Dinner Plans [Backpost] Part VIII

Posted on Tue Jan 30th, 2024 @ 1:16pm by Lieutenant Zero

1,143 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Bandits of Black Rain
Location: Lt. Zero's Quarters, USS Ontario

OLD:

"Hey..." she looked at him, holding up an onion. "I was just about to start chopping this...interesting, this produce syn-Propanethial-S-oxide, so they will irritate most people's lachrymal glands. In short...I will start producing tears even if I am not upset."

"That seems to be an unnecessary step to create a food supplement." Zero replied, a bit confused by why it was necessary, but he trusted it was needed because Dahlia said it would. He stepped further into the kitchen, keeping his hands behind his back, before finally speaking. "You stated that your loyalty to me would lead to you being reckless, putting you in danger for my sake, which I will not allow. However, you are a Marine, so your training will no doubt give you an edge. So..." He said as he removed his hands from behind his back, holding a MACO phase-pistol in his hand, still in its black holster. "Allow me to give you something I know will take skill to master and never let you down."

NEW:

She watched him with awe, taking a deeper breath as she took it. "I..." she took it out of the holster, checked it was safe while pointed away from them both, then inspected it. "It's beautiful. I...are you sure?" she would not reject a gift from him. And this was a special one, she knew that.

The weapon mirrored an EM-33 pistol, however the color was different. It was a mixture of gun metal grey in some areas and solid black on top and on the handle. The grip alone felt as if it allowed her hand to ease into it, allowing it to be comfortable, giving her better aim and precision.

"Of course." Zero replied with a smile, taking in her reaction as satisfaction, before adding. "Should I ever require another I know where to find one. Unlike some weapons this was not obtained during an encounter. I sought this one out for personal interest." He walked closed to her, placing his hands behind his back, as he continued. "Weapons like this were standard issue for Military Assault teams in 2154. Unlike phase pistols of the time, this weapon fires phase pulses, blue energy bolts in place of the standard stream like weapons from its time. Similar to all weapons carried by Starfleet personnel, this does have a stun and kill setting. It requires some getting used to. These weapons have been known to have a slight drift upon firing, so some practice would be essential." He looked at her and smiled again before concluding. "However, I am sure someone of your training will find that a small inconvenience."

She smiled warmly as she met his eyes and leant close, giving his cheek a gentle kiss. No more than a peck, and very gentle. She wasn't sure how he'd react. "I love it. Thank you," she pulled away, her eyes on the weapon. "It's stunning. You know, I once fired with ballistics during training. I oddly loved it, even if it didn't have the same elegance as phasers..." she put the weapon back in its holster, her eyes gentle as she faced him properly. "Thank you so much, Zero."

Zero placed his hand on his check, smiling at bit, as it was a different feeling than hold her in his arms. The feeling was still pleasant and it was something that meant more coming from her. He quickly took away his hand, placing his behind his back, before replying with slight hesitation. "If you can get it cleared by your CO, perhaps even the Chief of Security if needed, it would give me great ease to know that you had it with you during a confrontation or assault. Like... a part of me was assisting you." He smirked slightly before saying "Watching... your... seven?!." Unsure of whether he got the expression correctly.

"My six," she said and chuckled warmly, pointing ahead. "It is an expression that comes from the clock. So a clock face as all the times...ahead is your 12. Then straight to your right is your three...straight to your left is your nine. Which means behind you is your six." She placed the weapon down and walked to the counter, her skin slightly flushed with her emotions. "I will clear it. I would be honoured to use it in a tight spot."

Zero smiled as he watched her. He walked slightly over to the counter and observed her, all the while processing what she said, thank that she liked his gift as much as she did. With a slight nod, he placed his hands behind his back, as he continued. "Do you require any assistance or would you prefer to do this all on your own?"

She looked at him, her eyes gentle as she let out a breath. "Assistance. After all, I am teaching you," she said and motioned for him to stand close to her. "So we start with cutting the onions...then I'll fry them in olive oil over a low heat, softening them...then, we add the other ingredients." She turned her head to him, winking. "It will be worth it in the end. All good things are."

Zero approached her, walking over to her, to take a position next to her. He observed her actions, his eyes following her moves, but still he would looked over to her. He smiled a bit as she turned around to speak to him. "I trust you." He replied softly.

Dahlia looked over at him before she smiled, taking a deeper breath before she gave a nod. "I trust you too," she said softly, going through the paces, explaining what she was doing. When the sauce was done and the pasta drained, she plated up and handed him a bowl and fork. "Try it..."

Zero took the bowl with one hand, showing no concern for the heat due to the food, and grabbed the fork with the other hand. He attempted to impale one of the sauced up pieces of paste, but it would slip off a few times. Eventually, he would finally get it and bring it up to his mouth. He paused to look at it, the mechanical blue part of his eyes rotating slightly as Zero seemed to scan the food before opening his mouth. Slowly, he eased the small bite of food in his mouth and eventually took it in, removing the fork slowly. He chewed it, precisely 20 times, before stopping suddenly to swallow.

He remained still, as if taking a moment to gather his thoughts, until finally saying. "It's...." Zero stopped then repeated. "It's...." He stopped again, thinking again, before looking to Dahlia and saying. "It's.... interesting."


To Be Continued...

==============================================================

Lieutenant Zero
Chief Operations Officer
USS Ontario

&

1st Lt. Dahlia Acker
Marine XO
USS Ontario

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