JP Lt. Cmdr. T'Lea & Lt. Kendrick - The Waitress

[Serala]

Well, this was masterfully written and a fun read. Things are definitely getting spicy on Denali.

 

((Holodeck 3, Deck 4, USS Juneau))

Katrina had chosen a quiet little restaurant in Paris, near the Eiffel Tower. With the sun setting, it was the perfect setting for a romantic evening for the two lovebirds.  

Kendrick: ::looking around:: I’m going to miss this, y’know. 

Pelley: What? Paris? 

Kendrick: ::chuckles:: I meant the holodeck. Having the opportunity to just simply step through those doors and enter an entirely different world. The chance to escape, if only for a few hours, from the real world.  

Pelley: I don't know. ::shrugs:: Who needs a holodeck when we’ve got the real deal down at the Ring?  

Kendrick: Well, for one, the city still needs a lot of work if it wants to live up to the real deal. Other than the gym there aren't any other facilities available for some r&r.  

Pelley: Trust me, six months from now and we'll be dining in one of the many restaurants of Denali. Or hey, maybe even watching holomovies with a bag of popcorn. 

Kendrick: That sounds rather optimistic. 

Pelley: Why shouldn't we be optimistic? Isn't that part of our job description? 

Kendrick: ::smiles:: Perhaps for a medical officer. But for us, Security folk? We always have to be prepared for the worst case scenarios.  

Pelley: But that doesn't mean you can't be hopeful about the future. 

She was right of course. He smiled at her as he placed his right hand on her left hand. 

Kendrick: You're right. I'm sorry if I sounded a bit bleak. I guess I still have to get used to our transfer to Denali Station. 

Pelley: And there's nothing wrong with that, so don't feel like you have to apologise for it.

He smiled and nodded. 

Pelley: Let's order something to drink. Champagne? 

Kendrick: Why not? 

His eyes were fixed on Katrina as she signaled one of the waiters. 

Waitress/T'Lea: Are you ready to order? 

John froze as he heard her smoky voice.  

oO This can't be… Oo 

Pelley: We'll have a bottle of champagne please. Two glasses. 

Waitress/T'Lea: Very good. Would you like to hear the specials?  

He shook his head, terrified to even look up. 

Waitress/T'Lea: No?

Katrina looked across the table at John, wondering why he suddenly looked so jittery.. 

Pelley: ::at the waitress:: No. I mean yes. Yes, of course we’d love to hear the specials. ::at John:: Right?

Kendrick: Mm.

With one eye he tried to catch a glimpse of the waitress. But as soon as he saw her long black hair and pointy ears, he immediately cast his eyes down at the table, clasping both hands together as if he was praying to wake up from this nightmare. 

What the hell was she doing here? And was she even real? 

Waitress/T’Lea:  The Chef has prepared two dishes to delight your palate today.  The first is a delicate crepe, filled with a classic combination of spinach, cream cheese, mozzarella, and a hint of garlic.  It is sure to please the more traditional culinary coinsure, someone that enjoys comfort and charm.  The other is what the Chef refers to as a continental collision of flavors -- a steak tartare mexicana.  Its raw and robust flavors are intended to provoke your primal instincts, but beware the level of heat can be quite intense for some. ::beat:: If you do not mind me saying, Sir, you look like the type that enjoys a little spice in your life.

Yep. She definitely sounded like T’Lea - but why was she pretending she didn’t know him? But then it hit him: he was on a holodeck! Someone must’ve taken a holoscan of her and added her holo image to the program. That was the only logical explanation. But why would anyone want to do such a thing? He shook his head again. 

oO No she wouldn’t. Or would she? Oo 

Again Katrina couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable John seemed. It was almost starting to feel awkward. She reached out her hand across the table. 

Pelley: What’s the matter, John. If you’re not feeling well, we could leave?

He shook his head and smiled in an attempt to reassure her everything was alright. What was he going to tell her anyway? That the waitress looked like someone he slept with? 

He reached out and took her hand in his. 

Kendrick: No. No. Everything is fine. Really. I just remembered there’s something.. with our holding cells… I need to contact Dekas about. ::again trying to smile:: But it’s nothing that can’t wait. 

Waitress/T’Lea:  The gentleman, perhaps, needs more time to decide?  I’ll be back shortly with your champagne. 

