By Zander Blakeslee and Zanh Liis
80322.12
Following Captain in Headlights
-=Deck 8, USS Serendipity=-
80322.12
Following Captain in Headlights
-=Deck 8, USS Serendipity=-
As Zanh Liis stepped into the turbolift, she saw that it was already occupied.
"Deck three." Zanh instructed the computer, and the lift began to move once again. "Mr. Blakeslee."
"Good afternoon, Captain," Zander Blakeslee nodded to her. "Enjoy your swim?"
"Spent awhile dog paddling in the deep end, that's for sure," Zanh answered enigmatically, thinking of her experience with Vol Tryst.
Zander tried to make sense of the statement, but decided that it was probably better to just let it go without directly answering as the doors opened to his destination a deck below. "Yes. Well, I have a few things to take care of before punching out for the afternoon. See you later, Sir."
"Bye, Zander."
As he walked away and the lift continued, she thought about the party last night and how much she had enjoyed meeting his lovely wife. . .
-=Flashback: Mardi Gras Party=-
Zanh looked around and saw Zander Blakeslee and his wife, whom she had not officially had the chance to meet yet, standing by the fountain. She ambled over for an introduction.
Zander was standing close to his wife as they chatted quietly to each other. Both were impressed by the party. That was saying a lot from a couple that had partaken in one of the most sacred Deltan ceremonies. Zander happened to catch sight of the captain as she approached.
"Captain." He smiled as Samthia turned to faced the captain. "This is one nice shindig." Zander smiled.
"It's. . .festive. . ." Zanh's eyes widened as she watched several crewmen stagger by and placed bets in her mind that they would all be nursing hangovers come morning.
"Loud. But everyone seems to be having a good time,"
Zanh's eyes traveled over to a corner of the holodeck where Salvek was struggling to be heard by Kellyn over the din; it seemed that his sensitive ears could only take so much of the ruckus. He finally took his wife by the hand, and as she followed behind him, for some reason in bare feet, Zanh noted, they disappeared through the arch and into the corridor.
She realized she had been stunned into silence by the sheer amount of noise in the place and like a rinta in the oncoming lights of a vehicle, she froze. Finally she nodded to the lovely Deltan woman before her. "Zanh Liis. We're pleased to have you aboard."
Samthia smiled warmly which caused a passing ensign who was duly distracted to collide with a waiter. Both men fell to the floor in a heap as the the glasses he was carting fell to the ground in a loud calamity of breaking glass. The ensign blushed and turned to help the assaulted waiter pick up the mess. "Sorry, sorry Captain." was all the man could mutter.
"Accidents happen," Zanh reassured him. She prepared to assist. "Need any help?"
The ensign was horrified at the thought. "Oh, no Sir. Thank you sir. We'll have this cleaned up in no time, Sir." he glanced one more time sideways at the woman who, with her lovely smile, had managed to stop traffic.
Zander grinned and slowly shook his head as he glanced at his wife. He had grown used to such things happening around her, especially to the males of many species. Samthia on the other hand seemed not to notice at all.
She bowed slightly to the Captain. "Thank you, Captain Zanh." Her voice was thick with the accent of her home world. She spoke in Federation Standard, preferring to use her own voice in favor of the Universal Translator when meeting someone for the first time. It was only proper, in her mind.
She smiled. "I am happy for this, how do you say it, chance to be with my One as a family again."
"I can understand that." Zanh said, glancing across the room at the Vedek, who was engaged in an animated conversation with Avery Breaux; half signed, half typed onto a PADD, and with a just little bit of the game of charades thrown in, it seemed. But it seemed to be working, both men were smiling so she figured Jariel was getting his point across all right.
"It's a pleasure to have you aboard at last, Zander tells me that Stellar Cartography will be in excellent shape with you there."
Samthia glanced back at her husband with a smile. "His confidence in me is overflowing I think."
"I understand that you have small children, are they settling in aboard ship all right?"
Sam turned back to Liis. "It is new to them as they have never lived on a starship before. But they are, adapting."
Zander laughed. "That is the polite way of saying that they have found ways to amuse themselves at our expense." He smiled as he took a sip from his glass. "The kids have never been off world for any real length of time, either they were at the family compound on Delta IV or at my family home in Alaska. They are used to wide open spaces with plenty of room to explore."
"And to find trouble." Samthia added quickly. "They are good children just..." She searched for the word that she wanted to use.
"Curious." Zander finished her sentence. Samthia nodded her approval of the word.
"Well my hat is off to you. I am not a parent myself but in watching what Salvek and Lair have gone through with just the one child, trying to keep twin toddlers amused scares me more than the idea of any warp core breach or diplomatic conflict." Zanh joked. "Speaking of young Miss Arie, if the boys are lonely for the companionship of other children,
I'm sure that she would be happy to spend some time playing with them. She is rather fond of Commander Blane's dog, Sunshine, and I am certain that they could, the three children and the dog, get Ensign Stenn into more trouble than he could imagine with the right holodeck playground program. If you need help in arranging appropriate playtime for the boys, let me know and I'll...take...care of it...myself," Zanh's words trailed off as she watched another near-collision among the waitstaff, this time between a man carrying a tray of hors d'oeuvre and one carrying champagne in glass flutes. They managed to veer away from each other at the last minute, but Zanh shook her head.
"That happens all the time?"
Zander smiled. "Not normally. Samthia has not been among the crew for very long. Over the next few weeks they will build up a sort of immunity to her pheromones." He explained. "As long as direct contact is kept to a minimum I don't think there will be any fatalities." He joked.
"I have suffered some side effects from the radiation but I feel that I have everything under control." Sam explained. "That is why I have kept myself confined to our quarters."
Zander smiled. "Of course the side effects were not all bad, at least not from my point of view." He grinned at his wife his mind drifting back to the last few days. He suddenly remembered the captain. "Umm, sorry captain. That was probably in poor taste."
The captain, who seemed to be somewhat distracted herself, as she continued to watch Vedek Jariel signing away across the room. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but stopped. The edge of her lip curled up into something between a smirk and a grin, and she nodded to Zander.
"Carry on, my good man. Carry on. Samthia, it was a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to working with you. If you'll pardon me,"
Zander grinned, knowing that he wasn't the only one in the room who was happy to be in the company of their significant other tonight.
"Of course, Captain."
-=End Flashback=-
As Liis entered her quarters and prepared to change out of her swimsuit, she reached for her badge and tapped it lightly.
"Zanh to Lieutenant Wej,"
[Yes, Captain?] Samthia sounded surprised by the hail considering that she was off duty.
"I was wondering if you," Zanh paused, smiling as she heard the sound of the rambunctious pair of little boys vocalising in the background. She laughed. The sound of happy children playing was, after all she had seen in her lifetime, truly glorious.
". . .if you and the lads could do with a few hours of holodeck time this afternoon. I have holodeck one reserved in my name until seventeen hundred, but it's yours if you want it."
[Thank you, Captain.] Samthia responded gratefully. [I think the boys could do with an outing. Thank you again. Wej out.]
"So could their mother, I'll bet." Zanh laughed again softly as she grabbed a change of clothes from the dresser and headed for the shower.
----------------------------
Lt. Zander Blakeslee
Chief Tactical Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
-=/\=- Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Lt. Zander Blakeslee
Chief Tactical Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
-=/\=- Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012