Insomniac with Dave Attell

Posted on Thu Dec 12, 2019 @ 2:16pm by Lieutenant Penelope Naroot

1,270 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Nibiru
Location: 24 hour lounge on the station
Timeline: 0300 some night

Penny had taken to exploring the station during the graveyard shift. Most of the public places were shut down, but a few were open around the clock, and of course the station itself never really slept, with Engineers, medical staff, operations staff and so forth always on duty, as well as several public lounges that were always open.

Penny was in one of those lounges, lying on a couch, legs draped over the side in her off duty shorts and tees, watching the stars through the viewing port when she heard the doors open. She looked over and saw a new face she hadn't met yet, but she recognized him from the new roster. "Hi," she said, sitting up and grinning.

---

Two hours, he had spent two hours staring at the ceiling of his room trying to get some shut eye. He had tried counting sheep, going over security protocols for even the slightest events, heck he had even put on a Vulcan science lecture on Dendrology. Nothing had worked; with a sigh Eric got out of his bunk and put on one of his shirts. “Might as well go see if that cafe is still open.” He muttered as he headed out.

Twenty minutes later and some luck he had found the cafe and gotten a small cup of coffee to go. “Way too crowded for my tastes.” He thought as he left to go find a place less busy.

He remembered a lounge area he had passed on his hunt for the cafe. “Hopefully there aren’t that many night owls out.” He said taking a sip of his drink.

A few moments later he came across the door and proceeded in. Before he even had a chance to take more than a few steps he saw someone of to the side laying on couch look over at him. “Hi” she said sitting and grinning.

Eric didn’t recognize her but she looked like she knew him. “Hello.” He replied with a smile.

"You're new to the Victory, right?" she said, standing up and walking to him, offering a hand. "I'm Penelope Naroot. Everyone calls me Penny," she said, smiling. "I'm Chief Flight Control Officer."

“Yeah, just transferred.” Eric answered with a smile and shook Penny’s hand. “Ensign Eric Alexander, Security Investigations officer.”

"Good to meet you and welcome aboard," she said, smiling. "What brings you to the quiet part of the station at this hour?"

"Insomnia, coffee and the view." he answered with a smile raising his cup to point to the stars.

"Well, two out of three of those are nice," Penny said, gesturing to the couches. "For the insomnia, you should see Doctor Anderson. She could probably prescribe you something." She dropped back down onto the couch, kicking her legs over the arm. "So what does Security Investigations do?"

Eric sat down on the other arm of the couch and took a sip of coffee before he answered; “Well, In a way I’m basically a detective; when a crime is committed either aboard the ship or planet side, I conduct interviews with witnesses and suspects, gather evidence and research our databases and all other available resources to find out who committed the crime, and report my findings to the Security Chief,” he responded. “It’s a pretty fun and frustrating job if you like long hours of research and no social life.” Eric joked.

"Sounds like when I was in the Academy Nursing program," Penny giggled. "So you're a 'gumshoe', I think is the ancient term. That's cool. We've had need for one. I'm sure Arashi will appreciate the backup. What made you want to go into that?" she said, looking up at him.

“Well, I considered it a step up from being just a Security officer.” Eric replied as he took another drink from his coffee. “That and I've always enjoyed solving mysteries.” He added looking down at her with a smile.

“So, nursing school, but also Chief Flight Control, that’s a different combo,” he stated, “What made you decide on those two?” He asked.

"I majored in medical and minored in Engineering at the Academy," she said. "Was head nurse on a starship for a while. And one day, I was sitting on the bridge at the helm during some downtime, and it exploded right in my face. I almost ceased to be. Had to go home and it took a while to get me back on my feet, but once I did, I felt it was time for a change. I wanted to branch out, be on the bridge when a problem struck. Nicole was pretty upset by it, but she supports it secretly." She smiled to herself. "Don't ever tell her, but I miss Sickbay sometimes. But I really enjoy the bride. The nights when I can actually sit in the center chair is really exciting." She grinned sheepishly. "So yeah...I've tried a few things."

Eric grimaced at the mention of the console exploding; “Was it an accident like a faulty part or was it intentional, like sabotage?” He asked concerned, “I mean either way that’s not pleasant experience to have happen.” He added as he shifted around to see her better.

"True," she said, shrugging. "It was sabotage. We got him though, and I'm okay now, so all's well that ends well."

“I’m glad to hear that” he replied before he disappeared into his head for a few moments. Eric shook his head to clear his thoughts; “Sorry got lost there for a moment.” He said before taking another sip of coffee.

Penny tilted her head. "Lost where?"

“Eh, in my own head.” Eric answered gesturing to his head. “I was remembering something and got distracted.” He clarified.

"Ohhh," Penny said, nodding. "I do that a lot. Thankfully, no one seems to notice." She giggled a bit. "Always good to find your way back though, hm?"

“Yep.” Eric quipped as he nodded slowly.

"So when you aren't on duty, what do you do for fun?" Penny said.

“Hmm, well I love reading, I have several old books that I always take with me and by old I mean actual paper.” Eric said setting down the now empty coffee cup. “I also love mystery holo-novels; like private eye genre to even on occasion old super hero stories," he added with a smile, as he remembered how his adoptive dad had introduced him to the genre.

“What about you, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?” he asked.

"I love the water. Surfing is my absolute favorite thing to do. I also enjoy verbal sparring and I like playing poker. And of course any time spent with my friends is very valuable," she said.

"That it is," Eric nodded in agreement. "I've never even been surfing. I’m almost positive that it would not end that well for me," he joked.

Penny giggled. "Yeah, everyone falls their first few times. Learning to stand properly is the most important thing. But the worst that happens is you get wet."

She checked her chronometer and timed a yawn. "I should probably get to bed. I'm on duty soon." She swung her legs around to the floor and sat up. "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise" Eric smiled as he stood up and stretched.

"See you around!" Penny said, smiling and waving, heading out of the lounge.

Eric returned her wave, "Take care." he replied as he headed back to his room, doubting that he would get any sleep, but it was worth a shot.

 

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