New Roommates

Posted on Sat Mar 9th, 2024 @ 2:53pm by Ensign Willa Baker & Ensign Sabine Rouen

2,126 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Prelude: Getting Ready to Depart
Location: Junior Officers Quarters
Timeline: TBD

Sabine was just toweling off from her shower and slipping on a bathrobe. She was singing the end of a song she had adored since childhood growing up in Paris. She was still singing the final measures of the song Frére Jacques as she stepped into the common area of her new quarters to find another young woman relaxing on the couch. A woman who looked to just be coming off shift.

Her eyes closed, head back, relaxing after a long shift. Willa was tired, ready to chill for the rest of the day. Her quarters had been her own for a short period, but the singing suggested they no longer were. It was inevitable, to be fair. "Nice singing." said Willa, keeping her eyes closed. A brief recharge was needed before social niceties.

Sabine gave a slight smile at the compliment. "Thank you. I like to sing in the shower sometimes. I promise to keep it to a minimum when you're around."

"It's fine." replied Willa, opening her eyes a few seconds later. In front of her was her room mate. In a bathrobe. Something she'd no longer be wearing in this part of her shared quarters. "I'm Willa by the way." she said, stretching, sitting up. A shower was probably in order for her, too. "Willa Baker."

"Sabine Rouen, assistant counselor." She extended her right hand to Willa. "Pleased to meet you Ms. Baker." She glanced at Willa's tunic. Gold signified operations, engineering or security.

Willa returned the handshake. "You too, Sabine." she began. "I'm an engineer. Nothing specific, I do a bit of everything." Willa paused, removed her hair bobble, placed it on her wrist. "Right now...I'm helping to build an aquatube in somebody's quarters for their pet sea sloth."

Sabine wondered what a sea sloth was. She, despite almost four years as a Hospital Corpsman in Starfleet. Had never been off Earth. She had worked in hospitals on Earth for Starfleet Medical. Britannic was her first deep space assignment after completing her extention courses and obtaining a direct commission. She decided to find out more about her new roommate. "I am from Paris, France. What about you?"

"Los Angeles, sunny California." replied Willa. Suddenly, she felt a little more reinvigorated. "I'm gonna go take a shower, but do you wanna have a girls' night out or something?" Willa wanted to get to know her new room mate better. But also, take her mind off her shift. It hadn't been a good one.

Sabine smiled at the suggestion. It had been a while since her last night out. "I'll get dressed." She headed to the partitioned off sleep area. She pulled out clothes from her closet and tossed them one by one onto her bunk.

"Cool." replied Willa, excitedly. She disappeared into her room, had a quick shower. After drying off, Willa quickly chose an outfit. A t-shirt, hoodie and denim shorts. Her clothes donned, Willa then braided her hair into two pigtails which rested a few inches from her shoulders.

Sabine was still debating a wardrobe choice when Willa finished up in the fresher. She had all but cleaned out her dresser and closet and was still no closer to finding an outfit.

Twenty minutes had passed. The empty common area suggested Sabine still wasn't ready. Willa knocked on her room mate's door. "Um, Sabine...are you okay in there?" she asked.

Sabine threw an outfit onto her bunk. She walked to the door and opened it. "Yes and no. I have no idea what to wear. Can you help me pick something out?"

Willa entered, looked at what was on the bed. A lot to choose from. More than Willa had brought with her. Probably twice as much, in fact. "How about...this...with this?" suggested Willa, pointing out two items she felt went well together. A top and a pair of jeans.

Sabine picked up the two articles of clothing. She held them against her body and looked into the full length mirror. She gave an approving nod of her head. She lay both items on the back of the chair at her small vanity and added a pair of comfortable shoes. She turned to Willa. "Like the shorts." She picked out her cotton top with puffy short sleeves and lacing that ran all the way up the front and handed the top to Willa. "Try this on." She shooed Willa back to her bedroom.

Surprised, Willa decided to try on the top. She was quite happy with her hoodie and t-shirt, but whatever. A couple of minutes later, she returned to Sabine's room. "Um, I'm not sure." she looked down at the shirt. "I think it's more you." said Willa, looking at her room mate.

Sabine was dressed. She turned to Willa and looked her over for a moment. "I think you're right. The top doesn't really go well with your skin tone." She gave an apologetic expression. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." replied Willa, disappearing back to her room. Her t-shirt and hoodie were put back on, Sabine's top carefully draped on a chair in the common area. "I'll wait out here for you."

Sabine stepped out with Willa. "I'm ready actually. Shall we go now?"

Willa was glad, as she was anxious to get going, begin to properly unwind. Several drinks, synthehol of course, were in order. "Sure." she said, gesturing for Sabine to lead the way. "After you."

Sabine took the lead and headed down the corridor to the turbolift. She glanced at Willa. "Mind if I ask you about growing up in California? What did you do for fun?"

"Oh, loads." said Willa, walking alongside her room mate. "I've performed in a lot musicals, so I went to a lot of singing practice and rehearsals. Even when I was at the Academy, but home is super close to San Francisco anyway. Oh, and we'd go to the beach, go hiking, camping...I love rock climbing too. Probably my favourite thing to do, after singing." she replied, almost out of breath. "What about you? What did you for fun in France?"

