Posted by Captain Calvin Marius (Captain) in Genesis Lounge

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Vanessa Slade (CNS) in Genesis Lounge

Posted by Captain Calvin Marius (Captain) in Genesis Lounge
(SNIP)
“Only the fun ones,” she teased. Vanessa looked at the Captain and wondered what he was like off duty. Even sitting here in the lounge, the man had a presence about him. It was probably because as a captain you were never really off duty Still she wondered if he did the random things like sing in the shower, talk to his plants, spill chips on the couch while watching an intense sporting event, or call his mom once a week.

“As to the mechanics, you shove your head down all the way into the barrel so you pin the apple to the bottom of the barrel,” she said and then let out a laugh. Looking at Kesh and Marius she rolled her eyes with a grin. “That was rhetorical I think.”

Picking up the third shot Marius poured for her, Vanessa held it between her fingers and ran her index finger around the edge in a slow lazy circle. Her comment was playful but the Genesis was a tough crowd. The ship was close-knit which was good. It inspired loyalty and trust because the crew knew they always had their back covered in sticky spots. The bad news was that Genesis was like a small town. It was hard to break in. Throwing back the shot, Vanessa let out a little guttural grunt and tapped the table. “Yeah, maybe I am gonna need to adjust my assumption that four is not going to make me look like I am stroking out.” Reaching up she raised a finger and yelled out, “Tony, I need bacon cheeseburger with the works, loaded fries, and a plate of pickle nickles.” The man behind the bar raised his chin in acknowledgment as he continued to serve drinks to those sitting where Vanessa sat ten minutes earlier.

“You don’t have to out drink the table,” Marius found people always wanted to drink as fast as he did. That was usually an exercise in futility. He weighed over 200 pounds, had an impressive metabolism, and probably was the only person on the ship who drank actual alcohol on a fairly regular basis.

“No one needs a reas’n to drink. You eithah do it oh you don’t. It’s a social experience as lawng as its in moderation,” Vanessa shrugged before pretending to take off a hat and turning it backward. The last thing she wanted to do was get into the why’s people drink and what the ramifications were when people drank. That was a counseling session and right now, Vanessa was looking to be just one of the crew.

“Is that an Irish accent?”

“Bite youh tawngue. It’s south Bawst’n oh as we call it Southie,” she winked back and got a slightly far off look as she mentally debated how thick her accent was slipping out. Normally it only came out when she was drunk or pissed off. Right now she definitely wasn’t the latter and didn’t think she was drunk enough to sound like she was still a local back home.

“In case you guys can’t translate that,” Tony said approaching the table with Vanessa’s order along with another Sam Adams, “Lucy here is miming that she is off duty and not going to wear her counseling hat so it is a safe zone. Oh, and skipper, she is about two shots away from you needing a translator.” Tony the bartender’s grin was wide and the way he laughed showed he had served Vanessa before at the bar.

“I can still say pahk, drawah, and cah,” Vanessa looked at Tony with a wide-eyed expression. Anyone that spent enough time around Vanessa would know that when she got drunk, her Boston twang slipped out in full force.

“Sure you can,” Tony laughed before making his way back to the bar.

Picking up her burger, Vanessa took a huge bite swiping off the grease from her fingers as she chewed and then swallowed. “So is this card game you have going like poker D and D?” Moving the food out so it was clear she was offering anyone at the table access to the fries and pickle nickles, Vanessa took another bite of her burger. Long ago she learned never to drink on an empty stomach. It would help soak up the booze and help her maintain the buzz from the alcohol.

Vanessa Slade

“I just asked the computer for a card game that was popular in the past and out it spat. I thought it might be fun. It looked interesting enough.”

Marius

“I am not so good at anything past Uno but if it’s okay I would love to eat my burger and watch you guys. Pickle Nickle,” she moved the plate slightly. “They are a vegetarian dish so I thought you might be able to eat them if you want,” Vanessa looked at Kesh. She knew from the day they spent together at the clam bake the engineer didn’t eat meat or didn’t eat it typically. Maybe Kesh would like them. As for Marius, Vanessa didn’t know if the man was relaxed enough around his crew to share snacks. As for Vanessa, she never had a time in her life when someone wasn’t foraging off her plate or she off one of her family’s. With nine brother’s there was no such thing as your own meal. It was crazy how sometimes the biggest things you missed from home were the smallest things.

Vanessa Slade.

