Horses and dinner
Posted on Mon Jun 11th, 2018 @ 9:38pm by Chief Petty Officer Leslie Calhoun & Staff Warrant Officer Jennifer Masters - Calhoun
Edited on on Mon Jun 11th, 2018 @ 9:39pm
3,711 words; about a 19 minute read
Mission:
Episode 3 - Weary Travellers
Location: Zulg's Bar Holosuite 2, Empok Nor
Timeline: MD001 1900 hrs
Jennifer walked on the holosuite and started up the program she had requested. Nice green hills stretched out in front of her and behind her the stables appeared and two horses were saddled up and ready. It's been a while since Jenn had actually sat on a horse, so she had them programmed to be easy going. She was all dressed up and put a cap on her head.
At that moment the peculiar Vulcan she had spoken to earlier today walked in with a cart. "Where would you like this, miss Masters?" Chef Dan asked.
"What did you make, Chef Dan? And How long can you keep it warm? I was planning on riding first." She asked walking over with a smile, smelling the nice looking food.
"Oh this can stay warm for a couple of hours, don't worry, miss. And it's an Asian Earth dish, that I think you both will love. It's a beef stew. And I took the liberty of having it accompanied by this." He explained and then pulled out a bottle of red wine. He then pointed to the house near the stables. "I will set up a table on the porch there for you two. You can start on it whenever your ready. Now if you will excuse me." He gave a nod and then went to set it up for them.
Jennifer walked to one of the horses, a brown, and patted it. She looked at Dan setting up the table for them, and placing the wine bottle in the middle. He then walked out of the holosuite almost bumping in to Calhoun.
Billy had taken the time between drinking and now to get himself cleaned up. He wore a nice pair of jeans and button down shirt. He wasn't sure what to expect from Masters. Was she just playing one of her human intelligence games, trying to learn about me or is this something more. He thought as he made his way through the station to Zulg's. The thing was if it was something more was the ole man ready. She is beautiful he knew, as he resigned himself to see where the night took him.
He walked into the holosuite nearly bumping into Masters. "Masters... So what's the plan?" He smiled at the woman.
Jenn smiled back while standing next to the horse. "Well, I thought we could do some horseback riding first," she said, while holding tight to the reigns of the horse nervously. She liked being here with him, but she wasn't sure how he felt about it or thought about it.
"And then maybe dinner," She continued while pointing the house where the food was waiting for them. She turned to the horse she selected for him. "Well, you said you would wanted to do some riding. But if you want to eat and talk it's fine by me too."
Billy walked over to the brown and white Gypsy Vanner Paint that was saddled in western style tack. He was quite the beautiful creature, and heck so was the woman standing with the horses. Two and two finally equalled four in Leslie Calhoun's brain, his only question was why. "Whelp, I always say a good ride works up an appetite." He started to check the saddle cinch and the rest of the tack as he continued to speak. "You know the way I see it we should just drop the tongue in cheek nicknames."
When he stood up he looked at her and the look on his face had changed. It wasn't friendly, it was interested, interested in many things and at the moment the top of that list was her. "Call me Billy, or Bill if you would like. Whaddya say Jennifer?" His voice was soft a lot of the gruffness gone, and his smile was flirtatious.
Jenn felt herself calm down a bit when he said that. She nodded and said, "Alright, Billy it is. For me it's either Jennifer or Jenn." She climbed on to the horse. "Well, I believe this is England on Earth. I haven't been there before. But I hear this place is nice during summer when it's not raining. And no other people but us. I just wanted to have some time alone with you." She pulled the reigns a bit to get the horse going.
Billy cocked his Intel cap to the side and mounted up. "England you say good choice. The history of this land is long and robust." He gave the horse a kick and it started to walk down the path into the woods. "Looks like we are somewhere near Stonehenge. Perhaps the oldest structure on Earth. Not shabby for an alien eh..." He said with a chuckle. His nerves kicked in as he realized that this was a date and he had not been on a date in about 75 years.
