<USS Meridian> Out of the Box
- From: scurrdi@xxxxxxx
- To: ussmeridian@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 10:21:09 -0400
Out of the Box
By Bridget Howell and Oridian Starfire
Bridget sighed and turned down the hall towards Oridian's office. It had been a
long time since she'd talked to anyone about her past, but she needed to open
up sometime. A new ship, new crew, new beginning; this meant a new Bridget. A
Bridget that was open, and wasn't afraid to talk about her life. She came to
his door all too quickly for her liking, but it was now or never. She took a
deep breath and rang the chime.
His office was always calm, but more so since Oridian was meditating. He heard
the chime and failed to open his eyes. "Enter" he spoke simply.
The command echoed in her mind for a second, then her brain and feet seemed to
speak to each other. She stepped through the door to find Oridian on the floor,
legs crossed and eyes closed. "Oh, um, I'm sorry. This is a bad time. I can
come back another later..." Bridget turned to leave, mentally kicking herself
for coming to talk to him in the first place.
"No no, its quite alright, I do this quite often. Your not interrupting at
all." He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Please, have a seat."
Bridget frowned, then remembered why she came. To open up, to be positive. She
turned back around, and smiled. "Are you sure? It's nothing really. I just
wanted to introduce myself, and maybe have a little chat. I'm new, as you know,
so I just thought I'd come by."
Oridian stood up and nodded. "Yes I remember Ms. Howell I believe? Please, have
a seat, I always enjoy having guests around, and chats are usually what
happens." He walked to the replicator. "Would you like something to drink?"
Bridget walked over and took a seat. "Um, a glass of cold water would be
great, thank you." She looked around, admiring the office. "I like what you've
done here. I've always been interested in Japan. Never been unfortunately, but
someday I hope to go. Have you been?" She turned to look at him.
"One water and one green tea please." He grabbed the drinks and returned to the
couch and handed Bridget hers. "I was born and raised on mars, but my father
had to make many business trips there so I spent a good amount of my life
studying and training. It is a... beautiful place." He said after pausing for a
moment to sit down in a chair nearby. "But it is odd for someone to actually
come to my office on their own will. What would you like to talk about Ms.
Howell?"
"Well, I...um...I'm new, right? And I don't have any friends really, not that
I'm asking you to be my friend. I mean, not that I don't want you to be my
friend, I'm just not expecting you to be my friend. I just..." Bridget sighed
as she listened to herself swerve dangerously off topic. She tried to regain
control. "Well, I mean, seeing as I have no friends quite yet, that means that
I have no one to talk to. To be honest, I've never really had anyone to talk
to. And if you've read my file, you'll know that I haven't had the easiest
life..." She let the sentence hang; hoping that he understood what she was
after.
He smiled quietly as he sipped his tea. "First of all Ms. Howell, relax. Is
this the first time you've come to talk to someone about anything like this?"
He peered at her over the rim of his cup.
Bridget sipped her water, and nodded. "Um, yes. I don't normally talk to
people about my life. Well, actually, I don't normally talk to people...period.
And, you can call me Bridget. I'm assuming I'm allowed to call you Oridian?"
She looked up.
Oridian nodded quietly. "Of course, whatever makes you most comfortable. Now
then, like I said before, relax. You have a lot of tension that is built up
because your doing something new. You will actually find that the crew onboard
this ship is rather friendly so I'm sure you won't have trouble making friends,
though I do hope that after our little chat here and you have made one
already." He smiled warmly.
Bridget smiled, and turned her attention back to the floor. "Ok. Well, thank
you. That makes me a little more comfortable..." she finished her water and set
the glass on the table. "Well, I don't really know what I wanted to talk about
now that I'm here. I just told myself that I needed to talk to someone about
something." She bit her lip, something she always did when she was nervous or
thinking.
He watched her slowly, smiling inwardly. She's a bright girl, obviously in need
of talking though. He thought to himself. "Well, let?s start simple. How's it
been for onboard so far these first few days? Is this for your first
assignment?"
She slowly turned her head upward, and looked at Oridian for a couple seconds.
"Yes, this is my first assignment. I'm trying to get my residency, and this
sounded like a great ship, so here I am. I like it so far. I've mostly been
settling in, that sort of thing. I haven't really talked to anyone, which is
why I came here." She stopped biting her lip, and started to relax ever so
slightly.
He nodded. "And where do you normally stay now that you?re no longer with the
boarding school, like back on earth I mean."
She hesitated. "I don't really. I kind of move from place to place. I used to
stay in my old house, but it brought back too many memories, so I left. Mostly
I just keep an apartment some place until I get sick of it, and move. But, I've
only moved once because I just graduated from Starfleet Medical a little while
ago." Flashes of her house raced across her mind. Her parents in the sitting
room, a younger version of her playing in her bedroom, the cook in the kitchen.
She shook the thoughts out of her head, and tried to concentrate on the
discussion she was having with the handsome man in front of her.
Oridian smiled. "At least you've kept yourself busy then. What about academy
friends?"
"I didn't really have any. I studied hard, and kept to myself mostly. I spent a
lot of time in my room, and the couple friends I did have haven't talked to me
since graduation, which is fine. It's another reason why I moved away, to make
new friends, start a new life." She smiled, relaxing more.
"Well excellent, it sounds like your entering another stage of your life, one
which will lead you to all sorts of new things." He finished his tea and
smiled. "I think we've covered quite a bit here so far, is there anything else
you'd like to talk about?"
Bridget smiled. Now that she was mostly comfortable, she felt like she could
talk to Oridian for hours, but something made her stop. That little part of her
just wasn't ready to open up anymore. She'd shared enough for today. Maybe the
next time they talked she would say more, but it just wasn't going to happen
now. She shook her head. "No, I think that's it for now..." she started to bite
her lip again.
"I think its a good start." Oridian said as he stood up. "Feel free to stop by
anytime, even if it?s just for a break from the hectic lives we tend to lead at
times. Sickbay is not too far off." He smiled once more as she showed her to
the door.
She got up, and followed him. "Thanks. I will." She nodded, and stepped out.
She walked back down the hall, and entered the turbolift to go back to her
quarters. It was a good session, she thought. She had climbed out of her box,
and even though she didn't go very far, she was out. And that was the hard
part.
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