Congratulations and More

Posted on 08 Jul 2016 @ 11:16pm by Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast

3,874 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Risky Business
Location: Bast's Personal Quarters
Timeline: MD 2 || 1900 Hours

Once she was off shift and had a chance to change into a comfortable shirt, pants and shoes, Camila stood in front of her mirror and thought about the recent news and changes in the crew of the Black Hawk. Part of that made her happy and another part made her sad and her eyes reflected both in an odd mixture. She took a breath and left her quarters to head to Temerant's in the hopes that he would be here. She closed her eyes and put on a smile, then opened them and pressed the sensor to announce a visitor.

Temerant walked down the corridor, headed for his quarters, wiping his brow with a towel. The Captain had been adamant about them not working double shifts, in order to save their energy for the inevitable confrontation with the rogue ships. After his shift had been complete, he'd booked time in Holodeck Four, and completed a five-kilometer run on Vulcan's Anantoan Plateau. The increased gravity and thinner atmosphere had had the same effect as if he'd run a 10-kilometer race on Trill, but in half the time.

He came round the corridor just in time to see Camila standing at his door, pressing the door chime. He smiled, his day suddenly seeming immeasurably brighter. "Hey you," he said, walking up to her.

She looked over when she heard his voice and smiled when she saw him coming down the corridor towards him. "Hey," she said softly. "I just came to see you."

"Good thing I'm here, then," he said with a lopsided grin. He was very much aware of his current state, sweaty and probably smelling like a bag full of old gym socks, so he restrained himself from wrapping his arms around her. He merely took her hands into his own, and leaned in for a light kiss. He keyed open the door to his quarters, and led her in.

He tossed his towel on the back of the couch, and replicated two glasses of water from the replicator, handing one to Camila. "How is your day so far?"

Camila smiled when he kissed her and followed him in. "I finally got a chance to settle down after three shifts running," she said. "How about yours?" she asked after she took the glass and took a sip.

"Crazy," he said. "I spent the day getting ready for departure, running after power generators, and collecting any piece of data I could find on Thalaron radiation before we left Unity and went under subspace silence."

She nodded. "We're going to need it, but Security has a few plans ready in the hopes we don't need to worry about the Thalaron radiation." She looked at him as if memorizing his features. "Congratulations on your promotion, too," she said softly.

"Thank you," he replied with a broad grin.

"There's something I need to talk to you about and I'm not certain how to go about it," Camila said.

Temerant frowned, and felt a knot growing in his stomach. He'd had conversations with women he'd loved before that had started just like this one. He swallowed.

"Okay," was all he could say.

The look on his face almost made her change her mind and she held in a sigh as she met his eyes. "I think that your new position on the ship is going to cause conflicts in our relationship, Temerant. The Officer's Handbook prohibit relationships between a commanding officer and a person under them. When you were just Operations and I was just Security...it was okay...but now you have a Command position...." It hurt her to say those words to him when they were just getting to know each other and the fun that they had.

"I disagree with your premise," he said. "Plenty of officers in command position have been in relationships with crewmates. Hell, we've even got one here on this ship, Captain Geisler and Doctor Kij. There are plenty of examples on other ships. They may have written that rule in the officers' handbook, but it's never been enforced. Enforcing such a rule would be to ignore the very nature of emotional beings, and their natural need for attachment. As for letting that interfere with our duties, I think we're both adult and mature enough to know the difference between the personal, and the professional."

"I know that and you know that, but there's also the ship rumor mill," Camila said. "The ones about Captain Geisler and Commander Kij have been running rampant through the ship despite the best efforts to stop them. Do you really want to be part of that rumor mill, Temerant?"

He laughed at that. "I've been part of the rumor mill ever since the T'Pring, did I ever let that stop me? I've never been stopped by rumors, I've never paid any attention to gossip or innuendo. I follow my heart, and my conscience."

"I try to, but I'm also a relatively new department head and this is only my second assignment and that's only because DS 11 fell to the Consortium," Camila said. "I lobbied hard with Captain Geisler that you can be trusted, Temerant and I'm glad that he made you the Second Officer. I just don't want our relationship to reflect badly in his eyes or the eyes of the crew. We both have a lot more responsibility than we had when we first met."

"And the Captain knows all about our relationship," said Temerant. "He told me he knew, before he offered me the position as Second Officer. And he didn't ask me to put an end to it. We're clear on that front."

