An Evening at the Starbase

Posted on Wed Nov 29, 2017 @ 6:24pm by Rear Admiral John Breckenridge & Captain Madelina Weisz

Mission: Falling Star
Location: Deep Space 10
Timeline: MD 31 || 1600 Hours

Admiral Breckenridge paced the crowded office that was his on the old, revamped Cardassian station and finally went to his terminal. Captain Weisz, I would appreciate it if you would join me this evening. John he typed before he sent it to the Triumphant addressed to the Executive Officer.

While he waited, he went to pour himself a drink and resumed pacing the office.

Maddy walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing more than a towel when she heard her terminal beep. It had her wondering who would be contacting her, but she quickly thought that maybe it was Tom since he hadn't made it home just yet. Instead of dressing, she moved over to it and sat down to access the message.

As she read it, her brow arched. Admiral Breckenridge wanted to see her? For what she wondered. Was there more business they needed to discuss?

Admiral Breckenridge... I have received your request to see me this evening. Please allow me twenty minutes, and I will be there. - Maddy

She hit reply and got to her feet again, making her way back to the bedroom to get dressed. Instead of the nightie she often wore to bed, she found herself pulling on a clean uniform and got her combadge affixed to it. The redhead studied her reflection in the mirror for a few moments before she was on her way to DS10. It wasn't long before she was standing outside the door to his office and pressing the sensor for the chime.

Breckenridge smiled when he saw the beautiful redhead outside of his door and hit the door release. "Captain," he said. "I was very pleased to see that you accepted my invitation. Please, come in."

Maddy offered him a smile as she stepped inside. "Well... when an Admiral beckons, you should always make time to see what they might need," she said.

"Call me John," he said as he moved to the well stocked bar. "Would you care for a drink? I have a new supply of Aldebaran whiskey in."

"No, thank you, John. Do you have some information on our next mission?" she asked, thinking this impromptu meeting had something to do with business.

"Sweet baby Klingon," Breckenridge exclaimed as he turned to look at her. "Were you born with pips on, Weisz?" he asked her.

Maddy arched a brow at the question. "I... no... I wasn't born with pips on. If you didn't call me here about our next mission, why did you call me here?"

"To relax," John said. "Computer, define relax."

"Relax, a verb meaning make or become less tense or anxious," the computer responded.

"Now that you know what that is, can you do it?" he asked her.

"I am capable of relaxing, yes," the redhead agreed, but this wasn't an ideal situation for that considering her company. Still, she was quite capable of taking care of herself. "Very well, John. If you want me to relax, I will relax."

"So what's your poison?" John asked her. "And what should I call you?"

"Maddy, though you seem rather fond of Red," she replied. She was in uniform, but technically off duty. Should she make an exception? "Gin and tonic. Light on the gin, if you don't mind. I'm in uniform."

He poured her a double shot of gin and a spritz of tonic in glass and handed it to her. "Am I going to have to take your pips again, Maddy?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Because if I have to take them, I'm taking your clothes, too."

"With all due respect," Maddy began as she took the offered drink and took a sip from it, trying not to wince from the burn it caused down the back of her throat. "You're married, and I'm seeing someone. I don't know anything about your relationship, but I'm quite happy in mine, and have no plans of doing to ruin that."

"First," John said as he poured himself a glass of Aldebaran whiskey and raised it towards her. "With all due respect means go to hell, or fuck you. Second, I don't recall making an indecent proposal to you at all. Third, you can't relax if you have a stick up your beautiful behind all the time. I invited you over here so you could get away from the ship for a while."

He paused and took a sip of the potent whiskey with a sigh of pleasure. "Now then, Maddy," he said as he set it down. "Would you like to go to dinner or maybe white water rafting down the Colorado?"

Maddy sighed. Was she really that uptight? "Dinner would be fine, but I happen to love the Triumphant. She's been quite good to me over the years."

"Dinner it is, then," John said. "As for the ship, I'm sure she has been good to you, but isn't it nice to get off of her once in awhile and stretch your legs somewhere you've never been?"

