Solo and Chewbacca

Posted on 29 Aug 2018 @ 11:27am by Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin & Commander Luke Wyatt

3,544 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: USS Galileo-A, Deck 3, Security office
Timeline: MD 140 - 1855hrs

[ON]

Luke spun around in his chair absent mindedly. Though duty shifts were not due to start until they departed from the station he had spent the last couple of days going through his routine. He always found it easier if he prepared mentally and physically for it and the extended shore leave certainly didn't do him any justice when it came to his working hours. Pausing his spin by holding onto the control console in front of him before he became dizzy Luke stood up and began pacing the room inspecting it for the hundredth time. The new office was immaculate every detail had gone into it, even the way you could see the brig from every angle, it was fantastically thought through. This is what led to Luke wondering into the brig. It was small but cosy he thought to himself as he lay on the rock-solid bed looking up to the plain grey ceiling.

Luke hadn't realised that in his attempt to stop himself from spinning he had set the brigs forcefield to a delayed activation so when the forcefield went up he shot up cursing under his breath "No way" he said unbelievingly as he made his way to the wide opening, raising his hand and pressing it against the forcefield that now blocked his path.

"You've got to be kidding me," He said now leaning against the wall his hands above him as he bounced his head off the wall "No no no, right compose yourself" He stood up and straightened himself out and tapped his comm badge and hoped Amaranai was onboard "Lieutenant Franklin can you report to the Security office please" He said calmly.

Amaranai and Charlotte were in their quarters on the Galileo, unpacking. It wasn't a huge room, but neither of them had a lot of things, so they would be able to share the space like normal sisters - meaning fighting for every inch of the room until the other was knocked out. The two had just been hitting each other with their pillows when the communication alert chimed in the room. Amaranai looked at Charlotte and smiled.

"Guess we have a mandatory cease fire," she said. "Finish making the beds and unpacking. Not sure how long I'm going to be gone."

"No fair," the younger sibling protested.

"Hey," Amaranai said as she exited. "I'm the jealous one."

After several minutes, Amaranai entered the Security office, but Luke wasn't there.

"Sir?" she called out.

Not getting a response, Amaranai stepped through the door toward the holding cells and discovered why she had been summoned.

Luke paced the room for a moment longer looking for perhaps a way out, of course, there wasn't any so instead he sat on the floor his back against the wall opposite the opening and waited for his second in command and began to formulate an excuse.

Amaranai was cool, though. Nonplussed and staring at Luke behind the force field. She kept her smile small.

"You called, sir?"

Standing up he tried to compose himself but Luke could see the funny side to the current predicament he found himself in. "Would you kindly release me from my self-imprisonment. Apparently, the holding cells are more than adequate to hold our future detainee's" He joked standing as close to the threshold as possible that the forcefield would allow him too at least.

Amaranai stepped close to the force field. She reached her hand to the control panel and stopped just short of pressing the release button.

"Okay, what will you give me to make sure I don't tell anyone this? And that I erase the footage from the last ten minutes or so?"

She wasn't always the negotiating type, but for some reason, Amaranai felt like she had Luke at a disadvantage.


"Really?" Luke retorted in mock frustration, thinking of what words to convince her instead he opted for a lame "How about you do it because we're really good friends? Like you know Solo and Chewbacca, an iconic duo we are"

Her eyebrow raised slightly. She considered Luke a friend. Good friend? Maybe. Not best friend, for sure. That was Miraj. And Charlotte. And Lirha. Well, maybe not Lirha just yet, but they were working toward it. Luke mentioned Solo and Chewbacca and Amaranai had to stretch her brain quite a bit to understand what words had come from his mouth. She was quiet for several moments and then recalled a twentieth century movie with those character's names. She had watched it, maybe once or twice, and that was a while ago, so she was a little short on the reference.

"Did you just refer to us as movie characters?" she asked. "First of all, I might be a little lost in the reference, so you might have to explain yourself fully. And second, I'm not sure how that is going to help you in your predicament."

