Picnic

Posted on Wed Feb 28th, 2024 @ 5:16am by Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance & Captain Mira Rodale
Edited on on Wed Feb 28th, 2024 @ 5:23am

Mission: Visit to Eden
Location: USS Chuck Norris
Timeline: Current

on:
{Chuck Norris, Deck 1}

=/\= "Lance to Rodale," Kevin's voice came across Mira's comm badge, "Would you meet me in the post side thruster bay on deck 5?" =/\=

Mira looked up from her PADD at Kevin's voice. "I'll be right there." she stood up from the desk and walked to the area he asked her to come to, climbing down the access ladder and through the hatch. She smiled "Hi"

Kevin turned. In each hand he held a fluted glass with a long stem containing a pale yellow, effervescent liquid. Behind him was spread a red and white gingham cloth with a large wicker basket in the center. Adjacent to the basket was a bucket of ice containing an open bottle. Around the blanket cushions were placed.

Kevin returned Mira's smile as he held out a glass for her. "I am glad you could make it."

"Oh my, this is so beautiful and fun!" she took the glass and stood on her toes to kiss him. "Thank you for inviting me." Mira looked around in amazement.

"I know it's not as romantic as a moon-lit beach on Risa," Kevin admitted apologetically, "but it's the best I could come up with lacking a hodeck. At least we won't be interrupted by any former Academy classmates." Taking her hand, he helped her down to a cushion.

"This is very romantic and creative. You get extra points for that." she grin. " Seriously, this is amazing." Looking over at the basket."What did you pick out?" she asked curiously

He settled himself on the cushions opposite her and said, "I will confess to abusing my authority as Second Officer to gain access to the replicator records." He opened the basket and pulled out a covered tray. Unlocking the top and removing it with a flourish, he revealed a double bacon cheeseburger with a generous side of french fries.

Mira's eyes sparked with delight. " I love bacon cheeseburgers! " her took hers. "These are so good. I have been trying to branch out on my food choices. When I first came on the ship, I ordered mostly meat. It was ......" She shrugged." it was habit because that's all I ate for four years." She popped a french fry into her mouth. "I missed having a replicator."

Mira took a sip of her drink. "Do you have any plans for your downtime?"

Kevin swallowed the bite of cheeseburger that he had been munching on. "Hadn't given it much thought," he said, "With all of the Second Officer's work and investigating Eden, I haven't had time to check where we are headed next much less plan anything. How is your arm healing?"

Mira smiled. "Wound is healed, not even a scar, but I'll have to work harder on rehab on the muscle. No arm wrestling for me for a while, and I will not be going free climbing this trip." she laughed, then shrugged. "At this point, we are halfway between DS9 and Earth. The next mission hasn't come in, and the Captain seems really quiet about it. Like he has a lot on his mind."

She took another bite of the cheeseburger and chewed. "At this point, we will be flying in a big circle, and I do not want to end up back at that ship." She smirked.

"Do you want to talk about what happened to you over there?" Kevin asked casually, although he was intently watching for her reaction.

Mira nodded slowly. It was probably a good time to talk about it.. "That tag was more than something to keep track of us..... They control when we went to sleep...." she frowned for a moment."I wasn't gone as long as they made it out to be. When I slept, they messed with my memories. Taking them away to keep me docile. They added a few that weren't true to really mess with me. I....found out it was worse for me because at the time, I didn't have a Symbiont to hold my memories safe."

she looked away then back at him. "I took a Symbiont. It is young, just old enough to be joined. It hadn't even chosen a name yet. The silly thing wanted my last name, but there was a connection when we touched. It felt wrong to leave it trapped. She spents most of the time just in awe of everything around her. I hope you're OK with that because without her, I wouldn't have any memories or starfleet, the ship or you." She rushed, saying the last part feeling a little nervous.

"We all do what we must to survive," Kevin said with deep understanding. He took her free hand and awkwardly pulled her towards him for a kiss. As their cheeseburger and bacon tasting lips met, Kevin considered what Mira had just shared.

A symbiote? From what he had read about the creatures, they shared thoughts with their host but weren't in themselves telepathic. And they had lifespans with memories that spanned centuries. Kevin's continued success was dependent on others not knowing his past, where he had been born and raised. He would need to be extra careful about what he told Mira now that she was joined.

He reluctantly broke the kiss with Mira. "So, now there is another woman in your life?" Kevin teased, "I had only just settled myself with having to share you with Vay'toc and now this?" He let an impish smile spread across his face.

Mira grinned at his teasing her. "Or it could be thought you get to date two women at one time. Only she is a little timid. That is going to be something I'll have to adjust to. I can see it now. I'll be ready to skydive and hear her scream all the way down until I land." Mira laughed, thinking it funny.

Kevin couldn't help but laugh out loud as well. He took a drink from his glass, then leaned in towards Mira. "Junior is in for a wild ride, I think," then he kissed Mira, a little more boldly this time.

Mira kissed him back. It was one of those sweet happy moments that she wanted to remember forever. "This is an amazing date." she held his hand. "Tell me about yourself. What do you like to do for fun?"

"Fun? What's that?" Kevin exclaimed in mock confusion, then more soberly, "To be honest, since entering the Academy my life has been consumed by duty. The crew complement aboard the Polkan was so small that I was constantly being assigned additional duties outside security. Then on Independence, we didn't have an executive officer and the operations officer was such a empty uniform that I had to cover his duties as well as my own as Chief Tactical Officer."

"Assignment to the diplomatic mission to Alpha Pyxis V was the first time my duties permitted significant off duty time but 'traditional' pastimes weren't available so I engaged in Odinskus pursuits that mostly involved a lot of drinking and hair pulling." He had also spent a significant amount of time in the intimate company of Kera but felt that it would be impolitic to mention that.

"I guess that the main thing that I do for enjoyment is practice feats of strength and agility. I was able to practice more frequently when assigned to the Indy because she had holodecks but it was a little more difficult on Alpha Pyxis V to find a suitable area to perform. And the Odinskus looked at me like I was the strange one." He shook his head at the recollection.

Mira nodded, " My life had all been about duty, drinking, and responsibility. Then, I got assigned to negotiating contracts on DS15 dealing with diplomats." she laughed."Because my captain at the time didn't want to. Four years of outdoor life, and I find I enjoy the hikes, running, and climbing."

"I have lived most of my life aboard starships," Kevin said, "so I am a little uncomfortable in the 'Great Outdoors' but running and climbing are a place where our interested intersect. That and working out." He flexed in a most ridiculous manner that elicited another laugh from Mira. She is so beautiful when she laughs, Kevin thought.

"Seriously, though," he took a drink of sparkling wine from the glass, "We need to talk about our relationship. How much of what is between us should we make public?"

A smile played across her lips. "I think most of the ship thought we were together before we even were." She thought about. "I am not a William Riker, and I don't think you are either. I don't have a problem with the crew knowing. I don't mind the captain knowing. On the bridge, we act professionally like the officers we are and off the bridge that's our time."

"You spend so much time in sick bay," Kevin observed, "and preforming other tasks around the ship that it might be more accurate to say 'when we are on shore leave, that's our time'. But your point is taken."

Kevin's comm badge chimed, "Duty calls," he said as he finished off his cheeseburger, "I have a dressing down to deliver to Ensigns Rodriguez and Chen for leaving Murphy alone and getting themselves ambushed on Risa." He leaned in for one last kiss.

"I will be more careful and work on that. " she smiled "They also left Zimia if it hadn't been for her finding me those guys would have been there for a long time." She started to clean up
off:


Commander Mira Rodale
XO
USS Chuck Norris

and

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris