The Ladies Who Lunch
Posted on Fri Aug 15th, 2025 @ 5:13am by Petty Officer 2nd Class Rhihannon O'Connell & Petty Officer 2nd Class Leah Rochester
Edited on on Fri Aug 15th, 2025 @ 5:14am
1,745 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Episode 2 - The Sins of History
Location: Sidebar Lounge - Deck 5 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD014 1300 hrs
Letting out a long breath of relief, Leah Rochester rolled a slightly achy shoulder as she approached the replicator in the Sidebar Lounge. She'd managed to find her way there after a torrid game of tennis on the holodeck, still wearing her white tennis skirt and vest. She loved to play, but she'd clearly misjudged the level she'd set the holoprogram to. Still, it was a preferable way to keep fit, more so than a gym at least.
She leant against the wall with one hand, the other resting on her hip as she caught her breath, contemplating what she craved most...seeing as a straight up G&T at the present time was probably frowned upon. "An elderflower white wine spritz please, extra cool..." the glass had barely appeared before she picked it up, pressing it against her cheek for a moment before taking a sip. "Life saver..." she patted the edge of the replicator with gratitude before moving to find somewhere to sit.
Seeing a table near the viewport with a petite redhead working on a PADD, Leah made her way over, touching the back of an empty chair. "Mind if I join you? Before I fall down..." she added a slight chuckle that made it clear the last wasn't serious.
Rhiannon had been on the ship since the ship was christened. Yet it seemed that people avoided her like the plague. She supposed that was because of her position as Yeoman and closeness to the Captain. So, when someone asked if they could join her, she was slightly overjoyed. Rhiannon smiled and practically beamed as she spoke in her lilted Irish accent. "Absolutely. I am Rhiannon O'Connell."
"Leah Rochester, nice to meet you, Rhiannon," Leah set her glass safely down before flopping into the chair with a breath of relief. She watched the other woman with a curious smile, placing the accent. "Ireland, yes? We're neighbours across the water, I'm from England."
"Ah, yes the crown." Rhiannon chuckled as she took a sip of the orange juice that she had. "Killarny born and raised. First one in generations to leave the island let along the planet. But I am not one fer sittin still too long." She knew who Leah was based on her file. Now it would be nice to not only get to know the person in the flesh but to see if the reports in the file matched the actual person.
Leah watched her with a smile, the curiosity clearly still bubbling at the snippet she got of the young woman's life. As someone who hadn't joined the fleet by a traditional route, she found it interesting to hear how others had found their way there. "So you answered the call of adventure?"
"In a way. We Irish have always wanted to protect what was ours. The Earth is ours and so here I am. Besides I like being the power behind the throne as it were. How bout yerself?" Rhi winked at her own joke and then took a couple of bites of her food.
"Oh, this is all...pure chance," Leah had to admit, offering a wry smile as she motioned around the lounge to indicate 'Starfleet'. "I was working in forensics with the police on Earth. Starfleet approached me, asking if I'd give thought to joining. It seemed like an opportunity to...spread my wings a little."
"Well, welcome aboard. The Artemis is an interesting concept for a starship. That is why I chose this assignment. Policing the galaxy is not something a lot of members of Starfleet actually want to do. Most want to investigate anomalies and meet new civilizations. That sort of thing. My thought is someone has to take out the trash so the rest can do all of that." Rhi smiled and took another bite of food. She was glad that Leah sat at her table. Rhi had not realized how much she needed a friend until now.
Leah smiled softly at the words, a dull ache in her chest. As someone who had been at the hands of monsters, she knew just how much policing was needed. No matter how much some people wanted to deny there was anything wrong. "I couldn't agree more. I didn't realise you'd volunteered."
"Yeah when you score high enough on the command aptitude tests they allow you to choose your assignment. So, I was given the files and public logs of a number of Captains and allowed to choose which one I would want to go work for. So, I chose Captain Kidd. There was just something about the way he speaks. A calmness that forces you to believe that all will be well despite the evidence to the contrary. I will say this though. The Admiral, Admiral Ford he is a grade A douchebag. Met him and just being in his office made my skin crawl." As with most Yeoman Rhihannon was not above being a gossip of sorts when the whim moved her.
