Deciphering the Mirror

Posted on 30 Apr 2020 @ 6:01am by Ensign Gwen Leighton

Mission: Mission 4 - Race against the machine
Location: Medusa's Head
Timeline: Mission Day 2 2100
1807 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

The interrogation of MU Fox, left Michael a little bit unsettled. Even though there was good information given, after Michael was rather direct with her, Michael still felt uneasy. He decided he wanted to talk with Ensign Leighton, get to know her a bit more. Perhaps he'll get a chance., first off though, he'll need find out where she was.

"Computer, where is Ensign Leighton?" when informed where she was at, Hawkins went there. He looked around to see if he could spot her.

Tucked in a corner, almost in shadow, Gwen sat with a drink in her hand. The golden contents swirling, almost playfully, as she stared at the PADD in her other hand. She was lost in a novel and, aside from the odd grimace at whatever she was reading, it seemed as if the young security officer was quite relaxed.

Michael decided to grab a sandwich and a drink before walking over there. He sat at a small table not too far from Gwen, watched her for a few moments while eating, then commented.

"Evening Ensign Leighton, whatever you are reading seems to be something good." giving a smile.

Gwen smiled and put the PADD down, "I wish I could say it was something mentally stimulating but honestly, it's a pathetic excuse to get my mind off the last mission." She looked to the empty chair at her table, "Care to join me?"

"I would love to." Michael picking up his plate and drink, and taking a seat. "I don't know, its always good to read something that will take a person's mind off something that is currently troubling. I like to read, I'm currently re-reading books i read as a child. The Wizard of Oz."

"A classic," Gwen was indeed impressed by the selection, "Flying monkeys and talking lions. Sometimes I wish we'd run into a little of that." Taking a sip of her drink Gwen added, "We see the worst of a lot of things."

"That we do, and we also see things that amaze us in turn. Sort of like a cosmic balance. Kind of finding a diamond in the middle of quartz or gold in a pile of iron pyrite." he grinned before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"That's an almost obnoxiously positive way of looking at things." She leaned over, "What is in that sandwich?"

He grinned at Gwen's comment. "Don't worry, I won't always be spouting out positive platitudes.Just little bit of whimsey from time to time." He took a drink from his glass before answering. "Roast beef, with sauteed onions and mushrooms, some provolone and swiss cheese with red and green bell peppers. Care for a bite?" holding out the end of the sandwich that hadn't been bitten.

"Uhm.." Gwen quirked her brow, "No, but thank you." It wasn't everyday someone offered her a bit of their sandwich, "You're a rather interesting character. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"From time to time they have, but they also said that they didn't find me repulsive." he shrugged "I just have many layers like an onion." Michael set his sandwich down on his plate, wiped his hands off with his napkin and held out his hand to shake hers. "A formal introduction, though I am sure you all ready know who I am. I'm Ensign Michael Hawkins, when off duty, just call me Michael, if you so choose.I heard that you were the one to get me to Sickbay after the imposter shot me. Thank you."

Gwen took the hand and shook it, "Gwen. I'm glad you didn't die. I find your company rather refreshing." She looked around the room, "Do you ever think we're crazy? Jumping onto a ship and willingly throwing ourselves into situations with imposters who have weapons? When I heard that there were things that happened in space which were unexplainable, my mind did not go to this type of situation."

"Everyone has to have just a small amount of crazy to go out amongst the stars instead of staying perfectly safe on land and Mother Earth. Sailors who go out to sea, are at times thought to be crazy being on a craft made of wood and nails, with a piece of cloth for sails, facing the whims of Mother Nature." he paused to take a bite of his sandwich washing it down with his drink. He continued. "That imposter situation certainly has rocked everyone to their very core."

He looked into Gwen's eyes, "In fact, what happened certainly affected me. I had only met our XO once besides seeing her on the bridge, and that was when I came on board. It made me realize that I didn't really know anyone, the nuances of them. If I had come across that doppelganger before she made her assault on the ship, I would have fallen into her trap."

"I think we all would have," Gwen concurred, "We get so use to being amongst strangers and trusting them with our lives that we tend to take the idea of 'knowing' someone for granted. I don't know everyone in Engineering but I have faith they know how to keep us going. We trust our Officers to make the decisions that are best for us and yet we spend very little time with them. We reside in our departments, crossing here or there for duties and personal reasons. But really, we're rather sheltered if you think about it." Gwen paused and took a sip of her drink, "I wonder if we're a well oiled machine or something that exists on a very dangerous balance."

