Dinner Conversations

Posted on 19 Apr 2012 @ 12:35am by Lieutenant Commander Chauncey Remington III (KIA) & Tarishiana Barel

3,266 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: Deck 2 - Quarters
Timeline: MD2: 1900 hours

Will decided he should probably dress nicely, since Tarishiana said she would. Forgoing his dress uniform, he instead put on a a suit made in the latest Betazoid fashion. It was all in black and dark red, but not too formal. Donning it quickly as 1900 hours approached, he made his way into the sitting area of his room where a table was set out with two places. A tall bottle of vulcan port stood in the center. He went up to the replicator and called up the menu he had made earlier.

Tarishiana had been looking forward to dinner with Will since she had parted with John after their sparring match. Between Markum, John, and Will she had quite the busy schedule and she loved every minute of it.

She had been excited to pull out some of her more fashionable dresses. Over the last few years she had been relegated to her dress uniform and her casual dress. The purple gown she wore this evening was delicately embroidered with silver thread. It accented her chestnut hair as he hung around her shoulders. It was strapless and flowed around her as she moved though the corridor to Will's apartment.

When the door chimed, Will glanced over his shoulder towards teh door. "Enter."

The door opened revealing the insides of Will's quarters to Tarishiana. It also revealed the attractively dressed Operations Chief. "My, my isn't someone looking dapper this evening."

"Just this evening?" he replied easily, giving her a sly wink. He gestured for her to enter. "Have a seat, Tarishiana," he requested, going back to the replicator as the food he'd ordered mad its appearance. "Chicken cordon bleu all right? It's an earth food, maybe you had it at the..." he stopped, remembering she was an warrant officer, "uh, sorry, not the Academy."

"You are right..." She started as she moved into his quarters. "Dashing seems to be a normal state for you." She smiled as she took a seat at the dining room table. "I actually know how to make chicken cordon bleu." She grinned as she watched her host retrieve their meal. "It is one of my favorites." She was used to the academy slip. Most officers she had met, most people for that matter, linked experiences to what they knew. "No academy for me...only boot camp and advanced training for me."

"Well, I shall have to hope you're a worse cook than my replicator." He laughed and set a plate in each of their spots. "But if not, there's always vulcan port." He picked up the bottle. "I think this occasion warrants it. My captain gave me a case once. Fortunately the bottles are tall, I've half a bottle here; enough for one evening."

"I have survived the last thirteen years of my life living on replicator food." Tarishiana said with a smile as she picked up her fork. "I do not often taste a difference." She took a bite of the food that sat in front of her. It was delicious. She let out a satisfied hum as she raised her napkin to wipe her lips. "Thank you." She said simply with a twinkle in her eye.

He nodded to her and sat down. Picking up his utensils, he finished a few bites before re-initiating the conversation. "What do you think of our mission?"

"A bit of a headache to be honest." Tarishiana said with a smile. "I have done more reading in the last day then I think I have done in years." She finished with a laugh. "How about you?" She asked as she took another bite of her food.

"The usual for me," he replied, "just running around the starbase hooking up new systems and stuff. Nothing an operations officer wouldn't do for any other mission. At least you will get a chance to try out the new sensor boost. I guarantee we have the best sensors of any Nova-class now."

Tarishiana nodded as she listened to Will's response. She couldn't help but grin at the reference to her sensors. She was excited to get a chance to use them when they approached the nebula. She may have been a linguist but that didn't change the fact that she was also a scientist.

"Anyways, I don't think much will happen on this mission. The Klingons are our allies, and they are honorable. It's not as if they would attack us. An obscure research project isn't enough to make them go to war... is it?"

"It has been my experience to never underestimate the Klingons." Tarishiana started seriously. She took a sip from her glass before gently placing it back on the table. "I sure hope you are right." She gave him a little wink along with her grin.

Will smiled back at her. "So do I." He went back to his dinner, watching her across the table. "What do you think of the captain?"

"Seems like she has a good head on her shoulders." Tarishiana said with a grin. "I have only dealt with her once outside of normal duty so I don't have much to go on." She took bite of her chicken chewing thoroughly before continuing. "I am hoping this being a science vessel and all that I will get to know her better."

"Oh, I'm sure you will," he replied. "This is a small ship. You'll get to know many people I should think, eh? I hope she will... work out." He gave her a semi-apologetic smile, "With Starfleet and Orions and all...?"

Tarishiana gave Will a simple grin as she finished her meal. She cocked her head to the side slightly puzzled by what he meant. "I don't think I know what you mean?" She took a sip from her glass. "What does her species have to do with it?" She was genuinely curious. Being an enlisted officer she didn't have much experience with the politics involved with the Command staff.

"Orions are rarely found in Starfleet," he replied, setting his fork aside. "She will have opposition from the brass. The Orion Syndicate is no friend of the Federation. Captain Saalm is walking a fine line."