He shrugged chuckling "I think Abbey said it once I'm not even sure what or who they are, look, how about I treat you to dinner? I'm a fantastic cook?" Luke offered, "Come on, this is embarressing enough as it is!"

Amaranai shook her head.

"Fine," she said as she pushed the forcefield control. "But I get to choose the meal."

There was a flash as the forcefield disengaged.

She waited for Luke to step out of the brig and did her best to keep her smile small. Amaranai stood to the side and looked at Luke.

"I would like bangers and mash, please," she says. "It's been a long time since I had a good bangers and mash."

Taking a glaring glance back to the console which had betrayed him Luke turned smiling to Amaranai. "Bangers and mash really? I'm going to cook you dinner and you want... Of all things in the universe, bangers and mash? I think my department needs reshuffling Luke joked, before adding "I didn't interrupt you from anything did I?"

Amaranai nodded.

"Bangers and mash," she said, pointedly.

When Luke asked if he was interrupting, Amaranai smiled.

"No," she said. "I was unpacking, but I left my sister to finish."

She didn't even feel bad about leaving Charlotte with the chores and she knew that her younger sister understood the need for Amaranai to do her duty.

"Ah I see how it is, so does that mean I have to deal with two troublesome Franklins aboard my ship? I need more security guards" He joked, "Would you like dinner tonight or some other time? I haven't eaten yet and the talk of your desired meal has got my stomach grumbling" As if on cue Lukes' stomach let out a groan.

"Yes," she said. "Two Franklins. But one is underage, so you can't order her around." She paused. "That's my job."

She giggled slightly.

"And yes, dinner tonight. I'm hungry and my sister needs more time to finish unpacking."

Luke shrugged "Well I guess I'm finished up here and luckily for me, the quarters are one deck up. Follow me my young padawan" Luke said as he dimmed the security office lights and walked out the door, pausing and waiting on the other side for Amaranai "I look forward to hearing what you've been doing to keep yourself busy over shore leave"

It surprised Amaranai slightly that he was willing to make her dinner despite their recent encounter with Miraj. He also mentioned wanting to hear how she spent shore leave. She spent a lot of it on the Schofield and then some of it with Lirha. Did he know about her and Lirha? Was that something the captain would have informed her senior staff about? Amaranai didn't want to talk about it unless Luke brought it up, but it made her wonder about how open Lirha was willing to be about their relationship.

"Oh, you know," she started. "Mostly boring stuff."

Amaranai fell into step next to Luke and followed him to his quarters.

"Boring stuff eh?" he said curiously but didn't press the matter for the moment, duly to the reason they had now entered the turbo lift. Pausing their conversation Luke directed the lift to Deck two and waited for the doors to close before continuing. "So what brings your sister onboard? She wasn't on board last time was she?"

In the turbolift, Luke asked about her sister. How much did he really need to know? A lot of her own personnel file redacted most of the trouble that she had gotten into when she was a kid because of her age and the same would be said for Charlotte. And as long as the two of them stayed on the right side of law, no one would ever know.

"Charlotte," she stated. "My sister, is only fifteen. Our home was not really a good place for her to live. I actually took her away from hat place three years ago. She was living with a friend of mine in San Francisco until recently when I decided it was time for us to be together again."

No details. Still the truth.

"I can respect that, looking after family and all. Does she have plans to join Starfleet? Her being here could be a great opportunity to making inroads into the academy" Luke said, the turbolift coming to a halt on his deck. He could sense Amaranai was withholding specific details but they were probably innocent ones at that, or maybe he was just being suspicious of everyone these days.

Amaranai snickered at Luke's question.

"Placing Charlotte with my friend had a dual purpose. Get her away from our family and also encourage more positive behavior and the beginnings of understanding Starfleet."

She paused as the turbolift stopped and she exited.

"Our family was overly concerned about Starfleet and attempted to fill our heads with untruths and anti-Starfleet propaganda. I eventually figured it out and that was the hope with Charlotte." She paused. "You know, forcing her to live in the heart of the Federation in hopes of manipulating the future decisions." Another pause. "Of course, she's still a moody teenager that has been taken from her home for a second time by her sister, this time to who knows where." She looked at Luke. "I hope she joins, but if she doesn't, I'll still be proud of how far she has come."

