<USS Avalon> Chatter and Cold Food By Junior Lieutenants Marksbury and Monroe
- From: Anthony Manson <circus_ofde_damned@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Avalon Sim <avalon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 22:50:28 -0700 (PDT)
Chatter and Cold Food
By Junior Lieutenants Marksbury and Monroe
Lissi sat in the lounge waiting for James to show. She was
always early for everything, so it was no surprise that she sat alone for a
good fifteen minutes, sipping a cup of hot tea. She had received a few nods
and smiles from people around her, but no one had really approached. She was
used to it. She never had spent a lot of time fraternizing with people and it
surprised her that she was looking forward to this lunch so much. Apparently
James had impressed her somehow. She didn?t like to think of the alternative ?
that she was just as shallow as most and was purely attracted to him on a
physical level.
Lissi turned her head as she heard the wisp of the lounge doors open. Monroe
and a few others came in and he stopped, searching for her. She was about to
signal him, but he found her, walking with a small smile etched in his face. He
quickly took the seat opposite of her, "So how's your day been going?"
"So far it's quite uneventful. I'm still getting settled in I guess. I met
Commander Sierra, but still didn?t get to see Doctor Roan. And I need to meet?
mmm? Zachary Winters, I believe. He's my immediate supervisor. Do you know
him? Oh, and how was your day?" she asked, wondering why she seemed to be such
a chatterbox now. She was usually so quiet.
Monroe shook his head, "Well, today was actually not that great. I think Mr.
Karg was doing something else cause I couldn't get to him. There's this one
other guy- Henderson," and then he smirked, "another James as well- that was
there when I entered. I don't think I could do much being on a tactical team."
He paused and then, "Oh, and no, haven't met Zachary Winters."
Lissi nodded. Monroe then added, "Well, what are you gonna have?"
"At the moment I'm having tea, but I could use some lunch. I'm dying for some
fresh produce," she laughed that delightful laugh again. "It's just impossible
to go back to eating this replicated food after being on Earth, you know? What
do you suggest? You've been here longer than I have."
Monroe laughed, "I haven't been here long, but..." he thought for a moment and
shook his head, "I?m not a big eater, but maybe you should try the fettuccini.
I?ve heard it?s quite good ? for replicated food, that is.
"Hmm...sounds good." Monroe placed their order to the server.
"So," Lissi started, "what exactly is your job here? I'm on internal security
and the primary away team, which I'm pretty excited about. I like the thrill
of it." Her cheeks blushed with the excitement and her eyes sparkled.
Monroe?s eyebrows were raised a little- she had more of an exciting duty
position, "Well, it's tactical- so my main bet is a basically to deal with
intruders that can get a little... cranky, on their stay here. Other than that,
we're not on call much. I'd rather be in security," he shifted his head
slightly, "Maybe I can do both. Get to see you more often."
"Hm," she laughed a little, "what if you come to find me intolerable company,
huh? Then you'd be stuck staring at me. And luck being what it is, we'd get
trapped on some planet for 68 hours straight and you'd start to wonder whether
or not you could take me in a fair fight - which you couldn't, by the way." She
teased him, seeing if he would rise to the bait.
"Oh, well, if I got my butt kicked, I should be so lucky to meet you. I'm not
much for pretty girls that can't defend themselves. And what if I found you
intolerable? Well, there's always a transporter, or raving mad- though I'm
pretty certain that won't happen."
The plates were delivered, but silence came and left just as quickly. The
conversation returned as soon as the server walked away.
"So, if I'm not being too nosy, do you mind me asking a bit about you? I mean,
how you grew up and such. Did you have a big family? I always wondered what
that would be like," she said, a wistful look coming into her eyes.
Monroe shook his head, "No. I'm the only child. Have a lot of cousins, but it
was just my mother, father, and I. Then at eighteen, I joined Starfleet, wanted
to go to the stars."
"I know what you mean. I grew up in an orphanage, led by the government. The
retired Starfleet officer in charge trained me very early on. I entered
Starfleet at 16. That was about ten years ago. There never was another way of
life ? and probably won?t be,? she confessed.
?So, you?re 26 then? I?m 24.?
