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Posted on Sun May 17, 2015 @ 7:27am by Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings & Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit

885 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: All this has happened before...
Location: Ready Room

Cassandra walked along the corridor and stopped at the exterior door to the Captain's ready room, a large, covered tray in hand. She rang the chime and stood by, tapping her foot idly.

It took a moment, a little longer than normal actually before the Captain's voice sounded through the speaker set by the door. "Enter!"

Cassandra walked in, and placed the tray on the Captain's desk, smoothing out her dress and her apron. "Captain I'm in dire straights and I need your help."

Eyeing the tray on her desk, the Captain asked "And how might I help you Lieutenant?"

"I just finished a new experiment and I need an unbiased opinion."

She pulled off the lid, revealing two plates containing a large, breaded-something and a side of roasted vegetables. "Would you mind pausing in your relentless work to help me with mine?" She gave the Captain a coy smile.

One eyebrow arched elegantly as the Captain took in the contents of the tray, and then turned her gaze towards her visitor. "And this is your 'dire' need? Someone brave enough to sample a culinary experiment?"

"Precisely," Cassandra said cheerfully, handing the Captain a plate and taking the other for herself. "And I thought to myself, who better than someone who hasn't had more than coffee in her for the last twelve hours." She looked at the Captain pointedly.

"I've had more than coffee in the last twelve hours!" the Captain promptly protested. "I had a piece of carrot cake from the galley..."

"Oh, well I beg your pardon," Cass said, pointing a pair of utensils wrapped in a napkin at her. "You've just been under a considerable amount of stress. Your mood won't be helped by low blood sugar."

Plucking the utensils from the Counselor's hand, the Captain said "That depends on just what.." she said, indicated the 'breaded something' on the tray, "that is."

"Chicken breast wrapped around creme brie cheese, apple and cranberry raisins, then breaded and baked," Cassandra said proudly. "Just the thing to calm the countenance, sooth the stomach and tantalize the tongue." She took a forkful of the roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes and eyed the Captain. "So how are you feeling?"

"Fine.." the Captain answered simply. "A little frustrated with the lack of development in the investigation into the Bethesda but...fine."

Cassandra nodded. "As I understand it, they encountered a singularity emitting an unusual kind of Hawking radiation, yes?" she said. "We've alerted the nearest starbase, and ships are now on patrol watching for it. You've done what you can, and unless we encounter it, there isn't much else we can do for the moment. It's not a monster to slay or a person to capture, just a lamentable force of nature, yes?"

"Not very comforting to the families of the Bethesda's crew.." the Captain commented.

Cassandra's eyebrows bobbed and she swallowed. "They aren't the ones I'm concerned with comforting," she said. "Your frustration is understandable, but ultimately you will have to accept that this chapter in our mission will come to a close, and it may not be a happy one." She gave the Captain a sad smile. "Rule Number One of Starfleet: Sometimes our people die. Rule Number Two: There's nothing we can do to stop Rule Number One, no matter how hard we try. Starfleet Officers know this, and so do their families."

Taking a bite of the roasted vegetables herself, after she'd swallowed and washed it down with a sip of her drink the Captain said, "Be that as it may.. we still need to understand what happened over there as well as why it happened so that we can try and prevent it from happening again."

"I'm sure Lieutenant Yarin and his department are hard at work right now on that very puzzle," Cassandra said. She chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "In the mean time, perhaps something to help you clear your mind. Do you play poker?"

Clearly caught by surprise, the Captain looked at her ship's counselor with a puzzled expression on her face. "Do I play...what?"

Cass' eyes narrowed a bit, unsure if the Captain was trying to play innocent. "Poker. A card game with about three dozen variations spread across four or five worlds. I was thinking of organizing a ladies' game later. I thought you might like to attend." She finished her last bite and looked at the Captain expectantly.

"I know what poker is.." the Captain said after a moment. "I'm just...surprised..."

Cassandra gave her a curious smile. "By what?"

"That you'd challenge me to a game.." the Captain answered with a small smile on her face.

Cassandra grinned wider. "Well in that case, you may join me and a few other girls for a ladies night at my quarters." She passed her arm over the Captain's desk, the dishes vanishing and a fanned out deck of cards replacing them. "1900. Pajama dress code, and leave room for some very unhealthy consumables." She picked a card at random and flipped it over, revealing the ace of spades. "See you later," she said, standing and exiting the ready room.

Picking up the card, the Captain studied it for a moment and then laughed a little.


JP


Captain Rhea Kennit
Commanding Officer


Dr. Cassandra Sanders
Ship's Counselor

 

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