= SB Unity - Serendipity, Promenade =
Bren looked at the tall candlesticks that adorned the small
table in the restaurant, hoping his guests would arrive
soon. He had made reservations for four at Serendipity; for
himself, Liev, Rangi and Shane, but Liev had decided not to
come at the last minute.
The dinner had been a "tradition" started while he was CO of
the Chimera, but due to the short stay in the chair, the
tradition didn't last very long. But now that they were all
back on Unity, Bren thought it was a good time to revive it.
At least it would give the officers a chance to socialise
and see each other somewhere other than a conference room or
the command deck.
Rangi, greeted at the door, was shown to the table where
Bren was sitting. He stood up as she approached and waited
until she was seated. "I'm so sorry, but Shane won't be
here." she said as the waiter hovered nearby. " It was a
last minute hiccup and he sends his apologies."
"Don't worry," Bren replied with a small smile. "Liev isn't
making it either. He says he's feeling a little under the weather, so has
decided to stay in."
A few moments were spent in organising a drink then the
waiter left them alone to peruse the menu.
"We were ready to come out," Rangi explained " ...waiting
for Laura, our babysitter, to arrive. She is usually so
punctual but then she called to say her boyfriend had
arranged a surprise birthday party for her
and..well..obviously she couldnt leave it so she called us
to explain and Shane said he would stay behind and care for
Martin.. I'm so sorry after you've gone to all the trouble
of arranging it."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Bren scoffed. "I hear he's
been spending a lot of time with Starfleet brass lately... I'm sure he'd
rather like to spend time with his son. And with you. You
didn't have to come if you'd rather spend time with them."
" I couldnt give up the chance of an excellent dinner."
Rangi replied with a touch of amusement in her eyes. "...and
though Shane would have enjoyed it too, he treasured the
time he can share with martin."
Bren smiled. "Well that's good. Things have been so busy
that we haven't had a chance to catch up since I came
to Unity. How have you been?"
"I'm fine now thank you," she said "..never better, though
you might have heard I had to spend time in a stasis unit?"
At the mention of the stasis unit, Bren frowned. "While on
the Chimera? No...
what happened? I have to say people were very tight lipped
about your
assignment to the Chimera. Official reason was that there
was a shortage
of medical staff, but to be honest... I'm not sure I
believed that."
"Mmmm..that wasn't strictly true." Rangi replied. " When
LtCmdr Quiocho suddenly returned
to the base it left the cmo position vacant and because of
the time factor, someone had to be found fast.
That was the official version.
Actually Shane wanted me away from Unity and that was too
good an opportunity to miss."
"Away from Unity? For what reason," Bren quickly asked, then
added as an after thought. "Sorry, just stop me if I'm prying
too far."
Rangi smiled to the kind face. " It's alright." she said. "I
don't mind you knowing what I know. Some things are always classified.Shane
wanted to ensure Martin and I were safe. Unfortunately...well...I
became very ill...hence the stasis unit."
"I see," he said as the waiter brought their drinks. It was
obviously quite serious if she needed to be put in a stasis unit, but
she seemed fine now and Bren didn't want to push the subject too much.
"Would you like to order now?" the waiter asked.
Rangi handed the menu back to him. " I'll have the salmon
please." she said. He gave a small bow then turned to bren " And for you Sir?"
he enquired.
"The steak, please, medium rare," Bren said, also handing
his menu back. "Haven't had that in a while. I'm supposed
to watch my diet but what the hell."
Rangi laughed "Well, speaking as a CMO I have to advise you
to do that, but then again, what would life be without one or two
indulgences now and then?" She raised her glass.
" To Good food in moderation and to good company in full."
"Hear, hear," Bren said and raised his glass.
"How's Martin adjusting to life on the starbase?" he asked.
"He's enjoying it." Rangi said but paused, not wanting to
disclose too much about Martins time away from Unity which
had more or less coincided with her own absence.
" You must make time and come and visit us." she said.
"Does he ever ask about his birth parents?"
The arrival of their meal paused their conversation and as
the food was set out before them, Rangi thought back to the
events which had brought Martin into their lives. The Mirror
universe had been something to experience and, if the
situation could have been different, would have been
fascinating.
She would have liked to have talked to Martins real mother
much more than she had and to have found out about her life.
The time had been short...too short and the end had been
disasterous with her mirrored self and Shanes too both
losing their lives.
The waiter fussed around then finally left them to enjoy
their food and Rangi was able to answer Brens question.
"He doesn't mention them much now." she said. "At first it
was difficult...for all three of us. We went on a steep
learning curve. " She gave Bren a rueful smile. " Shane and
I..well...we suddenly became parents to a two years old and
Martin was stuck with people he didnt know."
"The few times that I've seen him with you, he seemed to be
adjusting well," Bren commented. His first and only mission as
Chimera's captain had seen the ship slip into a parallel universe, the
gateway to which was controlled by the mysterious transdimensional
key artifacts, one of which had been destroyed and another of
which remained in the custody of the R&D artifacts vault.
"Yes..and he coped amazingly well. We didnt know anything
about him. His favourite toys or food or...anything."
"Not that an event such as losing one's parents is ever
easy, but I think he was fortunate that it happened at an early
age," Bren said. "It makes adjustment so much easier."
Rangi nodded. " Yes...yes I suppose it does."
They each concentrated on their meals and began to eat.
"I've been catching up with some of Commander Harker's old
logs," he said between bites. "He did some really good work.
It's a shame Starfleet has to lose such good officers. I see he assisted you as
well with the Solrin vaccine?"
Again Rangi nodded, unable to answer until she had swallowed
the morsel of Salmon.
"Yes he did. It was a stroke of luck that some Romulan
refugees had had a similar condition. That treatment was the
basis of ours."
Bren nodded. "I haven't had a chance to go down to the
planet yet. Have you been?"
" No, not yet, but Scott was telling me that
its very lovely in some areas even quite close to the main sett
Shane had suggested a day
for us there...a picnic, you know the sort of thing?" She
smiled at Bren, happiness at the prspect clear to see.
"That doesn't sound half bad," he replied. "When... if
things quieten down I think I should go down and have a look around my
self. Terek reports the planet has valuable mineral deposits, but I look
forward to experiencing the scenery."
"We're fortunate to have such a place so nearby." Rangi
said. " Holodecks are all very well but there's nothing
like 'real' freshair."
"I second that," Bren grinned.
= End Log =
Commander Rangi Summers
Medical Advisor
-
Commander Bren Ohmsford
Science & Act. Engineering Advisor
-
1st Task Force, SSF