Poker Face

Posted on Wed Mar 13th, 2019 @ 1:55am by Lieutenant Steffan Haas & Captain Cynthia Jackson & Lieutenant Commander Charlotte Hudson & Lieutenant Gente López-Fonsi & Lieutenant Jane Sinclair MD, DVM & Lieutenant JG Neza Glenn & Lieutenant JG Alec Toten

3,582 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Mission 2 - Love ORION Mistaken
Location: Haas’ Quarters
Timeline: 2261.221 2045 Hours

Steffan hadn’t had a very successful evening so far. His chips were dwindling and so was his bottle of whiskey. He stared at his last hand and saw nothing he could win with. Could he bluff his way to victory? Probably not. He turned his cards over and chuckled them on the table. “Fold.” He said before picking up his glass and taking a sip of whiskey. “Just not my night for me.”

Neza had finished a sip of her drink when Steffan had folded. Checking her cards again she looked around the table, “Raise,” she said as she threw a few more chips into the pile, not letting her face show anything.

Jane looked Neza in the eye. Her own cards were certainly decent, but she couldn’t decide whether Neza has a better hand. She threw in the same number of chips. “Call.” She then took a nice sip of her rum and cola.

Gente was really surprised to be asked to join the poker game. He was not a member of the senior staff. So to him, it was a great honor, to be invited. He had been playing for a while. Seemed like he was loosing more chips than winning. He was curious to see what Neza and Jane had as far as cards, so he threw in his chips. And waited to see who had the winning hand, he had a decent hand, or so he thought.

Steffan rose from his seat and headed over to the desk his his quarters which he was now using as a bar during the poker night. “Can I get anyone else a top up?” He asked, as he poured himself more whiskey.

Jane downed the rest of her glass. It was almost empty and she wanted to take Steffan up on his offer. “Yes, please!” she said, lifting her glass to him. “Spiced rum, neat please. Just a little bit.”

Bec's night had been ok, though she had lost slightly more than she'd won and her chip pile was slowly shrinking. Ah, what the hell, she thought and tossed in her chips, curious as to what the others had. "Call," she said then held up her glass. "Another whiskey on the rocks, please!"

"I'll have, whatever you are having." Gente said, as he looked over to Steffan. He was not sure what he was drinking, but he was curious, he was also curious to see all the cards on the table. He hoped his hand was the winning hand.

Cindy's eyes were turning brown. Cards was just not her game. Still, it was fun to see her crew in this setting. She took her hand face down and threw the cards into the center of the table. "I fold. I think I would probably do better as the bartender," she replied getting up.

Steffan poured the requested drinks before handing them out before he took his seat again. Only the Captain and himself had folded from the last hand of the night. He glanced at the remaining players, he couldn’t tell who had the better hand. He’d just have to watch and see how it unfolded.

Glancing around the table, Neza was curious what those who called her bet had. She'd had a decent night, but really didn't have any more or less chips than she started with. "So, we doing anything special for the last hand or is it a winner take all?"

Jane cocked her head. “Have anything special in mind, Neza?”

"Hmm? No, just was wondering what you all think of it." Neza normally didn't bring that type of stuff up, but she had a feeling no one would really beat her hand.

She’s playing it cool, thought Jane. And she’s trying to get us to bet more. Either she has really good cards and is trying to get more out of it. Or she has nothing and is trying to make us think she has something good. I’m thinking the latter. That ‘hmm?’. I don’t like it. “Well, Neza, I for one am happy to put something else on the board. I’ll cook a three course meal and throw in a bottle of Vega wine for the winner. Do you want to put into the pot something equivalent?”

Neza looked to Gente and Bec, both of whom had called her bet. "I'm curious what they have to say first." She grinned at both of them.

In the meantime, Cindy busied herself making a strawberry daiquiri. "Anyone want a strawberry daiquiri?" she called out to her crew.

“These stakes are getting interesting.” Steffan commented before taking another sip of his drink.

"I'll take one, Cindy," Neza stated, looking at the others who had put their chips in. "So, what do you think you two? Jane says she'll cook. I'll offer the same though I don't have any wine to offer."

"I'm good, were the bet is at." Gente said, wondering what she was up too. He was not going to fall for her palor tricks. He was going to let the cards speaking for him.

