Chestnuts Roasting on A Holographic Fire...

Posted on Tue 26th Dec, 2017 @ 3:15am by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Commander Mikaela Locke & Lieutenant Commander Alora Baro & Lieutenant Anjohl Gaden MD
Edited on on Tue 26th Dec, 2017 @ 3:22am

1,905 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: A Phaser as Deadly as a Candlestick
Location: Orchids and Jazz
Timeline: Christmas Day - Mid-Afternoon

Mikaela looked around at the throng of people relaxing, drinking, chatting and generally enjoying themselves. Some were dressed in a relaxed fashion - in 'civvies' - while others, like herself, were 'technically' still on duty and so had attended in uniform, but it didn't seem to spoil the ambiance. Jade had, of course, done an amazing job of decorating the club, and she made a mental note to thank her before the end of the afternoon.

She took a deep breath: she had wanted Drake to do this part, but he had insisted that, since the party was her idea, she should be the one to start the proceedings.

"If I could have your attention, please?" she said, trying in vain to make herself heard over the frivolity. Realising that no one could hear her, she stood on a chair and repeated the request with both increased volume and intensity.

The din died down as slowly, but surely, everyone turned around to give her their attention and suddenly, she felt incredibly exposed - standing on a chair in the middle of the club. She stepped down before addressing the crowd:

"As many of you know, Christmas is an old Earth tradition. It began as a religious festival and, while some still observe it that way, many saw it simply as a winter festival - an ideal time to spend with family and friends and to exchange gifts. It's a time characterized by peace and goodwill. Given everything that's happened recently," she continued, slightly soberly, "I figured we could all use some peace and goodwill right about now." There were nods from around the room.

Chlamydia Addams snorted, almost silently, at the assertion that Christmas was characterized by peace and goodwill. It was not accidental, she thought, that the traditional colors of Christmas were those of rage and envy. Axial tilt is the reason for the season she thought wryly but kept her thoughts to herself.

"You've each brought a gift," Mikaela continued, brighter now, "But who will receive it is a mystery that will be solved by chance."

She produced a soft, red hat with white furry lining and a large white bobble on the end. "Colonel," she held out the hat to Drake, "would you care to take first pick?"

Chlamydia looked at Drake's vacant expression, the trail of drool down his chin, and the nearly-empty bottle of eggnog in his hand. "Goodness," she said. "I do believe the Colonel is feeling the spirits of the holiday. How much rum did you put in there, Ms. Lantz?" As a chuckle ran around the group, Addams stood. "Here, Commander... why don't you let me draw first?"

Mikaela took another look at Drake and shook her head in mock-disbelief. "I think that might be a good idea," she said, holding out the bag towards the dark-haired doctor. "Please..."

Addams made a show of covering her eyes with one hand while striking a dramatic pose to dip into the hat and select a piece of paper. She unfolded it and read, "Chlamydia Addams." She looked up, and laughed. "Well," she said, "I was drawing for the Colonel, so...." She leaned over and picked up the package Drake had brought. "Let's see what he got me, shall we?"

The question was clearly rhetorical, as she was already ripping into the eagle-marked paper. "It's knitted," she said, looking perplexed and pulling out a cable-knit sweater in Marine Green. "Oh, my!" She shook out the garment and turned it around, revealing that, except for the cowlneck and a thin strip at the bottom, the sweater was entirely backless and sleeveless. "Commander Locke, I think this was meant for you!"

Mikaela looked at the 'sweater' that Doctor Addams was holding before her. She arched an eyebrow. "Yeah..." she said slowly, not quite sure what to make of it. "I'm not wearing that." The disdain in her eyes turned to mischievousness, "But if it's your thing, Chlamydia, then you absolutely go for it. I can't wait to see the Colonel's face when he sees you in it."

Chlamydia quirked an eyebrow, then pulled the sweater on directly over the simple black shift dress and tights she was already wearing. "I feel warmer already."

Ischemia swallowed a snicker. "Curves," she said dryly. "The only subject, sweet sister, in which you ever received an A minus."

As those gathered around laughed, Mikaela turned to Paul Graves, standing just off to her right. "I'm not sure the Colonel had a complete grasp of the rules, when he brought this 'gift' down," she observed. "Imagine if he'd've picked Eberstark?!"

Paul took one look at Andrew Eberstark and doubled over laughing, imagining him in the backless sweater.

"Now, now," Chlamydia chidded gently. "I'm sure Mr. Eberstark has a very attractive back." Returning focus to the gift exchange, Addams pulled another name from the hat. "Jasmine Collins," she read out. She turned to her seat and picked up a box wrapped in matte black paper and tied with a metallic golden ribbon. "Dr. Graves," she said, handing over the package.

