New Faces
Posted on Tue Feb 28, 2017 @ 1:33pm by Lieutenant Commander Arrda & Major James Mattis & Danielle Mercursi-Mallory
Edited on on Tue Feb 28, 2017 @ 1:36pm
Mission:
An Orion to Die For
Location: The Black Hole
Timeline: MD 3 || 1600 hours
It had been a long day, and Douglas was finally going home! All right, he was going to a set of quarters designated for himself and his wife, but it was as close to home as either of them was likely to get for a long time; and they had made it feel more like home in the short time they had been here. And what made it home for him was the fact that, when he entered, Danielle would be there, waiting for him. That was enough for him.
He reached the quarters, keyed in his code and entered when the doors opened. Taking off his uniform jacket on his way across the outer room, he called, "Honey, I'm home!" in a sort of sing-song tone playfully reminiscent of some entertainment or other from Earth -- he did not remember which one specifically just now, but it likely did not really matter either.
Danielle came out of the small kitchenette and smiled when she saw him. "Arrda!" She said with a smile before she ran to him, jumped up to put her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to give him a kiss. "How was your day?"
As she leaped up on him, he closed his arms around her, holding her to his body. Returning her kiss, he smiled. She always made him feel so alive, even when he was exhausted beyond words. "Hello to you too, Beautiful." he responded to her initial greeting. "It was long... very long." he answered her question. "In fact, I was thinking we could go to the lounge for dinner, kind of let them spoil us." he continued. "How was your day?"
"It was pretty good," Danielle said as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "I went to the Promenade on deck ten and I have to say that I was impressed. They have everything there that you could possibly hope to want and some things that leave you wondering what they are." She wore a simple white shirt with the words "My Husband is Bigger Than Your Shuttle" in black letters and a pair of black jeans.
"I'm certainly spoiled enough by you, but we can go out and see what's on the menu."
Arrda grinned and placed a tiny peck of a kiss on the tip of her nose. "I think it is you who spoils me." he countered as he set her down on her feet once more and headed off into the bedroom to catch a sonic shower and change into something more relaxed.
While he showered, Danielle went and tidied up a few things around their quarters. She smiled at an image of him in his full Marai Enforcer gear that she had found in a box and put on display on an end table. In all the years she had known him, he hadn't changed and wasn't likely to change in her lifetime, but she wouldn't try to change a thing about him.
Shower finished, Arrda dressed and emerged from the bedroom, tying his long hair back off his face. For a moment, he stopped and simply watched his wife, marveling for seemingly the millionth time at how blessed he truly was. "Are you ready, my Love?" he asked softly as he approached and slid his arms around her from behind.
Danielle smiled when he wrapped his arms around her. "I am, Arrrrda," she purred. "Shall we?"
Mattis had walked into the lounge with Reaper a few moments ago, ordered a drink called Mountain Dew, which took 6 tries to get right, and and turned to gaze around. He spotted a table in a far, isolated corner, walked over to it, sat down, Reaper laying beside him, and began reviewing the PADD in his hands.
Arrda -- Douglas, he reminded himself sternly now that they were in the public again -- entered the lounge, his beautiful wife on his arm. Several crewmembers watched them as they entered then apparently realized they were being rude and looked away. He smiled to himself. "Where would you like to sit?" he asked Danielle quietly. "There is a nice table by the windows. I'm sure the new Marine commander won't mind our proximity." he suggested.
He had interacted briefly with the man in the performance of their duties; but other than that, he had not had the chance to meet the man properly. He was not necessarily trying to do so now, but neither was he opposed if the man talked to them.
Turning his head slightly to take in the me arrivals, Mattis said. "Come join me", Mattis said flashing a smile and showing his brilliant teeth.
Danielle looked at Douglas. "Let's join him," she suggested in response to the Marine's invitation.
Douglas smiled. "Sure. Give us a chance to get to know him too. I'm going to be working fairly closely with him." He knew that Danielle would pick up on the rest; she had come up through Security, so he knew that she would see the value in knowing how someone thought when off duty.
