(By Penny A.Proctor. Paramount owns Star Trek: Voyager and its characters. I just ask them to come out and play. This is a companion piece to season 5’s "Someone to Watch Over Me.")
At 1123 hours I was returning to Astrometrics from my meeting with the Doctor in the holodeck when I encountered the Captain and the Commander walking ahead of me. Apparently the negotiations with Kati were concluded.
"Did you enjoy your visit to the Colony?" the Commander asked her. "You look rested."
The Captain looked thoughtful. "It was a very restful experience. Lots of mediation and prayer."
"Indeed," the Commander said.
"Yes," the Captain continued. "Do you know, that in addition to the 8 daily prayer cycles, the truly devout Kati – like our host – also engage in four meditative meetings each day, and hourly moments of reflection."
Although the Captain’s vocal inflections and facial expression seemed appropriately serious for a discussion of this nature, the Commander smiled at her as if sharing a joke. "A very full schedule. It must keep other business at a…leisurely pace."
She nodded. "Oh, yes. It only took us half a day to decide on the proper seating arrangement for the negotiations." She leaned a little closer to the Commander. "It seems there was some controversy due to my gender. Females aren’t expected to negotiate personally with males."
Odd. From my experience with the Captain, I would have expected her to react more vigorously to a bias based upon gender. Yet, she was describing it to the Commander with equanimity.
"And the food?" He was not smiling, and yet his tone sounded as if he were amused. "Any recipes to bring back to Neelix?"
She responded with more sincerity than seemed warranted. "I had no idea that oatmeal was so versatile. The Kati serve it at every meal."
"Unflavored, of course," he said.
"Of course. But gritty."
"And how was the scenery?"
"Like the oatmeal," she said. "Flat, gritty and gray. Lots of gray."
They stopped at the turbolift. "I’m sure Neelix can replicate some for lunch if you like, " Commander Chakotay said. "Personally, I plan to go to Sandrine’s – the program is operational again - and have some pasta with pomodoro sauce. Maybe some garlic bread."
The Captain closed her eyes. "And for dessert – strawberries and cream?"
Now the Commander smiled widely. "I was thinking chocolate mousse, but berries are acceptable."
"Terrible man," the Captain said as the turbolift doors opened. "Your rations or mine?" Then the doors closed and my ability to monitor the conversation was terminated.
I am uncertain as to how to classify this interaction. Although it appears to be a simple description of the Kati Colony, the Commander’s tone of voice was inappropriate for a business conference. He appeared to find the conversation humorous. In fact, had they been in a social setting, such as a party or a date, I would categorize it as ‘small talk’ or possibly, ‘flirting.’ However, this was not a social occasion and it is unlikely that the Captain and the Commander would engage in ‘small talk’ or ‘flirting’ in a private discourse. They have no need to establish a rapport, and they are too efficient in their duties to engage in irrelevant dialogue.
It appears that human interaction is more diverse than I assumed. Perhaps the Doctor will be able to elucidate, when I resume my studies of social behavior. I will save this for future reference.