Walkabout
Posted on Sat Apr 18th, 2020 @ 2:46pm by Lieutenant JG Matthew Plumeri
Edited on on Sat Apr 18th, 2020 @ 2:51pm
1,649 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Episode 106 – Stalemate
Location: Starbase Twenty-Three - Marketplace Level
Timeline: MD02 - 1930 hours
[ON:]
Starbase Twenty-Three – Market Plaza Level –
Matthew was on a walk-about starbase twenty-three. He went around and looked at the various shops and heard so many people chatting. There were lots of folks shopping and browsing. Near a fountain and a coffee cart were four musicians. They were playing some very nice music and Matt decided he could use the break. He stopped, got an espresso and listened to them play. The four musicians played a recorder, one played the hammered dulcimer, one played the psalter and another played a plucked keyboard like the harpsichord. They were all Argellians and they clearly enjoying the effect they had on the mood of the place.
They finished one tune that Matt had no idea what it was called. He was about to leave when they suddenly started playing something he did know. It was a lively bit of music and he was delighted to hear it. He knew it for sure, ”Bel piacere e godere fido amor” from a set of songs and dances that he knew well. It was filled with such joy and energy that he waited until the end. When the applause passed, he dropped in a credit and thanked them.
Continuing on his self-guided tour, he decided to stop in a bar, “The Olanche Bar” There were so many people here. Going and coming, working, and waiting. It was a both overwhelming and yet the noise and happy atmosphere of the bar was a welcome respite. After a moment, the bartender arrived. She was Rigellian, in her mid-forties and looked like she had seen all types in this place.
“What can I get you Lieutenant?” she said with authority. Matt answered in his native Fontalan, “Cosa c'è di buono qui?”
“EH?! What’s that?” she answered and leaned forward. Plumeri forgot that not everybody had a UT (Universal Translator) available to them. He looked up at her and realized his mistake. When he spoke, his Fontalan accent was thick. And he hated that. He always felt that it made him sound stupid. He tried to work on it and, of course, he was much, much better now with Federation Standard. Even so, it was obvious to anyone without a UT that he was not Human. His R’s and his vowels were pronounced. He said, “What’s good here? To drink?”
The bar was noisy and at first, he did not think she understood him. The look she gave him. As if he had just asked for a bag full of magic beans. His eyes averted, and he felt that frustration at his damn accent.
“Booze honey. That is what’s good here. You want a beer? All you guys like beer here” she said with practiced ease. Her face had mild annoyance on it, but her voice wasn’t annoyed at all.
“Yeah. OOookay. Birra!” he answered back. He made the "ok" sign with his fingers. She nodded, laughed, not at him, winked and said, “Be right back.” Plumeri figured that if there was only one choice ‘beer’ then it couldn’t be all that bad. He looked to his left, Rigellian maintenance crewman was hitting on a girl too young for him. Turning to the right, a security officer and his partner were viewing the holonet feed. Matthew looked up at the screen and listened.
”…we go live to Federation Network News on location correspondent, Miral Bilal for this on scene report.”
“I’m here at starbase twenty-three where over the past few weeks we have seen a 350% increase in the number of personnel and ships coming through the sector. Now, most of that is due to what is happening with the loss of Starbase 400 and the exodus from the Kelab IV territory in the Beta Quadrant. But not all of it. I’m talking to one of the many dockmasters here at the station who is servicing the vast number of ships coming in now. Tell us who you are please and what you do?”
A human dockmaster in starfleet work duds answered, “I’m Andy Frost and I’m on the Beta shift here at Starbase twenty-three. We make sure that once a ship is cleared for docking that they get hooked up correctly, get their repairs taken care of and anything else they need. Including the crew. We help connect them with services and support here at Starbase.”
“Andy, you’ve seen more ships these past two weeks or is it pretty much the same?”
“Oh hell no, there are maybe…I’d say three or four times the amount of traffic in and out. Mostly in these past two weeks..” he continued giving a report.
