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Pilot’s personal log, stardate 2398.3
We've arrived at Starbase Twenty-three where we will take on supplies and repair damages from the recent pirate takeover. While we're here, Captain has granted us a short shore leave. I stupidly agreed to a blind date set up by Kyle. If this goes awry, he’ll find out how dirty his transporter pads can get.
Lieutenant Erica Ortegas stared at her bed with her hands on her hips. She could not believe she had agreed to let Kyle set her up on this date. As she was standing there a chime came over the speaker system. “Come in,” she called, not bothering to look at who it was she was allowing entrance into her quarters.
“Well, someone is having a difficult time,” Nurse Christine Chapel said, coming up to stand beside Erica. She was dressed in a long flowing dress of an olive green color with black boots Erica was sure went to her knees beneath the dress. There was an embroidered pattern on the bodice of the dress.
Erica glared at Christine. “Someone meeting up with Dever?”
“Yes,” the blonde woman said, tossing her hair. “And what is it you’re doing on this shore leave?”
Erica rolled her eyes and went back to looking at what she had strewn across her bed. “Kyle set me up,” she stated.
“Oh?” Christine asked. “On a date?”
More glaring at the blonde and more glaring at her bed. “And I don’t know what to wear. I know showing skin is out.”
“You do it when we go to the Captain's Table.”
Shaking her head and tossing the little black top away, Erica stated. “And I’m not dating the Captain.”
Christine laughed as Erica sorted her clothes and finally came up with a dark pair of pants that weren’t uniform slacks and a navy blue top. She headed into the bathroom as Christine called, “He’s too old for you anyway.”
“I’m telling you, if this is his crazy way to ask me on a date,” Erica stated, coming out of the whooshing doors and bending down to tighten her boot.
“I highly doubt that,” Christine said, looping her arm through Erica’s and leading her out of the room now that she was finally ready. “He’s staying on the ship. Something about upgrading the buffers or something. I think he’s working with La’an anyway on security measures. Something about people beaming aboard when we beam off or something.”
The pair walked towards the transporter room together. Walking into the transporter room, Erica made eye contact with Chief Kyle as she walked onto the pad. “Hope you enjoy your date,” Kyle said as the two ladies positioned themselves on the two circular pads.
Before Chief Kyle began the energizing sequence, Erica locked eyes with him. “Suck it, Kyle,” she mouthed, just as he slid his fingers forward to begin the transporter process.
As Erica Ortegas and Christine Chapel rematerialized on the transporter pad of the space station, Christine turned to look at her friend. “What was that?”
Raising an eyebrow as she stepped down from the platform, Erica feigned ignorance. “What was what?”
“Did you just tell Chief Kyle to suck it?”
Erica shrugged and walked out of the transporter room backward waving to her friend. “I’ll keep the comm open, just in case either of us needs a quick out,” she called as she turned the corner for the starbase’s mess hall, which was more like an Earth bar from her Academy days. Stepping inside, Erica scanned the crowd, looking for who Kyle had said would be waiting for her. It took her a moment before she spied the person having been described. Heaving a breath, Erica walked over to the bartender and ordered a whiskey sour. A moment later, she took a long drink. She couldn't believe she was seeing the person that Kyle had set her up with. How had he known?
After downing a bit of liquid courage, Erica grabbed her glass and headed over towards her date. Walking up, Erica ventured a question, “Decker?”
The woman with a martini glass in one hand turned to look at the pilot, her dark chin-length hair swishing as she moved. “Ortegas?” the woman asked. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
The woman sighed and set her glass on the bar to tug at her skirt as if to make it fall further down her thigh. This motion only attracted Erica’s gaze. “Oh, Kyle set me up on some blind date.”
