A Night To Remember
Posted on Tue Jul 16th, 2019 @ 6:43am by Petty Officer 2nd Class Sofia Cipriani
Edited on on Tue Jul 16th, 2019 @ 7:41am
4,694 words; about a 23 minute read
Mission:
Episode 7 - Home Again
Location: Quarters of Sofia Cipriani - Deck 6 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD006 1730 hrs
Khalon walked the corridors of the Pioneer wearing jeans, a nice tan coat, a white button-up shirt, and a red scarf which he'd let hang about his neck. He didn't normally dress up and was more in the mood for tight T's and sweat pants, but this evening was a special occasion. He'd applied the perfect cologne before he'd left his quarters and he noticed every single interested look he got from the ladies who passed him. With humility, he knew he looked good and he never apologized for that. As much as he didn't like being compared to other people, he supposed Sofia was right when she said he was like other pilots in his cockiness.
Finally, he arrived at her door and pressed the chime. He pictured her in his mind, imagining what she'd look like, what she'd be wearing, or if she'd be nervous.
Nervous? She was petrified. She had even asked her roommate who worked in sick sickbay to bring a tricorder as she thought she was having heart palpitations.
A boy had asked her out, yep it happened. She'd been on a few since high school, which wasnt too long ago, but nothing really exciting.
Khalon seemed nice, cocky but in a nice way where he didn't come across as being arrogant. He was handsome and had kind eyes, Sofia was drawn to eyes.
She had to wear something "warm". That could be anything as she thought about wearing a ski suit as it would be less clothing to worry about but somehow somehow didn't think that was the plan for tonight.
Instead she wore a thick open topped shirt with a scarf from her hometown, tight jeans and woolly boots as she hated having cold feet, and a jacket for good measure.
As the doors opened and she looked up into his eyes and he took her breath away. Again. Any confidence she had was gone as her face grew ever so slightly red as she fumbled for something coherent. Alongside moving to block the view of her messy side of the room as she had attempted to find something nice to wear.
He looked her up and down confidently, his face curling into a smile.
"You look beautiful." He said, moving the bouquet of flowers toward her with its red, pinks, and whites.
She giggled as he put her at ease, " Oh please, I look alright but thank you." Sofia said accepting the flowers. "You can come in whilst I find a space to put these, just dont look at the left side of the room... my roommates messy." She said knowing it was in fact hers.
He walked in as she'd requested, taking in the room with interest. Enlisted quarters were shared between two people on the Pioneer just like quarters for junior officers. The biggest difference was that junior officers like himself had separate bedrooms with a shared bathroom and living area. He was glad for the privacy he did have, especially after he looked to the left and saw why he didn't want her to. It was pretty messy.
"Whose your roomate?" he asked, trying to turn his attention away from the mess. He looked at Sofia, admiring her, as she searched for a place to put the flowers.
"Alexa, she's lovely. A nurse in sickbay, she keeps me sane." Sofia joked as the doors to the bathroom swished open and a woman in a towel walked out. She gave a quick nod and smile at Khalon before heading to the clean, clutter free bed.
"Thought you two were heading out?" She asked.
Sofia quickly threw the flowers at her now knowing her messy roommate cover was blown. "Find a hole for these, thanks Lex! Bye!" She dragged Khalon out of the room and looked at him with an innocent 'I kinda lied a little' smile and puppy dog eyes.
Khalon raised his eyebrows at his deception and laughed to himself. As they left the room, he waved at Alexa and stepped out into the corridor. He started walking down the hallway, anticipating that she would fall in beside him.
"So, now I know about your mess." He said, grinning. "You thought you were going to get away with that, didn't you?"
"Cant blame me for trying right?" She asked kind of half rhetorically. "I'm usually much tidier than that, honestly. I didn't want to be rude and leave you out in the corridor, my parents would disown me if they knew I'd left you outside..." she paused. "Sometimes you can see my bed." Sofia offered a hopeful smile.
"Well, if you're offering.." he said with a playful smile as they walked along.
Before she could respond, the turbolift doors opened to reveal two female crewmen in science blue standing. Khalon waited for them to exit, but when it was clear they were staying on for a different deck, he offered for Sofia to step in. Their dress would make it fairly obvious they were going to the holodeck.
