The Gossipers Gain a Third

Posted on Sat Oct 15th, 2016 @ 12:20am by Petty Officer 1st Class Mizatan Fij & Petty Officer 2nd Class Charles Rhodes & Ensign Vex Krylore

Episode: Lost Property
Location: USS Highlander - Mess Hall

"So, have you ran into any more ghosts over on that DeSally ship or what?"

Fij supressed a sigh at his friend's question. Ever since he had told him of the strange happenings in the DeSalle's computer core, Rhodes had hooked onto his idea of it being a ghost ship, and let his imagination run wild. "No, I have not ran into any ghosts on the DeSalle, Charles," he answered, as he piled some salad onto his plate and the two of them moved further along on the mess hall's counter, gathering the next item of their lunch meals.

"I've heard the Captain's been talking to them!" Rhodes went on, undeterred. "Talking to a ghost crew! I bet the spirits over there are turning the entire senior staff mad. Anyone who's been over there has probably been affected," he said, almost sagely. "Even you, Miz. I think you should get your head checked out."

"I'm sure my head, as well as the captain's, is fine, Charles," Fij replied, pouring some juice into a glass and adding it to his tray before turning and heading to the pair's normal table near the view port.

Vex could not get the crick out of his neck. He blamed the fact that he had fallen asleep in the armory again, going over the latest sensor data from the ships long range sensor arrays. Although there were no sign of encroaching hostiles yet, he didn't want his ship caught off guard. And with his department head otherwise occupied, it at least gave him something to do. Upon entering the mess hall he overheard the other two junior officers talking about the De Salle.

"They aren't spirits you know," Vex replied, passing by the twos table. He stopped and took another bite of the ration bar he was eating. "Ensign Vex Krylore, tactical department, I couldn't help but overhearing your conversation... sorry about that."

Fij couldn't help but stand up as the ensign spoke to them; as an officer he was still his superior, regardless of position or how high up the officer rankings he was, and the instinct to show respect was too well ingrained from his training days and years as a crewman. "No, that's all right Ensign Krylore sir," he responded, again falling into the habit of formal address. No matter how many years he served as an enlisted man, he doubted that he would ever be able to break that habit. "Petty Officer First Class Mizatan Fij; Computer Specialist. This is Petty Officer Second Class Charles Rhodes; Brig Officer."

Rhodes, as usual, didn't bother standing for the ensign, though he did shift his position slightly. It was a subconscious action, showing that even though he refused to stick as rigidly to protocol, he couldn't quite help but avoid showing too much disrespect to an officer. He looked the ensign over quizzically. "How do you know they're not spirits?" he asked. "Has anyone actually seen them, in the flesh? The last I heard, the crew of the DeSally were in jars on shelves down in sickbay."

"Thought I'm not sure how, one of those spirits, as you called them got transported back to our phase," Vex answered. "And if they were spirits, I would think that they would be happy in the hereafter and would therefore have no further use of us mortals."

"Do you not have ghost stories where you come from, Ensign?" Rhodes asked. "Haunted houses, cursed ships, anything like that?"

Fij let out an audible sigh. "I apologise for my friend, sir. Petty Officer Rhodes has an... over-active imagination. Last month he was the source of the rumour that went around the ship that the captain and first officer had been killed, and that octopus-like creatures were impersonating them by wearing their skins as a suit."

"Hey, they could have been!" Rhodes exclaimed. "And what would have happened if they had been replaced and I hadn't told anybody?"

"That's a rather... interesting assessment of the situation," Vex replied. "And no, we generally don't have ghost stories were I come from. Plus, we already know there is a reasonable explanation for what happened."

"As I said sir; an over-active imagination." Fij repeated. He stepped to the side and indicated one of the free seats around their table. "I know it's not usually the custom for officers to eat together with enlisted personnel, but you are welcome to join us if you wish, sir.""

"I'd love to," Vex said, taking a seat. "I've never been one to stand on ceremony."

As Vex took a seat, Fij sat himself back down in front of his lunch, while Rhodes just rolled his eyes at him. "How long have you been aboard the Highlander, if you don't mind me asking?" the computer specialist asked, as he took a fresh fork-full of his salad.

"Not very long," Vex admitted, taking another bite of his apple. "But long enough to know that this is certainly an interesting ship."

"Only because the Captain keeps on getting us into trouble," Rhodes commented. "Did you know that our first mission out with him, he actually took us to a planet where some Cardassian scientist was trying to turn people into monsters?"

"Hazards of the job," Vex replied, with a shrug of his shoulders. "We're Starfleet, we are bound to come across situations like that regardless of who was in charge."

"Agreed," Fij said, nodding. "Starfleet has always found itself in unusual situations. If you wanted a more sedate job, then you should have looked elsewhere."

"Yeah, well, it was either this or working in the mines back home, and I hate being underground," Rhodes answered, finishing off his lunch as he realised that he was outnumbered this time in his opinions. "Anyway, I'm going to get back to my brig," he said, as he stood and went to recycle his plate in the replicator.

"I apologise for my friend, sir," Fij said as Rhodes left them at the table. "He chose to be a brig officer because he felt it would be the safest occupation in Starfleet. I have tried to explain to him numerous times that a life in Starfleet is not a safe occupation, but he doesn't listen."

"You can stop calling me sir," Vex frowned. "It's... unsettling. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you have spent more time in the fleet than I have."

"I enlisted in the Technical Academy seventeen years ago last month," Fij confirmed, nodding. "The study requirements for enlisted personnel is not so heavy as it is for officers, so I began my service with the fleet a year later."

"There you have it," Vex nodded.

Fij nodded again, finishing the last of his meal and standing up. "Well, thank you for the conversation, Ensign. I had best get back to work. It was nice meeting you."