Flashback in Time - Ch-ch-changes?

Posted on Tue Jan 19, 2016 @ 9:22am by Commander Caden Aldrex & Commander Amia Telamon M.D.

1,925 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Things Past
Location: USS Illustrious
Timeline: Four years ago

[ON]

Lt.(JG) Caden Aldrex, senior helmsman of the USS Illustrious, looked at the title of the book on his PADD and sighed. Celestial Navigation Through Temporal and Relativistic Phenomena: A Primer. It was well over a thousand pages long and authored by Medusan navigator. He was reading it to prepare himself for the upcoming cruise through the Typhon expanse. The USS Illustrious was due to arrive there in less than two days.

He set the PADD down on a chair and went over to his replicator. He was going to be up late tonight. He wasn't in the mood for his regular raktajino, though. Tea sounded better. But which one? He wasn't too familiar with teas.

"Hot Tarkalean tea," he said. The steaming mug appeared in a swirl of blue light. He picked it up, took a sip, and winced. A bit too strong. He recycled it and tried again.

"Vulcan spice tea." Another mug appeared. Aldrex took a sip, considered it for a minute, and shrugged. Like most things Vulcan it lacked a certain pizzazz, especially for something that claimed to have spice. Disappointed, he recycled that one, too.

Aldrex leaned his arm over the top of the replicator and thought for a minute. "Let's try...Cardassian nava root tea." Another mug swirled into existence. He picked it up, took a sip, and frowned. "Oh, yuck." That one was a definite no.

"Computer," he said. The computer chirped in reply. "What's a good, hot tea that will perk me up but isn't too strong?"

"There are over sixty thousand critical reviews of tea in the database," the computer replied. "Please enter additional search parameters."

"Nevermind," Aldrex said, sending the awful Cardassian tea back to oblivion. He left his quarters and went out into the corridor, looking this way and that. Aldrex didn't have to walk far. Only two doors down and across from him he saw the placard on the bulkhead:

Lt. A. Soren, M.D., C.M.O.

Amia Soren. Cade had been on the Illustrious for only a few weeks. He had seen the CMO from afar but hadn't had any one-on-one interaction with her yet. He had noticed, however, that she often had a cup of tea in her hand. His finger pressed the chime.

"Come on in," a disembodied female voice responded from within.

The doors parted, but the young helmsman didn't come in. Dr. Soren was sitting at her personal desk, immersed in a book. "Hi, Doctor Soren," Aldrex said with a smile. "You seem knowledgeable about hot beverages. I was wondering if you could recommend something?"

"Hot beverages?" Amia looked quizically at her visitor. "Personally, I'm a fan of Raisan 'redbush' tea but I also like Terran English "Earl Grey"... or if you have it with lemon, it becomes "Lady Grey". It's a kind of perfumed tea, very light and pleasant. Or would you prefer coffee? There are literally hundreds of those to choose from," she replied obligingly with the requested suggestions before permitting herself to indulge the internal comment. Well, *that's* an unusual 'hello, you're my new neighbour - do you want a cup of sweetener?' type-of-greeting.

As she stood to approach the door Cade noticed for the first time how pretty she was, dressed in soft, comfortable PJs for the evening; while her long, red hair was down around her shoulders and a bit messy. The effect was very alluring. Perhaps more so than she was aware. It was definitely a better look than her uniform.

She stood back and gestured for him to come inside. "Shall I get some tea for you to try?" she offered hospitably.

Aldrex crossed his hands behind his back and peeked in. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" It was polite-speak. He had no intention of going anywhere but inside the door.

"Not at all. I was getting a bit *stir-crazy* to be honest. You're a welcome relief." She moved towards the kitchen area. "So which would you like to try then?" she offered, pointing towards the ancient-style tea set that was sitting on the side in a more ornamental manner than one that inferred it was used much.

Aldrex stepped inside the door. "Sure, I'll try some of that Lady Grey," he said as the doors swooshed shut behind him. He stood next to Amia's desk while she went to the replicator. Looking down, he saw the book there. Antique-looking, made of paper. The title was in a highly-stylized Earth font that was hard to read. "What are you reading?" he asked.

"It's a very, very old set of novels by an author from the 21st Century by the name of Tolkien. It's called 'Lord of the Rings.' Have you heard of it at all?" Amia said as she brewed the tea and brought it over on a equally old-fashioned tray.

"The title sounds familiar, but I can't say I've ever read it," Aldrex said as he cautiously picked it up and felt the weight. "I'm sure it's more interesting than what I'm reading, a navigation manual." He took a cup and waited as Amia poured hot tea into it. Then the two sat together in her small living area.

Amia laughed. "I guess it all depends on whether you would like to know how to steer your way through space or if you're into fiction" she answered. "They're apples and oranges for a comparison though."

