The Plans Of The Dinner Scheme, Part 1: Meal
Posted on Tue Oct 26th, 2021 @ 2:49am by Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair & Lieutenant Alisha Reno
4,804 words; about a 24 minute read
Mission:
Handling the Fallout
Location: Jane Sinclair's Quarters
Alisha checked the bags one last time before she got ready to grab them, but ended up in front of the full-length mirror once again somehow. She wanted to look nice for Jane, something she'd rarely thought about over the last few years for anything aside from just trying to get on the good side of someone or another. She hadn't put on more than the faintest application of makeup. No foundation needed, she had a great skincare routine, but she had added the slightest hint of blush to go along with the delicate mascara to define her eyes better. A reddish brown lipstick applied lightly to accent her lips and blue sapphire studs for her ears, picked to match the shade of her eyes. Her outfit was just as carefully chosen, a shade of blue just lighter than navy blue, as a wraparound dress that accented her figure rather well but staying well above the knees, with matching pumps of two inches that should bring her up to Jane's height, unless she too wore them. A small blue decorative sapphire flower above her left ear finished the ensemble and she hesitated for a moment.
"Girl, you look like you're goin' on a date." She told her image in the mirror before glancing at the chrono on the wall, then shook her head, "Not like you've got enough time to change it up. You've got four minutes to make a three minute walk, so suck it up and deal with it." She exhaled and grabbed the two bags of prepared and not-ready food. The Caesar salad was all set and ready, a light raspberry vinagrette, still in the store-bought bottle, chilled and ready to be put on. Fettucine pasta with a bottle of olive oil with hints of garlic were also in that particular bag, while the other bag held a container with the alfredo sauce she'd just spent about half an hour to make. Fragrant and rich with garlic, several different herbs and bacon for the carbonara, it just had to be heated before application to the pasta once it was cooked. A separated head of broccoli was in another container, just needing to be steamed at the same time the pasta and sauce were being finished.
She triple-checked that she had everything, plus the utensils to make them with, then considered comming ahead to see if she needed a pot and pan, but decided she didn't have the time and just grabbed both bags before heading out the door. She counted off the seconds, adding a couple skips to speed up a bit as she found herself falling a handful of seconds behind, barely making it to the door of Jane's with two seconds to spare, which she spent transferring the second bag to her left hand so she could press the chime to announce her arrival.
Meanwhile, Jane was positively beside herself with frustration. Jane, the speed demon. Jane, who prided herself on knowing how long things took. Jane, who has never been late a day in her life.
Jane, who still wore her robe as she stared at three possible outfits.
The rest of her quarters were ready. She set up a small kitchenette area with dishes, cutting boards, utensils, and a couple of hot elements. Her little table was up against the window and against one of the window columns; it meant that they would sit ninety degrees from each other rather than across. A bit more intimate, perhaps, but it also maximized floor space and let Jane eat her meals looking outside. The table was also set, with a bottle of white wine (synthehol; Jane only ever had real alcohol when on shore leave) in the middle.
The work of setting up the kitchenette had been done long before. It was the sort of work she enjoyed, after all. Technical, as she installed the stovetop, but also organizational. All that was left was the difficult part. Breaking the loop of indecision that left her still choosing between three outfits. The purple A-line dress Sayori gave her as a graduation present. The green sheath dress with black dots from her last shore leave. Or the white blouse and black pleated skirt that her cousin Alice gave her for her birthday.
She was still in her robe when the door chimed. “Shit,” she said quietly. “Enter!” she called out. Embarrassing, but may as well face this head on.
Alisha stepped in with the clicking of her heels on the ground and glanced around, not seeing Jane, who was still in her bedroom looking at the clothing choices, but seeing the kitchenette area and immediately making her way over to it to relieve herself of the pair of bags and beginning to unpack them, placing them in a precise order on the small counter area, "It's just me!" She called out as she made the short journey, "I'll need about ten minutes or so to finish getting everything ready!" She added as she snagged the pots and a pan that were there and testing the heating elements, before adding the water to rapidly heat. This was, of course, not the first time she'd seen the insides of these quarters, since she had used an override code to get into them the day before to drop off her other acquisitions. A dozen of the small eclairs and several of the small fruity tarts along with a smattering of the other French pastries she'd acquired along with a large basket of apples, oranges, mangos and berries that she'd found on her second trip off the ship when she'd realized she'd almost forgotten them.
