Interaction
Posted on Sat Oct 25th, 2025 @ 4:26am by Lieutenant JG Camelia Zamfir & Lieutenant Rynna Csira
2,381 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
Mini Mission-Adjustments [USS Orcrist]
Location: Prancing Pony
Timeline: Before Pre-Launch Party
They only had brief encounters of the official kind but, Camelia hadn't really taken the time to interact with the new Department Head of Operations, outside of work. There was the brief encounter that was on the USS Majestic, still though, Camelia didn't do anything else but watch.
She reached up and tapped on her combadge, "Lieutenant Csira, are you busy? Could we meet somewhere away from work?"
The lieutenant might find her request a bit strange, then again maybe not.
Rynna was going over the duty roster for the next week when the message came in. "Sure. Does it need to be now, or is after shift okay?" She didn't mind either way, but she at least wanted to finish the roster.
"After shift is done, Lieutenant, if you would please." Camelia answered.
She was doing her own work and was just finishing up her own project, checking on the power capacitors on the holodeck. They needed some minor adjustments.
"Okay. Where do you want to meet?" Ryn double-checked her schedule. Nope. She had nothing after her shift.
"How about the Prancing Pony, I heard it was a very good place to start." Camelia responded. "Meet in ten minutes, and in civvies?"
"Make it fifteen and you're on." Ryn needed to go to her quarters to change first, so she'd need that extra five minutes.
"Fifteen it is."
[The Prancing Pony]
Camelia already had a drink in hand, sitting at a table near the door of the Prancing Pony. She was nervously drumming her fingers on the tabletop. Then realizing what she was doing, Camelia stopped. She wasn't certain as to why she was nervous but she was. When out on jobs she was charming, able to get information when she was a part of Intelligence, now though-- she was nervous.
Ryn walked in and immediately spotted Camelia, but went to the bar to get herself a glass of blackberry lemonade before joining the other officer.
"Hi," she said as she sat down. "How has your day been?"
"It’s been happily routine, though there was an adjustment that needed to be made. A couple of holo-emitters were out of synch." Camelia took a sip of her sparkling lemonade. "This place is nice."
Rynna nodded. "It is. The whole ship is nice. I'm looking forward to the next few months when we can get a better idea of what the Orcrist's personality will be."
"I agree. " a moment of silence as she gazed at Ryn, her hand clutching onto her glass as if it were a lifeline. "I have a question, will you be staying on the ship, and as the department head? I truly hope so."
Camelia gave out a slightly frustrated sigh. "Just we've seemed to have gone through a couple before you arrived. And the former Chief of Operations is now Chief engineer. It’s been a bit of a revolving door."
"I don't plan on leaving," Ryn said. "I like the ship and crew, but I can't promise Starfleet won't transfer me--but hopefully not for a while."
Camelia nodded, "I truly know what that is like, being at the whim of Star Fleet. " She started to relax, taking another drink.
"Okay so, what do you like to do when not at work? " Camelia observing Ryn as she spoke. "I do hope that work isn't your whole life." the corners of her mouth starting to curve upwards. There was something about Ryn that she liked. Not quite certain what that was but just a certain spark to her.
"No. Work is not my whole life." Although lately she'd spent a lot of time getting familiar with the new ship. "I have a number of interests." She shrugged. "I like music and dancing. I also like canoeing and climbing. What about you?"
"I like music and dancing as well. Work isn't my whole life either, my mother taught me that it was best to balance work life and personal life." a drink from her glass, Camelia lowering the glass. "Do you like to climb ropes? And have you climbed ropes on the rigging of an old style ship?"
"Yes and no." Ryn didn't think she'd served with anyone who lived for their work, but wasn't sure she wanted to ask Camelia if she had. "I've actually never been on a tall ship before."
"Would you like to sail on a tall ship? And I am not talking about in the holodeck. I was planning on doing so while we're still here near Earth. Just- I've not thought to ask if anyone would like to accompany me." She set her glass down, "What do you think, would you like to?"
"I think that sounds like a great idea. I'd love to go." Ryn raised an eyebrow. "Are you thinking of getting a group together?"
"I could do that, it hadn't entered my mind as to doing such. You're the first person I've taken time to talk to. My mother-" giving a sheepish smile. "Told me that I had better get to making connections." Giving a one shouldered shrug. "She's right, I just let myself fade off into the shadows, a bit of a habit from my old life." Camelia picked up her glass once more to take another sip.
"I like to meet people when things are slow, like now. Otherwise, I can get a bit wrapped up in work. As you know, we cover a lot of area. But I find I enjoy my work more when I get to know the people I work with."
Camelia nodded at Rynn's words, "I agree, makes for a better team when each individual knows who they are working with. Cuts down the sense of being isolated."
Taking a better look at the department head, "You know you radiate a certain, hmmnnn style. Um wrong word. you've got panache. The way you carry yourself you know how to command the attention of others." Camelia giving a warm smile.
Ryn chuckled. "Thank you, but me? My dad taught me to take pride in a job well-done, and to praise those you work with, but I don't know if I'd call that panache." She grinned. "Wait until I get my foot caught in the rigging and then see what sort of style I have."
"Oh, I've gotten my foot caught in the ropes when the sails were being raised. I was dangling above the deck and my brothers called me a blonde pinata. The nerve of them" she tried to glower about that tale but she just had to laugh.
"Do you have siblings?" Camelia was making a bet with herself to see if she was right. Or she could be wrong.
"I have a brother." Ryn asked. "How many do you have?"
"I've got two. Want to see an image of them?" pulling out her PADD, "Those two look like they were identical twins." bringing up the images of herself and the brothers. "The eldest one is Lucian. And then there is Stefan. He's serving on the USS Pioneer. as assistant chief of intelligence. Lucian, he's not with Starfleet anymore. He's civilian now and a dad. He has two kids."
