Downtime

Posted on Tuesday December 1st, 2020 @ 6:44pm by Lieutenant Lazarus Kord & Commander Sam Perkins

2,431 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: S1-A1-Ep. 1: Spectrophobia
Location: USS Poseidon; Recreation Lounge, Deck 5
Timeline: Docked at Starbase 47

[ON]

The Gorn sat idly at the bar. The Lounge Manager continued to offer the reptilian his preferred drink of the moment; Lazarus casually sipping the synthihol as he leaned on an open palm, the other gripping the glass as he grumbled. This was a common occurrence for Lazarus. He had very little people to interact with, very few friends, and a small selection of activities he even enjoyed beyond his active duty working schedule. One of these days he planned on rectifying that, but for the moment he sat in seclusion at the bar, not particularly doing much as his tail slid across the carpeted floor behind him as he sat on the barstool.

Up until now it had been work , work , work. Perkins had been busy making repairs. Then planning lessons for Cadets. Finally the science department was at a position. He could safely go to the Captain and tell him. All was fixed and ready to go.

He knew there was a Lounge on deck 5. It had been a while since. He was now able to visit it. Noticing the Gorn sitting on a barstool and being careful. Not to step on his tail. Perkins approached the bar.

“ Hello again may I join you?” He asked the Gorn

Lazarus tilted his head in recognition of hearing Sam, but not believing it at first. When his mind registered that it was he who had been spoken to, his body jolted and he turned quickly to face the Chief Science Officer. His expression perked and he nodded vigoursly.

"Of course! Of course!" the Gorn said invitingly, his voice naturally hoarse and with slight hisses. He made a brief motion with his hand towards the stool beside him. "Been a while since anyone talked to me around here. I appreciate the effort."

Once they had been seated, Lazarus returned to leaning on the bar top and glanced over at Sam.

"Lieutenant Perkins, right? Chief Science Officer? What brings you to the lounge today?"

Perkins ordered a tall glass of iced carbonated mineral water. Plus a plate of pizza sticks. He was feeling a little peckish. As a rule Sam did not really drink alcohol. For some reason he did not like the taste.

“ Been so busy I needed a break. What with having to literally to the labs rebuilt. Then set out the semester for the cadets. It’s just been none stop. How are about yourself? “ He asked.

Lazarus gave a soft chuckle, which emitted as an awkwardly grating sound due to his unique reptilian physiology. He had heard through the Poseidon "grapevine" - the human term used to define a rumor source in the ship - that more than a few Science Department cadets had absolutely wrecked a department and not in a good way. It seems those rumors were not only true, but they didn't even come close to the extent of the real situation.

"I have been dealing with Engineering," Lazarus said, gazing at Sam. "The new Chief Engineering Officer tasked me with plenty of new things. Lots of learning involved. Had to recently learn how to properly recode the systems powering the consoles, for example. Ugh. Just....it's fine, yeah, just work."

After a moment and a sip, he inclined his snout at Sam. "So this...situation in your department. What happened if I may probe?"

Perkins sipped his drink. He liked the way it’s bubbles reacted on his tongue.

“ Well. I understand that a few of their colleagues , were not so lucky on the last mission. Their grief turned to anger and they smashed up the science department. To be honest Kord I have never seen anything like it. Once we put this uniform on it’s a sad fact. But we are going to loose colleagues. I know grief can do strange things. That’s why we went lightly on them.” Sam explained.” But just the same.”

Lazarus nodded slightly, offering a gentle shrug of his shoulders as he eyed his own beverage. It wasn't real alcohol, nothing for on duty crewmen were, but it did sate the necessary bite. He hummed a bit, which oddly came out as a low thrumming growl, before letting out a sigh.

"What the Cadets went through, especially for Cadets just starting, had to of been extremely traumatic for them to react that way," the Gorn offered. "As you say, 'When we put on this uniform'. They don't understand that yet. That's why they're here, to be trained to understand that. Unfortunately they were given the other half of the equation, the part hidden from most of them. Sacrifice. Loss."