“I think you are a step ahead.” Marius looked at the huge clutch of cards. “I don’t think we are at the playing stage. We are basically are at the reading stage. We could go left to the playing or right, to the throwing the cards back into the replicator.” he shook his head a the cards.

“You are pretty new, here, what would you like to try?”

Marius

“I’m up for anything that doesn’t involve me sitting on that barstool or going back to my room and staring at four walls. I think the crew is thinking I am either casing the place trying to secretly evaluate them or have a crush on the bartender and I can assure you neither is true.” Looking around the room, Vanessa took another bite of her burger before polishing off the last shot. She shook her head swallowing the shot and wiped her fingertips with the napkin. “You are right though. I am pretty new here. What do you guys do to kick back and relax besides cards? Karyoke? Darts? Pool? There is still the LARPing option. I have never done it but if we do I can add it to the Never Have I Ever game.” Vanessa had no idea what the crew did for fun. She assumed they hung out in the holodeck when they had it reserved. This being her first real assignment to a starship, she really wasn’t sure what people did except seem to work or sit in their quarters.

“What do you do for fun…skipper,” she asked Marius. Not knowing the man well, it felt too familiar to call him Marius and too official to call him Captain. Calling him Skipper felt like it was the best way to address Marius.

Vanessa Slade CNS

He took a sip of his whiskey and eyed her in an suspicious manner. “When I was a younger man. I played a game called ‘I never.’ Are you familiar with it?”

“Does a duck take to water,” she let out a laugh? The game was a staple in most bars, pubs, watering holes, alehouses, saloons, cocktail lounges, or whatever you termed the place to kick back and have a little fun. Since Vanessa knew Kesh wasn’t the imbibing type she expanded on Maruis’ question. “The rules of Never Have I Ever are simple,” she said off handledly to Kesh as she took a swig of her beer polishing it off. “We all will take turns listing potential experiences they’ve never had but if someone has done the action in question, they take a shot or a sip of whatever they are drinking or whatever other consequence we set in the rules. If no one has done the action in question, the person who posted the query takes a drink. Since you teetotaler,” Vanessa gestured to Kesh, “I say you just can’t pee as you keep drinking.”

Looking at Marius, Vanessa let out a half-laugh. “Women are just as sick and twisted as anyone else. You know how long the line is to the bathroom in most places. For the duty driver, we used to make them drink water or soda and not break the seal. It allowed them to play and have something to lose.” The three shots had definitely loosened up Vanessa. It was the only reason she had delved into the well-known but unspoken bathroom habits of women.

“To make it fun, instead of drink if you did the ‘I never’ you have to tell the story of the I never or whatever the truth behind the I never is?” Marius for the most part wasn’t ashamed of anything he did so he wasn’t too scared of any question. And back in the day he loved the game.

Marius.

“Fair enough but let’s make it optional,” Vanessa said not sure if she was disappointed or relieved that Marius added the caveat. Still, he didn’t outlaw the drinking clause. There was no way she was ever going to out-drink Marius nor did she want to do that. She could put away the booze but she always felt the booze. “Tony,” Vanessa made a swirling motion with her hand. “Another couple of Sam Adams and some fruit juice.” Vanessa didn’t order for Marius. He had his bottle and if he wanted a beer he could have one of hers.

OOC: The couple was for her? Okay Game on.
OOC: I couldn’t remember if he had a bottle on the table lol. He gave her shots when she sat.

Marius didn’t particularly like or dislike Sam Adams, he wasn’t a beer drinker and found too much flavor in something you drank such a large volume of distracting.

“Okay so,” Vanessa smiled enough to show she was overly excited about the change of tone in the meet and greet session. Looking around the table, she sized up the two people at the table. “Never have I ever been arrested while on shore leave.” This was one of the few things she hadn’t done or been a part of simply because, in her tenure at Starfleet, she never had left Earth past a short few months stint in her residency. It helped to know the locals when you were trying to avoid jail. The two people however sitting with her had probably been to countless places and taken shore leave in countless places. Clasping her hands, Vanessa waited to see if Kesh or Marius surprised her the most first. Kesh was quiet but there was the saying about those that were the quietest were the wildest behind closed doors. Marius was a career man and not always a captain. The skipper probably had enough skeletons in his closet to be drunk in the next four rounds.

Vanessa (going first so she has better chance of not getting drunk in the next four rounds) Slade.

“Arrested?” Marius paused. He tilted his head back and forth for a moment… “Well, I’ve been ‘held’ for a few hours and once for a day. Mostly unremarkable bar fights. In fact the first time which was for a few hours I actually was in the fight, but I just happened to be too close to the argument and they like arresting the big guy. But I promised you a story to along with it.”

