Interspecies Romance I: First Date

Posted on Mon Jan 4th, 2016 @ 4:21am by Captain Charybdis MacGregor & Captain Patrick O'Connor

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Taking Chances
Location: USS Bonne Chance, Deck Five, Captain O'Conner's Quarters
Timeline: 2265

A tradition amongst Earthmen was the 'first date', wherein the two parties, already aware of one another, would meet for a social outing together of some sort, in theory to share mutual experiences and begin to get to know one another better. This in turn could lead to any number of eventualities, and was one of the accepted first steps in the mating rituals of Humans.

Charybdis knew of this from her time on Earth, and her experiences with various Earthmen who had wished to 'date' her. As opposed to those who happened to meet her in the various bars, shops, restaurants and public transportation of Earth who simply wished to sleep with her at the earliest possible opportunity.

However, in this case, the Captain wanted to go on a 'first date' with her, which struck her as slightly odd. They already knew one another. They worked together, and he had unrestricted access to her personnel record. He had already figured out some of her likes and dislikes, he knew where she lived, so she didn't quite understand the concept of him 'picking her up' at 1900 at her quarters to 'take her on a date'.

It was a starship. Where was he going to take her? Spacewalk while at warp?

Regardless, she understood the conventions, so she acted accordingly. Showered, hair in a different configuration- up in the back with a few hanging locks in the front, brushing her bangs differently to change her daily appearance. That black lace matching underwear set she had gotten from a catalogue and had not had the chance to wear just yet. The black and white 'zebra striped' dress that fit her like a second skin that she still owned from her Academy days, and due to the elastic properties of the material, still fit her. The black shoes with the heels that were tall enough to enable her to look him eye to eye. A splash of her favorite perfume in her hair, on her wrists, behind her knee and in her other hair. A bit of dark shadow around her eyes to add mystery, and a bit of protection just in case.

She sat at her desk in her chair, which she had covered by a sheet and padded by spare pillows, and tried to read the maintained guide for the lateral sensors. She couldn't seem to focus though... despite the seemingly ridiculous idea, she realized that she was still excited for him to arrive.

The door chimed and she rose to receive him. She posed with one hand draped on the doorframe and the other behind her back, to exaggerate her curves and give the maximum effect when the door slid open. When it did, there stood the Captain, dressed in a very impressive-looking ensemble. It appeared that he was wearing an old Earth male dress known as a suit, something that had not been seen in such a fashion in nearly a century on Earth.

The black suit was pristine, looking for all the world as if it had been custom made for him only a few hours ago. He wore a fine cotton/linen blend shirt under the jacket, white with gray pinstripes on it. The decorative neckpiece, which she recalled was referred to as a 'tie' was black as well, but at closer inspection one could see the outline of what looked to be an island embossed upon it and above it a single word, "Eire"; a word with which she was unfamiliar. The shoes were black as well and buffed to a high shine, completing the ensemble and making him look rather dashing overall.

A look of astonishment seemed etched on his face as he took in the sight of her, his gaze traveling down then back up again to take it all in as she giggled. He put out his hand and in a smoothly charming manner intoned, "Milady, you looking absolutely stunning this night. Would you do me the honor of escorting you on our date?" His voice was strong and confident, with perhaps a hint of underlying passion. He had a wee case of nerves, especially once he saw what she was wearing, but seemed he to be handling them in good order thus far.

"Well, far be it for me to turn down a dashing starship captain at my door, sir. I would be delighted and honored!" With that she took his hand, folded it into her arm and stepped out of her quarters into the hall with him even as passersby in the corridor turned to gawk at them, as the couple were an unusual sight on the decks of a starship. She was long since used to it... people tended to look at her that way no matter what she wore, so it didn't particularly faze her.

As they began strolling slowly down the corridor she looked him over. "You look very handsome tonight, sir. And it is impressive that somehow we managed to color coordinate!" She found herself making moronic small talk that made her eyes roll internally, but somehow for the life of her she couldn't think of anything interesting to say. Apparently sparkling wit was not on the menu for the Captain tonight.

As they ambled along, he smiled at her. "I appreciate the compliment... let me return the favor by informing you that you are looking rather breathtaking tonight as well. Certainly not standard Starfleet issue... you really are rather a lovely paradox that continues to surprise me. I hope that I can do the same for you as things proceed."

"Oh, and one other thing..." he hesitated for a moment before gently making his point, "...we are off duty. Please, call me Patrick?" He smiled warmly at her, sending forth feelings of sincerity for her Vulcan senses to pick up on.

"Yes sir... Patrick! Sorry Captain.. oh, blerg!" she expressed as she stumbled over the concept. She knew the man's first name, why was it so hard to use it? As her cheeks tinged a light shade of sage she worked to change the subject. "So... 'Eire'?"

Patrick continued smiling, and for a moment allowed himself a quick internal chuckle at seeing the almost supernaturally cool and collected female get flustered. It was good to know that she was dealing with at least some of the same issues as he himself, and it heartened him.

"Eire...it is the ancient Gaelic term for Ireland, where I am from. You could say I have a very great love for my home. It is something that may sound strange coming from a human, as most people simply think of themselves as Terrans, but we Irish, we take pride in our little corner of the world." He peeked out of his peripheral vision to see her reaction of his short diatribe. Many people found the talk about his homeland a bit boring, and he wondered if he was going to need to make a quick subject change.

Apparently she was far from bored, however. "I understand... the countryside is so lush and green, with all of the rolling hills and mountains. They say that it is an enchanted land of magic and mystery, and when I visited there the people were all so friendly... even though some of the accents made translation a bit difficult," she admitted with a wry grin.

"So much of Earth is so very pretty... I really loved it there, and I spent almost every weekend I wasn't confined to quarters exploring all of the different countries and vistas and cultures. So much variety for one planet... no wonder it is the seat of the Federation. You are all so diverse yourselves, unlike so much of the galaxy..."

"Earth is pretty vast when it comes to culture," Patrick admitted with a nervous chuckle. "Thousands of years of us all doing our own individual thing, creating art, literature, music, weapons, all to define humanity and culture in our own ways. Reading our history, it is amazing that we didn't destroy ourselves, though we certainly came close on a few occasions." Just as he finished speaking they arrived at the entrance to the captain's mess, and he opened the door for her,

"After you." he said with a slight bow, his arm extended.

To be continued...

 

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