<USS Avalon> First Date or Disaster - (Erridim/Ranger)

OOC: This and its followup ("Armoring Disaster", to follow) are the last two posts where Travis Roettger (1980-2006) had a hand in playing his character named Walker Ranger. I hope that I have and will continue to do his character justice. 

IC:
Avalon - First Date or Disaster
by
Sgt. Walker Texas Ranger, Security XO
Ens. Talea Genot Erridim, Ops
----
Two hours past middle of Beta, six days after Talea initially arrived aboard, she dressed in an understated and extremely modest dress that, despite itself, simply emphasized her figure. Shortly thereafter, she entered the general crew lounge, where the authenticated message she had gotten from Walker instructed her to meet him.
Walking as carefully as she could, deemphasizing her hip-swing as much as possible, Talea started looking around for Walker. Not seeing him, she sat at an inconspicuous table to wait for him. Over the last day or so, the accusations of being cold toward her male co-workers had gotten vicious, and she was feeling the pressure. Always, the sniping was out of the earshot of the Captain, K'etrall and Doctor Cazook, too.
At the bar, Walker spotted Talea's entry. Taking up his drink, he approached her table. "Hey."
She smiled and asked, "Care to sit?" She didn't dare seem eager, although she was indeed eager for the rumor mongering to end. She had had an encounter with a member of the MARDET who had lured her into the Pit, but she had successfully defeated the Marine, despite everyone's expectation to the contrary and his blatant cheating by using energy weapons at first. Walker had not been there until after the watchers, enraged by her win, had surged forward. Busy with quelling the near-riot, he'd not seen her, although he had later along with Doctor Cazook, in her quarters after she'd had that horrid flashback.
Downing the rest of the current glass, Walker smiled softly. "Thanks." Taking the seat across from her, he smiled again and scanned the room for the servers.
She whistled piercingly and one of the servers noticed them, noting sourly, "Sorry. You're not in my section." She then walked off.
Talea raised an eyebrow. "Workers in the crew lounge have territories?" Her tone showed her surprise.
"I don't know." Walker shrugged, but held his glass aloft, hoping it'd attract their server. "Want one? Federation version of root beer. IBC, according to the menu." 

She nodded.  "Why not?"
One of the staff, a stunning brunette, approached. She huffed and raised her head slightly, looking archly at Talea as she asked, "Orders?" 

Talea muttered too low for Terran ears to detect, "Lose the attitude."
"Refill, and a fresh IBC for the lady, for starters." Walker smiled to Talea softly. "Need a moment to see the menu?"
The woman noted the orders down before she said, "You could have /more/, handsome, if you would only /ask/." Talea sternly controlled her outraged reaction to this blatant come-on to him.
"Excuse me, but I do believe I'm having dinner with a lovely lady," Walker gritted his teeth ever so slightly, "and I do believe she'd take offense to your flirting."
With disdain clear in her tone, the woman then stated, "Far more than you'll ever see from Miss Ice over there."
At the direct insult, Talea nearly surged to a standing position, ready to challenge, but thought better of it just as Walker defended her.
"She's warmer than you," Walker grumbled, "that's for sure." He controlled himself just barely at Talea's aborted challenge-stance, and remarked, "Now, if you'll be so kind, ask one of your friends to switch off on this table." 

The woman, mortally offended, stormed off without another word.
Talea shuddered as she said in a quiet, mortified voice, "I'm not sure I'm hungry anymore." What he'd just experienced was the barest edge of what she'd been battered with for the last few days.
Walker smiled softly. "This is the only time I'm gonna do anywhere near what a man of your clan would do. We're gonna stay like nothing has happened, only requesting a new server and finish dinner."
When her psionic abilities had come back in during mid-shift two days before, she'd had to suppress a hard gasp as the impressions hit like a tsunami, then she had passed out despite K'etrall and Walker's valiant attempts to buffer. Since then, she'd been mostly shielded through the shifts she had managed to work, and it was tiring. The woman's hatred of her, though, had come through loud and clear, in a razor-sharp send that had apparently bypassed her shields. By her training, she reflexively nodded to Walker. "As you will."
"Relax, please?" He looked to her. "I just want to show her that nothing she can do will get to us."
A willowy blonde came up to them then. "What'll ya have? And how in heck did you tick off Arlen?"
"Turned her down?" Walker grinned impishly. "I'll have prime rib and a baked potato, with some corn."
Talea knew her digestion couldn't handle such, so said, "I'll have the steamed-vegetable plate, with the vegetables steamed to al dente, please." 

