A Chance Meeting [BACKPOST]

Posted on Wed Sep 12th, 2012 @ 2:55pm by Lieutenant JG Rami Miral & Lieutenant JG Marcus Augusta PHD

1,454 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Sowing the Seeds
Location: Back on the Starbase
Timeline: BACKPOST

ON

Miral was making the most of her time off. Her camping trip was set for the next day, but before she left, she wanted to explore the Promenade a bit. Mainly, she wanted to see if they had any interesting antique shops or shops that sold odds and ends.

Marc had ventured out of his office for a few hours to see if there were any interesting stores or merchants aboard the station. His experience with a Ferangi aboard deep space nine had kept his mind open to such...... opportunities. In all there was little of interest, plenty of tailors and general grocers attempting to peddle their wares, among them a Bolian male who seemed to be wearing the brightest green robes known to the galaxy in an attempt to draw the eye of passing trade.

In his short travels a small antique shop that advertised earth relics as part of a special exhibition had taken his interest, mostly due to hsi concern that they had been stolen in the first place. Satisfying his curiosity Marc began looking through what was on offer.

Miral wasn't finding much of interest. The usual assortment of knick-knacks and trinkets. Nothing really unusual -- at least to her.

She moved to another where a man was looking casually at the wares on display.

There was something that looked interesting beside a gentleman at the next table. "Excuse me," she said politely. "Could you hand me that metal vase?"

Marc glanced at the young woman who has issused the request before obliging. She was younger than him, but he was considerably older than most fellow Lieutenants in starfleet due to his rather unique career path. Gesturing to the item in question to ensure he selected the correct one, Marc handed a small, slightly rusted cast iron plant pot over without further comment.

After a few more minutes of browsing Marc gave out an uncharacteristically loud sigh of disappointment. A poorly concealed whisper of "nothing." escaped his lips, attracting the attention of the few other shoppers who were close by.

"Looking for something specific, or just looking?" Miral asked. She set the pot down and dusted off her hands. There wasn't much of interest in this particular shop.

Marc glanced over at the young woman, paying her more attention this time. she wore the grey of an intelligence officer and her posture indicated some kind of martial arts background. While Marc hoped his own posture didn't give away such information he took steps to loosen up none the less. "Just looking. you?"

"The same. And not finding much. What ship are you with?" she asked, looking him over carefully for the first time. He was dressed in yellow which meant security or engineering. He had the air of security, but something a little more. He seemed a bit too cautious for a security officer.

By this point Marc he made his peace with the fact that the young woman before him was intent on engaging him in conversation. As uncharacteristic as it was for him, he decided to indulge her.

"The ranger, security officer. Yourself miss??"

That surprised Miral. "You must be new." She paused, realizing it was not the best way to respond. "Sorry. I"m on the Ranger, too. Intel."

Marc gave a small nodd, he had assumed as much from her uniform but had no idea she was stationed aboard the Ranger. Of all the people aboard she may be the only one with any indication of his true assignment. He would have to see.
"Yes. I haven't been on board very long. Intel was where I started in starfleet."

"Lieutenant Augusta." It wasn't a question. She should have recognized him right away, but she had only read his CV the previous day and didn't expect to see him before the end of shore leave. "I'm Rami Miral."

Marc gave a polite bow of the head but his facial expression remained. Marc Hadn't recognized her but he certainly knew the name, much like many thinks he probably shouldn't have known about her.
"Short selling yourself as simply 'Intel'......Ma'am"

"I am simply Intel," she said. "And I'm not a ma'am. I much prefer Miral. Computers don't stand on formality."

Marc rolled his eyes slightly. The informality that officers seemed to have adopted following the dominion war was something he had never taken to well. For all he knew such informality had existed for a long time within Starfleet but he had struggled to come to terms with it.

"As you wish, Miral."

A short time passed before Marc made any further comment, taking the time to survey his surroundings.

"May I ask? You sounded like you knew of me when we made our introductions. How so?"

"You have ties to Intel so naturally I was informed that you were coming aboard," she said simply. "Starfleet likes me to know who I can use if I need help with an assignment." She set down the scarf she was looking at and grinned. "I would have made a point of meeting you after shore leave."

Marc remained silent. Were he in Miral's position he would have have known of him too.
"I see. Well In that event I feel you should know more about my son."

She turned to face him directly for the first time. "Oh?"

"He has a talent for gaining access to systems he shouldn't. I have no idea how he manages it, but his technical skills are something far beyond that of most technicians."

This was most interesting. She wondered if her own systems were a match for Marc's son.

"I have already installed safeguards within the rangers computer to block his regular stunts so i doubt it will be an issue, but in the interest of fair warning."

Marc had this conversation with every chief engineer and intelligence chief he knew was likely to cross paths with Tiberius. His reservations about revealing information about his failings as a father not withstanding, he felt it was better this way......for everyone.

"I appreciate the information. How old is your son?" she asked. It was something she should have known already, but she hadn't felt the need to look into too many details of his personal life.

Marc's answer was accompanied by a quick glance in the Lieutenants direction.
"14. And not without the customary attitude."

"To be expected. Does he want to work with computers or just play with them?" she asked.

Marc pondered for a moment. Truth be told he had never thought to ask Tiber.
"I have never asked him. My guess would be he wants to do what I do."
Marc gave the slightest grin but in an instant his stone like expression returned to normal. There was clearly more to this woman than met the eye.

"Then perhaps, when we're back on duty, he could help test some of the security systems. If he's that good, perhaps he can be of use? Channel his talent and energy into a more ... beneficial ... area?" Miral asked casually. She didn't want to overstep the man's parental rights, but if the boy was that good, it would be good for him to learn to use his talents in a more productive manner.

Marc contemplated the option. His relationship with his son had always been strained. Perhaps an opportunity for him to turn his attention to somthing productive would provide both of them with better insight into their relationship.

"A good suggestion. if you were willing to assist I would be very grateful."

Miral thought for a moment before replying. "Sure. I could set up a system that's isolated from the other computers, put some files on it and see how he does. I'm off for some camping, but I can set it up when I return to the ship." She was interested to see if the boy was as good as his father said he was. If so, he might learn to be a valuable asset to the ship. It was definitely worth a try.


Marc nodded his head in approval. the short conversation with the chief had made him feel more comfortable about his assignment to the Ranger than his interaction with any of the other staff.

"Thank you Lieutenant, Im sure he will......come to appreciate the opportunity."

"I hope so," Miral said. She took one final look around the shop. There really hadn't been much that interested her here. "I look forward to seeing you and your son later." She nodded to Marcus and headed off to check one more store before she went camping.

OFF
Lieutenant JG Marcus Augusta, Dr
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Lieutenant JG Rami Miral [T'mpest]
Intelligence

 

RSS Feed