Walking her over, he pulled out a chair for her. As she sat, he asked, "What would you like, Love?"
Danielle walked over and sat in the chair he had pulled out and smiled at the Major. "Thank you for inviting us, Major," she said. "I'm Danielle Mallory and I believe you know my husband." She held off on ordering anything until they were all settled.
Douglas' idea had been to gather their food prior to beginning conversation so that said conversation would not be interrupted by ordering, but he understood. Like Dekotah before her, Danielle was more keen to proper courtesy in such situations than he was. He sat in the chair next to hers and smiled.
"Yes, thank you, Major." Douglas added his own genuine gratitude. "Sadly for me, I don't have my wife's good sense of manners." he joked.
"How are you all this evening?", Mattis asked smiling.
"I'm well, thank you," Danielle said. "My husband is of course, joking about good manners. I'm the one who is the barbarian savage next to him.
Stifling a laugh, Mattis said, "Oh, I get called the king barbarian all the time".
Douglas chuckled with them. "Don't listen to her, Major." he countered good-naturedly. "She is a complete lady." He glanced at the non-Human member of their party -- all right, the other non-Human member. "Who is this, Major?" he asked.
"This," He said rubbing Reaper's head, "Is Reaper, a German Shepard and the most friendly or the most evil dog to be around, depending on both what he senses and what I tell him, moreso on the second one though."
Danielle smiled at the dog without showing her teeth. "He's a handsome boy," she said before she activated the holomenu on the table and began to browser it. "Mmm...Cob'lat steak...Targ...fresh Klingon food. I think I may be in Sto'vo'kor if I were Klingon."
"Sounds... Interesting", Mattis said nervously, Reaper barking his agreement.
Douglas chuckled at Danielle's comment, an equivalent to a Human saying that she would be in Heaven. He glanced at Reaper. "Don't worry, boy." he assured the dog. "All the food isn't moving." he teased, though it was indeed true.
"Just some of it," Danielle said with a smirk. "But I think I'll stick to the non-moving food this time." She entered her order for a fried chicken meal with a Corona and looked at Arrda. "What do you want, love?"
Douglas chuckled but looked over the menu. "Fish and chips and whatever you think goes well with it." he answered her question, deferring to her judgment on the beverage selection.
He considered, not for the first time, getting rid of the Human name he had taken at the time of the Earth Mission and simply using his given name all the time. Remembering when to use Douglas and when to use Arrda was really finally starting to get annoying after a couple of hundred years.
Danielle glanced over the drinks menu. "I think a nice Warsteiner Premium would go great with it, unless you prefer something non-alcoholic."
"No, alcohol is fine." he answered. "In fact, given recent events, I think alcohol is definitely in order." he half-joked.
"I'll take a Prune Juice, because as a famous Starfleet Officer once said, It is a Warrior's drink", Mattis said, laughing.
Douglas definitely had his opinions of the unnamed Starfleet officer, but he could appreciate the jab in reference to Danielle's comments about Klingon food. He offered a chuckle. "Never was quite sure why he thought that though." he admitted.
"Because it was a fight against their digestive system," Danielle pointed out as if it was obvious.
Mattis chuckled and said, "That is very true".
Douglas shrugged. "That only depends upon how much of it they drink, I should think." he pointed out in return with a smirk. Of course, everyone knew how Klingons drank... anything. Copiously. So his point was really not all that valid, but he was kind of feeling ganged up on in a playful sort of way.
Danielle laughed and leaned over to kiss Douglas on the cheek before she looked at James. "How long have you been in the Marines?"
Douglas smiled at his wife and looked toward the major. He did feel a bit foolish, but she was giving him the 'out' of moving the subject forward; and he was going to take it.
"For right around 15 years now, and let me tell you I have seen and had to do things during my service that I wish upon nobody, but all and all, I do not regret anything I have done, I only have one regret", he finished looking down at the table.
"How can you have no regrets if you have a regret?" Danielle asked him.
