Posted by Ensign Juliet Anders (Security Officer / RTF) in Side sim - ((during YEAR OF HELL)) Dinner for two (Mackenzie)

Posted by Captain Conrad Mackenzie (Commanding Officer) in Side sim - ((during YEAR OF HELL)) Dinner for two (Mackenzie)

Posted by Ensign Juliet Anders (Security Officer / RTF) in Side sim - ((during YEAR OF HELL)) Dinner for two (Mackenzie)

SNIP

Conrad chuckled kindly at Jules’ embarrassed blushing. “I don’t mind if you were take a peek at my thoughts. I like to think that what you see is what you get. If I were to be upset about something or someone you wouldn’t need to read my mind to know it. Which is also true if I like someone or a situation, though diplomatically I’ve had to learn decorum. Can’t exactly gush over a job well done on the bridge when you’re in a call with Romulans or Klingons.” He leaned back in his seat and thought over her question. “I imagine I’m going to be doing a lot of reading, broken up with some trips to the gym to keep from getting fat or sloppy. I know I’m not exactly old for a Captain in Starfleet but I find maintaining a physique ready for anything is getting harder as I get older. My metabolism isn’t what it once was.”

CO Mackenzie

Juliet smiled and cocked her head to the side. “Reading and working out, huh? I fear my literary collection is rather small. And most of that is tactical. But if it’s a partner you ever want to have, instead of a holo or bag, lemme know. I’m happy to work out with you. No idea what my schedule will be like. I haven’t actually officially checked in, yet, either. But I am sure I will be available in mornings or evenings if you wish. Otherwise, I can suggest a couple others on the ship you might enjoy as partners, if you are comfortable with me.” She wasn’t sure why he wouldn’t be. But something in her gut told her that getting tangled with him, as she had in her dreams one night in the shuttle, wasn’t happening. So better to not appear as eager as she knew she was.

Glancing at her glass, she sat up and lifted it towards him with a grin. “Any of that wine left?”

Juliet
RTF/Security

“I can’t say I’m interested in getting to know all that many people on the ship. I saw how insular some were when we boarded and it was made clear that I can’t just wander about as I please. Which is fine with me as I’m just here to pass through.” Conrad’s smile had a twinge of sadness to it, but it left as quickly as it came. “I would be delighted to spar with you and get put through my paces. I’m sure you’ve got me beat on technique hands down, so I’ll have to step up with stamina and power.”

He leaned forward to pick up the wine bottle to give it a quick shake. “Should be just enough.” He said as he filled her glass half way and then emptied the rest into his own.

CO Mackenzie

Juliet nodded thanks for the wine and laughed. “I think you’re giving me more credit than I deserve. And I’m sorry you’ve already felt that tension towards outsiders already. It’s nothing personal, really. Just that this crew is aware they’re ‘expendable’. So they’ve learned to be a well oiled machine capable of surviving on their own.” She sighed, still leaving in her elbow on the table as she looked at her glass. “Outsiders are unknowns. And, unfortunately, we’re both in that boat. While they know what I’m capable of push comes to shove, they don’t know that about you.”

She looked up, smiling softly. “Are you a pampered brass chest who couldn’t find the door to his own quarters if lights went out? Someone needs not just rescuing, but escorting and babying as well? Or are you worse? A gung-ho militant who’s gonna expect everyone to duck-n-cover and run while you handle everything single handedly? They deal with anomalies and have learned to be cautious till they know what they’re dealing with. And right now… you’re an anomaly.”

She leaned back and took a sip of her wine as she shrugged. “I’m an anomaly as well. No one truly knows anything about me except I’ve been demoted, disgraced, shunned and left the ship. Now I’m back. So we’re in the same boat, I guess.”

Juliet
RTF

Conrad mused over Jewel’s words. “I understand to an extent why the crew is wary of me. I don’t mind. I find that I’ve never had that luxury though. I can’t be guarded against someone right off the bat because they’re new and unknown. I’d spiral into some unseemly paranoia trip if I did. Instead, I have to give everyone I meet the benefit of the doubt and let them prove to me if my trust was misplaced. In this instance I trust you but I’ll stay aloof from the rest because it’s not my ship nor do I want to get close to them. So unless something happens that necessitates me working with the crew, I’ll just do my own thing and not arouse suspicion.”

Juliet sighed. “I wish I had that ability. But ever since I can remember being trained, I’ve been taught to suspect everyone and everything. If go into a situation believing everyone is good, I won’t pick up on the little lie tells and nuances of petty twisting. I was originally meant to be the harmless, innocent, pretty girl in the corner everyone ignored so I could hear and see and sense everything. Then I was taught to lead others into situations I could sense trouble during before they could. I’m settled with being the one everyone gives a wide berth to, though.” She laughed a little and shook her head.