"It is," the redhead agreed, taking another sip of her drink, though she wasn't likely to have anymore than that. Maddy wanted to keep her wits about her, and she only trusted Breckenridge so much. No, she didn't think for one second he'd risk his career and take advantage of her, but the Captain didn't know him well enough to totally let her hair down in his presence. "So, it's not exactly dinner time, so why don't we call it a late lunch? I'm not nearly old enough to have the early bird special and turn into bed right after."

"What are you in the mood for?" he asked as he tossed his drink back and headed for the door. "We have an excellent restaurant that serves over one hundred types of sandwiches, my favorite being the seven layer steak sandwich, a Klingon deli that serves the freshest Gagh in the quadrant, a Bajoran cafe, and several others."

Maddy looked thoughtful for a moment. "The sandwich shop sounds good. Something light will be best."

"Smitty's Sandwich Emporium it is," John declared. "Drink up, Maddy. Real booze is a treat out here on the ass end of space and then we'll go tease our taste buds with treats that you'll remember forever."

"I've had more than enough of my drink," she said, taking one last sip for good measure before placing the glass on a nearby surface. "If I drink the whole thing, I'll want to continue drinking and skip eating entirely. That's why I asked you to go light on the gin."

"Heavy is a triple," he said as he lead her out of the office and to the turbolift where he requested the promenade. "I hope you have an appetite. Smitty makes huge sandwiches."

"They don't make anything on the smaller side?" she asked as they began their journey, but something else was weighing on her mind. "Why exactly did you request my company? I'm sure there are far more interesting people around."

"I find you a breath of fresh air, Maddy," John answered as the turbolift came to a halt and the doors opened onto a bustling promenade full of humanoids. "I encounter so many people everyday who jump and want to please me the moment that they see me that I don't need toilet paper anymore. It makes me sick. I'm a Starfleet officer, not someone to be worshipped."

"I can assure you that I have zero intentions of worshipping you," the redhead said as she stepped off of the turbolift and looked around at those milling about. "You're just like anyone else is only you wear a higher rank on your collar. That being said, I'm not going to disrespect you, but I will treat you like I do everyone else. Unless you piss me off , then that's a different story."

"That's what I find refreshing about you," he said as he walked down the Promenade, nodding to everyone to smiled or said something his way. Several officers approached him, but he waved them off with his left hand with his index finger pointed upwards. "Unlike everyone who thinks they have to acknowledge me. Rank has its privileges, Maddy, but privacy isn't one of them. By the end of the day, the rumors will have permeated every inch of this station that I'm now looking for my eighth wife and that we're sleeping together."

"Well... if the rumor starters had half a brain cell among them, I'm sure they'd realize that you're probably quite happy with your current wife and don't want to do anything to mess that up," the redhead pointed out as they made their way through the promenade. "I'm quite happy with my significant other as well, and have no plans of messing that up at any point."

"I'm happy with my missus," John told her as they entered the restaurant.

What was probably the fattest Ferengi anyone had ever seen in any quadrant waddled up to them, covered in a expanse of gold and red checkered suit with several gold necklaces around his neck supporting a bar of gold pressed latinum. Each of his chubby fingers were covered in jeweled rings and he brought his hands up in the Ferengi gesture of begging. "Welcome, welcome Admiral," he gushed before he looked at Maddy. "And to your....Captain?" His beady little eyes darted from Maddy to the Admiral in question.

"This is Captain Weisz from the Triumphant," the Admiral told the fat Ferengi. "She's here on business." He looked at Maddy. "And Captain Weisz, allow me to introduce you to Smitty, the only Ferengi who eats most of his profits."

Maddy shuddered at the way the Ferengi inquired about her to Breckenridge. It seemed the Admiral's reputation preceded him. "As Admiral Breckenridge has stated, I'm from the Triumphant, and my business here is purely professional," she spoke. "Other than that, it is nice to meet you, and I look forward to trying one of these sandwiches I've heard so much about. I don't suppose you have a French dip?"

"I have French, Ferengi, Romulan, Cardassian, Klingon, Betazoid - if you like that kind of stuff - and Bajoran dips," Smitty claimed. "All of the highest quality in the entire quadrant. Come, come," he urged them before he waddled towards a empty table and started barking orders at other servers who scurried to carry them out.