Laughing, Bec nodded. "Alright. I'll take that bet too. A Bec special and a bottle of whiskey instead of wine," she gave Jane a wink at that. She knew she was not going to win with the hand she had, but it was fun nonetheless and if she got to spend an evening with anyone at the table, it would still be a win in her book.

A blender cranked loudly in the background and Cindy exclaimed, "Shit!" Then she laughed. "Oops. Spilled some on me." She came out with two glasses and handed one to Neza. Remnants of daiquiri mix were on her left arm and chest area.

Neza smirked at the mess Cindy made before looking to the others. “So, how do we want to do this? The three losers all cook for the winner? And I’m sure I can come up with some type of drink to go along with things if I have to cook.”

Jane blushed at Bec’s wink, but then nodded to Neza’s suggestion. “That works for me. And don’t worry everyone. I don’t have any food allergies.” She smirked at her friends.

“I’ll send you the bill for the carpet, Captain.” Haas said with a smirk.

"So are we going to reveal our hand?" Gente asked, he was curious to see if he won the round.

“You seem awful eager there, Gente, go for it.” Neza grinned and sat back, waiting.

"oh no, you first." Gente suggested with a grin on his face. He wanted to see what the others had, and he hoped he had a good hand. He assumed it was decent.

Jane rolled her eyes at Gente and revealed her hand. “Two pairs, queens over eights.” She smirked at Neza, Gente, and Bec. It wasn’t great, but it was something.

Gente smiled as he laid out 3 ten's on the table. Now it all depended on the others. He was not sure if anyone had anything higher. The probability was good, but he was hoping for good old dumb luck.

Biting her lip as the others showed their card, Neza looked to Bec, who was the only other one left besides herself and then revealed her cards. "Sorry you two," a straight flush in hearts appeared, seven through Jack, "Bec, you're up."

Jane’s eyes went wide at Neza’s hand. She smiled and dropped her head dejectedly. “And I’m the one who put cooking on the table,” she mused. “Looks like I’m cooking for you, Neza.” She studied the cards on the table. Bec didn’t have anything better. All the tens were in play, so no higher straight flushes were possible.

Bec grinned cheekily as she fanned out her cards and plopped them face up on the table. A pair of eights was all she had. "Looks like we get to cook for Neza," she laughed. "Up to you, Miss Winner, if we cook together or separate nights."

Neza smiled. “Here I wasn’t having great luck overall tonight. Looks like I get some dinner.” She sat back, “I might have to get back to you guys about the dinner or dinners.”

Cindy laughed. "I would have never made that bet. I'm quite sure that anything that I would have cooked would be poisonous to someone. I could burn water!"

"I'm not the best chef, but I haven't killed anyone yet, nor received any complaints about the quality of my food," Bec shrugged. "Now, baking? Not my forte. But I can make a scrumptious roast."

“Could we get this game finished? This talk of food is making me hungry and the snacks aren’t cutting it.” Steffan said with a chuckle.

Neza nudged Steffan. "You're the one who invited everyone over, remember? And besides, I think we already figured out that I won." She shrugged.

“Oh.” Steffan replied as he glanced at the table and indeed saw that Nez had won. “Well then, what do people want to eat?” He said with a smile.

"I'm on a seafood diet," Cindy replied giggling. "If I see food, I eat it!"

"I don't know, can we trust your cooking, Haas?" Bec asked cheekily.

Neza snickered, “His cooking is...decent,” she nudged Steffan. “You can trust it.”

“Well, I’m famished,” said Jane. “And if Steffan’s cooking does poison us, I have antidote in sickbay.” She smirked at Steffan and playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

“I have a mild chicken curry, hot dogs and pasta, I’m hoping there’s something for everyone.” Haas replied with a smile as he headed to his kitchen area and started getting food out of the equipment which kept them warm. “All freshly cooked by my hands earlier this morning.” He added.

Cindy raised her eyebrow at Neza when she mentioned Steffan's cooking.

Catching the look from Cindy, Neza gave a small shrug and a what? look.

Bec also raised an eyebrow at Neza. 'So this is who you're seeing,' Bec thought with a smirk. "No steak? What about ribs? Chicken pot pie?" she listed every food she could think of to tease Haas. If he was going to shaft her attempts at flirting and then steal away her fun with Neza, he deserved every bit of good-natured ribbing she could give him. "And will there be dessert?"

