Breakfast with the Captain

Posted on Fri Aug 14th, 2020 @ 7:18am by Commander Elias Walker & Captain Cynthia Jackson

2,093 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 3.5 - Some R & R
Location: Captain's Office

Eli was surprised when he received an invitation to breakfast. He thought the Captain would take shore leave as an opportunity to leave the ship and let her hair down. Yet, he was going to complain about socialising with the Captain he enjoyed working with.

He approached the Captain’s dining room and pressed the door chime and waited for permission to enter.

Cindy bubbled, "Come on in, Eli! Come on in!"

Walker smiled as he stepped through the door. “Good morning, Captain.” He said as he glanced at the spread on the table. He was also glad that Cindy was wearing civvies the same as him.

Once Elias came in, he was confronted by two covered trays, two champagne glasses filled with orange juice, and two goblets filled with water. Cindy, dressed casually in some black yoga pants and a loose red t-shirt smiled at Eli and said, "Come on, come on. Sit down. We don't want our food to get cold, now do we?"

“Of course not.” He said as he sat down. “I’m surprised you’re still on the ship, actually. Most Captains I’ve served under are generally off enjoying themselves before the ship has finished docking procedures.” Said Eli as he unfolded his napkin and placed in in his lap. “But you’re definitely not like other Captains I’ve served with...in a good way I mean.”

Cindy laughed prettily. "I doubt that there will be many like me, she told Elias. I can't even get people, including you, to call me Cindy, rather than Captain. The best I get is a combination of Captain Cindy." She sighed. "Well, I guess Rome was not built in a day."

She sat down and said, "I had the ship's cooks whip this meal up. I'm pretty sure that you would not want my cooking. I'm barely competent at making a grilled cheese sandwich." She took off the lids of one of the plates, "Ah, omelettes, hash browns, and a fruit medley." Cindy paused, her green eyes sparkling at Elias. "I hope you can handle alcohol in the morning. Those are mimosas, not plain orange juice."

“You can’t just throw away years of conditioning. It’s part of the routine of calling the Captain ‘Captain’.” Eli said with a chuckle. “Looks delicious and seeing as we’re on R’n’R we can indulge in some alcohol with breakfast.” He added. “Please, ladies first.”

"We can throw away years of conditioning. Someone has to. There is a point to rank, don't get me wrong. After all, someone has to make a decision, no? But, ultimately we're a team. Think of it like American football. There's the Quarterback. He calls the plays on the field. Well, that's not entirely true. The coach often does, just like our admirals. But on the field, the quarterback is in charge on offense. But if the team doesn't do its job, if the line doesn't protect the quarterback, it doesn't matter how good or talented the quarterback is. The offense won't succeed. It is the same thing on a starship. I can't do anything without all of you. I may get the credit but it really is not deserved because I can't get anything without all of you."

She gave Eli a winning smile and then put her plate in front of her. She was not dainty with her fork, as she stuck it into a piece of fruit and stuffed it into her mouth.

“You're still the Captain though.” Eli said with a smile and a laugh. He then used the serving spoon to place an omelette on his plate, followed by a couple of hash browns and some brown sauce.

"I am but the teammates never call the Quarterback, Quarterback during the huddle." She brushed a lock of hair out of her face that fell in front of her shoulders. "I swear, Eli, I'll get you there. I will!" She snickered and too another bite of her fruit.

Eli smiled, “I’m not sure you will.” He said before taking a bite of his omelette. He nodded his approval, “I see the chef has mustered up another quality omelette.” He added after swallowing.

"The chef seems to spend extra time when I request a meal. I really do not need special treatment," she told Eli but something in her eyes sparkled and hinted that was not completely true. "In any case, I'm so glad that we were able to sort out that entire thing at Vulcan and sort out which people belonged on our Legacy. So, I invited you here to apologize for nearly not remembering who you were."

“Don’t be silly, it was a very strange and difficult situation. Even more so for you as it affected you quite a bit. I’m just glad it’s over and it’s all gone back to normal. Plus the R and R is welcomed too!” Walker replied.

"It was harder, especially after the whole situation with Vivyra and the Orions. This leave is just what the doctor ordered. IT will make sure that I have my head screwed on straight and that when we get our next orders, I will be completely clear headed and good to go." She laughed. "It is ironic that people said that it was bad luck or ghosts would follow Legacy when it was built from the parts of the ships wrecked at Vulcan. Who knew that there was some truth to it? I bet they didn't even believe it!" Laughing harder, she put her hand lightly on the Commander's as she laughed and then removed it. "Quite the joke on us, huh?"

“Indeed. Seems it wasn’t Starfleet’s best idea to have Legacy built out of the scrap metals of the fleet that was destroyed by Nero. At least we can now move on to something different though. I looking forward to our next mission once the crews batteries are recharged.” Walker said before taking a sip of his drink.

