= SB Unity - Serendipity Cafe =
Hank took a sip of his raktajino and grimaced. "Dear God, this is
strong stuff. I love it."
Natalia smiled and took a sip of her tea. "I have to admit I've never
been a big fan of Klingon drinks... or food. Or anything Klingon,
really."
"I only really like raktajino," Hank admitted. "It has a nice kick to
it. As for the food... if you like to chase your food around the
restaurant before eating it live, then Klingon's the way to go. Mind
you, I've picked up a few pounds since I've been in command, chasing
would probably do me some good." He grinned at her across the small
round table as he took another sip and pulled a face again.
"How long have you been in command?" Natalia asked as she finished up her tea.
"A little over a year," Hank replied. "Minus the last few months, of
course. Say, did anyone mention to you that Deck 7 is haunted?"
"Haunted?" Natalia echoed, leaning forward. "No. No one told me about that."
"Apparently when the Rapier was constructed, one of the engineers from
the shipyard was sealed inside a deuterium tank," Hank said with
conviction as if he 100% believed the story. "Now his ghost haunts the
deck. Luckily it's a pretty empty deck. Only storage pods and life
systems are located there."
"Have you ever seen the ghost?" Natalia asked, thinking that parts of
Deck 7 were used to store equipment during her mission.
"Nope, never. But I don't exactly spend much time there. My former
chief engineer once swore he saw the ghost, but Tellarites can tend to
exaggerate sometimes," he added.
Natalia smiled and looked at Hank. "To be honest I don't really
believe in ghosts... but I like to have an open mind. I've seen too
many things to be close minded."
"You sound like you've had some interesting experiences," Hank said a
little more seriously.
"Oh yes," Natalia nodded. "But haven't we all? SSF isn't exactly a
playdate on Vulcan. If I used to think tactical simulations at the
academy were tough... they're nothing compared to what you experience
out in space."
Hank suddenly scowled and looked at her and for a moment Natalia
wondered if she'd said something wrong when his eyes lit up as if a
light bulb had suddenly gone on in his head.
"Yes, yes!" he exclaimed. "Now I remember! I thought your name sounded
familiar when I heard it. There are only so many Humans at the Academy
with unpronounceable surnames. Your nickname was Ice Queen, wasn't it?
Sorry... I hope that didn't offend you."
Natalia burst out laughing and nearly dropped her tea cup. "No, you're
right that was me. That was my nickname." She thought back to the
Academy and tried to remember Hank, but he didn't ring a bell just
yet. Telson, Telson, Telson...
"They used to say you were colder than a Vulcan during battle," he
said, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, I promise I'll stop. But that's
probably why you were the best in Strategics. And you had a knack for
languages too, if I remember right."
Natalia narrowed her eyes as she desperately tried to think back to
the Academy days. "Howcome I don't remember you?"
"We did one simulator mission together... maybe two," Hank replied. "I
was a year ahead of you, I think. I was in Engineering; I served as
Chief Engineer for the simulation, you were at Tactical, I think? USS
Rio Grande..."
"Yes, I remember the Rio Grande," Natalia said as things became a
little clearer. "But I still don't remember you. That was the mission
where the Borg ended up assimilating the Cardassian crew we were
supposed to save and Pendleton nearly threw up on the Bridge cause
he'd been out the night before."
"Yeah! That's the one. That mission was a dismal failure," Hank
laughed. "I nearly flunked that semester because of that stupid
mission. How was I supposed to know there were nanites in the
transporter system?"
"So that's the reason why K'Tai was hauled up in the Infirmary for a
week?" she incredulously as long forgotten questions were suddenly
answered. "I'd wondered about that. One moment she was beamed to
Engineering and the next Pendleton informs us Professor Ardex took her
to the Infirmary."
Hank nodded enthusiastically. "My fault, I admit it. Now I know to a
diagnostic before you use the transporter on someone, not afterwards."
"Oh, don't worry," Natalia said wryly. "It's partly my fault the
Cardassian ship got assimilated. I accidentally fired a photon at it
which dropped its shields allowed the Borg to beam through and the
rest is history. But, in my defence, after K'Tai was taken to the
Infirmary, Pendleton, in his drunk state, took over the helm in manual
control and looking at the viewscreen made my head spin. So, when all
is said and done, it's really your fault. If K'Tai had come back I
wouldn't have missed and we might still have had a chance to win the
scenario." She crossed her arms and smiled wickedly at him as if he'd
just confessed to a crime.
"Ah, what can I say," Hank said with a grin, spreading his hands. "I
was a mere second year and didn't use my brain. I hope you can find it
in your heart to forgive me."
Natalia just laughed at him and looked up as a Bajoran man who looked
vaguely familiar approached them.
"Commander Telson? Sorry to interrupt," he said to them both.
"Major," Telson said, sitting up in his chair. "Commander
Trzetrzelewska, this is Major Varis. I'm sure you've heard of him
before."
"Oh yes, we've met, briefly," Natalia said as she remember, smiling in
greeting at the JAG officer.
"I was hoping I could see you later," Liev said. "If you have a
moment. I have the results of that case you asked me about."
"Of course," Hank said. "I'm not busy later, maybe we could–"
"Please, have a seat, Major," Natalia said as she stood up. "I have to
leave anyway, I need to find Captain Rojac and let him know I'm back.
Hank, thanks for the tea, I owe you."
"Oh, it was a pleasure," he said, looking a little surprised that she
was leaving so quickly. "It was nice chatting to you, Natalia. I'll
contact you again about that XO referral."
"I'll be waiting to hear from you," she smiled as she offered Liev her
seat before leaving the cafe.
= End Log =
Commander Natalia Trzetrzelewska
Executive Officer
USS Chimera NCC 96899-C
-
Commander Hank Telson
Commanding Officer
USS Rapier NCC 61582
[NPC by Bren]
