(Untitled)

[lisburn_lion]

Who: Fran + YOU
Where: The Officers' Mess
What: Lunch

A few shifts into her new posting, Fran felt she was getting the hang of life aboard the Enterprise and starting to make herself at home. She hadn't blown anything up, caused a crisis of any sort, or gotten herself lost. She counted that as a win

Comments

[lt_mcgivers]

Marla had actually remembered to make it to the mess, for once, although finding a seat out of the way at this time of day was a headache - and cause to remember why she didn't often come here when it was that crowded. Still, it could have been worse, she supposed. At least it wasn't that bar on Risa all over again.

She'd mostly abandoned her meal in favor of the book she was currently reading through, although she glanced up when someone she didn't know asked if they could sit across from her. "Go right ahead."

[lisburn_lion]

"Thanks," Fran said. She set her tray down on the table and slid into the seat. Cautiously she lifted the top slice of bread off of her sandwich and poked at the contents. Generally a sandwich was something even the replicators could get right, but she'd learned the hard way that there was no such thing as being too careful when it came to things you intended to put in your mouth.

[lt_mcgivers]

Marla just nodded, her attention already drifting back down to her book. "If that's chicken on your sandwich you might want to get something else," she said, a little absently. "I overheard a couple of the guys from medical complaining about it."

[lisburn_lion]

"Oh." Fran poked her sandwich again, warily. "No, I'm...pretty sure this is ham. Pretty sure."

[lt_kevin_riley]

Riley was tired. Tired of work, tired of stress, and tired of Chekov winning at everything. He still couldn't get over the fact that he actually liked the stupid movie that Chekov showed him.

For all the suffering he had to bear through, Riley decided to treat himself to a chili burger, a root beer float, a banana sundae, and some donuts as an appetizer.
"Hopefully a little snack will make me feel better."

Halfway through shoveling his "snack", Riley paused as he saw a spicy redhead sit in the opposite seat of him. After wiping his mouth with his somewhat used napkin, he gave a flirty smirk at the girl and nodded at her question. "Yeah of course. Be my guest! Nothing like cool company to share an awesome meal."

[lisburn_lion]

Fran blinked at him and gave a startled laugh. "If you say so," she said, sitting down. She took a sip of her coffee and smiled at him.

[lt_kevin_riley]

Smiling at her reaction, Riley inwardly cheered that he didn't weird her out. He leaned against the table to get a better look at her. He didn't recognize the woman from anywhere.

Riley extended his hand out to her. "Well, I'm Lt. Kevin Riley! Basically the coolest navigator on this ship. It's nice to meet you!"

[lisburn_lion]

Fran reached out and shook his hand across the table; "Lt. Frances Lynch - call me Fran. Nice to meet you too."

[vulcancommander]

Spock had chosen a seat all the way towards the back. He never expected anyone to sit with him; most of the other crewmembers avoided eating by him just in case they were to accidentally insult him with the manner in which they ate or by saying something inappropriate. Or maybe they just didn't want to be called illogical or have theories thrown back in their face.

More seats filled, but Spock didn't look bothered by it as he kept to himself, quiet as usual while eating a replicated salad. The tastebuds on Vulcans weren't the best in the world, so he didn't mind the replicated taste like others complained about. What did surprise him though was a voice, an unfamiliar one, asked if it was okay to sit in the unoccupied chair across from him. Looking up, there was a lieutenant he didn't recognize, but that was no reason to tell her no. He gave her a little nod, studying her for a moment before answering.

"I will not mind if you wish to share the table with me." Spock made sure there was plenty of room for her tray on the table.

[lisburn_lion]

"Thanks." Fran smiled and took the seat, setting the tray down in front of her. The requirements of politeness satisfied, she was no longer paying a great deal of attention to the person sitting opposite her. Her shift had been long and tired enough that she was wholly focused on her sandwich.

[vulcancommander]

While she wasn't watching him, he was certainly watching her. He hadn't seen her before - she was probably one of the new recruits from the starbase they had gained while on shore leave. During the fiasco of making sure things were back in order and then the Boyle incident, he hadn't had time to review over all the new arrivals like he should have really.

"May I inquire as to who you are and if you are one of the new recruits from the starbase over the planet Risa?"

[lisburn_lion]

"I-" She stopped as she noticed his rank insignia. Oops. She needed to start paying more attention to the people around her. "Lt. Frances Lynch, sir," she replied. "I transferred from the USS Hargreave."

[95wictorwictor2]

If there was one food that could never be ruined, it was potatoes. Potatoes were amazing. Baked, mashed, fried, boiled... you name it. Chekov hadn't quite been sure about what he wanted to eat, so he defaulted to potatoes, at least until he could figure out something else he wanted to go with it.

He'd gone with mashed potatoes. He'd even gone to the trouble of making sure the replicators produced it with spiced cheese and butter mixed inside. When it came out, steaming hot, he smiled wide and joyfully strolled over to a seat so he could start eating.

A few bites in, he heard a voice, a female, and looked up from his meal. He swallowed his food instantly at the sight of the gorgeous redheaded girl standing across from him. It took him a moment to process what she'd asked him - right, she asked if she could sit there... - and he beamed.

"Oh! Yes! Of course!" He stood up to be polite and gestured for her to take a seat. "It is all yours."

[lisburn_lion]

"Ta very much," Fran said with a smile. She carefully set the tray down on the table and took her seat. At the end of what had been a very long shift, there was no substitute for coffee and a truly magnificent sandwich.

[95wictorwictor2]

Realizing that he was still standing up, Chekov quickly seated himself and began to shovel his mashed potatoes into his mouth again. Once he was done gulping the portion down, he looked back up at his table guest and grew curious.

"That sure is a large sandwich," Pavel noted aloud, pointing to her meal with his fork. "What's in it?"

[lisburn_lion]

"Bacon," Fran said; "Eggs. Sausage - square and links. And tomatoes. I'm a bit short of a full fry-up: I wasn't willing to brave replicated black pudding." She grinned. "What's that you've got there?"

[helmsman_hikaru]

Hikaru hovered over his long-awaited lunch-fried chicken, or some crude approximation of it-thinking about his most recent adventure on the Enterprise, which had given him a few painful bruises to replace the ones from shore leave that had recently healed. How do I keep getting into fights? Hikaru asked himself ruefully. He'd always considered himself a peaceful person. At least the last fight had been in service of the ship. That terrorist Boyle had it coming.

Hikaru looked up from his chicken and noticed a smiling lieutenant with bright red hair-the reddest hair he'd ever seen-approaching his table. He returned her friendly smile in his customary fashion. However, when she spoke, her distinct Irish accent made Hikaru flinch inside.

"Yeah, um, sure," he said falteringly, hoping she didn't notice his change in demeanor. He knew logically that there were plenty of trustworthy Irish Starfleet officers (they couldn't all be terrorists), but for an irrational, fearful moment, he was back on Deck 18, facing off with Boyle.

[lisburn_lion]

She blinked, a little taken aback at the way he seemed to shut off when she spoke. For a moment she considered moving on and finding another seat, but she quickly dismissed the notion and sat down. "Thanks."

[helmsman_hikaru]

There was an awkward pause after she sat down, and Hikaru felt terrible for obviously making her feel uncomfortable.

"I'm so sorry-I'm being rude. It's been a weird couple of weeks, and you just...caught me off guard," he apologized, adding with a smile, "I'm Hikaru Sulu."

[lisburn_lion]

She gave a smile tinged with relief. "No problem, man. I'm Fran. Fran Lynch."