"On the other hand, had Legacy not been made of those parts, we might not have known about the additional effects of red matter and we might have had planets engulfed in mixed realities. So, perhaps it was all a blessing." She sighed pleasantly before she took a bite of her omelette. "As to the next mission, who knows what we will do? This whole multiple dimension thing was rather exciting." Her green eyes twinkled when she said that. "Maybe this time we can discover some completely new spatial body!"

“I’d prefer a first contact situation, it’s been a while since I put my linguistic skills to the test. Hell, I’d take a Klingon or Romulan too, need to keep my syntax just right.” Elias replied. “It might be nice if they signed Legacy up to one of those five year missions. That could be fun!”

"The first mission with the Romulans trying to bait us into a war with the Klingons was quite enough for me with both of them." Cindy replied with an uncharacteristic scoff. "But, we will do whatever we're ordered to do, right?" she asked cheerfully.

“Of course.” Walker replied with a smile. “Orders are orders. I’d just prefer something fun for a Comms expert, which I know sounds greedy but hey, I’m allowed to want.”

"I'm more than certain that you will shine when the time comes!" Cindy encouraged.

“I don’t doubt that.” Walker replied with a cheeky grin. “I’d like a little more action than a science mission can give. I change of pace wouldn’t be a bad thing for everyone."

"I like changes of pace, but after near war with the Klingons and Romulans and having the Orions try to take over their ship with pheromone genetically engineered women, I could do with a bit more science."

“I’m not fussed by Science stuff.” He said with a grin before taking another omelette and hash browns. “These are excellent.” He commented pointing to the omelettes with his fork.

With a mouthful of hash browns, Cindy responded, "Mmm hmmm. Good. This is why I don't cook. Now," she said, sliding the food to another side and then swallowing. "Now, I can bake. That's more chemistry than this."

“Bake?” Eli said before swallowing what was in his mouth. “You bake? As in cakes? I’ve not had a decent proper cake since my wife passed away. She loved to bake, although I’ve probably lost a few pounds now I don’t have a constant supply of a baked goods.” He added with a chuckle.

"I don't do it very often," Cindy replied with a shrug. "I don't have the time. I'm way too active and, well, I wouldn't want it to ruin my figure. I mean, what's baking if you don't sample the goodies?"

“Of course, when my wife baked and it occasionally went wrong I’d always help out so it wouldn’t go to waste. I just wished things went wrong more often than they did.” Eli said with a toothy grin.

"What? She didn't let you eat the good stuff? Just the things that went wrong?" Cindy replied aghast.

“Oh no, I had the good stuff too. But it’s even better when things didn’t go right, means I got double helpings.” Eli replied with a grin. “I really miss those days.”

"That would be difficult," Cindy sympathized. She then put her hand on Eli's hand and said, "I'm sure that you will find someone else special again. I'm pretty sure that is what your wife would have wanted."

“Without a doubt. I’d want her to find happiness, life is too short. I suppose I’ve just been too reluctant to move on I suppose. Perhaps I should open myself again.” Eli replied as he pondered how to go about moving forward in his personal life.

"You only live once," Cindy told Eli with a shrug and a smile. "That's why I make sure to try just about anything new when it comes about. Imagine what you could be missing out on!"

“According to Ian Fleming you only live twice.” Eli replied with a laugh.

"James Bond is just amazing!" Cindy replied more than pleased. "They don't make holos like those old movies anymore."

“Ah, a fellow Bond fan. Which is your favourite book?” Walker asked curiously.

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I love how the good guy Bond does not get to enjoy his life with his new wife. It is so deliciously twisted. No happily ever after and then, of course, You Only Live Twice is also satisfying. Bond does the job, gets his revenge, and then for his reward ends up with amnesia!"

“Casino Royale was my personal favourite, it’s the start of a great series.” Walker replied. “I wonder if there’s copy’s on the ship's computer, I wouldn’t mind reading through them again.”

"Oh," Cindy said waving her hand playfully at Eli, "I know they're all there. I've read them several times."

“I’m that case, Captain, I shall have to do some digging after breakfast.” Replied Eli with a smile. He wondered if there was a quiet place on the station he could find so he could lose himself in Ian Fleming's work while they were on shore leave.

"Cindy, for God's sake, Eli!" She threw back her hair and laughed at him. "In any case, you won't have to dig far. But maybe you should consider finding a cute woman on the base and having a good time with her? Get yourself back up on the horse, so to speak."

Eli laughed, “I suppose you’re right, I can’t complain about not having someone then make no attempts at finding that said someone.”

"Of course I'm right! I'm the Captain." She laughed heartily at Elias. "Now, go and get yourself on shore leave, find a pretty girl, and do something fun off this ship." She grinned wickedly at Elias. "That's an order, mister."

“Thank you, Captain.” Elias said wiping the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “Thank you for breakfast and the invitation. We should do this more often.”

"Cindy, Eli!" She shook her head at her XO and then stuck her tongue out at him. "Sure, we can do this again, if you get my name right."

“Captain.” He said with a smirk and nod of the head before he left.

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