Posted by Lieutenant Bryn Shar (Head Nurse) in Lounge, Dinner - (Open to anyone)

Royal finally had a some breathing room in his schedule, so he was finalizing his quarters. The Captain had (finally) finished moving her things to the CO’s quarters, and the Operations Team had done a stellar job of cleaning and restoring the room to it’s original state as when the ship departed the construction yard. Now it was Sinclair’s turn to make the place his home.

His first change was furniture. Now, when entering the room, a tall shelving display was directly to the left, separating the dining and replicator area from the seating area. The seating area itself was a low couch below the windows, two chairs facing each other at a ninety degree angle to the couch, and a single large overstuffed chair facing the couch and looking out the window. All of these surrounded a low table. Floating shelves graced the walls, and all over were dozens of models of starships and naval vessels; each one meticulously crafted by hand by the resident of the newly refurbished quarters. One wall contained a large bookcase with books filling the shelves; and on one single floating shelf sat a medal in a display case… The Star Fleet Medal of Honor.

The dining and replicator area held a tall table and four chairs, and it was at one of these that the newly assigned XO sat, magnifying lenses on his eyes, as he worked on a new model. He was in the process of attaching the pylons that would hold the warp nacelles of the latest addition to the collection: the USS Ogawa.

Sinclair, XO

The door chimed, signaling a visitor was just outside his quarters. Bryn stood there wondering if she’d made the right decision. Before cleaning up her desk that afternoon, she’d been going through the first officers medical record and had a question for him. Having decided she was going to hit the lounge for dinner and a drink, she’d changed into a long, loose, dusty rose colored dress and was just stopping to ask him about it before aiming her hungry belly towards deck 4 and the dinner she’d promised herself there.

Smoothing fingers back through loose hair, she pushed it all over one shoulder and wondered if Sinclair had to duck through every doorway.

—Shar

The door slid open and a voice said “Aye, come on in.” Sinclair was seated at the table and was visually focused on the model and the small soldering iron in his hand. He was dressed in jeans and some kind of short-sleeved sports jersey, at least that’s what the bold white number ‘17’ on the back seemed to indicate. The top was deep cobalt blue with white stripes from neck to the cuff of the arms, and when he turned there was a circle patch sewn on the upper left breast that read ‘Glasgow Rangers RFC’. He looked up and smiled at the Head Nurse and said “Ah! Good evening, Lieutenant. How are you?”, his Scottish brogue filling his words with sincere pleasure at being interrupted.

Sinclair, XO

Curious as to what Cmdr Sinclair’s private space looked like, Bryn entered, her eyes darting here and there. It was a surprise to see all the models on display and to find him diligently working on another one. “Good evening, Sir. I’m fine…I’m actually on my way to the lounge for dinner and a drink but wanted to talk to you about something first.”

She’d let her feet carry her over to the wall of already built starships and naval vessels. “These are incredibly detailed. How long have you been building them?”

—Shar

He set the soldering tool down and pulled off the magnifiers. “Oh, ever since I was a wee lad. My seanair… my grandfather… he made models and taught me how. So, I make one for every ship I am on and for every ship I had ancestors sailing on. And sometimes I make some and give them as gifts. A bit more personal that a replicated book or vid-star autograph.” and he chuckled. He took a breath, and a quick glance at the dress she more, and he said “So what brings ya in, Lieutenant? You said ya had a question for me?”

Sinclair, XO

“Oh yes…first off, you are not obligated at all to fulfill my request, but it can’t hurt to ask, right?” She walked over to where he sat at a tall table with many, small, pieces laid out before him. “I had your file out today in medical and I noticed that you come from a long line of sailors? Well, Ferlans don’t really DO water sports but I have grown to love anything having to do with large bodies of water.”

Standing there trying to get enough words out that her request wouldn’t sound outrageous, Bryn looked into Sinclair’s eyes. “The other day, NELTZander and I were talking and she mentioned sailing—said she and her husband loved to sail. Anyway, I wondered if you might take me sailing to show me what it is exactly?”

Now she bit her bottom lip, worrying it while waiting for his answer. “I’m sorry if this request is too forward…”

—Shar

Sinclair smiled and shook his head. “No no, you’re fine. And yeah, I can show you sailing. But just so you know, there are a lot of programs in the holodeck that you could use by yourself.” he suggested. “Although if you want to learn how sailing works, then I’m happy to show you. I don’t recommend the standard sailing tutorials for beginners.” and he chuckled. “When were you thinking? I will say I don’t think you are dressed for it at the moment.” he added with a smile.

