Dinner, an Oddly Successful Recon, and a Meeting

Posted on Thu 19th Apr, 2018 @ 1:02pm by Captain Ranulf MacBain
Edited on on Thu 19th Apr, 2018 @ 1:21pm

2,081 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Brushfires
Location: Orchids & Jazz
Timeline: MD6 1735hrs

Ranulf sat in the seat at the club waiting to see if Jenna actually did return. He had made a complete fool of himself, and she still wanted to talk to him. He was chalking this one up to Flavia, because evidently she knew things he did not. A few people he had met recommended this location, and none had said anything bad about the place. He watched the people moving about, he rarely got bored as there was always something going on.

As Jenna left the kitchen with her hands full, she called out to the manager, "Clock me out for my break, please."

It had actually been more like eight minutes than the few Jenna had promised, but she did weave between people to set his dinner plate, Coke and a second smaller plate with a large slice of carrot cake, thick with cream cheese frosting, in front of her customer. Then she set herself down across from him.

"The cake is my treat, because you really don't want to miss this. So, shall we start over?" She smiled at him and offered her hand across the table. "Hi, I'm Jenna Clark. I'm a server at Orchids & Jazz."

Ranulf accepted her hand in a firm but respectful manner "Nice to meet you Jenna. I am Ranulf MacBain, I just arrived here a few days ago. I am a marine fighter pilot. I thank you kindly for the dessert, I would be pleased if you would share it with me." He smiled "I guess you want an explanation?"

"No, just the dessert will be fine," Jenna laughed. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist that. Really, though, you have nothing to explain. You're new here on Starbase 109. Why don't you tell me what brought you here ... other than the desire to fly, of course. In my experience, that's all the reason a pilot needs to go anywhere."

Ranulf smiled nodding, "There is a lot of truth in that, guys like me can be happy anywhere. As long as we can get out in the black and race around looking for trouble." He made eye contact, it was hard to hold though because her cute few freckles were distracting. "I am here because of orders though, not really by choice. I was on an exploration ship for a long time. There were just two fighters on the ship, our main thing was to escort shuttles mostly. I saw some really amazing nebulae, though. It was fun flying too, lot of turbulence and things we seldom ever have to deal with."

He had looked to his food as he talked and was cutting his meat into bite size chunks. "I am guessing the people who make the decisions felt I had been out on my own long enough. It has been quite a shock going from a small ship to a very large base. I am here. though, and I knew no one the day I arrived. So I am out and about learning what my environment is like here."

He gazed up into her face a bit shy, "I am a guy, and I like the company of women. So having a Lady to check out the base with is why I came here." He laughed, "I think you would even admit discovering a new place is more fun if you have someone to share it with. I am not even asking for a kiss or anything like that. I just want someone next to me to point something out to and know her name."

He began eating, he was never very good at making friends, he was really thinking coming here had been a mistake. He could just hear Flavia giving him a hard time about being such a lame duck and embarrassing her.

Jenna was half-way charmed by his almost shy modesty, and half-way not sure if she could take him at face value. However, she never made snap judgments, so she thought she'd stick with him a while and see what happened. "As it happens, I do know how nice friends are. I have a few, men and women, but no one special. I've been here since Orchids & Jazz opened. Actually, I came here with Jade from her last location - last three locations, I probably ought to say. I like being on a base more than being on a ship, and this is a particularly good base. Maybe it's because it's on the edge of everything, people are friendly and stick together."

She was thoughtful for a minute. "I think the most trouble we've had was a few months ago when they were trying that Cardassian for war crimes on Bajor. They took him to a neutral court, and the Bajorans were pretty upset, since they felt the victims had the right to try and judge him. It was noisy, but no one was hurt. That's the kind of place it is. You didn't come in on Samurai, did you?"

"No, I just arrived a few days ago, flew in alone from a passing patrol ship. I heard there was some trouble, but most seem unwilling to talk much about it. I have a feeling it is not a subject to push. Once I am cleared for duty, I will be leading the 'BlackKnight' squadron patrolling the space around the base." He smiled, "I hope that helps you sleep better at night knowing I am out there making this base safer!" Ranulf had heard reference to Samurai a few times now, but no one really said much more than the name."

"I don't know a lot, but I know some," Clark confided. "A lot of people pass through this restaurant, and talk about a lot of things. With us, I mean, I'd never repeat something confidential that I overheard!

"Samurai was attacked by pirates when they answered a distress call. They limped in here with 1/3 of the crew dead and a lot of wounded. Limped being the term. The primary bridge ... well, I think you might still be able to see it. It's going to take a long time to make it right. Oh, in fact, our new base commander was captain of Samurai! I take comfort from the fact that she did get her ship here after whatever happened out there. I'm rather glad you weren't on that one!"

