Girl Talk 2

Posted on Fri Feb 26th, 2021 @ 3:47am by Lieutenant Commander Mara Ricci & Lieutenant Commander Meilin Jiang

Mission: S0E0: What Came Before
Location: Holodeck

Dressed in civilian clothing and leading a dog on a leash, Mara Ricci stuck out like a sore thumb. She had been practically forced to take the day off now that all major repairs had been completed. If even one of her team had protested, she would have had a reason to go to work today, but as they had al insisted that she take a day off, she could see no reason not to take advantage of it.

Well, and her assistant chief had threatened to call security on her if she set foot in the engineering section.

So she took Ravioli for a walk. To Meilin’s quarters. Because that’s where the computer said her friend was. “Want to go see Auntie Meilin?” she asked Ravioli as they approached their destination.

Ravioli perked up at the name. “You know who I’m talking about?” Mara asked and Ravioli panted up at her. With a grin, she pressed her thumb to the chime.

The door opened with Meilin in a fitted purple jumpsuit that was not skintight but nonetheless showed what minimal curves she possessed. "Oh, hello, Mara," she said in greeting. "I was... just on my way out. Is something the matter?"

“No, not really,” replied Mara as Ravioli sat obediently waiting for Meilin to say hello. (She only ever did this with Meilin. Mara did not understand why.) “I was forced to take the day off. I just came by to see what you were up to. But I won’t interrupt if you’re busy.”

Meilin shook her head. "No, I'm not busy. I was just heading to my scheduled holodeck session." Pausing for a moment, her eyes alit with sudden inspiration. "Have you ever played Mahjong?"

“A time or two,” replied Mara. “Mostly the solitaire version, but I’ve done multiplayer a few times.”

"This will be a little different." Meilin's mouth pursed so hard to keep her smile tight that her eyes shone like starlight. "Come with me. I insist."

“All right,” replied Mara, up for anything Meilin had in mind. “Can Ravioli play, too?” she added jokingly.

"I don't think so," Meilin said with a demure shake of her head. "But stranger things have happened."

---

Inside the holodeck, when Meilin activated the program, the two of them plus Ravioli found themselves surrounded by a castle of stacked white tiles covered in assorted Chinese characters.

"Have you ever played this way before?" Meilin said. "We can do the ziggurat configuration if you'd prefer."

"I'm not sure what that means," replied Mara, brow wrinkling. "But, as I've only played a few times, I'm willing to learn your way. That is, if you don't mind teaching me."

Meilin gave a smile she normally reserved for lugheads like Stephen Spires. "It's just a matching game, Mara. You'll pick it up in no time."

With that, Meilin moved forward to a tile, then looked around for its pair. Locating it, she stomped twice before moving toward the match. Another double stomp made the pair of tiles vanish. "See?"

"Oh, so sort of like the solitaire version, then," replied Mara, glancing around a bit before spotting the north wind and its match. Following Meilin's lead, she and Ravioli crossed the board and stomped on the two tiles. They vanished satisfactorily.

"Yes," Meilin said, eyes glimmering with the sparkle of suppressed teasing. "Beginners ought to start at the beginning."

“Obviously,” agreed Mara with a grin. “I used to be addicted to this back in the academy. I haven’t played since then, though.”

Meilin jumped around and made three more matches in the time it took Mara to reply. "That explains why you are falling behind."

"Hey!" cried Mara, and quickly found two more matches. Ravioli trotted by her side and studied her movements in that clever Jack Russell way that said she was learning something, but Mara didn't think too much of it. Rav had already proven that she knew people by name and could count up to six. Mara had taught her neither of these things on purpose.

"Let's see if you can double up," Meilin said as she did a somersault that connected two identical matching pairs. Both sets vanished.

“I am absolutely not doing somersaults,” said Mara, quickly finding another pair. Ravioli began tugging at the leash, so she released the dog to go do her own thing. “I do enough acrobatics while on duty. Crawling through Jeffries tubes is a contortionist act. It’s a little known fact that you have to be double jointed to get into the academy program,” she joked, making yet another two tiles disappear.

Meilin was not an acrobat, but a life of taijiquan and qigong gave her limber limbs and uncanny balance on which to balance them. She was a ghost that floated more than flipped as she casually doubled Mara's rate. In but a moment's time, the final pair was matched. A soft chime sounded to signal the end of the round.

"Would you like to try again?" Meilin asked, her face masking the teasing in her dark almond eyes. "Why don't you choose the pattern this time? Something more to your liking."

"If I can even remember the patterns," replied Mara. "Does the computer have images to choose from?"

"Of course," Meilin said. "Besides the Mandarin and Cantonese characters, there is an entire gallery of art from which to choose."

"We'll stick with the traditional," replied Mara. "I always feel like the original is better. Computer, display layouts available for game." A holographic display popped up before her and she began scrolling through the layouts. Choosing one, she said, "here we are."

As soon as the tiles appeared, Ravioli climbed to the top of the pile and began dashing back and forth, nose sniffing every inch of them.

Meilin smiled as she recognized 20th century memorabilia centered around a famous pop cultural icon. "Lee Jun-fan," she said with amused surprise. "Interesting choice. Do you maintain an interest in all 20th century entertainment or is it just the Little Dragon from Hong Kong?"

Mara’s brow wrinkled. She had simply chose the layout because it looked interesting. “Who?” she asked.

"A postmodern folk hero from my home city," Meilin said. "He broke centuries of tradition, even millennia, by sharing China Secret with the West, and for that he was slain." She smiled, though, at an inspiring thought. "After he mastered Wing Chun, the traditional gongfu style of Hong Kong, he created a hybrid style of Jeet Kun Do which he often summarized in one parable: be as water. Water has solid form. When it enters a vessel, it becomes the vessel, but when it moves, it is unstoppable." Smiling at Mara, she quoted, "'Be as water, my friend'."