A moment to think, then, "How would you have reacted on your first year and you experienced a battle that took twenty-something of your closest friends?"

The question surprised him. If he had been like them would Sam have done the same thing? Nothing like this had happened in his first year. As a Cadet thankfully , but it could have.

“ That’s a tricky one to answer. My experience in Starfleet so far has trained me. How to deal with stuff like this. However as a first year cadet. Sober absolutely not. Even though I was a cadet. I am still a part of Starfleet. Drunk. Well with my Inhibitions stripped away. Allowing my anger to take control. I believe I would’ve done the same thing. That’s why I don’t drink alcohol of any type. How would you have acted?” Perkins asked of his friend.

Lazarus turned and stared with both eyes staring down his snout at Sam then.

"I would have probably reacted the same," the Gorn admitted. "Though I predict my outburst would have damaged significantly more of the ships interior."

For the first time Perkins noticed Kords eyes. There were different types of Gorns and each type. Had different features including the eyes. Kords were like most lizards. Except of course more advanced.

“ Can I ask you a question about your visual range? How much of the colour spectrum can you see?” Perkins asked with interest.

Lazarus found that to be an odd question, only because no one ever asked such questions to him. He appraised Sam in a newer light them, appreciating the level of intelligence necessary to ask such a direct yet simple question. Thinking then on how to properly answer it, he recalled the differences between humans and other species in his biology courses during his enslavement. He had to remember, however, that his knowledge of humans was somewhat different due to his origins. These humans could see well in light, while the ones that enslaved him couldn't. He gave a slow nod.

"Well enough," he concluded. "I can see...sharper images, smell things well enough, but the way I see the world is almost exactly as you do. We see color, we see differences in texture, all those things. I think, anyway, I'm not sure how you see it other than what I learned in basic biology."

Perkins nodded in fascination.

“ Sorry it’s just the scientist in me. I don’t mean to be rude. So your vision is the same as humans. What about at night? In humans it takes us a while for our eyes to adjust to the dark. Then it’s not much due to the human eye lacking a tapetum lucidum.”

"I think we may have better vision than you at night," Lazarus admitted. "If there's a sliver of light we usually can see textures well. I can, anyway. My sense of smell heightens in darkness, which I presume is a natural reaction. I've concluded it could very well be an evolutionary trait from when my species was a predator."

At that, he went silent for a moment. His clawed fingers fiddling with his glass as his eyes went distant. He cleared his throat softly.

"Not that any of that was....good for when I was a slave," he spoke, softly. Lazarus was quiet for another moment, then he seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts as he looked back to Sam.

Sam knew that just because Earth had seen sense and banned slavery centuries ago. Not all planets in the universe had felt the same. Slavery was still ashamedly going on. But to hear an intelligent Gorn like Kord had been a slave. Made him feel terrible.

“ May goodness. You were a slave?” Sam asked

Lazarus nodded slowly, downing some more of his drink as he carefully tilted his head to drain the liquid down his gullet. A swallow later and he spoke.

"I was, but not here. Somewhere far away," Lazarus said, half-thruthfully. "I was enslaved as a hatchling. They killed my family or enslaved them too. Trained to work on starships for my masters and eventually escaped..."

His words trailed off at "escaped". His eyes grew distant as he remembered the incident in the engineering section on the Asha. He remembered how one false step had sent an unfathomable amount of current into his body, so much so with such a unique set of circumstances that it had literally destroyed him....and rebuilt him somewhere else. Softly, he gulped, blinking as he realized where he was again following the deep and intense reminiscence. His head turned to regard Sam again.

"I...escaped," Lazarus spoke again, voice still struggling but becoming firm again - as firm as could be for him. "Starfleet took me in. They've been very kind."

