It was a late night the night before, and it was shaping up to be another long day afterwards. The order was "to have the Arizona operational by 2130 hours." After looking over the PADD in his hand while waiting in line at El Taco, he realized that this was more of a dream then a reality. Of course, this was Rich we were talking about. Garek grinned slightly as he looked up. His turn had come.
"Welcome to El Taco. Can I interest you in our Big 'en Beefy Breakfast Burrito?" The young man behind the counter had obviously been here most of the day, and was waiting for his shift to come to an end.
"Not today, thanks. I'll go with....." Garek looked over the ordering menu above the young man's head. He was then kicked in the back of the leg from behind. He spun around to see Kim Tycho.
"You're supposed to decide what you want before you get to this point." Kim had a smile on her face at the Chief Engineer's obvious lack of 20th century dining experiance.
"Sorry," Garek replied. He grinned, and turned back around. "I'll take the nacho platter and a 'lemon-lime soda'," Garek ordered, almost questioning the drink he was ordering.
"That'll be fifteen credits."
Garek reached in to his pants pocket, and pulled out the credit card that the young worker scanned, and then handed back.
"Next please." Garek looked around almost cautiously as he moved out of the way. He then started to drum his fingers on the countertop as Kim placed her order and moved off to join him.
"Looks like you're the real expert," Garek commented.
"Me and the gals stop here all the time. Sam is pretty friendly with the manager."
"Is she?" Garek's eyes widened. "I had no idea."
Kim smiled. "Yeah. We like ripping on her a little for it."
"I can imagine." Garek smiled, and looked in to Kim's eyes. She blushed slightly, and picked up her tray. Garek grabbed his, and followed Kim down the rows of booths. They finally came upon one where the rest of the Banshees were sitting. It was a combination booth/table, and Garek and Kim took the end seats.
"It's about time!" Jo called from the other end of the table. She was sitting across from Samantha. "I haven't had the opportunity to meet Kimmy's boyfriend face to face."
Garek blushed. "You must be the infamous Jo Schmidt. Kim's told me about so much about you. Garek reached down the other end of the table and shook hands with the other pilot. "Also heard you were a pretty good stellar cartographer."
A mock expression of disbelief crossed Jo's face. "You've got to be kidding me sir."
"I am." Garek grinned. "It's a pleasure in itself to be sitting next to such living legends such as the Banshee Squadron."
Both Sam and Lee kicked Kim from under the table. She gave one of those looks, and the two replied with a nod.
"Alright, why do I feel like I'm on trial here?" Garek threw a glance towards the pilots.
"We just wanted to make sure that little Kimmy is being watched out for." Lee turned to look at Garek. "We've always watched out for each other, and when Kim came up to us saying that she had a new boyfriend, we were all a bit skeptic."
"But," Max continued, "I think she's found someone 'worth bringing home for the parents to meet.'"
Garek smiled. "Thanks." He made his way around the group to make eye contact with the assembled group. "That means a lot to me." He then looked at Kim. "And believe me, there's nothing I'd want to do to hurt you." The two looked into each others eyes for a few long seconds, before Kim nearly jumped over the table and kissed him.
Jo laughed, and the rest of the group soon joined in as Kim took her seat again. She had a large smile on her face, as did Garek. "Get a room you two," she teased. She then winced and rubbed her shin, giving a disgruntled look over at Kim.
Garek felt as Kim's left foot returned to it's position next to his. She pushed a locke of blond hair behind her ear. "We'd better hurry. We're goning to have to get the weapons systems on the Arizona online before we head out."
"Yes ma'am." Garek smiled, and went back to his meal.