Marius took a sip of his whiskey. “I leave the boring preamble off… a young man who was stealing drinks was thrown out of the bar near closing, only to return about 20 minutes later with steel rod and a can of bear repellent. Unfortunately I was sitting right by the door. He sprayed the room with the repellent and then took a wild swing with the rod. Counter to his plans, because he led with the bear spray, this caused me to lean back, so he missed me with the rod. Picked up a good bit a understanding the effects of those ‘sprays’. I dove at him and not soon after that, the numbers in the bar overwhelmed him.” He tilted his head.

“A good lesson on not stealing, getting too drunk, or overestimating your skills. He ended up with a few broken fingers - and I got about four hours in holding as they were questioning me.”

Marius

“Okay okay okay,” Vanessa waved her hands as if trying to clear the air. “One question about that story,” she leaned back swirling the bottle by the neck slightly. “What the hell does bear spray smell like,” she let out a huge laugh as she took a sip of her drink.

Vanessa Slade

“I don’t remember saying there were follow up questions?” He took a sip from one of her beers misunderstanding her order. He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t really remember it smelling like anything. It was like trying to inhale gasoline… or vaporized hot sauce… I remember once I tried to take a deep breath of a plate of hot wings just as they came off the hot oil. The meat was so hot, the hot sauce evaporated when it was covered. I took a deep suck in of that.... It’s the closest thing I remember to it. I’m sure it would have hurt more if it had actually hit me in the face.”

He tapped his fingers together. “I never electronically or physically stalked and ex.”

Marius smirked.

Marius

“Aww hell really?” Vanessa leaned forward and locked eyes with Marius letting out a full-bodied laugh. “Did you just ask the counselor, who by definition and profession is the walking, talking definition of being mentally healthy,” she paused letting the first part sink in. “If they have spent hours pouring over Bang, Gaggle, Chatter, and Spacebook wearing fat pants, a sweatshirt, and bunny slippers with a bag of Doritos under their arm searching for their Ex doing fabulous things with a blonde version of herself?” Vanessa struggled to keep a straight face. There was no way she could deny that she had done this even is she wanted to. Vanessa’s response was too oddly specific to be anything but a confession. Picking up her bottle, she gave Marius a wink before tilting it back and taking a long draw.

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I’m asking… Go ahead crazy cat lady.”

Setting it on the table with a clink, Vanessa leaned back picking up a french fry from her plate. “No one wants to hear the story of the crazy lady electronically perusing an ex. Stalking is such a yucky word,” she let out a laugh and popped the french fry in her mouth. “What you are looking for is the bat snot crazy version of my story.” Picking up her drink, she took a second sip.

“Chad McNamara,” Vanessa said the man’s name slowly and now with a smirk. “Eighteen-year-old Vanessa Daniella Slade thought he hung the moon. Theyah was nawthing he could say oh do that would have cawnvinced old Nessie here he wasn’t the recreation of adonis except faw when he broke up with me by saying sawry babe you ah great. You just ar’n’t blawnde.” Vanessa’s speech began to take on a mix of normal and Boston slang the more she drank and talked about home.

“I took it in stride with a case of Sam and decided Mr. McNamara was not all that. So Dunc’n, Dylan, Dallas, and I went to the Galaxyco store. We got a whole lawtta instant potatoes, some index cahds, and about six hundred fawks because I did not want a recawd of it on the replicataw.” Vanessa was deadpan in her retelling of the story with her mouth having a hint of a smile at the corners.

“Latah that night, Dextah, Dennis, David, Daniel, Dane joined us at ol’ Chad’s house. We covered the frawnt lawn with the potato flakes and flung all the fawks in the lawn with a few labeled with index cahds saying fawk you. The next mawning his lawn looked like the middle of wintah because the flakes had tuhned into mashed potatoes. I wish I could say I was not proud of that…but come on. It was an act of rathah brilliant revenge.”

Vanessa looked at Kesh to see if the woman was going to admit to ever being driven to mental instability over a significant other or not.

“At least you didn’t bleach your hair… I was so sure that was where it was going.”
<reply spot for Kesh>

“Okay so next question,” Vanessa narrowed her eyes and realized it was game on with these two. “Never have I ever farted in a turbo and placed the blame on someone else?”

