[Bluenote - Section Three - Promenade Deck - SB 234: UNITY]
The couple sat at the far end of the bar, away from the door in the dim lighting of the nightclub. There was a duo of musicians on stage, playing efrosian vocal compositions with the accompaniment of earthen jazz. The result was a thick, resonate timbre with a steady beat and a melancholic melody. Rojac quite liked the arrangement, and the company.
At first, the Captain was wary of cultivating a relationship with one of his officers, but Lieutenant Dior was doing ahell of a job convincing him otherwise. She was straightforward, competitive, humorous, out-going, and very attractive. She smiled a lot, and Cropa liked that. When she did one could see the slight pronouncement of her bajoran nasal bridge as she shriveled up her nose, and her deep black bajoran eyes seemed to glimmer with an intriguing quality that Rojac often lost himself in contemplating.
Dior, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy her company as well. Sure, Rojac wasn't as outgoing and aggressive as she was, but he wasn't lacking in confidence. He had an impressive, confident demeanor about him that she found to be quite attractive. He put off an aura of fearlessness that demanded the respect of those around him. He had to do this, she knew. Rojac had to be stern and fearless in the few of others. He was the youngest person in starfleet to have the rank of Captain, and he was commanding the Flagship vessel of the First Taskforce. He had to prove himself capable of his duties constantly to his peers, many of whom would die to fill his position. All that said, he kept to himself a lot. He was tall, dark, and mysterious: a complete cliche she knew, but she was intrigued all the same.
"So, Rayna." He said, sipping on his martini from the barman, Mr. Holden. "Tell me about yourself. I know from your bio that you served on the Franklin and the Magellan."
She put down her red wine, which matched nicely with hue of her scarlet cocktail dress that she chose to help keep the Captain at ease (it was the same color as the accent of her duty uniform). "Well, I grew up on SB 375 where my dad ran a freighter transport company. We spent a lot of time in space running shipments to and from colony to colony. " She took another sip. "Dad put me at the helm a lot. I must ahve done the run from Betazed to Bajor half a million times... at least." She laughed, Cropa did too. "It was a pain in the ass, but it helped me a lot when I got into the academy. I was the top Flight Control student in my class after all that experience."
"It sounds like your father knew what he was doing." Rojac said.
"I guess so." She replied, running her finger atop the rim of her wine glass. The crystal hummed quietly. "What about your father?"
Cropa took a deep breath. "He wasn't as wise as yours appears to be, nor as kind."
"Really?" She looked up, surprised. "It looks like you turned out alright."
"Not because of him." Rojac said. He was willing leave it at that, but the look she gave him appeared to ask for a better explanation. "My father was arrested for the assassination of several Federation Ambassadors. He ran a Bounty Hunting and Security form that participated in several illicit activities that eventually aught up with him. He was barely ever around."
"So who watched you? Your mother?" She asked.
"No." Rojac replied. "She died when I was eleven. My older sister, whom you saw in the picture earlier, was my primary caregiver."
She had stopped playing with the rim of her glass during his story. "Well, I'm glad you were able to overcome your obstacles. I think you've made quite a name for yourself - being the youngest Captain in Starfleet and all."
"It's a struggle everyday." He replied before taking another swig.
"You handle yourself well."
They shared a moment of silence, watching each other before Rojac spoke up.
"Your eyes, they're so... mesmerizing." He said.
"Thank you?" She laughed with a chuckle.
"Betazoid eyes are so beautiful." He said. "Are you telepathic, Rayna?" He asked.
"No, luckily for you." They both laughed. "I was with my father when I was younger, but that was more of an effort on his part. My levels of empathic abilities are pretty low in betazed's standards, but I have trained myself in the ability to read one's motor cortex."
"Motor cortex?" Rojac called out, slapping the top of the bar. "So that's how you did it!"
Rayna only smirked.
"That's how you were able to read my every move in our sparring match! You were reading my brain's motor cortex activity, knowing my moves the instant before I made them." Rojac said, as realization had finally set in.
"Looks like you know my secret now." She replied before finishing off her glass of wine. "And all this time you thought you really had gotten rusty."
"Well, I'm that too." Rojac said, twirling his empty glass within his palm. "The duties of command offer little time for recreation during war time. I'm glad you got me to come out here with---"
+Chimera to Captain Rojac.+ The voice of the Chimera's Communications Officer, LtJG Kresh Montesque, interrupted Rojac's sentence.
"Never mind." He whispered to Rayna before tapping his badge. "Roajc here. What is it, Kresh?"
+Sir, there is a priority one message awaiting you from both Special Forces and First Taskforce Command.+
Rojac sighed. Priority One messages were of top importance and were to be read immediately. There classified nature would only allow him to view them in his quarters, or on his ship. He looked over to Rayna and mouthed out the words, "I'm sorry."
"I'll be right there, Lieutenant." Rojac called over the line. "Rojac out." He turned to Rayna, "It looks like our R&R is coming to an end. Thank you for the company, Lieutenant. I will see you on the bridge."
"And off the bridge, sir." She smiled, picking up her glass by the stem and toasting it in his direction. "Get going."
Rojac enjoyed the view from a moment longer before nodding a departing gesture. "Lieutenant." He turned to head toward the nearest transporter room.
[End Log]
Captain Cropa Rojac
Commanding Officer
and
Lieutenant Rayna Dior
Chief Helm Officer
USS Chimera NCC96899-C