Conrad shrugged lightly. “It’s not that I give trust to everyone, and I’m not naive enough to think everyone is selfless or guileless, but the people I work with need to know that they have my trust and that I have their back. While I’m not an empath or telepath, I think I’ve a good judgement for people’s character. It would just be much too easy to go down the path of perpetual suspicion and I found out I’m just not built for that. As for you ever being harmless or innocent, if I were a suspicious man then you would be my first target. Not just because of what I know of you now, but because I know the ones that are typically ‘assistants’ are more than what they seem.”

He shook his head after having taken a sip of his wine. “We’re not in the same boat. You’re a more known quantity than I am. They at least know you and your work ethic. Everything else comes with time and trust.”

CO Mackenzie

“As for a known quantity, not sure about that. Most still think the kinetic things that happened when I was here last, were from my cousin. I guess, in a way, it’s both good and bad. But next Holo training we run, I’ll have to tell them. No point in them thinking they’re lost because they don’t know I can reach them telepathically. Or get frightened when a voice in their head tells them to duck.”

“Kinetic things?” Conrad asked in confusion. “As for whether you should tell them, that’s a judgement call that you’ll need to make. It could certainly foster more trust if your crewmates know more about you and can coordinate better with what you’re capable of.”

“True. And finding out in a crisis could be more harmful than helpful.” She glanced absently out the window a second as if trying to make a decision. Looking back, she smiled, realizing it had waned. “I think I’ll do just that, and tell them. Maybe sharing abilities would be more beneficial than secrets. Certainly make us more efficient, I think.”

She winked and cocked her head as the edges of her lips curled up. “Just don’t looking for those queues when we’re sparring. No fun if you know it’s coming.” She laughed and blushed a little.

Juliet
RTF

“What, you’re not going to let me have an advantage?” Conrad asked with a grin. “I’m not sure your telepathy would help much in a spar with me if I’m being honest. Much of my technique is instinctual. A lot of practice has honed my muscle memory and autonomic responses. I’m looking forward to putting it to the test though.”

CO Mackenzie

Juliet blushed hard this time and glanced into her glass trying to hide it. “I’d never consider trying to read you, Sir. I have no orders to.” She looked up and shrugged with a crooked smile. “Besides, sometimes it leaks both ways in tense situations. If I tried to read you during a spar, I may accidentally give something away I don’t mean to.” She laughed then.

“Besides, sparring should be instinctual. Your muscles should react to the circumstances, not what’s whispered in your head. Though I admit I’ve used such tactics to my advantage against opponents. Let them accidentally hear my thought of my next move, only to do something completely different. But I’ve only done it when my life or someone else’s was at risk. And I doubt you’d fall for something so obvious anyway. You would know, now anyway, that someone with my training wouldn’t accidentally leak anything.”

Juliet
RTF

Conrad looked to his now empty wine glass before he set it aside. Another bottle was tempting as it would prolong the conversation longer, at least at the table, but decided against getting anymore tipsy. He didn’t want a lapse in judgement with someone who he barely knew and of a significantly lower rank. Ethically that had it’s own problems in case an accusation of abusing rank ever came up. He didn’t think she’d be like that but it was better to be safe for the both of them. Although… she wasn’t in his chain of command and he wouldn’t be here long. He was also picking up on the hints that she found him attractive, if not charming to a degree, and he found himself sharing the attraction.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts before he stood and collected the various dishes to put away. “I’m not pushing you out the door, but I am wanting to clean up this mess a bit. Plus I think I’d rather move to the couch. These chairs aren’t fantastic for longer conversations.”

CO Mackenzie

Realizing get own glass was empty, and the table a mess, she smiled. “If you don’t mind me staying a bit longer, I’ll help clean up. Kind of rude to eat and run. Don’t you think?” She laughed and said up picking her own plate up along with one of the empty serving plates and took up her glass. “Perhaps fresh glasses with something that won’t leave us adle headed come morning? Wouldn’t surprise me if the Captain choose tonight for a drill, or first thing before Alpha shift, because she guessed everyone would be lax with company here.” She nodded to him and let him lead where the dirty dishes would go. She guessed the recycle, but didn’t want to assume in case he was one who preferred a cabinet of done dishes.

Juliet
RTF

Conrad nodded before he led the way over to the replicator to disassemble all of the refuse. “Something to not leave us unprepared for a surprise drill huh? Usually that’d be tea or coffee, but I’m thinking some hot chocolate. Is that good for you or were you meaning more alcohol but a bit weaker? Maybe a beer perhaps?”

CO Mackenzie

Juliet shook her head. “No, certainly no more alcohol for me. But feel free if you wish. After all, if something were to happen, it would be my responsibility to get you to safety. Not vice versa. So please, don’t feel a need to scale back on my account. Though I do admit I was thinking tea, I think hot chocolate sounds divine. Have to admit I hadn’t even thought of the drink in years. Probably longer than that.” She laughed and helped to clear the rest of the table and set it beside him at the replicator as he disposed of the mess they had created.

