Posted by Commander Dr. Royal Sinclair (Executive Officer) in XO’s Quarters - Sleepover? Slumber Party? No Idea What To Call It

Posted by Lieutenant Corinne Dalton (Scientist) in XO’s Quarters - Sleepover? Slumber Party? No Idea What To Call It

Posted by Commander Dr. Royal Sinclair (Executive Officer) in XO’s Quarters - Sleepover? Slumber Party? No Idea What To Call It
Posted by… suppressed (10) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The XO’s Quarters on the Ogawa were slightly larger than the typical officer’s quarters; containing a full bedroom separate from the living and dining areas, and a full bathroom with both sonic and water systems. The CO and XO were also afforded slightly more ‘luxurious’ (the term used by the dock workers when they installed it) than the other quarters on the ship. But Royal’s quarters differed even more.

The room had a myriad number of shelves and shelving-systems along most of the walls. Separating the living area form the dining area was a floor to ceiling transparent wall with floating shelves of the same material, making the objects sitting on them appear as if they were floating in air. On every shelf was an intricate and detailed model of a ship. An not just starships, although there were plenty of those as well. There were sailing ships from all different species and historical periods. There Federation and Klingon and Romulan and Vulcan and Tellerite and a host of others forming the massive model fleet that was the walls of Royal’s quarters. But for the dozens and dozens of models all over… the room was warm and cozy, inviting even. Subdued colors, mostly earth tones, filled the space; but done in such a way as to not make the space seem smaller or closed in. Just… comfortable.

The living area had a deep cushioned couch and two matching chairs, all facing a low table in the middle. In the dining area was a table with four chairs around it. The table itself seemed to have been transformed into a kind of workbench. Across it were small tools… bits of metal, wood, and plastic… as well as a PaDD propped up on a stand. At one chair was the beginnings (end?) of some kind of ancient sailing ship in the process of being built.

The kitchen had a replicator and some cabinets, and was clean and organized. The bathroom was clean and a subdued and pale blue instead of the normal sterile white and chrome and, like the rest of the space, seemed to say ‘Relax’. The bedroom was modified slightly as well. The bed was larger than even the Captain’s, specifically to comfortably handle the large frame of the ship’s current XO. The room was less earth tones and more blues and grays… almost like a storm-swept coast along the shores of some cold and rocky island. On the walls were several large frames inside of which were shirts of some kind with numbers on the back and ‘SINCLAIR’ above them. Some had writing on them, like signatures, and others had different names above the numbers. The models continued in here, but in far fewer numbers than elsewhere. A large dark blue comforter laid across the bed, and flat on the ceiling was a blue flag with a large white ‘X’ going rom corner to corner.

Royal had spent the last ten minutes doing a Flight-Of-The-Bumblebee cleaning and making sure the place was not going to make her turn and run. Granted, he wasnot a slob by any stretch. He was clean and organized… but he was also very nervous.

Royal

There was this impulse to rush through the task of gathering an overnight bag but Cori forced herself to stop and take some deep breaths before she moved any farther.

Then she resumed her packing. Was it weird that she changed into comfy leggings and a one of her looser dance tunics before she left? She had pyjamas with her but there was something about leaving his quarters in the morning in the same outfit that she had worn tonight. As best she could figure, Cori wanted to protect his reputation and save him from any more gossip than their public date would already create. Sure, few people would likely come to this deck, but they could and that weighed on her.

Raven hair loose, the highlights shining almost blue under the lights, she arrived with a soft bag over one shoulder and pressed the chime.

~Corinne Dalton

The door slid open and Royal was standing there. “Hey.” he said and his face flushed. “Please, come in.” and he stepped aside and gestured in. “You can put your bag anywhere you like, and I didn’t know if you needed it or not, but I cleared off a side of the sink too.” He took a deep breath and then laughed softly. “Sorry. I’m really nervous for some reason.”

Royal Sinclair

She stepped in and up to him, reaching up and brushing his cheek with her fingertips. “Well, you’re rather adorable when you’re so nervous, just so you know.”

Her touch had an immediate effect on Royal. The instant her skin met his, all the nervousness vanished, replaced by a similar level of anticipation, and a smile took over his face. “Well, you just seem to have that effect on me.” He leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss before stepping back.

She liked kissing him. Was it a surprise? Well, no, but there was a part of her that had forgotten what it was like to have such a simple intimacy with someone.

Cori moved slowly, taking in the place, playing close to attention to the ship he was in the middle of constructing. “I like what you’ve done with the place. You should have shown me your place earlier back on the Saracen. Maybe I would have had more inspiration, but then again, we might not have had such an interesting evening when you helped me unpack.” There was something odd about that memory that she still couldn’t place, but every time she thought of that night, something deep within her stirred but without any context or further info. It was frustrating.

