The Gathering II
Posted on Sun 14th Feb, 2021 @ 5:16am by Daeren Iril & Miadze Palel & Commander Zed & T'Vala & Tessanna (Tessa) Valeri
1,366 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Business Not At All As Usual
Location: Main Lounge, USS Thunderchild
Timeline: MD 2, 1845
Previously, as the guests came together ...
Zed piled her plate with lobster, something she had been growing a fondness for even though they were replicated. She also grabbed a thick, juicy looking steak and a large baked potato with all the topping she could put on it. Rounding out her plate was a Caesar salad. She walked over to where the other two ladies were and sat down beside them.
And now, let's see who else shows up to stuff their faces.
The door hissed open and Lieutenant Commander Richard Cruz walked in wearing his dress uniform. The uniform fit very well, showing off his wonderful geometric physique. His time in the gym had really paid off. He was strong and fit as ever. He looked around at the nearly empty room, "It would appear that I am early."
"You aren't first," Lt. Regos said, following him in. "That's the important thing!" Seeing the table of food and drink spread out across the room, she added, "Oooh, and being early enough to be able to sample every single thing on the buffet table is also a plus."
She nodded at the other women in the room, and turned to the man who'd come through the door in front of her. "Have we met?" she asked, holding out her hand, a now universal habit in the quadrants, thanks to those from Earth. "I'm Lissi Regos, assistant to Ambassador Krell."
Richard took her hand, "I'm Lieutenant Commander Richard Cruz, Chief Engineer on loan to Thunder Child and, if we'd ever met other than seeing you in Engineering for the tour, then I would have known. I wouldn't be able to forget a face like yours." Richard found the young woman very attractive, and if he'd ever met her before then he would have known. "Hungry?" He asked as he indicated the tables of food.
Lissi laughed as she shook the man's hand. "Oh, you must be Irish, or at least have kissed the Blarney Stone." Dropping his hand, she said, "Yes, I am hungry, actually, and look at all the opportunities to fix that." They wandered to the table together.
As she took a plate, Regos asked, "So you're on loan to this ship? On loan from where?" She picked up something that reminded her of tiny tacos she'd eaten in San Francisco. It had been a long time ago, but she hoped these were very similar.
"I was the Chief Engineer on Pegasus, but she's getting an overhaul right now at Starbase 117--and no I'm not Irish,.not even close. My mother is a Starfleet Captain of Latin decent and my father was..... well, let's just say he was."
Ambassador Iril and Miadze arrived then. "I understand they might serve klah tonight," Miadze said to Daeren as they entered the reception room.
Daeren raised his eyebrows. "Klah? Brave chef. I'm not sure I would be that brave since it has to be served so fresh."
"One should always seek to challenge oneself," Miadze said.
Tessa smiled to the two new arrivals. "Hi!"
T'Vala inclined her head in greeting. "Well met."
"Hello, Captain, Ambassador, Tessa," Daeren said. "What looks good to eat? I see your staff have prepared a feast."
Richard waved to the others, "Hello." He picked up a plate and began loading it with all kinds of tasty-looking foods.
"Commander Cruz, good to see you again," Daeren replied as Miadze smiled at the Chief Engineer. "Thank you for showing us around Engineering earlier." He selected some of the foods that Cruz was sampling while Miadze made a beeline for the vegetable soup. Daeren shook his head after her. How the woman could pass up filet mignon and a baked potato in favor of vegetable soup was beyond him. He spread melted butter and cheese crumbles on top of his filet and went to join the others at a table.
Tessa saw his gesture and grinned. "You get used to it," she said to Daeren.
Richard sat down with his large plate of food and began eating with a spirited appetite.
Tessa sat next to T'Vala. "So, do I have to stay long?"
T'Vala raised an eyebrow. "No, but you must stay as long as protocol dictates."
"And how long is that?" she asked.
"It varies. I will let you know. As this is less formal, it should not be long," the Vulcan said, going back to her soup.
Richard was sitting near the two ladies talking and looked up at them, "I hope you don't leave too soon. I was hoping that you might want to dance. "
"Dancing?" Tessa turned to him. "There's going to be dancing?"
Richard slowly nodded, "That was the rumor going around. I heard that Ensign Giles was going to play the piano so that means that Lieutenant Hornby will be playing the saxophone and Doctor Tersely will be some kind of string instrument. He plays them all I believe."
"Ooh, I definitely want to hear that," Tessa said. "And dance, if there really will be dancing." Although as an assistant to the Ambassador, she wasn't sure how much dancing she'd get to do.
"That does indeed sound pleasant," T'Vala added.
As they were talking about dancing, the group that Richard described entered the room with their instruments and began setting up. "Yep, looks like I called it." He turned back to the ladies, "Only because I have seen them practice many times since being on this ship."
"Indeed," T'Vala said, "Do the crew here generally dance?"
Richard laughed, "It's not like they walk and dance through the corridor while they are moving about, but I do believe they have dancing at some official functions. Haven't you run into that yet, Ambassador?" Richard addressed T'Vala.
"In my experience, most official functions involve food, drink, and talk. They are more about negotiations. Although I can see how dancing can be a form of negotiation."
"It's more fun than listening to octogenarians try to sound more pretentious than everyone else in the room."
Daeren and Miadze glanced at each other and burst out laughing. "We resemble that remark!"
"Ah, but it is often in that very pretentiousness that you learn the most," T'Vala said. She turned to Regos. "Do you agree?"
"Mostly," Lissi nodded, wiping her fingers on a napkin. "Pretentiousness is boring and difficult to take, but it also makes the person ... vulnerable, I guess is the best word. While they are so busy flashy, I often see beneath that to the truth of who that person is. But it is difficult to endure," she smiled.
Changing the subject, she asked T'Vala, "Have you tried these little taco-looking things? I forget what they're called, but these are such tasty examples. It's from an Earth culture that goes back thousands of years. Tell me, what's on the table that's Vulcan and delicious?"
She glanced at the item in question, then answered. "The gespat is quite nice,"T'Vala said, indicating a vegetable dish. "My people generally eschew meat."
"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten. I've met so many new people, my head's in a whirl. I'll try that one next time I'm up. How are you enjoying your trip, Ambassador?"
"So far it is most pleasant," the Vulcan said placidly.
Ah, conversation stopper? Or just being Vulcan? Lissi wondered. She chose to stand for another run at the buffet table. "I think I'll try that gespat." And she'd get some more little taco bites while she was at it.
Tessa smiled at Ambassador T'Vala. "You've never had tacos?"
"Once," the Vulcan replied. She did not particularly like the seasoning. "It was sufficient."
Tessa grinned and went back to her food.
"In the interest of not being pretentious," Daeren said to Zed, smiling, "may I have a dance with you this evening, Captain?"
Zed chuckled nervously, "I'm not very good at dancing." She shook her head, "Only if you don't care too much about those toes, I have two left feet."
"I have had decades and decades of practice leading," Daeren assured her. "We will get through it together."
"Very well." Zed replied before she took a bite of a very large shrimp.
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