Stukh isha Lakh

"Whatever the mind can believe or conceive it can achieve. "- N.H. Nina Collantes Age: 24 Translator & Diplomat U.S.S. Calypso

[calypso-neil]

  [She was a diplomat, after all—he didn’t know why he expected her not to catch on. As of late his penchant for not being an open book was cracking.

So he offered a hint of a smile and nodded down, folding his hands in front of him. At least he didn’t fidget.] 

I appreciate it. Been up and down lately—I’d hope you haven’t heard anything too incriminating. [Saying that was already a bit of a faux pas, as it would raise the question of what was incriminating in the first place.] I mean—I’ve been around as a bridge officer. People say lots of things that aren’t true, just because it’s boring without. 

Anyway. [He shook his head, glancing to see if he’d drawn any attention.] I’m fine, is what I mean. 

[calypso-collantes]

Cute. Was that the word? Nina smiled at how flustered he seemed. 

Yes, I'm sure there are rumors around about everyone. If I hear anything I will be sure to let you know and of course, will refrain from spreading it. Especially anything that is too -incriminating-. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about though. You do your job well and don't cause much trouble as far as I've seen, but thank you for letting me know. 

He looked as guilty as a child who ate all the cookies before dinner. She had no idea why and while it interested her she wouldn't go around stepping on any toes. The longer he could talk it out and compose himself, the better. Mr. Chambers was surprisingly obvious about these types of things, and if it had been anyone but Nina new rumors may have started. 

[calypso-collantes]

Back to Business

[somniartis-deactivated20151223]

No she didn’t.

"No…no I don’t."

Kendall had never stuttered a day in her life, and the fact that the brief touch of someone she’d only just sort of met had ruined that in the flick of an eyelash was…well…not good.

"I’m fine. Seriously, I…”

Maybe she was doing the thing where she sounded loud in her own head so she spoke too quietly to be heard, or maybe her thoughts had just sounded loud enough to have been said out loud; either way, Kendall was sure Nina hadn’t heard a word that had come out of her mouth. That, or she was simply ignoring it.

Kendall wasn’t sure which of the options was the better one.

She allowed herself to be pulled along by the cool fingers that had wrapped themselves around her own, inwardly basking in the fact that, yes, she’d been correct. Nina’s hands were cold, and it was freaking fantastic. So fantastic, in fact, that she altogether failed to realize they’d moved from wherever they had been to wherever they were now. The door looked familiar - she had one of those, right? - but the sounds were all wrong.

"…what are you doing?"

[calypso-collantes]

Nina's cheeks were still hot, contrasting with the coolness of her hands, as she glided her pointer finger across the keypad on the lock to the door of her room. She kept her eyes low, not daring to look at Kendall fearing that the heat in her cheeks could be seen. She kept her PADD tucked tight under her arm and her other hand on Kendall's wrist. 

Kendall's voice was faint but Nina could hear her. On any other occasion she would have been content, even thrilled, that Kendall was talking to her so much. Finally mustering up courage as the door slid open she turned to Kendall.

"I realize I'm being very forward and I do hear your protests, but as someone who's had to take care of younger siblings in flu season I can tell a burning fever when I feel one. " 

Her voice softened, not wanting to seem too impulsive.

"Just come in for a moment, I'll take your temperature, if it isn't bad then I'll let you go. If it is, I can take care of it so you won't have to run down to medical. They've got a lot on their hands right now and this is the least I can do. "

Nina nodded for Kendall to enter her room.

[calypso-neil]

Miss Collantes. [Bless her damn heart. Neil smiled politely, although there was a bit of recognizable confusion in his face. Admittedly he wished he had a place to sit down as well; he wasn’t sure if anyone in the room had even seen him do so. He usually took his post near the captain’s chair, or occasionally communications.] 

I’m alright. Just been a long past few days. [He wrinkled his nose, knowing there was some empathy to be found in that for everyone.] I’m certainly ready to be out of these asteroids. 

[That didn’t really give much explanation to his blatant tension, but maybe he could just change the subject.] How are you? 

[calypso-collantes]

Nina studied him as he spoke. Funny how a grown man could remind her of her younger siblings, as everyone did when they were holding back... not necessarily lying.. just feeling more than they were saying. Again, she wouldn't insist too much upon it if he didn't want to share, besides who was she to ask for information from him? She was sure he was strong enough to handle himself, which all at once made her feel foolish for even asking. Though, she did admit to herself that she was glad they were talking. He was on the list of people she admired and wished to have conversations with. Nina nodded, bringing herself back to the matter at hand. 

I'm sure most feel the same about the asteroids. They've caused plenty of trouble. 

She paused to look him in the eyes before giving him a small smile and continuing. 

Well I do hope whatever is on your mind works out for the best. I'm always around if you need someone to talk to. 