"I vote for a nice banana split. I'll have to workout for an extra fifteen minutes every day for a month but it would so be worth it!" Cindy declared.

“I agree fully with Cindy and Bec,” Jane teased. “Besides, a banana split has fruit in it. That makes it healthy. Trust me, I’m a Doctor.” She smirked at her friends.

Neza caught onto the look Bec gave and knew there was a conversation there that had to be done at some point. “Sounds like banana splits is the choice.” She did a headcount and went over to a fruit bowl, “If everyone wants one, Steffan have just enough bananas.”

“But I’ve made a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake and homemade biscotti.” The Comms Officer said as his face dropped.

"Both! I want both!" Bec said with a grin on her face. She looked around and shrugged. "What? I need to keep myself balanced in calories... I work out a lot, you know" She grinned mischievously!

“My banana-splits-are-healthy theory also applies to white chocolate and raspeberry cheesecake,” Jane said grinning. “Any dessert with tangential fruit, really.”

"Cheesecake.... Biscotti...." The words rolled off Cindy's tongue dumbly as she practically drooled the words out. "I'm gaining weight just hearing those words," she told Steffan.

“Cheesecake and banana spits then!” Neza went to help get the cheesecakes out, looking to Haas before speaking quietly. “I think they’re catching on to us.”

Steffan shrugged, “Is that a problem?” He replied in a hushed voice.

Shrugging, Neza dug out one of the cheesecakes before sneaking a kiss to Steffan’s cheek. “Okay, who wants some?”

Jane smiled, pushing her tongue a bit through her teeth as she did so, seeing Neza's little peck. "I'll take a small piece, please," she said. "Despite my previous claims, I would really prefer not to go to the gym later."

Gente waited patiently for the next round of cards to be played. He did not mind the occasional pastry, but at the moment, he was interested in winning a hand. He discovered he hated to lose.

Cindy told Jane, "You're going to the gym. Someone has to work off this cheesecake with me and I plan on eating several." She waited patiently to be given a cheesecake.

Bec smirked as she caught the kiss on the cheek. "I'll have a slice," she said giving Neza a look. She then turned to Cindy and grinned mischievously. "I'll go to the gym with you, Cindy..."

Jane pouted at Bec. “But she asked me first!” She then stuck her tongue out at the XO playfully. “I don’t like exercising alone, Cindy. We’ll find some time.”

“Please, tuck in. Help yourselves. Have whatever you fancy.” Haas said with a smile as he finished laying out the food he’d prepped.

Realizing that others had seen what she'd done, Neza sighed before going over to the table, "Gente, you do know that was the last hand, right? Come on, time for all the sweets we will regret later." Her eyes scanned the others, wondering what they were thinking about what they'd seen.

"Well thanks for a great game." Gente said, as he looked to Neza. "It's getting late, gonna call it a night." He said, trying to make his exit from the game. He was not really in the mood for pastries. But it was nice of them to invite him to the game. He really enjoyed the distraction from engineering.

“Gente, wait a second,” Jane said. She then turned to the whole group. “An idea about the winner’s dinner. Instead of three smaller meals, Bec, Gente and I team up for something nicer and fancier. And we’ll let you bring a date.” She winked at Neza. “So three small meals, one each from me, Bec, and Gente, or one bigger one that you can eat with your sweetheart. That is, assuming Bec and Gente agree. Neza, you don’t have to decide now, but it’s an idea on the table.”

Gente was not sure what to think of the deal that Jane had proposed. He was hoping to sneak off, and head back to Engineering. But he was at a loss of words. He waited to see what Bec was going to say. At the moment, he sat there silent.

"I'll think about it all, not going to make a decision right away but I will let you guys know." Neza frowned watching Gente, "Not going to stay for the company?"

Gente felt busted, he felt so close to the door. He stopped for a second, and gave a big smile on his face, but inside he was screaming 'run'. But there was no where to go. He thought to himself, 'What company, you are comparing pastries.' "Well that would be just rude of me, wouldn't. it" He said, feeling guilty for wanting to leave. But he knew he could not be rude.

Bec shrugged. "I don't mind either way," she said in reference to the meals deal. "But for now... fooood...." she grinned as she grabbed a plate and started putting a little of each food item on it. "I think next time we play, we need to use the crew lounge, and each of us should bring a food dish so that Haas isn't stuck making everything."

