Going on Vacation - Part Two

Posted on Sat Nov 30th, 2024 @ 1:54am by Commander Xaelah Di'Tomasso

Mission: Mission 120: All Along the Watchtowers - Part Two
Location: Various Locations - USS Vanguard
Timeline: 1610Hrs - February 1st, 2394

Di'Tomasso went about selecting the weights he wanted, she added them quickly. "No. My own shuttle," she explained. "If I'm going to be assigned to a Starbase then I might consider looking into having a ride... So I can live on the planet, rather than on the base." the clarified. "Okay, your weight is ready. Are you?"

"I am." He smiled kindly up at her. "You would prefer living on a planet to a starbase with all its facilities? Why is that?" To each their own, of course, and she was entitled to hers - which still made him curious.

"Because I am told that being all cooped up on a small Starbase makes me a very demanding girl," Di'Tomasso answered, a wide smile on her lips. "I like to get out a lot," she added. "What of you?"

Drevas chuckled softly. "I'm afraid I'm not quite as outgoing as you are. My preference is a starbase and all her facilities which oftentimes put even those on planets to shame." She had a lovely smile, he thought, with pearly white teeth. That, combined with her lean yet curvaceous figure made her a treat for the eyes - but he wasn't going to say that. "You can put the weights on, by the way. Demanding in what ways?"

Di'Tomasso paused. "Huh. Oh." With that, she went to work on attaching the weights. Within moments she was done. "Well. I like to live on a planet's surface. Nothing beats the feeling of fresh air and natural sunlight. But thats me." she explained. "Some like recycled air and artificial light. To each their own."

"To each their own." Drevas agreed and began his second set of reps. "I am personally quite alright with anywhere - I consider myself to be quite adaptable." He said as he brought the barbell down to his chest. "Though the feeling of fresh air and actual sunlight have no equal, I do agree with you on that. I for one was raised on a Starfleet vessel, and my feet only touched the actual solid ground when I was six and my parents took me to Archer Four for shore leave..."

Di'Tomasso watched him carefully for any signs of distress while he cranked his weight. "I was adopted by a Starfleet family. I and all my siblings were fortunate. I guess you could say." she regarded him while she spoke.

Drevas showed no signs of distress thus far. "Ah. I see. What was life like for you before that?" Nasty, he could guess. Possibly slave girls, sold against their will to owners who cared little or even nothing for them, like exotic pets or worse.

"You don't have to discuss that if you don't feel comfortable doing so." He added softly.

Di'Tomasso paused, and the first visible cracks on her emotional armour appeared. "No. It's best if we don't discuss it." she paused a moment as she took a moment to pull herself together. "My sisters and I were travelling anywhere, other than where we were when the man we would come to call 'dad saved us,' she paused. "Suffice to say. A man named Stephen took all four of us in, and we became part of his family. Among his other children.." she sighed. "Settling in was.. an experience."

"I trust his children treated you and your sisters well?" He asked, setting the dumbbell back on its racks. It felt wrong to be doing exercises while she spoke about this difficult topic.

"Yes," Di'Tomasso responded. "Neither Robert Di'Tomasso nor his spouse treated us as if we were any different. His children, however-" as the Orion woman smiled. "Well, they needed time to adjust to having four more girls in the house. We did kinda sorta drop out of the skies. So, they did need time to adjust. But they accepted us easily enough."

"Human children can be cruel even when young. I am glad that they accepted you and your sisters with ease." Drevas responded. He sat up on the bench; it'd have felt quite impolite to be speaking to her on this topic lying down. "I wasn't so lucky as a boy. Nonetheless, those times are past now - and here I am. It took me quite some years to grow out of my boyhood awkwardness, even as an adult myself."

Di'Tomasso nodded her head. "The issues the four of us had... Were issues we needed to deal with. Natalie had an easy time... Braelynn had the hardest time with it. Esther and I were somewhere in the middle." she explained as she sat down on the bench next to him.

"What kind of issues?" His exercise could wait. Part of him felt like she'd been wanting to tell someone about this for some time - and he didn't want to treat her as if she wasn't worth his time. Drevas sat with his hands folded in his lap as he listened to her patiently.