Jenn looked down the horse, but it was calm. She was a bit uneasy, on the horse, she hadn't rode a horse in a long time. She then looked around as he talked about the landscape. "You probably see more of my planet, then I have in my very short life." She knew it wasn't quite real, but it was nice to be in another environment. She turned to Billy. "I know your kind are good listeners, but I can imagine you could tell me a lot more stories then I could tell you. Unless there still is something you don't know about me already."
He glanced at her and noticed how uneasy she was on the horse. "Just let the horse know that you are friend not foe and he will calm down. See like this..." He reached forward and patted his horses neck. "Now watch the ears..." The horse's ears turned forward. "He is relaxed and knows I won't harm him. It also helps to give the horse a name, something you can relate to. I think I will call him Rembrandt." At the mention of stories Billy laughed "Oh there are I can talk you to death. But in truth I would rather know about you. In our line of work we keep so much secret so, I will tell you mine if you tell me yours. The truth..." He smiled as he looked into her eyes, they were haunting.
She reached forward and patted her horse. "I will call mine Billy." She giggled about that. She then had to stop and think. Her secret she thought. "My secret?" She asked as she stopped her horse. "I am not sure what it is you are after." She lowered her reigns. She looked around a bit nervous. "You want to know how I did it? How I hacked in to command's classified files?"
Billy thought it was cute and endearing that she named the horse after him. It meant that he made her feel safe, and so it was a start. He laughed out loud. "No nothing of the sort. I want to know who you are. I already know how you hacked command, you are just that good. What I meant was that we keep our real selves hidden. I want to know who Jen is, not the crewmate the person."
Jenn shrugged. "What is there to tell," she said as she gently kicked the horse again to let it know to move again. "I have a twin sister, parents died. Was mostly raised by my aunt. Got in to the academy. Kicked out for hacking command." She sighed a little. "I love to party, as you know. Bit of a bad temper. Between my sister and I, I got all the negative energy. I used to get in to fights a lot when I was younger. I guess there is not much else to about Jenn."
"You know many years ago I met a General, a great commander of men, General Douglas MacArthur. He used to say that you didn't live life. You have to grab it by horns and make it submit, make it bend to your will. MacArthur would have been proud to know you, as am I. That is what I see a woman who takes nothing that she doesn't need, and gives all that she can back." Billy was riding side by side with her now as the shade from the tree's canopy passed overhead. In the distance down the path there was a clearing in the trees. "You see that clearing, I've been there before..." His voice trailed off as the sounds of battle came streaming unbidden into his mind. After a moment he continued to speak. "However, the circumstances of my return are much better, and the company has increased in looks tenfold." He added with a smile.
Jenn, couldn't help but blush about what he said last. "Well, I think it's your turn now," she said. "Who is Billy?" She grinned as she looked at him.
"Me? Awwww, I'm just a simple man. I like my horses, my pipe, and my drinks. History is probably my favorite thing. Mainly because I lived it, but also because people never learn from it. The only thing I truly miss is my home. But alas that is simply lost to memory now. I am a cards on the table kind of guy, what you see is what you get." If you know what I mean." Billy paused for a moment as he looked at the beautiful woman riding with him. "Say Jenn, why do I suddenly feel like I am being interviewed." He added with a devilish smile.
"Well, you did say if I told you my secret, you would tell me yours. If you feel that's an interrogation, then I am sorry," Jenn said. "It wasn't meant as one, but circumstances make do what I do best." She smiled. "To be honest I wasn't sure you would come here. You must be thinking, what could a young girl like me, could possibly want with a man like you?"
"That is exactly what I was thinking." He laughed boisterously. "Truly a woman such as yourself could have their pick of anyone, so why the old guy? In the past as an El Aurian I usually have to do the pursuing, keeping what I am a secret until later. So this is quite refreshing." Billy paused for a moment, "You are correct you did tell me a secret so ask me something you think I keep secret and I will tell you."