"I'll go with French for now. Perhaps I'll try another before we depart," she said as the made their way to the table he led them to.

"Of course. That comes with potato wedges, dipping sauce and your choice of drink," Smitty said with a bow before he looked at the Admiral. "The seven layer steak sandwich, Admiral?" he asked.

"Make it so, Smitty," John said. "And if you don't make it so...."

"I'll have to learn to sew," Smitty shot back before he looked at the female Captain. "And what would you like to drink that won't pickle your liver like Admiral Breckenridge's?"

"Lemonade, please," the redhead said, looking from Smitty to the Admiral. She could believe his liver was pickled based on the two times they were in one another's company. "Thank you, Smitty."

"You're most welcome," the fat Ferengi said before he waddled off barking more orders.

Breckenridge laughed. "Me and him have an understanding," he said. "I don't kick him off the base as long as he doesn't go overboard on what he charges. In return, I get free meals and so do my guests as long as I don't bring all the senior staff in at once."

"Sounds like an interesting arrangement you two have."

"It is," John agreed with her before he lowered his voice. "I also get a lot of intelligence from this little set up even if Smitty doesn't know it. Four of his workers work for me."

Maddy settled down and kept her voice low. "Telling me some of your secrets, John?"

"Only the ones that don't compromise the security of Starfleet, Maddy," he responded in the same low voice.

A moment later Smitty and two other workers showed up at their table. He set down a French Dip sandwich in front of her that looked like it had five pounds of meat on it with a bowl full of dipping sauce and her drink, along with a ridiculous amount of fresh cut fries. "There we go," he said with obsequious voice. "I do hope you enjoy it, Captain Weisz."

The other server set down a bowl of fries for the Admiral and a sandwich that had been cut into four sections which looked like it could feed a family for four for a few days and a tankard of ale.

"Thank you, Smitty," John said. "As always, I'm sure you've outdone yourself."

"I love to serve," Smitty said in a grovelling voice while bowing several times.

"Thank you. I hope you won't be offended if I don't finish all of this," she said with huge eyes at the size of the sandwich that was placed in front of her. Hell... she'd be lucky if she could eat a third of it. "I will take whatever I don't finish with me, though."

"He won't be offended and neither will I," the Admiral said as he picked up a quarter of his sandwich and took a bite. It took a minute of chewing and swallowing with a large drink of ale to get it down. "Eating here, I only have to eat once a week because of how big the portions are," he joked.

"I don't know about that. I mean... I can see for a few days, but not a week," Maddy said, picking up half of her monstrous sandwich. "I don't even know if I'll be able to eat a third of this."

"Just eat what you can," John said with a healthy drink from his tankard and sighed in pleasure. "The rest will keep. Smitty uses the best and freshest ingredients and I can never learn how he gets his hands on everything he does."

"For all we know, we're eating his enemies," she stated, reaching for a potato wedge after setting her sandwich down.

The Admiral laughed uproariously and nearly choked on his ale before he slammed a hand on the table. "Damn you!" he laughed again. "You just tried to kill an Admiral. I should tell Smitty what you said."

Maddy smirked. "Go ahead. I'm sure I could run circles around him and he still wouldn't be able to catch me."

At that point, Smitty returned. "Are you both finding everything okay?" he asked with a bow.

"Wonderful as always, Smitty, but the good Captain would like to know if we're eating your enemies," John said.

The fat Ferengi began laughing so hard that he had to pull a chair out and settle his bulk into it and held his sides before he gained control of himself. "Does it look like I could even run if I wanted to catch them? My only enemies are calories, Captain Weisz."

The Captain laughed and shook her head. She hadn't been expecting that, and already found herself appreciating the Ferengi and his sense of humor. Breckenridge had a really good one, too, despite the fact he was an Admiral. "Oh, you two are something else."

John smiled. "We're on the ass end of nowhere," he said.

"But that doesn't mean we have to eat it," Smitty finished as if they two had given this response before.