He took her hands and held them in his. "And if all you're worried about is the rumor mill, I'm sure I could start up a few rumors about me and Lieutenant Carmichael that'll divert all suspicion away from you," he joked.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Camila had to laugh and gave a nod. "I hinted as much to Captain Geisler that you and I were together when I was talking to him and let him know of the rumors about him and Doctor Kij. He didn't say anything to me then, either. Other than that...no...don't start rumors about you and Carmichael, no matter how funny it might be. Look, I'm sorry, Temerant. I'm new at this superior officer and department head thing and I wasn't thinking clearly. I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course," he said, leaning in to give her another kiss. "But now I'm sure I'm a pretty disgusting sight. Make yourself comfortable, I'll just be five minutes while I hop into the shower, and then we can do whatever you like?"

She returned the kiss. "I feel like an ass and you smell like a Klingon that has been living on a backwater world without the water. Take more than five minutes because...yeah...you'd offend a Klingon right now." She winked at him and went to the replicator to make a refreshing drink with ginseng, honey, and green tea.

Ten minutes later, he stepped out of the bedroom, feeling refreshed and clean. He'd made sure to put on a bit of musky aftershave - a scent not especially popular on Trill, but one which he'd learned to be appealing to humans. He had on black slacks, and a dark green tunic that fell below his hips, embroidered with a dark ochre-colored pattern along the collar and down the sleeves in shapes that were reminiscent of Trill spots. He'd combed his still-wet hair backwards, and walked barefoot.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," he said.

"Not at all," Camila said as she got up from the couch and got him an ice cold drink of what she had made earlier and handed it to him. "You look very handsome and smell really good, too. I didn't know that you had such amazing style, Temerant. The green really brings out your eyes, too, and the pattern...well, I can only say that I like it. How have you been liking your new duties?"

"To be honest, not much has changed so far," he said, taking a sip of the beverage that Camila had handed him. He felt a wave of happiness from the symbiont at the taste of the green tea. "Though I suspect that's due to being overworked by the preparations for the inevitable confrontation in the nebula. That doesn't leave much time for crew evaluations."

"I don't know about crew evaluations, but I've been making plans within plans for Security for the attack on the Chimera and Cochrane, as well as the assault on the Romulan warbird," Camila said. "Our ship defenses are going to be pretty light personnel-wise, but I implemented changes on protocols shortly after I became Chief of Security, so I'm pretty satisfied with what I have in place."

"That's good," replied Temerant. "But keep in mind that shields and sensors will be inoperative in a Mutara-class nebula. We'll most likely be shooting blind, and trying to duck whatever both ships try to fire at us, if it comes to that."

"Heh...yeah," she said. "And we're going to have a cadet at the Helm. I looked into her file and she's good, no doubt about it, but she doesn't have the experience that I'd like to have when we're being shot at while going through the nebula blind. The defenses I have set up are all internal and designed to prevent boarders from accessing critical systems or easily taking control from us. If they want us, they'll have to fight for that to happen."

Temerant nodded. "I'll be putting one of my officers to work on seeing if there's anything to be done to enhance sensors. Maybe enough to get a general direction of where those ships are once we're inside the nebula."

"Wasn't Science assigned that that problem?" Camila asked. "I met Casey when I was on New Risa and he strikes me as the type to ask a lot of questions before he takes action. I hope those questions lead to answers which can give us an edge." She shook her head. "This is crazy. That nebula is half the size of the Sol system and we're going in blind, no shields and our weapons are going to be borderline useless."

"The problem would involve Science and Engineering, so it's Operations' job to coordinate the two and get them to speak the same language," explained Temerant. "Besides, Operations officers usually have a background in either Science or Engineering, so either way we'll be helpful. I've known Casey for over fifteen years. He does ask a lot of questions, and usually comes up with solutions that are entirely out of the box. So that can only be good for us. But now with his children on board, he might not be as focused as he once was."

"You've known him for fifteen years or Bast has known him that long?" she asked him since Casey hadn't been in Starfleet for eight years and had been travelling around with his daughters.

"He was my student. Or rather, he was Wilem Bast's student," he corrected himself, "at the Trill Science Academy. The last time I saw him was a few months after he'd resigned from Starfleet. And then he shows up here."

"It's an amazingly small galaxy when you meet people that you knew in another lifetime," Camila said with a laugh. "Did you ever go to Italy on Earth as Wilem?"

