Devils on Horseback

Posted on Tue 5th Feb, 2019 @ 10:55pm by Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark

1,169 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Pearl With a Chainsaw, Deck 666
Timeline: MD 1, 2240

Part 2, and its a feast for the tongue:

Serena licked fruit juice from her lips before replying, "Better than good!"

Finishing his fruit, Andrew brought his napkin to this face to wipe away any crumbs, "As for my sister, she decided to follow more in the rest of my immediate family's footsteps and keep her feet grounded. Believe me, I've been trying to make the same argument about a Starbase since I arrived. I thought it would be a much easier sell than a starship," giving a half-hearted shrug, "But you know siblings. They can be stubborn at times."

"Ha! That's the truth," she agreed, thinking of her own twin. "Does that make you the only Eberstark who is star struck?"

Andrew nodded and took a deep breath, "If you are referring to gallivanting around the Alpha and Beta quadrants, then yes, I suppose I am. My mother was also in Starfleet for a time when we were growing up, but she passed away when my sister and I were still young, so everyone has dealt with it in their own way." Referring to his family as a whole, he gave a warm smile, "Hopefully I won't be the last one to at least explore the stars."

Seeing Serena's face understandably become solemn, Andrew instinctively reached across the table for her hand, "Hey, I felt it was something you should know sooner than later. I just wanted to be transparent and let you know that we can talk about that or anything else you want but there's certainly no pressure there at all."

She turned her hand to grasp palms, and nodded. "I'm sorry about your mother, though. I'm fortunate to still have both my parents."

Taking a bite of another fruit, Andrew shifted the subject, "So, are you the only one in your family in the restaurant business?"

"Oh, yes," Serena nodded, wiping sticky fingers on her napkin and reaching for her water. After a long drink, she continued. "My sister, as I said, is completely consumed by her music career, and my parents are in business, but it's more the diplomatic business. I grew up with everything, and managed to slip through a degree or two, but the idea of being cooped up on a planet didn't seem all that appealing."

With a laugh, she realized she was in almost the same position, cooped up on a starbase. "I know, here I am on a starbase, so how is it any different? I don't know, it just is. Here, we're ... well, I was going to say surrounded by space, but then so is a planet. I can't say what the difference is, but it feels different out here than at home. Does any of that make sense?" She picked up the chopsticks next to her plate and began to mix the meat with her rice, frowning in concentration.

Andrew nodded, "Oh, I think it makes sense. You've at least made the journey to get to a starbase. Some say the journey is the destination, especially in this quadrant, so I think it's fair to say you have a little adventure in you." Taking a piece of meat on his plate to eat and swallow, he smiled, "Besides, if you weren't, then we wouldn't be eating," pausing to flex his fingers to form virtual quotations, "lung slices would we?"

Serena laughed, "No, I guess not. It's tasty, whatever it actually is." She picked up another piece of meat with her chopsticks and examined it. "It really just looks like any piece of beef to me." She promptly ate it. "And that's what it tastes like, too. So, enough of heavy topics, who's your baseball team in the Federation playoffs?"

Raising an eyebrow, Andrew answered, "I tend to agree. But it's well seasoned, well cooked and delightful. And well, moving on from heavy topics, and if you excuse the pun, that came out of left field. And I guess if I had to choose, I'd pick the London Kings. Have to root for the home planet don't I?" shrugging, "Haven't been following them much of the year though. I have a much softer spot for soccer. Who's your team?"

"Um, yeah, soccer is okay, too. At least you didn't call it football!" Serena waved the chopsticks in the air. "I think I'm going for the Cestus Cowboys. I know there's never been a cowboy on Cestus III, but they did almost single-handedly revive baseball in the last ... hundred years? So, yeah, I have to go with them. Want to put money on it?"

Grinning, Andrew answered, "Oh, sometimes I do call it football. Don't tell me you have a problem with that? And I would never have pegged you for a gambler," pausing to consider his options, or lack thereof, he continued, "But I'm game. What stakes did you have in mind?"

"Welllll," she answered him teasingly. "How about if Cestus wins, you bring me back here for dinner? And if they don't ... hmm. What about if you bring me back here for dinner?"

Andrew acted as if he was in deep thought in responding to her question for a moment, "So let me get this straight. Either way we come back here for dinner? You drive a hard bargain. Sure, I'll agree to that," extending his hand to finalize the "terms" of the wager.

"You're a hard man to bargain with," Serena laughed, shaking his hand. A little snicker escaped her as she pulled her hand back so she could continue eating. "But you are a lot of fun, Andrew. I'm glad we met. You know, it seems like we've known each other for a very long time, even though I know we haven't. I could almost feel like I grew up with you, as if you were one of Stormy's dumped boyfriends."

Andrew kept smiling, but in his head he tried to process the different ways that last statement could be taken. After a few moments, he was sure his facial expression gave him away and finally relented, "You know, I'm honestly not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not," shrugging, "But I will say I am also glad we met," looking over the meal, "And that we had a proper dinner to actually get to know each other."

Serena swallowed her food, and took a drink. "No, no, definitely a compliment. Stormy's taste in boys ... well, men now ... is legendary, as is her inability to focus on one long enough to build a real relationship. It was only a problem because we're twins. Everyone figured if they were dumped by her, then her slightly younger look-alike sister was poison, too. Being dumped by her was a good sign, but it didn't help me one little bit."

Alia looked around for one of the servers. "I'm ready for dessert, how about you? Maybe you can find Jagged?"

 

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