Dinner and a Show

Posted on Wed Feb 17th, 2021 @ 4:27am by Commodore Loatha Targaryen & Captain Wilkan Targaryen & Kiala & Fleet Admiral Dazad Targaryen & Councilor Nokomis Diza of Krios

3,445 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Short Treks
Location: Admiral's Dining Room, Starfleet One
Timeline: 2430-08-11, 18:00

"This is the last of it, Admiral," the Yeoman said as she placed the tray on the bar in the outer compartment of the Dining Room. "Your buffet is ready to go."

Admiral William Teagarden tugged on his jacket as he looked at the food before him, "Thank you, Crewman. Please give my compliments to the chef."

"I will be sure to do that. Is there anything else that I can do before your guests arrive?" The Ariolo enlistee asked as he stood in near attention.

"That will be all," William excused. As the Crewman was about to leave he spoke up, "Wait. Could you reach out to Admiral Luzol and see what is keeping her?"

There was a pause from the alien crewman as he thought about the request. William wondered if the Crewman may ask about why the Admiral couldn't do it, but then he nodded and said, "Aye."

The Yeoman approached the door and it slid open to reveal his parents standing on the opposite side. Retired Admirals Dazad and Kiala looked in, "Are we early?"

"I didn't know you were coming so I'd say so," William answered his mother. "I thought you were having a quiet night at home instead of staying aboard Enterprise?"

"Elle invited us," Dazad said using William's wife's nickname.

William was surprised to hear that, "Nice of her to tell me."

"She didn't tell you?" His mother was instantly furious. "If we knew that we wouldn't have..."

"It's fine, Mom," the Admiral interrupted her. "Did either of you happen to see Elle when you were on your way here?"

"No but I think I saw that girl you were friends with on the Orion. What was her name?" the former Admiral Dazad was trying to remember when his wife swatted his hand.

"You're embarrassing him," Kiala cautioned her husband.

The Admiral shook his head and answered quickly, "No it's fine. Yes, I have a dinner guest tonight. Commander Nokomis Diza is joining us. She was the XO on the Orion when I served there. I ran into her when I was at the Federation Council and invited her to dinner."

"Didn't you have a crush on her?" His father asked bluntly.

He was going to answer when he heard the door chime.

Mis had brought a salad that Logan's mom had taught her to make. She had called it 'frog-eye salad' but Mis had since learned that people found that name for it disgusting and sometimes would not partake in the food. So she merely called it a sweet pasta salad now. She'd been taught to never show up to a gathering in someone's home empty handed. She waited politely for the doors to open and tried her best not to be nervous about meeting his family, though she thought she might only be meeting his wife for the first time as she had already met the boys.

"Hello," she smiled when the door opened. "I come baring gifts."

"Let me help you with that," William went running to try to help her with the pasta salad she had brought. Accepting the bowl he set it aside and motioned, "I don't think you've met my mother, Kiala, or my father, Dazad, have you?"

"No, I haven't had the pleasure. Nokomis, but most people call me Mis. It's nice to meet you." Well this was a bit more awkward than she was expecting, not that it wouldn't have been awkward anyway, they had dated at one time . . . . sort of.

Dazad looked at the young lady and carefully studied her, "You're the Representative of Krios are you not?" He knew her to be, having recognized her from his own memory. "I knew your father and had transported him back to your homeworld once."

"I am." Somehow she wasn't surprised. "Yes sir, I believe that came up years ago in conversation between Will and I." She glanced at him remembering the night he'd told her that he suspected her father had another family. It had turned out to be true. She had a half brother and a half sister that she hadn't known about until then.

"Maybe we should discuss something else," Willian quickly defended.

Dazad looked at his son, "Just trying to make conversation."

"So am I," Willian countered.

"Well I'm very happy to get to meet you for the first time," Kiala interrupted both. "You are quite lovely, Councilor, and you brought a dish with you. How very thoughtful."

Mis tried not to raise her eyebrow at the compliment simply replied, "thank you." But she had not been introduced to his wife yet and waited with some nervousness for that moment to arrive with her.