She made herself busy, ignoring any movement she may have seen from her peripheral vision, almost sensing something slightly off. That Jane hadn't been out there waiting was either a sign that things weren't good, or that things... Weren't good? She puzzled through it and finally decided a few seconds later as she was adding a bit of olive oil to the water steaming the broccoli with that if it had been something bad, Jane would never have let her in. 'It will be what it will be.' She thought to herself as she set the mental timer on the pasta as she dumped it into the boiling water and started on the alfredo sauce getting into the pan to heat up. One mental timer on the broccoli and one on the pasta and she stepped back, wooden spoon in hand to be ready to stir the sauce if it even thought about trying to burn on the bottom. Always be ready for the improbable.
With a resigned sigh, Jane stepped out of the bedroom area, at this point still in her robe, an orange Tholian silk kimono robe which she was given by the USS Shanghai's old CAG. As with so many of her clothes, it fit her upper half perfectly, but stopped a bit short, halfway up her thigh. It was cinched tight by a silk belt around her waist.
"I need help," she said plainly. "I'm racked with indecision and need an outside opinion." She also finally looked at Alisha and smiled. "You look fantastic. The perfect person to help me, I think."
Alisha looked over her shoulder and nearly lost her mental countdowns as she saw Jane, a smile on her face from the compliment, “I’d be far more than willing to help you out, Jane, let me…” She quickly reset the sauce to a lower temperature, then clicked her way over to the bedroom door and hesitated slightly before following her in to the sanctum sanctorum of a woman, immediately seeing the problem that Jane was having, “Oh, Sugarcube…” She said softly, flashing a wide grin at the other woman, who in her eyes looked delectable in the kimono, but…
‘Down girl!’ She mentally rebuked herself, taking a step to the side so that she could get a look at the three outfits and Jane in one field of view, then nearly bit her upper lip in thought before she stopped herself from messing up the lipstick, “I see your problem… All of those would look great on you, and I’d love to go out with you in that green dress, with some jade eyeshadow and-“ She cut herself off before she went on, “But for tonight… She lifted the purple dress and held it up to Janes body, nodding slightly, I think this one might be best for tonight.”
Jane felt a flush in her cheeks as she saw Alisha's eyes moving between the outfits and her in the ridiculous short kimono. "I'll defer to the expert," she said, smiling and taking the purple dress. "And I think the green dress another night is a great idea. Jade eyeshadow. I might need your help with the rest of the look though. It seems you have a sixth sense for what looks good."
“After who knows how many red carpets?” Alisha laughed, “I had a stylist once that tried to dress me up like a bath pouf. After that, I learned quickly how to figure out my own fashion choices so I never had to do that again.” She nodded, “And I’ll get you looking to slay with just a look, make everyone who sees you want you and only you, men, women, maybe even a J’Naii.” She let her hand fall away from the dress as Jane took it, lingering on her forearm for a half second, “But let me let you get dressed while I finish up in the kitchen, it’s just about time to take off the pasta and broccoli.”
"Ooh!" Jane squealed. "I can't wait. I'll join you shortly." After Alisha left, she turned her back and slipped off the kimono and tossed it onto the bed. Normally she was confident; she remembered stripping out of her Starfleet-issue overalls wearing naught but a black lace bra and panties (the same ones she wore now, coincidentally) in front of the Chief Science Officer when he came by her colony-side apartment to have her fly him around the nearby Bay. He hadn't been bothered and neither had she. But here and now, butterflies danced in her stomach as she stood in her underwear, a gorgeous woman making her dinner just on the other side of the wall.
She got dressed as quickly as she could, eager to enjoy her time with Alisha. She took a look in the mirror to make sure the dress was on right (it was, and like the kimono only really reached mid thigh), and to touch up her eyeliner and reapply lipstick -- a simple red that she was told popped against her tawny face.
Last, she slipped on a pair of black flats and walked out into the main part of her quarters.
"How do I look?" she asked, posing and turning for Alisha.
In her time as Alexis Silverstar, Alisha had been exposed to pretty much everything. Awards shows, fashion shows, celebrity get-togethers. Places where people considered the best looking would go overboard, sometimes gruesomely overboard, in the name of beauty and good looks. They had the market on ‘pretty’ and ‘gorgeous’ and ‘fashionable’ locked down, but as Alisha looked up from the tossing of the fettuccine with just a little olive oil to keep it from sticking to each other, she felt her heart stop and jump in her throat. The spoon-forks she was using to maneuver the strands around clattered into the pot as she dropped them as she saw something far different than those stars and starlets from her past.