She went to open her mouth to pull back those words, but secretly she kind of knew that Khalon knew that wasn't what she meant. Still caught her off guard though as the two blues appeared. Sofia stepped inside but kept quiet, elevator protocol and all that.
There were several seconds of awkward silence as the four of them rode up the lift. The two ladies behind them weren't comfortable saying anything and Khalon wasn't too bothered by awkward quiet. The doors opened again and the two science officers quietly excused themselves from the lift. When it closed again, it was just Khalon and Sofia.
"The Pioneer is your first assignment too, right?" he asked her, looking down and into her eyes.
There were those eyes again, she had to be careful as his were a pair she could get lost in very easily. "Yes, I'm just out of training and Command thought Captain Malbrooke could use me." She paused, "In an administrative sense of course! I mean duh he's married." she continued before noticing Khalon's unwavering expression of amusement. "Wait is this your first too?" she asked.
He laughed again. She was clearly a bit anxious, but he thought it was very cute. He thought she was very cute. He nodded at her question all the same.
"Yup." he said, casually. "Fresh out of the academy, and a really good assignment on top of it."
That much was obvious when one considers he could have been assigned to a galaxy class ship as one of 15 flight officers. Here he was Assistant Department Head just for going to the academy. He was a good pilot, but he still had alot to learn.
"So, since we're both newbies, maybe we can help each other out."
"Sure." She said with a wide smile as the doors opened and they stepped out and headed towards the holodeck. "I thought this was a good place to come too as well. I love the Intrepid class, Voyager and Janeway. I'm a bit of a geek that way." Sofia openly admitted.
"Well, I'm glad we're not trapped on the other side of the galaxy, personally." he said with a grin. "A geek in what way, though? You like Starfleet history or something?"
"I liked school..." she said simply, it wasn't something she was embarrassed about. Most guys didn't go for the girl with her head stuck in books but that was her. "We didn't use a lot of technology where I'm from so I read paper books, so I know the seriousness of that papercut joke you told last night." She said playfully bumping into him a little.
"I know the hazards of book study." he said chuckling back. "But I'm glad you liked school, Sof..somebody has too, right?"
He wasn't a geek in the sense she was talking about. He was for flying and for mechanical details. In fact, he maintained a handful of vintage cars back on Earth that he was dying to get back to. Everyone had something different to love; it's what some people felt made humanity so interesting. He opted not to share any of those thoughts, however, and made the final approach to the holodeck. He reached his brown hand up toward the console and danced his fingers across the display.
"Not sure how many amazing dates you've been on, Miss Cipriani, but I'm going to go ahead and promise this one will be the best." he said, then looked over at her, reminded of the stark height difference between them. He smiled a charming smile which was completely lacking in any doubt. "Now, let's hope I'm not a liar.
He was certainly building himself up, but as the doors parted way what Sofia saw didn't disappoint. A gust of cold air brushed past her as she scrunched up a little in shock of its receipt.
The scene was white, snow covering the landscape as far as she could see. A small winding path lit by old fashioned street lights led to a wooden lodge in the distance. By the looks of the light it was yellow which to her often meant candlelit but she would have to see. As they stepped in she noticed the moon lit the ground up perfectly in the nights sky but it was an odd size, as if made larger for effect and illumination. She smiled as she nuzzled into her scarf for heat.
It reminded her of the Italian mountains, peaceful and romantic. "This is beautiful, K."
"Making holodeck programs is a hobby of mine." he said with a proud smile, stepping onto the snow-cleared brick path as the arch behind them disappeared. Feeling a chill, he wrapped his own scarf around his neck and offered Sofia his arm. "I thought you would like this one, so I made it for you from some ideas I brought to life in the past."
"You made this in a day?" Sofia asked rhetorically with a hint of surprise. "It's amazing, maybe you should give up flying... well I've never seen you fly to I actually don't know if you're better at this." she laughed. "Never mind me. Thank you." she said taking his arm tightly.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just threw it together." he said, his false humility obvious. He'd stayed up for hours putting it together the night before, but he wasn't going to tell her that. It was more his style to try hard and to claim it was easy.
He stepped forward along the path with her as a gentle cold breeze passed across their faces. As they drew closer to the wooden lodge, it became clearer that the windows were illuminated by candle light and that most of the rooms were private lodgings. While they were walking, he asked her another question.