Vanessa Slade CNS

Marius looked over to Kesh, that sounded like a feline thing to do.... But he actually shook his head. “I can’t say I’ve every blamed that on anyone else… the worse I’ve done is pretend it wasn’t me and I don’t know who it could have been.” He blinked innocently.

“Again in the spirit of the game, I’ll reveal something related to that. I don’t really toot in public - well unless I’m outdoors. I go to the bathroom pretty much every time I have gas.” He shook his head. “I just think its kind of rude to do that in public and to be honest, there’s always the chance that you think its a fart and it isn’t… better to take your chances in a bathroom where you have the necessary hardware to deal with whatever the issue is.”
Marius

“I agree but when you have nine brothers,” she rolled her eyes and shook her head as if defeated. “Let’s just say the Fart game is real and there have been attempts to recreate the 1812 overture with gas by the Boston Butts. Not pretty,” she took a drink raising a finger, “and why I will either have to marry in secret or become a spinster because there is no way I am exposing another living creature to the Slades.”

“I know, I was in the Marines and the SOG.” Marius spent a lot of time of people who considered themselves as old school men, even the women subscribed to the classic male qualities from 400 years ago.

“You know that you also can’t bring that someone special around the gassy gunny or your inner sanctum santorum.” It was a rehtorical comment. They were probably not enough drinks in to start dissing on those around them they held most dear. Vanessa might be close to three sheets to the wind from sobriety but Marius as not only a guy but a Marine. They probably woke up and brushed their teeth with the contents of the glass before going out on a sortie. Vanessa had to make sure Maruis knew that this was just to officers siting around drinking and not a secret psyche hijacking.

Drumming her hands on the table, Vanessa motioned for Marius to pour everyone a shot. Her next question was going to end up a toast instead of a question, reliving a time when they were all far younger and dumber. Part of this game was trying to get your buddies drunk but the other part did have a sleuthing component to publicly find out private things about someone. With this question, Vanessa was completely ready to take a drink for the team to find out what the other officers were like without the pips and prying eyes of the crew.

Marius raised his eyebrow. He quickly refilled the glasses as indicated, but at this point the game was pretty much down to two.

Vanessa didn’t even pause as she picked her drink off of the table. Holding it up she looked at the once hard-assed ex-Marine now captain and spoke. “Never have I ever did the Bancroft Boogie.” Throwing back the shot she set it on the table with a clink. Yes she would have to recount the event in all its birthday suit glory but it was well worth it to find out what a young, brash, and impulsive Marius was like. The Bancroft Boogie was simultaneously the height of one’s career and the lowest point possible one could sink to at Starfleet Academy. Bancroft Hall was a dormitory that housed most of the cadets going into command or security divisions. It was also the starting point for those that were too drunk or too ballsy to streak across the campus in the wee hours of the night dodging cameras and security patrols all the while trying to beat others in the run.

Marsh looked as if he was asked to suck on a lemon.

“Oh come on,” she looked at Maruis equally shocked. As if it were planned, the music in the lounge suddenly changed from the soft melodies filling the space with ambient sound to a more rock and roll beat.

I fight authority, authority always wins…Well, I fight authority, authority always wins
Well, I’ve been doing it since I was a young kid…And I come out grinnin’
Well, I fight authority, authority always wins

“Seriously,” Vanessa said looking at Marius but raising her right hand with her middle finger extended in the air directed at Tony from behind the bar. While she was often verbose, there were times when a single comment could be directed to multiple audiences. This was one of those times. Raucous laughter from the bar behind her showed Tony found humor in her comment.

Dropping her finger she took a sip of her drink looking at Marius. “Are you going to sit here and tell me you charged into a battle that could very well have killed you but you never did the Bancroft Boogie?”

Only the stupid or most brave attempted it and most failed but when an institution was pumping out men and women in the prime of their life to take on life or death foes like the Borg, adrenaline and common sense, had to be expelled somewhere. The event, while strictly not tolerated by the brass, had slowly been accepted into the lore of events that occurred in the Academy for some. Since the event comprised both the most brilliant students and those as dumb as a box of rocks, the penalty was a reprimand on your official transcript but with the caveat that 20 hours of community service would wipe it clean from your record. Like with most things dealing with the young, the brass found a way to two impart two life lessons because the thrill of the event was always going to have participants. The first was how to take a dressing down of the highest order from a superior. The other lesson was how to see the other side of life for those that the cadets would be protecting by volunteering in drug and alcohol abuse centers, foster kid programs, and building homes for those less fortunate.

