News and Date Preparation
Posted on Wed Feb 26th, 2025 @ 5:59pm by Ensign Connor Turner & 1st Lieutenant Marjani Smith
Edited on on Fri Feb 28th, 2025 @ 5:47am
2,819 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: Quarters of Marjani Smith - Empok Nor
Timeline: MD003 1000 hrs
Connor woke up with a pillow in his arms rather than Marjani. He was uncertain how she wiggled out from his arms without his noticing. She was a woman of many mysteries, but he enjoyed being pushed a bit by her and she gave him security when he was uncertain about himself.
He stretched and started looking about for some sort of clue where she went. Sure enough, there it was: a note. It explained that she went to see her Aunt. While he thought it was odd that her aunt might be up at this hour, he reckoned that Marjani knew her aunt best and simply shrugged it off.
Without Marjani being there, there was little else to do but to get himself ready for the day. He took his morning constitutional and got himself ready to be presentable. He straightened out Marjani's bed, made it, and then set about replicating himself some breakfast. He only wondered what they would do today. Perhaps they would stay in and he would enjoy all the pleasures of one another and watch a holovid or two in between.
The door opened and Marjani stepped through, calling out, "Honey, I'm home!" just to try saying that once, to see how it felt and someone answering back. Hopefully Connor would answer back. She turned to take off her jacket and kick off her shoes, placing them neatly in against the wall near the door.
Wow! Marjani is unusually cheerful! And she called me, "Honey!" Wow! Connor's heart skipped a beat and he replied, "Welcome back, sweetie! I'm just recycling my breakfast. How was the early breakfast with your aunt?"
Marjani walked over and swept Connor into a heartfelt kiss, his answer felt so nice to hear. She shoved the conversation she had with her Aunt to the back of her mind. She'd pull it out of that box later on and re-examine it later.
Connor allowed himself to be swept into the kiss, forgetting the world around him. When Marjani ended the kiss, Connor informed her, "Well, that's quite the greeting there. You're rather chipper this morning. Any particular reason?"
"Well... it was a good breakfast with my aunt and, I don't know how to say this except for- I have been asked to join the crew of the USS Carthage, I am going to be their helm officer. And, well the USS Carthage operates out of Empok Nor," Marjani blurting out the news.
"Hold on," Connor started, not certain what to make of this news. Marjani was obviously excited, so he wanted to be there for her. While the Carthage and Pioneer both operated near Empok Nor, they still were different ships. He wished that she was on Pioneer so they could spend more time together. "What does your aunt have to do with the Carthage and what does this mean for Talon?" Is Talon going to be abandoned? Poor Talon! If so, we're going to have to explain this to him."
Marjani was confused for a moment, then clapped her forehead lightly with the palm of her hand. "Oh! Okay so after I spoke with my aunt, I stopped by a place to think about what Aunt Janeen had spoken to me about and well, I met someone who was looking for someone to be his helm officer. Don't worry he knows I have a boyfriend." Marjani smiling. "Anyway, we struck up a conversation and I accepted the position."
"I'm not worried about whoever the person you talked to was. I know that you would never cheat on me," Connor replied confidently. "So, when does the Carthage leave? What does this mean for Talon? What does this mean for us? Since you announced that you have a boyfriend, I doubt anything changes much, but still.... And what did Aunt Janeen talk to you about?" Connor asked in near rapid fire, which was unusual for him, but despite that, he wore a smile on his face and his voice seemed enthused for Marjani.
"Well, she told me about my Grandpa Joe who had been in an accident. The P-51 Mustang plane that my Uncle, Grandpa Joe and I reconstructed, well, it crashed and there shouldn't have been any problems. As the mechanics and the components are checked and rechecked to make certain all the parts are well maintenanced. There is an investigation going on for why the plane had crashed. But I am so happy that I got to see Grandpa Joe, as well as my Grandma May. I am so relieved though." Marjani smiling.
Taking Connor by the hand and heading over to the couch, Marjani sat down. "As for Talon, he will be alright and won't be abandoned. And the Carthage, she will be leaving once your shoreleave is over. The Captain understood that I wished to spend time with you, while you were here."
"Well, that's rather convenient," Connor answered with a stupid grin. "Though, I am sorry to hear about your grandfather. Is there anything that I can do about that?" He fretted for a moment. "I could look at everything, if you would like."