"Wow, looks like you've got it all figured out. Well I think its a good thing she's here and certainly to unwind some of that Anti-Starfleet propaganda" He said as the moved along the corridoor and stopped outside his door. "Well here we are, are you sure you want Bangers and mash?" He offered one final time the doors opening, and Luke walking in.

They arrived at Luke's quarters and he repeated the question about her dinner request.

"Yes, sir," she said. "Bangers and mash. Real food is so much better than replicated food, so, yes, bangers and mash."

Capitulating to her request looked open the door to his quarters and stepped in, as they did the lights brightened revealing what was is living space. (Waiting for the other site to be back online so I can fully expand on what his room looks like)

Amaranai stepped into the quarters. They were nice - as nice as hers - but for some reason seemed bigger. She attributed that to Luke being a Lieutenant Commander and a Department Head and the fact that she had a roommate. Did her sister count as a roommate, though? In a way, Amaranai was a little disappointed that Charlotte couldn't have her own quarters and Amaranai would get an actual roommate. All her previous posts she had been placed with a roommate and she had a lot of fun. It had reminded her of her Academy days. But no. Now she had to be responsible.

"These are nice quarters," she said after a moment. "The whole ship is amazing."

He shrugged before taking a lookg at his own quarters before rounding on Amaranai "They're a bit big for just one person, I miss having company of a roommate" He removed a PaDD of the dining table and pulled out a chair. "Can I get you a drink while I cook?" He asked courteously

It seemed a little odd for Luke to be cooking for Amaranai, but she was going to gladly take him up on the offer. She had been telling the truth about not having good bangers and mash for a long time - probably as long as she had been in space. Granted, the dish is more of a speciality and while the replicator has a decent recipe for the meal, there is nothing that beats the real thing. She heard the question and then smiled.

"Sure," she said. "Water to start."

The water Luke replicated along with the pork mixture he'd use to create the sausages but everything else he had brought fresh from the station's shops. Luke had decided that at least once a week he'd cook a fresh meal and even though tonight was not that night he didn't mind cooking for the lieutenant.

"One water," He said placing down the glass on the table before returning for his apple juice also freshly squeezed. "Make yourself comfortable, theres some music in my database if you want, it shouldn't take me long to make the bangers, or the mash really. I assume you'll want gravy?" He queried already getting to work forming the sausages and boiling the potatoes.

Amaranai grabbed the water and took a sip and then sat down. Luke mentioned the music that was in place and she grabbed the PADD and scrolled through the music. She didn't want this to be weirder than it already was, so she found some current rock music and started playing it. She turned the volume down slightly.

Hearing the question, Amaranai chuckled.

"Well, duh," she said. "You can't have bangers and mash without gravy."

Luke chuckled the sausages now all inside their intestine pouches and smelled fantastic. “Well duh gravy it is then” He said the water to the potatoes now boiling. He popped each cut potato in and turned his attention to the sausages and piped them under the grill. “I have to ask how is it someone with your experience hasn’t been assigned chief yet? I was surprised to see you back”

Amaranai caught the question. It made her think about what should have happened. The Saratoga was out there with someone else as its Chief of Security instead of her. Inwardly, she wondered exactly why Lirha had changed her application to get her onto the Galileo-A.

"Thank you for the compliment, sir," she said. "I applied to a few open ships but nothing panned out."

She didn't feel like she was lying, since she had applied to other ships and they didn't pan out because Lirha had cheated to get her here.

As Luke listened he watched the food cook, sipping his drink he stood up straight from his leaning position on the counter. “Well when the times comes and you get sick and tired of listening to me give orders I know a few people I could speak to and see about getting you the position your best equipt for.”

The security officer took a sip of the water and was almost tempted to ask for something stronger, but she didn't want to drink and start talking.

"Thank you, but I'm happy here." She paused and muttered under her breath. "At least I should be."

