Fancy Meeting You Here

Posted on Mon Mar 14, 2022 @ 8:31pm by Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Commander Cullen Walker & Lieutenant Commander Zachary Addams

1,005 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: We Will Take Care of You
Location: Officer's Lounge
Timeline: Late evening after "And so it begins"

Zach walked into the officer's lounge and made his way to the replicator, pulling up a glass of cold water. He turned and paused as he sipped. Reclined against the arm of a couch with her feet up on the cushion, and a padd resting against her thighs, was the attractive officer he'd met on the station.

He was still kicking himself for walking out without being able to ask her out when they’d met on the station, and he’d figured that was it for his chances. Now, evidently, they were serving on the very same ship. Penny…short for Penelope. Naroot,” his brain supplied, reviewing the crew roster he’d been pouring over. He’d kept it just a list of names, no pictures, so he hadn’t put two and two together. Now, he finally had a chance to say hello again, and he could already feel his nerves getting frayed.

He walked over and leaned on the arm of the couch, put on a smile and folded his arms. "Fancy meeting you here," he said.

Penny looked up and flashed him a smile. “Hey!” she said, sitting up and criss-crossing her legs. What are you doing here?”

“Well, as it turns out, I’m the Chief Medical Officer,” he said, giving a small smile and taking the now vacant side of the couch.

“Oh! I’m Ops and CFO,” she said. “Good to meet you again!”

“Likewise,” Zach chuckled, then gestured to her padd. “Reading anything good?”

Penny grinned. "Yeah, actually! It's a paper on the possibility of adapting our artificial wormhole technology from intra-galactic to inter-galactic using a sun as both power source and gravity well enhancement."

Zach blinked. "Ah....I see," he said. "Well, I'm holding out for the holoprogram on that one," he said. "But they're never as good as the book, are they?" He grinned again, trying to look less off-kilter than he felt.

Penny tilted her head, thinking. "A holoprogram wouldn't be a half bad idea...." she said.

Zach watched her in silence for a moment, then cleared his throat. "So....

“Oh! Sorry!” Penny said. She then tilted her head. “Oh, I have your coin.” She checked a pocket in her clothing and pulled out the silver coin he’d tossed her. “I’ve been trying to determine how you made it appear. I don’t really understand why people think magic is something unusual. It can all be explained by sleight of hand.”

“True,” Zach said, waving his hand and the coin vanishing. “But then, if we just blandly explain it all, where’s the fun in anything?” He reached over with his other hand and pulled the coin from her ear, smiling and putting it back in her hand.

Penny tilted her head again, staring at the coin.

Wearing a black gi, Walker had walked in. It had a little blood and lots of sweat on it. His club was in two pieces. He had broken it on a holographic Klingon's head. He went to the replicator, putting the broken club in the recycling. "Hvalnum Bien with Nordic runes carved in it." Why because only Walker would walk around with a penis bone war club. "Electrolyte beverage over ice." He grabbed his drink and walked over, "I can do a better magic trick."

Zach looked up and gave a half-grin. "Well, by all means." He flicked his thumb and sent the coin sailing up to Walker's hand.

Walker caught the coin in the air.

Penny looked up and smiled at Walker. "Hello, Commander," she said, then looked at Zach. "Have you met our new Chief Medical Officer?"
Zach stood up and held out a hand, smiling. "As a matter of fact he has," he said. "Good to see you again, Commander."

Walker gripped Zach's hand. "Good to see you as well." He didn't let go of Zach's hand. "Penny, my trick is 2-in-1. I'm going to make Zach distort his face without my hands." He pulled Zach close and whispered. "The last Zach hurt her. If you hurt her, I will take this war club and I will do a Jeff Dunham impression and you will be Jose Jalepeno on a Stick." He kissed Zach on the forehead and the kiss was a little wet. While doing this, he dropped the coin in Zach's pocket next to his field scissors. Then he looked at Penny, "Nargh." He grinned. "Tada. No coin." Then showed his hands.

Zach's smile went from friendly to formality. He looked Walker in the eye and didn't blink. He may not have understood everything the man had said, but the intent was clear. "Let go of my hand," he said quietly, firmly and politely.

Walker let go, "Done."

Zach resisted the urge to flex his fingers and instead reached into a pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, wiping his brow off. "Well," he said, "as much as I would love to show you my Selbit impression, I think I'll say good evening." He nodded to the both of them. "Commander. Lieutenant." He turned and strolled out of the lounge without a look back.

Walker lifted his eyebrow at that, "Interesting." He didn't like the reaction. "I said something similar to the guys that try and date my sister, and to the one that tried to date my daughter. People usually have one of four reactions. 1. Fear, in which they run. 2. Fear in which they assure me they have no intention of hurting someone. 3. They thank me for the chivalry and duty. 4. Anger, which usually means they intend to hurt someone I'm protecting. That was anger., not fear."

Penny tilted her head in thought as she watched Zach leave. "You were a bit mean, Cullen," she admonished finally. She looked at him. She stood up and kissed his cheek. "But thank you for caring. I should get to my quarters. Going to be a long day tomorrow. Good night."

She walked out of the lounge as well, heading home.

 

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