Tribbles Roasting on an Open Fire ...

Posted on Sun Sep 24, 2017 @ 6:02am by Commander Amia Telamon M.D. & Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & Civilian 'Key Holder' Dorian Gabriel & Captain Isha t'Vaurek & Commander Caden Aldrex & Commander Caleb Ryan & Lieutenant Mikaela Locke & Lieutenant Liam Reynolds & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant JG Noelle Bennett M.D.

2,550 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Rumours
Location: Box of Delights
Timeline: Terran Christmas Time

ON

The Box of Delights was buzzing. As commander of a Starfleet station Isha thought it right to honour an ancient Human tradition. She hadn't been sure how many would come to the event, but the crowd was there and the drinks were flowing. Everyone had been asked to bring a gift; who would receive it was the mystery. Isha thought it a peculiar tradition, but after everything they had been through she hoped that it would help bring some unity. She had paid for the room to be decked in white and silver, and artificial snow fell from above. Isha brushed it from her hair with a flick of her fingertips and then plucked off her combadge.

Ting-ting-ting! Isha tapped her combadge on the rim of her glass to bring the hum of the crowd to silence.

"Thanks you all for coming," she said as she placed her glass on the table beside a polished, upturned top hat. "At this most wonderful time of the year I've asked you here so that we can put our differences aside for a day or two, and by doing so perhaps grow greater understanding."

Isha smiled. "I see most of you come bearing gifts." She reached for her own and raised it in the air. "I'll begin unless someone else wants to."

As Steve glanced around the room at those assembled, he suddenly felt a lot less self-conscious about the package in his hand. It was wrapped in a strange iridescent paper that shimmered and sparkled as light hit it from different angles. It sort of made him queasy looking at it.

After the chaos of the last few weeks, Annora was glad for some down time. It was the first time she had interacted with many of the gathered personnel. It would be nice to meet them when everything wasn't chaotic. Her gift, placed in a small gift-wrapped box, was sure to be unique. Greeting the few people she knew, and of course the captain, Annora picked up a glass of Andorian ale and awaited the start of the gift giving.

Caleb thought this was a nice tradition, reminiscent of his own back home. His own gift was wrapped rather simply in shiny red paper. He'd had Aleczandra wrap it since he was terrible at it. He sipped his whiskey and cola as the gift giving started.

One of the Operations people coughed. Crewman Lash, who was already squiffy and had very few inhibitions even when sober, winked at the commander. "I'd say age before beauty, but you have me on both counts." His not-a-partner-'cause-that's-against-regulations, the Deltan pathologist from Medical, had the grace to wince and blush on the half-Vulcan's behalf.

Isha laughed softly and reached into the upturned hat.

She unrolled the curl of paper and read out a name. "Lieutenant Benj Amoran," and approached him. "Best wishes for the season," she said as she pressed the gift into his hands.

"Thank you!" Benj was taken by surprise and a little embarrassed to be the first to come out of the hat. He didn't mind that the slip of paper had his Bajoran name the wrong way around because this was all about the giving and goodwill. He looked around and blushed a little as he raised his own gift in response and, before he opened the one he had been given, Benj reached into the hat for a new name for the person to receive the one he had brought with him.

He pulled out Liam Reynolds' name and handed over his brightly wrapped box shaped gift, wishing the lieutenant a happy Christmas, shaking his hand warmly before he sat back down, wondering if it was the done thing to wait until everyone had received their gift before starting to open the one he had been given.

Liam smiled warmly back and appreciated the handshake. "Thank you, and happy holidays to you too."

Liam pulled out his own little slip and considered the irony of it all. Perhaps it was the universe stepping in to try make things a little better between him and his intended giftee. He walked over and handed Commander Soran the gift he had brought. "Merry Christmas, Commander," he said.

"And to you, Mr Reynolds." Soran accepted the small box with a tiny nod, and then turned to reach into the hat. She looked around through the crowd to see that the person named was present, and took the item she had brought with her, a carefully wrapped box. "For you, Miss Tessaro." She held out the box.

The two hadn't interacted since she had been called into the commander's office following the fallout from the brief station evacuation. However, the festive atmosphere seemed to wash over past misgivings. "Thank you, Commander."

