JP Lt. Cmdr Martin Tucker and Lt. JG Roxanne Queen - Tale as old as time Part 2 of 3
Martin Tucker
They reached the entrance to the 47 Lounge, and one of the stewards greeted them at the door and led them to a table. Marty moved around and pulled out her chair for her, motioning for her to sit. As she did, he pushed the chair back in.
There was no one there, or at least no one who was likely to give Rox grief or make fun of her. No one who would make comments on her dress or Marty’s taste or her “maammal feeders”. It was quiet, the piano was playing. It was nice. She slid into her chair.
Rox: ::smiling warmly:: Thank you, kind sir.
Marty sat down and smiled. She looked absolutely radiant and hoped his jaw wasn’t resting on the table. That would be a bad look.
Rox glanced at the menu, but then looked up, meeting his eyes. He was staring at her. She hoped her cheeks were not too pink.
Marty: So, what are you in the mood for tonight?
He picked up the padd lying next to his plate, which contained the menu. It was ever-changing, and about ninety percent of it was grown in the hydroponics bay on the Roinin. And the amount of cuisines they could choose from was mind-boggling.
She smiled, not even picking up the padd. She knew what she liked.
Rox: ::sing songy:: Chimi-changa
It sounded very much like Rox might be eating it as she said it. It was a chewy word. It was one of the main reasons Rox's dress was black. If there was any messiness it would not show up too badly.
Tucker: That sounds great. I’m still undecided.
Marty spied the waitress headed towards them, a young Bolian woman in fact. He still wasn’t completely sold on what he wanted to eat. The choice was between a steak and pork belly mac and Cheese. His gut growled at him, reminding him that he hadn’t had anything to eat all day, unless you counted three raktajinos and a plain begal.
Rox: ::looking at Marty’s stomach:: You better decide quickly. I don’t want to have to give you a glucose drip. I charge a lot for house calls.
The Biolian waitress arrived and with a smile Rox ordered her Chimi and a Blue Squale.
Rox: Put a little umbrella in it ok?
Tucker: I didn’t take you for an umbrella-type girl.
Rox: ::considering:: Well it’s a special occasion.
She, along with the waitress, turned to Marty. She felt badly, all that pressure. That was part of the reason why she’d checked the menu early. She knew herself well enough to know what she was like when she was indecisive.
He looked up at the waitress and smiled. He still wasn’t sure, but he had to have something. Marty needed to eat, and at this point, it didn’t matter.
Tucker: I’ll have the pork belly mac and cheese and that new Bolian IPA that Morrow has been crowing about for the last week or two. He won’t shut up about it.
Rox knew embarrassingly little about beer. Everyone on Turkana IV seemed to drink a watered-down, cheap version of the stuff, and Rox had learned to be reviled by it. After leaving she had gravitated toward complex, colorful drinks, something different from her mundane, tasteless life on Turkana IV.
Rox: Sounds like your attorney friend has some opinions.
Tucker: Yeah, our resident space ambulance chaser has a brewery set up, in cargo hold four. It wasn’t being used for much, so he asked the captain. And got the green light. I helped install most of the tech for it. It was a lot of fun to put together.
Rox: ::raising an eyebrow:: Color me impressed.
The waitress departed and there was silence. The piano music had changed to something jazzy. It was pleasant, but Rox did not want Marty to think she was bored. She pulled her cards out and looked at the top one. She had not placed them in any particular order, but given the lull, decided to go with the first one.
Rox: So ::pause:: How important is blank to you?
Tucker: Blank? Huh?
Rox double-checked the card and nodded her head.
Rox: I’m not sure? My friend gave me some conversation starters. I’m not sure what blank is. Maybe it’s a gamma quadrant thing?
Tucker: Maybe they mean what is important to you?
Rox: Well important things to me are my friends, my crew. I like to be challenged in my job ::pause:: I want to be me, authentically me. ::pause:: How about you?
Tucker: Important things to me? Easy, family, friends, and job. Though I could never see myself in the center seat of a starship, that’s a bit much for me, XO, maybe as long as I could keep on as the ship's Chief Engineer. But that’s not something I’m thinking about too much in the short term.
Rox: So you're in Engineering for the long haul eh? I’ve considered branching out, but I have to admit that the sickbay really feels like my element. So what do you love about engineering?