The doors slid open and Fleet Admiral Luzol stepped into the Admiral's Dining Room at the front of Deck One, "Sorry that I'm late. There was an issue with a Federation Cruiser out on the Cardassian Border and I was coordinating with the Regional Director." She saw the Councilor, "Is this Councilor Diza of Krios?"

"Indeed," Kiala answered, "and she brought us a lovely salad."

Luzol looked at the salad, "I love salad. Thank you!"

"You're welcome. Old family recipe, well . . . . family of my uh . . ." Mis wasn't sure what to call him. He was the father of her child but they were not together. "Best friend. We used to call it frog-eye salad but people gave us strange looks and some were rather disappointed there weren't real frog eyes. And imagine there would probably be a few races that would probably be offended by that name."

"I can imagine that the Wollowans may have been," Luzol mentioned the frog-like alien civilization, and a near neighbor to the Kriosians. "I'm sure that it will be delicious. Are we ready to begin? Is anyone else coming?" She asked resting a hand on the waist of her husband.

Willian glanced down at the hand, slightly uncomfortable by it. Why was he uncomfortable? "I haven't invited anyone else and the sitter is watching the kids." If you could call it that. One of the benefits of Starfleet One was the presence of holoemitters on every deck. They had used that advantage to create a holographic replica of Flotter T. Water III that the kids enjoyed interacting with. He just hoped that Flotter didn't flood the ship again while teaching them about ecosystems.

"That annoying hologram?" Dazad questioned he himself annoyed by it. "We could always go and watch them."

"Nonsense," Luzol excused. "I'm certain our guest is enjoying the opportunity to get to know you."

Mis smiled, she wasn't sure that was true. She had expected a more intimate gathering, but she could be brave and handle it. "What did the children think of Councilor Batalib?" She asked Will. He was the person she suggested they visit because of his unusual anatomy but he also loved children and would do anything to entertain them.

Will smiled at the memory as he glanced at the salad, "They seemed to like him. The Councilor was very nice to them and showed them around the Chamber for a few moments. One of the things they most liked was his frog-like appearance I think."

"Would anyone like anything from the bar?" He asked as he stood next to the built in bar of his dining room. "I have synthehol from the replicator and a couple of real things here for special occasions."

"Nothing for me, just some water would be fine." She never drank much before she got pregnant. "So . . . it's been a good while since we last met. I understand congratulations are in order for several reasons, not only rank but I understand you have a fine ship as well."

Willian smiled as he poured her drink for her. He was about to speak when his father interrupted.

"He's kept up the legacy pretty well. He worked his way up from the minors and into the majors with this ship," Dazad took a sip of his drink. "I have to say I'm proud of how things went. When he let that one crew of his run him off I questioned if he'd ever make it back into the center seat again."

Kiala slapped her husband's arm playfully, "That may not be appropriate conversation."

"It's fine," Willian took back over. "I've done ok. It's been a fun ride."

Nikomis was actually finding the situation amusing now. "I bet." She almost asked him if this was where he expected himself to be. She knew back on Orion he wanted to fight his father's ambitions for him but it didn't really seem like he'd done that now. She also briefly wondered if he was happy. At least he'd found someone to love. "I uh recently connected with a sibling, a brother from another relationship my father had," she said trying to make small talk.

The thought of it rushed back to him at that moment. He remembered one of his final moments aboard the Orion before his father maneuvered him to the Cochrane he had told her what he saw. What he remembered of the time the Enterprise escorted the Kriosian Ambassador home. Of the other family that was waiting there. It still made him sick to his stomach to think about it. He remembered being nearly catatonic in the corridor as he thought about it then.

"I'm glad it worked out," he said after a struggle. He had had a lot of guilt about it for a very long time.

Guilt that Luzol picked up on. She looked between the duo, smirking in the process. "Maybe we should eat before it gets cold," she said abruptly.

"I for one am famished," Dazad announced from nearby as he crossed the wooden decking and toward the large, ancient naval below the window. "Nice to see you kept this, son, you don't know how hard it was to get the Smithsonian to release it from the A," he sat his hand on the wooden wheel.

