Troy had stayed around the commerce section keeping tabs on Kassia. Since bringing her there, he had felt responsible for seeing her safely back home. There was a bit of concern at the holosuites with Toren Len, but after that seemed to have been resolved, Troy had decided that Kassia was in good hands and decided to wander away.
It was getting past dinner time, and on this evening, he wasn't reporting to work. After bringing Kassia to the Commerce Section he had taken a personal day. No one had questioned why. He thought about grabbing a bite to eat. Just as he passed Harry's, a familiar face caught his attention. It was Kitty! She was sitting in a booth, with several PADDS on the table before her. She was sipping on a drink. She seemed to be reading a PADD very intently. Without another thought, Troy entered the establishment and went up to the table. Kitty was to engrossed in the report she was reading she didn't notice the person standing at her table.
"Hey, Starfleet, can I buy you a drink?"
With stunned surprise Kitty pulled her green-brown eyes from the PADD and looked up. When she saw who it was, she smiled brightly. "Troy! Hey! Have a seat!" she said.
"So, what's new?" Troy asked. "Anyone attacking us today?"
Kitty laughed softly, "Not the station anyway... I'm not so sure about Captain Wallace and the rest of our people though... No reports have come in yet..." She seemed concerned, but just as quickly she looked at him and smiled. "Cherry cola, by the way..." she said, lifting her almost empty glass, with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Harry, make it two!" Troy said, placing the order. "That doesn't sound so good," he said, suddenly concerned about the lack of information. In the past few months Troy had become more embroiled in Starfleet affairs than he'd ever imagined possible. That didn't necessarily mean he understood any of it. And the lack of understanding only made him more apprehensive. Troy sat down in the booth across from Kitty.
"Well, all it really means for the moment is we play the waiting game... Communications could just be knocked out," she explained, "Or... It could be a lot worse... But I'm betting on communications being knocked out... Maybe something else having happened. But I bet our people are still out there. We'll hear from them soon... If not... Then... I'll have to make the next decision..." Kitty took a deep breath. It was one thing to be a diplomat. You held the course of peoples lives in your hands constantly, and yet, somehow this was different. This was somehow more direct. More final... Less room for errors... And this was what she had originally been trained for. But it felt alien. Probably because she hadn't been here in so long... But here she was... And she could do this. She HAD to do this. It was her job now. Her call. And right now, she was going to wait.
"How do you handle it?" Troy asked as a Bolian waitress wearing an incongruous pink 1950's-era waitress uniform brought their drinks. "All that destruction and chaos out there and all you can do is wait? It would drive me nuts! It has driven me nuts! I can't tell you what I've been through since Kassia received her commission!"
"Well, remember, I was a diplomat before this. Part of being a diplomat is also learning patience. That I have plenty of... Though it doesn't mean I'm not concerned," she said, as she gazed at another PADD quickly and making a notation, before setting it down. "I've read about Kassia and I know what she's told me. She has gone through quite a bit, so I can imagine... and this last bit must have really been difficult on you. I heard she was in her shop earlier. Is that why you're down here?" Kitty asked, with a gently smile.
"Well, yes and no... she wouldn't leave our quarters on her own, and I'm one of only two people on this station who could possibly get her out of there. She needed to get out -- the doctor said so. I'm glad she appears to be enjoying herself. But I would have come out regardless. I don't like being pent up!" Troy said as he began reviewing the menu.
"So you're not working tonight then?" she asked.
"I needed to take a day off. Can't work all the time, you know! Besides, I wanted to be there for Kassia. She needed to get out, and at the moment I'm the only person available who could have convinced her to leave her quarters," Troy said, fidgeting a little. "What brings you to these parts? This isn't exactly preferred dining for diplomats," he commented, laughing nervously. Something was telling Troy that he just might be out of his depth.
Gently, Kitty reached over and grabbed Troy's hand. "Relax a little!" she smiled. "Actually, I am not the typical, stuck-up, diplomatic-type... but I thought you would have figured that out by now, Troy," she said with a wink. Not only had they met up at Soma several times, but he had walked her back her quarters and just talked with her several of those nights. She had come to trust him as a very close friend whether or not he believed or understood that yet.
"I'm sorry; still just a bit intimidated -- you know, the rank and all. I don't know that many high-ranking Starfleet people personally. Most civilians don't know how to handle themselves in that situation," Troy said, sipping his soda. "But I think I'm working it out," he continued with a wink of his own.
She laughed again. "You don't have to worry about the rank when you're with me," she said. "Only my Officers do, technically speaking... But anyway, I am here to go over some reports, which I am almost done with, and get some dinner. And I am hoping you'll stay and dine with me! I could use the company." Their eyes locked for a moment as it did every so often.
"I'd be happy to. I think Kassia has some other plans right now anyway."
Kitty's smile brightened. "Good! Maybe, if you aren't opposed to the idea we could even get together outside of Soma on a regular basis and hang out. I already think of you as a friend, Troy. It would be nice to do things with you... Like dinner... Unless that would make you uncomfortable..."
Troy thought for a moment. He had always made it a rule never to become involved socially with any of his customers, but there was something different here. Kitty was more than a customer -- she was a Starfleet officer, hardly the barfly type to be wheedling him for free drinks or favors. And he did enjoy her company. With Kassia and Tarik spending more of their off-hours together, Troy had found himself at loose ends more and more regularly. Tarik's right -- I've got to start thinking of myself! he thought.
"Absolutely! I mean -- I'd love to!" Troy said, hoping he didn't sound too much like an overeager schoolboy.
Kitty nodded. "Great! Of course, not that you won't see me at Soma!" she laughed. "But it will be nice to see you, Troy... Really..."
"And it will be nice to see you too..." Troy said. Their eyes met, and each one held the other in a penetrating gaze for a split second only to have that gaze broken by the waitress asking to take their order. Still, however, that was all it took...