He nodded, understanding what she meant, but deep inside, he wished just the opposite. He was aching to prove his prowess in space combat. A top gunner and best pilot in his academy class, he had been awarded advanced tactical training reserved for the best of the best. After that he had spent three years nurse-maiding shuttles as they took readings of Nebulae. He had managed some really tricky piloting, been lost a time or two, and he knew he was no coward, before he ever became a pilot. Still he was now someplace he could see action and was still missing out.

"So many killed, it was a Sovereign class, I believe. The pirates must have a sizeable force to do such damage to such a ship." His face was neutral, which was the best he could do to hide his disappointment. He decided to change the subject, as talking about the dead did not seem very pleasant.

"Jenna, do you spend much time on the holodecks here, is there a day or time they seem less used?" Coming from a ship, the holodecks were the form of entertainment other than just working out. On the ships he was on, even the weekly movie night was in a holodeck.

"Not really. There's so much to do here. I know it isn't a whole planet, but there is a lot area to cover. Tivoli Gardens, alone, could take days, and most of the time I want to repeat the same things. There are even a couple of stadiums down there, and we had a huge tetraball playoff during Unity Days.

"Then there are 100 decks of shopping and entertainment in the Promenade. We have movies of both the old film kind and holovids, museums, concert halls, live theater, most of what you'd find on any advanced planet. Plus," she shrugged, "I tend to spend a lot of time at home or in the arboretum, because they are peaceful, and I do like my own company. What do you like to do in the holodeck that's more exciting than that," she smiled.

He shrugged "I train and work on my reflexes. I spend most of my time alone, I am not really a people person." He made eye contact successfully this time. "As you may have noticed. I never know what to say to people. In fact, Flavia suggested I meet you because I mentioned stopping by her shop, to ask which flowers would be right if I met someone to hang out with."

He finished his plate and put his utensils on it. He realized he had named his source and groaned, "Please don''t be upset with Mrs. Smith. She only told me, because she was confident I would behave as a gentlemen. She had no idea I was this bad at meeting people. See, she needed help with a crate, so I just offered to help. I had a reason to talk and something I could do." He sighed, "I am guessing I used up your break time. I am done eating, everything was excellent, but I guess I should go. Do I just pay the check on the way out?"

"I'd never be upset with Flavia. She has good taste. Here." Jenna passed her order PADD to him. "Just a thumbprint on the bottom, and the funds are automatically deducted from your account. Then there's just one more thing you have to do."

"I am glad, she seemed like a nice person." Ranulf added the tip in before he put his thumbprint at the bottom. His expression curious. "I added the tip on the line for it, it was added to the tab. What else would I need?" He hesitated, trying to think, tilting his head.

"Should I tell Velasquez he can relax?" Ranulf chuckled, "He seemed worried about me. Sure I can tell him on the way out. I liked him, you have nice friends, Jenna." He stood, bowing slightly. "It was nice meeting you, sorry I was so clumsy, just the way I am."

Jenna stood, too. It really was time to get back to work; she'd taken her break and her dinnertime, too. She said, appearing far more serious than she felt, "No, that's not it. You don't have to tell Reon anything. Let him stew." The she smiled just slightly. "Just for the record, this is the part where you let me know when I'll see you next. In other words, you actually ask me on a date."

Ranulf eyes popped and his jaw dropped. He snapped his jaw back up "Really?" He swallowed hard and his eyes were drawn to her few freckles once more. "Ahh, sure. I, aww, When are you free? You could show me some of the gardens. I am not flying tomorrow, I fly two days then a day off. So I flew yesterday and this morning." He smiled realizing he had a time, "What time tomorrow might you be free. I can dance if you like to dance!"

Laughing, Jenna said, "Why don't we make an afternoon of it in Tivoli Gardens? I'll meet you at noon on the Paddle Wheeler Dock on the River Walk. That's deck 1554." She turned away, still smiling, then turned back, walking backwards, to say, "Don't be late!"

"Deck 1554, River walk, paddle wheeler dock. Got it, I will be there at noon." He waved, his smile confused but friendly. He walked out and stopped next to Velasquez.

"Can you believe that, she is willing to spend the afternoon showing me those Tivoli Gardens?" He looked confused again. "She said to meet her at the paddle wheeler docks. The operations chief told me she lived on a farm, and now, Jenna is saying about a paddle wheeler? This place must be even bigger than it looks from the outside. Anyway, I think you can rest easy as we will be in public the whole time we are together."

Ranulf walked away rather pleased, as this was a much better outcome than he expected.

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