Wednesday, October 7, 2009

[USS Charon] SD 240910.04 | JL | Lt. Dlya & Lt. (JG) Bai | Campa cavallo! pt 2 Backlog

OOC: I apologize for the late posting lol. I thought I had sent it to the lists but actually sent it to another person
=/\= Deck 6, holodeck =/\=

Stepping into the kitchen, he paused a moment. She seemed to fit in
the surroundings perfectly, her dark hair contrasting to the light stone.
A thought briefly crossed his mind but he quickly banished it, hiding
it behind a quick smile. One of the sinks was located under a window
and Runo strolled over, opening the cabinet behind. True enough, there
was a programmers interface. Kneeling down to make it easier, he quickly
selected a few ingredients to be replicated and a minute or two later,
the ingredients appeared on the large island in the middle of the kitchen.
Washing his hands, the lieutenant set to work.

Tomatoes, basil, olives, a few slices of eggplant, salt, olive oil, some flour,
butter and veal together in a succulent dish. Runo winced slightly when he
realized what he had done. Veal wasn't quite on the acceptable foods list
for those that followed Hinduism. Realizing his faux pas, he set to correct
it before he got too involved with the food. Standing at the stove, working on
the sauce, he spoke up. "Indi, if I may call you that, you don't have any food
allergies or restrictions or anything like that. Right?"

Indi took a moment to answer. When Runo had began to make the food, she
had settled on moving to the side to watch him work. Sipping on the glass of
water she had gotten, she spoke too. "No, not that I know of." There was a
brief moment of silence before she realized the full implications of
his question. "Oh... you mean... I don't closely follow Hinduism if
that is what you are asking, at least as far as food goes, and yes,
you may call me Indi."

"That is good to hear... I mean that you don't have any set restrictions on what
foods you eat." As soon as those words left his mouth, Runo kicked himself
mentally. There was certainly more diplomatic ways to handle that. As
he finished the sauce and started on the meat, washing his hands before handing
the veal cuts, he continued the conversation. "So... what brought you
to a career in Starfleet? And eventually to the Charon?"

Sliding onto a stool on the other side of the large island Runo was
working at, Indi rested her elbows on the counter and her chin in her
hands, just watching. "I wanted to see the stars. I mean, I love to
dance, theres a serenity in it that you cant find anywhere else. But
after a while, it was the same sort of thing. New dances, new crowds,
but always more of the same. I just needed a change."

She took a long sip of water and flicked a lock of hair that had
fallen over her shoulder. "As for the Charon, well... Most Federation
citizens hate Romulans, or at least highly distrust them. I don't."
Runo gave her an odd look and she blushed. "My family was never a
military family. I have no first hand experience with hurt at the
hands of the Romulans. Second or third hand, sure, but never truly
personal. Its like...in Earth's second World War, blaming Germans for
the acts of Hitler. I refuse to blame every Romulan."

"Not all of them are slippery, shadow agents that I wouldn't trust my
parents with but most of them are. However, in the case of Hitler, many
of the Germans thought he was the savior they were looking for until
near the end." Runo began to glance around, realizing that he had misplaced
the spatula he was using to stir the sauce. Turning around to see it was
near Indi, he goes to reach for it just as she reached forward to had it to
him. Their hands collided and there was a moment where neither moved
before Indi gave a small smile and handed the utensil over.
Runo smiled as well before grasping onto the handle.  "Thank you..."

He stood there for a moment or two longer, keeping his gaze on Indi before
he caught a whiff of basil beginning to scorch. He turned back around, using
his back to hide the grin breaking to spread across his face, stirring
the sauce. It was basically done and the meat would be complete in a
few minutes. Speaking up so the computer would register it, he made one last
request. "Computer...access security locker Dlya-8-9 and authorize site-to-site transport."


