:ON:
Rommie stopped at the entrance to the Eagle's nest, The ship's
equivalent to the Ten Forward Lounge on the Enterprise. The doors slid
apart and Rommie extended his hand for Gwen to enter before him.
"Ladies and XOs first," he said with a smile.
Gwen couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Thank you Rommie." She entered the Nest, and looked around. There
were several people sitting around, but then, there were always people
in the Nest.
Gwen made her way to the replicators. She couldn't believe how
hungry she was. As Gwen approached them, she ordered one of her
favorite meals: Beef Stew, several buns, and glass of milk. Taking her
food, she moved aside so that Rommie could get what he wanted.
The aroma coming off Gwen's stew was so captivating that
Roman couldn't help but order the same thing. The meal shimmered into
existence. He pulled the tray from the replicator and turned. He then
nodded towards an empty table near the port.
As they sat at the table, Roman looked out at the planet Earth
below them. It certainly was a beautiful planet. Starbase One hung
majestically off to the left of his view.
Gwen chuckled when she saw what Rommie
ordered. "Copy Cat." She said teasingly as she followed him back to
the table. As she sat down, she took a sip of her milk and then
followed Rommie's gaze out the view port.
"Beautiful view, isn't it?"
"That it is," he agreed. "I-isn't that your nativeland
just below the clouds?"
Nodding, "Yeah. Ireland. It was good to
be back there . . . for the most part. It's definitely a very
beautiful land."
Rommie took a bite of his stew. He raised an eyebrow in
question. "For the most part?"
Grinning, "Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I love
my mom. But she is always asking me when I'm going to get married.
The last guy I brought up, she scared him away because she asked him
when we were getting married. And then kept pushing the idea on him.
"When I don't bring a guy home, she likes to play match maker. It
seems like my entire visits end up being her trying to set me up with
someone and I spend most of my time with that person.
"This last visit, of course, was no different." She shook her
head and took a bit of her stew.
"W-well, what was the matter with the last guy you h-had
been seeing," Rommie asked cautiously. "I mean if you liked h-him, why
not marry him?"
Gwen chuckled, "Nothing wrong with the guy.
We were both in the Academy and had been dating for like a month. It
was spring break, and since he didn't have any friends or family
outside of the Academy, I suggested he come to Ireland with me.
"It really makes it hard for me to bring even friends home, you
know. I really have to think twice about inviting people home."
"Until y-you are certain the guy you are inviting home is
the one." Rommie gave her a smile and took a sip of his drink.
"No . . . until I'm sure that my mom won't
scare the guy away. People who are laid back and won't back away when
confronted with constant talk about marriage, they are cool to bring
home." Gwen eat more of her stew, then smiled to Rommie.
"So, tell me about your trip home. How was it?"
Mention of his homeworld brought back all the warm and safe
feelings Rommie experienced when he had transported into his village.
He knew he was smiling instantly without even thinking about doing so.
"It was wonderful," he said quietly. "It almost felt as I had
never left, except i could feel the absence of the few who had left
when I-I did and since. But there w-were new ones too."
"Sounds like you had a great time." She
finished her food and looked out the view port again.
"I did," Haas assured her. "I saw my birth parents. I-I too had
been questioned as to when I would settle to sire my own members of the
clan."
Gwen couldn't help but chuckle as she turned
to look at him. Smiling playfully, "And just what did you tell them?"
Rommie blushed and looked down at his almost empty bowl.
"N-nothing really. I would cleverly change the subject."
Gwen laughed. "Embarrassed are you?"
He nodded, still looking at his bowl. Rommie moved the remaining
bits of stew around in his bowl, then he looked up at Gwen. "A-at
times it is not a m-matter of when I will try to sire,..." He looked
back down trying to find the right way to put it. "It's who I would
choose t-to sire with.
"The Elders would of course p-prefer I sire within the clan."
"And that's not something you're interested
in?" Gwen asked curiously. She was watching him, and trying not to
sense his emotions too much. But that was easier said then done. Even
if she didn't have empathic abilities, Rommie wasn't that hard to read.
Rommie simply shook his head. He was quiet for a long moment.
Trying to explain his feelings about a relationship outside the clan.
When he couldn't come up with a non-embarassing explanation he decided
on a new tact.
"So you think Starfleet kn-knows something they aren't letting
o-on to?" He tried a lopsided smile.
Gwen laughed and let it pass. "I hope
there's not an Alien ship out there like that. We're in a lot of
trouble if they are."
Haas nodded in agreement. He was glad she readily switched
topics. He wasn't sure he really wanted her to know how he really
felt... about her. Would it be inappropriate now that she was XO of
the ship? Roman wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Th-that simulation was a bit too scary, Gwen. I-I hope it is
just someone's overactive i-imagination." He smiled easily. "Maybe
Tru got one of his g-games into the computer at Starfleet."
Gwen laughed, "Somehow, I don't think that's
the case." She looked down at her empty dishes and then back up at
Rommie and smiled, "You want to get out of here and go for a walk?"
"Sounds like a plan," Rommie said.
:OFF:
Lt. Cmdr. Gwen Marqusa
AXO/CSec/Tac
USS Eagle
Lt. Roman Haas
Ops Officer
USS Eagle