"Where you from, Sof?" he asked, having detected a distinct accent in her speech and not being able to place it.
"I come from a place called Saluzzo, it's just outside Turin in Italy." Sofia replied smiling as she thought back to her hometown. "What about you? Khalon isn't a name I've ever heard before."
"My family's from New York," he answered candidly as his might wandered through imagery of historical Italy. He'd never been there, but any cursory history lesson causes one to almost feel like they had. "I bet it doesn't get this cold in Saluzzo."
The lobby of the lodge was huge and fancy with glimmering chandeliers featuring fake candles. The building was clearly full of people and it's open floor plan made that pretty obvious. Most spoke to others, some standing and others sitting, as the lights gleamed and wavered naturally.
He opened the front door and felt a wave of warm air on his cheeks; most welcome. He motioned her inside with his arm and waited patiently for her to enter.
The heat from inside made the small hairs on her face rise, she loved heat. "I can't quite remember anything as cold as this. The planetary weather stations don't allow for such things. Something I'm glad for as I enjoyed wearing clothes suited for a warmer climate."
"Well, maybe our second date will be to a beach." he said. "I'd like to see you in your preferred outfit."
"Let's just see if you get a second one first Mister." she said playfully. "Flirting this way might get you out on the sand but I don't know if you deserve to see my beach outfit just yet." Sofia said, a bit of confidence behind her words. They almost surprised her, she usually was more timid when sailing into the unknown with a man she'd just met.
Khalon raised his eyebrows at the comment. Someone was finding her land legs! He made a mild mock-offended face and then offered a knowing grin. He was, as she had observed, quite sure of himself. He had no doubt in his mind he would get a second date. Still, he knew she had a choice in the matter.
"Well, we'll see if you deserve to see me in mine." he said, chuckling confidently.
He walked her through a broad hallway and into a dimly lit room with many tables and chairs. It was fancy and had red carpet. He walked her to a table in the middle of the room where there were three candles and pulled out her chair. Their entrance didn't draw the attention of any of the other holographic patrons. Conversation in the room was a dull roar and their was a live band playing in the background.
Sofia smirked at his comment, her thoughts went to him in nothing but shorts on the beach in the sun. It was a nice sight to be sure but it was purely her imagination at this point. He pulled out her chair, a very gentlemanly thing to do, and she sat down with a small bump as he pushed her seat inwards.
"This place is beautiful, I know I keep saying it, but how did you come up with this? You must draw it from somewhere." She asked as he walked to sit down himself before signalling someone to come over.
"I think people underestimate how smart the computer is." he said, honestly. "You ask for a large wooden lodge in the middle of a snowy field. The rest is just detail editing. Personally, I like to spend alot of time on the people."
A young waitress in a white blouse and black dress pants walked over to the table, running a hand through her jet-black hair.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked politely.
"A red wine would be lovely please. Thank you." Sofia replied sweetly as she looked to see what Khalon would order.
He looked up at the waitress and gave a self-assured, yet distant-minded smile. "Bring us the whole bottle, please."
Once the waitress was gone, he turned to Sofia again, looking into her eyes without speaking for a second. She really was very pretty and he admired that fact for a small moment. He generally tried not to think about that on dates because it could distract him, but he allowed himself to indulge for just a moment.
"So, you're a little Italian girl from a little Italian village." he said, thinking. "What on Earth would lead you into Starfleet?"
"Oh a few things..." Sofia replied thinking how to reply. "My village had very little tech and I read about such great things and wanted to be a part of so much more." She said as the drink was delivered. Sofia smiled and took the glass, after it was filled she took a sip and looked into Khalon's eyes. "Plus I have a fascination for Voyager and Janeway, kind of pushed me to find out more about Starfleet. What about you? Where are you from? Why Starfleet? Why piloting?" She asked almost like a child asking an adult a million questions but it was sincere in what she asked.
"You lucked out getting an Intrepid class if you love Voyager so much." he remarked in a matter-of-fact tone. "And I'm from New York."
He smiled, remembering that he'd told her that earlier, but not wanting her to be embarrassed. He quickly moved on.