"I will speak to Grandpa Joe and see what he says. However, we are here together, and I want to spend more time with you. Part of me wants to watch a movie and just make the most of the time we have. Then though, I came across a place that is here on Empok Nor, it's called Never Winter, sort of like based upon the D&D tabletop roleplaying games. Uh have you ever played that game before?" This was something Marjani hadn't mentioned as there were some who thought it strange to play a game like that.
"Well, we have some more time, so we will have time to see another holovid. It is not like today is going to be the last night we have together. Shore leave does not end for a few days at least. So, if you want to go to this Never Winter, then we shall go. Besides, I've played a lot of d&d, but usually it is done on the holodeck."
He tilted his head at Marjani and asked, "Why didn't you ever tell me that you liked to play D&D?"
Marjani's mouth dropped open. "I-I had no idea that you played that game. I didn't want to say anything as there were people who thought that playing the game was stupid. I got mixed reactions when I mentioned it. I wasn't certain on mentioning it." She gave an apologetic shrug. "What sort of character do you like to play?"
"I prefer a wizard or a paladin," Connor answered quickly. He then put his arms around Marjani and gently started to turn her towards him. "Don't be afraid of telling me anything, Marj. I'm your boyfriend. You should not be afraid to tell me anything. I don't care what it is. Alright?"
"OKay, I will make certain to remember that." Marjani smiled. "I tend to play a ranger or a fighter." She shared the character she liked to play. She paused. "Okay I was right when I called you a wizard, which is rather surprising. And why didn't you tell me you liked to play D&D?"
"Well, I don't do it via tabletop normally. I do it on holoprograms. So, not really the same thing, I don't think. Technically, I guess, it is LARPing." He bit his lip. "Maybe I'm terribly technical." He shrugged apologetically.
Marjani just stared at Connor, "Remember when I asked what else you do on your personal time and asked about you designing a program to have fun in? You could have told me about you doing D&D on the holodeck we could have been doing that. As part of shoreleave." She gave an incredulous chuckle. "Still though I am glad that I found out now." She pulled Connor in for a delighted kiss.
Connor was about to say something about him not thinking that Marjani would enjoy that but after getting swept into the kiss, he completely forgot whatever it was that he was about to say. When the kiss broke, he asked, "How do you do that?"
"How do I do what?" Marjani giving a smile all starry eyed from his kiss. She searched his face, her eyes questioning.
"That," Connor insisted. "You kiss me and everything goes blank. My mind never turns off...."
"It doesn't? Not even if you are asleep?" Marjani pulled back. "So about that club where we go do a little bit of cosplay. Want to go?" She reached up and caressed Connor's hair.
"Well, not much in my sleep. Though, it relaxes more with you. Again, not sure how you do it. So, um, you want to cosplay in public?" Connor's eyes went a little wider, his natural hesitation to leave his comfort zone apparent.
"There will be others who will be dressing up too. And there will be some dancing, are you willing to do a little bit of that with me?" Marjani tilting her head having an inviting smile. "C'mon it may be out of your comfort zone but since you endured and survived the lunch with my aunt. You are able to do much more than you realize."
Connor looked directly into his girlfriend's eyes. "You know I can't refuse you, especially when you do THAT," he told her. "Right. So, that's decided, what are we going as?"
"Well, we can go as elves or faerie with wings. I could go as my character in my D&D game, a female barbarian. What would you want to wear?" Marjani thought that her idea for herself was simple enough to design. "Besides if we are going to be dancing, it might be a bit hot to dance in something that could be too warm."
"Um, well, that is a valid point," he admitted begrudgingly. "As I normally play paladins and wizards, I'm usually pretty hidden behind armor or robes." He scratched his head trying to think of a creative compromise that would work. "A wand would be easy enough but that's not enough to say 'wizard.'" Audibly he hummed. "Nope," he concluded. "Have to do the robe, hat, and staff, I think." He shook his head again. "I'll just have to replicate the robe to be light weight and flowing. That should be breathable enough. Maybe give me elf ears unless you want to be with an old man.... Then I'll have to have the white beard. It is cliche but everyone gets it."
"Nah, make it an elf and you could dress in robes sort of silken robes like from the Orient. I think you would look good in those, Elven Mage, ooh that would work out really good." Marjani ran her fingers along the edge of his ears. "I can see that."