Sam could not fathom the concept of somebody owning Kords life. Here sat an intelligent person. From what he heard , one of the very best engineers on the Poseidon. Who would take a just hatched little creature. Kill the hatchlings family. Then make it a slave. They said there were some dark corners of the galaxy. My goodness they were correct.

“ These animals that you escaped from. Although calling them that is probably to good. Is there any danger they could come looking for you? If so I can whip up something nasty that would turn their vital organs to jelly for you. “ Perkins said.

Lazarus turned to observe Sam and reflect on his question for a moment, before replying after a sip, "Very little chance."

He then focused forward, then down. Despite being a slave there, being separated from his family, being torn from his life, there still was unfinished business left that he'd never finish doing. He uttered a silent sigh, then glimpsed Sam from the corner of his eye.

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness of my situation, but the past is the past."

Perkins nodded. His inner scientist escaped once more.

“ So you hatched from an egg? Tell me do all of your species enter the world that way. I heard that some Gorn females give birth to live young.” Perkins said. “ Is that true?”

"Some," Lazarus said, "most, perhaps. Some females, my mother included, had the evolutionary trait to have the egg grow until hatching from within their womb. It would appear as a live birth. Other females lay an egg and it is naturally hatched. I was hatched in the womb, to put it more truthfully. Nonetheless, I hatched."

Perkins shook his head in wonder.

“ You know Kord I envy you. Your people are so interesting and unique. Mind you if my home world had not undergone a massive change in a planetary atmosphere. From tropical to ice based for a few centuries. Our evolutionary process would of been almost identical.” He said

That piqued the Gorn's interest. He inclined his head toward Sam, listening intently.

"How so?" he inquired. "What do you mean?"

Perkins to a sip of his drink. Before continuing.

“ Well. Billions of years ago the Earth was a lot hotter and more tropical. Large lizard like creatures or as they were called Dinosaurs virtually ruled the planet. But then a huge asteroid hit the planet. Causing a dramatic climate change over night. The larger creatures died off. As they could not adept to the new much colder climate. The smaller warm blooded fur covered creatures survived. Including an ape like creature that eventually evolved. Into what you see before you.” Perkins said.

He took another gulp of his drink.

“ it’s strongly believed that if the asteroid had not hit. We would of evolved from the dinosaurs. I would probably be a smaller version of your good self.” He said to Kord.

Lazarus thought on this, using his knowledge of basic physics and evolutionary theory to comprehend the implications. He gave a shrug at first, then a nod as he accepted what had been said.

"I can see that happening," Lazarus said as he finished off his drink casually. "Makes sense. I find it rather intriguing that an asteroid was all it took to convince evolution to go the path of, as you say, an ape-like creature. Though that does bring up something else rather interesting. Have you taken note that almost the entirety of alien life is in some way humanoid?"

Perkins nodded deep in thought.

“ It’s a case of practicality if you consider the theory. The humanoid form is much easier for survival. The head housing the brain is best on top. Away from the ground were it could be damaged. Powerful legs so when in danger it’s possible to flee. Arms with hands either side for finding and eating food. There have been stories of a race of aliens. Who roamed the galaxy seeding planets. Proof was found but it’s still being debated over.”

Lazarus thought for a moment, blinking a few times as he pondered Sam's answer. He then tilted his head.

"Are you suggesting that there was an alien race before....everyone here right now? That they seeded the galaxy and we are the result?"

Perkins gave Kord a shrug of his shoulder.

“ To be honest it’s a difficult one. There is rumoured to be evidence suggesting this. But our respective ruling bodies are still locked in debate. Whether this is true or a big hoax. So let’s leave it up to them.”

The Gorn nodded in agreement, grunting approval at the suggestion as he gave a sigh. After a moment of looking down at the bar top, he glanced back at Sam.

"I think I'll head for rest. I appreciate the company you've offered today. Perhaps we can do it again?"

Perkins smiled.

“ Yes of course take care.” Sam Said

[OFF]

Lieutenant Sam Perkins
Chief Science Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Lazarus Kord
Engineering Officer
USS Poseidon

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