If she had given it any thought, this was exactly how she had told Cassela she had wished her life was. Just like her cousin’s stories of her life. Dinner with someone you enjoy spending time with, drinks and banter to extend the night, and no regrets in the morning that you smiled and laughed while elsewhere in the universe, something was approaching that would ruin it all in a moment’s notice. But she didn’t give it a thought and merely smiled as she turned to hand Conrad the last of the utensils.

Juliet
RTF

Conrad finished disposing of the messy dishes and utensils before he ordered two mugs of piping hot chocolate. He handed one to Jewels before he headed to the couch and took a seat. As his shoes had already been off, he settled into an easy posture with his legs crossed beneath him. He brought the mug of hot chocolate right up to his nose and took a long breath. “There’s something enervating about hot chocolate or even just chocolate in particular. I try to keep my indulgence of it down to a minimum, as with most other things in life, but a good cup of hot chocolate might just very well be my weakness. Right there with ice cream.”

CO Mackenzie

Jewels took the cocoa and settled on the other side of the sofa, her own legs tucking her feet under her. “Well it seems we have even more in common. I admit I have been hooked on chocolate since I was a child. I love discovering other worlds’ versions of it. We stopped on a moon for a hop off point during a mission that had the most fantastic rendition of chocolate. They used a local bean, kind of a cross between cocoa beans and a long bean, like green beans from Earth, and mashed it with a bittering agent. While most of our cocoas are mixed with sugars and sweeteners to cut the bitterness of the raw material, their raw material was so sweet it was the opposite.” She smiled and blew on the cocoa a moment then took a sip. “And they didn’t harden it to candies like most cultures. Theirs was always in a semi liquid form. We could get small servings, no more than an ounce or two, and you would sip it, like a long after dinner coffee or liquor. It was divine.” She laughed relaxing into the soft cushions. “I used up nearly all my extra ration space on the shuttle to bring about ten ounces with me. I managed to make it last nearly a month.”

Taking another sip, she nodded to him. “What is your fondest chocolate memory?”

Juliet
RTF

Conrad took another smell of the cup before he closed his eyes and took a sip. With eyes still closed and with a gentle smile forming on his lips he began to reminisce. “My mother was fully human and my father Bajoran, though he died before I was born. She decided to go back to Earth and raise me there after having resigned from Starfleet. I remember one Christmas my mom had gotten some imported chocolate from Bajor, kind of in the style of an advent calendar on Earth. You are supposed to only eat one piece a night in observance of the Prophets. Now I’m not a religious person and wasn’t really raised that way but my mom wanted me to experience part of the culture I was missing. I wasn’t at all interested in only eating one piece every night and didn’t want to hog it all to myself, so instead I convinced my mom that we would share the chocolate while she told me stories about her time on Deep Space 9 and the trips she took down onto Bajor. So for the next four evenings we ate some chocolate and she told me stories.” He opened his eyes and looked to Juliet. “That’s my favorite memory and it had chocolate in it. Now Bajoran chocolate isn’t all that good, especially what they use for religious purposes but everything about the experience tasted sweet.”

CO Mackenzie

Juliet paused in her drinking as she watched and listened. She didn’t remember anything special about Bajoran chocolate and was glad when he reiterated it. But she could tell the memory was a sweet one, indeed. “I wonder if you have the stamina and strength to do Advent Calendars now? I had them as a child and it was brutality in my eyes. Having only one piece a night… really!” She laughed and failed at making an appropriate stern face before continuing. “My adopted parents took me in on Earth when I was young. Not a baby, but not old enough to know any better, either. I was eleven. I remember eating too much chocolate one night because I convinced them it was a custom back home.” She laughed lightly. “After that, my mother let me have a special treat on weekends or if I had done especially well at school with some project or accelerated test or something. I learned to savor it. That’s when she started teaching me about other Earth sweets like Baklava and Tiramisu. I haven’t tried either since leaving the Academy after Special training. Guess some things just don’t taste the same, or as sweet, when you have them alone in a mess hall.” She laughed and took another sip of her cocoa. “Did you have a different recipe of this or has it just been that long since I’ve had it that it seems better than the last time?”

Juliet
RTF

“It’s not my recipe, I’m afraid. I’m just using whatever was already programmed. I guess we could just chalk it up to the delightful company.” Conrad said with a grin before he took another sip. “I’ve had Tiramisu and loved it though I wasn’t as fond of Baklava. I had an especially tasty tiramisu drink that went down smooth. I really had to hold back from drinking a bunch of those. I did alright with advent calendars considering I could have other sweets if I wanted, but I’m not a big sweets eater. Though hot chocolate is my weakness, regular chocolate is mainly for special occasions or when the mood strikes.”

CO Mackenzie