02-09-2025, 08:17 AM
With no sign yet of anyone offering to follow the captain's show of honesty, the small mass of officers began to strike up conversations amongst themselves. The mention of free drinks and readily available hangover medication invited some of them to queue for more merriment while others headed to the buffet.
Leo stood alone at the empty end of the bar, feeling like the contrast between his pure white dress uniform and his bright ginger hair made him look like some kind of warning beacon. As he sipped his water, a half Klingon woman approached and proffered a hand for him to shake.
“Chief d’Tor’an,” She said somewhat bluntly. “Midshipman… Aldren?” The sharpness remained, but probed for confirmation.
Oh how I appreciate directness. There's no beating around the bush and no misunderstanding.
After a second to consider what the Lieutenant had actually said, bewilderment flashed across his face as he reached out to shake the woman's hand firmly but before he could reply, the Chief of Security spoke again.
“Don’t eat the gagh.” She remarked, clearly knowing something he didn't.
He pulled his hand back wondering if he had shook her hand for too long when he finally spoke.
“Errm, I’ll bear that in mind, thank you. And sorry, it's not Aldren. It's Leo Alden.”
Is it rude to start speaking Klingon? That's presumptuous, isn't it?
“It's nice to meet you Chief. Is ‘Chief’ OK? Sorry. (Very quietly, to himself) Breathe.”
“Sorry, I've had an odd afternoon and I'm still trying to, err, find my feet. Meeting the captain didn't go so well for me.”
Opening his mouth only to snap it shut again, Leo stopped himself from unleashing another verbal onslaught on yet another unsuspecting, unwilling victim. Sweat prickled on his forehead and beneath his stiff collar. His nerves were surfacing, so he took another deep breath and masked his anxiety behind a slightly strained smile. Now, he could only wait to see how his department head would react, not just to him correcting her, (it was his name after all), but also to his own unfiltered honesty.
Leo stood alone at the empty end of the bar, feeling like the contrast between his pure white dress uniform and his bright ginger hair made him look like some kind of warning beacon. As he sipped his water, a half Klingon woman approached and proffered a hand for him to shake.
“Chief d’Tor’an,” She said somewhat bluntly. “Midshipman… Aldren?” The sharpness remained, but probed for confirmation.
Oh how I appreciate directness. There's no beating around the bush and no misunderstanding.
After a second to consider what the Lieutenant had actually said, bewilderment flashed across his face as he reached out to shake the woman's hand firmly but before he could reply, the Chief of Security spoke again.
“Don’t eat the gagh.” She remarked, clearly knowing something he didn't.
He pulled his hand back wondering if he had shook her hand for too long when he finally spoke.
“Errm, I’ll bear that in mind, thank you. And sorry, it's not Aldren. It's Leo Alden.”
Is it rude to start speaking Klingon? That's presumptuous, isn't it?
“It's nice to meet you Chief. Is ‘Chief’ OK? Sorry. (Very quietly, to himself) Breathe.”
“Sorry, I've had an odd afternoon and I'm still trying to, err, find my feet. Meeting the captain didn't go so well for me.”
Opening his mouth only to snap it shut again, Leo stopped himself from unleashing another verbal onslaught on yet another unsuspecting, unwilling victim. Sweat prickled on his forehead and beneath his stiff collar. His nerves were surfacing, so he took another deep breath and masked his anxiety behind a slightly strained smile. Now, he could only wait to see how his department head would react, not just to him correcting her, (it was his name after all), but also to his own unfiltered honesty.