Erica raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?” she asked. “He kinda set me up on one too.” Erica saw the person beside her freeze. Was this actually going to happen or was Decker going to freak out on her? “Come on, let’s go find a table and sit down.” Though I definitely don’t mind you messing with that short skirt, Erica thought. She led the way to a table near a viewing port out at the spacedock. Thankfully the view wasn’t of their ship, or Erica might be tempted to watch the repair crews working on the exterior of the Enterprise. “So what did you say to Kyle to get him to set you up?” Erica asked as they both got comfortable.
The other lieutenant shrugged. “When he asked me out, I told him he had too many molecules for me.” Erica laughed a short little laugh. She had forgotten that Decker was in the science department. “What about you?”
Erica shrugged. “I just told him he’d better hold on next time we’re in battle.”
Decker laughed and took a small sip of her martini. “Speaking of holding on…” Erica tried to cover her shock at the change in conversation by taking a drink from her glass. “Do you think you could go a little gentler on the evasive maneuvers up there?”
Somehow, Erica managed not to choke on her drink. “What do you mean, Decker?”
The woman across from her smiled. “Halee, please.” She cleared her throat before continuing. “Do you know how many experiments I’ve had to restart for Lieutenant Spock because of your evasive maneuvers on the bridge?”
Propping her chin on her elbow, Erica responded, “Inertial dampeners work, sometimes.”
Halee grinned. “Yeah, I know. But I would prefer it if my experiments didn’t go literally sideways sometimes.”
“Sorry,” Erica shrugged. “I can’t help it if we come into a surprise asteroid field or a Gorn ship.” Waving down the waiter in a tan bodysuit with short dark hair, Erica asked for another drink, knowing she wasn’t going to be on the bridge for a while and had the rest of the evening to sleep off any effects of the alcohol. Downing the last little bit in her wide-mouthed glass, Erica leaned forward towards the scientist. “I’m a little surprised Kyle pegged this right,” she whispered.
Halee smiled and ducked her chin to her chest. “Yeah,” she breathed. “I was definitely surprised to see you walk up.”
Erica nodded her thanks to the waiter as he set the drink on the table and backed away quickly, obviously sensing the desire for the pair to be alone. “I wasn’t as surprised.” Halee’s face fell, her dark eyes widening. “I noticed you kept coming up to the bridge to make sure Lieutenant Spock had certain results when I was on duty.” Erica couldn’t miss the blush that creeped up Halee’s cheeks. “I know you could’ve sent them directly to his station.” Reaching over the table, Erica brushed the woman’s hand with her own. She whispered, “I hope we can continue to explore and you won’t have any evasive maneuvers of your own.”
Halee blushed and turned away as Erica’s communicator beeped on her hip. Sighing, the bridge officer, reached for it and opted not to be snarky in her response. She was glad she wasn’t as it was Number One calling all Enterprise crew back to the ship. “Guess we’re needed back,” Erica said, standing up and taking one last swig of her drink.
“I guess so,” Halee replied, standing up and pushing her chair back. “You know, I should probably go back with the other science team members, just… because… well, you get it.”
Erica nodded and took the opportunity to get one more look at the lieutenant in the short skirt, hoping that if she did appear on the bridge again that she was in a uniform with a similar cut. “Maybe on your next day off…” Erica started, “we could catch a meal together in the galley?”
Halee smiled. “Sure. I’ll send you my duty schedule and we can plan on it.”
Erica nodded as Halee turned to head out in the opposite direction she was headed. Sighing, Erica felt surprisingly light on her feet. She hadn’t had an actual date in a while, well since before her posting to the Enterprise. And this one, for being a blind date set up by the transporter chief, had actually gone okay. She had had her suspicions about Lieutenant Decker, especially when she had kept magically appearing on the bridge. Hopefully, this would turn into something, but she couldn’t be sure.
Walking out into the hallway, she met up with Nurse Chapel. “So, how’d it go?” Christine asked as they headed to the transporter room. “I noticed you didn’t call.”
“It was a surprisingly good set up by the Chief,” Erica stated. “But don’t tell him I said that.”
“Oh, of course not,” the blond woman said, shaking her head. “We wouldn’t want it to go to his head.”