"To be honest, it's kind of hard to explain, and I know how contrary it sounds".
Douglas smiled at his wife, leaning in to whisper helpfully, "He said he didn't regret anything he had done, not that he didn't have any regrets period, Love." In his mind, those were different things. One could regret a situation without regretting his own actions in that situation. However, he could see how the man's wording could have been misleading. Thus the whispering; he did not wish to embarrass his wife.
Danielle gave a nod to Douglas, then looked back at James. "It must be a very interesting life," she said.
Douglas nodded. "Indeed." he agreed. "You mentioned one regret. I won't ask what it is since that's none of my business; but I understand. I think anyone who has been in the field as a warrior has at least one." He was attempting to be understanding, to demonstrate that the other man was not alone. As Enforcer, he had been in many situations which had resulted in things he regretted, so the understanding was genuine. And his not prying was merely his way of respecting the man's privacy.
"It is interesting, very much so, but over the years I have watched so many good Marines, Good people, die that I have lost count, and that is my regret, that I can not stop it from happening".
Douglas understood that. Having been drafted into the Enforcer Guild during the Great War, he had seen far too many good people die. He'd felt the regret that he had not been able to save them, but he had also learned that the inability to save everyone was just the way of the military life. If you focused on the ones you could not save rather than the ones you could and/or did save, then you would slowly break yourself down. And that was no good for anyone.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Danielle beat him to it. That was likely a good thing really, he reflected, as he listened to her.
"Well, this certainly took a morbid turn, hasn't it?" Danielle asked as their drinks arrived.
Douglas had the decency to look properly chagrined. "Sorry, Love." he said softly to her before turning his eyes back to Mattis. "So, what do you do for fun?" he asked the marine, changing not only the topic, but hopefully the direction of the conversation.
"You mean besides fighting?", Mattis said laughing. "I like to read and collect things."
"What types of things?" Danielle asked.
"Old style weaponry, model ships, life size ships, things of that nature ma'am".
Douglas studied the man. Given what he knew so far, he was willing to bet by 'old style weaponry' he meant guns. One never assumed though. "Bladed or projectile?" he asked in reference to the weaponry. The 'life-size ships' bit he was not going to touch.
"Projectile, and if you are wondering about the old ships", Mattis said, "Military Vessels, i have a Aegis Class Missile Cruiser, An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Ohio Class SSBN, and a Amphibious assault ship, all of which i inherited".
"Where do you keep everything at?" Danielle asked him. "Surely, those would be so old that they'd be decommissioned and mothballed in a museum."
"Well, a friend of mine has a beachfront house on a coral atoll in the South Pacific on Earth." "He lets me keep them there, and in exchange he runs tours, does what he terms tiger cruises a, and various other things for visitors and coordinates volunteer work for for any upkeep or repairs as needed" Taking a drink, he continued, "As for mothballed, they have key components for their weapons systems removed for safety and stored, and all ordnance removed, but other than than that Jake and the people who volunteer to work on them make sure they are maintained in an operational state, so visitors can get the full experience as it were"
Douglas frowned to himself. He found it odd, to say the least, that one family could inherit all of those. However, it was not his place to question, so he simply nodded and continued the conversation. "Interesting family, Colonel," he commented, "to have collected so many old military ships." Were those not usually kept by the military or the government as museum pieces or dismantled for parts, he wondered to himself. How an individual could have acquired them in the first place in order to pass them down his family was a good question in itself.
A Andorian waitress brought their drinks over with a smile. "Would you like appetizers before an entree?" she asked them.
"I'll have the loaded baked potato skins," Danielle said as she accepted her drink and looked at Douglas and Mattis.
Douglas smiled at both the waitress and his wife. "Actually, that sounds very good. Make it two."
"Mountain Dew and a steak, medium rare for me", Mattis said.
The waitress smiled as she took down their orders, then went off to place them.
"Have you managed to find your way around the ship okay so far?" Danielle asked. "I don't know about you two, but I'm staying to deck ten."