"We'll decide on dessert after," Walker snickered.

She smiled slightly, but didn't speak.

The woman nodded, "Your drinks will be a moment."
Talea nodded. "Thank you, Ellen." She smiled at the server's startled reaction. 

~/Talea?/~  Walker looked to her, eyebrow raised.
The server chuckled and pointed to her nametag. "Name's Eleanor, but I prefer Ellen." 

Walker smiled softly. "Pleasure to meet you."
She grinned. "You folks don't know this, but that one," she refused to say who, "deleted your order. Fortunately, I saw it before she did that." 

"That one," Walker smirked, "is rude."
Eleanor nodded. "Well, actually, she's just lost her boyfriend to a murder, so there's some emotional turmoil there, but she's never liked competition, and this lady here," and the emphasis on 'lady' made it clear it was a positive, "is pretty potent competition, even for her."
"And here I go," Walker grinned, "not knowing I'm the object of a sport or game."
Eleanor showed him the order she had managed to catch before the PADD had cleared. "This right?"
"Refill on my IBC, and one for the lady." Walker smiled. "You have the rest of it."
Eleanor sighed. "Sure wish I had that blinky-blink thing like your people do!" She laughed good-naturedly.
"I don't think your boss or the Captain," Walker grinned, "would like it if I blinked you back to the bar."
She nodded. "I'd better jet. Back in a bit with your drinks." She took Walker's mug with her. 

Walker smiled softly to Talea.
Talea leaned into him. "I wish we could be alone right now, but I don't trust my own motivations for it."
"Plus I want to assist you with your Ice-Princess image," Walker grinned teasingly.
She almost flared at him for the mere mention of the hated nickname, but held back, although she did look a little hurt.
~/I'm teasing and you know it,/~ Walker smiled softly before stating aloud, "You have to admit, though, that being seen with me will boost your image, help disprove the rumors."
She nodded. ~/Yes, it will . . . but to what? The woman who stole one of the most eligible men aboard?/~ 

"I'm sure more of the male crew are eligible," Walker grinned.
She noted, "Not many of them work out in 2 to 2.5 gravities on a regular basis like you do, though. Many of the Human crew look positively flabby to me, in fact."
"I have to work out in it," Walker winked, "or have you forgotten what I am this quickly?"
She was about to mention the one time she'd been out in her armor when Eleanor returned with the two mugs, both looking intensely cold.
"Beware the shock of this drink," Walker grinned to Talea as he took up his own.
Talea looked at him a little uncertainly, then took her napkin and wrapped it around the handle; the mug looked like it had been dipped in liquid CO2! On taking a sip, she raised both eyebrows, but controlled her exclamation. The root beer, for such it was, was better than she'd ever dreamed it could be! Grinning, Walker took a sip of his own. "Thanks, Ellen."
Eleanor nodded. "Your food'll be out presently. If you need a refill, just holler."
"Don't be surprised if I use another of our gifts," Walker grinned teasingly.
Eleanor warned, "Don't you /dare/ use telekinesis to goose me." The tone, however, had some teasing as well. The fact was, she hated being goosed, especially on the ribcage, where she had a sensitive place due to a not-so-accidental archery accident by her cousin. 

"I think she," Walker teasingly motioned a thumb to Talea, "would kill me."
Talea chuckled. ~/Did you see the running metal shop the other day?/~ Her expression was amused. 

~/Metal shop?/~  Walker arched an eyebrow at Talea.
~/I did six laps of deck ten in my armor at a medium run two days ago during Beta shift./~ 

Walker chuckled. ~/Nice./~
She shook her head. ~/Got shot at by some idiot in Security yellow. Shot glanced off and stunned her./~
~/Must have been Beta or Gamma Team./~ Walker grinned slightly. His grin widening, he admitted to both women, "I'm not the type to /goose/." 

Talea grinned as Eleanor blushed scarlet and trotted off without a word.

"So, how's Ops treating you?"  Walker smiled softly.

Talea shrugged.  "It's a job and not a boring one."
"Sounds like Security, except I don't get to sit down much." He grinned teasingly, knowing that until the shift she'd had her abilities flood back in, he'd indeed been seated . . . at the Tactical console across from her Ops station. Investigation into the call that had pulled him back downstairs was still ongoing, since even if the call turned out not to be false, no personnel except Captain Phillips had the authority to pull him from Bridge duty, and the fact remained that the timing had been too close for comfort.
"And I sit so much my bum's numb after some shifts." This admission was rueful. 

