Making Friends

Posted on Wed Dec 23rd, 2020 @ 4:01am by Lieutenant JG Sarah Wilson & Chief Petty Officer Sapphire

Mission: Healing of Minds
Location: Sapphire's Cabin

Sapphire tapped her combadge. "Sapphire to Dr. Wilson", she said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important but... would you make a house call after all? Could you come to my cabin when you've got some spare time?"

Dr Sarah Wilson looked up from the research she was doing as Sapphire's voice echoed through the communication system. It wasn't unusual for patients to request house calls, and considering the last discussion they had had, she wasn't surprised. Pausing where she was up to the MO rose and grabbed her ever handy medical kit.

"Sure, what's your location?" She asked.

"I'm in my quarters", Sapphire said. "It's not an emergency, though. If this isn't a good time, I can wait." She heard the urgency in Sarah's voice, so she figured she'd best make sure she wasn't misunderstood.

"I needed a brain break anyway - be there 5" Sarah replied, shutting down the data terminal that was making her eyes water with complexities her brain had never thought about. Yep, she needed a break.

Five minutes later she had found Sapphire's quarters in the internal directory and pressed the door chime.

Sapphire opened the door. The room was cool, and she was now dressed in a tank top and shorts, comfortable to wear in this environment, at least for an Andorian. "Hey, thank you for coming", she said, offering her hand to Sarah to invite her in.

The inside of the cabin hadn't been decorated much yet, there were only a few items, some of them Klingon, others from various sources across the Federation. The shard Sarah had removed from her hand earlier was glowing brightly on the wall, Sapphire had worked it into a lamp, as it made for interesting, playful illumination, with the various ways the light broke in it.

The cold air swept from the room through the open door in an arctic rush, sending shivers down Sarah's extremities.

"Holy smokes that's cold.. oh right.. sorry I forgot" She stammered, sucking it up and stepping into the sparsely decorated room. She cast a cursory eye around looking for anything out of order or potentially had been involved in an incident. Finding nothing she looked at Sapphire. "What seems to be the problem?" She asked.

Sapphire pointed out her lamp. "Do you like it?" she asked. "I told you it's not an emergency." She smiled. "But I'd love it if you could sign it for me. You know, like an autograph."

"Say again?" Sarah blinked a few times, her brain struggling to wrap itself around the comment. " Oh the lamp... it looks great, how did you secure it like that?" She stepped closer, perusing the unique piece with a curious eye.

Sapphire took the crystal off, revealing a small hole that had been drilled into the back, where the light source went in. "I thought, since I got to take it with my anyway, why not make something pretty out of it?" She was clearly happy with the result of her work. "And since you had a part in this, I thought you should sign the lamp post, a personalisation."

"It looks amazing" Sarah turned the crystal over in her hand and admired the craftsmanship required to turn it into a lamp. She pulled out her laser scalpel and made a few modifications, adjusting the settings to achieve her desired result. She plonked herself on the lounge, setting the lamp on her lap as she carefully used the tools of her trade to leave her mark on the lamp.

"There... what do you think?" She asked, turning the lamp back over to its creator.

"Perfect", Sapphire beamed. "An engraving is even better!" She put it back together and placed it back where it belonged, securely fastened so nothing would happen to it, or anyone in the room, in case there was any turbulence. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome" Sarah smiled, resetting the laser scalpel and placing it back in her medical kit. She looked around the quarters again.

"Andorians don't decorate much? Or you haven't gotten around to it yet?" She asked, hoping not to offend.

"Well, I've been here for about an hour", Sapphire said. "And in my defence, I made a lamp." She grinned. "No, I was planning on putting some artwork up, and I've got a bat'leth, a gift from Captain Varaldyr, of the Klingon cruiser T'Ong." The old ship was the least modernised K't'inga class warship in the Klingon fleet, but it had been pressed into service for the Dominion war, and was still capable enough as a ground attack craft, ferrying and supporting troops. And this was where Sapphire had served for a while.

"A whole hour? Oh come on, you should have had the entire place decked out by now" Sarah laughed, realising that Sapphire had only JUST come on board.

"Give me a few days, I'll turn this into a nice home", Sapphire said. "I'll even turn the temperature up for you, if you'd like to visit. I can see you don't like the cold that much."

"It's only what... 5 degrees in here? I'll bring a jacket next time. I wasn't expecting sub-arctic to be honest, but now that I know." She smiled, rubbing her arms a little for warmth.

"I have a snuggling blanket, and some hot drink will warm you right up", Sapphire suggested.

"Snuggling blanket?" Sarah raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what Sapphire was getting at. "But the hot drink would be lovely. Ginger tea with a dash of honey would hit the spot."

Sapphire nodded, heading for the replicator. She came back with both the tea and the blanket. "It's got these holes for your arms, so you can sit on the sofa, warmed by it, but you'll have your hands free at the same time", she explained, handing over the tea and demonstrating what the blanket did.

"Oh really? Whoever invented that needs some sort of prize or something." Sarah laughed as she looked at the oddly shaped blanket. "It really is both bizarre yet incredibly practical at the same time."