Aldrex took a sip while reading an excerpt from the book. "Bilbo Baggins of Bag End." That made him smile, and so did the tea. He looked at Amia and lifted his cup. "It's good. I like it." Then, carefully, he set the book aside, not wanting to spill anything on it. "It reminds me of a Klingon book I read not long ago. It had to do with a group of seven Klingon warriors whose job it is to guard the Empress. And then one day she's kidnapped by invaders from the stars. So these seven warriors steal one of the invaders' chariots and go off to rescue her, having adventures on various planets along the way." He took another small sip and continued. "It's an ancient book, written thousands of years ago, but Klingon scholars are fascinated by it because a lot of the space travel concepts are dead-on. They think it may have been based on something that really happened when their planet was still a pre-warp civilization." He smiled. "Who knows?"

Amia nodded, sipping her tea. "Indeed, there is much that we don't know, lots we don't understand and still more that we can not all agree on, especially when it comes to our various beliefs and legends."

Cade had barely heard her. He was suddenly fixated on how pretty she was. Her glimmering eyes. The way her hair perfectly framed her face. The way she sat perfectly upright while holding her cup. He had to remind himself to get a grip. "Hmm," was all he could say in reply.

Then a brief silence settled in. Scholarly. Erudite. Bookworm. These were Cade's impressions of Amia as he sat with her. He, too, had been those things in previous hosts, but resisted the urge to lean on their experiences to make himself more attractive to her. Besides, babbling about old, Klingon legends wasn't doing him any favors. He was mostly about flying starships and sports. Probably not very interesting to a woman like Dr. Amia Soren. It was disappointing, but he sighed and smiled it away.

He moved on to something else. "So, how have you been, Doctor? Life treating you alright?" Aldrex had not seen Soren at all during their recent Risa mission. A terrorist group had detonated a metagenic weapon there, causing thousands of casualties. As head of the ship's medical department, Dr. Soren had been on the front line.

"I was greatly troubled by the Risa mission and the whole futility and morals of the so-called 'purification' monsters. I found it hard to recover my equilibrium for a while once we got back. Then I went to Mars for a break and that all went wrong for personal reasons so I was a bit at sixes and sevens for a while but things are much better now this new mission has been announced. How about you? Are you looking forward to exploring the great uncharted and notorious 'Expanse'?" Amia replied. She was referring to their current destination: the Typhon Expanse, a region known for its temporal navigational hazards.

"Very much so. Exploration is what we do. I can't wait." He set his cup down on the table.

"Would you like another cup?" she raised the pot to pour him more.

"Sure, please."

"Do you have someone special in your life?" she asked.

Cade grinned self-consciously, somewhat stricken at the bluntness of the question. "Not at the moment." His last serious romance, with a Vulcan no less, had ended disastrously. It was embarrassing to talk about so he didn't talk about it often.

"I am surprised though that you don't have anyone at present. You're far too cute to have been allowed to roam freely by the female population at large!" she grinned at him mischievously and poured another round of tea, holding up her cup to chink for a toast and added. "Here's to romance. I hope you find someone who will make you very happy."

Cade grinned and toasted with her. "Thanks, Amia. I hope she's as lovely and gracious as you." With all the sweet talk coming from her he wasn't sure if it was flirting or simply being nice. It felt euphorically like the former.

"That's so sweet! Thank you!" Amia was flattered and a blush rose to her cheeks.

The blush threw him for a moment. Had he embarrassed her? Maybe she wasn't flirting after all. Maybe he should ease off and change the subject. "In the meantime I have my mistress to keep me busy. Flying this ship."

"Well if your mistress is not too jealous of your time, perhaps you and I could spent some of it challenging one another to Parrises Squares?" Amia offered. "We could agree that the winner of each game makes tea for the loser?" She lowered her chin and raised her eyebrows in a way tat he found adorable.

Cade raised his brow in amazement. "You play Parrises Squares?" He had been thinking of her as a tea-and-books kind of woman. Obviously there was more to her than that. "Anytime you like, doctor," he said with a grin.

"So when would you like to book the holodeck for some Squares then?" she laughed, grinning at his surprise that she could play.

"Nineteen-hundred hours tomorrow," the helmsman said. "I have a feeling I'd better learn how to make tea."

Amia laughed again. She loved to laugh. It was good for everyone to lighten up. "I look forward to it." she smiled as he stood up to leave. "Thank you for your company today. I have enjoyed our tea and chatter."

"Likewise," Cade said, taking this as his cue to leave. He finished off the rest of his tea and said aditional goodbyes to Amia, handshakes included. She flashed one last brilliant smile in parting.

As the door closed behind him he stood there for a moment in quiet elation.

The foxy doctor had just asked him out.

[TBC.....]

A JP Between:

Lt.(JG) Caden Aldrex
Helmsman

and

Lt Amia Soren
CMO - USS Illustrious

 

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