Jane wasn’t just pretty, it would have been too tawdry a word, ‘gorgeous’ would have been a stain on the concept of that meaning, because right didn’t encompass what was finishing that twirl. No, while perhaps a few highlights and bits of jewelry may have made her sparkle a bit more, Jane was just, purely… “Beautiful.” Alisha croaked out, swallowing hard as she did so, suddenly horrifically aware that she’d frozen briefly, something she didn’t do. Ever. If she’d been shooting a scene, the director would have just screamed ‘Cut!’ and proceeded to chew her out. If she’d been in a role where she absolutely had to be someone other than Alisha Reno, it would have been a dead giveaway. But she was herself and instantly and completely grateful she was, “You are beautiful, Jane, absolutely…” She unconsciously took a half step towards the other woman before stopping herself with a will. “Beautiful.”
"Th-thank you." That's all Jane could get out as she took her own step closer. There was a silence between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable, not exactly. A bit tense perhaps. Like a taut violin string waiting for a bow to help it make the exact perfect note.
She involuntarily cleared her throat, breaking the tension. "So, ah, dinner! I'm starving! What can I do to help?" She cleared the distance between them and stood next to Alisha at the stovetop.
“Dinner! Right!” Alisha said just a bit too loudly as she broke out of her unnatural pause and tried to refocus on the matter at hand, physically shaking her head to attempt to clear it, “I, umm…” She looked back and forth across the stovetop (turned off already) and pointed the spoon-fork that had somehow got teleported back into her hand at the container of salad, “Grab that? I’ll get this.” She stabbed the utensil at the noodles, “On the plates and the sauce, I went with the carbonara, because what’s better than bacon?”
“I can’t think of much!” Jane said excitedly. The food being presented was some of her favourite, exactly as she had described, and it all looked and smelled fantastic. She brought the salad to the table and then filled their glasses from the chilled open wine bottle. “This is a Chardonnay from the Emerald River Valley on Proxima. I grew up about a hundred klicks from there, so it was a common vacation spot. Spectacular vistas. A relaxing beach on the riverfront. Shopping.” She looked up from the pouring. “This bottle is replicated though. I only drink synthehol on ships, even when off duty.”
“Always s good idea to stay sober, especially since you’re flying!” Alisha brought over a couple of plates piled with fettuccine and covered liberally with the fragrant Alfredo sauce that there was a lot of bacon in, with a couple sprigs of parsley on top, “I avoid the real stuff as much as possible myself, just because… Because. Who knows what I’d do if I were drunk? Not if I can help it, unless maybe perhaps in the right setting, right person..” She set one plate in front of Jane and then the other one before she slipped into the chair, “This is my grandmother’s recipe, followed to the T. I hope you really really like garlic, because there’s a lot of it.. Rosemary, basil, oregano and a hair of cayenne that you might not even be able to tell is there.”
“That all sounds and smells lovely,” Jane said as she slipped into her own seat. “But first.” She lifted her wine glass and held it aloft, its clear, pale gold liquid shining in the light from her quarters and the internal illumination of the Spacedock. “What shall we drink to, Alisha?
“Life, Love, the Fleet and the Federation.” Alisha blurted out as the first thing she could think of, holding her own glass is it with a swirl that caused the various light sources to sparkle and she cursed inwardly as her eyes opened wide for a few moments and an unintentional blush crossed her face. She’d only meant to say ‘Life, the Fleet and the Federation’, but that other word had slipped out. Fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuuuuck! Maybe Jane wouldn’t notice it, because if she did things would get awkward and the dinner would be silent and short, pleasantries would be exchanged and they would just go their separate ways and something inside Alisha didn’t want that. She’d been in relationships before, but like most celebrity relationships, they were flames that burned bright, then burned out. Even in her time within the Fleet, she’d not held a relationship for more than a week or two. Of course with those, she’d known they wouldn’t last, they were flames that burned hot and fast. It’s just that whatever she was feeling this time, when Jane had come out and twirled, it had the potential to be different, vastly different, something she’d never been prepared for.
Jane saw the subtle cues that her date had said something she regretted. But she simply smiled and clinked her glass against Alisha’s. “To all of those things.” She took a sip and set the glass down, and then picked up her utensils. She gathered some of the pasta with delicious creamy bacon-filled sauce, and slipped it between her lips.