"No. But Lamorra, my first Host, visited there, about..." His eyes lost their focus as he tried to remember the dates. "I'd say about seventy-five years ago. Rome, Florence, Venice. Beautiful. I remember being severely overcharged for an espresso and a tiramisu at the Café Florian, in Piazza San Marco in Venice."

"I hope it wasn't any of my ancestors," she said. "It wasn't a Di Pasquale, was it? I really hope not because that would mean that I'd owe you seventy-five years worth of espresso and tiramisu and I just don't have that kind of latinum laying around. I'd have to make a deal with a Ferengi at two thousand percent interest and when I couldn't pay, they'd sell me to an unscrupulous race and then you'd have to come and save me, which would mean I'd owe you even more."

"Are you kidding?" he said. "I'd be far too busy enjoying the tiramisu. Then again, maybe I'd be so high on the espresso that I'll just burst through their bulkhead and carry you to safety."

"If it's the first one, I'll come back to get you when I become head of the organization," Camila told him. "If it's the second, you'd be my hero forever, Temerant. Either way, we'd be together. Are you hungry? I can get us something if you are."

Bast chuckled. He had no trouble believing she could manage to get from prisoner to head of a Ferengi organization in less time than it would take Starfleet to mount a rescue operation. "I'm not really hungry," he said.

"Then how about we enjoy some quality you and me time until duty summons us again?" she asked him with a smile.

"Or how about a stroll through the streets of Venice? It's been a while since I walked the Rialto."

Camila gave him a bright smile. "Mi piacerebbe, Temerant," she said, the translator changing it to 'I would love to, Temerant' as she stood up to reach for his hand.

He took her hand in his, and smiled. He put on a comfortable pair of walking shoes, and followed her out the door, to Holodeck Two.

Once they arrived at the holodeck, Camila brought up the list of programs from Earth and searched for Venice. She found one she liked and activated it, then walked in with him, her hand still in his. "Ah, Venezia, mi sei mancato," she said with a sigh as the salt air and smells of the city greeted them, the translator changing it to 'Ah, Venice, I have missed you'.

Temerant looked around, and recognized their location instantly. They were standing on a bridge right outside the Doges' Palace, on the bridge that offered a perfect view of the Bridge of Sighs. The computer had generated fewer tourists than what he remembered - in the actual City of Venice, tourists always outnumbered local residents.

"We seem to be underdressed," he said, indicating the fact that the local residents were wearing elaborate costumes and masks. Apparently the computer had chosen to place them in the Carnevale di Venezia. One man was wearing elaborate, richly-embroidered purple robes, and the woman walking by his side had a bright pink gown, with dark red lace sewn onto it, and long gloves. Both were wearing white masks with gold patterns, and their heads were covered with matching hats. They gave curt bows to Temerant and Camila, and continued on their way.

"Maybe I should have checked the program before I launched it," Camila said. "This looks like the Carnevale di Venezia. Should we use the arch to replicate some masks for us, Temerant?"

"That does sound fun," said Temerant, smiling.

Within minutes, the computer had replicated masks and elaborate costumes for them to wear. Now dressed in an elaborate and richly detailed costume, Temerant gave her a deep bow, and extended a hand to her. "Milady," he said.

Camila gave a curtsy and took his hand with a smile. "M'lord, you have exquisite taste in dress," she said. "Shall we see the city and explore what the festivities have to offer?"

"That would be fantastic," he replied, grinning behind his mask.

They followed the other costumed Venetians to a nearby Palazzo inside the walls of the Doge's Palace, and walked into a grand ballroom, opulently decorated, with frescoed ceilings, goldleaf on the moldings, and with a majestic crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Roughly four hundred people were in this room, all wearing similarly elaborate costumes as the ones Camila and Temerant had donned. A string orchestra was playing at the far end of the room.

Temerant stepped in front of Camila, and turned to face her, holding up his hand. "Bella donna," he said, bowing before her.

"Uomo bello," she replied with another curtsy and took his hand before she stood up and motioned for him to take the lead. "It has been many years since I have been here, M'lord and I fear my dancing is out of style. Would you like to take the lead?"

"Of course," replied Temerant, having exhausted his knowledge of the Italian language. He took Camila's left hand into his right, and placed his left hand on her waist. Holding her close, he took a step to his right, and pulled her into a waltz, following the orchestra's musical lead. They floated over the dance floor, turning and gliding along with the violins and cellos, as elegantly as they could. Several guests turned to look at them - though Temerant couldn't tell if it was because they were actually that good, or if the computer had programmed the guests to think they were that good.