"I couldn't part with it," he answered, "it has a lot of history." He looked at Nokomis, "This wheel was on the sailing ship Enterprise in the 19th Century. It was later salvaged and passed down through the militaries of Earth before it ended up in the custody of Starfleet. It was in the Officer's Lounge aboard the Constitution Class Enterprise-A in the 23rd Century and remained with it until father pushed for it to be transferred to the F shortly after he took command. It came here when that ship was decommissioned."

"Oh wow, very impressive." She really wasn't sure what to say about that other than she thought it should be in a museum but she held her tongue. "History fascinates me, but I confess I've always been a bit more attached to the people in it rather than the objects. I've been putting together some of my own family history lately and it's been so rewarding."

Biala spoke this time from the table, "Too true! Family is the only real wealth that one can have. We El-Aurians have always had a foundation of family and friends. After two centuries though we have decided to reaffirm our devotion to ours."

"Right," Dazad answered as he joined his wife at the table. He looked at the Kriosian, "Won't you join us?"

"Of course." Mis said with a small smile and sat in a seat that didn't seem to be occupied, assuming there were no assigned seats. "I have a question for you," she said turning to Will's father. "I am not that familiar with El-Aurian culture. Are there any major holidays that your people celebrate?"

"I am afraid that most of our culture has become lost to us because of the Borg having assimilated our worlds. We have tried to keep some of the old ways, but a lot of who we are has been superseded by that of new civilizations we have visited. For example, our people have visited Earth since before the era when space travel was even in the cards for them. We barely have each other these days," he looked to his wife and touched her hand, "and fewer still are full blooded." He glanced at his son and daughter-in-law.

Luzol spoke out, "Neither are you though."

"Indeed," Dazad answered. "Both I and my wife are half-Human."

Kiala smirked, "Which is why we don't usually wear those audacious hats. Surely you've seen them. Guinan was always flaunting them wasn't she?"

Dazad repeated his early answer with a broad smile, "Indeed."

"I didn't realize that was part of the deal," Mis said somewhat seriously. "You probably already knew this, although I am full Kriosian, I was raised on Earth in a typical neighborhood of the pacific northwest right next door to Logan's family actually. Spent a lot of my childhood out in the woods, even got lost once which prompted a giant search and my father to nearly have a heart attack."

"That sounds terrifying," Kiala answered. "I can only imagine what that would be like. Seems like we were always on a ship or station of some sort while he was growing up," she motioned toward her son. Then she pointed at her husband, "He had sensors always locked on Will. No matter what he did the computer told on him."

Willian interrupted to stop a potential argument, "We lived on Earth for a time while you were at Starfleet Medical, Mom."

"Wasn't that when you were nearly killed in the Breen attack on Earth?" Luzol interrupted herself this time.

Kiala rested her hand on her daughter-in-law's, "We don't discuss that dear." She relented, "But yes. Were you on Earth at that time, Mis?"

"Yes, but we weren't close to the attack. We lived in Washington at the time and thankfully my father was home with us when it happened." She remembered worrying about Logan's father but everything turned out alright in the end. He had not been injured.

"I wasn't on Earth at the time," Dazad explained. "I was still stationed at Deep Space Nine. I requested reassignment to Earth, but I couldn't sit still for long."

"You never could," there was a slight inflection - barely audible - that was contemptuous of the statement.

"Except I went with you this time," Willian pointed out.

Dazad nodded, "Indeed. I think it all turned out fine though."

"So what's it like to be a member of the Federation Council?" Luzol blurted out as she pushed aside her meal. "It's probably a big change from Starfleet."

"You know, surprisingly . . . not that much. At least not when I was an XO. I get to listen to people argue all day, the only difference is I can't throw them in the brig when they don't come to an agreement," Mis joked. "It is different, but it's rewarding when things happen for the better of the Federation. But, I'll be going on maternity leave in a couple of months, yet another adventure."

Willian smiled and spoke warmly, "I'm happy for you. I always knew you'd be a great mom."