The Bancroft Boogie was seldom spoken of much like section 31. You knew it existed but it was never spoken of except in hushed tones with glances around the room seeing who could overhear. Vanessa however threw down the gauntlet and waited to see if a one hundred and thirty-pound chick was the only one at the table brave enough, or stupid enough, to have accomplished it.

Vanessa Slade counselor

“I was almost 30 when I went to the Academy.” Marius had quite a life before he made it to the Fleet. “I have to be honest, a lot of that didn’t even appeal to me when I was 19 and 20, but I did it out of a subconscious need to be part of the team..” He shrugged. “I guess if was something I was going to be ostracized for not doing as opposed to those doing it feeling a little superior. I might have.... but nobody needs to see this naked.” Marius gestured at his ridiculously muscled body.

“Well I am thirty. Are you saying you wouldn’t want to see this naked?” Vanessa leaned back and motioned down her body. She was not ridiculously toned like half the women on this ship. She was typical with soft spots and curves but things toned enough that nothing overlapped or hung out of place. Her smiled showed that Vanessa was someone that could run with the big dogs and didn’t shirk away from innuendos but swung back with good-natured teasing and innuendos of her own. There wasn’t a single woman on the ship probably that hadn’t dreamt of taking a peek below those shiny pips. That was just being human. If anyone ever claimed their thoughts didn’t drift there with their fellow officers at times they were just lying and the one thing Vanessa had learned at a young age was honesty was always the best policy. Intelligence however dictated that his comment wasn’t an invitation but more of someone actually kicking back and relaxing as a person and not an officer. If she was wrong however in this assumption, time and a whole lot more drinks would tell.

OOC: Morena Baccarin?? One of the most ridiculously beautiful women in the world.... yeah nobody wants to see that naked.
OOC: Bahahaha you make me smile.

Marius looked the lieutenant up and down, perhaps taking a moment too long. “I’m fairly certain there would be a few people willing to jump on that hand grenade.”

“Well, that might be the first thing you have said to me so far that is wrong.” Picking up her shot, she waved it about the room. “You are the first person that has hung out with me without an appointment besides Tony back there,” she hooked a finger at the bar behind her. “Everyone thinks I am always working. I think they also worry I am gonna hand them some kind of eval the next morning with their coffee. I don’t by the way,” she said before letting a thought drift in her mind. You though…if I was evaluating you…would undoubtedly score off the charts in performance. Vanessa looked back at Marius perhaps taking a moment too long herself as she let her mind drift for a second before she took a long swig of her beer. “Well not usually,” she let out a laugh.

OOC: There’s modesty, false modesty, and just plain fishing for complements… Marius made his opinion on her appear clear…

Marius just shook his head, “I don’t know the shrinks seem to like talking to be both on and off the record.” Marius pursed his lips, “For the most part I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve done so… until I became Captain, I was an open book. I guess nothing to hide, that means there’s nothing to fear from the ship counselor.”

Except maybe a smile, smirk, she thought realizing her innuendo about breakfast coffee and performance eval had fallen flat. It seemed Marius had read it as work banter. It had been a while since she flirted and apparently either she was really bad at it or Marius hadn’t been flirted with in a really long time. Or maybe he is the one bad at flirting, she weighed her options.

OOC: He doesn’t get to read the thought bubbles like I do, so yes he missed it, or maybe he ignored it??? dum dum dah…

“So for the record, you didn’t do the Boogie,” Vanessa steered the conversation back on topic. “That kinda surprises me. Usually, the security types are the first to charge ahead.” While Marius had become more serious the older he got, much like everyone else, only risk-takers tended to command the seat on the bridge. She vague wondered what the man was like back when he was sowing his oats as her father referred to the folly of youth.

“I don’t remember that the mental health nerds, doing the run. Doesn’t that demean the individual and is some sort of cry for emotional help.”

Marius

In the most unladylike display of shock and surprise, Vanessa lost her composure at Marius’ comment about mental health nerds. The shot that she had been casually throwing back seemed to reverse course from down her esophagus to out her nose. If a medical team had been present a scan would show that the bubble of hysterical laughter had forced the liquid mid-swallow up and out like lava erupting from a volcano. A carefully placed hand over the top of her lip and cupping her nose stopped some of the torrential stream of amber liquid but not all. Half the shot, not finding a way to escape from her sinuses shot out in a spray from her mouth mixed in with a half laugh half cough.

The only visible response was Marius moving his drink out of the line of mucus.

