( homeless, going nowhere )

[cadet]

Wow. It's certainly been a while. Can't say I'm pleased to hear you're only doing this to play with a friend, though. Some genuine interest in me would be nice. How about we give that a try, because I've had enough of people being interested in me long enough to get what they want.

Comments

[candothat]

Gaila!

What do you mean, genuine interest? Is there disingenuine interest?

[cadet]

I don't know if I'd call pulling me out of the box she's had me shoved in for the past year or so for some spur of the moment thing genuine interest, Pavel. But, it's nice to see you're being let out to play -- and at a game, too. Or so I hear.

[candothat]

No, that sounds less than genuine, and I've been at one, yes. Three-hundred twenty-seven days.

[cadet]

Three-hundred and twenty-seven days. Almost a year. That's a long time to be away from home.

[candothat]

As is five years.

I think it's better than being in a box for the same length of time.

[cadet]

You have a point -- two good points.

At least tell me you're not alone at wherever it is your mun's sent you.

[candothat]

I do, sometimes.

No, not now, although I have been. Dr. McCoy was in the City, and then he left, and now Uhura is there. It's not always a bad place, but I am less certain than this mun that you would like it there.

[cadet]

More than sometimes. You're young, but smart. Really smart. I'm still mad at you for ruining the chances of the rest of us getting a grading curve in Astrophysics. [ no she's not, but teasing him about it is fun. ]

How is N-- Uhura? We were assigned to different ships, so I haven't been able to check in with her. [ and she probably died before the enterprise reached vulcan, but this mun hasn't checked recently to see if gaila's survival's been clarified or not, so... ]

[candothat]

You are the only one who notices. [This is not strictly true.] You still did well, didn't you? You're too clever to not have done well, even with my meddling.

[Different ships--this is a thing Chekov would rather not think about. Fortunately, denial is acceptable in this situation.]

She's well. Homesick, maybe, and she did begin a fight in a bar.

[cadet]

Well enough, but not with the outstanding marks you received.

[ at least her mun is kind enough to pull her from before the ship she was assigned to got blown to bits. no dealing with the trauma of being dead! ]

I thought starting bar fights was more Jim Kirk's specialty. [ not happy with him. at all. can you tell? ]

[candothat]

You are far too kind.

[He loves being praised by pretty girls, don't be fooled.]

Not when my honor needs to be defended, it seems. [Gosh, someone unhappy with Kirk. It must be Sunday.]

[cadet]

And here I thought you were Human, not Klingon. You've had some work done.

[ he used her to cheat so he'd beat the unbeatable test! she has a right to be angry! she got in trouble for that, too! ]

[candothat]

You have no idea how hard the ridges are to hide, Gaila. But no, Uhura started it. I told a man at the bar to treat her more respectfully, that man insulted me, and then Uhura punched him.

It was very exciting.

[He thought Kirk would have had help! The Captain isn't smart enough to muck up such an elaborate simulation on his own.]

[cadet]

She does have a way of being a little too... upfront with people, sometimes. [ she likes her roommate, she really does! but sometimes uhura could stand to loosen up a bit. ]

I'll bet. Though, probably not as exciting as the time a bunch of security cadets beat up Jim in a bar near one of the shipyards. [ people talk, word's gotten around. ]

[candothat]

The police agreed. She was jailed for a night.

[A story about the captain that Chekov hasn't heard yet! Not that Gaila would know that he's a captain now. Not that Kirk was the most logical choice for captaincy.]

What did he say to start that?

[cadet]

[ oh, nyota. and gaila thought she was the more troublesome one. ]

I'm not sure. It depends on who's telling the story. Something about cakes?

[candothat]

[It depends on the day. Certain lieutenants can have rather short tempers.]

Cakes?

[Just. Confused.]

[cadet]

Cakes in a cup?

[ she doesn't get it either. you humans are so weird sometimes. ]

[candothat]

[OH, he knows this one!]