"So what do we do about it?"  Walker grinned.
Talea looked at him, partly aghast, partly in wonder. She wasn't sure how to respond to this sort of retort, in fact, especially since it didn't offend her coming from him. 

"Kidding," Walker winked.
She whispered, "Do you know how difficult it is to properly correct that difficulty?" 

"Hmm?"  Walker arched an eyebrow.

She whispered deep in his mind, ~/A massage, silly man./~
~/I've given my fair share,/~ Walker blushed slightly. ~/Above the waist, though./~
She nodded. ~/Maybe . . ./~ Her send was interrupted by Eleanor from one direction and a half-screamed warning of an attack. 

Springing to his feet, Walker drew his phaser before scanning the lounge.
Talea stood, but it was partly because someone was behind her, using her as a shield. The man growled, "Drop the piece, Security, or she fries."
"Better idea," Walker returned the growl, even more dangerous sounding, "Drop yours, so I can arrest you and return to dinner."
Talea, however, had recovered from the surprise and telekinetically punched her assailant in the neck, causing him to drop. Unfortunately, when the assailant dropped, she fell backward, landing on top because the other's arms still had her in a hold that was nearly a full Nelson, and she'd not managed to wriggle free.
"Ellen, do me a favor and call one of my mates? We need to get this guy outta here." Stunning him slightly, unaware he'd also stunned Talea in the process, Walker peeled Talea out of the grip.
The lounge manager came out, angry. "Better idea. You and the hussy vamoose, too. I don't need trouble here!" His tone was harsh with anger. 

"Hussy?"  Walker was pissed.

Eleanor, vibrating with her own rage, waited on the manager's reply.

"Answer me, sir!"  His face now stern, Walker waited as well.
The manager blinked, then muttered, "Sorry. The brunette witchette's been causing trouble in the back." 

"Then send her home for the night," Walker stated reasonably.

The manager growled, "Can't.  We're two short as it is!"

Talea, hit by the light stun-1, was limp and unresponsive.
"I suggest you be careful how you treat your customers, then," Walker grunted. "Just 'cause one of your staff has her undies in a bunch doesn't mean you need to knot your own." He smiled softly before spotting Talea. Grunting, he knelt next to her and shook her softly.
A security squad from his company arrived. "What's . . ." The head of the team stopped speaking, astonished. "How the hell did you snag him?" 

"Him?"  Walker arched an eyebrow slightly as he looked up from Talea.
The woman growled as she pointed at the perp with her safetied riot-rifle. "Him. Rap sheet the length of the ship. Dozens of incidents."
"Add attempted kidnapping," Walker grunted as he returned to trying to rouse Talea.
Talea moaned deep in his mind, her telepathy one of the first things to recover from the stunning. Outwardly, she was still limp.
The four-person squad rounded up the perpetrator and hustled him off without another word. 

~/Talea?/~  Walker shook her again slightly.
Talea, now fully revived, but deliberately staying limp, groused, ~/Awake I am. Why'd you hit him with the stun beam?/~ 

~/Keep him down long enough for backup to arrive?/~ Walker grinned softly.
She allowed herself to seem to revive before she whispered in his ear, "Set me down, please. I need food more than ever now."
"Uh, you're still lying where you fell," Walker grinned as he extended a hand.
She took his hand in both of hers and before he knew what she intended, planted it briefly flat against her primary heart, which was hammering. 

~/Talea?/~  Walker arched an eyebrow slightly.
She sat up and stood in one motion, grinning at him. She wondered if he had any idea of the significance of the gesture, even without the words. It was apparent he might not be.
Pausing to compose himself, Walker sent, ~/Rushing a bit, aren't you?/~ He grinned softly.
She chuckled softly in his mind. ~/Rushing would be teleporting into your arms naked, I expect./~ 

~/And blatantly obvious,/~ Walker grinned, ~/I'd say./~
She nodded. ~/In my Clan, if a woman did that, she was declaring for that man specifically. Weirdly, the only right we were uncontestedly allowed./~ She clarified, ~/The hand to the heart bit./~
"I'm sure the other thing would declare it as well," Walker snickered. ~/Do you intend it as your clan meaning?/~ 

The manager, a bit bemused, marked their ticket "prepaid", then walked off.
Talea looked seriously at him. "Let's discuss this later, please? In private?" 