"I don't know," Cindy told Bec. "Of course, from where I'm sitting, I think that Steffan has a bit too much time on his hands." She gave a knowing grin at Neza. "Either that or he performs too quickly off duty," she continued with a snicker.

Neza let out a small groan but had a small smile on her face. “Okay, Cindy, we get it, you guys caught on.” She glanced to Steffan with a sigh.

"Not hard to," Bec said, grinning at her. "I mean, I know how you react, but it's been very obvious," she teased before taking a bite of the curry. "I mean, you're all googly eyed at him, dropping obvious hints, you weren't exactly trying to hide it from us..."

Gente was a little surprised by the news of Neza. He needed to keep better tracks of the social dynamic parring. He could tell that this was important to the ladies. His main love, was engineering. Gente smiled, not sure where to add anything to the conversation. He debated about saying congrats to them. For the moment, he remained silent.

“We’re happy for you two,” Jane said, picking up some pasta with her fork. “We all deserve happiness out here, and it’s nice you two have found some together.” Before putting the food in her mouth, she smiled and added “Just remember to swing by my office for your injections. You folk in straight relationships need to be careful about making little humans. I'm a fully trained OB, but most of my experience is with cattle!” She bit down on her food.

Haas places a fresh jug of iced water on the table. “It was never a secret, just didn’t want to shout from the rooftops that we were together.” He said with a shrug. “She’s the best looking gal on the ship. I’d be mad to miss the opportunity of giving us a go.” He said looking at Nez and smiled.

Gente thought that was a very cheesy line. This ship had a lot of beautiful women on it. All of them drop dead gorgeous. He was curious to see how the other ladies were going to respond to his bold statement.

Face going red, Neza went after some food. “Steffan, be nice. The others are more beautiful than I am, I think you’re blinded.”

Gente smiled, and thought to himself, that was a nice save. Those two had a real good shot, at making that relationship work. Good for them he thought.

“You mustn’t say such things, Neza,” Jane said. “I think he was being sweet to you, not rude to us. I think we all knew what he meant.” She winked at Steffan. It was a good line, she thought.

Haas moved towards Neza. “You, are the one for me.” He said as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the lips.

About to say something back to Jane, Neza found herself caught up in a kiss from Steffan for a moment. "Okay then...I think that's enough affection displays for now," she said with a grin. "They didn't come here to see all this. They came for poker and food, and the first one is over."

Alec came in, doors swishing open just in time to see the PDA. He couldn't help himself. "Aww." came to his lips as he found himself a place to sit. "Im sorry Im late." he said, his face turning as red as a Security uniform.

Bec made a gagging face at the kiss, but laughed after. "Aww, you two are sickeningly sweet," she said, though her heart hurt a little. She was happy seeing Neza happy though. She looked over to Alec and grinned. "You missed all the fun, Doc."

“Welcome, Alec,” Jane said, cover her mouth, which was full of pasta.

Cindy giggled when Steffan called Neza the best looking woman on the ship. She would not argue with him. When two people were in love, it was best to encourage it. Though, she had to admit, if she was the best looking woman on this ship, where were her suitors? Of course, being the Captain had a great deal of perks but at times like this, it seemed to have a great deal of drawbacks. Wistfully she thought about Phil.

"Sickeningly sweet? Never been called that before," Neza said with a shrug as she looked over at Alec. "You did indeed miss the fun, but not the goodies. Come on in."

“Alec.” Haas smiled. “Glad you could make the food. Your pocket will be glad you missed the poker game though. Neza cleared everyone out!”

"I did not! I just won the last hand is all." Neza shook her head.

"You emptied me out," Bec pointed out with a sly grin on her face before taking another mouthful of curry.

“And me.” Stef teased as he passed Alec an empty plate. “Tuck in my friend.”

"I'd love too." Alec said, loading hiss plate down. "Just as well. Im bad at poker." he laughed. "At starfleet med..lets just say never play against a psych professor. Ugh"

Digging into the cheesecake, Neza shrugged. "Okay, okay, I didn't do too bad."

“They’ll hear you coming 20 sections away with the chips you’ve won.” Stef teased with a cheeky wink.

Digging into the cheesecake, Cindy started eating without thinking. She had downed her first and had already made her way onto the second.

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