Again she mentally scolded herself for thinking she was close enough to him that he would -ever- talk to her about such personal matters. To keep from further embarrassment she steered the conversation to his question. 

I'm doing quite alright. However, I do hope to be of more help around the ship. As of late the skills in my particular area haven't been needed yet everyone seems so busy. 

[calypso-kitty]

  Nice of you to say so. 

[Scaring her was not her intention, but it seemed to be happening anyway. Kitty tilted her head in a struggle to meet her eyes, then realized it was a bit silly.] 

Medical has been a mess lately. We’re all on pins and needles. You know what they said about the Admiral failing the ship because of one of the nurses, don’t you? 

[calypso-collantes]

Nina nodded in response. She, unfortunately, had barely ever visited medical, she did not have many friends here and her job kept her mostly on the bridge. However, she had seen in reports about the CMO being injured and such that medical had taken a lot of damage lately. Then she heard something of interest, she wasn't one for gossip but the way Ms. Spiegel addressed it seemed like it should have been common knowledge. Nina turned her head so that she made eye contact with her.

  No I haven't actually. Would you mind telling me a bit more about that?

[calypso-neil]

[As long as he and the Captain had left at different times, no one would question it. Except for the people with sharp eyes like the First Officer, inevitably lurking somewhere.

So Neil returned to his spot near the helm, lips pursed. No one would have assumed he was guilty of something if not for the slight crack in his exterior—as if he had something to be guilty about. To hell with it.] 

[calypso-collantes]

Nina hadn't been at her assigned spot on the bridge for a while. Today, as things seemed a bit tense and chaotic with the arrival of the team, seemed like a good day to be around to help out. After helping out a bit in the medical ward, a duty that made her feel a bit uncomfortable, she now sat back in her seat PADD on her lap. However, she couldn't help noting out of the corner of her eye a tense atmosphere surrounding Mr. Chambers. She hadn't ever talked to him but had noticed him. He seemed to be a calm man, alert, and ready for duty, as the saying went. All qualities she admired. Maybe she would just check up on him while everyone else was busy....

She turned to him. 

Excuse me, Mr. Chambers. You seem a bit..... tense. Are you alright? 

That hadn't quite been the right word, but she didn't want to intrude. Yet, she had to check up on him, it was unusual for anything to effect him so evidently. 

[calypso-kitty]

He was shot in the shoulder. Someone was nice enough to carry him on the way out. It’s not critical, but will take a while to heal up. I think Dr. T’Mora is seeing to him right now. 

You’re communications, aren’t you? Why are you here again?

[calypso-collantes]

Nina proceeded with caution. She didn't want to step on any toes, as the saying went, and something about this girl made her feel like she was in the danger zone.

Alright thank you. I'll make sure that information is given to those who need it. 

Well, I'm the official diplomat and translator on the ship so in a way yes I'm part of communications. I was sent by the Commander to receive information right away as well as to help out where available. Though it seems the staff here is more than capable. 

[calypso-kitty]

  [She glanced behind her, then wrinkled her nose.] I was on the away team. Olivera got himself assimilated, you know. He’s still got those implants, but I stopped him from turning. 

[She didn’t know him and didn’t particularly care to, but hearing him before it happened was enough to shake anyone up.] Tough being the only medic, but I managed. Anyway. I figured as much. What’s the list say I need to do?

[calypso-collantes]

Right. Yes, My apologies. Maybe you should go rest. We just need someone to go check up on Mr. Fitz Wilcox. If not could you at least tell me a bit more about his status before leaving? 

Hmm... this woman seemed not to care. Maybe she was just tired. Yes. That was probably it. To be a nurse you had to care for your patients. Right? 

[calypso-kitty]

May I be dismissed?

[calypso-collantes]

Nina looked from the girl in the nurse uniform to her PADD double checking the name that matched the face. 

No Miss.... Spiegel. You may not. I know I'm not a Doctor or a Nurse but Commander Piper put me on this duty right now. Plus, now that the team is back the injured need to be taken care of and your help can be used. 

Nina waited for the argument, it couldn't be helped but it wasn't needed right now. Why was she here in the med bay? To help control the traffic he had said. No one was going to respect her. But she would try her best to be helpful... which meant she would have to have the staff on duty. Though she didn't feel much like arguing now that she knew one of her only "friends" was injured. Friend. They talked a couple of times. Senor Olivera..... she would have to check on him when she could. She brushed thoughts of him aside and prepared herself for the nurse's retort. 

[calypso-collantes]

Back to Business

[somniartis-deactivated20151223]

  Kendall squinted. At what, she didn’t necessarily know. She just felt… squinty. Taking care to smooth out her face so she didn’t look as bitter as she felt, she made a weak attempt at a smile. Or was it a grimace? Well.

So much for that.

"Hey, Nina…."