"And Starfleet was an expected career path for me from birth. My father is a Project Manager at Utopia Planitia, but when I was growing up, he was a starship engineer. He wanted me to look up to him, but...I didn't." he gave a bit of a "bad boy" grin at that, but moved on. "Once I got in the cockpit, I figured out I was pretty good at it. Now the old man thinks I'm following in his footsteps or something like that. My sister's in Starfleet too; on the Enterprise."
Sofia had an internal 'Doh!' moment as she did realise that he'd told her he was from New York earlier. Her face changed from that expression quickly back to the present conversation.
His 'bad boy' smile made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up a little, some goosebumps on her arm. She found conversation with him easy, which was a nice bonus.
"The Enterprise? That's pretty cool. Both my brothers are in Starfleet too. My oldest Elijah, he's on the Nebuchadnezzar; Security Chief I think. Where as..." she paused a little. "You'll find this funny but my other brother Klaus is a starfighter? Starwing pilot? I'm not sure what you call them." she said with a little laugh.
"I don't know what they call it either. I've never been within two feet of a fighter. I fly the big ships." he remarked with a laugh. There was some pride in his voice when he spoke, but it was under the surface. He noticed as the waitress made her approach, a large bottle of red wine in one hand and a notepad in the other. He watched as she poured their glasses and prepared to take their meal orders.
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Khalon moved his knife through the morsel of roast still remaining on his plate and used it to scoop up some of the mashed potatoes. He'd had enough wine to be tipsy, but wasn't too far gone. He looked across the table at Sofia again, seeming unprepared to take his next bite.
"Tell me an embarrassing story." he said decisively, a mischievous grin crossing his handsome features. "I bet you have a good one."
She had ordered pasta... you can take the girl out of Italy but not Italy out of the girl. Khalon was nice, sweet in a big headed "I'm a super cool pilot" kind of way but she found it endearing. He was significantly older than she was and didn't know how she felt about that but so far that was the least of her thoughts.
"Me? I'm innocent of anything embarrassing." She said smiling. "Can you not tell by my appearance I am so lovely and sweet that I cant get into any trouble?"
Khalon raised an eyebrow and shook his head, smiling. "Not likely, Miss Cipriani. And I didn't say anything about 'trouble', I said 'embarrassing.' That shows where your mind is."
He gave her a confidently seductive look which mixed itself with his smile. He liked talking to her so far and found her apparent innocence refreshing. He wasn't necessarily the best at preserving innocence, however.
"Well I am only a teenager remember?" she said giggling a little thinking about something to say. "Well... on my first day here, first morning just as I finished my meeting with the Captain. I was heading outside the ready room, hands full of PADDs and I bumped into an officer. Didn't catch her name but when I went to pick up the PADDs so did she, my leg came out from under me and I fell forward straight into her. We kissed, but not like a kiss kiss but an accidental one. I was as red as my uniform." she said, her cheeks going a little flush at the memory.
"I'm sure you have more embarrassing stories than me?" she asked.
"That's the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen." he said, wincing uncomfortable while simultaneously holding back a laugh. "You must be mortified!"
He chuckled, bringing his wine glass to his lips and taking a sip upon calming down. "Well...uh...when I was in the academy, I was in my dorm with friends. We were playing a game of truth or dare and someone dared me to run down the hallway naked..."
She made a 'shut up' face at him as he made the previous comments, teasing her a little. Sofia liked it, but it was an odd thing to like someone do to you. Her head was down a little when he mentioned the truth or dare, but swiftly rose as her eyes opened wider in surprise. "Oh my God, tell me you didn't?" She asked loudly, some of the holo-patrons looked over but quickly went back to their business. "That place is full of cameras, and people... tell me you didn't?" she half asked again almost laughing a little.
"I did....I did." he said, looking back with a mixture of thrill and regret. "Next morning, I get a message from the head of Housing Services ordering me to meet her in her officer; Lieutenant Jill Grayson. I was so scared, Sof, I thought my career was over. She made me watch the entire video with her in the office and confirm it was me. OF COURSE it was me."
Sofia burst out laughing, like burst. She tried to hide her laugh as best she could under her napkin, hiding her face alongside it but what he said was hilarious. "Did she delete it? I wonder if she kept it... a hallowed tail of a young man dared into nudity." Having said that she couldn't help but let her mind drift just a little, she'd had a few wines and her cheeks were already flush with it.