“Mental health nerds,” she repeated his comment croaking out the words like a chain smoker of fifty years. “Oh my god…stop.” Vanessa tapped her chest several times trying to clear the remnants of liquid from her lungs. It was blatantly clear how much humor she had found in his comment for she was still laughing between trying to gain some composure. Clearing her throat she smiled at him warmly. “You Calvin ‘Don’t know your middle name’ Marius,” she twirled a finger at Marius, “are the consummate Captain. Highly intelligent, humorous, honest, friendly but with that sprinkling of don’t piss me off vibe. The crew is lucky to have a commanding officer like you.” Her professional assessment now uttered, Vanessa could go back to friend and not colleague.

He snorted. “I’m not sure it was luck… more likely it was durability.... I was the last survivor.” The crew he cut his teeth with are all gone. The last was his wife the former chief medical officer and now he was alone from the 30 officers that started together 10 years ago.

“There is something to be said about stamina and running with the big dogs or at least making sure they can keep up.” She gave Marius a half-smirk as she looked at him from across the table. There was definite chemistry between them. The question was however if the mixture in the beaker was going to explode when stirred, bubble over the sides in a controlled reaction, or balance out in equilibrium. That was the thing about chemistry, the results were often a surprise and you always learned something in the end.

“Well,” He admitted, “Durability is an ability. It’s right in the word.” Marius had his bald head and his neat goatee, but he rubbed his cheek, the short near invisible stubble clicking in a low and slow manner.

Leaning in she motioned Marius closer as if to reveal a secret and rose up slightly in her seat to close the gap even further. Her eyes held a devilish spark and her lips curled up into a smile. “Mental health people are just as crazy as everyone else. We just find ways to explain it away. I can tell you that I did it to support a client. I can tell you I did it because I didn’t want to be contained by a uniform. I can tell you I did it because I am insanely competitive and refused to let someone win. I can tell you I did it because I was way too drunk and making more than one bad decision that night. I can tell you I did it because I flat out wanted to and thought it was fun. Are any of those answers wrong? No,” Vanessa sat back in her seat, took a sip of her beer and let out a deep breath. “They are all one hundred percent true but with varying degrees.”

Marius responded to her gesture, leaning in as well, tilting his head forward and then rotating noticeably away from her body. In appearance it looked like he was moving his ear closer to her lips. But in reality, it was a secret known only to men, it was a trick to keep one from being accused of looking down a young ladies shirt and/or accidentally/intentionally doing just that.

“If you can’t make some mistakes when you are young… when can you make them.” Marius tipped his head up when he spoke, now probably far too close to her face for a moment. “Wait till you have a few more pips on your collar, you’ll really want to take it off.”

“The uniform, pips, or both,” she said in a slow tone holding his gaze. She read his comment as a double-edged sword. Was he talking about the burdens of command and wanting to return to the more simplistic stage of one career when reckless and dangerous earned you recognition and life skills? The other option could have been more of wishful thinking speaking to wanting someone to see you not as your boss or superior but like every other person who may not always have the answers or the right ones. Part of her however wanted his comment to be just an invitation for later.

“Yes,” He responded in a very unhelpful manner. He knew what he had said and the manner it could have been interpreted. But much like someone who bought something out of his budget he was having both the excitement of the new purchase and the remorse of having to pay for it. Is the juice indeed worth the squeeze. Actually it was more the attempt at the squeeze. This 30 something certain was flirting with me, he thought but what was the actual intention and was his mind leading him into directions that weren’t’ really available.

Vanessa did not move back closing her eyes and taking one last moment to smell his cologne, aftershave, soap? Whatever the scent was it was nice. Time to revisit the question about chemistry, she thought opening her eyes. Changing her expression to one of bemusement she reached out and shoved his shoulder back playfully raising her voice just enough so that any people that might have been watching them could hear her. “Shut up you requisitioned Ipswich clams for the clam bake next month. Thank you skipper. You and the crew will love them. They are so much better than the replicated ones at the last clam bake,” she said sitting back in her seat. The comment would be enough to explain the laughter, perhaps too long pauses, and why she and Marius were in a table that was out of the way. It would also serve two purposes. The first was to end any random glances that might have been turned their way. The crew avoided the last clam bake so the gossip would be that the crazy therapist was planning another. The second was for Vanessa to show Marius that she could think on her feet even if she had stepped over the line of sobriety.

Marius looked up confused by the non-sequitur. He continued like the sentence was appropriate, “You know I didn’t actually know Ipswich was a place that had clams. I always though it was just a random weird name I heard in a movie once.”