Camelia's eyes were alight with fondness, as she spoke of her brothers.
Ryn looked at the image. "You definitely look like family. Do you get to see each other often?" She didn't get home much and her brother didn't message her often, but her parents kept her informed of what he was doing, and vice versa.
"Well, just recently maybe just a month ago, before Majestic was called back to Earth, we actually got together. It had been awhile though, especially for my older brother, Lucian. He simply disappeared for close to ten years maybe a little bit more. We knew he was alive, that twin/triplet connection, just something inside told Stefan and I he was still alive." she set the PADD down upon the table to pick up her drink once more.
"Stefan does keep tabs on his little baby sister" she wrinkled up her nose as she spoke of his terms about her. "He and Lucian are taller than I am, not by much though. Mom, she sends me messages as well. Do you keep in close contact with your brother?"
"Not so much since I left," Ryn admitted. "He thought I should have stayed and worked with Dad."
"What does your dad do?" Camelia was interested in finding out what he did.
A wait staff came over to check on the ladies at the table. "Can I get you ladies something?"
"Maybe a refill for my drink?" Camelia asked with warm smile.
"I'm good," Ryn said to the waiter. Then turned to Camelia. "My dad is more or less a tinker. He repairs things. Mostly mechanical things, but he can fix a number of things. I used to work with him, then decided I wanted to join Starfleet."
The waiter gave a nod and went on his way, to get a refill of Camelia's drink.
"Well, we all need to find our own paths in life, some will go against what our parents would want us to do, and others will align with what parents desire and that is their child or children choosing to make their own way."
"My dad was fine with it, but my brother wasn't." She shrugged. "I think we'll get through this, in time. But for now, I wish him well."
"Do you have a mom?" It was certainly a question that came to her mind. And Camelia did want to know.
Ryn nodded. "Yes. She and my grandmother taught me to weave. I used to sit with them and work when the nights grew cold. But fixing things was always my first love." She raised an eyebrow as she looked at Camelia. "What brought you to operations?"
"I wanted to be a smooth operator. " Camelia almost hearing a groan from her brothers over the vast expanse of space.
Rynna chuckled. "Uh huh. I think that's the title of an old song." She shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm enamored with late 20th century rock music."
Camelia grinned, rather happy that Rynn got the song. "I do really like those as well. The music, I love being able to dance to them. Do you have any favorite songs and do you sing?"
"I have a number of favorites," Ryn admitted. "And yes, I sing. And dance. Do you sing?"
"Yes I do, and I dance as well. What about instruments, do you play?" This conversation was becoming even more informative to Camelia.
"I play the piano, although I currently have a keyboard." Ryn was pleasantly surprised at the number of people on the ship who were musically inclined. "Do you?"
"I do play several instruments, piano, the violin, guitar and the Celtic harp. Keyboard is very practical when a person travels on ships." giving a chuckle.
"That's a lot of practicing," Ryn said, chuckling. "I'm good with just the one."
"Yes it is but at the time, when you have nothing else to do, and no-one to get into mischief with. My brothers liked to go out on their own, without me. Though they didn't always do that. They included me in on some things." Camelia giving a shrug. "Music was my escape. I can't say I am at professional level though. Except though I am more inclined to play the violin."
"Ah. That makes sense. I wanted to focus on the one because I like to not only play a variety of music styles, I like to improvise and combine different styles."
" I would love to play music with you, we'll have to work out something to play." her thoughts went back to what Rynna had mentioned "Wait there are more musically inclined crew on the ship? Who else?" That certainly struck Camelia's interest.
"Vanya Karolyi and Laural Hawke in intel. Vanya plays the violin and Laural plays the guitar. There are a couple others, but I don't know their names yet."
"Ah yes Vanya, I've not met Laural yet. I will have to make certain to get to know the others. In due time we both will find out right?" smiling. Camelia looked over to see the waiter coming to bring over her drink.
"Thank you." he nodded and turned to make his way back to the bar.
Camelia, turned back to Rynna. "What do you think of the name of the ship, The Orcrist?"
"I love it. I read Tolkien when I was young because the school librarian was a fan of Terran literature. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anyone like a mechanic in Middle Earth."
"That could be the dwarfs and blacksmiths who worked with metal, making tools and weapons. And those making the workings of the trebuchets and catapults. That takes mechanics with a bit of operational knowledge. And not only dwarfs but there were craftsmen of any race in middle earth." Camelia giving a smile.
"Yes, but I'm not a dwarf, a blacksmith, or a metalworker," Ryn replied. Caves were fun to visit, but she didn't want to live there. "But I could see myself learning to make and use a trebuchet. Or I'd be on a hill, relaying signals."
"There you go, see you'd not be out of place, also-you could be a bard too." Camelia grinning. "You do have various talents, you know, we could do a performance together sometime. That is if you would like?
"Sure. I've practiced a few times with Vanya and Laural. I'd love to hear how we could mesh together." And Rynna wanted to hear Camelia play.
"Okay let’s make plans on doing so." She finished her drink, setting the glass down, stifling a belch, behind her hand.
"Okay. We'll see how things go during the pre-launch party. Who knows, we may find more musicians then," Ryn said. "But for now, I'll let you get back to what you were doing and see what's next on the repair list."
"Thanks for the talk. I enjoyed it." Camelia replied.
"Any time." Rynna smiled, then stood, nodded, and then headed back to her office.
END
LTJG Camelia Zamfir
Operations Officer
USS Orcrist
Lieutenant Rynna Csira
Chief Operations Officer
USS Orcrist
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