Dinner Without Strings (Part 1)

Posted on 11/22/2020 @ 3:44pm by Captain Cian D'Anvers
Edited on on 11/22/2020 @ 5:24pm

Mission: S3E1: Time of Change
Location: Serenity - A Yacht, Earth
Timeline: Day 89 at 2000

Cian waited for the Starfleet logo to disappear and the face of his first officer appear. You didn't last long in command positions if you couldn't hide your feelings behind a carefully constructed neutral expression. That he was good at; reaching out on a personal level, not so much. "Hey," he said, "hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Technology was a breath of fresh air. J.J. had detached the monitor screen from the computer at his desk, submitting it into a large tablet mode which was great for mobility around the quarters and elsewhere. He took the Captain's call with a warm smile and plopped down on the sofa in his quarters, lying on his back and holding the tablet monitor above him, looking up at Cian's face. "No, you haven't interrupted anything, Sir," replied the Trill. "I'm not on duty," he added which was obvious from the crew neck undershirt and no uniform in sight. That, and as Captain, Cian would know when J.J. was on duty and not on duty.

"I was just feeding Algernon and assembling a playset for him to run around and enjoy. It's not Skunil, but he seems to be taking well to his domestication. I don't think he resents me from taking him away from Skunil," J.J. added talking about the rodent he had liberated. "How are you handling everything? No Admirals coming to take the ship from us I hope."

"Not so far," Cian said, "but its early days yet. Heard the news about Admiral Cash yet?"

J.J. scrunched his face a bit at that question. "When you have a surname of Cash, no news is good news," he shot back at Cian. "Have you heard anything...I think the expression is 'through the grapevine' about Lieutenant Syndel and what may happen to her?"

"Nothing yet," Cian said, "though I have to say that it doesn't look good. I want to ... hope for the best for her ... but at the same time, she killed someone just because she was angry. So, at the same time, I want the system to work." He sighed as he stretched out on the sofa. "It's complicated."

Lieutenant Joral scoffed teasingly. "Well, who the hell ever said this was going to be simple?" he shot back, but quickly added a look that displayed he was not entirely serious. "Captain Joral once had to deal with a situation aboard her starship that was flirting with the line of mutiny. Her own First Officer was in opposition of her, and I had known them for several months at that point. I never thought I'd feel so betrayed."

"I'd like to say I couldn't imagine but after Syndel, I think I can. Does feel like a betrayal of sorts, I guess. Anyways, a friend of mine has a boat and I was thinking of taking her out this evening. Dinner on the open water." He leaned back in the seat, feigning a casual air, as he said, "Interested in joining me? He swears his cook his first-rate. Had the whole thing set up and got called in. He's a surgeon over at Starfleet Medical."

Jodon considered it for a moment. I probably shouldn't. I am not really the sort of upbeat company that I normally am, not with Syndel and everything currently on my mind thought J.J. The thing was, however, Jodon also knew that he needed to get away from the ship. He needed to escape, flee from the darkness that was sucking him in. "I can join you, Captain. Is this something formal dress uniform, Sir, or casual?" asked the Trill. "Either way, I'll join you."

"Casual definitely," Cian said. "I'll send you the information. Ship's called the Serenity." He smiled, a nervous sort of smile that lit his features and was gone almost at once. "I'm heading down now but there's no rush. Come when you're ready."

"Nice name," replied Jodon with a small smile. "I will, Sir. I will be there as soon as I find something casual and appropriate to wear" added the First Officer. He thought for a moment. "I don't know the last time I was on a ship of the water kind, plenty of the space kind, but water...hmm I look forward to it."

[Later]

Dressed in a gray, boat-necked sweater and white pants with charcoal gray boat shoes, Cian felt more relaxed than he had in months as he waited for J.J. to arrive. There was a comfortable seating area to the right of the cockpit and another in the rear; he had chosen the rear since it gave an unobstructed view of the stars. At the moment, he sat with his shoes off, long legs stretched out along the seat, watching the water. Waiting ... to be out there because there was something about being on the water that relaxed him in a way that little else did; he made a mental note to find a holodeck program that could give him something of the same feeling. A mental note he'd made before and then forgotten in the press of things that needed doing. Tonight though, he intended to just relax. Good food, good wine, and a few hours on the water.

"Permission to come aboard," J.J. said before setting foot on the boat in question that he had located with somewhat ease. With a name like Serenity, it was not too difficult to locate. The Crazy Horse's Executive Officer came wearing a black and white striped shirt with a brown jacket and charcoal slacks. He had spotted his Commanding Officer looking different than he normally looked behind a desk or in his Captain's chair aboard the USS Crazy Horse. "Nice to see you relaxing a bit, Captain," commented Jodon.

"Welcome aboard," Cian said as he rose from his seat, shoving his feet back into his shoes as he did so. "Ever been on a yacht before?"

J.J. nodded "Yes, from afar while onshore," he explained. "I have never been this close to one before tonight though, and definitely not aboard one. I think the closest I have gotten was on Pacifica. I was on a sail boat there before, well not me exactly, but Joral has." The First Officer smiled at Cian. "How are the waters looking tonight, Sir?"

"Inviting," Cian said. He grinned, full of promise and excitement, as he set about casting off from the dock with the ease of long practice. He led J.J. forward to the cockpit and fired up the engine. "Weather forecast looked good and we won't be going out all that far. Just far enough to feel as though we've left it all behind." He flipped the switch, waited until the panel showed the anchor was up, and then pulled smoothly away from the dock. "There's wine in the galley if you want to bring it up ... with a couple of glasses?"