?Well, close enough. We?ve never really been sure how old I am. They guessed
my age when I was abandoned.? It was a sad story, but James was surprised at
how calmly she told it all, seemingly unaffected. The conversation waned for a
moment, as he contemplated this girl. She was kind of fascinating. Her eyes
would sparkle with excitement, but yet, she always seemed to remain so very
calm.
"You have a very nice smile," she said on the spur of the moment, breaking the
silence. "Anyway,? she quickly changed the subject, ?What kind of weapons do
you train with? Do you use martial arts at all? I'm pretty dedicated to
training that way."
Monroe smiled at the compliment, at how cute it was that she quickly switched
subjects. "Actually, I have basic training on martial arts, nothing dedicated.
But I do have weapons training ranging from small arms to rifles. Particularly
hand phasers."
"Yeah, I've trained a lot with the newfangled stuff too, but the Commodore -
that's who I grew up knowing as a sort of father figure, well, he was really
dedicated to martial arts and I started very early. I just love it. There is
just something about the dedication to the art form and the hand-to-hand
combat." James noticed how much colour came into her cheeks as she talked
about her work.
"You really like your job, don't you?" he asked her.
"I love my job!" she replied with such sincerity that it would put most to
shame. Monroe blinked in surprise at how dedicated she seemed to be to her
life's work, but was also impressed. She was quite unique.
He thought for a moment, "What else do you like doing? Aside from the martial
arts and that sort of stuff?"
"Well, I love to read. And," she dipped her eyes, "you're probably going to
laugh at me, but I like watching really old videos, especially from the 20th
and 21st centuries. I love classical music and...wine. That's about all, I
guess. I'm a pretty boring person, actually," she chuckled at herself. "Wow,
I didn't realise how boring I was until I listened to myself say it all out
loud." This time she gave a hearty laugh at herself, in a good-natured way.
It showed James that she had a lot of confidence in herself and didn't really
care about what others thought.
He laughed a little and his smile expanded a little more, "It's better than
doing nothing. I read, but I..." he shrugged, ships, he really didn't know why
he was here. Even for Intel's reasons.
"But you...?" she prompted.
He shook his head, "Nothing, don't worry about it." He looked at the plate,
"Well, so much for my lunch. It's gone all cold."
"Yeah, mine too. Guess I talked too much again.?
James good-naturedly rolled his eyes. Her voice had been so calm and quiet
that he had strained to hear her sometimes. And he enjoyed the conversation.
'We'll have to do this again sometime,? she laughed. ?Not eat, I mean."
He nodded, "Definitely. Well, I'm off again, how about dinner the next time,
where we can both eat?"
"I don't know," she smiled wryly. "Like I said before ? I mean, I don?t do
this. I?m not very good at this whole conversation thing. I start rambling
and then we have cold food,? she smiled.
"Well, I found you to be good company and I?m told I have impeccable taste,? he
teased. "Besides, dinner is probably the only time I eat and talk. So how ?bout
it?"
"As long as you're willing to accept that boredom risk, then I?d be delighted.
Maybe we could watch one of my old vids I was speaking of. Have you ever seen
a movie called, "Master and Commander, the Far Side of the World"? It was made
in like 2003 or something. There were these books that it was based on and..."
she stopped herself. "There I go again. Chatterbox. Gee. Anyway, I was
thinking that maybe we could go to a holodeck and watch it together like in an
old Earth movie theater. I always wanted to do that, but thought it would be
silly to do alone.? She dipped her eyes in slight embarrassment. "Am I being
too forward?" she asked in earnest.
Monroe shook his head with a smile, "No no, not at all. I find you very?
refreshing. And no, I haven't heard of it. But yes, I would love to watch it
with you in an old style theater."
They both got up, and James reached for her hand. ?I?ve really enjoyed talking
to you, Lissi. I hope to see you soon.? He leaned over and kissed her cheek
before walking away.
Lissi had to take a deep breath to settle her fluttery belly. Boy, it sure was
hard to stay calm around that man. She hadn?t been this nervous when she
fought that Klingon in hand-to-hand combat. Removing her hand from her belly
she quietly admonished herself, ?Alright Miss Make-A-Date, let?s go get some
actual work done.?
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