And then she casually bent backward into a gentle handspring to initiate the next round.

"I might be able to manage ice," joked Mara. "I'm not sure about water, though."

"Ice is merely water that lacks the sufficient vibrational energy to attain a higher state," Meilin said. "The more water is charged, the higher its state: liquid, vapor, even plasma if the ion count is right." The way Meilin spoke, it was as if she expected a hidden meaning to become apparent.

“If you say so,” replied Mara, brow wrinkling. She spotted a match and quickly stomped on the pair, making them disappear; Ravioli imitated her aimlessly.

Meilin paused from her rapid matching long enough to give Mara a sidelong glance. "If you're feeling frigid, then something has taken your charge. What is it?"

"I was referring to acrobatics," Mara assured her. "The rest of me is just fine."

"So you say." Meilin remained unconvinced, but she wasn't going to press. Wu-wei meant one went with the flow, not against it, and the Tao would see it done. She spun on her heel, stretched out her foot to depress one pattern, then planted her hand on her weighted foot in order to allow her to kick out in the opposite direction to depress the matching symbol. Having done so, she tucked her head down and rolled onto her shoulders and back to make an easy pair that were nearly side by side. "I suppose I am fine as well."

"Glad to hear it," laughed Mara. "Whatcha doin', Ravioli?"

The dog was running back and forth, looking at the tiles. Suddenly, she made a beeline for one tile and jumped on it twice. It and its mate disappeared and Ravioli barked and wagged her tail happily.

"Did... did she just...?" said Mara, flabbergasted.

"Help you cheat?" Meilin fixed Mara with a petulant, mock frown. "Yes, it appears she did."

Mara glance up at the score to see a question Mark next to a number 1 under her own and Meilin’s pictures and scores. “It looks like the computer knows the difference,” she said as the question mark changed to a slightly blurry picture of a grinning Ravioli. “We’ve got competition now,” she added as Ravioli barked and the 1 changed to a 2.

As much as she wanted to object on principle, Meilin could not deny even a canine's place in the Tao. "Then I wish her good fortune," Meilin said as she redoubled her efforts.

“She’s gonna need it if she’s to beat you,” admitted Mara, searching around for matching tiles. “Me, not so much.”

Meilin could not help but chuckle. "Do you mean to suggest you fear losing to your dog?"

"Not afraid, per se," replied Mara, finding and eliminating another match. "But it's inevitable. She's a lot faster than I am."

"You should have more faith in yourself." Meilin stooped almost to the ground with one foot outstretched. Another victory point. "But then perhaps she does have you at a disadvantage."

"Several, I'd say," agreed Mara. "But which one were you talking about?"

Meilin's face held only the faintest smirk. "She does seem more swift on her feet."

With a laugh, Mara took off after a match she had spotted, but Ravioli was indeed faster. "It's not fair!" she laughed. "Four legs are always faster than two!"

Ravioli barked and wagged her tail, then took off sniffing the tiles once more.

"Not always," said Meilin. "Some creatures with four or more legs cannot outrun bipedal life forms, but I see your point."

She began clearing more matches. "So how are things between you and Mr. Spires?" she asked almost absently,

"Same as always," replied Mara, searching for a match. "We had a big argument the other night, but I can't remember what it was about. I was drunk. Maybe he was pissed that I got drunk without him, I don't know. We got over it, though. Like always."

Meilin could not be sure which was more unsettling: the fact Mara was so nonchalant about a big, drunken argument or that she could not remember it. "I don't know how you do it," Meilin said, then quickly added, "Drink recreationally, that is. After my accidental consumption, I wound up passed out in Sickbay."

"I don't usually get drunk," answered Mara, chagrined. "And actually, I only had two small drinks. Which reminds me- I need to make sure everyone on the station knows to only take one drink in a Xylosian bar. Their drinks are very potent."

"I'll keep that in mind," Meilin said with a teasing smirk. As if she would ever drink alcohol again. The first time was a cruel twist of fate, one she hoped would never be repeated.

Mara grinned and contented herself to search for matching tiles for a few minutes. “What happened with Christoph?” she asked as they matched bamboo tiles. “I thought he was going to look after you. Or did he take you to sick bay?”

"I honestly can't remember," Meilin said sheepishly. "I think I made it to Sickbay under my own power."

"Hm," said Mara, completing another match. "I half expected him to sleep on your sofa just in case. He's a little too nice for his own good, you know?"

"Yes, he is a man of repute," Meilin said. Christoph was technically part of her department but she had no cause to interact with him and after her alcoholic indiscretion she had ample reason to avoid him. "But I have not seen or spoken to him since then."

“That’s a shame,” Mara teased. “You could use a date or two.”

"I know what your implication is and I resent it." Despite her deadpan tone, Meilin's eyes glimmered with dry humor. "Things were bad enough with my clumsy interactions with Forward Commander Larkin. I need not invite such discomfiture into my own department."

Mara grinned slightly. “Did you ever do anything about Larkin?” she asked.

"NO!" Meilin blushed at her outburst and traced her fingers along the edges of her mouth as she recompiled her quiet dignity. "No... As was right."

“Aw,” replied Mara, feigning disappointment. “I was looking forward to some juicy details.”

"Mara, we have been friends for awhile, but rest assured I will never discuss my... juice... ever." Meilin closed the final remaining pair of tiles. "I win again."

Mara turned to check the score. “And Ravioli comes in second!” she laughed. “What a clever dog! Or else I’m just that abysmal.”

Ravioli barked and wagged her tail.

"Well, six of one..." Meilin's face stayed taciturn but she gave Mara a wink.

And Mara could only laugh.