Jodon nodded. "I'll go fetch us some wine from the galley and bring up some glasses. Do you have any preferences, Captain? White, red, rosé?" inquired J.J. "I'm glad the waters are calm now, I read the report circulating around about the attack on the weather grid."

"White," Cian answered, his gaze automatically traveling toward the sky, "I read the reports as well." He pulled his combadge out of his pocket and winked at J.J. "First sign of trouble, the Crazy Horse can beam us out of danger. Course, I'm hoping that the bad guys will give us the night off."

"They never take the night off, Sir, but tonight, if there's something afoot, someone else can have the fun of handling it. We have enough on our plate with the trial," replied J.J.

He then disappeared below deck to go fetch the wine and glasses. Gone only a few minutes, he resurfaced with everything and a smile on his face. "This is pretty luxury. I could get used to this pampering."

"You and me both," he said. "I've always liked being out of the water. Probably sounds crazy but there's something so restful about watching the water. I don't know." He smiled and for a moment the seasoned captain fell away, revealing the man beneath. "I won't take us out far ... promise."

"I have enough of a science background to get us home, Sir," J.J. replied with a chuckle. "I'm no astrometrics officer of course, but give me enough time and I'll be able to pick some constellations out and get is back to shore."

"Didn't mean it like that," Cian said. He sat, relaxed and at ease, steering the boat out into open water. "More like ... if you were apprehensive at all ... that we wouldn't be far from shore. Course, if you think you can get us back, you're welcome to take over navigational duties. Oh, and J.J., while we're alone, if you could ... uh ... drop the Sir? It's just me tonight. Not your Captain. Not even a Starfleet officer. Just Cian. Think you can handle that?"

"I'll leave the navigating to you," Cian's right hand responded with a small nod. "I don't have as much experience out under the stars. I can try, Cian. I am not used to mingling off duty, but having spent time in your quarters made it easier. I'll drop the sir."

Possibilities ended before they began or at least that's how it felt to him in that moment. It had been stupid to even consider anything else and he wasn't generally a stupid man. "No, it's all right," Cian said. His face showed nothing of what he felt inside, showing instead the practiced hospitality that went along with a career in Starfleet. "Call me Captain. It is, after all what I am." He turned his attention back to steering the yacht and tossed over his shoulder, "You can pour the wine though, Lieutenant."

"Of course," replied J.J. who poured the Captain a glass of wine feeling as though he had said or done something that shifted the mood, and not in a good way. He brought the glass of wine to Cian, but not quite within reach. "Alright Captain," he said addressing the man formally. "I may not be the ship's counselor, but I have a lifetime of experience dealing with people and personnel. You can have the wine, but I want to know what is on your mind."

The evening had changed and like any decent tactician, he knew about defense and he knew that there were things that his first officer should know. "I got a job offer," Cian said as he reached for the wine glass.

"Oh," J.J. replied uncertain how to take that information. "I can imagine that it must be a new command? A new crew and all of that" Jodon surmised. "Are you going to accept it?"

"Give me a minute to get things organized," Cian said. He took a sip of wine and nodded toward the seating area in the rear. "I'll bring the food back and I'll explain."

They'd gone out far enough to give the illusion of privacy. Not as far as he might have gone otherwise but you never knew about these things and the message had been clear. He shut the engine down and dropped anchor then busied himself in the galley for a couple of minutes. The instructions had been clear and the food looked, even to his relatively untutored eye, to be wonderful. Plated with an eye toward presentation, balance of colors and shape. It took two trips to bring everything up and laid out but once he was done, retired to the safety of the other side of the table.

"Okay," he said as he nodded toward the meal, "I had to memorize this part. This is barbecued Caribbean lobster with fried plantains and pineapple cilantro salsa." He took a sip of wine and settled back in his seat. Not too long ago, he'd had dinner with the prosecuting attorney and ended up eating a lukewarm meal because the conversation had been about Syndel. And here he was again, uncomfortable conversation though this time, he resolved to eat.

"I was up for a job. Me and forty-some other guys. I didn't know about it and I certainly didn't pursue it. I just knew that I was ordered to appear and defend myself. Not defend as in ... uh ... Syndel and her actions ... more like why should we continue to look at you for this great job you didn't know you up were up for or even knew existed. Crazy but when you involve politicians, things are often less straight forward."

"Politics sucks," J.J. replied. "Believe me, having the memories and experiences of being a Captain in Starfleet, you get to know the politics very well," he added. "I am happy that you were offered something, but I am partially a bit hurt because I do not want to lose...this," explained Jodon. "I feel like I am only beginning to get to know you, more than just in a professional setting."

"Yes, they do," Cian said. "But the offer itself, was interesting. It would mean moving from Starfleet into the EC and the focus would be different. Pure exploration in an uncharted area of space they're calling the Omantu Expanse. Different ship too ..." He looked at his first officer over the rim of his wine glass. Even if there would never be anything but a purely professional relationship between them, he was a good first officer and this might just be a chance for him as well. To do something that the prior hosts had not. "Course, I'm looking for a first officer," he said.

To Be Continued

A Post by:

Captain Cian D'Anvers
Commanding Officer
USS Crazy Horse

and

Lieutenant Jodon Joral
First Officer
USS Crazy Horse