Tonight was turning out to be more fun than she could have ever hoped for and she wasn’t sure she wanted it to stop.

“I think you are up for a question skipper” she threw out is rank in a teasing manner. “The question on my mind is are you going to play it safe and ask a question to reveal something about me Father O’Flannery would deem church safe or go with a question I know you probably are debating about whether you really want to know the answer to or not.”

Vanessa Slade CNS

Marius tapped his lips, he had tons of questions he would, could, wanted to ask but he was a captain and she was a Junior Grade. No matter how unofficial and off duty this was he would be on duty eventually and the fact of the question would remain forever. In turn, she would be allowed to ask him a question of equal privateness and he would be honor bound to answer it. Too light of a question and she would paint him as overly cautious - tor ribald, he would be a pervert.

A thought popped into his head. “What is the most sexual thing you every sent over a wireless transmission system?” That should take a little steam out of her.

Vanessa let out another laugh and smiled as she nodded picking up her beer. “Am I out drinking the tough and burly ex-Marine because you Sir,” she let the honorific deliberately slide off her tongue as she looked him in the eye with a mischievous smile, “forgot the rules of the game? “It should have been Vanessa,” she let her voice drop some trying to get him to crack a smile at her very bad but very obvious attempt to imitate him, “never have I ever send something sexual over a wireless transmission system?” She did not let her teasing last too long. She wanted him to see it as encouraging down a path. She also decided that before the night was up, she would find a way to get a genuine smile out of Calvin Marius.

He groaned, she was right. He didn’t do the format of the question right. If this was jeopardy he would have lost his turn. Perhaps not so in almost drunk never have I ever.... btw what every happened to the Caitain they started the conversation with .

“The answer is a three-parter,” she took a sip of her drink. “Part one of my answer is wireless transmissions are the hot sauce on the plate of a relationship. It keeps things interesting and spicy. Looking at me you see a peach but take a bite and you find a ghost pepper. Part two is who hasn’t when you are in a relationship. Part three you don’t jump for thirty-year-old grenades or did I get that part wrong?” Her question was loaded. She did not get it wrong so on one hand she was playing coy. On the other hand, however, they were both consenting adults and command staff. Her rank might be lower than his but her options were just as limited. Being the counselor meant she knew about most people’s dirty laundry and flaws. Most people didn’t want to date someone they just confessed to about cheating on partners or parent issues.

Marius didn’t answer the first part of the ‘answer/question’ she had to use a question for that. “Virtually everyone thinks they are spicy, that’s like asking someone if they have a sensor of humor. They all say they do, but not everyone does.”

“True but we are in public and need to have a bit of decorum. It is why I leaned toward the shy and reserved but,” she took a drink. “We both know I am anything but shy and reserved… unlike you.” She winked at him taking a sip of her drink.

Marius looked confused for a moment, the responded with a single chuckle, “Didn’t say that exactly. I said I’m sure someone would jump on that hand grenade, I never said if I would or would not be that person.”

If we weren’t sitting in this lounge and wearing these clothes, we would have been gone thirty minutes ago and wearing no clothes, she thought but replied with a more neutral comment of, “fair enough.”

“Never have I ever had a friend with benefits…friend,” she asked her question taking a drink at the same time. Following the rules of the game, Vanessa’s drinking proved she had. She had also given Marius the leeway to answer one or both of her open-ended questions. Leaning back she picked up a french fry and waited to see if her skipper was confident enough to be just Calvin or if he would retreat behind his rank and answer as Captain Marius.

Vanessa Slade

Well that required a drink, Marius took a sip. “Well, I don’t know if there is much of a story behind it… I’ve had a couple of non-committed sexual things.” He looked upward and the right. “I don’t like confusion.” Marius tapped a glass, “So I would always sit down pretty early.” He refilled his glass. “It can be a short conversation or a long one.”

He smiled as a memory came to him, “I remember a young marine who I had some adult recreation events with. After the first night we were drinking some beers at the mess and I hit her shoulders, this was the conversation word for word.”

“Hey last night,”
“Yeah,”
“You cool?”
“Cool. You?”
“Great…”
“Its nothing serious.”
“Roger - wilco, want to knock one out tonight.”
“Bet.”

“And that was the whole conversation. We were ‘not’ together for about six months and there sporadically hooked up twice as year.” This conversation had turned a little spicy. He had no one to blame but himself as he might not have started the ball rolling, but he definitely gave it a push after it started moving. “Are you going to eat that French fry or wait for someone to take a picture?”
Marius

“A picture. I am so photogenic,” she smiled and posed with the fry like the latest short-order cook in holomericials about how good MacDonald’s fries were.

