Roommates

Posted on Sun Aug 26th, 2018 @ 4:15pm by Lieutenant JG Neza Glenn & Ensign Martha Wachahunka

847 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Mission 0 - Christening of Legacy and Crew Arrival
Location: Neza/Martha Quarters
Timeline: 2261.185 1700

Neza had come back from the Christening and such to her quarters. She had to get cleaned up after bumping into their Chief Medical Officer: Cole Dering. She did have to admit to herself, he was easy on the eyes.

But she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw someone else in the room. It took her a moment to remember she was supposed to have a roommate. Raising an eyebrow, she thought for a moment back to the Christening. But, she never remembered hearing the name of the person now unpacking their bags in front of her.

Martha had just unpacked a teardrop shaped willow branch with a web of hemp string woven inside it when her new roommate walked in. "Ensign Neza Glenn?" she asked. "That's who the quartermaster said I would be rooming with. I'm Martha Wachahunka. Nurse assigned to the Legacy's Medical Department," she added, extending her hand.

Normally, Neza would have extended her hand. But this time, she put them up, showing how sticky they were. "Yeah, that is me. Sorry, bit of a spilling incident during the ceremony. Didn't know who was going to be me roommate, no one told me ahead of time." She went and sat on her bed, avoiding touching anything until she cleaned up. "I like the willow branch. Hopefully it is okay that I picked this side. Been here a few days, and figured I best get settled in."

"It's a asabikeshiinh," Martha explained, setting it down on her bed. "A dreamcatcher. It's an Obijway tradition, but it spread to other First Nations people, particularly during the mid-twentieth century. Let me get you a couple of damp clothes, to help you get cleaned."

"And no problem," Martha answered, as she returned from the head, two washcloths in her hand. "My...transfer...was a last minute arrangement," she added, handing the cloths to Neza.

Taking the two wash cloths, Neza worked on cleaning up her hands, knowing her dress uniform would just have to be cleaned up. Once she was sure she wouldn't make things worse with her hands, she set the cloths aside. "Thanks." Her eyes went up to the dreamcatcher.

"I think I'll stick with the name I can pronounce. Especially with my accent, I'm not even going to try. Might have to give me time on your last name too." She shrugged and slipped out of her dress uniform, grabbing a set of off duty clothing. Once that was on, she sighed. "I think I should warn you ahead of time, I'm not one that is easy to get along with."

"Oh?" Martha answered simply, as she picked up the cloths, returning them to the bathroom.

Tossing her dress uniform into the pile of things that needed to be washed, Neza nodded. "They said I have middle-child syndrome, though I don't think that's a real thing. I tend to get..angry quickly."

"My grandfather has a saying," Martha answered, as she began removing her dress uniform as well, carefully hanging each piece in her closet. "Sakihitok mina wicihitok. It roughly translates as help each other, watch out for each other." Martha paused for a moment, flattening out her skirt, before adding, "My grandmother swears that my grandfather got all his 'traditional sayings' from twentieth-century folks singers, but I couldn't swear to that. Anyway, I'm, um...well, I'm willing to help you out."

This caught her off guard, and Neza gathered up all of the things she'd thrown around when she was alone in the room and put them in her laundry basket before turning back to Martha. "I um..thank you. Today, other than the spilling incident, has gone better than my first day on board. Same with me if you need help with anything, well, anything I know how to help with."

Martha nodded as she finished hanging up her dress uniform before putting on her workout clothes. "I appreciate that. I was thinking of seeing what kind of gym faculties the Legacy had, and unpack the rest of my things later. If you'd like to come, I'd welcome the company."

Neza's ears perked up at the word 'gym'. She gave a smile to Martha. "I'll join you I think. Shouldn't be to busy given the fact that most people either aren't on board or are likely doing what you will do later, unpacking."

Martha nodded, fetching two hand towels from their quarter's head, and handing one to Neza. "Is there any particular sport that you enjoy participating in?" she asked, as she headed out the door.

Grabbing a hair-tie, Neza followed as she pulled her hair up. "Depends on the day. Punching bag, just running, weights. That's the place I let out whatever frustrations the day gave me. I'm security trained too so...spent a lot of time in there."

"I could bring along my tomahawks, if you'd like," Martha answered, binding her own hair back. With a hint of a smile, she added, "Just a little joke. They're still packed away. If you would lead the way?" Martha asked.

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