She closed her eyes. The garlic! The rosemary and basil, and there was the oregano too. And yes, that hint of cayenne made all the difference. She sat still as she let the flavours explode on her tongue.
“This might be,” she said after finally swallowing that first bite, “the best carbonara I’ve ever had.” She let out a laugh and wiped a small tear from her eye. “I can’t ever describe…well, I don’t need to, you’re eating it too. But my god.” She chuckled again. “I do apologize if I end up spilling or otherwise making an arse of myself as I eat this, because I can’t guarantee I’ll maintain control.” She went back in for another bite. The second was as good as the first.
Relief flooded Alisha as Jane didn't mention anything, then as she watched her take the first bite, a smile grew on her face as all of the signs of enjoyment were shown and she twirled a bite onto her own fork and tasted it. Just like grandma, she'd be happy about how this one turned out. "As long as you enjoy it, make as much of a mess as you'd like to." She all but purred, "There's still plenty more over there and well... I've got the recipe and I can make more if you really want it." She paused for a moment to slurp some more, then asked, "How are the eclairs and other goodies and fruits going? I hope I got enough for a bit?"
“They’ve been fantastic,” Jane answered between bites, wiping a bit of sauce off her chin with the back of her hand. “Though I don’t think they’ll last as long as you might’ve intended. I didn't get back to my quarters until almost midnight last night. I was drained from one of the longest days of my life and what should I find, but the most thoughtful gifts on my table! I’m just sorry I wasn’t here when you dropped them off! I’d have invited you in to share. As it is though, thank you. It was nice to have fresh fruit and pastries for breakfast this morning. Even if it means some longer morning workout routines for the next while.” She took another mouthful, and giggled as one longer noodle flicked her nose and left more mess.
Alisha reached out without thinking and swiped the sauce from Jane's nose with a giggle of her own and since she was barely within reach. She used her napkin to wipe her finger and the giggle changed to an open laugh, "I've got more in my quarters.. I couldn't help myself when I was in the stores, I'm going to need more exercise myself or I'll balloon." She admitted, "Need a workout partner? We can keep each other honest and working off the extra calories?"
Jane was blushing hard after Alisha touched her face. The gentle touch was electrifying. “I’d like that. Very much.” She the realized she had been holding her breath, which made her clear her throat. She sipped her wine and went back for more yummy carbonara. “I rather need to take fitness seriously. Not for fat but muscle mass. Consequences of being from low-gravity Proxima, where we’re bred tall and flimsy. The open floor space here is for morning routines and I’m in the ship’s gym a few days a week, working up a sweat.”
"I'm more of a runner myself, but I think I'm going to need more than that..." Alisha saw the blush and then realized what she had done, taking a sip of her own wine, "I do some hand to hand training twice a week, sometimes some work with the katana, but otherwise just... Running. I've never been much for lifting or weight work, even though I really probably should. I don't think I'm actually all that familiar with Proxima, I know of it, just not all the details on it. I'd love for you to tell me more about it, if you'd like to?"
"It's a beautiful world," Jane answered wistfully. "A few of the cities have architecture dating back to early 2100s." She skipped the history lesson; schoolkids learned about those early colonial missions. Earth's Moon was first. Then Mars and some early Asteroid settlements. Then the ill-fated Terra Nova mission. Then the Alpha Centauri System, with its multiple Goldilocks Zone planets, including Alpha Centauri IV, VII, and Proxima Centauri II. "I grew up in the farm and lake country. Fresh air and water so still it reflects the landscape perfectly. Fields of golden wheat mixed with pink and purple native flora." She took a sip of wine and smiled at the memory of home. "We weren't farmers but I had aunts and uncles who tended our land. Mum also put a giant landing area on the corner of the lot, which anyone could use, so she and I could fly and tinker." She took a deep breath. "I miss it sometimes."
“I grew up in a mega scraper.” Alisha said softly, “Until I was fourteen and on my first acting role, the only grass I’d ever seen were the integral small parks within the ‘scraper.” She put her fork down gently, “It really wasn’t until Girardi that I actually went out to a farm, that scene where Elena goes how after finding out her fiancée died in the Xinti War. Real farm, real horses except for that wild galloping scene. It was absolutely amazing! From then on, I’d been thinking of buying myself a farm that I could go back to between movies or just to get away, but after Lianna’s Vision?” Alisha grimaced at the memories from post-production there, then just shook her head. She only ever told one person, her mother, what had actually transpired, instead sticking to what the newsies had said. “I couldn’t stay there, I had to get away when no one would hire me to be an actress anymore, made it sound like I was stepping away on my own. I still dream about going back to a farm, or just somewhere, if I survive my time in the Fleet, of course.” She grabbed her fork and speared a piece of broccoli, nibbling on it, “If we’re ever near Proxima, think I could…?”