Sinclair, XO

Delighted he would teach her, Bryn gave him a dazzling smile. “Oh, anytime would be fine. Maybe when we are both off for the day or at least for a few hours. And at the moment, the only thing I’m dressed for is dinner. I’m headed to the lounge now that I’ve asked you about sailing. I’ve got my mouth set on something salty with a side of wine to wash it down with. It was a long day as I was ‘in my head’ a lot of the time so now I just want to relax.”

She turned from the table ready to leave Sinclair’s quarters so he could return to his model. “Are you hungry? You can join me if you are…”

—Shar

Sinclair paused and thought a moment. Then he shrugged and said “I could eat. Sure, I’ll tag along if you don’t mind.” He stood up and began putting his tools away. “Give me just five minutes to wash up and I’ll be right with you.” He smiled at her and walked through the door to the bedroom and slid the door shut.

A few minutes later he reappeared. The jersey had been replaced by a white polo and his face appeared freshly washed. “Ok, ready when you are.” and he walked to the door and it slid open, and the XO gestured for her to leave first.

Sinclair, XO

Stepping out into the corridor first, Bryn was very aware of Sinclair’s height. She hadn’t known any exceptionally tall people in her lifetime so the first officer was somewhat unique. “Do you get tired of being so tall?” Was it a personal question? Yes, it was, but she was genuine in her curiosity. She was just now beginning to think of things his height might interfere with. Had he just ducked coming through the doorway? Bryn’s head leaned to the side as she thought about it. Royal Sinclair—it might turn out very interesting to know him.

—Shar

Royal laughed and said “It has its ups and downs, no pun intended.” as he stepped into the passageway and walked next to her. “Sometimes I wish I was a wee bit shorter, but for the most part I think it’s a good thing.” he said matter-of-factly. “I am the tallest one in my family, though. My mother was only a meter and a half tall. My da was just under two. My Seanair was a tad taller than him. And then there was me. My granddad always said I got my height from the milkman.” and he laughed.

Royal

As they walked, she looked over at him again. “What is Seanair?”

Sinclair chuckled. “Sorry. Sometimes I switch from standard to Gaelic. Seanair means grandfather.”

Arriving at the lounge they chose a table and sat down. “I’m starving! I totally forgot to eat today and have had nothing but coffee.” A server made their way over and Bryn didn’t hesitate. “Hello, I’d like whatever soup is available with bread and butter on the side and a glass of iced tea, please.” Mossy, green eyes settled on the XO, curiosity shining in their depths. What…no, how much food would it take to fill Sinclair’s belly, she wondered.

—Shar

Royal looked at the server and said “Leek and potato soup, brown bread, three double cheeseburgers with everything and two large orders of fries. Oh, and a chocolate milkshake. Thank you.” When the server left, Sinclair looked at Shar and said “So tell me about you, Lieutenant. Where are you from? How did you get to Star Fleet?”

Sinclair

As she listened to Sinclair’s order of food, her eyes widened with surprise. That was a lot of food for one person! Was he playing with her or did he really eat that amount? Bryn told herself to pay attention to find out. “Oh, I found a love of medicine and patient care early on. I never thought life on Ferla was very exciting so I decided to join Star Fleet Academy when I was quite young. Luckily, my parents agreed so when I was old enough I applied and was accepted.”

Sinclair nodded and then said “Forgive me for asking, but is Ferla a member of the Federation? I haven’t heard of it before. What is it like?”

The food arrived just then. Bryn paused to take a sip of the iced tea. “So nothing outrageous, a simple story really.” Noticing they had the same kind of soup, Bryn tasted it and smiled. “This is really good. I know what a potato is, but what’s a leek?”

—Shar

bump

He chuckled and said “A leek is a cousin to the Terran onion or shallot, but without the potent, sharp taste. It’s much more mild and makes a great soup.”

Sinclair

She often got questions about her home world because not many were familiar with it. “Ferla is a small planet.” She compared its size to Earth because Sinclair was from there. “Its about half the size of Earth with a population of…” Here she had to stop and remember the latest statistics she’d read about her home. “…53 million or so. As a people, we are curious about space and other life forms but also, we like life to be simple.”

The soup was delicious and Bryn decided she would begin using leeks in her dietary choices from then on. “We are peaceful for the most part and haven’t had much trouble from other species, but I’ve always attributed that to how well we patrol our space borders. No outsiders have gotten to the surface of our planet without being detected quite a bit in advance. We’ve always had time to prepare for their arrival before they got there so weapons are ready should they be hostile, and if they are friendly—gifts to welcome them.”

Bryn set her spoon down and drank a few swallows of iced tea. “Physically we are all cut from the same cloth. Brown hair and gray to green eyes. We have no trouble telling each other apart but I’ve noticed a few other species can’t differentiate us as easily.”

—Shar

bump