Leah couldn't help but laugh softly, the other woman's colourful language instantly making her relax and feel at home. "Lucky for someone like me then...something would have to go very wrong for me to be called into the Admiral's office..."
"Lucky for all of us that the Admiral does not spend a lot of time on the ship. He struck me as the type of person that would make his children call him sir." Rhihannon laughed at her own joke and took a few more bites of food. "But you are a CSI. You must see some pretty strange things out there. Most people don't even know that the Federation has a seedy underbelly let alone actually see it."
"The one thing I've learned over the years is to never be surprised at anything anyone does anymore," Leah admitted with a soft laugh, shaking her head as she watched her with honest, blue eyes. "I've seen people point blank deny something even when irrefutable evidence is laid out in front of them...supposedly abandoned crime scenes with a perpetrator still hiding there as we're going through the motions...totally bizarre murder weapons...people are weird, Rhihannon, people are weird..."
"It is the weirdness that keeps us all connected I think. But I see your point. There is something to be said for honesty being the best policy." Rhihannon took her last few bites of food and then could not resist the rumor mill. "Say have you heard about Ensign Harlow?"
"Harlow?" Leah leant forward onto the table, resting her chin in her hand as she watched with interest, her gossip-senses tingling. "What about them?"
"It seems that he was found dead in his quarters. The sonic shower malfunctioned. But I heard Captain Kidd say that he wants it fully investigated. Just strange, something like that happening on a ship that is meant to investigate crimes." Rhihannon knew that she stirred the pot as it were. But that was something that she loved to do. So, no sense in stopping now.
"Hm..." Leah's gaze became unfocussed as she thought on it. A sonic shower malfunction? The thought that death could happen so easily over something so simple... She could see why he would want to be sure. It seemed so...unlikely. "Do you think he would welcome volunteers?" she asked lightly.
"I know that Ms Frost has been put in charge of the investigation. I am sure that she would welcome the assistance of a CSI in figuring out if this is a murder or not. Even if it isn't a murder, what a way to go. A gruesome death for sure. It has made me look over my shoulder in empty corridors late at night I am not ashamed to say." Rhihannon was not one to gossip needlessly. But, she truly felt that everyone should know about this death.
Leah gave her a weak, half smile, remembering that feeling all too well. A horrible sense of dread in the pit of the stomach. "Well, if you ever find yourself near my office or quarters when you feel like that, come and find me," she assured softly.
"You can bet I will. This ship is creepy enough late at night. That I do not need to wonder about murderers wandering the ship." Rhihannon finished her meal. "Join Starfleet they said. It would be fun they said." She added with a smirk of sorts.
Leah chuckled dryly at the comment, nodding before sipping her drink with appreciation. "You must have fought off hundreds of other applicants for your position in the Academy. I'm pretty sure you can handle anything that might come your way."
"I didn't go to the Academy. Well, not as a student anyway. I went straight to basic training. Officer work never really interested me, more so now that I have seen all the crap that they have to deal with. I did go to the Academy to take one course in Starship Command, it was part of the Yeoman training program. Starships in general can be spooky. But the idea that there could be a murderer trapped on the ship with us makes it even worse." Rhihannon looked around as she spoke as if she did not want anyone else to hear about her fears.
"Hey..." Leah leant to her, squeezing her arm fondly as she tilted her head to catch her gaze. "You're going to be fine, Rhihannon, just fine," she assured her firmly. "I'll speak to the Captain, see if I can't take a look at the impressions taken from the scene. We'll put this to bed, one way or another."
"Thanks Leah I would appreciate that." Rhihannon said and took her tray as she stood up. "Well Captain Kidd would be lost without me. I should get back to work. But, it was great making a friend today."
"Same," Leah assured with a warm smile, lifting her glass to her in farewell as she settled back for a few more minutes of rest. "And make sure you don't let him forget it..."
A Joint Post By
Petty Officer Second Class Rhihannon O'Connell
Yeoman, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Petty Officer Second Class Leah Rochester
Crime Scene Investigator, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
RSS Feed