be a little sad.