As Marjani stroked Connor's ears, he leaned forward, encouraging her to continue. "Mmm. So, elven wizard with silken robes it is. Still need a staff or at least a wand." He thought about it more. "Well, I don't have the coloring for a wood elf or drow. High elf, I guess, it will have to be."
"Are you able to wear contact lenses? That is something I don't know if you can or not. This is to create the illusion of your being a High Elf. And what do you think of my wearing soft leather and rabbit fur trim?" giving him a kiss before she stopped caressing his ears.
Connor answered, "Wear what you think is appropriate. Is there a reason that you think I should be concerned about leather and fur?" he asked bewildered. He then went on to explain, "I can wear contacts, but my sight would be impaired. I have a rare condition that won't allow my sight to be fixed with traditional methods. That's why I have these spectacles. So, you might be forced to hold my hand a bit more. Terrible, no?"
Marjani nodded slowly, as she examined Connor. "I have an idea, we can design a mask for you to look like something elven and have prescription lenses put into it. How does that sound? Just need to figure out the sort of mask you want to wear." She smiled at him. "I don't mind holding your hand at all, but I do want you to have some freedom and be able to see what goes on."
"I would see enough," he mildly complained. "Besides, what else is more important to see than you?" he offered by way of an apology. He screwed up his face as he thought, "But, yes, a mask could work, I suppose." His eyes squinted as he thought harder. "I could even create a small holoemitter on them rather than a traditional mask that could disguise my frames better and allow for more movement."
His eyes brightened further as he started to talk to himself, "Oh, yes! Also, I could expand the range to completely change my face to be completely high elven." By this point, he nearly completely forgot that Marjani was there. "Yes, yes. I could attach one on each side of the frames and then have it give a completely realistic look. I would just have to make stabilizers so that it would not be jumpy and synchronize the holos with my own mouth and nose so that the elven features would react simultaneously...."
"I love the sound of that, Connor" She gave him a quick kiss. "Sounds like it's time for you to get to work. How long do you think it will take?" Marjani, her eyes gleaming with delight at how he went into creative mode. He was certainly a wizard at this.
The kiss brought Connor back to reality. When he started talking, he had blocked out all other realities while he was sorting this out in his head, having forgotten that Marjani was in the room. "How long?" Connor asked Marjani. "Oh, um, you mean, that idea that I was working out." He blushed not wanting to tell Marjani that he blanked her out.
"Well, the basic holo emitters can be replicated quite quickly. The synching with my face...." He thought about it deeply. "An hour if luck is on my side. Two if the initial emitters are rubbish. The trick after synching will be maintaining stability. It should not be too far off what we program holograms to do. Now, what would really be something is if I could work with a doctor, if they had time, and get all the blood vessels, muscles, and such working precisely. That may just have to wait for a second outing, if we enjoy this," Connor concluded.
Marjani watched as Connor's eyes lit up, his face all aglow when he spoke of his idea. "That sounds like a grand idea and intriguing as well. Do your best and I have confidence in your ability." She sat back against the cushions making herself comfortable.
"You're just going to watch me work?" Connor asked puzzled.
"Why not? Or I can go take care of something in preparation for our evening out." Marjani smiled. "Then I think I do need to let you concentrate and not be a distraction. Let me know when you are finished. Okay?" Marjani rising from the couch, placing another kiss upon Connor's lips.
Connor greedily kissed Marjani back. "You keep doing that, I'm never going to make this work and we're never going out, right?" Even Connor's even temperament could not hide the desire in his eyes. "Now, though, I am rather curious as to what you're going to do. If I did not have this work to do to get ready, I'd tag along just to find out the answer. As you know, I don't usually prefer surprises."
"Well, I am going to go get my costume, from a shop I found. Soft leather, with rabbit fur. My Barbarian costume so there won't be a surprise, but I think you will like what I end up getting. Just like my character, I play." Marjani smiled, 'I will see you later. Have fun!" She stepped back from Connor and blew him a kiss. Before she left the quarters, she paused do you want me to get your costume or do you want to order it yourself, to make certain it is soft enough for you?"
"I think I've got it," he replied. "I can just replicate it here and make certain it all works out." He blew a kiss back at Marjani. "See you soon."
A Joint Post By
First Lieutenant Marjani Smith
Pilot
Ensign Connor Turner
Computer Systems Specialist, USS Pioneer
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