"I stick to Marine country, and can find my way to the Bridge if i have to, but that's about it."
Douglas smiled. As Chief of Security, he didn't have the luxury of sticking to one deck. "Unfortunately, I had to memorize the ship's map and walk it through several times when we first got here." he admitted. "I occasionally need to look at it for reference to places I don't personally go much, but I think I've got it for the most part." He still carried the map on his ever-present PADD though, just in case.
Danielle laughed. She had been on a tour of all the areas where civilians were allowed to go and didn't envy Douglas his job. "You'd think on a ship this size, they'd have site to site transporters to replace the turbolifts just so people could get around easier."
"True, but then again, you would have to worry, God forbid, if we were boarded and the enemy were to take control of and use those transporters against us".
"My Douglas would never let that happen," Danielle said as the waitress brought their food and departed again. "Would the Marines?"
He grinned. She was so protective of him. And she was right! "Besides," he added "I'd be more concerned that they'd screw up and transport me out into space. I mean, Transporters are good, but how many accidents have been reported over the years?" he added with a wink.
"None in quite a while, but I'm about to transport this delicious-looking food into my stomach the old fashioned way." She picked up a loaded baked potato skin and brought it to her mouth. "Energize!' She said before she took a bite of it.
Douglas chuckled as he watched his wife. She always had a way of making him smile, even in the most horrid of situations. "Good idea, Love." He took one of his own and took a bite of it, savoring the flavors. He did not try to continue the humor, however, as she was so much better at it than he. "These are good. I may have found a new addiction." he half joked.
"I have gotta say", Mattis said leaning back, "I love this stuff". Picking up his glass, he drained the liquid all in one big gulp.
"So do you like what you do?" Danielle asked.
"Which part?", Mattis replied back.
"Being a Marine," she specified as she took another bite of her meal.
"Best job in the universe, but it does have downsides", Mattis replied evenly".
As an Enforcer, Douglas could understand what some of them might be, but Enforcers and Marines were not quite the same thing. So he asked, "Such as?" Beyond the fact that the two Services were not the same, different people had different ideas of what constituted a "downside."
"Well, having to give orders that you know are going to get men killed, but they must be given anyway, and taking another life". Taking another drink he continued, "I think if you get too used to killing, you need another job."
Yes, those were indeed hard parts of the job. But every Enforcer learned how to do them, and how to hold their Neutrality in place while they did so. Teleth Norr had taught them never to become all right with the need to kill, but always give your subordinates the strength to do it when necessary by showing them that strength in your own manner. There was always time to deal with the morality of it later, if you survived the encounter.
As to giving an order that would get someone killed, he could understand that. He'd been forced to do it many times in his long career. And every time, he hated it. "Indeed. I think any soldier, be they marine, Enforcer, Security officer, finds that a definite downside." This had turned dark fairly quickly. How could he turn it around? He glanced at his wife -- she always seemed to know how to get him out of this dark place -- and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Love. This got a bit dark, didn't it?"
"It has," Danielle agreed. "I'm sort of losing my appetite. Would you mind if we headed home?"
Douglas felt badly about that. It wasn't totally his fault, but he had asked what the marine commander had meant. Maybe he should have left it be. "I'm sorry, Love." He reached over and gave her shoulders a squeeze, also placing a soft kiss to her cheek. "No problem." Standing, he pulled out his wife's chair, giving an apologetic look to Mattis. "Sorry to eat and run. Perhaps we'll chat another time. It was nice meeting you." He was raised to be polite, after all.
"I apologize to the both of you for bringing those things up"
Douglas smiled at the man. "It's all right; it can happen to the best of us." He then put an arm around Danielle and led her from the lounge. He also felt badly for this turn of conversation. There were some questions, he reflected self-chastisingly, that should just not be asked. He walked in silence beside her, intending to return to their quarters. Whatever happened after that would be up to her.
Danielle shrugged. "It is what it is," she said. "See you." With that, she turned and headed out of The Black Hole.
