Dinner

Posted on Wed Jun 20th, 2012 @ 10:21pm by Petty Officer 2nd Class Sophie Blaise & Lieutenant Kalin Jerome

Mission: Divisions
Location: Lieutenant Kalin Jerome's quarters
Timeline: MD06 2020hrs

[On]

Sophie rang the chime to Kalin's quarters. After her shift she had tossed away her uniform and had changed into something more 'her'. She didn't hate the uniform, but wasn't particularly fond of it either. So when it wasn't required to wear one she rather wore something different. With a pair of dark jeans, a light shirt, a blazer and her hair down she still looked decent, but it definitely was a change.

The door opened, and Kalin stood in the archway, wearing relaxed dark jeans, and a black shirt. He had a communicator pinned to his belt. "In case there's a 'call'." Kalin explained. "Rackham left me in charge you see."

"So how are you on this lovely evening, my dear?" Putting on an overly posh accent.

Sophie chuckled. "Very well Monsieur, thank you," she said, letting her native language and accent shine through. Usually it was hardly noticeable. Her accent returned when she had been with her family for a while, or when she was angry or upset, but that was not the case at the moment. "And how are you?"

"Better now you're here." He grinned. He closed the door behind him, and made his way with Sophie to the elevator.

"Oh please," Sophie said as she rolled her eyes, but she kept a smile and followed him to the turbo lift. It was too cliché, but he probably meant well. She stepped into the lift and said "deck thirteen," out of habit. "Wait no, stop." The crew mess was on thirteen, where she usually ate, but Kalin probably ate in the officer’s mess on deck seven. She looked up at him. "Eh, where were you planning on going? I guess going to either mess hall would be a bit uncomfortable. I mean, it's not that I mind being around officers, but it is a bit 'not done' for me to be there. And you being in the crew mess probably wouldn't be appreciated either...”

"We could go back to one of our rooms, and eat there? If you want to go the mess hall, then we can go there instead. Your call."

"Back to your room it is." Sophie laughed, "And bonus points for us for our perfect planning." She shook her head and stepped out of the lift again. They walked back to Kalin's quarters and she waited for him to open the doors.

As Kalin opened them, the room as lightly lit, a table set for two already laid. Kalin smiled devilishly as they entered, while Sophie saw the inside for the first time.

"Okay, bonus points for you, for planning," she said with a laugh. Sophie looked around. "These officers’ quarters keep looking bigger and bigger every time I see them. Maybe I should get a commission somewhere," she winked and took a seat.

Kalin took out a bottle of wine, again his familiar grin and twinkle in the eye. He walked over to a small silver dinner trolley; each plate covered with red cloth, and pushed it next to the table. He removed the cloth, and picked up two plates, each having two deep fried slices of fine brie, each in the familiar triangle shape. A small amount of salad and a sweet juniper berry jam on the side. "The chef owed me favour. He dropped a cleav-, actually probably not a subject for the dinner table.
"This dish I had on my sixteenth birthday a while back. I liked this a lot, and whenever I went back to that restaurant, I ordered the same starter."

"Celebrated your birthday on Earth?" Sophie asked. She put up a polite smile, this all was very nice, but she worried that Kalin might have a different idea of this evening than she had. She always liked to get to know her crew mates better and thought they just would have dinner and a chat somewhere, but this definitely had a different atmosphere.

"Well, the years running up to my application to the Academy were on Earth, because my father taught there. It was a good place to avoid adventures, especially after-, well after the death of my mother." A slight shadow fell over his face, and the twinkle in his eyes, somehow seemed less bright, like he was remembering a very painful memory.

"I'm sorry, that must have been a difficult time," Sophie replied. Apparently they were quite different in that; both of her parents were still alive and she had set out to find adventures on her own. She did remember how much she occasionally missed her parents, but she could always return home to them if she wanted to, unlike Kalin, so she understood how difficult that might be.

She gave him a supportive smile and tried to come up with something to say, to prevent an awkward silence. "But you're out here now, finding your own adventures. She's probably very proud of you."

"I suppose. Yeah. That’s why I joined really. I don't want others to lose what I've lost. Saving lives is a good reason to live, even if those you love are not. Still, I have my Father, My sister Ruby...This ship. The whole crew as well. Nina, Ethan, Rackham, and the rest. You." His smile came back, and he was himself again. The shadow, gone, he was able to finish his starter.

When they had finished, Kalin cleared the plates, and laid out the second course. Ratatouille.
"So tell me more about you. What made you join Starfleet?"

"The need to travel, I guess." Sophie sat back for a moment and enjoyed the food, while thinking about how to explain it. "In secondary school, I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. So I decided to work for a while to get some money so I could travel. See the universe, you know? The original idea was to go for a year, but I ended up travelling two years instead."

"The last place I visited was Cardassia. Being there made me realize how important peace in the galaxy is, so I decided that by studying Intergalactic Law I might be able to contribute to that." Her thoughts went back to that time, but she quickly focused on the conversation again. "It wasn't what I imagined it to be. It was rather boring really, and when me and my boyfriend split up I realized I needed to do something else. I really wanted to travel again. See places, meet people, but I had no money for it anymore. So that is kind of why I entered Starfleet."

The two chatted a bit more about their pasts and enlistments and then finally, desert. Kalin carefully picked up the plates, and gently set them down. Each had three medium sized chocolate chip brownies, with a rich chocolate source draped over them in a crisscross over the plate. There was a sprinkling of icing sugar over, and small jug of cream on the side.

Throughout this, Kalin said nothing. "Well?" he said after exhaling. The shear effort of not diving right into the delicate pudding was clearly quite painful. "What do you think?"

"Chocolate!" Sophie exclaimed. "I really owe you for this. I guess it's cliché, but I love it way too much." She giggled and carefully took a bite. "This is really good."

"I am the King of cliché, and can assure you, that it is defiantly cliché."

Sophie laughed, "Sorry about that then, but I just can't help it." The two continued laughing and chatting over desert, until all the chocolate was gone.

"It's getting pretty late already," Sophie said. "And I have to get up early tomorrow again, so I think it's time I'm going to look for my own quarters." She got up and gave Kalin a quick hug. "Thanks for nice evening and the great food. Next time dinner is on me."

[Off]

PO3 Sophie Blaise
Yeoman

&

Lieutenant Kalin Jerome
Medical Officer

USS Endeavour