Cupcakes? ...The captain started a fight by mentioning cupcakes?

[Oops. Didn't mean to call Kirk that.]

[cadet]

Some say he threw cupcakes, others say he called someone a cupcake. I haven't asked him what really happened and won't ever, considering I now refuse to speak to him until he apologizes.

[ jim kirk is a stupid, selfish male who can-- HOLD ON A SECOND. ]

Captain?

[candothat]

[Gaila will be waiting a very long time for that apology.

Also, Chekov isn't the least big sure as to how to explain this. Lying doesn't occur to him.]

...Yes, of the Enterprise.

[cadet]

[ give her a minute to move past the urge to swear in colorful high orion. ]

He cheated on the Kobayashi Maru test and he gets a captaincy? What about Captain Pike? I thought he was captaining the Enterprise.

[candothat]

[This conversation needs a reset button.]

He was, but... a number of strange events took place.

[cadet]

[ it really does, because now she's pissed. if she weren't green, she'd be red. ]

Like using me to launch that virus that let him alter the simulation's programming?

[candothat]

The simulation was not a factor.

[This may not be the time for this, but:]

That you altered the simulation is very admirable. I believe it's stored on one of the Academy's most secure servers? May I ask how you managed to get through?

[cadet]

I was assigned to those servers that day. I guess Jim must've got a hold the duty roster somehow and-- [ she cuts herself off, still genuinely hurt that she was used. ] He got me to open a message from him I thought was going to be something else entirely while I was on duty. I opened it on one of the server computers not knowing that it contained his custom made overrides.

[candothat]

[How devious of the captain. And to think that Chekov had been impressed by the technical abilities he thought that Kirk must have possessed to rig the test, but never in his bragging did he mention using Gaila's clearance to gain access.]

Did he thank you, at the very least?

[cadet]

Not so much as a sorry or a thank you.

[candothat]

I see him occasionally. Should I kick him on your behalf?

[cadet]

Yes! And tell him it was from me, too.

[candothat]

I would be happy to, although you will hear from me if I'm court-martialed for my actions.

[cadet]

I'll testify in your favor at your hearing.

[ OR NOT BECAUSE SHE'S DEAD. ]

[candothat]

You are far too kind.

[NO, WE ARE DENYING THIS RIGHT NOW.]

[mightiestgreen]

[Huh. Someone else who is green. Hulk is not prone to curiosity but he may be giving Gaila a look from the side, trying to work out who or what she is.]

[cadet]

[ and you good sir, while green, are not exactly built like the males of her species! have an equally quizzical look in return. ]

Can I help you?

[mightiestgreen]

[Hulk is rather....buff. Even compared to Orions.]

Hulk don't need any help. [It's a gravely grumpy voice he has. One that's not at all like his counterpart, Bruce Banner.

Yet he continues to side stare.]

[cadet]

[ she's going to assume that lack of a proper sentence is due to her universal translator not filtering everything through correctly, which happens. ]

Your staring says otherwise.

[mightiestgreen]

[Hulk is a creature of few words. And even less grammar.

He turns to face her, folding his huge arms with a frown]

Other people ain't green.

[cadet]

Orions are. [ she crosses her arms, too. ] And you're not -- Orion, that is.

[mightiestgreen]

[Orion. Not a term he or Bruce is familiar with.]

Hulk is a monster. [A gamma monster to be precise.]

[cadet]

Monster... [ did her translator garble that? ] Which planet are they from?

[mightiestgreen]

[Almost a smirk] Earth. [Where else would man have messed up his own DNA so badly?]

[cadet]

I thought genetic engineering was banned on Earth in the 2150s.

[mightiestgreen]

...ain't that year yet. [He's probably closer to 2015]

[cadet]

What year is it, then?

[ ohgods, time issues. ]

[mightiestgreen]

....2015. [Not that he cares.]

[cadet]

It's 2258 for me.