Dinner, as promised

Posted on Sun 5th Mar, 2017 @ 9:03pm by Commander Zachary Hunt & Lieutenant JG Patrick Biere

1,707 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night
Location: Various

Leah was in her two-story private loft that held a view of the Disney Interstellar Inc. Tower and the Tivoli Gardens. She stood in her bedroom, dressed only in a red Tholian silk robe, deciding what to wear as she stared at the many outfits in her massive closet. She had promised Commander Hunt dinner and Leah was a woman of her word. Not one to admit it, but Leah was nervous which was a rarity in of itself--she hadn't been on a date in years. 'No, it's not a date,' she corrected herself. 'It's just dinner.' She then spotted a red strapless, form-fitting dress that came to an inch above her knees.

An hour later, Leah was dressed and ready for her dinner as she left her loft to meet with Commander Hunt.

Meanwhile at the same time, Hunt had prepared for the meal by an hour in the gym. It helped him relax and was a bit of a stress reliever from all the work currently. As he grabbed his towel, he walked to the sonic showers to get rid of all the sweat and freshen him up ready for dinner with Leah. He had packed his dinner clothes with him, so he didn't turn up in his gym slacks. After the quick shower, he had changed into a smart pair of black trousers, with some brown leather shoes, polished to even higher standard than Hunt was used to. He had a light blue smart shirt which he kept untucked, still making himself look fairly smart for the meal but not overdressed.

As he left the gym, a familiar figure approached him and spoke, "Sir."

"Ahhh Biere. Just in time as well. They look beautiful," Hunt said.

"Flavia sends her best as well," Biere replied, the giant grinned.

"Aha one day I will have to send her flowers! I'm sure that would make a change for that florist!"

Biere passed a bouquet of flowers that Hunt had earlier arranged for Biere to pickup and deliver here for Hunt. They had gained a great friendship over the more recent events of Vanguard. Hunt wasn't one to arrive at a meal unprepared! "Good luck Sir, hope it goes well!" Biere boomed.

"And if it doesn't, then you can let me beat you at racquetball at least once!" They both chuckled as Hunt walked off, ready to meet Leah.

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A few minutes later, Leah arrived at an upscale Earth-based Italian restaurant called "Ristorante Zeus." Despite being raised on Risa, Leah became a fan of Earth Italian and Mediterranean foods. Upon walking towards the entrance, she spotted Commander Hunt standing near the doors, holding a bouquet of flowers. "You look better out of uniform, Commander Hunt," Leah commented, almost regretting her wording.

"And you look even more elegant and beautiful in a dress," He paid a compliment back. "Please, either Zach or just Hunt for tonight. I've never been to this place but I've heard very good things. Oh and these are for you," He passed his bouquet of flowers over. They were a mix of red and white flowers, if anything, it went well with the dress Leah had picked.

Leah took the offered flowers. It was rather cliche but still very gentlemanly of Zach. "Thank you," she replied with a smile. "Shall we enter, Zach?"

He nodded back towards her. The restaurant had a set of old style rustic front doors from 19th century to go with the theme of the place. Hunt reached one of the doors and opened it for the lady in question.

"Thank you," she said as she entered. A elder man dressed in a black tuxedo approached the two. "Good evening, and thank you for dining at Ristorante Zeus. Allow me to escort you to your table."

Leah and Zach were escorted to a table near the back corner. "Your waitress will be here soon.". The man then moved off back towards the front of the restaurant.

After Leah was seated, she placed the flowers to the side. "I must admit that this is the first non-business dinner that I've been invited to in several years."

"Well hopefully it will make a nice change!" Hunt exclaimed. "Have you been here before? Or just a love of Italian foods?"

Leah chuckled. "I developed a love of Earth Italian and Mediterranean foods while attending Harvard Business. What are your favorite foods?"

"I must admit, maybe a little biased, but Earth foods have always been my favourite. I've tried loads of different types of foods and will always gladly try something new, but there is something...nice...about trying new things," He paused and smiled to himself as he realised how that sounded. "But Earth foods, especially Chinese. Don't know if you've ever tried Chinese food, but mmm it's delicious."

