Join In

Posted on 24 Apr 2026 @ 6:35pm by Ensign Talira Zhe & Lieutenant Abraham Winters

499 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Opening Transmission
Location: Deck 5: Mess Hall
Tags: Proteus, Talira zhe, Abraham Winters, Winters, Mess Hall

After meeting with the Captain, Abraham made his way down the mess hall to grab a quick bite. Loading the plate with food, the Lieutenant looked around for an available seat. Spotting a table with two officers in blue, which had an open seat. Winters quickly approached them. "Mind if I join you two?"

Without pausing his chewing, Mickey nodded and gestured to the newcomer to join them.

"Thank you," Abraham replied, pulling out the seat and sitting down. "I'm Abraham Winters, Chef of Security. "

The Andorian ensign's antennae perked forward, and her head turned to look upward to the Chief of Security. She looked to her superior to extend the greeting, but his attention was directed elsewhere - more than likely the Vulcan engineer at the next table over from behind her, "Apologies for my manners. Yes, you're more than welcome to join us. We were just reviewing my research into xenonucleic acids and novel polymerases."

Winters gave a huge grin towards the Andorian. "To be honest, I have no clue what that means. "What's your name?"

Talira's antennae flicked back. "Oh stars, I'm so sorry. Ensign Talira zhe." A nervous laugh. "I tend to skip the important parts like introductions when I get excited about research."

"I can see that. Is this your first posting?"

Her antennae remained backwards while she considered the Lieutenant's question, "Yes, yes it is."

"Fresh out the Academy," Abraham replied. "How do you feel about your assignment being three years?"

Before Talira was able to respond to the Chief of Security's query the onboard internal comms came through, "Lieutenant Ballentyne, please report to the bridge."

Ballentyne stood up, "Apologies, Lieutenant, Ensign but the bridge beckons..."

"All good, Lieutenant. See you back in the Labs when you get there."

"It was nice meeting you, Lieutenant," Abraham replied. Turning his attention back to Zhe. He was still curious about how the Ensign was feeling about this assignment. "So, back to my previous question about how you're feeling about this?"

"Three years is pretty standard for our mission parameters, isn't it?"

Abraham nodded. "It's definitely standard. But when you're new to Starfleet, it can be a little overwhelming to jump right into a deep space assignment. Though it does bring the crew closer together."

Talira glanced at the chronometer and her antennae shot straight up in alarm. "Oh no! I completely lost track of time!" She stood quickly, nearly knocking over her tray. "I'm so sorry, Lieutenant—I have samples running in the lab and if I don't check on them soon the whole culture is going to be compromised and—" She caught herself rambling and smiled apologetically. "It was really nice talking to you! I hope we can do this again—three years is a long time, there's plenty of opportunity for..." Another glance at the chrono. "I really need to go. Sorry!"

She grabbed her tray, her antennae twitching with anxiety about her samples, and headed toward the recycler at a brisk pace

 

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