A Night on the Town

Posted on Sun Dec 10th, 2023 @ 6:52pm by Lieutenant Commander Darrod Hanous & Chief Petty Officer Meredith Corden
Edited on on Sun Dec 10th, 2023 @ 6:59pm

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Mission 4: Through a Glass, Darkly
Location: Holographic Simulation Room
Timeline: M4 MD05 (2268.07.14) 1900

Meredith was dressed for a night on the town back on Earth many centuries ago. Her elegantly tailored black dress had a slit to mid thigh on one side and the cut left her shoulders bare. Objectively, of course, it showed less leg than her uniform, but it was a different look. She wore a period jacket over it and carried an elegant, high end handbag. She scanned the corridor. She had asked Darrod to meet her here.

Dar had been working like a dog alongside the whole Engineering team. Repairing from an effective saboteur took both knowledge and time, as did recovery from a battle. They had the knowledge, it was the time that was the big crunch. With just two days before the ship was back on assignment, long shifts were necessary. Even taking this time off, he felt guilty - though he noticed that everyone in the Engine Room had that familiar mixed look of admiration, jealousy, and deep respect that always followed the ship's most beautiful woman when he mentioned that the time he was taking was with Meredith. He was also dressed formally, though a bit less notably than Meredith - just a simple two-button single-breasted black suit, white shirt, and a black tie; plus respectable pants and black shoes.

He hadn't really seen a holographic environment used for recreation before. As he walked in, he couldn't help but marvel a little as he approached Meredith, with a wide smile. "You look absolutely stunning. This thing is astonishing - a lot more realistic than any of the simulators I've seen before. I hope I'll be able to maintain it properly."

"You look pretty good yourself," Meredith said. She would have been flattered and embarrassed had she known how he described her to the other engineers. She walked towards him. "I set this up for sort of a noir feel but there's not really a story. I just like it."

Spencer probably would have blushed a bit at Meredith's compliment; but being able to hide that was one of the advantages of having green skin. He nodded as she approached. "Nothing wrong with an aesthetic simulation. Any particular destination you had in mind?"

"I somehow never figured you for bashful," Meredith said with a playful smile. "There's a nice little place. It plays jazz. Too bad you can't quite eat the food here. Maybe some day."

Spencer chuckled. "Well, only a little. And only with people I like." He thought for a moment about her comment about food from a tech standpoint, his minor slip ignored. There were a few ways he could figure out the problem, but there was only one that wouldn't require getting his hands dirty or taking his attention away from Meredith. "Well, we could always call down to the galley and the transporter room, have something beamed point-to-point here. It'd probably taste a lot better than the protein synthesizers, too. I don't know if it would be possible to replicate the taste of real food ever, but I know it's possible to transport it. Might not be perfectly in theme with the music, but it's better than nothing." Having found a possible solution to the problem, he smiled. "Actually, when I was at the Academy - did you go out and explore the city much? There was a place on Embarcadero, a little jazz club that they said had been there since before World War 3. It was a nice place to go - they even played Andorian jazz there, along with Earth, Orion, and Rigelian. Great coffee there, too."

"You don't have to be bashful with me, Darrod," Meredith said, before hypocritically turning away, cheeks coloring slightly. She heard all of his ideas about getting food. She shook her head slightly. "You don't have to do all that..." Though she hesitated. "If you want to, it would be appreciated." Another shake of her head as he asked about the Embarcadero. "I didn't go to the Academy," she reminded him.

Darrod nodded; he hadn't even thought about the possibility her not having gone to the Academy. After all, someone who was capable of keeping a starship operational like the Captain's yeoman seemed, to him, to require someone who'd been trained in a little bit of everything. The idea of food was pushed back a bit, at least until they'd gotten somewhere to sit. "That's fair - I keep forgetting about that. But, you know where the place is, so, shall we? Then, once we're settled, we can get some food beamed down."

Starfleet Academy was for officers. The captain's yeoman was a noncom. With twelve years experience in Starfleet, she had experience in a little of everything and some specialized training courses. However, she had never attended. She had, instead, gone to Starfleet Technical Services Academy on Mars. She smiled at him and started to walk. "That sounds lovely, Darrod."

Darrod hadn't had the years in that Meredith did, having started as an Ensign 8 years ago. Serving in a technical department, skilled individuals, and especially skilled individuals who weren't awful leaders, often got promoted to Lieutenant relatively quickly and stayed there for longer than pure Command track. It was just high enough in rank to command an engine room, but low enough that they wouldn't start lusting after their own ship. For Darrod, who'd previously been a closer on three different ships, being here was a chance to stretch his legs and see how things worked in the 'real' fleet, not during the last year of a five-year mission. His knowledge of Mars was for the shipyard, where he'd almost taken a posting. He was glad he hadn't done that. He smiled at Meredith and walked beside her, enjoying the moment of unhurried quiet companionship.

Meredith also seemed to enjoy the quiet companionship for a few moments. The streets had a mood to them. There was a vague air of mystery and danger. It was a different, less evolved time. In some ways, a more dangerous time. But it was just a mood. This wasn't a danger simulation. At least not in that sense. She reached out, after a minute of walking, and put a hand in the crook of Darrod's elbow. "I wonder if this universe had a period like this?"

Darrod couldn't help but smile when Meredith took his arm. To him, this sort of atmosphere felt a little like home - the vague hum of what some Orions would call 'the biz' around every corner. It wasn't as organic as the real version of course. Even a theme-park version made it obvious. "Maybe it did - most places have, I think."

"Is it...." Meredith hesitated over how to ask. "It's not too familiar for you, is it?"

He smiled widely at her question and shook his head, resting his hand over her hand on his arm. It really wasn't 'too' familiar; it was just those hints of things he understood. "No, not at all, really. Especially not with someone I like. After my family got away from the Syndicate, I was actually on an Earth Colony for a few years with them before I joined Starfleet. They're still there, actually - learning to farm, if you can believe it."

"You like me, huh?" Meredith teased, but she was listening carefully. "It's not that hard to believe. Not really. What led you to Starfleet? No interest in the farming life?"

Darrod smiled with a very light blush at her catching his comment and the meaning behind it. "Well, yeah..." But she switched the topic quickly enough to something much more safe. It was strange to him, he liked talking to her, but the moment the subject turned toward the two of them as a couple, he got unusually spooked. "None whatsoever, really. Everything I've heard about sounds like an exercise in frustration - I prefer the faster pace and precision of life aboard a starship, rather than just putting seeds in dirt and hoping they'll germinate and grow. As far as what led me here, well, I grew up on ships - freighters and such mostly, but also a few combat vessels. It's what I know. And maybe a little... I want to help make people safer. It's a little trite and cliche, but I signed up because I wanted to help people." Even though he was talking about his own life, his focus was on her, and he smiled, asking her a similar question. "What brought you out here to work in space?"

Meredith smiled slightly at his comment. She was not sure why he was so shy with her. It was endearing in a way but frustrating in another. "I wanted to explore the galaxy," she said, "to encounter other civilizations, other philosophies, other ways of living. That sounds trite, too, I know."

Dar smiled, nodding along with Meredith's explanation of her reasoning. When she called her own reasons trite, he shook his head. "I don't think it is, because you mean it. Maybe finding a better way to live is what we're all really here for."

"I think so," she agreed. "And meeting people. Out there and...otherwise."

Darrod laid his free hand over the one she had in his arm, intentionally not retreating from his feelings for the moment. He nodded at her. "I think right now, I prefer the otherwise."

Meredith just smiled. "Me too, Darrod. Me too."

 

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