Settling In

Posted on 31 Aug 2026 @ 9:47pm by 1st Lieutenant S'earr & Lieutenant Alexandra Lee

2,445 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: S04 Episode 02 The Hackers Backdoor (Incidentals)
Location: USS Tomcat/ Various
Timeline: BACKPOST

-ON-

--Lee's quarters--

Alexandria was unpacking her duffle and attempting to adjust her newly assigned quarters to her preferences. She always likes to have the portholes to her left when she sleeps but the room was not configured in that fashion. She did some modifications and knew it would work for her to become comfortable on the Tomcat.

She placed the few trinkets of hers around the room and programed her replicator with her preferred requests. She adjusted the rooms lighting to her tastes and then freshened up a bit. She was off duty until the next day shift and so she felt like getting snack. She headed to the crew lounge to have a cheese plate and a glass of Concorde wine.

--Crew Lounge--

Alexandra arrived in the lounge and looked around. She noticed the various other crewmembers all enjoying their down time and thought this was the perfect way to help her acclimate to being back on a starship.

As she looked for a table, she noticed a figure towards the back with is back to her. She recognized him.

"What's New, Pussycat?" she asked as she approached from behind and hoping not to offend someone she was now considering a friend.

S'earr was enjoying a light meal, though light for him could be considered a multi course meal to others, and a beverage. Tomorrow would be his first duty filled day and he was looking forward to it. S'earr recognised the voice, his features shifted slightly, the black lines in his fur moved as he grinned.

He stood up and turned, his tail uncoiling about his waist, and saw Alexandra. "Ma'am." He spoke as he afforded her the customary bow of the head. It was..different, seeing her out of uniform and in casual clothing, S'earr didn't like wearing such attire outside of his quarters and so was still in his uniform. The term Pussycat however was not new to him and let it slide, consider it came from a female.

"Enjoying a meal, may I interest you in joining me." S'earr offered as he stood by the vacant chair and pulled it out for her. Alexandra would have noticed that he was to the rear of the room away from everyone, his back to all..and no cutlery on the table.

"If it would not be an intrusion, I would love to join you." Lee replied and sat across from where he had been sitting. "I see you are having a snack as well." She noticed the food before her on the table. "I was going to get a cheese board and a glass of wine, would that be alright with you?" Knowing by not that he likely never say 'no' to a female but she felt it proper to ask as she had a level of respect for him by now.

The attendant happened to pass by and Lee ordered her cheese board and a glass of Concorde Wine.

"So tell me, what sort of fun do you like to have in your downtime?" Alexandra asked of S'earr.

"It would depend on my available time, though I enjoy cooking, reading Caitian literature, calligraphy and keeping with my workout routines. To name but a few." S'earr responded then flagged down a server and requested some cutlery.

"Well, I enjoy a good book myself and I read a variety of topics. I admire calligraphy but I don't have great penmanship to write it. Cooking has never been my forte but I love experiencing new foods. Some of my favorite meals come from the most primitive cultures as they really seem to know how to fuse flavors the best." Lee replied. "I do like to attend seminars on ancient cultures and civilizations and that was from a very young age which is why I became an archeologist."

Lee then took a bite of some of the cheese on her platter. "So how many siblings do you have? Do they understand why you wanted to join Starfleet?"

"I am an only child from 5 to survive." As grim as the reply was, it was however correct. "The rest died within days of birth due to a virus the Elder had at the time. I was told even my birth was not without its complications." S'earr answered. The server arrived with cutlery, placed it on the table and with a smile walked away. There came little surprise that the cutlery was of course, small for him.

"I am so sorry, I did not mean to bring up a sad topic." Lee responded with a little tear in her eye. "I have two brothers and a twin sister. I have an older brother and a younger brother and my sister is only four minutes younger than me but we have different birthdays as I was born two minutes before midnight and she was born two minutes after midnight. My siblings all live on Earth. However, my parents are on Pacifica where they work for the Federation Science Research Institute. Dad is an oceanographer and mom is an exobiologist. My older brother is married and has a son. So my sister-in-law is Andorian, thus my nephew is interspecies."

Lee noticed the cutlery was not appropriate for S'earr and she had an idea to help him out. "Could you excuse me for just a moment, please?" Lee asked as she started to stand up. She then walked across the room to the replicator. She requested a stainless steel serving fork and a serving spoon. She then returned to the table and sat down. "Would these work better for you?" She asked as she offered the larger utensils to S'earr.

The larger utensils was a very welcome change from what everyone else considered 'normal'. "Thank you." S'earr answered as he put the now non required implements down and carefully, avoiding touching her, took the utensils from her. "Much better, very kind of you, I'm honoured." A female had done something for him.

"I am glad you can use them." Lee replied. "I think we already have a good foundation for a strong friendship forming. I do hope that we can keep having moments like this as we continue to serve together at least while on the Tomcat."

"I do not see a reason why we would be unable." S'earr spoke not free to use proper sized cutlery over what he was originally provided. "How is your meal?"

"Well, this is clearly a replicated selection, but the flavor is pretty spot on for the most part. I do however, wish it was a new dish as I am always looking to enjoy new flavors or new fusions of cultures." Lee replied. "Are you finding you meal pleasant?"