"Hah," Nokomis answered, "We shall see."

"Well then," Kiala said bunching her napkin up and setting it on the table, "I for one had a lovely evening. Come along, Dazad, we need to go get some rest. We have an early day tomorrow."

Her husband looked puzzled for a moment as he looked around the room, "Oh? Yes. Yes of course." He set his napkin on the table, "Thank you all for a lovely evening. I apparently have an early day tomorrow."

"It was nice to meet you," Nokomis smiled at them as they appeared to be leaving. She looked back at Will. The truth was she was a tiny bit relieved to have less people. She would be leaving soon as well but wanted to have a tiny bit more conversation first. "So how did you two meet?"

Willian and Luzol looked at one another for a second. They had been together for so long it almost was impossible to remember where and when they first got together. It was finally Luzol who answered. "Really for the longest time we couldn't stand each other," she said nonchalantly. "We had known each other at the Academy and he worked for me for a time when I was a member of the administrative staff there. One of the happiest moments of my life was when he got sent on his midshipman cruise and was out of my hair."

"We became somewhat of rivals for a while," Willian answered. "We ended up in a lot of the same circles because we both went the Strategic Operations route. Actually, not long after I left the Orion, I was assigned to her a second time."

"Fortunately for me I had applied to be First Officer of the Bradbury," she commented. "So I left the Cochrane and he replaced me as their Strategic Operations Officer. Little did I know he'd become XO there so we kept apace of one another. We both became Captains, we both ended up being rivals a bit longer than we were friends, but my marriage was falling to pieces because my husband wasn't in Starfleet. He couldn't understand my life and choices and we just drifted apart."

Willian took a drink of his Romulan Whiskey, "About a decade ago we happened to be at a conference together and we've been together ever since."

"After around 35 years as rivals we decided to get married," she snickered.

"Interesting. I don't think I ever met anyone I hated. I've had my share of loves that have gone wrong though." She shrugged. At that particular moment she was thinking of Stazi. But that was after Will had left, so he wouldn't understand.

Willian remembered that she had had a relationship that had not ended well right before he came aboard the Orion as he took a sip of his drink. It was a lot like he was gathering liquid courage. He smiled and set the cup on the wooden table, "So, I have to ask you because I'm curious, who's the baby's father?"

Luzol smacked at his hand playfully, "Willian! That's rude!"

Nokomis laughed at the interaction. "It's okay. I'm not married, anyone would likely be curious. It's Logan. We're not together but we have been friends since we were four years old and he has two grown children from an earlier marriage. I thought I needed to hurry if I wanted a child so I asked him and he agreed. I'm going to name her Margaret after his mother, because she was more a mother to me than my own."

Willian struggled not to spit out his drink. He asked while struggling to hide his surprise, "Captain Barrett?"

"I think that's lovely," Luzol answered. "I almost did something similar."

"You did?" Willian asked - having never known this before.

"I was younger so what can I say?" Luzol answered. "I think that's a lovely sentiment."

Nokomis smiled. She was happy Will had found love and a little bit sad that she hadn't but maybe it just wasn't meant to be for her and besides, she was quite comfortable in her own skin and perfectly capable of taking care of this baby on her own though she knew Logan would help and would want to be apart of her life. She set her drink down on the table. It had been a nice evening but all good things must come to an end.

Willian looked at his wife then back to his friend from another era. He sat the glass on the tabletop and relaxed in his chair, his boyish smile still playing over his features. He rested his hands in his lap. He thought back to the last time he had seen her. They had walked down a corridor, barefoot if he recalled, after he broke to her the truth of her father's past. It was one of the few times he used his father's connections willingly - getting reassigned to avoid further pain.

"It really was lovely seeing you again, Mis. I am so glad that we were able to find one another again after all this time and across space."

"Yes," she said more quietly. "It was good to see you again. And, it was really nice to meet your wife and kids. I'm glad you've had such a happy and successful life. No one deserves it more."

He smiled, "And I am happy to see that you took your place as a leader in the Federation. I knew that you were always destined for better things," Willian answered. "Good night."

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