Dancing Lessons

Posted on Tue Sep 29th, 2009 @ 11:15pm by Lieutenant Chris Brooks & Commodore Samantha York

1,199 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Prelude: Blowing away the Cobwebs
Location: Chris's Quarters and holodeck
Timeline: 6pm Chris's second night aboard

ON:

It was almost 6 pm. Chris was in his quarters, buttoning up a black button up shirt. He was also wearing black slacks and black dress shoes. Chris had placed two candles on the table along with a ornamental ice bucket where the red wine sat, covered in ice, was chilling. The food sat on the table as steam slowly rose from the plates. The smell of the food filled his quarters and made his stomach growl in protest. Chris spent over one hour preparing the food. Replicated was okay, but not the best. The lighting was down to 62% and soft music was heard in the background. Chris began to pace as the time approached 6.

Sam arrived right on time. She dressed for dancing in a knee-length dress with a full skirt in a soft green. She walked up to the door and rang the chime.

Chris jumped slightly at the sound of the door chime. Straightening his shirt, he tried to look comfortable, "Enter." He finally manage to say after a brief moment.

She walked in and took a quick look around the room, noting the table, the candles, the lights... Then she looked at Chris. "Hi." She'd expected something a little more casual, but she appreciated the lengths he'd gone to.

"Hello," Chris smiled. "I hope you don't mind. Are you hungry? Please sit down." Chris motioned her to a seat, pulling the chair out for her to sit down, before sitting down opposite of her. "I'm sorry, I didn't think to ask you what you would like for dinner, so I took a guess. I hope you like spaghetti with meat sauce and red wine." Chris popped open the bottle of wine and poured a glass for Sam and then one for himself. "I hope you like it."

"Spaghetti is great," she replied. She picked up her glass and took a sip.

"Good, in that case, please enjoy." Chris couldn't help but notice how beautiful San really was. It wasn't the fact that Chris was lonely or hadn't been with anyone for a very long time, it was her shear beauty that got his attention. Chris took a drink and swallowed harder that he wanted to, "Where else have you served other than the Orion?"

"Most recently, the Republic," she said, taking a bite of her spaghetti.

"What brought you to the Orion?" Chris asked.

"The Captain of the Republic had a family emergency, so Starfleet decided to make some drastic changes on the ship at the same time. They assigned me here." She'd enjoyed her time on the Republic, but had to admit that it wouldn't be the same ship with a new Captain, so was not unhappy with the transfer. "Where did you serve before you came to the Orion?"

"Oh boy, lets see, I started on the Concord as an Ensign in the 101st Fighter wing, promoted to Lieutenant JG and became their XO. I transferred to the Delaware as Lieutenant and XO of the 33rd Fighter Squadron. I received another transfer to the Valkyrie as XO of the 163rd Fighter wing and then I sorta got out of the small ships and piloted the Accelerator as Chief Flight Ops there." Chris explained taking a good size drink from his glass.

"I don't know too many pilots who go from small ships to large ones. Don't they usually stick with one or the other?" she asked.

"I guess it depends on the person and what he is comfortable with at the moment. Fighters are great because its just you or you and one other. If you get hit in that type of ship, your done. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed flying, 'till it was gone. Even a fairly small Star ship can be fun, but things happen and priorities change. I am just glad to have an assignment at all. Galaxy class is a fine ship, even if it is huge. That's one of the reasons that I am thankful for the holodeck. I have a great fighter program on there. When I need to relax, I just jump in the seat and go flying through space." Chris continued to eat his spaghetti.

Sam nodded. "I think one of the things I like about science is that it's so broad. There are so many areas you can work in that it's hard to get bored. Or you can spend all your time in a specialized field."

"That's one thing that I like about flying, even though it may take longer, you can always change to a different class ship. Besides, there will always be a shuttle or something for me to play with. If I get super bored, then I will just have to do a lot of dancing and mountain climbing to make up for it." Chris chuckled.

"I like to accumulate my leave and spend a few months on a dig every now and then. It helps me stay rooted in archaeology. And there's always the holodeck."

"I have always thought about Archaeology, but never had any time to pursue or any formal education on it. It looks very relaxing. Since the academy, I was always stuck in the seat patrolling or training with not a lot of time for all the activities that I like or education that I wanted to continue. I was even married once. Now that I am on the bridge, perhaps I can start to take some of those classes that I wanted to take. Well, I don't know about you, but I am done and ready for some fun." Chris flashed a smile.

"I don't know if I'd call archaeology relaxing. Long days spent sifting through dirt and cataloging finds. I do enjoy it, though." She paused for a moment. "I'm done, too."

Chris finished off his glass of wine. "Would you care for more wine before we go?"

"No thanks. I don't generally drink much alcohol while dancing," Sam said, smiling.

Chris chuckled, "Very well, shall we?" Chris stood, offering a hand to Sam.

"Surely," she replied with a grin, taking his hand.

Chris helped Sam to her feet. "Please, lead the way." Chris said with a sweeping motion of his arm.

Sam led the way to holodeck 3. "Computer, run York ballroom 3." When the computer beeped it was ready, the doors opened to reveal what looked like a nightclub from 1940's Earth. A full orchestra played swing in one corner. A large chandelier hung in the middle of the floor where a number of couples danced. Small round tables circled the floor.

Chris looked around, it was a beautiful sight. The nightclub that he saw from this era had its own personality. This was the first time he had seen this one. He was sure of it. "One could get lost in here for hours. The scenery along with the music. I know I could stay in here all day and loose track of time. Shall we?"

Sam took his arm and the two walked on to the dance floor.

OFF

Lieutenant JG Chris Brooks
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Orion

Lieutenant JG Samantha York
Chief Science Officer
USS Orion

 

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