Soon a bottle of Chateau Angelus, A.D. 2357 Bordeaux, set at the
temperature of 69 degrees Fahrenheit, materialized on the island counter.
Ensuring that he could walk away from the veal, he got a bucket with some ice
for the bottle and placed it in there. "Five more minutes and everything is ready.
Can you?" Motioning towards the dining room, he made an apologetic gesture. "I
would set the table but I am afraid I am not quite done here."

Indi's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Let me see what I can come up
with." Rather than heading into the dining room as Runo expected, she
ducked back outside under the portico, and picked up her PADD.
Tucking her feet up on the chaise lounge beneath her, she furiously
tapped commands into it, occasionally glancing over her shoulder
through a window to make sure Runo wasn't peeking.

The plain white curtains that adorned the arches of the portico had
the slightest shimmer of silver added to them, and after a moments
thought, the opacity reduced to a mere 10% so that the landscape
beyond could still be enjoyed. A rich espresso wood table appeared at
the other end of the long, covered gallery with a few more commands to
the PADD, and two matching chairs, with rich gold damask seat and back
cushions.

Chewing on her lower lip, she decided a candelabra or flowers on the
table was too cliche, and instead added cast iron sconces to the walls
and columns of the portico, which together gave more than enough light
to eat by. Especially since the timer on the program wasn't set to
move into dusk for another hour. She set the small table with a
runner of light terra cotta to play off of the cream stone of the
house, and added plain white china, so not to distract from the meal.
Grinning, she programmed in the crystal glasses for the wine, and let
her fingers hang for just a moment over the PADD before throwing it
down onto the chaise. Anything more would be too much.

Back inside, Runo seemed just about finished, so she took the bucket
with the chilling wine, and set it out on the table as the
centerpiece. She turned to go back and let him know it was done, but
he had already stepped out and was just standing there, watching with
a smile on his face.

"That was fast. You have a flair for this kinda thing. While you were
outside, I've taken the liberty of replicating some pasta alfredo and
a small Caesar salad for the side." Runo strolled back into the kitchen
and brought out the food. Knowing that he had fiddled with the program
ever so slightly while Indi was choosing the wall decorations, he took
a look around before snapping his fingers. Suddenly all of the candles
burst into flames simultaneously. The only thing was, the flame was
a brilliant ice blue although the light was as if they were the standard
orange and yellow. Pulling out the chair for Indi, he waved elegantly and
took on an exaggerated French accent. "Mon cheri, you are most radiant
in this light. Might I suggest you sit down and enjoy the surroundings, good
food and amiable company?"

"Grazie Signore. L'alimento sembra squisito." Indi laughed at Runo's
questioning look. "My mother is a linguist. I pick up on some things
well enough, but certainly not enough to hold down a whole
conversation."

Indi sat as he pushed her chair in and then took the seat across from
her. At first bite, the veal fairly melted away in her mouth. "You
have quite a talent yourself. I have to say, my intention was not to
force you to cook me dinner, although at this point I have to say it
is a lovely turn of events. Really, I just wanted to show you a
little piece of somewhere you'd never been." She blushed softly,
remembering their time on the planet and the conversation about
travel.

He laughed quietly, making sure she had gotten a few bites in before
he started into his own food. "Thank you but I wanted to repay you
somehow for the cultural experience." They ate in silence for a while
before a sound echoed through the world. Runo glanced up from his meal
in the holodeck and sighed as the computer began to chime. He picked up
the napkin from his lap, placed it on the table and stood up before strolling
over to a pillar where a small panel could be seen.

He read over the message, glanced at the chrono and mumbled a muttered
curse. He stood there a moment, debating on what to do. Indi stared at him with
a questioning gaze, not too curious but shy enough not to ask. Eventually his
training won and he sighed again. "Indi... I'm afraid that I am going
to have to cut this one a little short. The Commander has called a meeting,
its urgent." He was supremely disappointed that he had to leave but duty called.


======END LOG=====
Lieutenant (JG) Indira Bai
Assistant Medical Officer
USS Charon

&

Lieutenant Runo Dlya
Assistant Security Officer
USS Charon