First Date - Part 1

Posted on Thu Nov 14th, 2019 @ 12:31pm by Lieutenant Commander John Pearce

2,316 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: [Joint Mission]Happy ever after
Location: Various
Timeline: MD 002 - 1600

ON:

It was almost 1600 by the time John was able to get out of sickbay, which meant that he would have to hurry if he wasn't going to be late. *And I am NOT going to be late for this,* John said to himself as he hurried to his quarters. He had a date with Charlena Dilucca, the stunning Marine Major that he had met earlier that day. She had come to sickbay nursing an injured ankle and, after examining her, it had been determined to be a minor break. He had treated her injury, then gave her a routine physical, after which - following a lot of stammering on his part - he had asked her out to dinner. Happily for him, she had accepted.

When he arrived at his quarters, he quickly showered and changed into what he referred to as 'dress-up country'. He was wearing a pair of dress jeans, cowboy boots, and a western-style shirt with pearl snap buttons. Then he headed for the station in search of Chef Dan's.

As he was walking along the station promenade, he spied a florist stand and it gave him an idea. He looked over all the vendor's selections before finally selecting a single red rose. Sure, he could have replicated one but he wanted to give her a real one. After all, you didn't get a second chance to make a first impression.

Charlena was putting her earrings as she walked in to Dan & Nidria's bar and lounge. She looked around. In a very short time the Vulcan and Trill had set up something amazing. This was the first time she saw the base establishment. And as expected, the Vulcan chef had managed to attrack the attention. There were star fleet and non starfleet alike in the lounge. She noticed Dan coming out of the kitchen and walking up to her.

A smile got on his face when he saw the Major. He walked up to her. "Charlie, it is good to see you again. Welcome to my new place." He looked her up and down and noticed the nice dark blue dress she was wearing. Her hair loosely on her shoulders and the high heels. "If I didn't know any better, you are having a date."

Charlena nodded. "Yes, Dan I do. The new Shanghai doctor. I suggested we meet here. I am a bit early to..." She looked a bit nervous to him.

Dan chuckled a little. "Check out the place." He suggested. "Do not worry, I am a professional. Please follow me." He took her to a table with two seats. "I can see everything from my kitchen nothing passes by me. You will have the perfect date. I know you to be careful with whom you date. He must be something then that you brought him here."

Charlena sat down. She looked up to the Vulcan chef. "You're still good, it's almost like you read my mind. So anything good cooking today?"

"Always," Dan replied giving her a wink. "But I am not giving anything away, not until your date arrives."

Charlena laughed and said, "Fair enough. I suspect he could be here any moment now. I think he might be a man who likes to impress and come early, which is why I came earlier."

When his purchase was completed, John consulted the station's computer and, after finding the location of Dan's Bar and Grill, he immediately headed there. He walked in and hesitated a moment. He wasn't sure whether or not she was here yet as he was a bit early. Looking around, he finally spotted her across the room at a table for two in conversation with a tall Vulcan male. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to wait to be seated by someone or not, but not seeing anyone who appeared to be a host or hostess he decided to take the initiative and walked directly to where she was sitting.

"I see I'm not the only one who likes to be early," he said with a smile. "Good evening Major..."

Charlena smiled back and then she said, "Oh, this is Chef Dan, he is the owner and chef of this establishment." She introduced Dan.

The Vulcan chef looked at John and smiled. "Welcome, Commander. It is a delight to meet you. Have a seat, sir." He gently nudged Charlie and winked to her that she didn't make a bad choice.

"Now," he continued, "for this trés bien evening I have an excellent steamed salmon, and a nice chocolate pudding as dessert. And as entré a..." he waved to his kitchen personnel, and one of them came out of the kitchen with two small bowls of shrimp cocktails and placed them on the table. Another one followed and handed Dan a bottle of wine. He then showed it to Charlie and John. "And to compliment your dining experience with us, is here a bottle of the best Sauvignon blanc. That one is on the house. Any comments, questions, or changes, please tell me now, I have 2 more dishes I could offer you."

Charlie looked at the shrimp cocktail and said, "That sounds delicious, Dan! Do you like it too, Doctor?"


John took his seat and nodded in agreement. "I love shrimp," he said. "Being raised on a cattle ranch, we didn't get much seafood - other than the catfish I sometimes caught from the Frio River. So once I was off the ranch, I made it a practice to try as much new food every opportunity I had. And thank you so much for the wine. I'm sure we will enjoy it."

Dan opened the bottle and put it on the table. "Excellent," he said. "I shall leave you two love birds to it." He said a bit teasing. "If you need anythig, do not hesitate to call me." He then walked back to the kitchen.

Once Chef Dan had left their table, John produced the rose. "I got this for you," he said. "I hope you like it."

Charlena felt her cheek fluster a bit when she saw him take out the rose. She smiled as she took the rose. "Thank you, it's beautiful." She said as she smelled the rose and then put it to the side. She reached to the bottle to pore them some. "I chose Dan's place because I know Dan always goes above and beyond to create a perfect dining experience. His wife held your position before she was reassigned to the starbase. And Dan is attached to his wife, where she goes, he goes. So he was the ship's chef on the Shanghai before his wife transferred. We miss him sometimes, so we often visit him on the starbase when we are docked here."

