OFF:
Hi all.
I'm the new Matter/Energy Specialist in engineering.

I've checked through the message archives in Yahoo groups and as I
understand it you use both script and novel-style posts, so I'm using
novel-style. If I'm wrong just send me a mess.

Here’s my first post... I couldn’t stop writing, so it became a bit
long. Hope you don’t mind. :-)


ON:

{Kristinas Quarter, 10:00 The day after the party}

Kristina and her sister Amanda had come aboard a few hours ago. Their
luggage had been beamed directly to their quarter. It was a standard
sized family quarter with two bedrooms and a shared bathroom. When they
had arrived they had each taken their trunk, gone to their room and
begun unpacking.
Kris had already emptied her trunk by two thirds and was now picking up
a photo of her parents. It was five years since they had died but in a
weird way it felt like yesterday. She still missed them allot and
wondered if that feeling would ever go away. In another way it felt like
centuries ago. Allot had happened and allot of emotions had passed her
system, but she still missed them.
She put the photo on the dresser and picked up another one. This one was
of her brother Peter. He was a civilian cargo pilot, usually not
transporting anything more valuable or dangerous than simple rocks and
minerals. So he's relatively safe, but Kristina still felt a bit scared
of losing him too... or losing Amanda.

When she had unpacked a few more photos and a few other decorations
there ware only clothes left in the trunk. She was about to take them
out too but got another idée. Instead she took off her clothes, threw
them into a corner, pulled out her training clothes and shoes from the
trunk and put them on. 'Time to get to know the ship' she thought.

She went out into the living room and half shouted into Amandas room.
"You wanna come running? It's a good way to get to know the ship."

Her sister came into the doorway. "Only you would want to go running
after having moved pretty mush everything you own."
"Oh come on. It's not like you had to carry anything by yourself." Kris
responded a bit teasingly.
"Well, I'm tired anyway"
"Okay then. Just remember that we'll have to go to sickbay later and get
our physical"
"Whatever" Amanda groaned and disappeared back into her room.


{Corridors of the Excalibur}

Kristina had never been on a galaxy class ship before, except for the
holo-simulations of the Excalibur she had run to familiarize herself
with the ship. There was allot of places to go, and she hadn't even left
the deck yet.
Some people looked at her as she went running by, others seamed to think
it was perfectly normal for someone to run around in a training outfit.
She wondered if she would ever get to know half the people aboard...
everything was so big.

She was almost newly graduated from the Stockholm institute, now she was
a Matter/Energy Specialist on a Galaxy Class. Kris felt a bit
intimidated... scared of screwing up. What if there was an emergency and
she couldn't keep up? The warp core could blow just because she
overlooked some small reading...

Kris was so completely lost in that line of thought that it wasn't until
it was too late she saw that a door had opened and a man had stepped out
right in front of her.
She ran right into him, lost her balance and fell on her back. The man
was pushed into the wall but was able to keep his balance.

What happened next Kris could only describe in engineering terms.
As she had landed on the ground it was as if her body shut down and
everything went black. It then began to reboot, restarting all internal
systems. A systems check began, examining if she was injured in some
way. There ware pains here and there, but nothing seamed damaged. Next
her visual systems came back online, in other words, she opened her
eyes. Data began to go through her processor; otherwise known as her
brain, to evaluate her position... lying on the floor was the
conclusion. Next she began to analyze what had happened. She remembered
she had run into someone... She lifted her head to see who it was. It
was a Vulcan... A kind of cute Vulcan...

'Kind of cute??? He's HOT' An inner voice exclaimed.

Apparently her boycrazy part had gone online.
After what had seamed like an eternity, but probably only had been a
second or two Kris felt like most of her systems ware back online, and
rose from the floor. The Vulcan man started to help her.

Who was he? Kris knew there ware a bunch of Vulcans on visit because of
their upcoming mission. Was this one one of them? He was dressed in a
blue starfleet uniform... He was a lieutenant... Could he be part of the
Vulcan group, or was he one of the crew? Kris didn't know if the
visiting Vulcans ware Starfleet scientists or part of some other
organization. Best not to presume anything, but she had to say something.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?" the man responded as he helped her up.
"Yes. It hurts a bit but I'm okay for the most part." Kris was now standing.
"Maybe we should get you to sickbay?" The man said a bit concerned.

Kristina blushed a little, he was really good looking and his concern
felt good. "Thanks, that's sweet of you" Kris gave him a flirtatious
smile "but I really am okay. I'm new on the ship" she decided to add "so
I'll be going there later today anyway."
"Oh, welcome aboard." The man said.
It didn't sound very Vulcan, Kris started to wonder if the man might not
be a Vulcan... Or maybe one of the few Vulcans who dared show his
emotions. He extended his arm and smiled. Kristina blushed a bit more now.
"I'm..." The man began but was interrupted by Kris who continued his
sentence. "...really cute."