"If we're near Proxima, I'll give you the grand tour myself," Jane said, beaming at the idea. "Horses are the one craft I never learned how to pilot though. So you'll have to teach me while we're there." She took another bite of pasta, making sure some broccoli got in that mouthful too. When she was finished the continued. "A megacraper, eh? I can't say I've ever been in one. Unless you count Spacedock, I suppose. What's it like? Or rather, what was yours like?"
“About a kilometer and a quarter tall with nearly a hundred-twenty thousand people?” Alisha smiled and shook her head slowly, “Cramped and crowded, if truth be told. Not the most pleasant place to live, but it was safe and it was home. There were eight of them in Austin, and sure it wasn’t like we were forced to live there, but mom was a doctor in the building and dad was a civil engineer, so it was convenient. I just didn’t get out much, since there were recreations on-site, plenty of things to do. No siblings, but lots of childhood friends. Given a choice, I’d never go back there again, ever, except to visit mom and dad.” She closed her eyes with a few memories, “And I’m not that good at riding horses, I was quite frankly terrified when I was on Belle, the mare from the movie, even though I did learn to jog and lope. No horses in one of the ‘scrapers, so I’d never been familiarized with them before then.”
"Still, a bit of movie set training is better than just watching them from afar like me." Jane was putting the last mouthful on her fork when a question popped into her mind. "So about that James Bond program I found. I've been looking into it a bit more. Not the story, mind you; I want to avoid spoilers. But I found the one-line plot description and a character list with basic breakdowns for them."
“More fun without knowing exactly what to do.” Alisha nodded soberly, mopping up more of the Alfredo with her next bite, “I’m all ears! I’m rather quite excited about this one, different than following a script, I do know Knightley did a good job of making the program sub-AI adaptable if the player doesn’t follow the ‘suggested’ path, so long as they don’t go the opposite direction, at least. Never played one of his, just heard some reviews through the grapevine.”
"I'm surprised I hadn't either, before now," Jane said after finishing her last bite. "I recently read the Starfleet Incident Report about the case that happened on Deep Space Nine. But barring any transporter accidents, this should just be a bit of fun." She sipped her wine one last time, finishing the glass. "It's set on Earth, during a time when there was something of a rapprochement between the biggest nation-states. The Cold War of the twentieth century was over but World War III was still decades away. People didn't fear other countries, they feared terrorism. The story centres around a terror cell looking to arm itself for some big attack against Britain or one of its allies, and begins with the Bond character tracking them to an arms expo in Paris."
She wiped her lips with her napkin before continuing. "There are two ways for other players to join. You can play another spy who joins the protagonist on the mission. But also, you can substitute any of the NPCs for a player, like a villain or ally or love interest." She chuckled. "The principal Bond Girl is a scientist of some kind named Ginger Fox, because of course they have names you can make a dirty joke about."
“Salatta Rhidehard?” Alisha giggled as she raised a hand, then sobered with a smile still, “I don’t particularly want to play a villain, much less consistent interact-“ something caused Alisha to pause for a moment, “Ohhhh, that’s devious of him… I think I know what Knightley did here, if the villain is able to be played by someone.” Her eyes lit up, “In most Bond movies, the villain is the ultimate endpoint, in the shadows or just occasionally showing up.. I’m willing to bet that one of the supporting characters is the villain in disguise.” Alisha already had an idea who it was supposed to be, but there were several actual possibilities, “Another Intelligence Officer,” she used the proper term for spy, “Could definitely be interesting.. But I know I’d be good as Ginger as well, I’m fine with anything! Just keep in mind I’m a pretty crappy shot with any sort of gun or that sort!”
That made Jane grin. "We can solve that." She stood and walked to the replicator. "Computer, oh, what was it called? Computer, replicate that toy that I got for Lucille for her birthday. And three empty aluminium cans."
Posting by (in order of appearance):
Lieutenant Junior Grade Alisha Reno
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Myogi (NCC-65918)
Lieutenant Junior Grade Jane Sinclair
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Myogi (NCC-65918)
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