She cringed inwardly, but didn’t bother to correct herself. Formalities were…well, if she were being honest, they meant less to her now than they did on a regular basis. All she cared about now was the soothing lowness of Nina’s voice and, quite possibly, how cool her hands were.

No. Wait, no. She didn’t care about that.

“‘M fine. Just…okay.”

Yep. That summed it up pretty nicely.

[calypso-collantes]

Nina eyed Kendall. Not buying a word of her unconvincing argument. She had seen it all before. Kendall was no better at hiding it than her younger siblings had ever been. Nina took one hand away from her PADD and lightly placed it on Kendall's forehead the heat confirming her thoughts, forgetting formalities at this point. Nina was full on mother mode. 

"Yeah.. no. You'll have to forgive me for this later, but you need rest."  

Her voice remained gentle but hopefully had enough demand in it to show she meant business. 

She took Kendall's hand in her empty one wishing the cold from her hand would be enough to bring down the fever that was on the rise in Kendall's body. Nina lead her down the hallway back to her room. 

"You just seem to have a virus... but either way it should be dealt with right away. I have some supplies from medical to bring it down. "

At this point she wasn't thinking about how Kendall would take all this. Just take care of the sick girl before it spread. That was the logical reason for this. She did not look back at Kendall until they reached the door of the room. Nina could have sworn her cheeks were almost as hot as Kendall's by the time they arrived. Not that she was catching any virus... 

[calypso-collantes]

Back to Business

[somniartis-deactivated20151223]

Kendall took ginger steps down the hall as she pressed a cool hand to her forehead, her neck, her face, silently praying not to run into anyone she knew. Somehow, she’d managed to catch the tiniest of viruses over the last few days, which did nothing to help the level of mutual stress already filtering about the ship. And on top of it all, she’d let herself fall asleep for the past hour and a half, a sin for which she was paying in more ways than one.

"Goddammit…."

The gentle swear escaped her lips before she knew it at the sound of footsteps, and it was all she could do to prevent herself from doing an about face as the person turned the corner.

Okay. So maybe it helped that the person was Nina, but Kendall wasn’t at all sure whether or not she wanted to socialize.

[calypso-collantes]

Nina's eyes lifted from her PADD at the low sound of a word and the familiar voice that had uttered it. Yes she had mastered the skill of walking and looking down at the lovely device that kept her sane, if you counted running into people only twice a week a level of mastery... Speaking of things that kept her sane... She hadn't expected to see Kendall before her. Was Kendall one to swear? Noted. And another thing.. had she always been this pale? Her eyes widened a bit in concern.

Miss Deanda. It's been a while. If you don't mind me saying... you look a bit unwell.. is everything alright?

Her voice was soft. It's formality did not waiver but instead had a hint of concern. The last thing she wanted was for Kendall to find her to be loud or too nosy. Of course she wasn't ok. What a stupid question. The delicate color of her cheeks had grown pale and she looked tired. 

 However, what was important was that everyone was in their best shape mentally and physically. Nina convinced herself her concern for Kendall was just that. A measure to make sure that the crew, which included Kendall, would be working at their best, feeling rested and well.  

[calypso-collantes]

Back to Business

Nina had been keeping her eye out, to say the least. Since the pheromone incident she had been rather quiet. However, what brought her out of her enclosure of work and blissful days visiting the library was him. Monday. Also this distress call. All of it was a bit much to stay in the dark about. Yes normally she was nice, professional hopefully some would think but this was getting a bit chaotic. Nina strolled down the hall towards the bridge, favorite black blazer on and PADD in hand. No time for slacking. It was time to get back to business. 

[calypso-collantes]

Back to Civilization

[calypso-damara]

  After she’d spoken with Lt. Sbanda, Damara decided to focus on getting her materials back to her station, the box tucked under her arm. Even with such straightforward intentions, she still had trouble navigating the ship—the whole damn place was so easy to get lost in. But as long as she carried herself well, it didn’t matter. She had a lot to lose as a crewman, and a new one at that; maybe it was a sliver of self-consciousness eating at her, but it was true that a single slip-up would invalidate her—

Such as, for example, bumping right into an officer, a few things slipping forward from the box. Not to mention a few of them were volatile grenade parts—a quick glance certified it was just some casing, but it was the principle of the thing. 

"Shit." She bent down to scoop some of the things with her arm, aware the woman was still standing close to her; not breezing past, like she’d hoped. "Sorry." 

[calypso-collantes]

One would think it would be easy to avoid a person holding a box clearly coming straight towards you. For some reason it wasn't, but at the moment that was not what mattered. Nina bent down to her knees to help pick up the contents that had spilled from the box. Looking down at what was in her hand her eyes widened. It looked like a piece of a grenade. Nina looked up at the woman rushing to put pieces back into the box. 

"It's fine. Are these ... grenades?" 