'Oh no. Did I say that out loud?' Kris immediately thought. A look on
the mans, now surprised, face confirmed that she had indeed said it out
loud.
'Oh god, what am I gonna say now??? What sounds like cute?' she thought.

"I mean, really cut" She corrected herself before she had a chance to
think it all through.

'What!!! Really cut??? What's that supposed to mean?' she asked herself.

"I mean... You could have really cut yourself... eh... when I... knocked
you... into the wall... Maybe you should visit sickbay too..." Kris
corrected herself again, hearing how stupid it sounded.
'Oh, brilliantly saved.' She thought with sarcasm.

"No... I'm fine. But are you sure you're okay?" The man asked now
looking very confused and worried.
"Maybe not... Maybe I should go... eh... to sickbay..." Kris said, her
face now was burning bright red. "Eh... I just gonna go change my
clothes and get a shower first."
A naughty little invite occurred in her head that would have continued
the sentence she now had ended. Luckily she was able to suppress the
need to say it. Instead she turned around and began to leave. After a
few steps she stopped and decided to at least be a bit politer. She
turned around.

"By the way. I'm Kris... Eh, Kristina... Kristina Galler. My friends
call me Kris"
He smiled "I'm Robert Sage."
"Maybe I'll run into you again sometime." Kris said.
'Oh my god, such a stupid thing to say under the circumstances' Kris
thought 'Wait, it would be pretty good as a joke' Kris gave him a big
smile and pretended that what she had said had been planed.

She took a few steppes backwards and was just about to turn around when
she bumped into someone else behind her, a woman this time. This bump
was mush lighter and the only one hurt was Kristinas pride which by now
had lots of dents.

She apologized to the woman and said goodbye to Sage who now was trying
to conceal a large amused smile.

As she was leaving with her face shining red, she was wondering about
Sage. He looked like a Vulcan, but he didn't act like one.
She also wondered why she had said that he was cute in the first place?



{Kristinas quarter}

Kristina was in the sonic shower repeatedly banging her head into the wall.
How could she have embarrassed herself like she did. Everything had gone
downhill after she had said he was cute aloud.

She must have been a bit woozy from the "reboot" at the time. She likes
to flirt, but saying someone is cute like that is a bit straightforward
even for her. Why did she do it? The thought had just occurred in her
head and instead of keeping it there she had said it...



{Amandas room}
Kristinas sister Amanda was writing a paper about historic Starfleet
ships and their crews, but couldn't concentrate. It wasn't because of
the strange banging noise, even though she had unsuccessfully spent ten
minutes trying to find its source. It was her own thoughts that
distracted her...

The Excalibur... It felt a bit frightening living on a spaceship again.
But it also felt like she was finally home again after being away for
five years. She was born and raised on a spaceship... the USS Atlantic.
It wasn't until it was destroyed and her parents had died five years ago
that she began to live on a planet, earth to be specific. Earth had
never made her feel like she was really home, so it was nice being back
on a spaceship again.
But it was on a spaceship that her parents had died. She still missed
them, but most of the sadness about loosing them had passed. She was 10
when they died and Kris had gotten custody of her. She had thought it
was best for Amanda to live on a planet, and at the time she wasn’t
wrong. Although it didn't feel like a real home, it did feel safe.

A month ago when Kris got her transfer she had asked if moving to a ship
felt all right for Amanda. She hadn't told Kris the absolute truth when
she said that she was perfectly fine with living on a ship. Truth was
that she was scared... Mostly scared something would happen to Kris, but
also that someone would attack and destroy this ship too.

She knew that she couldn’t be afraid of spaceships the rest of her life,
living in the era they ware in. She knew she had to face her fear sooner
or later, and Kris’s posting on the Excalibur was the perfect opportunity.
She thought about maybe seeing a counselor, but she was afraid that they
might talk to Kris, and she didn’t want to worry her sister.

Suddenly she noticed that the banging noise was gone and that Kris was
moving around in her room. ‘There must be something wrong with the
shower’ Amanda thought.


{Kristinas room}

Kristina was still punishing herself while she was dressing. Although
the physical punishment with hitting herself in the head had ended, her
mental punishment still continued.

How could she have done it? Why???
She didn’t even know if he was single or if he had a girlfriend... or
maybe even a wife... or husband. Who knew which way he bent... Not Kris,
she just went right ahead anyway. Stupid...

When she had finished dressing and had walked into the living room Kris
finally decided to put it out of her head. It was a big ship, she
probably wasn’t going to meet him again for a long time anyway. And by
the time she did, he’d probably forgotten about her...

She shouted into Amandas room. “Amanda, time to go to sickbay for our
physical.”


OFF:
Amanda is, as you already know, Kristinas little sister. She is NPC so
you can do whatever you want with her as long as she doesn't die or has
to amputate something. She's 15 and no Wesley Crusher so don't have her
save the ship too many times. :-)

Ensign Kristina Galler
Matter/Energy Specialist
USS Excalibur, NCC-2997