"I'll have this hear whenever you want to come for a visit", Sapphire promised. "You can enjoy the crisp, cool air, while being comfortably warm. Or you could wear a thermal suit, like I do. Only set it to isolate, rather than radiate."

"Ermmmm I'll stick with the blanket" Sarah looked at the thermal suit hanging neatly from a hook on the wall. Definitely stick with a blanket. She dropped onto the lounge and wrapped herself in the blanket, letting it take the chill off the frosty air.

"You don't like it?" Sapphire asked. "It's very comfortable to wear, and you can get it in any number of designs." Sapphire's was silver in colour, the same skin-tight suit she had been in sickbay with earlier. "I usually wear it under my uniform." She got a bowl of chocolates from the replicator and placed it on Sarah's lap as she sat down next to her, then popped a piece of it into her mouth. "Decaffeinated", she said.

"Clever - the yay of chocolate without the crazy of caffeine. Good workaround" Sarah encouraged, Sapphire was easy company, the conversation was good and there was a friendship forming between the two of them. Not bad since the Andorian had been on board for a whole hour. Two maybe now.

"It's a good way to be able to enjoy something together", Sapphire smiled, popping a piece of it into her mouth. "Though I really don't like synthehol. Only the real deal." But then, her physiology demanded it, as she breathed out the alcohol in the heat, and needed to replenish it.

"How do you find working with Starfleet with all your unique characteristics?" Sarah asked, knowing that some species found it harder to integrate into the Starfleet way of life that most of them took for granted. Ambient temperatures for example.

"I love it", Sapphire said. "I've been a spacer for most of my life, and Starfleet's been really good about accommodating the physiological needs of members. But then, you should ask those in security who have to train under my watchful eye, whether I've adapted to Starfleet, or am expecting them to adapt to me." She winked.

"So long as the job gets done I guess - I'm glad you enjoy it though. I love what I do, there's so many opportunities" Sarah explained, sipping her drink. She felt comfortable talking to Sapphire.

"Tell me about your opportunities", Sapphire asked. "I take it you learnt your trade during the war?"

"Standard medicine yes, We were fast-tracked through the academy to assist in the war effort. We were green and learnt a heck of a lot those years. I enjoy research though, experimental medicine, pushing boundaries and stuff like that." Sarah explained, revealing her true passion.

"Hm, I might involuntarily provide you with some opportunities for that", Sapphire smirked. "Not all of them turn into shiny lamps, but at least some good will come out of it then."

"Willingly I hope" Sarah retorted "One of the things I'm researching at the moment is using stem cells from different species to accelerate healing, kind of like giving one's immune and repair systems a decent kick of caffeine to get them working faster rather than using medications and other standard treatments" She explained, eyes distant in her happy place of medical research.

"I'd volunteer, but the caffeine might just kill my stem cells straight away", Sapphire said. "But I admit, this does sound useful to have."

"It's something I've kept plugging away at in whatever assignment I end up with. Something to spark the curiosity and keep my mind learning." Sarah realised she was waxing lyrical about something Sapphire probably wasn't remotely interested in. "What keeps your spark going? What drives you each day?" She asked, turning the attention back onto the Andorian.

"This might sound mad, but I like fighting", Sapphire said. "I mean, I enjoy the sparring, the training, and measuring up against others. And I like to help others, like you do. Only my way to help is to protect them from danger." She popped another piece of chocolate into her mouth. "And kicking bad guys in the teeth is satisfying as well, I can't deny that."

"Till I have to put them back together again, sorry about that." Sarah snorted as she finished up her cup of tea, "You should teach me to fight better, it's a skill that needs to be kept current and I sure as buggery don't do enough of it."

"Gladly", Sapphire smiled. "I'll teach you fighting, you teach me buggery? For I have no idea what that word means."

"It's a euphemism for heck, sorry I use it a bit too much these days" The MO admitted, rising from the couch and setting her mug back in the replicator. "Make a time for some sparring and I'll meet you on the holodeck, I will admit in advance I'm very rusty."

"Do you prefer to go before or after your shift?" Sapphire asked. She was happy to accommodate, especially since training routines were always possible mid-shift for her, as it was part of her job. Like most senior NPOs and officers, Sapphire worked more than her standard shift in any given day regardless.

"Ummm before I think, a good workout is a great way to start the day - I usually train in the gym or the holodeck but this will be a good variation" Wilson rubbed her chin thoughtfully "Then of course I can lick my wounds in sickbay whilst on duty afterwards. Promise not to be too harsh first time up?"

Sapphire smiled. "I'll ease you in, don't worry. It's no good to break your bones and turn you away for good, is it?"

"Not when I'm the one who has to fix them again" Sarah snorted, peeling herself out of the blanket and handing it back to the Andorian. "Sorry I have to get back to Sickbay, I'll catch up with you tomorrow morning?"

"Yes. Meet me in gym room three?" Sapphire suggested. "I've already reserved it for the training routines I'm putting security personnel through."

"Sounds like a plan - I'll bring my best kick ass" Sarah quipped "Thanks for the drink and the chat though, I've enjoyed it greatly."

Sapphire accompanied Jessica to the door. "Likewise, and any time." Yes, Sapphire thought she could do worse than having Sarah for a friend.