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Starbase 157: Awards and promotions - Captain’s table

Posted May 18, 2020, 5:19 p.m. by Chief Petty Officer Oscar Cameron Cascarrabias Demalia (Engineer (Grouch)) (Nicholas Villarreal)

Posted by Ensign Iyun Riani (Scientist) in Starbase 157: Awards and promotions - Captain’s table

Posted by Captain Willow Taylor (Commanding Officer) in Starbase 157: Awards and promotions - Captain’s table

Posted by Chief Petty Officer Oscar Cameron Cascarrabias Demalia (Engineer (Grouch)) in Starbase 157: Awards and promotions - Captain’s table
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Willow looked up and saw the Ensign looking a bit worried. She stood and smiling gestured to her table where only Cai sat for now. “Why don’t you join us Ensign.” She said indicating the seat.

Her eyes widened and for a moment Ria forgot to breath. Sitting with the Captain was … terrifying, yet she could hardly say no. So gathering all her courage she nodded and smiled shyly as she made her way towards the Captain’s tale.

Cai, seeing her invite others took the opportunity to More or less grab Jasper as he wandered past them. “Would you like to sit with us too Doctor Jarvis?” He asked indicating an empty seat beside him.

Willow and Cai

As she arrived at the table, the petite woman stood at parade rest. Though anyone seeing her back would notice that she was nervously fiddling with her long hair. “Ensign Iyun Riani. It’s nice to meet you, Captain, and thank you for inviting me to sit with you. I hope I won’t be a bother.”

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

If he could have blanched, Oscar’s face would have drained of all possible color. As it was, his hair, which the fungal infection had made a little more reactive to his body chemistry and muscular tension, flattened reflexively against his skull. He had sat opposite a single individual who seemed a bit young - late adolescence, if Oscar had to guess - to be at a Starfleet party, and therefore, Oscar had hoped, unlikely to have company of any import. Suddenly, he was now at the same table as the Captain, albeit on the opposite side from her. Oscar had a way with CO’s - they always managed to appreciate him more than his direct superiors, though the Petty Officer (Make that Chief Petty Officer, Oscar thought to himself) had about as much care for the personable nature a Captain as he did for a Lieutenant (j.g.).

The problem was that that flippant attitude for the chain of command meant that he was, against all intuition, almost in a better situation to socialize with the CO than if they were actually on duty. He never tried nor wanted to make a good first impression, but somehow, his direct manner made people think, at least initially, that instead of the curmudgeon that he really was, Oscar was taken to be (how did the CO of the USS Gander put it?) “refreshingly candid”.

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

Willow smiled reassuringly. ”Dont be so worried, I’m sure we can all sit and eat like civilised people regardless of rank.” She said but didn’t look overly happy at Cai’s choice of dinner guests, she busied himself ordering food and looked at both Oscar and Iyun. “So, what looks good.”

Willow Taylor
CO

Oscar glanced at the menu as he drank some water. Unsurprisingly, most of the cuisine didn’t appeal to him; the flavor profiles were all too standard or weak for them to stand out as interesting. That was until he spotted that someone had put a made-to-order paella option on the list of choices.

“Well, Captain,” Oscar said, his accent betraying his Iberian origins, “I think some paella should hit the spot for me.”

He proceeded to select his ingredients in addition to the base - yellow curry, sardines, anchovies, turbot, squid, octopus, snails, and sea urchin. With luck, his breath would be back to its unpleasant aroma by the morning.

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

Ria smiled shyly at the Captain as she slipped onto one of the empty chairs, after moving her long mane over her right shoulder to avoid sitting on her hair. She had learned a long time ago that that could be painful. Once she was sitting, she brushed her hair back again, so that it was falling down the back of her chair. Picking up the menu in front of her, a soft smile played across her face as she spotted a couple of Bajoran dishes. While she liked trying new foods, there were just moments when she needed something familiar and comforting. “I’m going to order something from home,” she said softly and a little shyly. That said, she ordered a soup as a starter and then some hasperat, both with a note to go easy on the spiciness of those dishes.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Willow considered. The Paella did sound appealing. Finally she made her mind up and ordered a basic bog standard version but did begin to turn a little green perhaps when Oscar made his selections, as if she were thinking better of it. ”actually…ill have the soup and hasperat too..” she amended looking almost thankfully at Iyun.

Cai meanwhile seemed delighted at the idea of the mix and pushed his menu away, ”ill have what he’s having” the electric blue haired teenager told the person taking the order and grinned at the second disapproving look he had gained from his sister that meal.

Willow and Cai

Oscar finally connected the dots, and realized that the CO was somehow related to the young man. That actually forced Oscar to suppress a grin, because he had managed to both disgust and annoy the Captain in one go. Still, he was sure that this was going to be a novel experience for the young man.

“Fair warning - that mix is pretty potent if you’re not used to it. I once challenged a Cardassian to try it, and he downed about a liter of kanar after three bites.”

Cai seemed happy with this idea.

He looked at the CO, then back to Cai.

Willow merely raised her eyebrows. ”i am sure it will be an excellent experience.” she said calmly.

“There are plenty of strong non-alcoholic beverages that help, but coffee or an exceptionally dark cola - birch beer, that sort of thing - are probably the best additions.”

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering

with a good Cai ordered a dark cola as suggested and grinned looking amused. ”Did the cardassian enjoy it at all do you think?” He asked.

Oscar paused for a moment, considering what happened while the Cardassian in question was downing the kanar. “Strangely enough, once he got the kanar, he finished the plate, so apparently, you just need the right beverage to accompany it in order to enjoy it.”

Willow meanwhile turned to Iyun. “I wonder if you and I should find another table.” She joked good-naturedly.

Willow and Cai

“Uhm,” was all Ria managed to say, her eyes meeting Willow’s for a brief moment before cast her gaze slightly down again. She was so nervous right now that she couldn’t even tell whether Willow was being serious or if she had made a joke. It was moments like this in particular, when she hated her insecurities and shyness. When she wished that she was different. Braver and funnier, less worried about pretty much everything.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

The CPO realized that he was in the same boat as the Ensign, but approaching it from a completely different angle. It seemed like the scientist was timid and withdrawn in general, while Oscar was more concerned about losing his newest posting before he actually started it. For whatever reason, Oscar decided to join the banter.

“Well, that would be kind of awkward for the servers, but I suppose that would fall under the jurisdiction of ‘Captain’s prerogative’.”

Oscar Cascarrabias
Engineering


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