Maddy, who had brought her tea to her lips, paused in taking a sip after the two of them spoke. She hadn't been expecting that, and it caused a full on belly laugh to erupt from her lips. If some of the crew could see her now, they'd likely think she was drunk, but that was far from the case. The redhead brought a hand to her face to wipe the tears from under her eyes and shook her head. "That was unexpected," she said, trying to catch her breath. "But it was damn funny."

John laughed. "Thank you, but I have Smitty to thank for that particular bit of humor," he said. "When he first told me, I had been eating and someone had to do a Heimlich Maneuver on me."

"And you still come back for more," Smitty said before he bowed to Maddy. "It's been my pleasure, Captain, but I must attend to my other customers."

"Likewise, Smitty. I hope there comes a time where we come across one another again," Maddy said, offering him a smile.

"Just be certain to give my girth a wide berth," the Ferengi joked before he headed off to another table.

"You looked like you needed that laugh, Maddy," John said.

The redhead woman smiled and nodded her head. "I did. It's been a long time since I've laughed that hard."

"Now then, let's enjoy the rest of our meal and tell tall tales until the Targs come home," the Admiral suggested.

"That sounds like a pretty good idea to me. You can tell me what you and your Missus do when you're this far out to keep from going stir crazy, but mind you, I don't need any information on bedroom activities," she said, picking up her sandwich to take a bite.

"We have runabout races out in the Gavarian Corridor when I can give everyone the slip," John said. "There's nothing like unfettered freedom of movement while an entire starbase freaks out and sends every ship after you."

"Are you serious?" the redhead asked with an arched brow.

"About them sending every ship after me?" he asked. "Well, a couple at the minimum if they can be spared. You saw how many people tried to approach me when we were coming here to eat. I'm lucky I can go to the head by myself."

"I was actually referring to the runabout races," Maddy clarified. "I don't doubt that they'd send someone after you."

"Oh yes," John said as he took a drink to wash down another bite of his massive sandwich. "Every chance we get. We both started out in Flight and it's a matter of not going insane that we get back to our roots."

"So, your wife is Starfleet, too?"

"Ex-Starfleet," he told her. "She resigned when she saw that people wouldn't leave me alone and didn't want to add to my workload. I think she's the last woman I'll ever be married to."

"You don't have to answer this next question if you don't want to, but I am a bit curious," the redhead said, popping a potato wedge into her mouth as she thought about how to ask. Of course, there was nothing quite like the direct approach, and there was no one who was more direct than she was. "What sets this wife apart from all the others? You, by your own admission, have been married quite a few times. What makes this one different?"

"She doesn't talk about work when we're together," John said after a moment. "Ever. She'll use every trick she knows to take my mind off of it."

Maddy smiled. "Smart woman. Tom and I don't really talk about duty during our downtime, either. I mean... we have, but it's just not something that takes all of our focus. When it's the two of us, we focus on one another for the most part."

"The key to any successful 'Fleet relationship is having a healthy balance," he said after another drink of his ale. "That, good food and the ability to listen and know when to say nothing."

"Oh, good food is not an issue. Tom and I are pretty big on eating," she said with a grin. "He doesn't mind that I can pack away the food like a man twice my size, either, which is a plus. Not to mention, we have The Black Hole aboard the Triumphant, and it has some of the best food I've ever eaten before."

"For being a big eater, as you say, you certainly keep in shape," John observed. "But a healthy sex life can help knock off the calories."

"I have no complaints in that department, and I work out regularly," the Captain told him just before she took a sip of her drink. Maddy wasn't one to talk about things that took place behind closed doors, and though she mentioned not having any complaints in that department, there would be no further details forthcoming. Not now... not ever. "The gym has been a close friend of mine since my first assignment out of the academy. Life in space doesn't leave much in the way of getting out and doing things, so it's all a matter of making do with what's available to me."

"I hear that and I have a piece of advice for you," he said as he set the rest of his sandwich aside for a moment. "Don't take a promotion higher than you are right now, Maddy. It'll end up with you commanding a desk and having no time to explore the stars. Enjoy what you have now, take a ship when you're ready and don't look back."