"There are many selections in the Caitian database that you could sample." S'earr spoke. "We may have smelt some of them in the program while we waited on Starbase 51. Though I should warn you that some can be overpowering in flavour to non Caitians."

"I appreciate the warning, I still look forward to new flavors and enjoying the experience of food from different cultures. Some of the food I have had in the past, I can't even pronounce due to no available translation. One was so spicy that I lost my taste buds for a week, but I enjoyed the experience and if I recall the meat was some sort of fish from a remote lake on the third moon of the Trill homeworld." Lee replied. "So do the replicators do Caitian dishes any justice?"

"Unfortunately no." S'earr responded. "I have found that the only way for something authentic would be to obtain ingredients for shipment to the ship at its next port of call." S'earr answered. "The replicators make a suitable enough visual approximation, but that is all."

"I see, I have learned that many non-Earth foods seem to not be as good as the real deal." Lee added. "I have not yet learned of your flora or fauna on Cait. What animals do you have on your homeworld and are there any Terran animals that compare?"

"We have something similar to what Earth would call a Boar that would roam forest areas. We have larger predators similar to a Bear, smaller pack hunters like what could be approximated as Wolves." S'earr spoke. Most are kept out of residential areas for the safety of offspring."

"Do you have anything like Terran cattle or domesticated swine? You said you have boar-like forest animals. I am now curious if you have domesticated any of the species on your planet. I am sure you have as most civilizations all have some form of domestication of fauna on their worlds." Alexandra stated as her response. She was trying to get the encounter to be educational for her in learning more about S'earr and Cait.

"For various uses, yes. Some caste societies depend less on technology and so use animals for daily life such as farming. Others like my own believe that technology can remove certian tasks, centering focus on training, growth and development of its warriors. That which we can not manufacture ourselves is imported through caste centres of trade." S'earr replied. Only once did he see such a centre. A large building away from any caste's location where people could meet on neutral territory.

"How interesting." Lee replied as she was more admiring the fine looking beast before her. "I am sorry, but I have to ask, if your society is matriarchal, and the male is a secondary citizen, how does that work when a family has no daughters to carry on the lineage for the next generation? I only ask as I know it varies between different cultures."

"It is common that in some situations that females can be adopted by families. This is typical in the event of family losses due to military service, or losses sustained during claiming rites and rituals." S'earr answered, having witness such events and while it may seem good to adopt, it was equally as devastating.

"If I recall that is similar to how some early native Earth tribes handled similar situations. I might look more into that in the future." Lee responded. "I really enjoy these chats as I feel like you don't mind my awkwardly probing questions, but I feel it also partially due to your upbringing. Can I ask, if the Matriarch of a family on Cait were to pass away and there were no other female members of a family due to either not of age to have a mate or a war, What would happen to that family? Would the males all be rogue until they aged up to take a mate and join that family or what really happens?"

"The situation can vary, however should the matriarch of a family perish, the mated male, if still alive himself, will also. If there are offspring then the Overseer will appoint a female, who has been or is a mother, to adopt the offspring as her own. Should one of the offspring be a female and she come of age, she may reclaim the family property as her own and seek a Mate of her own. If not, and the offspring are male, the family home is taken by the province and provided to any female when she comes of age. Essentially ending that family line." S'earr explained.

"That is interesting to know." Alexandra replied. "I am learning a lot and yet it does not feel that way as I am really enjoying this time talking with you." She then paused for a moment. "So can I ask a more personal question? What planets have you visited and did you ever feel unwelcome on any of them? Well I guess that is really three questions." She then smiled at her furry friend.

"I have been to many planets through the course of my duties." S'earr spoke listing a few planets, some of which sounded pleasant, others...not so much. "I found the different environments provided unique challenges that needed to be overcome. Though none had the same as those of the Homeworld." S'earr added. "Being a warrior leaves little to choice in where I go, or what I'm tasked to do."

"What a perspective." Lee replied. "I enjoy going to every planet I get the chance to visit. Learning a culture we have not yet experienced is exhilarating for me. I have had some challenges on strange new worlds but using my knowledge of ancient cultures and society, I typically can make every place a great experience." She added and then took a sip of her beverage.

"I have to ask if you have experienced any interactions with Isians? There was a Iria Walon who was a member of this ship's crew a while back who was a member of that species. She shifted between Human appearance and feline appearance. She in fact was once engaged to Commander Dodd before shifting to the role of caregiver for a family member and leaving Starfleet." Alexandra asked of S'earr.

"We have heard of such being able to shift forms. Though I have not had any personal interaction with them." S'earr answered. Stories of such being were known in the archives, of what he was allowed to read during his training, but of what he did read was limited.

"That is interesting." Lee replied. "Wow, where did the time go. I feel like I just sat down and started talking with you my friend. However, it has been a while and I am to get a report to the captain before all of the crew depart for shore leave." She added.

S'earr took the hint, he knew that time was a companion that often escaped when enjoying a moment. "As you wish." He spoke, standing since he was aware such was a polite thing to do when a female was to depart. "It would be unfortunate to make the Captain wait, though I am honoured you enjoyed your time with me."

Lee had just stood up and got a call from the Captain to report to her CRR. "Well, again, I am sorry but I really enjoyed this time and I do hope we can continue to have time together going forward. Thank you." Lee then excused herself and headed for the door to make her way to the Captain's Ready Room.

[OFF]

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