Vanessa Slade CNS

“You are very symmetrical.” Calvin responded honestly.

Vanessa looked at him and thought about his comment. “You know facial symmetry is universally associated with beauty and attractiveness in both sexes and in sexual and non-sexual contexts across most cultures. The most accepted theory for this is that biological beings subconsciously equate symmetry with good genes and physical health so thank you,” she replied with a smile. “Although it would have been far simpler to just say I am very pretty,” she winked at him. Fishing her back pocket she tossed a few coins on the table. No one on the ship tipped the bartender. It would be like tipping the quartermaster staff for getting your belongs to your room when you transferred to a new ship. She and Tony had a long talk about it a few weeks ago. People might wonder but let them.

Dropping the fry to her plate, she brushed off her hands and stood up. “Let’s get out of here. I wanna show you something.” Vanessa had no idea if Marius was the type of guy that needed a play-by-play before doing something or would go where his curiosity might lead him.

He watched as the fry hit the plate. “Just as I suspected, the carbs were a rouse all along, you don’t look the way you do by eating them.” He stood in a reserved manner. “I think it might be hard to show me something on this ship that I haven’t seen before.” It was said with an amused tone without challenge. He couldn’t seem too excited, their conversation was conspicuous enough already.

Marius

“You skipper need to book an appointment with the ship’s ophthalmologist because you completely missed the fact I ate a burger, plate of pickle nickles, and loaded fries. Carbs and me are like this,” she crossed her fingers and held them up to him. “One day we will have a proper dinner and trust me it won’t be me eating a dainty little salad. No great story ever started around two people eating salad.” As to his other comment, Vanessa didn’t respond. People’s views of interesting or novel differed. Firewalking bordered on the mystic and spiritual unless your community practiced it. Then it was as common as eating a baloney sandwich in the middle of an elementary school cafeteria. “Tony I need a bucket to go,” she hollered over her shoulder.

Leaving the lounge, Vanessa didn’t look back but grabbed the tin pail at the end of the bar Tony set there. Inside were a couple of beers and a bottle of whiskey on some ice. She assumed Marius was following her. Tapping the console on the turbo the door slide open effortlessly as they stepped inside. Hitting the desired floor for she leaned against the wall. Tapping her fingertips on the wall behind her as the numbers descended she hummed a little tune that was clearly the standard elevator music often heard in offices everywhere. “For the record I don’t think I am different or in any way unique. We are all just trying to make our way through each day and not letting our freak flag get past half mast most of the time.”

As if on cue a twang country song began to play from Vanessa’s personal communicator in her back pocket. The melody was a classic toe tapping tune with a couple of violings and steady drum beat keeping in pace with the lyrics that soon filled the small enclosed space.

Hey, they call me the fireman, that’s my name
Makin’ my rounds all over town
Puttin’ out old flames
Hey, well, everybody’d like to have what I’ve got
I can cool ‘em down when they’re smolderin’ hot
I’m the fireman, that’s my name

In a single motion, Vanessa handed the tin pail to Marius and fished the communicator out of her pocket answering in immediately. “What do you want. I am wawking.” As typical her accent came through the second she started to talk to her family from back home.

“Sounds like you ah drinking,” the voice broke out in a laugh, “and who wawks at 4 am.” There was a hint of suspicion in the tone as silence fell between them before Vanessa spoke.

“Life of an officah. what do you need?”

“Faw you to call Mah,” Daniel Slade’s thick Bostonian growl seemed to echo in the small space. It was clear he was annoyed and this wasn’t exactly a social call. “She said she has been calling you faw like fouh houhs and you have not picked up. She is going down the rabbit hole that the bawg attacked and you have been assimilated oh some crap like that. She is riding ah asses so if you dawnt want hah showing up on Deneva call hah.”

Vanessa groaned and rubbed her forehead. Other people might had have felt a need to explain why a grown woman was getting a call to report to her mother. For Vanessa it was just a Tuesday night. Hopefully Marius missed the comment about Daniel thinking she was serving on Deneva instead of millions of light years from there and on a star ship. It was time to end the call before anything else came out. “Okay okay fine. Gawtta go,” she snapped into the communicator and let out a breath she was holding. “Family…if you kill them then you don’t have someone to help hide the bodies so you are stuck with them.”

Vanessa Slade