Fellowship of the Dice

Shur has never met an Orion before, but he has seen holograms and photos of the race throughout his time at the academy. "Where are you heading?" Shur asks.

Alik stands at ease, as his family's trade ship has plied many sections of Federation space and nearby civilizations when they were on more daring trips. He is no expert on Orion culture or anything, but he's met them and done business. "This is a big place, we're new and have made a few bad turns ourselves while exploring. So I empathize. Any particular business that brings you here?"

The Orion seems a little put off by the sudden presence of a phalanx of Starfleet personnel bearing down on him. He answers your questions as they come at him.

“Aaah! Starfleet. Humans and andorian. I was… well, my room. I was trying to find my room. Yes. I’m a trader. I dabble in this and that. If there was something particular that you are looking for… My name is Bhartuum, but humans call me Bart. Is this your room?”

"We are merely taking a tour, so we can become familiar with the layout." Shur replies. "Which floor is your room located on? We can escort you there. It might be nice to get to know a few of the residents and to get familiar with the different floors and hallways."

The engineer nods in agreement. "We are learning the layout ourselves, so we can combine our brainpower to accomplish the task. And I am in full agreement with my fellow cadet Shur here. It would be great to get to know more people around here."

Your overtures of friendship and cooperation seem to put the Orion more at ease:

“Well, I guess I could go with you. But…”

… But it is short lived. Due to a unique acoustic phenomenon in this hallway, you suddenly hear loud voices. You catch them mid-conversation and you had no audible signal of their approach. At least half a dozen persons round the corner, their appearance as sudden as the sound of their approach. The experience is startling and unnerving, and you spin to face them in a defensive posture. You can now empathize with how jumpy the Orion was when you first appeared.

Everyone in this new group is wearing light blue, Starfleet issue, utility coveralls lightly dusted or stained with the native soil of this planet. Most or all are humanoid. You can only read the insignia of the ones in front, but they are all from the science service branch and they are all ranking officers to yourselves.

“... I,I think I’ll be on my way. Thanks anyway.” The Orion finishes his thought. With your attention on the new arrivals, he moves past you.

“What are you doing here?”

The question comes from the new arrivals. The voice speaks with authority and, in the presence of superior officers, you feel compelled to answer, even though you aren’t sure if it was directed at you or the Orion (who is now stepping sideways along the wall, trying to move past the newcomers).

"Cadet Alex Craig, sir." He straightens up, but doesn't salute or anything since while they clearly outrank him, they aren't the Captain or something. "Engineering specialization, assigned to Starship USS Pas-de-Calais which is... running late. Myself and my fellow cadets are exploring the Starbase layout, before reporting to our assigned stations in the morning."

Shur straightens up when Cadet Craig announces himself. He stands by as Alex explains the circumstances of their group at this location.

From the back of the group of science officers, a voice is heard.

"Cadet Craig? Spacer, is that you?"

A human steps forward, his dusty overalls showing clear signs that he was outside on the planet surface. His eyes briefly looks at the faces of the unexpected strangers before finding the engineer. "Alik, they sent you here as well?" the man says with an easy smile. "What are the odds?"

The man seems to quickly remember where he is and looks at the Orion. His tone is decidedly less friendly.

"Out for a walk, Bart?"

Alik hears a voice and sees a face from his past.

The Orion responds to both Jacob and the authoritative voice:

“My new friends and I were lost! We joined together to find our way out when you showed up. It seems you have something to talk about with them, which leaves me the ‘odd man out’, as it were. I’ll just excuse myself and be on my way. I can tell you are in no mood to negotiate, Lieutenant Commander, so I will talk to you some other time. Excuse me, and good night!”

The Orion scurries around the corner.

“Damn nuisance.”

You now place a face with the authoritative voice. A human Lt Commander, perhaps in his early or mid 40’s, who seems to be the ranking officer.