Camila followed his lead, a smile on her face as the music and ambience of the music and the other holographic people moving about them in their disguises and fine clothing. She swirled once and laughed in delight at the looks on the faces of the others and moved back to him. "I absolutely love the fact that you are able to dance so well, Temerant," she said. "Is this all you or the memories of a previous host?"

"Both," he replied. "I am the combined experiences of all my previous hosts, as well as Temerant's history before he was Joined." He dipped Camila, and brought her back up before continuing. "However, in this case, I credit mostly Lamorra."

"I'm going to have to take lessons from you," she said. "I was always one for the faster dances and less ballroom dancing. I never had the patience to learn all the graceful moves and the timing, not to mention having to dress up for the lessons and all the formalities."

Temerant laughed. "Lamorra was a classical musician, so this was right up her alley. And Wilem took a few lessons, too - my wife made me do it for our wedding. But I'm working from muscle memory here, don't ask me to teach you. I can work the moves, but I can't verbalize them."

"Would you care to take lessons with me in the holodeck?" Camila asked him as one song came to and end and another began. "I promise not to step on your toes too much. Besides, I don't weight that much and it wouldn't really hurt enough to have to go to Medical if I did step on them."

He pulled her closer, and cursed their masks for covering their entire faces so he couldn't kiss her. "Of course," he said. "I'd do anything you want with you."

She smiled and touched her forehead to his as the music played. "And that is why you're a wonderful man, Temerant," she told him. "Let's get out of here and I'll show you some of the back ways of Venice and where I used to get in the most trouble."

"Absolutely," he said. He held her hand, and let her lead the way out of the ballroom. As they walked out, the piece came to its conclusion, and the guests started applauding.

Camila led him out of the Palazzo and over several bridges until they came to a wide open area. "This is the Campo Sant'anzolo which connects Campo Manin and Campo Santo Stefano. It's the heart of the city." She pointed out the Palazzo Trevisan Pisani , Palazzo Gritti Morosini, Duodo Palace and the complex of the Monastery of Santo Stefano around the square. "This is where trouble began and ended for me most of the time."

"This is beautiful," said Temerant, looking around the square. "There's no place even remotely like this on Trill. And to think this is all built over water, it's a wonder everything stayed in such good condition after so many centuries."

"It was restored and refloated several times in its history," Camila told him. "Before globalization came about and the world governments united, it was almost lost, but I am glad it wasn't. I never would have known the beauty of it first hand."

"I'll believe that," he said. "So this is where you grew up?"

"Not here, precisely," she said. "I was born by Calle San Bernardo near the Grand Canal. My Mom told me that I refused to wait for her to go to the hospital and I was born at home at three thirty-three in the morning. I spend my youth exploring every back alley, waterway and inch of the entire city."

"Always the impatient one, I see," he said with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Who has time for patience?" Camila said with a laugh as she headed over towards the right corner of the square where a gelato cart was.

Bast walked behind her, eyeing the cart. He remembered gelatos from Lamorra's trip to Venice. Sweets had been something of a fondness of hers, but Wilem had loathed sweets. Temerant hadn't tried gelato before, so he was a bit unsure, having such conflicting memories coming to him. He had a bit of a sweet tooth himself, but nothing that compared to Lamorra's.

"I'll have the triple chocolate tiramisu gelato," she said as she reviewed the various types of gelato that was offered. She looked at Temerant. "I would suggest one flavor to start if you haven't had it before, but the caffè gelato is really good."

Temerant looked at the display. There were flavors from all over the quadrant. Some were obviously local to Earth - raspberry, lemon, strawberry, amaretti, hazelnut, vanilla, and various chocolate combinations. But others incorporated flavors from other planets - Bajoran kava, Betazoid uttaberries, I'danian Spice, Vulcan plomeek. He frowned at the Klingon bloodwine and Ferengi tube grub varieties, though the Rak'tagino looked interesting. But he decided that the flavor might be a bit too strong for his first try in over seventy years, so he cast that choice aside, and opted for the safer caffé gelato she had recommended.

For the next hour, Camila walked hand in hand with Temerant as she showed him where she used to live, places she had gotten in trouble, where she went to school and spoke of the customs and culture she had grown up in. She felt better than she had in a long time and promised to tell him more as time progressed and expressed a desire to learn about Trill. When their time in the holodeck ended, they left and with the night still young, went off to learn more about each other.

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