"Based on the way she was looking at me, I'd say she kept a copy. The girl was looking me up and down." he said, joining her in her laughter. He liked the way she'd laughed, not seeming to care who had heard her. Of course, they were on the holodeck and none of the other people were real, but still. "But I didn't really get in trouble. Which is good, cause my dad would have crashlanded on Earth so he could kill me himself."
"Well I am sure you must have charmed your way out of there." Sofia replied. She knew he was confident, that he knew he was handsome and if he probably flashed his eyes, flexed a bicep he'd get out of trouble quite easily for those who fell easily to his charms. "I don't think I'd ever have the confidence to do that. The thought of my mother finding out scares me more than the actual act itself." Sofia admitted.
He chuckled and, as he finished his laugh, he finished the wine in his glass. Looking at her, he thought about what she'd said. "Mom's can be that way." he said, then continued by saying "I can walk you back to your quarters now, if you'd like."
"I'd like that." Sofia said with a warm smile. She rose from her seat as did Khalon and they made for the door. For a brief moment Sofia looked over at the waitress, going to signal her for the bill but forgot this was a holodeck and that really they didn't need to do that. She smiled at herself for being a bit silly and felt Khalon move up next to her.
As they walked out and back into the snowy expanse, Khalon put an arm around the petite brunette, pulling her a bit closer to him as they went along.
"Computer, Arch." Khalon said with command. The exit appeared before them and the doors opened as they approached. They suddenly found themselves standing in the corridor on the Pioneer once again. Once they were there, he released her again, finding it easier to keep things subtle in the company of people they knew, or at least, would know very well.
"I hope you ate enough and didn't do that thing girls do when they order a tiny meal and pretend they never eat." he said with a chuckle as he closed the program by hand.
She had liked the arm around her, it was nice. Also it had kept her a bit warmer as they walked through the cold landscape Khalon had created until they walked through the arch.
"I'm only little you know, I don't really eat a lot but I did have enough. Thank you." she said looking up to him a little before they began to walk towards her quarters.
As they approached her door her heart began to race. What was going to happen when they got there? If anything that is, she was being a little presumptuous. He was a confident flyboy after all, those were more or less his words so she was sure he'd have something on his mind.
As they made the final approach, Khalon's mind was elsewhere. He was less nervous about what might happen once they were at her door and more concerned with whether or not she would want to go out with him again. It was always nervwracking not to know whether or not a girl was truly interested and the best way to know that she is involves her suggesting she wants to date again. He wasn't sure what would happen.
They stopped in front of the door and he looked down at her, his expression confident and practiced, unlike the way he was feeling.
"It's a shame it doesn't snow more on starships," he began, "It made a beautiful background for you."
Sofia smiled, "Thank you, I guess your talents made me look alright." she said being modest. "I wouldn't say no to seeing more of your programs... if you want that is?" She asked rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
Khalon grinned widely with a satisfied expression on his face.
"I'll be in touch." He said calmly, and then there was a space between them were no one said anything.
He looked at her with interest and, after the tension had mounted to its peak, he leaned in and pressed his lips gently against hers.
'He'll be in touch? What does that even mean?' she thought, her mind spinning as to how this was going to play out. Before she could think any further his lips were on hers. Her eyes slammed shut and she jumped a little due to the surprise but then as it continued she placed her hands on his hips for comfort, and to steady herself a little as he knees were a little wobbly.
Putting his hands on her back, he held the kiss for a bit longer and then pulled back. He looked in her eyes, clearly interested in doing more than kissing her. Then, he released her and winked charmingly.
"Have a good night, Sofia." He said, offering a handsome grin.
"Eh, wha--" she began a little dazed from the kiss and opening her eyes as he took a step back. She could see the lust in his eyes, the confidence that he would do more if he wanted, or coud. "I already had one." She said rather cheesily, turning towards her quarters. Pressing the panel the doors opened and she look back at Khalon.
He turned and walked away, feeling a swell of success and of happiness. Immediately, his mind was racing to figure out their next date.
A Joint Post By
Crewman Sofia Cipriani
Yeoman, USS Pioneer
Ensign Khalon Price
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Pioneer
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