"I guess that makes sense." Tarishiana looked down at her plate. No matter how far the Federation came it still seemed that stereotypes were used as profile flags. It was a bit disheartening for a non-human. She shook off her thoughts with a practiced grin, "Any ways...how is your son doing?" She tried her best to pick a topic as far from work as possible.

The question obviously surprised him. he gave her a curious look, raising on eyebrow at her in a quirky fashion. "He's quite all right, I'm sure," he said, "at least he was when I was on Betazed and I'd have heard if something were the matter."

"Noted." Tarishiana said with a grin and a nod. No news is good news. She took a sip from her glass, letting it pause near her lips as she thought about what to talk about now. She finally let out a sigh, "I am not sure what else to talk about besides work...and I hate that subject at dinner." She finished with a smile.

Will blinked and his eyes refocused on her. "Oh, sorry," he said with a smile, "I'm not being much of a dinner companion tonight. You're finished?" he gestured to her place, standing and reaching a hand out to take it if she had finished. "I thought you might like uttaberry crepes for dessert, a classic?"

"I'd love some." Tarishiana said with a grin and a nod. She watch Will move about the table and felt a little guilty. "You are lovely company." She started, "Is everything alright?"

He took their dishes back to the replicator for recycling. "I sort of felt guilty for... something," she would be sure to detect a twinge of embarrassment in his emotions as he mentioned it, "and invited Warrant Officer Peers over for a glass of port to make it up to her. I'd already opened the bottle on Betazed and there was plenty in it still. Have you met her?"

Tarishiana could feel the embarrassment that was emitting from her host as he spoke. She wasn't one to push if he wanted to explain more then he would, but she was going to make sure he knew she was open to listening. "Uh, No I haven't...not yet." She spoke before taking another sip of her drink. "You don't have to talk about if you don't want too." She offered, "But, did she take you up on your peace offering?"

"Yes, she did," he replied as the crepes materialized. He picked them up and moved back to the table with them, setting one down before his guest and the other in his place. "A pleasant girl. The matter wasn't important though. There was... something in the replicator coffee. It's fixed now. Ah," he smiled, "no work off-duty, right. Tell me what you do in your spare time, Tarishiana."

"Well, I hope our dinner didn't force you to rush." Tarishiana said with a smile. "We could have rescheduled."

"Oh no," he replied, "this was yesterday."

She let the topic drop. "I enjoy learning new languages...which luckily for me is also my job." She laughed slightly, "I enjoy Terran weaponry...the older stuff like swords and asps and sai...but I tend to only use them in the holodeck with the sparring programs." She retrieved her fork and took a bite. Her eyes closed as the sweet confection hit the spot.

"Not much use against phasers," he mused with a smile, lifting a bite of his own crepe with his fork. "I never tried fencing or anything like that. Though I played parises squares..."

"You have the build for fencing." Tarishiana said simply as she looked over Will casually. "You are right it doesn't do much good against energy weapons...but I kick ass against a holo-program." She gave him a grin.

He laughed, placing a hand on his chest. "What? Do I? Perhaps I'll try it sometime." he took a bite of his crepe and chewed it thoughtfully, washing it down with a sip of the port. "I have to keep myself in shape of course, Starfleet regulation and all." He gave her a bit of a sly look from over the rim of his glass. "Thanks for noticing."

Tarishiana let out a light laugh. "If you ever want to learn I am a decent teacher." She grinned he did have the right shaped frame and his physique was ideal for the sport. She took a sip of her drink, "Your welcome." she responded to his approval.

He inclined his head slightly at her, setting his glass down and picking up his fork again to finish off his crepe. "So, you fence?" he said after a moment's hesitation, "What else do you do on the holodeck? I took a holodeck programming course at the Academy, part of the whole operations gig, you know."

Tarishiana took another sip before setting the glass back on the table as she nodded, "Yes I fence." She grinned, "I have a few programs that I created...I am pretty good with the holographic matrix the holodecks uses from my time spent in operations when I first enlisted." She paused for a moment. "Most of them are sparring of some sort with the option of holographic opponents...but they are much more fun with a partner."

"You didn't tell me you were in operations," he said, putting his fork down and setting his plate aside so he could rest an arm on the edge of the table. "What did you do and how did you end up a scientist?"

Tarishiana laughed lightly, "Enlisting is different then being in the academy." She began, "You learn from hands on experience. You basically spend time training in every department until you find something you excel at. I personally thought it was operations until one day when I had to work on the universal translator matrix with a linguistic on one of my previous postings." She let out a little sigh as she remembered the incident, "I have always had a fascination for languages and I picked them up quickly, but I never thought of myself as a scientist...until that moment."

"You are a linguist, then," he said with a smile. "I see." When she was finished with her crepe, he picked up their plates and brought them to the replicator, chatting all the while. "I don't know that i would be much use anywhere besides Operations. I've done engineering work, but not as well as operations. Organizing is much easier than fixing." As the leftovers dematerialized, he turned back towards her and gestured to his small couch, curving around a glass coffee table. "Shall we sit more comfortably?"