Reaching into the hat, Annora pulled out the name of a person who would receive her gift. She recognized the name, but it took her a minute to place the name with the appropriate person. Locating Lt. Locke, she walked over to the Intel officer, handing her the present she'd brought to the party. "Happy Holidays, Lieutenant."

Mikaela Locke had been on the periphery of the group, sitting to one side at one of the tables. In general, she hated these kinds of gatherings, and this one was no exception. However, she had felt an oblation to comply with the captain's request, both to attend and to bring a gift. She stood and managed a half-smile as Tessero approached. "Thank you, Lieutenant," she responded as sincerely as she could manage, taking the gift that had been presented. She was about to return to her seat when she was suddenly aware that all the eyes in the room were still on her. It took her a few moments to realize why. She took a few steps forward into the center of the room, where the upturned hat was situated before reaching in and withdrawing a name.

"Commander Ryan," she read out loud, glancing around the room to locate the security chief, before returning to her table to collect the suspiciously bottle-shaped present that she had arrived with. She returned to Caleb Ryan and extended the wrapped bottle.

"I didn't know what would be appropriate," she began sheepishly before realizing she didn't know what else to say, and so turned around, moved back to the side of the room and retook her seat, glancing around to see if anyone else had begun unwrapping their gifts as yet. They hadn't.

Caleb took his turn to draw a name. He glanced around and then smiled as he walked over to the Chief Medical Officer. ""Merry Christmas, Doctor Telamon," he said with a warm smile, holding out his gift.

"Thank you, Commander!" Amia beamed. She held up the neatly wrapped gift and gently shook it, but it didn't make any noise. She put it in front of her to wait until they all started opening the gifts and reached into the hat to draw the next person's name. She pulled out a folded paper and opened it out, reading out her own husband, to a great deal of laughter and cries of "Fix!" and "Did you peep?"

"Not at all!" She denied it with a huge grin as she handed her gift to the XO and winked at him, then followed it up by handing him the hat next for him to take a new name.

"Thank you, lovely doctor." Cade Aldrex set his wife's gift aside for a moment and put his hand in the hat. He gave it a couple of stirs before drawing one of the slips of paper. He grinned. "A name synonymous with the season: Noelle." He handed Counselor Bennett her gift. "Merry Christmas, Counselor."

"Thank you, Commander," Bennett replied, accepting his gift. "Indeed, the only time of year when my very existence seems like a novelty," she added with a chuckle.

As the round of opening gifts began, Caleb started to unwrap his. The voice of his mother chided him to keep the paper nice, so he didn’t rip into it. He pulled out an old bottle of bourbon. There was still a bit of dust on it. He checked the label and grinned. “Ms. Locke, thank ya very much!” he told her. “One of these days ya stop by mah office an’ we’ll share a couple fingers of this,” he promised her.

"You're welcome." Mikaela smiled, glad that the gift had met with the commander's approval, "I shall." Perhaps it was the holiday spirit, perhaps it was the promise of real alcohol, or perhaps she was indeed beginning to feel a little more at home, but, all of a sudden, an invitation to meet someone in a less formal setting wasn't quite as scary as it had previously been.

Sitting back down, she began to open the strange-shaped gift she had been given. It was a glass globe containing a tiny scene of people skiing against a white background. Tiny flecks of a white substance were loose on the floor of the scene.

She sought out Annora Tessero among the crowd. "It's beautiful," she said. "But I'm not really sure what it is."

"It's called a snow globe. It's purely for decoration. If you gently shake the globe you get the appearance of it snowing in the scene."

Mikaela gently shook the glass globe and watched as the 'snow' fluttered around. She smiled, finally understanding. "Thank you," she said earnestly. "I love it."

Once done explaining her gift, Annora opened the one presented to her. Removing the wrapping paper from the box, she opened it to see what was inside. It was a chess set, but instead of being laid out horizontal, it was oriented vertically with small shelves to hold the pieces. She caught the eye of the commander and gave her a thumbs up to let her know she appreciated the gift.

Noelle eagerly opened her gift from Cade and smiled in surprise. "A collection of the year's most award-winning classical pieces from around the galaxy. Someone's been doing their homework on my interests," she added with a chuckle. "Thank you very much."

