Day 12 - Mess Hall ((Open))

[secure_aid]

The first away team down on Bacchus II was missing, and a second away team was just now gathering to follow them. Aiden was not among it, not being a senior enough officer aboard the ship to warrant his participation. It galled him, being young enough and foolish enough to want to be in the thick of things, but there was nothing he could do except

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[redhaired_orion]

Gaila made her way to the mess hall, her hair pulled back in a messy bunch and the skin beneath her eyes swelled up. She had been out late the night previous, and now she had a headache and aversion to bright lights as rewards. Granted, it was lunch time, but Gaila was going to the mess hall for breakfast.

A bagel and cream cheese in hand--she didn't want to eat too much on her uneasy stomach--she squinted to find a seat and spied young Ensign Garrovick sitting by himself at a table for four. She knew she looked awful, but she wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to talk to fresh meat.

Sitting down before he could answer, she said as cheerily as she could, "Mind if I eat with you?"

[secure_aid]

Aiden blinked up at her, surprised for a moment, before smiling and politely waving his hand at the seat, "Of course, please sit, Lieutenant." he said easily, smiling comfortably at her, "I am not so foolish as to deny myself the company of a beautiful woman while I eat."

[redhaired_orion]

Gaila rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "So where do you hail from?" She began to spread the cream cheese onto her bagel. "You're not some underage whiz kid, are you?"

[secure_aid]

He laughed, spearing another piece of pink food and popping it into his mouth. Chewing, he appeared to consider her question and then shook his head, swallowing. "No, no I am not an underage whiz-kid." A bright smile warmed the handsome face as he sipped at his drink. "No I'm a legacy brat. My father is...was...the Captain of the USS Farragut. As such I was always expected to end up here, or somewhere very like here."

He wasn't the type of young man to really try and attain any mystique, his face was too open, green eyes too trusting. Besides everyone had known about the famous Captain Garrovick, but few drew the comparsion line between the high achieving father and his Security Officer son. "What about you? You aren't an underage whiz kid are you?" his eyebrow quirked at her, lips curling up into a playful smile.

[redhaired_orion]

She giggled. "No. I don't need any further distinctions. I'm a half-breed, don't you know." She took a tiny bite of her bagel and chewed it delicately.

[secure_aid]

He grinned and shook his head, "I believe the politically correct phrase is Multiracial, Miss Gaila." he said with mock primness, imitating the unctious tones of one of the diplomacy teachers back at the academy.

[redhaired_orion]

"Yes, well, I was never fussy about language." She set down her bagel--it really was making her a little nauseous--and leaned forward with her chin on her fist. "Being a 'legacy brat,' as you say, you must have a lot of intriguing emotional problems." Her eyes glinted.

[secure_aid]

Up went the eyebrow, that shipwide gesture that seemed to infect everyone around. "Indeed." Aiden drawled softly, "I am sure that I have many emotional issues, however I would not view them as intriguing. Surely you know that men don't like to just blurt out their vulnerable secrets." and he grinned at her.

[redhaired_orion]

"I've got emotional issues myself, you know." She danced her fingers along the table, closer and closer to the Ensign's own hand. "For instance, I can't stop thinking about sex. Even if I want to. Even if I sit down and try and force myself to think of something else." She looked into his eyes, her smile gone. "And sometimes this 'issue' rubs off on the men I come in contact with."

She sat back abruptly, drawing her hand away from the table and putting her smile back into place. "You seem like a sweet kid--what are you, nineteen or twenty? So I'm going to warn you, if you start thinking about me and sex together, all the time, it's only the pheromones."

Then she laughed. "I can come off a bit strong."

[secure_aid]

"I'm nineteen." Aiden said, green amber eyes wide once more as she leaned into him, he coughed slightly looking down and mumbling towards his meal, "And um, you are very beautiful and all that...um...miss, but you don't really interest me in that...way...sex is too complex." his cheeks were burning, and he felt slightly ashamed at his obvious embarrassment and shyness.

[redhaired_orion]

She giggled, leaning back once more. "Relax, sweetness. That's what I was going for." She made a face as she tried once more to eat her bagel. "I'm trying this new thing--it's called not having sex with every male. Plus, there's this one guy...you probably know him. Everyone does."

"Anyway, how are you adjusting to ship life?"

[secure_aid]

He smiled at her, "Fancy him do you?" he encouraged, green eyes flicking down to his plate as he ate some more food, "That's really nice. Just make sure he treats you right okay?" Aiden might not be old in years but he was ancient in protectiveness.

"Ship life is good." Aiden nodded, "I'm adjusting well, how about you?" he had grown up around all this, so none of it really bothered him too much. The Enterprise was different though, to the other ships his family had been on.

[redhaired_orion]

"Aw, well, I'm doing okay. I've found it's a bit different than the Academy. What I mean is, the Academy was a better place for a girl like myself." She leaned forward, her voice now a whisper. "Have you got any booze?"

[secure_aid]

He smiled a bit, "I may do..." he said, thinking of the careful alcohol stash he had hidden in the combination locked trunk in his rooms. "Why? What does a lovely lady such as yourself want with a young mans booze Miss Gaila?"

[redhaired_orion]

She was barely audible when she said, "Gotta have something to drink in the morning after drinking that crap Scotty makes." She smiled. "But you didn't hear that from me."

[secure_aid]

He winked at her, "Hear what?" he considered her and then nodded, "I suppose I could part with a bottle of something. What to you like?"