Jenn stopped her horse. She looked at the clearing up ahead. "Let's eat," She suggested. She was feeling hungry. She looked to him and said, "I just don't know where to start to be honest. You lived longer than I could actually imagine. You've seen things...And not to mention the experience you have. I am not afraid to speak up, and I probably have an attitude sometimes about it, but to be honest I can't even light a candle next to you. Jenn turned her horse and continued, "You know, there are several who I could've pursued, but to be honest to meet someone with so much experience and knowledge, is quite...well I don't know. I think it makes me curious."
Billy smiled and steered his horse to be in pace with hers as they headed for the cabin with the food. "You keep saying that I have been around for so long. When you get as old as me bluntness comes in droves. So, if you are romantically interested in me let me give you some advice. Don't approach me for my age, what I have seen, or done. Consider me to be a 50 or 60 year old man who happens to be devilishly handsome." He looked at her as they walked in silence for about a minute. "You are curious about me so I will start at the beginning. I was born roughly 500 of your years ago on El Auria. My planet was more beautiful than anything you can imagine..."
She listened to him with great interest. "Tell me about your planet." She smiled to him as she listened.
Billy's story took most of the ride to the cabin. He pausing only so she could ask questions. He told her of growing up on El Auria, when the Borg came and ravaged his world. Of the diaspora that became of his people. His arrival on Earth and his appreciation for the human zest of life.
As they arrived at the cabin she stopped her horse looking to him. "That is some life you life had there. And honestly, it is hard for me to imagine. My life hasn't been that long and won't be that long either." She stared in front of her. "I think I am romantically interested in you. But I am just not sure how you feel about that. I can easily look at you as being 50 or 60 years old, if that is your wish." She smiled. "But you have to understand in the back of my mind I will know that you have several lifetimes behind you. So not sure if if I want to compete against that, or even know how or where to begin, if I am to pursue this."
He smiled sympathetically. "Now my dear Jen you know why in the past I have kept what I am hidden. The only piece of advice that I can offer is this. It has been my experience that one of the points of falling in love is to have someone to grow old with. True I am centuries old but I am getting older as are you, so would we not be growing old together." He winked at her as he dismounted and tied the horse off. "How about we eat and see where it goes."
Jenn dismounted as well and tied her horse off as well. She followed him to the table. She was thinking a moment when she sat down. She then took his hand. "I really don't care about your past. I think what I care about is the future and how I fit in there." She smiled as she opened the pot and the steam came off it. She looked to him to see what he would say.
He smiled and the stew smelled fantastic. "Well you see there we are on an even keel. I do not know where I fit in, in your future either." He took a deep whiff of the stew. "This smells fantastic."
"Yes, I heard this chef Dan is a really good cook on the Juno. Everyone on there talks about him," She said. "Apparently this is one of his most popular dishes." She took out the spoon and poured some on his plate. And then on hers. She then handed him some bread and got herself some too. "And about this future. We are intell, I am sure we can figure that out. I do like the odds of growing old together." She smiled as she took a spoonful in her mouth.
"Quite so, and now for some magic of my own." Billy smiled "Computer if you please." After he finished speaking a bottle of Carménère wine and two glasses appear in his hand. He smiled again placed the glasses down and poured the wine. Billy took a spoonful of the stew. It was so delicious that he let out an audible mmmmmm. "This is quite good they weren't lying on the Juno." He chuckled.
"Well, I heard he cooked for admirals and had his own restaurant," said Jenn. She smiled. "Do we have a cook on the Pioneer? Been so cooked up, only know started to meet people." She grinned.
"I know that Chloe has a small kitchen staff but I think that is about it." Billy took a few more spoonfuls of the stew as he thought about his next move. She liked history so he decided to play it the old fashioned way. "Tell me Jen, do you have a favorite flower?"
She thought about that. No one ever asked her that. "My favorite flower has to be the rose. Perfect, beautiful and hard to get. But it makes you so much desire it." She smiled.