"Of course," Walker smiled as he waited Ellen or something else.
Eleanor came back out with a large tray with another refill for both of them and their orders. "Here you go, folks." She was obviously trying to make like nothing had happened. 

"Thanks," Walker looked to her.  "Do me a minor favor?"

Eleanor raised an eyebrow.  "Aye?"
"Another root beer?" Walker looked to the pieces of mug on the floor. "Standing and drawing in the same move isn't conducive to keeping a mug on a table." He'd not seen the two mugs on the tray yet.
Talea just started laughing, then shifted both refills to the table with a deft telekinetic touch. 

"Show off," Walker winked teasingly.
Eleanor just chuckled, set the tray on the stand, shifting their orders to the table. "Bon appetit." She smiled and took off with the now empty tray.
"To a fruitful cruise?" Walker smiled before picking up his knife and fork.
Talea shot back, "May both of our ForeTellings be proven fully true before the year's out."
"Year's good," Walker grinned before taking a bite of his meat. A little later, he looked over with a smile. "How are the veggies?"
Talea blinked, looked at him sharply, then glanced down at her dress, wondering if it had been too provocative or something. She then shook her head at her own silliness. She gestured to the broccoli. "Could use something, but not sure what. It's good, though."
"Salt? Butter, pepper?" Walker pondered as he looked from his meal to hers.
What he'd said then hit her. "Walker? Did you just . . . propose?" Her tone was mixed puzzlement and worry. 

"Hmm?"  Walker looked at her, eyebrow arched.
She chuckled uneasily before responding. "Never mind. I'm sure I misunderstood your comment about "Year's good," Walker." She then raised an eyebrow. "Middle name wouldn't happen to be Texas, would it?" She nearly rolled her eyes, but didn't.
"As a matter of fact, it is," Walker grinned. "And as to my comment, I was agreeing with your time frame."
She murmured something he didn't quite make out, but then took a bite of one of the vegetables, her eyes widening in response. From her expression, she was very alarmed. 

"Talea?"  Walker looked to her.

~/LED pepper!  Dear Creator!  Anything I do next is /wrong/!/~

~/Dairy or sugar?/~ Walker pondered.
~/Whichever is fastest! These things are powerful!/~ She was now in agony and fighting to keep from the tears.
~/Ellen? Need some sort of dairy product or something sugary,/~ Walker thought sharply.
Ellen came out like a rocket, took one look at Talea, then down at her plate, frowned, put a glass of milk down that she knew was neutral to Regellian biology and growled softly before getting a napkin and quickly extracting nine more LED peppers from the vegetable plate and two from his platter.
Talea, now sweating as she fought the effects, drained the glass quickly, the fiery agony subsiding but slowly. 

"Ladies?"  Walker looked between the two calmly.
Ellen growled, "That one is going to pay dearly for this!" Her face was stormy with her rage. Taking the glass from Talea, she hurried away after stuffing the napkin in it.
Talea groaned, "That was unexpected, or I would have been more alert, picking those firebugs out."
~/Ellen, bring your manager out, please?/~ Walker growled as he glommed onto what she meant.
There was a roar, seemingly in response to the telepathic send, then a two-person Security team from Delta Team entered the kitchen, shortly emerging with the brunette between them in restraints. 

"Delta's sure getting a workout," Walker grumbled.
Talea shrugged. "Burying her under the Brig would just poison the concrete." Her tone was sour, as was her mood now. 

"Meal over?"  Walker smiled tightly.
She had no sympathy for Arlen, although she'd noticed a large bruise on the woman's face as she was hauled away. This time, she stated, "No. This time, I'm insisting we finish, so that one doesn't win." Her tone was serious and severe, but she wasn't angry with him.
"Aye," Walker grinned softly. "One question. Wouldn't the flavor, juice from the peppers taint the other veggies?"
She frowned. "Blast." ~/Ellen? Mind replacing my plate? So sorry to ask./~ 

Chuckling, Walker carefully dug back into his meal.
Ellen, looking annoyed, swapped out Talea's plate with one that she quietly assured both wasn't tainted. "I watched it being prepped from start to finish." 

"Thanks, Ellen." Walker smiled again.
This time, a small section of the steamed vegetables had a cheese sauce on it. When Talea took a bite of it experimentally, she realized it was spicy, but in a flavor-enhancing way. 