The question seemed silly. Of course they were. At least they were parts of them. But ... why did she have them? Nina did not recognize the woman's face from the files she had studied weeks ago. Was she new? Perhaps the new weapons specialist. That was logical after all. Standing back up Nina looked to her and asked: 

"Are you new? You don't look very familiar. " 

Granted Nina hadn't been out of her room for a week or so but she decided to leave that part out. 

[calypso-collantes]

5 things we don't know about you

1. I am not very religious. I am not atheist. But I am not of a certain religion. I do research of other cultures and such religious beliefs but found that I could only put faith in myself to get things done early on as a child.

2. I can't wink. I probably look like I'm twitching or just blinking. I stopped trying after my siblings pointed this out to me. They have never let me live it down. 

3. I like watching dancers but have no inclination to dance unless it is a formality. I know how to waltz and such things because they are, as I mentioned, cultural formalities, however I do not feel the -need- to dance. Though I do find it nice to watch and an admirable quality when one is passionate enough to express himself/herself in this way and is coordinated enough to do so. 

4. I have never broken a bone in my body. I suspect this is because I don't do much combat. I like to think of myself as fit physically but in no way gifted in athletics or strength.

5. I have an Italian accent. Its faint and comes and goes as I try to control it to the best of my ability. Those who have good hearing can probably notice it, but I haven't had comments about it thus far. 

[calypso-collantes]

Back to Civilization

Nina had been drowning in work and readings for what seemed to be years, but was probably only a week or so. She had spent most of her time in her room, not even on the bridge much even though that was where she worked. It wasn't much of work having to do with the recent amoeba incident, more of paper work and such trivial things. Though she wasn't all for social interactions every minute of the day she actually missed .... well people. That lead to this. After tidying up her room and making sure she looked presentable, not like she had been locked up in her room for a week, she emerged from her room without her PADD. Not exactly sure where her feet were taking her she decided to just smile and enjoy the ride, hoping for some sort of interaction.

[petra-batori-deactivated2014091]

Honesty Hour

Ask me whatever you want and I shall answer as honestly as I can :)

[calypso-asim]

  Oh Italy, that is very cool! My mother took us to Milan for a few weeks once, she seemed to like it very much. Honestly all I remember was how filling the food was. Though it was a very beautiful place, do you miss it? [Of course she had to, well no, people often ran away from their homes for various reasons. Yet she could still miss the places, the familiarity of things, even while stilling hating the place.]

No major casualties, hm? Very good then. [That was a good sign, but he was still worried. So far no one knew why the critter had decided to latch on to the ship. It could be a fish attracted to light, sucking up the energy(but that wasn’t the case), hanging out or something else. No body knew, which was the frustrating and worrisome part.]

Well I am not right very often, so we will have to see I suppose. That is why we called for help, to be on the ah, safe side of things.

I never asked you, or if I did, it has slipped my mind. What do you do on this ship?

[calypso-collantes]

Nina smiled at the mention of her home country. Milan. Where she celebrated Daniel's fifth birthday. Her brother's smile, how bright and innocent it had been. 

Yes, the food there is good. 

She chuckled.

I do miss it. My family is there, but they understand my desire to come on this voyage. Do you miss your home? 

She looked around as she continued. 

No nothing too bad has come from this incident. However, its good you are interested. Better to try and not be right then to not try and never know. I'm sure that's a saying as well.

She looked back at him. 

Oh how rude of me to not mention it earlier. I am the Translator and Diplomat aboard the ship. 

[somniartis-deactivated20151223]

  Space. She needed space. Well, technically she had all the space she needed, but what she needed was peace and quiet.

Twenty minutes. Kendall had spent twenty minutes at the replicator line with the damn para….whatever-he-was talking behind her to his friend. And she couldn’t tell you the subject of the conversation for the life of her - she’d been too busy resisting the urge to rip out her hair to focus. All she’d wanted was a sandwich, and a sandwich she got. But it was no longer appealing, as the man’s hideous R’s seeped through her head like an unpleasant smell, not unlike a rotten egg.

Needless to say, she didn’t stay in the cafeteria.

Rec room three was the closest, and she entered with a swell of relief, because yes, separation.

Or reunion was the better word, because there, all alone in her own little corner, was Nina. She looked to be reading, and Kendall hesitated before approaching.

Well. So much for quiet.

Hey.

Long time no see.

[calypso-collantes]

Nina continued to scan her PADD hardly listening to the voice speaking to her, much less registering it in her mind.

Hello. Yes it has been a while.

Finally finished with the page of the report, she let the voice sink in. She attempted to remain composed as the realization sunk in only allowing a small ,very small, smile to leave her lips when she replied.

Oh yes. How are you Miss Deanda?

She examined her face, noticing a bit of tension and asked:

Is anything the matter?