The bartender arrived and placed the amber, golden beer in front of Matthew. She looked up at what was on the network feed and reached to change the feed to something else, “Oh, look! It’s Frost!” she said.
The report continued, ”…unbelievable that this could happen on what has been, until recent months, an idyllic and tranquil place and people. We need to EVAC as well, the Federation Ambassador, we have not seen nor heard from any of the embassy staff. We hope that they are safe and that everyone got out OK. We’re being told by the security forces that we must leave. Back to you on Earth.”
The image now was of the main reporting anchor desk, “Thank you Miral. It looks very busy there indeed. You’re looking at live images coming to us from the Federation Starbase Twenty-Three. You may remember that over recent weeks, the Beta quadrant system of Kelab IV, which is in an oft contested region of space, recently saw a new offensive and the resulting abandonment and retreat from Starbase 400. That process appears to have finally broken down and, if what we’re seeing and hearing, the Federation embassy staff, the Ambassador, the ship and crews are now re-supplying themselves at Starbase 23. More on this breaking news as the story develops.”
Matt took a long drink of beer as he listened over the noise to the newsfeed.
PERSONAL LOG ENTRY
“Science Officer’s log, stardate 73797.1. LTJG. Matthew Plumeri recording:
“It’s been a whole day now since I last spoke with people at home. My sister, my parents, friends I grew up with. They’re all concerned for me and this new posting I got. I keep telling them that I’m lucky I got it. And not to worry. My mom, my dad, they don’t understand that I can’t just pick up and come home. It stresses me out, I guess more than a little, to hear them worried.
Oh! Let’s talk about something like good news. The best thing I got going for me are the letters of recommendation and my curriculum vitae. I've worked hard but I've also been lucky. Maybe, if I’m lucky, they'll need a guy with ancient history perspectives? It's a longshot. I hope this assignment lasts longer. I’m tired of making friends and starting to get connections and then I have to rip them all away and transfer. It’s hard enough to make and keep friends in the service. I’m getting to do what I love though. I mean, hopefully. Out there among the stars man...that's living. Every day is new out here. Really making exploration and discovery a part of what I do. I am excited about this new adventure. About what I’ll see and who we will meet. I’ve never explored this part of the galaxy before, so it will be all new to me. I have so many questions.
I can’t wait to get on board and get started you know? Tired of living out of a duffle bag and eating replicated food from the public replicators. I want my own bed. I need a shower and the gym. Then, I want to check up on the DTI’s latest journals. I want to meet my new colleagues. I heard this boat has a couple of PhD’s for their planetary division. And a few more of the names I recognize from the manifest have written some kick ass articles for Journal of Galactic Mechanics. The Planetary Society is represented here. Heck, if I play my cards right, they might even extend an invitation to become a member. That's like...instant credibility there. I mean among geeks. Like me."
Starbase 23 is really big. I saw the big Ratana tree on the Marketplace level \ that everyone is always talking about. It’s big alright. Older than the Barros Inn itself. Thick, huge trunk. Could not put my arms around it. Bigger than that. Had a drink or two and just kind of hung out. Last night I went to a nightclub and got a pole dance from a cutie pie. The place is wild alright. They have a mobile clinic – I am not shitting you – a mobile clinic right outside the front door of the place to handle all the medical emergencies. You fly out the front door, on your ass, land in a biobed, get patched up well enough to spend the night in jail. And the furniture takes a beating there. Loud music, pretty girls, pretty everything there. All kinds. Never seen so many kinds of people all mixing it up. Coming back the Barros Inn again when we next port in here. Maybe by then I’ll have some friends to go with?
Computer, end and save personal log.”
After a while Matt saw a new art store. Intrigued, he decided to go inside and see if he could find something to hang on his wall in his shared quarters.
[OFF:]
Lieutenant JG Matthew Plumeri
Science Officer/Historian
USS Endeavour
NCC-72802
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