“Hmm?” Luke asked draining the water not quiet catching what she said. The potatoes were now soft enough to mash, he added the cream and butter and replicated a masher. It didn’t take long for the mash to form into its desired consistency and when done Luke checked on the gravy and sausages both of which were done. Replicating Two plates one for himself and one for his guest he played up the meals and placed them on the table with the cutlery.

Amaranai didn't realize that she had muttered her comment out loud but smiled and quickly changed her tone.

"I said that I'm excited for this new ship."

She smelled the food as it was finishing and she smiled.

"That smells delicious," she said, changing the subject quickly.

Sitting down he looked at the plates of food and nodded in agreement “I must admit it does look pretty good.” Luke picking up his cutlery he began to eat. “Well eat up, it’s getting late and I don’t want a 15 year old version of you knocking down my door” he joked.

Amaranai had taken a seat at the table before Luke and when he placed the food down in front of her, she took a big sniff of the food. The scent took her back home to England, to the back streets of London and swiping the same meal from different restaurants. She didn't have to, of course, she was rich, but it was the adventure and the risk that she thrived upon.

Taking her fork, Amaranai took a large bite and bit it, consuming the meat and potato dish. Her face was probably along the lines of showing the ecstasy she showed Lirha at times (though Luke would never know).

"This is right, good, mate," she said, her accent slipping past her years of training to sound perfect, instead of cheap.

"Wow easy there, I don't want you going all colonial on me and sticking a, what was it called, a Union Jack? on my front door." Luke said teasing her at her accent outburst.

Luke's comment about Charlotte made Amaranai giggle.

"She won't bother," she said. "I think she's still too afraid of uniforms that aren't on me."

"Well, I'm sure she'll get used to it unless of course, she plans on hiding in your quarters for the next few months." He chuckled before adding quickly "You know I've had my time teaching at the academy, I could go through some things with her? Show her around security, give her something to do? I'm not sure what the education system is like on the ship but I doubt she'll be forever entertained so having something like that might keep her out of trouble and give her some experience."

Amaranai listened to Luke talk about teaching Charlotte and her future education. Amaranai placed her fork down.

"Honestly," she said. "I hadn't even considered her education. It might be a good idea to have her start learning." She paused. "That way, if she decides to actually go to the Academy, she'll have some experience, like you said."

Luke stopped eating for a moment and smiled "Well, no pressure. I dont want to make you feel obligated or anything, but the offer is on the table if you and she, because she should have a choice to want to take me up on it."

"It's no pressure at all," the woman started. "I haven't been much of a guardian toward her since she's joined me, so I need to at least think about it."

She paused and wiped her mouth with her napkin. The meal was delicious and the conversation was, surprisingly, good.

"And you are correct that she needs to be part of the conversation. Without that, I might as well be my parents."

He chuckled, having already finished his meal and sat back in his chair. "Well, whatever the outcome please, let me know and any questions from either of you don't be afraid to ask." Luke looked between their plates and then to the time display panel on the wall. "Wow, look at that. I think I've kept your company long enough? I hope you liked your 'Bangers' and mash'" He said in his best imitation of a British accent.

Amaranai hadn't realized that she had managed to finish her plate as they had continued to talk.

"That was the best I've tasted in a long time," she offered. "You did well."

She stood up.

"Thank you for your hospitality and your kindness," she said.

"And I'll let you know if my sister agrees to the lessons."

Luke stood up with her and moved to the side before tucking in his chair and facing Amaranai again "It was a pleasure having you, I look forward to hearing what she has to say. We'll have to do this again some day, Its been nice having the company"

"You're a good cook, sir," Amaranai said. "You should do that more often." She paused at the door. "You're a good person, sir," she continued. "And I'm proud to serve with you."

"That means a lot to me thank you Lieutenant, I'll try and do right by you and our department." The door to his quarters as they neared them and he paused. "Have a good night Lieutenant, don't be a stranger."

"Thank you, sir," she said and allowed the door to open.

Amaranai walked back to her quarters and helped her sister finish unpacking.



[OFF]


Lieutenant Commander Luke Wyatt
Chief of Secuirty
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin
Assistant Chief of Security
USS Galileo-A

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