Ambassador Kyrza Jadoss & Cmdr. Evan Merlin | New Sensations

Posted on Wed Sep 2nd, 2020 @ 9:47pm by Commander Evan Merlin & Ambassador Kyrza Jadoss

Mission: When The Circus Comes To Town
Timeline: SD 242009.02

Kyr tapped the door chime, before straightening up. Although he wore no uniform, he liked to maintain a professional, business attire, and meeting the station's commanding officer certainly warranted it. The doors slid open, and Kyr took a half step in, "Good Day, Commander, I hope I am not disturbing you?"

"Not at all." The CO stood leaning against his desk and tugged at his dress uniform. "I was just preparing to go down to the arboretum, but I have some time to spare. Come on in." He smiled at Kyr. "Ambassador Jadoss, am I right? It's good to have you here."

"It is good to be here, Commander. I had heard there was some sort of incident, and that you were treated in sickbay," Kyr said, speaking somewhat delicately as he entered.

So the rumour mill had already picked up on that. Not really surprising, he supposed. For all the size of the station, it seemed just like any small village where gossip was concerned. "Oh, I was, I was indeed," the reply came with an airy wave of one hand. It was enough to push him off balance. He staggered a bit, quickly steadied himself against his desk, with a flash of chagrin. It was dispelled almost immediately and replaced with a smile. "Quite a novel experience, being a patient there. Not one I'd care to repeat in a hurry, though, for all the good care I got. Anyway. Would you care for something to drink?"

"If you have time, I would welcome a drink," Kyr replied with a short nod. His instinct was to step close and assist physically, but it felt rather forward, "Is there anything I can do to assist you? I imagine there must be some preparation that fell behind with your injuries."

"Actually, I finished most of the work yesterday, before I called it a day." He walked over to the replicator, slowly and careful not to make any sudden movements. "All I need to do is to give the list of names a one-over, just to check if I remember all the names and faces. And get this uniform straight," he added with another ineffective tug. "So, what would you like?"

"Nothing pressing," Kyr admitted, "most of my questions were answered by your Executive Officer. I did want to make sure you were alright, and to offer what help I could."

"Um?" He blinked. "Why, that's very kind of you. In this case, though, I was referring to the drink."

"Oh, of course," Kyr replied somewhat quietly, as he busily kicked himself inside. Hard. He was lucky this was the station's commander, not a delicate and testy trade negotiation. He'd need to perform better than some naive rookie, and soon. "Whatever you are having."

The commander grinned. "That's usually my line. Well, we'll let the replicator decide then, shall we?" He quickly keyed in a few commands, 'Suitable for Saurians', 'non-alcoholic' (replicators were supposed to have that setting standard, but with all the different drinks he ordered, this replicator occasionally glitched and he had never bothered to have it repaired), 'refreshing', then chose two random drinks. One of the drinks which appeared was a fluorescent orange in a tall glass, the second drink was pale green and smoking, though the glass was cold to the touch. "Any preference?"

Kyr's head angled to a side as he thought for just a moment before answering, "The green one, please."

Accepting the cold glass with a nod of appreciation, Kyr could not help but give the strange beverage a sniff, indulging his enjoyment of new and different food and drink. It didn't smell of much, perhaps some unfamiliar greens blended into a slurry. The whiffs of smoke certainly didn't smell, although perhaps they were just an off gas, something that kept the glass and beverage delightfully chilly.

The commander walked back to his chair and looked at it, then pulled a face again. "Let's hope it doesn't crease the uniform too much," he said as he carefully sat down. "I guess it's traditional to grumble about dress uniforms, but I see now it's not just grumbling for the sake of. Anyway." Again that airy wave of his hand, this time without him nearly keeling over. "So, I know you haven't been here long, but what's your first impression of this place?" Remembering the earlier misunderstanding, he quickly added: "The station, I mean."

Kyr's thought for a moment silently, his large eyes seeming to blink slower. Then, lifting his glass, he replied simply before taking a reasonable taste of his drink, "Large. And busy."

There was a rush of sensation, a refreshing wave of minty freshness washed over his tongue and upwards to his head. It was an unexpected tingle that was bright and cold, but not unpleasant or overwhelming. It was yet another pleasant surprise, given the rather bland and unappetizing look to the thing. Kyr looked down at his drink before adding, "So far, I would say it has been full of surprises. Like taco stands, and this... what is this called?"

"According to the replicator, it's an Arctic Blast." He took a sip of his own drink, raised an eyebrow. "And this appears to be something called Irn Bru. Interesting." He took a larger sip. "Well, the station does have a lot of surprising things…" Killers on the lower levels, for one, hah. "I take it you've heard about the Interstellar Cultural Exhibition and Exchange which is due to arrive?"

"I have now," Kyr nodded, noting the drink name, "I wasn't aware before my arrival, but I did see some of the setup work on my way through the station. It is conveniently timed with my arrival - a good chance to quickly meet and mingle with a wide variety of local delegations and representatives. Was there a specific part of the event you felt needed my attention?"

"Not as such, but if you want, you're free to join me. The delegates will arrive in an hour or so and I'll be welcoming them when they enter the Arboretum, where the exhibition will be held. There's a reception afterwards, a kind of meet and greet, where they can mingle with the people on the station, and with the first visitors. It'd give you the chance to informally meet those delegates, an opportunity to show your face and make the first contacts." He raised his glass for another sip and seemed surprised to discover it was already empty. "Hm."

"Much appreciated, Commander," Kyr replied, "it would indeed make my introduction smoother."

"Good, good." He set the empty glass on the side table and leaned back. In that moment, the façade he'd been holding slipped. The energy which was so characteristic for him leaked away, the smile faded and in that moment, he was nothing more than the person who, for all his resilience, had almost died last night. "I'm sorry," he said bleakly. "I think… things are starting to catch up with me." He rubbed his face and sighed, then pulled himself together by what appeared to be sheer force of will. Slowly, the animation crept back in his face, the smile returned, if not a little wan. "Well, I did promise the good doctor to take it easy… Shall we agree to meet up in an hour, at the ground level entrance to the arboretum?"

Concern was not a human emotion Kyr had learned to mimic on his face. Nevertheless, it was certainly present as he replied gently, large eyes blinking a bit slower, "Certainly. Are you... sure I can't help with anything else?"

He waited until the door closed behind Kyr, then he closed his eyes. He was tired, a weariness so deep he didn't know if he'd ever felt it before. "Computer, set alarm in fifty minutes," he muttered. The confirming 'bleep' just about registered, but after that all awareness vanished for awhile.

Kyrza Jadoss
Chargé d'affaires
Cold Station Theta

-and-

Cmdr. Evan Merlin
Commanding Officer
Cold Station Theta