Leah made a face. "Not much of a fan for foods that involve eating raw fish...so you can imagine how much I detest that stuff Klingons call food," she chuckled.

Leah then looked up at the waitress as she approached the table. "I'll have the carbonara with Amarone wine."

"I will have a calzone. Surprise me with the filling. And just a glass of juice please," He smiled at the waitress as she walked away. "Back to where we were. You're assuming that all Chinese is eating raw fish. I will have to take you to the Sesame Oriental restaurant, they've got foods to die for. Honestly trust me, it's not all fish and most of it is delicious! Plus I won't take no for an answer," He smiled towards Leah. "So how did you get into Disney?"

"Well, I ended up being recruited by them," Leah began. "I was working for the Federation News Service in their marketing department and I happened to cross paths with them at a meeting and they made an offer I couldn't refuse, so I accepted. The rest, as you would say, is history. What about you? What made you join Starfleet?"

"Wow, that's impressive. I know they don't make offers like that to anyone. Ahhh I suppose it's a long story, but I will put it short. My mother always thought I couldn't do anything and I had the ambition behind me to prove her wrong. I loved Science so I applied for the Academy for Science and showed her what I could do. Pity she's not around anymore to see it," He said in a insincere undertone. "Now I just want to work my way up, keep improving who I am. Sometimes it means playing dirty, but you've got to do what you've got to do, right?"

Leah was impressed by Hunt as she studied the man across the table. The waitress then brought the food to the table, pouring Hunt his juice and Leah, her wine before leaving as Leah thanked her. "You are determined indeed, to succeed with such lack of support at home. I was lucky in comparison. My parents were always supportive, and constantly pushed me to do better. I learned about the basics of business and politics from watching them interacting with other Risa Council members. You have to be cut throat to get what you want in life. I especially learned that lesson in my first dealings with the Ferengi."

"Don't get me wrong though, I did have minimal support from my Father, but once I had set out to prove my Mother wrong, that was my mind set. Business has always fascinated me and if I didn't get into Starfleet, I'm sure I would have started my own business by now. Couldn't tell you what I would be selling, but I am confident it would be successful! You do indeed, I don't get how you can make it if you're not like that," Hunt said, taking a sip from his juice before getting ready to tuck into his calzone. He liked it as a surprise because even when the dish is served, you still don't know what's on the inside and that was the part he always enjoyed.

Finishing a first sip from her wine. "You fascinate me, Zach. I hadn't expected someone like you to be in Starfleet. Most of those I have met have been a little too formal, rigid. Always worrying about their duty. While it's admirable--it's still annoying as hell."

There was a pause between them whilst they took their first mouthful of food. "Sometimes I find that as well with a lot of them. Being a Marine facility as well it tends to be even worse. I do enjoy having a laugh, whereas 90% of them just aren't up for it. It does make it more fun though," Hunt took another pause. "This calzone is gorgeous. Think it's the best I've ever had!"

The comment made Leah smile after swallowing a bite of her carbonara. "I'm glad you like it. They use real ingredients here--nothing is replicated."

"You can always tell when it's real ingredients, well I think I can! You've made a great choice of restaurant for tonight. What are your plans for the rest of evening?" Hunt asked, scooping up some more calzone. He was trying not to get too enthusiastic about the food, but his taste buds were throbbing with delight. The night was going really well and the two seemed to have a lot in common so far, the food being great was a bonus.

In truth, Leah hadn't put much thought past dinner as she took her second bite. "Well, you know this station better than I. What would you suggest?"

"Well that all depends if you'll be doing something alone or with someone," He raised his brow at Leah, pausing. "Personally, I've been meaning to check the ski resort out in Tivoli Gardens. I've never been skiing and want to give it a go. I know it's completely random, but that's what I would do!"

"Well then, skiing it is. I've never been. Not much for cold weather, but I'll give it a try as I have heard many good stories about skiing," Leah agreed, taking another bite.

They finished the rest of their meal, preparing for to try skiing for the first time!

 

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