"Senior Officer's Tea Party"

[Eli Zhu 0]

Lt. Eli Zhu

Chief Engineer

Personal log entry

SD: 0508.04

 

 

 

 

Zhu took a minute to think something through, he picked a good time too, every body else were talking among themselves about selectivity of drinks and origin of their life. Perhaps next it would escalate to interest, possibly to why each respective member choose to be who they are now, or their respective profession.

 

Indeed Lieutenant Eli Zhu, still a young officer, seldom crowded areas and this general sort of gathering, he could not blame his superior officers for his invitation, after all he was the chief engineer and must meet the chief medical officer in case his fellow engineers or himself were injured. What kind of patient, or person, would he be not even saying a simple greeting to a potential friend? Zhu's mind lapsed on.

 

His fellow officers still murmured with intensive discussions, and nursing their drinks. Zhu thought deeper, deeper than the superficial humus of his being, deeper than the building blocks of his fibres, deep into the structures of his nerve cells. Deep, he thought and back in time his mind went. He searched.

 

"nope." He mouthed, back in the real world, real time and real place. "nope." It was simple but a heart-pounding realization, well at least for him. Zhu contemplated again as he glanced at his surrounding, a table, his fellow officers seated near by, they were temporarily off duty, no one wanted to blow the station up and they were drinking their drinks. "nope." He mouthed again.

 

Zhu finally admitted to himself. Why was this all so bizarre? He never done this sort of thing before in his entire life ... ever. What was occurring here were what Zhu called a "Senior Officer's Tea Party", simple but effective and somewhat ridiculing but nevertheless it describes what was there.

 

Tea, one of the most essential items to Zhu and to his Friend Dent, and Party, something that Zhu never done before, some how magically clashed in his mind. All too strange, all too simple but all too startling. He realized what he's been missing - the company. Never had Zhu ever thought of being invited to a social-gathering thing like this before. And like an old watch left out to rust, the concept of 'party' rusted with his mind. Only the word, like an empty shell, remained. Zhu looked to see if the waiter was not busy.

 

"That's our chief engineer, don't mind him, he's convinced that if he's not at his post the station would blow up any minute." He was reminded of the words. Though the words were not as accurate as he remembered it or who said it, the jest of the meaning remained with him.

 

Paranoia? About the station's well being? Him? Was it possible?

 

Zhu looked back again. All the way back to the first situation.

 

There was that time when Zhu left Aegis on the Pandora's Box, it was almost around a day after he arrived that he was wisped away from his station, home and placed aboard a mobile starship, the feeling was mesmerizing but frightful. When he got back he found at least 4 lower deck power couplings have blown due to irregularities in the primary grid stationed there. Zhu never agreed to leave voluntarily again.

 

There was also that time with the whole ion storm thing. He left his primary station to help repair and deionize every corridor and hull way on the station and when he got back, the storm hit and everything went warily dark. He disliked natural disasters after that.

 

"hmm..." Zhu silently contemplated and mouthed the expression, still looking for the waiter. Perhaps he wasn't paranoid, perhaps he wanted to do everything under his supervision so it wouldn't go so wrong. Ouch there it was, Zhu thought. Micromanaging, it's not good for the chief to do such a thing, in such a big station. Zhu sagged mentally. Perhaps he was in the stage of denial. Perhaps it may take some time before he could fully forget the past unfortunate events that scars his mind. Perhaps time was all he needed. Zhu closed this chapters of his thoughts and raised a hand to the waiter.

 

"Mister Waiter, another cup of tea please."

 

The above said tea party, partied on, meanwhile some where around pylon 1 ... a replicator, accidentally left on, is steeping an unfortunate guy's cup of tea ...