Liam was enjoying watching all his colleagues open up their gifts and the happy emotions in the room. He kind of forgot he was holding one until Benji looked at him. Grinning, Liam unwrapped his and smiled. A nice bottle of red wine and a long stemmed glass with the words "Diplomacy is Like Jazz: Endless Variations on a Theme" engraved on it. Liam chuckled heartily and nodded his thanks.

Cade opened up his gift. It was a leather bound, limited edition copy of Where No One Has Gone Before, a thick book which detailed Starfleet's most notable missions of exploration and first contact. Every famous Starfleet vessel from the past two-hundred years had a profile chapter. He had always wanted to read it, but was waiting for a copy that would look good on the bookshelf. Finally he had it in front of him. "It's exactly what I wanted," he said to Amia. Then with a grin he added, "You did peek."

Amia smiled up at her husband, thrilled that he liked it. It had been hard to think of something he didn't already have but that he would really like too.

Taking his cue, she opened her own gift from Commander Ryan. It was beautifully wrapped and she opened it carefully. Inside was a tiny ornate box, which in its turn revealed an antique medical watch on a pin, the kind from centuries ago that medical staff such as nurses might have worn pinned to the shoulder of their uniform so they could tilt it upwards on its ribbon and watch the second hand tick past as they manually counted pulses. It was a very primitive but iconic item, worn nowadays as an adornment, but specific to medics who had an empathy with the past of their vocation.

Amia's eyes widened as she saw it and her smile brightened to a beam, which spread to her eyes with delight. "Oh! Commander Ryan! It's so sweet! Thank you so much. Wherever did you find it? It's a very rare piece. Thank you!" She gave Caleb a hug and a peck on the cheek and babbled on about the way it used to be used, and "Just imagine the primitive means of calculating a pulse like this!" she said, wondering at the whole concept, as well as the little upside down watch hanging from it's closed pin in her hand as she admired it and showed it to anyone who was prepared to listen to the explanation for such a bizarre piece of measuring equipment. She was clearly thrilled with it.

Caleb chuckled. “It’s a small thing that’s been sittin’ in an heirloom box in mah family for a couple generations now,” he said. “Belonged to a multi-great grandmother of mine that served as a nurse in the United States Army hospital in France durin’ World War I.” He opened the cover of the watch to reveal the inscription. It read, To Amy Ryan with all my love - Cade Ryan.

“I thought it fitting. Cade didn’t make it through the war,” Caleb said. “But Amy Ryan returned home. She never married again or had children, but she lived with Cade’s brother David, who lost his legs in the war, and was a beloved aunt to David’s children. This passed down through them.”

"It is so sweet! And they were 'Cade and Amy' - so close! I love it to bits! Thank you so much." Her eyes misted over with emotion.

“You’re more than welcome, Doctor,” Caleb said, giving the CMO a hug.

Amia was delighted. She beamed and returned the hug.

It had been a wonderful seasonal celebration. It was always popular to observe the cultural enjoyments of each civilisation and race.

Amia thought to herself that it would be nice to find out if there was any seasonal celebrations that the Ba’ku indulged in so they could try that one out here too. Thinking it over, she decided to ask Cade if there were any similar Trill traditions or legends that might make for a fun celebration and entertainment for the crew on DS5. Some, she imagined, might be a bit much for the whole station to take part in, but it never hurt to try it out amongst the senior officers and regular inhabitants to see how it was received and then maybe extend some out further.

She made a mental note to run this idea past Cade in a quiet moment, and if he was receptive to it, perhaps she might seek out the CO.

Filing the thoughts mentally, Amia went back to enjoying the current moment in time and the jollity and family atmosphere of this particular party.

FIN

Cdr. Caleb Ryan
Chief Tactical/Security Officer

Cmdr Amia Telamon
Chief Medical Officer

Lt. Liam Reynolds
Chief Diplomatic Officer

Lt. Mikaela Locke
Senior Intelligence Officer

Captain Isha t'Vaurek
Commanding Officer

Commander Caden Aldrex
Executive Officer

Lt (jg) Noelle Bennett
Chief Counsellor

Lt (jg) Annora Tessaro
Asst Chief Security Officer

 

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