Tarishiana gave a simple nod as she rose from her chair and followed him into the living room area. She took a seat making sure to keep some distance between her and Will. Despite her flirty nature she was quite smitten with Quinn and after the events of last night and this morning she was almost anxious to get back to him. She smiled up at her host, "Thank you for a lovely meal...I have enjoyed it quite a bit."

Remington looked at her as he sat down and gave her a quirky smile. "Thank you for joining me," he replied. "Did I tell you I liked your dress?" He set his glass down on the coffee table and leaned back in his spot. "I rather enjoyed the opportunity to wear my civies."

"You didn't say but I knew you approved." Tarishiana started with a grin using her first two fingers to tap the side of her head softly. "I do relish not being in uniform. Granted I do enjoy the dress uniforms...but then again it might just be the party I have to wear them too that I enjoy."

He smiled. Of course she knew what he thought. "Oh, I daresay I enjoy both," was his reply to her words. Pausing a moment, he gathered his thoughts and continued. "I'd like if you told me more about yourself, Tarishiana."

"What would you like to know?" Tarishiana began. As much as she was enjoying the telepathic communication with Kes and Markum it was still nice to be able to keep your thoughts to yourself occasionally. "I have been in Starfleet since I was eighteen. Moved around various department until I found my calling in science." She looked over at Will. "This would really be easier if you were a bit more specific." She grinned, they had discussed their various relationship status after the party, granted some things had changed since then.

"All right," WIll smiled. "Tell me about your first assignment? I told you about the Battle of Betazed... what were you doing when you started?"

"I was eighteen when I enlisted." Tarishiana started as she thought over her past. "I was originally assigned to Operations and Engineering." She cleared her throat slightly, "I spent...uh...about the first three years in Ops before I was assigned to work with a xeno-linguistic to work on the universal translator...that is when I fell in love with languages and discovered my skill for them."

Will chuckled. "You said you joined after the Dominion War, didn't you?"

"Yes...I was fourteen at the end of the Dominion War." Tarishiana started simply, "I didn't enlist in Starfleet until I was eighteen." She smiled and look over at Will, "I assume with your history with Betazed that you have been around for a while...well that and your rank." She smiled, "What is your story?"

"Oh, well, not much older than you," he replied, "The Dominion War started when I was a cadet. I received a wartime commission and was shipped off to fight with the Galaxy. And the rest is history," he smiled at her, "literally." He gave a sigh and leaned over, setting his wine glass on the table. "I daresay it will be rather nice to serve on a science vessel for once. It's something new for me."

Tarishiana nodded as she listened to Will speak. She did her best to pay attention but after the day she had had she was fighting back a yawn. Her thoughts always trailed off to Markum. Despite the lovely company she couldn't wait to get back to him. It was an odd sensation. "I look forward to it personally...but then again I haven't be on a ship where my department got more then a third of a storage bay in lab space." She grinned as she yawn finally took over. "Oh my excuse me." She ginned up at Will, "I believe that might be my cue to call it a night."

"Something's on your mind?" he asked her all of a sudden, having caught that last, distracted look as she'd given. Living among Betazoids had made him sensitive to emotions, though few would guess it from his casual, sometimes oblivious attitude. He'd had to compensate for his lack of empathic powers, of course, by being attentive.

Tarishiana raised an eyebrow, "Something...no." She started teasingly. "Someone...yes." She paused for a moment. "You are not the only one to have had an odd encounter since we scheduled this dinner." She gave him antoher smile. She didn't really want to tell the world of her and Markum. It wasn't that she had reservations by any means. More a privacy thing.

"Someone?" he asked, raising his brow at her. It was clear his curiosity was piqued. "Your betrothed on Betazed? Have you found a resolution with him?"

"No resolution as of yet." Tarishiana answered honestly. "Simply a member of the crew that I met earlier. We had a lovely dinner last night and I look forward to seeing him again." She added very nonchalant.

"Well, then," he replied with a smile, "I'm quite happy for you." He was still burning with curiosity, but sensing that she wished to keep her secret to herself, something he found decidedly un-betazoid of her, he did not press her further. "I shan't keep you." He mentally ran through the list of senior officers. The best he could guess was Hilyer. "I hope you have a good night then."

"You as well Will." Tarishiana replied as she leaned over and planted a light kiss on his cheek. She moved to rise from the couch. "I enjoy your friendship...I hope the feeling is mutual." She grinned back at him. It was an honest statement. There was something about Will that made her glad to have made his acquaintance and she hoped to one day be counted as a friend.

"Of course it is," he replied with ready earnestness. He stood up as she did to move towards the door and walked with her. "I hope we'll be able to do this sort of thing again. Perhaps make some visits to the holodeck?"

"I look forward to it." Tarishiana said with a large grin as she took a step outside of Will's quarters. "Good evening Will and thank you again for dinner." With a nod of her head she headed back towards her quarters. She had had a lovely evening with Commander Remmington but couldn't wait to see Markum again.

[OFF]

Lt. Cmdr. Chauncey William Remington III
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

Master Warrant Officer Tarishiana Barel
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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