She picked up a glass of wine and raised. "So how about a toast on a magical evening?" She asked smiling.

"I'll drink to that," he said as he raised his glass to hers. "I don't see how it could be anything but magical considering I'm sharing a table with the most beautiful woman I've seen here." Sure, it was a chat-up line but it was also factual. Then, after setting his glass back onto the table, he asked "So how long have you been aboard the Shanghai?"

Charlie put her glass down and looked to her shrimp cocktail as she picked up her fork, when John asked her that question. She looked deep in thoughts as she said, "On the Shanghai, a few months now. But I have been with most of this crew 9 months now, since the Juno under the command of Captain Anderson."

John thought he detected a bit of hesitancy in her voice as she spoke of her time on the Juno. He debated within himself whether or not to ask about it, he finally decided to let it pass. She would tell him about it in her own good time if she wished.

He picked up his fork and began to eat while all the time doing his best to be as unobtrusive as possible in stealing a glance at her. *she has the most captivating brown eyes...* he thought to himself. To her he said "Well I was on the USS Wood for a year before being tapped for the position on the Shanghai. Prior to that, I spent two years on the USS Dudley Morton as a medical officer. I've been in the medical field since graduating from the Academy." He looked at her for a moment before adding "What about you? What made you decide to join the Starfleet Marines?"

She put her fork down and swallowed that last bite as she stared to the cocktail a moment. "My father was a marine. He was dishonorably discharged for hitting a surperior officer. And then my younger sister died. I was so angry about everything, my mom for leaving us. My dad for being such a dead beat. And then she got on my case. I didn't mean to hit her, and I dont think I even hit her that hard. But accordingly to the doctor she had a defect in her brain that was never picked up and me hitting her over the head with a frying pan instantly killed her. I felt so guilty, I didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. I know it sounds weird, that I used that reason to join the marines. But the marines did help me control my angry." She was telling it very calmly, but she was actually boiling up inside, being reminded why she actually joined the marines.

As he listened to her, John began to realize that maybe he should have asked about her time on the Juno instead of the Marines. After all, her experiences there couldn't have been any worse than what she had just described to him - could they? Guild for killing your sister? Wow, that's a heavy load to bear, even if it was an accident. How do you respond to that? Maybe you don't, he reasoned. After all, there was nothing h could say that would change it or make it any better. So he decided that the best course was to change the subject - quickly.

"Before I explain how I got into medicine perhaps I should tell you that I am divorced. The reason I tell you this is because my former wife is the person who convinced me to get into the medical profession. My original plan had been to try for command but aptitude tests - and a few career counselors, I might add..." he said with a grin, "quickly indicated that command might not be in my future as a Starfleet officer. A fellow cadet named Peri was taking medical classes and convinced me to take an aptitude test for medical. I did, discovered that I liked it, and the rest as they say is history. I've always found it to be rewarding and have never regretted it for a single minute."

Charlie smiled. "That's wonderful doctor. Its good to have a passion I guess." She really didn't know what to say. After captain Anderson left, she was basically on her own. And she was pretty much on herself. But it felt nice to be out again.

Because of what she had revealed to him about her sister, he decided not to press any deeper into her personal life at the moment. If anything were to develop between them, he felt confident that he would learn more in good time. Instead, maybe he should re-visit a subject that he had passed on a few minutes ago - her previous posting. Stalling a moment by picking up his fork and eating for a moment, he formulated a question. "I'm unfamiliar with the Juno," he began. "Tell me about your time aboard her. What class is she?" He smiled a bit as he waited for her response. "And please - call me John."

She thought a moment about how to tell him about the Juno. Then she said. "The Juno was a variation on the Vesta class. Unfortunately she was heavily damaged in the last encounter the Juno had with the Crescent," she explained. "The entire crew was transferred to the Shanghai."

"I see..." John said, nodding slowly. "To be honest, having arrived in this area only recently, I'm not very familiar with the Crescent. What can you tell me about that - or them as the case may be?"

She took another sip from her wine as she started to explain, "The Crescents or the Crescent of Sephira as they are known as, are a religious fanatical race that have started a crusade on this side of the quadrant. They look like humans, but their skin is paler than that of a human. What was explained by our resident Crescent is that they live on a planet that's shielded from the sun most of the year. The only thing they get in terms of light is moonlight. Which explains their pale skin and their reaction to bright light. The Crescent are also known to have telepathic and telekenetic abilities. And they are a matriarical society, as I experienced first hand. And they can have up to 4 mates. Kind of like the Denobulans, but different. And this basically all I know for now. I believe we're having a Crescent wedding in a few days, so that is a delight. " Her voice was a bit sarcastic, she didn't really know what to make of that. She then gave a nod to Dan. "His daughter is marrying a Crescent if you can believe it. But admittedly the kid has proven himself to be a valuable asset."

To be continued...

OFF

LtCommander John Pearce, MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Shanghai

Major Charlena Dilucca
Chief of Security/Second Officer
USS Shanghai

 

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