Billy smiled and tapped his comm badge. =/\=RR Engergize=/\= Seconds later a bouquet of red roses materialized on the table. Billy smiled broadly again "A man should always bring flowers to a lady. Fresh from the station's arboretum for you." The more he thought about it the more he liked the idea of a relationship with Jen. However, he just needed to get her to stop looking at his history and look at the here and now.
"Oh wow!" She said as she picked up the flowers. "They are beautiful. You are full of surprises, aren't you?" She smelled them and then smiled. She hadn't had a great time with someone special to her in quite some time. She was started to get the feeling this was going somewhere. She could tell he was loosen up and she felt less nervous. She was thinking about Heidy, and the lunch they were having tomorrow. She wanted to hear everything. She wasn't sure yet where this would go, but she had a feeling she would have a lot to tell.
As he continued to eat Billy remembered that an old friend of his used to say that when you were a soldier there was nothing quite like coming home to a dame. If that friend were here right now Billy would show him that the one thing better is when the dame came to the fight with you. The two ate their dinner all the while they carried on in depth conversations. He telling her more of his path. What life was like before the Federation, the rise of one world governments and much more. She told him of youth and with every passing story she told he felt younger like when the world was new.
When the meal was finished Billy did not want to part ways so he decided to take a shot in the dark. "Would you like to take a walk back to the ship for a night cap?"
Jenn didn't want it to end so early, but didn't expect his request at first. She looked to him in thought a moment and then said, "I'd love to."
"Well then let's get going." Billy said with a smile. The two walked back the Pioneer hand in hand exchanging laughs very much the couple. Moments later they got to their destination. "After you my dear" Billy said as he motioned to the door. He walked over to his own mini bar and poured two gin and tonics, and twisted the limes. "Welcome to my humble abode." He was happy that he had straightened up this morning. A manikin with a WWII US Army uniform was in the corner of his quarters. There were bookcases filled with history books and a trombone stood on a trombone stand among other things. "I hope it is not too much like a bachelor padd."
She looked around the room with all the stuff that was having. She was amazed by what she saw and she said it too, "no, this is amazing. You're like a walking history book and museum." She grinned. "I love it!"
"Thanks, it is nice to have someone who appreciates it. You know back then Intel was a lot like it is today. There were two divisions human intelligence, and data analysis. I was a field agent back then. Sometimes I miss those days and that is when I become the guy you saw when we got boarded." Billy sat down on the couch and sipped his drink.
Jenn looked around and walked after Billy to the couch. She put her glass on the coffee table and then sat down next to him. She felt quite comfortable, so she pulled off her boots and put them next to the couch. "Those must've be exiting times. I can only imagine. I read report of field agents, but never been have been in the field." She then looked to him and grinned, "So who do I have to thank for those moves in after 11?" She moved a bit closer to him and then leaned over to him. "And who do I thank for a nice evening?" She was now really close. She was doubting a second if she should do it. But then she just put her lips on his before he could react.
He was about to make a return quip when she spoke of the exciting times. When for the first time in countless years the old man was caught off guard. Jenn kissed him, and when she did he wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss. The excitement overtook him in the moment, and he relished it. His next thought was of exactly how far this was going to go. When the kiss broke he looked her in the eye and smirked. "Now lovely lady what was that for?" Billy's eyes twinkled as he gazed into hers.
She returned his gaze and smiled, "That was for an amazing evening, for not standing me up or turning me down, and being the amazing person I thought you would be. Oh and the flowers."
"I am naught but an old fashioned, old man." Billy smiled and gave her a wink. "Who is to say that the night has to end?" He took a shot in the dark and kissed her again, passionately.
She kissed him back. She hadn't felt this way in a long time, and she felt even better then she did back then. When they let go she smiled. "I got no where else to be or to go. We're on leave, would want to make the most of it."
A Joint Post By
Senior Chief Petty Officer Leslie Calhoun
Data Systems Analyst, USS Pioneer
PNPC Malbrooke
Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Masters
HUMINT Agent, USS Pioneer
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