Sabine chuckled. "Clothes, I love fashion. I seriously considered becoming a fashion designer before the Dominion War. Alas, sometimes circumstances change the path we are on. I actually designed half of what you saw in my closet. I also fence, though my brother is much better than I am. I am pretty good at making wine. I enjoy dancing, but never really got into playing an instrument."

"I always wanted to be an actress, but...here I am." replied Willa, shrugging. The appeal of Starfleet had been one too great to resist. She'd been the first in her family to take the plunge. Willa thought maybe she could still be an actress one day. "One day, maybe I will be."

Sabine saw a tall, muscular marine exit the gymnasium as they stepped out of the turbolift. "And men who are tall and handsome. Reminds me. Do you know of any single attractive men aboard ship that you're not interested in? I don't want to flirt with anyone you find as boyfriend material."

Willa paused. "Oh, um..." she thought for a moment. There was someone she liked, but nothing more. Yet, anyway. "...I don't really have my eye on anyone right now. I kinda want to settle in first." Fun could come later, work was Willa's priority. For now.

Sabine nodded. "Fair enough." She stopped in front of the door to the ship's lounge and gestured. "After you."

The invitation to go first accepted, Willa proceeded through the doors. No Keira tonight, the relief bartender manning the fort instead. The bar was approached, the queue joined. "What are you having, Sabine?" she asked, asking herself the same question.

Sabine looked over the selections. She was a wine drinker, but didn't mind raising a pint of ale every once in a while. "What do you like to drink?"

"Cocktails, mostly." replied Willa, the choice of those available in Britannic's lounge a reasonable one. Keira was a fine bar attendant, cocktail mixer. "I drink wine sometimes, but it has to be the right setting. And the right wine, too. I'm super fussy."

Sabine tapped her chin in thought. She wasn’t in the mood for wine or ale. She wasn’t one to normally have a mixed drink, but decided now was a good time to try one. "A cocktail sounds good, why don't you order for both of us."

Willa nodded. "Okay. You find us a table, I'll order." she replied, joining the queue. What would Sabine like? Yes, maybe that one. Her turn soon came, her order was placed. A few minutes later, Willa placed two pinacoladas onto the table. "We'll start with my favourite." she said, sitting down. "Keira makes the best pinacoladas ever, but these...are a super close second."

Sabine glanced at the drink curiously before picking up the glass and taking a tentative sip. Her eyes widening in surprise at the wonderful taste. "Mon Dieu! C'est délicieux! (My God! That's delicious!) I don't think I have ever tasted something this good."

Pleased, Willa took a sip of her own. "My French isn't fantastic, but I'm pretty sure that means you like it." she said, hoping Sabine wouldn't want to try anything else. Willa liked a range of cocktails, so choice wasn't a problem. What was a problem was she'd now given herself an appetite for pinacoladas. One she'd not had ten minutes ago.

Sabine glanced about the quiet atmosphere of the lounge. "I have to say, officers' lounges are much more sedate than enlisted clubs."

"Seems to be that way, but I guess officers are more..." began Willa, thinking of what word to use. Yes, that one would do. "...upstanding."

Sabine took a sip of her Pinacolada and set her glass down on the table. "I kind of wish my brother, René, was here. He is a rather good guitar player."

"Oh, cool." replied Willa, taking another sip. Trying to make her drink last. "Does he play anything in particular?"

"Hmmm." Sabine pondered the question for a moment. "He has a very eclectic taste in music. He plays mostly musical styles from the 20th and 21st century Earth."

Good choice, thought Willa. Her preference was similar. Country, western were particular favourites. "He has good taste." commented Willa. "and, if I ever meet your brother, at least I'll know what to talk about."

Sabine smiled for a moment. "So, tell me. What was Starfleet Academy like? I was only there for a few weeks getting orientation for my direct commission and getting set up for my additional education requirements to get certified as a Counselor."

Wow. That was an interesting question. "Well, I'd like to say fun..." replied Willa, thinking. It had its ups and downs. Fun moments, less fun moments. Gruelling, at times. "...but it was really tough, mostly. Especially training during the War. I had a super cool friendship circle, though. We went out once a week, usually Friday." she continued, reminiscing. "Having that was really, really important. For all of us."

Sabine smiled as an idea came to mind. "We should get a circle of friends going here. Perhaps have weekly activities to do. I would love to host a party sometime."

"Yeah." replied Willa, looking into her glass. Thinking. Reminiscing. That sounded like a good idea. "...we should do that. It'd be good. Really good."

Sabine looked about the lounge before turning back to Willa. "You've been here longer. Anyone you think would be a good fit for a group of friends?"

Willa shrugged, she wasn't sure. "Honestly..." she thought, looking around. Very few faces were ones she recognised, let alone knew. "I'm not sure. I mean, there's a couple in Engineering, I guess." Willa paused. "I'd ask Lieutenant Hawkins, but I don't think she likes me much right now." Willa then remembered being in Faith's office. A photo on her desk. "She has a daughter too, so she probably wouldn't come anyway."

Sabine appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I am sure we will meet more people as our journey progresses. It won't be long before we have a decent group of friends." She held her drink aloft. "To making friends."

Yes. She'd drink to that. "To making friends." replied Willa, gently tapping her glass against Sabine's. She loved that noise. She associated it with happy times amongst family, friends. "Hopefully you are the first of many."

Sabine offered up a smile as she took a drink. She felt like it was a good start to a friendship. She decided that everything was going to be good from here on out.

 

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