[USS Charon, Deck Two, Captain's Quarters]
Clutching the basket more tightly in his hands, Nveid almost did a startled jump at suddenly being the focus of the tall human's attention. But if he had observed one thing during the past hours it was that the thaessu Sakarra liked him, and if that was not enough, he was very gentle with the two small ones. And the voice … the voice was familiar. She had told him this lloann'na had been on the little ship, too, but he had been one of the soldiers with the helmets.
Soldiers meant bad things.
Looking back and forth between the thaessu and the soldier, Nveid finally settled for a helpless look at the woman. It was so pretty the way they were standing close, talking with low, tender voices, but if they liked each other that way they were sure being shy about it.
"L'hap-thra, so-kan. Tteishkou, ha."
"Ie." He nodded slowly, and gathered up his courage to stare squarely at the human. "Yes. Thank you."
Brent nodded. "Good. You should try to join us all again here the next time I take the twins out for a little holodeck time. Maybe we could show you the place where I grew up at. Or maybe something else hm?" Brent said. He considered leaning over to ruffle the hair of the little boy but decided against it. Instead Brent sat down on the couch and let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully the Captain would get off duty soon and he could go and get things set for dinner with Sakarra.
Nveid blinked at the Vulcan and cocked his head to the side. He had a vague idea what the man might have been saying, but… he nearly jumped again when it looked as if the soldier was going to move towards him, but reminded himself that he was being silly. If she trusted the human, it would be stupid to be afraid, right?
She told him she would explain in the strange, fluid dialect that she insisted was still being spoken on the world of the thaessu'a and Nveid nodded, holding the basket close to his chest. When the tall soldier sat down, he nearly echoed the man's sigh but stopped himself.
For a moment, it looked as if Sakarra was going to reach out for the human like she had before, that careful touch as if she were afraid to break something, which to Nveid made little sense considering he looked as if he could snap the small woman in half. But she only nodded and picked up her bag, not protesting when Nveid slid his hand between her warm fingers again. They said a few more things in the language he had not quite figured out yet and then she moved to leave, floating like a raincloud over the mountains in her pretty, deep blue dress and the billowing coat.
He would have liked to stay a little longer, even if it meant the soldier would be there, too, but the friendly, strange other woman and her daughter would be waiting. He felt a little guilty that he wanted to stay with his thaessu instead of with the lonely girl and resolved to try and be especially nice this evening.
[Later that evening, Deck Ten]
The young Vulcan had managed to avoid any curious glances so far, owing mostly to the fact that most of the crew was already taking their dinner in Eris Deck or had retired to their quarters, but she still was mildly relieved to find this last corridor empty as well.
Although it was not unheard of for Sakarra to walk about the ship in her off duty attire at late hours, the heavy mantle covered a midnight blue silk garment which a Vulcan would wear on a warm evening on her home planet, rather than the heavy, high collared dress which was the customary attire off world. The choice had seemed logical, given Brent's favorable comments – if there was one thing a Vulcan understood and approved of, it was the appreciation of something aesthetically pleasing. And even more logical, she simply enjoyed seeing his face light up with a smile. Tucking an errant strand of curls behind her ear, she pressed the door chime.
Brent had been busy preparing his room for the evening. He was quite good at keeping his billet clean and tidy, but he thought that it needed something else. He had changed the lighting scheme away from the dull northern Gilgamesh sunlight to what he had experienced in Sakarra's quarters closer to that of Vulcan he had hoped. He had cleaned off his desk, well more to the point he had set the PADDs on them in neat piles. He still had work to do later on. The table had been set with two places and a bottle of wine in the middle with two glasses. Brent was no chef by any stretch of the means, and so he decided to simply rely on the replicator, as a means for dinner. He did manage to acquire some nice looking hor'd'ourves for them to eat before dinner.
When he heard the door chime he smiled and walked over. "Computer set gravity for standard Vulcan gravity," he said calmly as he felt the weight rush off of him he took in a deep breath and opened the door. "Hey there," he said and motioned for her to come in. "Welcome to my little hole in the wall."
Giving the gracious incline of the head that was proper for being invited into another's home for the first time, Sakarra quietly walked through the doors. Warm, copper tinted light greeted her and there was the pleasant, familiar tug of standard Vulcan settings from the deck platings.
From the looks of Brent, he appeared as if he felt lighter than a feather and the young Vulcan did not bother to conceal the fact she was mildly amused by that, as well as touched by his efforts to make her comfortable. She carefully held out her paired fingers and looked up into deep blue eyes, so familiar and still always different.
"Na'shaya, ta'luhk-veh."
Brent met the gesture with one of his own, only this time he was the one who pressed their fingers together. He smiled as the familiar feeling crossed over their cheeks. The door closed behind her as Brent moved from that gesture to intertwining his fingers with hers as he took her hand. 'Welcome. I hope you like it.' He motioned at the bed that seemed... Large. It was in fact large. His height forced him to request a different bed, and the only one in stock had apparently been a king sized bed. He didn't stop at the bed though, he then gestured around to what could only be described as a Spartan room. There were very few things in it. His desk had a well stacked pile or two of PADDs and his wall had on it a few awards that he had been given while in the Marines.
The final place his hand stopped was on the table. On it had little crackers and bits of cheese that Brent had acquired as well as a bottle of wine. 'Have a drink with me?' He moved towards the table to encourage her to follow, only to let go of her hand so that any more thoughts did not cross between them.
And a good thing it had been, too, that he let go when he did, Sakarra mused while biting her lower lip in an effort to hold back the chuckle threatening to erupt. Trying to guard certain thoughts indeed. And he was actually doing a fair job of it; the only problem was that once even a small hint escaped, it tended to spark an immediate response. In this case, the idea of how lovely and inviting that bed was, and the brief image of her finding out for herself had been more than enough to send her mind off to explore .. theoretical options.
She stomped down on her vivid imagination in favor of the food - the intense but not unpleasant scent of the cheese served as a vivid reminder she had not eaten since the picnic in the holodeck, and Oskoids were hardly enough to sustain a Vulcan metabolism for long. A brief shrug let the heavy overcoat bearing her house sigil slide off shoulders half covered with deep blue silk and she carefully folded the fabric before placing it on an empty chair.
"I should like that, yes."
Jet black eyes took in the small but decidedly pleasant quarters, uncluttered but far from barren. A slow, relaxed breath made it quite obvious she felt very much at ease here.
[To be continued ...]
Brevet 1st Lieutenant Brent Warren
Marine Commander
Lt Cmdr Sakarra Tyrax
Chief Helm
also starring:
Nveid
USS Charon
