Two Person Grape Vine

Posted on 24 Jan 2014 @ 10:34pm by Lieutenant Teth Miir & Lieutenant Olsam Mott

1,098 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: SFO, Buena Vista Park
Timeline: MD 18, 1436 hours

ON:

Teth stood by a park bench, rocking anxiously on his heels, his hands buried deep in his pockets. He had asked Olsam to meet him there at 1430 hours and it was already 1436. He had always been a stickler for punctuality, but for some reason, it seemed worse this time. He had news to share. Good news, for the first time in quite a while.

An additional five minutes later, Olsam showed up in the park. He raised his hand to his eyes to block out the sun and scanned purposefully, as if there was more than one Caitian over six foot tall in the park. He waved and walked over, seeming in no particular hurry. There needed to be a fire to make the Bolian jog, a catastrophic emergency on the scale of Hobus to make him run.

"Hi, Teth! We aren't gonna play sports, are we?" Olsam asked hesitantly, eyeing a group with a frisbee.

"Of course not." Teth said with a grin, "I have good news."

Olsam seemed visibly relaxed. "Good news? Wait, don't tell me... You won the Ferengi Galactic Lottery?"

"That would be nice, but no." The Caitian said, vibrating.

"You're a Tal Shiar sleeper agent, and you need my help assassinating someone?"

Teth scowled, "That was uncalled for. But no."

"You resigned your commission and you're going to open a jumja stick stand on Risa?"

"What? No. Who would want to do that, jumja sticks are disgusting."

"Well, then I can't imagine what's so exciting. Tell me! What's the good news?"

"I decided to take your advice." he said with a grin. "I have a date tonight!I have decided to throw caution to the wind and hope to not get stabbed this time."

At first, Olsam just rolled his eyes and assumed Teth was joking with him. When the Caitian just stared at him, he gasped. "No." His eyes grew wider and he shuffled in place, resisting the urge to completely panic. "You have a date!? You have a date! Who is she? Where are you going? What are you going to wear? Can I chaperone?"

"She's a biotechnologist, we are going to see a play called 'Cats' in london. Probably my favorite gray suite and sweater vest. Absolutely not."

Olsam followed the answers with increasing levels of excitement, which seemed to leave him all the more crestfallen at the final response. "Well. Okay. I think that's a wonderful evening you've planned. Are you gonna take her to dinner? How did you meet her?" Suddenly looking very serious and concerned, Olsam frowned. "She's not one of your patients, is she?"

"I am happy to say that I have never met her before in my life, I just ran into her on a turbolift at SFH and noticed she was Caitian, we had lunch. As for the rest, I have no idea." Teth said, with a sudden transition into dread and confusion. "I don't really know if she knows it's a date. I've never really planned a date. Should I have been more clear?"

He sat down on the nearby bench, with an endless stare into nothingness.

"I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing."

Olsam was grinning like a lunatic when he sat down next to Teth. "Don't worry, she probably knows it's a date. And if not then she'll know by the end. Lucky for you, you're looking at someone with an encyclopedic knowledge of London's finest eateries." He leaned back, looking not the least bit modest. "Don't panic! If the lunch went well then the dinner will go well, too. Just don't be cheap at the restaurant, don't shout during the theater performance and don't bring up that whole stabbed in the neck thing. Doctor's orders."

"She likes eating... raw meat." Teth said, trying not to cringe. She seemed like an intelligent and interesting and very attractive woman otherwise.

"Raw meat? No problem. My cousin's husband's sister-in-law manages the city's finest Bolian restaurant in Knightsbridge, and if there's anything we Bolians know best it's raw meat," Olsam said, reaching to unclip his PADD from his belt. "I'll call and make a reservation for you; you'll get preferred seating and everything. Not to mention the best raw meat in the entirety of Europe." Olsam looked up from the PADD. "Don't worry, they have other stuff, too. What time should I say?"

"Well, I am not entirely sure. The showing begins at 0130 local time. Maybe we should forgo dinner? I wonder what shift she is used to working and what time she even eats. I don't even know if she'll be hungry. I think I might prefer just seeing where the evening takes us."

"Okay, okay, good idea," Olsam said, nodding. "Keep it simple, let the date flow, don't get too worked up about it... I'll just let them know that you might be stopping by. Are you sure I don't need to come along? I'm good at conversation! And I like cats. I probably like plays about cats, too."

"I appreciate the offer, but I decline." the Caitian replied diplomatically.

"I read a summary of the play. Amusingly enough, there is a very old Caitian play involving intelligent, anthropomorphic apes. I find the similarities in so many cultures to be remarkable at times."

"On Bolarus we have a play about the seventy-two different ways go prepare gorluks," Olsam replied, wanting to add to the conversation but not entirely catching the theme. He took a brief moment to not only observe the trees and others in the park but also to reflect upon his favorite ways to prepare gorluks. When he spoke it was sudden. "I think you're going to have a lot of fun on your date. You're very good at holding a conversation, and I think you're quite handsome, too. Will you let me know how it goes?"

Teth quirked an ear at the doctors complementary remarks. Flattery was hardly something he was used to.

"I will let you know, for better or for worse." he said solemnly as he gave Olsam a brief hug.

"Wish me luck, doctor."

"Of course, good luck. And by all means, let me know if you need help. Even in the middle of the date. I'm like an emergency medical technician...of love," Olsam said, grinning as he embraced his friend before departing.

Teth laughed as he walked away, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

OFF:


Lt. JG Teth Miir
Counselor
USS Galileo

&

Lt. JG Olsam Mott, M.D.
Assistant Chief of Medicine
USS Galileo

RSS Feed