Marty reached over and picked up his pint glass and took a taste of Morrow’s newest brew. It was heavy, but not overly so, and had a fresh finish. He smiled as it made its way across his taste buds and down his throat.
Tucker: I’ve always wanted to fix things and to help people. I was bullied in my younger years, I learned to fight back. I hate bullies, but anyway, I like puzzles, and engineering can be a giant puzzle of putting things back together again. And at the vineyard, things weren’t going well and my parents couldn’t afford an engineer. At a very young age, I began repairing harvesting equipment, and I even built my own Daube Class runabout. I’ve been hooked ever since.
Rox listened carefully as Marty outlined the various boons of working in engineering. Rox realized quickly she’d have to learn some new vocabulary, but as she explained her role and interests in sickbay, it became clear that both their horizons might be broadening in the future. Marty seemed like a good guy. He certainly had Captain Niac’s confidence which Rox counted as a good thing. He also seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say. She only hoped she was mirroring his good behavior.
He tried not to stare at her, she was beautiful, intelligent, a bit sassy, but that’s what Marty liked about her, they were pretty close in terms of senses of humor, though she may one-up him at some point.
When the food came, Rox shifted in her chair. The food smelled wonderful, particularly Marty’s dish.
Rox: Man that looks great. I’ll have to make a note to get that for myself next time.
Marty took a second to enjoy the visuals of his plate of pork belly mac & cheese. He reached and took a sip of his beer.
Tucker: Looks damn tasty…
Marty smiled at the woman, hoping he wasn’t hogging the conversation or talk about himself too much. But he knew Rox wasn’t going to be very forthcoming when it came to her youth, he had heard she’d had it rough and was curious, but also knew when discretion was a better part of valor. And he really didn’t want to make her upset, he was hoping for a second date, even though it was early on in their first date.
Rox: Ok. I’m going to shut up at this point so you can eat before you pass out.
Marty grabbed an extra fork and loaded some mac & cheese onto it. He offered it to Rox.
Tucker: Want to try it? ::he smiled brightly.
Marty handed over the fork with the offering it to Rox; he would have fed it to her, but he figured that was a bit forward for a first date. No need to make it weird.
Rox lowered her head to begin the dissection of her chimichanga, but movement made her look up. Hovering above the table was Marty’s fork holding a bit of his dish. She reached up and took it from his hand. The aroma of seasoned meat and a mixture of cheeses filled her nose. It was warm and pleasant, not unlike the man who was offering it. She placed the food in her mouth and tilted her head to one side as she chewed it.
Rox: Dif if very tastshee. Fank you
She really should have waited until she’d finished the bit. Marty didn’t seem to notice. He was, as his rumbling stomach had suggested, very hungry. Between bites Rox related a few humorous anecdotes from sickbay.
Marty dug in and listened to Rox. They both were enjoying their meal, and both of them were a lot hungrier than they had anticipated. There were a few gaps of silence as they ate. It was a comfortable silence for Marty. Hopefully, he wasn’t being a bore. Marty set down his fork, finishing off the pork belly mac & cheese.
Tucker: That was so good, sorry about the silence, I hadn’t realised it’s been a couple of days since I ate something substantial. Starfleet protein bars don’t count.
He wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and then set it over the empty bowl. He also finished off his pint.
Rox had finished her dish as well and gave Marty a slightly disapproving shake of her head.
Rox: That’s not healthy, you need good food to do good work. High protein, lots of color for essential nutrients. You need to change that or I’ll be down in engineering making you eat and I’m bad luck around mechanical stuff.
She was suddenly surprised at herself. She’d already referenced a third date and now she was threatening to make sure he took care of himself. She wondered if she was in deeper than she should be, but then again, why not be? Marty was smart, but not arrogantly so. He was handsome, no question. Why not go with it? See where things went.
Tucker: What do you say, let's blow this taco stand and take a walk on the beach.
Rox: ::looking up with a smile:: Let’s go!
—
Lt. JG Roxanne Queen
Nurse
USS Ronin
T239811VK2
&
Lieutenant Commander Marty Tucker
Chief Of Engineering
USS Ronin NCC-34523
Capt. Karrod Niac Commanding
D240008MT1