"Dr. Addams," Paul said with a smile. "I'm a quite sure that, whatever this is, it will be unique." He untied the gold ribbon, prised the paper loose, and opened the box. "Oh, I was right! Where in the world did you find an Edgar Allan Poe tea gift set? This is marvelous! I look forward to drinking some tonight. Thank you!"

Addams dipped a curtsey, pulling the hem of the sweater out as she dipped gracefully.

Paul eyed his own wrapped gift uncertainly. He had almost not come because the Earth custom of giving gifts to random people bothered him. Betazoids never gave random gifts; they chose gifts carefully, to suit the recipient.

Drawing a name from the velvety red hat, the counselor announced, "Ischemia Addams!" and waited for her to come forward. When she did, he handed her a flat, rectangular package wrapped in red foil paper, tied with green ribbon, and decorated with a sprig of holly.

"Oh, for me!" Ischemia exclaimed with a grin. "Thank you!" She looked at the flat package carefully. "I'm going to presume it is not a sweater to match my sister's!"

Paul laughed at that. "It is most definitely not!"

She shook the package gently and then undid the bow and holly, setting them aside. She slid her thumb along the opening seam and pulled off the paper. Pulling off the lid, she found a small, but lovely, painting. It depicted a night sky, though there were not enough details that were clearly a particular sky. Far below the stars was a beach with two moonlit streams meeting at a far point on the water, and a lone figure standing on the beach. It evoked both feelings of loneliness and feelings of peace.

"This is truly lovely," Ischemia said with great seriousness. "I'm buying a house soon, and this is going to hang right in the entry, to provide a point of interest to those who visit. Thank you."

"You are very welcome," Paul said. "I'm pleased that it went to someone who genuinely appreciates it."

Gaden had heard about the traditional holiday during his time at the Academy. He wasn't by any means a Christian, he was, however, a spiritual man and respected other traditions. The idea of a Messiah, a Son of a God (a concept he didn't quite grasp) being born in a manger, fascinated him. He wasn't sure how much was history and how much was tradition, but the story was still intriguing. His gift, meticulously wrapped was in his hand.

Maybe I'll get through the rest of this evening without fainting, Paul thought. Paul glanced at Lt. Baro, who stood next to him. "Do your people have any kind of winter holidays? I'm not as familiar with Bajoran customs as I should be."

Alora glanced at Paul, thought about it for a moment and leaned over to speak quietly to him, "Not like this no, we do have the Peldor or 'Gratitude' festival. Bateret leaves are traditionally burned, and we write our problems on renewal scrolls which we'd burn so that our troubles symbolically turned to ashes and smoke..." She did a hand gesture to indicate 'poof gone'. "And we are thankful for what we have, focus on the positive as it were."

"That seems a very sensible and beautiful ritual to perform as a way of not allowing your troubles to have power over you," Paul said. "I like it."

Alora smiled and started to reply but was distracted by the next person calling up to the front.

"Me next!" called Caroline, holding up a box that was about a foot cube. It was wrapped in shiny silver paper and wrapped with a white bow. "This thing is getting heavy!" She reached into the hat and pulled out ... "Lieutenant Baro! Come on up here, Lieutenant and claim your present!"

Alora with a smile stepped forward and taking the box carefully said, "Thank You" She said to Caroline, "Do I read one now or go back?" She asked quietly unsure of the etiquette.

"Oh, definitely, choose someone to give your present to. Let's keep this party rollin'!" Caroline replied, and was cheered by several people close by.

Alora smiled, and shifted her own package into one hand and put her other hand in the hat to draw out another name, "Lt. Eberstark!" She called and pulled out an oblong package from the pile, looking for him to hand it out.

As others drew names and passed out presents, Mikaela left the hat in the care of Chlamydia Addams and excused herself from the main group in order to seek out Jade.

"I wanted to thank you," she said, finally catching up with her at the bar. "You've done an amazing job for us."

"I'm so glad you are pleased. It's sometimes difficult to merge so many customs, but for this, I simply went with what I know about Christmas, from a family who really embodied it. I think it was a great idea to help the senior staff get to know each other. Nothing does that better than receiving a gift, I think." Jade smiled.

"Too bad the Colonel is so out of it, but ... he does have a lot to deal with right now. Maybe he will awaken, not only with a headache, but also some relief of other tensions." She touched the XO's arm lightly. "You are an excellent stand-in, and should have your own command one day. Now, would you care to try one of my favorite holiday drinks?"

Mikaela looked at the club-owner and recalled again how, in her first tenure on the station, she was one of the few people she had considered a friend. Her unfailing kindness had broken through even her cynicism and mistrust. And here she was again embodying what Mikaela understood to be the Christmas spirit - faith and hope and joy. She turned and looked at the rest of the party, going about their celebrations merrily without her and decided that she had done enough for one afternoon. She planted herself on top a bar stool, and looked at back at Jade - her face a picture of genuine contentment.

"I'd love to."

 

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