Dinner for Two? - Part 1

Posted on 02 Nov 2016 @ 10:24pm by Lieutenant Commander Alexei Joran & Chief Petty Officer Bianca Donati
Edited on on 02 Nov 2016 @ 10:26pm

1,272 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Errand of Mercy
Location: Main Engineering/Lounge
Timeline: Current - MD 4 - Evening

ON:

It was almost the end of his shift and Alexei was bored. Absolutely and completely mind-mumbing BORED! Everything was running smoothly and he was preparing to hand the department over to Kerre, his assistant chief engineer. If only he had something to do instead of going home to empty quarters. He thought about a trip to the holodeck but dismissed that fairly rapidly. He wanted something interesting with stimulating conversation and the holodeck just didn't seem like the right solution. Then suddenly he had an idea. What about that cute little Marine liaison he'd met recently? He'd been in the lounge and had bumped into her--literally--not long ago. He had turned quickly from the bar after getting his drink and had crashed into her, causing her to spill her drink and soiling her jacket. After getting her another drink, they had shared a table and he'd found her to be extremely interesting--not to mention damned good looking. 'Yeah...' he thought to himself. 'That just might be what I need. Maybe I can get her to agree to dinner tonight...'

He then reached up and tapped his combadge.

=/\= Commander Joran to CPO Donati...=\= he called out.

Startled by the interruption she cursed under her breath before tapping her badge =/\= Yes commander? =/\=

=/\= Would you possibly be free to meet me in the lounge for dinner this evening? =/\=

=/\= You did mention your persistence. ...=/\=

=/\= That's right, I did. =/\= Alexei said with just a bit of a chuckle -/\= And far be it from me to lie to a pretty lady. So how about it? Say in 45 minutes? =/\=

She muttered something under her breath about lost causes and then answered him =/\=Very well Commander. =/\=

=/\= I will see you there, =/\= he said, a happy tone evident in his voice as he closed the comm.

Bianca rested her head on her desk for a long moment before the etiquette lecture shed gotten from Guardian Samael began to play in her ears. 'Remember, the dinner invitation is an admission of interest, generally physical interest. It is considered polite to accept said invitations unless one has a pressing reason why not. The fact that you do not enjoy socializing is NOT a pressing reason Ms. Donati. You might be surprised by your interactions with others if you would just try."

Hurrying quickly back to his quarters after turning engineering over to his assistant chief, Alexei showered and changed into civilian clothes--slacks and a dress shirt along with a sports jacket. Casual yet nice. For once, he wanted to be out of uniform and without the responsibilities of being a department head. He wanted to be able to just enjoy the evening.
====== 40 minutes later ======
When he arrived at the lounge, he saw that Bianca had not yet arrived. "I hope she didn't decide to not come..." he said to himself. Then, finding a table away from the bar, he sat down and waited to see if she would appear

She entered a short time later and straightened her long knit sweater. It was a dark brown with blue and gold embroidery on the sleeves, base and collar. Her pants were a paler shade of brown, and she looked nice enough she thought as she made her way to the table he'd selected.

As she approached the table, Alexei quickly stood and pulled out her chair for her.

Her eyebrows rose at his gesture, remembering that it was gentlemanly instead of a suggestion that she was not capable of doing for herself. "Good evening."

"Good evening to you," Alexei said in return. "I hope this table is suitable for you. I thought it might be better to be further away from the bar. Less noise that way."

"You are correct, I do prefer the quiet to the noise of the bar." A smile touched her lips as she gazed down at the table, clear except for the ring of moisture from his glass.

"You look nice," he said after a moment. He remembered that she wasn't much for small talk but he thought a compliment to be appropriate. And it was true--she DID look nice. What she was wearing tonight was definitely more pleasing than the nondescript uniform and jacket she had been wearing when he first saw her. "What would you like to drink?"

"Thank you. I think a Tamarian frost would be lovely." she said glancing down at her clothing with a tiny smile.

Alexei quickly motioned the waitperson over. "A Tamarian Frost for the lady, please..." he said before turning his attention back to her. "So how has your day been? Anything interesting happen?"

"It's never a good thing if my job is interesting you know. It means someone has seriously screwed up. " Her drink came to the table, with a layer of ice coating the glass, the blue liquid steaming in the warmer air.

"Hmm...I never thought of it like that," he said. "But I suppose you're right. And I'm guessing that a screwup in Intelligence could have the possibility of setting off an intergalactic war."

"Or a war of personalities right here on the Flagship of the federation. I've never dealt with so many strong willed individuals here on one ship, as well as the mix of marine and fleet here. It's unprecedented."

"At least you can say your job will never be boring. If you'd like to see boring, come down to Main Engineering on deck 50 and let me show you around."

Scoffing at that, she commented "I never said I was bored, merely that if it is interesting that I'm in for it."

"It can get interesting in engineering sometimes too..." he said. He realized he was backtracking just a bit, but at this point he was doing whatever he could to try and hold her interest. "Especially when all the warning lights start flashing and the alarms are sounding off."

"That sounds.... unpleasant." Bianca murmured as she slipped her drink. She revelled in the icy crunch of the nearly frozen liquid.

"It can be that," Alexei agreed. "I'll say this though--nothing can get your heart rate up like the threat of a warp core breach." He grinned at her, then added "That will make you pay attention really quick."

"Are you being serious right now?" She asked him with an incredulous look on her face. Was that really something he thought was interesting? "You only pay attention to your work when there is a warp core breach trying to happen?"

"No I'm not being serious and that's not what I'm saying at all..." he quickly said. "But the possibility of a warp core breach is about the most serious thing that can happen on a starship. Things can get really...interesting...in that case." He took a sip of his drink and studied her over the rim of his glass for a moment before adding "I pay VERY close attention to my work at all times."

"Was that then an attempt at humor?" She asked quietly her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"It was," he answered. "And a very weak attempt at that, I might add."

Her cheeks turned a brilliant scarlet, as her eyes drifted away from his "I told you I wasn't very good at this."

"You're doing fine--and you will learn with time," he said as their server presented them with menus. "So what looks good to you this evening?"

"Nothing, since the menu just arrived... Though the cover is quite striking."

Alexei grinned at her. "See, you're learning already. That was quite clever."

OFF:

LtCommander Alexei Joran
Chief Engineer
USS Redemption

CPO Bianca Donati
Diplomatic Officer
USS Redemption

 

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