Atmospheric Pollutants

Posted on Wed Sep 10th, 2025 @ 1:08pm by Commander Alex Flynn & 1st Lieutenant Drydon 'Roman' Palamas & Senior Aerospace Specialist Mindo 'Riot'

1,181 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Shoreleave [3-4]
Location: Fighter Deck service corridors
Timeline: Morning - MD02

Alex wasn't totally sure where she'd put the little hygeine-drone that she kept around to make her smoking less noticable to those around her, but she was too embarrassed to ask the computer. Instead, she made her way to the fighter deck as she often did in such situations, knowing their filtration systems were uniquely ill equipped to detect burning carcinogens as the kind she consumed to fend off a deleterious Breen pathogen that preyed on unstimulated addiction centres.

On her way to the service corridor that was the perfect spot for a smoke, she encountered Lieutenant Mindo, who knew what she was there for, and politely insisted on joining her, which made Alex happy, and more comfortable sneaking into another department's space to do something most would frown upon.

"...so in the end he got reassigned to government service on Bajor. Didn't like things in the Gamma Quadrant, I guess. And so, single since then." Alex said, concluding the story that she'd started before they reached their destination. "What about you?" Alex asked the Tellarite.

"Tried a few times. Transfers got in the way. Fleet life, you know? And I don't think my dad would ever speak to me again if I ended up with a pilot, so just taking it easy." Mindo said calmly with a shrug. The human cigarette was somewhat light compared to the massive stogies Tellarites still consumed on the homeworld and their colonies.

"Ugh, don't I know it." Alex said with a knowing smile.

Roman had finished getting out of his flight suit and was walking towards the service corridor and reviewing a padd. Even thought he would be short on a birds and short on a few pilots to make a full squadron he still wanted to make sure his team was built and ready for full spectrum operations as soon as possible.

He had already decided that he would name Chief Stavros 'Dagger' Deplidis as his XO, it would piss off a few of the 2Lts but he didn't care, Dagger was more experienced then all of em put together. The Chief had more flight time than Roman for Kirk's sake, it might wound their pride a bit, but the Butterbars would get over it.

Just then Palamas got a whiff of an acrid yet almost flowery burning smell. As he looked up from his padd, he saw 2 people conversing at the end of the corridor, smoking something. "Don't they make you smokers do it in airlocks on this station?' He called out as he scrunched his nose a bit. He hadn't noticed that one of the officers was a Commander because the pips were not facing him at the time. 'Oh shit' he thought as the person turned to see who had hollered at them and Roman noticed the pips.

"They don't make me do much. Especially lately." Alex told the pilot across the distance between them. "Problem?"

"Smells like a cheap cigar over there...I just some happen to like cheap cigars." Drydon replied confidently as he kept walking towards them, hoping he could brush this off nonchalantly.

"Nothing that fancy." Alex said, exhaling another cloud of smoke. "Just the computer's best recreation of the red apple brand they used to make in the 21st century." She took a closer look at the pilot as he approached. "You're Palamas, right?"

"Yes ma'am...I remember a Chief who served on the Rutledge-A who smoked a brand called 'Lucky Strikes' said they had a sweeter after taste. Commander Flynn is it?" Drydon came to a stop forming a rough triangle between the 3 of them.

"That's me." Alex said with a nod. "You know Mindo? Or, uh, 'Riot', in pilot-speak." She asked them both, though she looked at Drydon.

"Nah, haven't had the pleasure...Drydon Palomas, callsign Roman, new skipper of the Blue Diamonds" he reached out a hand to Mindo with a friendly smile on his face.

"Nice to be met, El-Tee. I'm Captain Shrath's gunner." Mindo said, shaking his hand in the human fashion. "Who've you got in your gunseat?" Mindo asked of his accompanying operator for the two-seater fighter.

"We're short on people in our squadron so I've actually got an old friend on mine on loan from the stations crew. Ensign Smith, one of those career ensigns types, but we get along well and he's a decent backseater funny enough..." Drydon chuckled. "So were you one of the originals here, back when you had the single squadron?"

"Yeah, though that was only a couple of weeks ago. Hasn't been a lot to do since then other than patrol." Mindo said, realising it felt like longer, though that was probably because of the drama with those symbiote-people.

"You know Lieutenant, you're not the first semigod I've met. Not even the first of Apollo's line. In my experience you guys know how to party, but you get a little ahead of yourselves. You gunning for CAG?" Flynn asked, taking another drig from her half-done smoke.

"Ahead of ourselves? We're deities, a demi-god only in my case, but getting ahead of ourselves isn't really something we ever consider. Fair Kirking point though...as for the CAG spot. I'm still waiting on promotion to Captain to match my job as a squadron commander. I'll worry about other promotions if I survive the next few weeks." Drydon chuckled.

"You don't actually believe that, do you? That you're a deity?" Alex asked, cocking her eyebrow in the way she'd seen Rovak do it so many times.

"Not believe it? Why wouldnt I? My ancestors ruled earth from Mount Olympus as Gods. I'm the great grandson of a God. I am an heir to a God." Roman was a bit incredulous at the question actually. It was like asking a human, 'you dont actually believe you're a human do you?' In his mind. Sure Drydon didn't have all the same powers as more pure blooded Polluxians, but his life span barring illness or trauma was unknown. There was reports of 1/16th Polluxian hybrids from Rigel who were over a thousand years old, and Palamas was an 1/8th.

"Oh, okay." Alex said, trying to get herself back to neutral. That wasn't the response she expected. "Well, uh, nice to meet you, Lieutenant. I'd best be off somewhere productive." Alex said, lifting her heel to put her cigarette out on the back of it.

Roman was a bit taken aback by the XO butting out an ignited fuel source on her heel. He'd never seem anyone do such a thing before. He watched as the shards and lit coals of the cigarette feel to the deck, which would obvioisly leave a soot mark on the deck. How rude of her Roman thought.

"Indeed ma'am, I've got some logistical and administrative wrsngling to do myself. It was a pleasure meeting you Commander." Drydon said as he moved past the 2 and on down the corridor.

"We'll talk later about the ring." Flynn told Mindo as she went.

"Sure, I'll ask dad." Mindo told Flynn with a wave.

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