Michael gave a nod at her comment. "I can see your point of view on that. It will be in our best interest in getting to know each other, to hopefully prevent another occurrence like that. Likes dislikes, maybe a sort of safety word or phrase a doppleganger may not know. Or even a hand gesture. Something to add for security purposes."

Gwen laughed, "It will be in our best interest to get to know each other," She couldn't help her grin, "Now if that doesn't sound like a perfect pick up line." She tapped her chin, "Security purposes...hmm. A safety word." Another pause, "Avocado." She then added, "Likes; outdoors, art and food. Dislikes; pain, onions and being in enclosed spaces."

Michael's eyes widened when she commented about a perfect pickup line. That wasn't his intention, he wasn't one who did pickup lines. He just rolled with it though. "Safety word, I'll add mine in honor of the avacado. Guacamole." he chuckled "My likes just to name a few, History, outdoors, martial arts dancing and food. Dislikes Bullies. "

"Agreed on the dislikes, "Gwen laughed, "Now was there a pause between martial arts and dancing? Or are we talking about martial arts as a dance."

"There could be a pause between Martial Arts, and dancing. I have done martial arts dancing too. Those two can be combined. My sister can do a graceful pirouette, all the while combining a rather powerful kick." he ruefully rubbed his stomach at the memory.

"Did your sister practice often on you?" Gwen asked her curiosity peaked.

"Yes she did, we were in martial arts together, along with my other siblings."Michael chuckled. "Ariana, she loved sparring with me."

"And your parents were okay with you all knowing how to...tackle each other?" Gwen asked, "To me that sounds a little troublesome. But then again, I'm use to seeing kids in a mixed setting at work. They can be quite feral."

"The martial arts was to help work out child energy plus teach discipline too. And it was also a good skill to learn, and good exercise. " Michael remarked, "And fun."

"And dancing?" Gwen asked, "Listing that as a hobby is a dangerous feat. Obviously one would require a demonstration."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Are you interested in finding out? And if so, what sort of dancing do you like? And do you dance?" giving a slight smile, with a challenging glint in his eyes.


Gwen laughed, “Can I dance, yes. Do I dance, no.” She met the glint in his eyes with a playful smirk, “ For now at least.”

Michael grinned, "Hopefully we can do some dancing sometime. How long has it been since you have danced?"

"The last time I enjoyed dancing was when I stood on my father's toes and waltzed around with him. Everything else was just exhausting. Dancing with someone opened unwanted questions the next day as people seem to start planning a wedding once you're over a certain age." Gwen smiled, "It's part of why I love being out here. Being one with the crew is like it's own dance and nobody expects me to marry out here."

"I can certainly see why you don't dance for the time being. There is another good reason being out here. If you choose to dance with someone, it can be done privately out of the eyesight of others. As for me, if I can't find a dance partner, I create one on the holodeck just to keep my skills sharp. However, if you have the desire to dance once again, let me know and I will be ready with my dancing shoes. And we can dance, with no worries of any strings attached, just enjoying the love of dancing."

"I'll have to dust off my dance card. That's if I can find it." Gwen smiled, "So maybe. Just maybe."

Michael gave a nod with a brief smile, finished off his sandwich, and then his drink. He looked out towards the stars for a moment his smile fading away then back to Gwen. "I wish we could have gotten more out of that imposter, at the very least we did get more out of her than what I expected."


"Maybe we'll get lucky still." Gwen thought over the events, "It doesn't feel like we're even close to finding out the rest of the story."

"She is certainly dangerous, I am hoping that we can figure out something, especially with that planet killer out there." shaking his head as if to clear it, of any negative thoughts. "I really would like to get that thing stopped, I hope and pray that we can."

"I think we're all united in our desire that the planet killer is stopped." Gwen then added, "And unfortunately I have to head out. I'm on the first shift and I don't do mornings as is."

Michael smiled, "Yup its time for me to head out as well. I'll see you around the ship."

"That's inevitable," Gwen laughed, "I look forward to it."



● “ Ensign Michael Hawkins“
Chief Operations Officer
USS Andromeda

● Ensign Gwen Leighton
Apprentice Chief Security / Tactical Officer
USS Andromeda