“And here I figured you spent all your time on the Saracen watching me.” he said with a laugh.

“Nah,” I just listened in on your conversations, remember?” She frowned for a very brief moment but then Cori brushed it off. It was like she was remembering something and couldn’t quite tap into what it was.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a smaller zippered bag. “I’ll just put this in the bathroom,” she said, stepping through to a door only to have the bedroom door open. “Oops, wrong one, but hey… you really are a decorator, aren’t you?”

~Corinne Dalton

He stepped up behind her and set his hands on her hips. “It was my attempt to bring some of home with me. Glasgow is a pretty dreary place, weather-wise. Gray skies, mist, fog, rain.” and he smiled. “I love it. Never had a better night’s sleep than when I was back home and the big storms would come rolling in off the ocean.” He took a step back and then said “Would you like something you drink? I was gonna make a cup of tea, if you’d like.”

Royal Sinclair

“Mmm, tea could be nice. I think I like tea still. It’s been awhile. But decaf or herbal. You don’t need me wide awake all night and keeping you awake.”

Royal chuckled. “I can think of worse ways to spend a night.”

Cori gave him a lopsided grin. “I wasn’t talking about that,” she said, a gleam in her eyes.

The flush of red went from under his collar and up his neck, face and disappeared in his hair; but he smiled. “Neither was !!” he said.

“I should show you my program of Ajilon. I have no doubt there is one in the system, but the one I created for the cube should be easy enough to overlay atop a base holodeck program,” she said, moving off to the door that this time turned out to be the bathroom and she set her stuff on the side of the sink before returning to him.

~Corinne Dalton

He stepped away from the replicator as she came back and walked over to the living area and set the cups on the table before sitting on the couch. “Tell me about it. What do you remember?” he asked and picked up his tea and took a sip.

Royal Sinclair

She joined him and took the tea in hand, smiling. “Well, Ajilon isn’t a very big colony but there are a few settlements. Those who don’t live in the denser populated areas were mostly farmers like my parents. Our land was set amongst some rolling hills and from the taller hills you could see the coast. I used to love riding through the hills, breezes from the ocean on my face.” Cori inhaled deeply and let our a happy sigh before she shipped her tea. “We grew foodstuffs for the settlements, and for ourselves, but honestly I just loved having the horses. But after the Klingon’s invaded and my parents died, what was left of the place was too much for me to do anything with on my own, and I was only twelve and I was taken in by family friends. But in my mind now, Ajilon is just that farm and me riding my mare in the sun.

~Corinne Dalton

Royal sipped his tea while she spoke, watching her face as she talked about the place and the horses. “So do you still own the farm? I mean, maybe that could be a vacation spot for you.”

Royal Sinclair

She shook her head. “My parents didn’t own the land that I knew of. I’m not quite sure the arrangement, but if they had owned it outright, I would have seen some sort of deed or other paperwork. I was a minor too, so a lot of the paperwork was dealt with by others on behalf of the colonial council.

~Corinne Dalton

Royal nodded. “Might be something to look into if you want to. I know where I come from that if the land is worked for so long, even if those working it don’t own it at the beginning, they can end up owning it through their work and caretaking.” He took a sip. “All I know is that when I left Glasgow, I sold the house. And I regretted after I was in Star Fleet a while. Took me a bit, but I managed to get it back. And it was an instant relief. Haven’t been back in over three years, but just knowing I have a home makes all of this-” and he waved his hand around at their surroundings, “- much more bearable sometimes.”

Royal Sinclair

She sipped her tea. “I guess I never cared before. Ajilon held too much pain for me for a long time and I just wanted to be out in space and exploring. I still do, but things are very different now.” Being stuck somewhere for years on end changed your point of view drastically.

“What makes you return to your house?”

~Corinne Dalton

Royal chuckled. “Opportunity and luck?” he said with a smile. “I mean, I don’t get leave all that often. And when I do, I am usually so far away from there that travel would take up all of my time off. But just the knowing that I have that as a possibility makes things… I dunno… more tolerable… when I have a rough day or get homesick.”

Royal Sinclair

She gave this full consideration but it was hard to wrap her mind around. “I’m trying to imagine something similar for myself, but on a colony, especially outside the Federation core, resources are quite often limited, so it would seem wasteful to have a home go unused so much.” Cori held up a hand. “That’s not a criticism, by the way, just a practicality of being raised where I was. My brain I guess is used to restrictions of all kinds,” she said with a smirk.

~Corinne Dalton