"How is it?"  Walker looked up from another bite of his meal.
Talea smiled. "Wonderful!" She waved her fork at him, tempted to give him one of the broccoli florets with the sauce on it. 

"Next time," Walker winked.
Ellen just smiled and resumed her rounds of the two sections she needed to cover now.
She asked him then, "Care to help me make your armor after we eat? Or at least get a start on it?"
"I think we can do that," Walker smiled. "I am getting a bit tired of holo'd armor."
She grinned. "Good thing we're both Regellians, isn't it? We could work all night and have about a third of the chain ready."
"No overdrive, got it?" Walker winked. "I work on my feet most of the day."
She looked hurt. "Overdrive? Why would I want to age at double or triple the normal rate for something as simple as armor? It's more tedium than real skill."
"You did say a third of the armor overnight!" Walker smiled softly, though teasingly.
She nodded. "I estimate the inner chain will take most of the night, the outer chain I'll need your help on later." She was referring to the fact that the armor was fully functional, not merely decorative, so had several different sizes of chain in it, woven together. It was proof against arrows and daggers both, and resistant to swords and katanas. 

"No worries.  Though recall we need four hours of sleep," Walker grinned.

She grimaced.  "Or eight every forty-eight."
"Much easier to get the daily four!" He grinned. "Trust me, I've done the eight/forty-eight bit."
She sighed. "I've been asleep for too long in the last seventy-two hours, Walker. And it isn't every day I offer to make armor for someone with them helping me!"
"You don't know my measurements," Walker smirked. "I've gotta help you somehow."
She looked at him, then grinned. "You might be surprised." She put her napkin down on her now-empty plate and stood. "Shall we?"
"Surprised what?" Walker looked to her curiously as he stacked his plate, mugs and silverware.
As he stood, she stated his measurements, nearly to the millimeter, softly enough to where only he heard her. 

~/What the blazes?/~  Walker blinked slightly.
She grinned. ~/I didn't read your mind or your service jacket. I'm one of the best armorers in my Clan, if not /the /best./~
"So you've got an eye for measurements?" Walker grinned, though he wasn't quite serious. 

She nodded, but didn't speak other than to say, "Follow me."
"No," Walker smiled softly. "But I will walk with you." He looked for Ellen or the manager. 

She waited patiently, although she sent, ~/He marked our ticket prepaid./~
~/I'd still like to apologize and thank them,/~ Walker smiled softly, though he did gesture toward the door gently before starting himself. 

She then asked, "Have you briefed the Admiral and Captain on our people?"
"Not yet," Walker frowned. "Need to get a minute to borrow Claire's memory banks." He grinned slightly.
Eleanor noticed they were finished and walked over to them. "You two might want to stay away for a few weeks. He's being a bit unreasonable right now. I'll see what I can do to calm him down." 

"Problem?"  Walker stopped and looked to her.
Eleanor then hugged Talea. "You take care, hear? You've had it rough lately and for no good reason. You're good people!" She turned to Walker. "Bossman's irritated he had to get her arrested; the LED peppers constituted assault."
Talea didn't relax into the hug, but didn't take it stiffly, either. She knew the woman had no idea of Regellian laws forbidding it.
"Remind him that no one held a phaser to her head, forcing her to do it." Walker smiled softly. ~/Relax, Talea! No one's gonna drag you back to Regelis just for hugging someone!/~
She chuckled. ~/It isn't that. The laws don't take effect unless the hugs are past friendship, which this wasn't./~ She Sent ruefully, ~/Just not used to being hugged by a woman other than Mother is all./~ 

~/Danged your clan,/~ Walker grinned teasingly.
"Ellen, tender our apologies and thanks to the manager, please," Talea was smiling. "Tonight's not been pleasant for him either." She handed her half of the tab. "Give that to him, maybe it will sweeten his mood a bit." She sent, ~/Pay her the full percentage as if we'd paid full tab, please. You know the proper percentage. She's been a champ./~ 

Grinning, Walker pulled out his ID and structured the payment.
Talea kissed the server, to the other's astonishment, on both cheeks. Despite herself, Eleanor blushed.
"We'll give him some time," Walker smiled softly, "but we'll be back. I enjoy eating here."
Talea just grinned at Walker, then walked off without him. She was certain he'd follow.
"Excuse me, my dinner partner is leaving me." Grinning, Walker sprinted after her.

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