Dinner with the Captain (Part One of Two)

Aki was in her bedroom, unpacking some of her belongings when the door chimes went off. She placed the last of her uniforms into the wardrobe and closed the door.

*The rest can wait until later.* She thought to herself.

She walked out of the bedroom and into the lounge area, pushing some of the boxes away into a corner before heading for the door. She pushed the door controls and they opened to reveal Lieutenant J'ross standing there in a fine silver dress.

"Captain." J'ross stated, wondering why Aki was looking at her so strangely. The Captain hadn't even changed out of her uniform, her jacket was strewn over the back of the sofa. "Am I dressed too formally Captain." She asked.

"No…No…" Aki replied. "That dress looks so wonderful on you and for tonight it's Aki not Captain. Please come in, take a seat. I was just doing some unpacking, it's really amazing just how much you can get into a Starfleet issue cargo container."

J'ross walked into the room and looked around. Although she had been effectively Captain, she's moved all her own belongings into the XO's room from the start. It hadn't felt right, especially the way Commander Buford had left the ship, to take over the Captain's cabin.

"Would you like something to drink ?" Aki enquired.

"Not at the moment." J'ross replied.

Just then the door chimed again and the Captain walked across and opened it. As the doors opened, a Starfleet officer appeared, dressed in a very casual way and hugged the Captain. Although it had only been a few hours since she had last seen Lieutenant Commander Barker, he always greeted her this way.

He looked to be about the Captain's age and like her, was also a Trill. However, he was the oddest Trill J'ross had ever met. His markings were much redder than most she had seen and she also noticed that he had a couple of small 'humps' on his back.

"Come in Chu." Aki stated. "Lieutenant M'eko J'ross, I'd like you to meet one of my oldest friends and my former chief science officer, Lieutenant Commander Barker."

"It's a pleasure to meet such a charming Caitian, there are so few left in Starfleet." Chu announced. "And don't worry, I'm sure you'll do the Captain proud."

M'eko was stunned by the Commander's remark. The Captain just laughed.
"Chu is half-Betazoid." Aki explained. "He's empathic. Are you really so worried about what I think of you ?""

J'ross was quiet, her feelings about the new Captain now exposed by her friend. "Just a little Capt….Aki." She finally admitted.

"M'eko." Aki replied. "That's partly why I wanted you to come to this dinner. A good Captain needs to know her XO and the XO should know the Captain just as well. We must work as a team and from your service record you've shown that you can do that very efficiently."

"So what's for dinner ?" Chu asked. "I hope it's not more 'Gagh', I remember the last time you got your hands on some from the Klingon transport you defended."

Aki laughed and J'ross just looked on, feeling like a third wheel. Chu must have sensed J'ross's unease.

"Aki served on a Klingon vessel for six months as part of the Starfleet officer's exchange programme." Chu said. "Every opportunity she can get to eat Klingon food, she does. About six months ago, she managed to get her hands on some live 'Gagh' in a stasis chamber. What she didn't know was that they had been put into stasis during their breeding cycle and when they were taken out of stasis, they started to breed."

"We were eating Gagh for a week." Aki laughed. "No, we're not having Gagh, I've got something else very special, prime rib. Just before I left Earth to come here, I managed to get three ribs and a thought that it would be a good way to celebrate my new assignment."

Just then the door chimed once more and a young Ensign arrived with a trolley, with three plates on it. He moved over to the table at the far side of the room and set our the three meals.

"Shall we sit and eat." Aki stated.

The three of them moved over to the table and took their seats. Aki and Chu started to eat, but J'ross just stared at her plate.

"It's from a pig, an Earth animal." Aki said. "I'm not totally upto date with Caitian and their eating habits, but I wasn't aware that you were vegetarians."

"We're not." J'ross stated. "Originally we were carnivores, but we were also hunted down as prey. Our ancestors started to change their diets and today we're more Omnivores. The change in diet also changed our evolution, from a more savage beast into the intelligent life-form we are today. It's just so long since I've seem real meat, let alone eat it."

She picked up her own knife and fork and started to eat her meal.