This time he gathered his courage and looked straight up at the T’Lea-the-waitress.

Kendrick: Yes. I need…

And then he looked into her eyes, it was as if he was suddenly struck by lightning, his heart rate suddenly increased exponentially. He looked back down at the table, fearing his heart might jump out of his chest and onto the bread plate in front of him.

Kendrick: … more time.

As Katrina watched as the waitress walked back over to the bar, she turned back to John.

Pelley: ::whispering, slightly irritated:: What’s wrong with you, John?

Kendrick: Nothing.

Pelley: You call that “nothing”? Just look at yourself sitting here. It’s almost as if you’ve seen a ghost.

Kendrick: ::under his breath:: Maybe I just did.

Pelley: What?

Kendrick: Nothing. ::shaking his head, leaning in closer, pointing his thumb at the waitress:: Didn’t she look ::pauses:: I don’t know,  familiar, to you?

Katrina looked over at the bar as the waitress ordered a bottle of champagne.

Pelley: No. ::looking back at John:: Why? Does she remind you of someone?

Before he could tell her she reminded him of Juneau’s former Chief Science officer, T’Lea-the-waitress walked back over to their table with a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

Waitress/T’Lea: A bottle of our finest champagne for the handsome couple. Have you been together long?  Is this an anniversary, or celebration perhaps?

The waitress struggled with the cork. It was really stuck in there.

Katrina looked across the table at John, her head slightly tilted, clearly anticipating John’s reply.

Kendrick: We’re-

And then he looked up at the young, blonde waitress with a puzzled look upon his face. This wasn’t T’Lea. Where did she go? He scanned the restaurant but T’Lea was nowhere to be seen.

Kendrick: ::mumbling:: What the- ::at the waitress:: Excuse me but: where did that other waitress go? 

Pelley: ::shaking her head, confused:: What are you talking about John, this is the same waitress.

John felt his heart sink. What the hell was happening to him? Damage control was the second thought that flashed through his mind. He realized he had to come up with some kind of excuse if he wanted to save his date with Katrina.

Kendrick: Ah- ::stammering:: Of course. I’m just a bit confused I guess. ::chuckles:: It’s been one hell of a week. ::at Katrina:: I’m sorry.

Katrina placed her hand on his, trying to comfort him.

Pelley: Look, I know you’ve been under a lot of stress lately. Just try to relax, ok? Enjoy the moment. Everything will work out just fine. ::at the waitress:: We’re celebrating, actually. This is our last night ::pauses and smiles as she looks at John:: in Paris.

Kendrick: We actually met here in... ::pauses as he winked an eye at Pelley:: Paris.

Waitress: How nice that you found each other. True love is such a rarity these days.

Pelley: It is. ::smiling lovingly:: It truly is.

John pulled away his hand from underneath Katrina’s, suddenly feeling somewhat uncomfortable by her unexpected declaration of love. He smiled at her, trying to mask his feelings. 

Just then the cork launched towards John, barely missing his head. Startled by the sudden explosion of suds, the waitress jerked in response and the bottle’s bubbly contents spewed vigorously onto Pelley’s blouse.

Pelley: ::screams in surprise:: Oh- 

Kendrick: ::at Katrina:: Are you alright?

Waitress: Oh, no, monsieur and Madame, please forgive my clumsiness.

The young blonde waitress offered Pelley the rag that was tucked in her frilly apron. 

Pelley: ::gently tapping her blouse dry:: Thank you. 

Waitress: Please let me bring you appetizers for free, on the house. ::at Pelley::  The Ladies room is just around the corner.

Pelley: ::smiling:: That won’t be necessary, but thank you.

As the blonde waitress walked away from their table, John picked up the bottle of champagne and started filling their glasses.

Kendrick: ::smiling:: Looks like there’s just enough left in the bottle for two glasses.

Pelley: What a night! Whoever programmed these characters sure went out of their way to make them as realistic as possible - including clumsiness. Just my luck.

Kendrick: So I know we’re not allowed to use the water on Denali until they’ve figured out what to do with these - microbes? -, but that doesn’t mean you have to switch to champagne showers. It’s a bit… decadent, no?

Pelley: ::throwing the rag across the table, in his face:: Are you trying to be funny at my expense, Lieutenant?

Kendrick: ::laughs:: Maybe. A little. 

Just then the waitress returned to their table with another plate, and placed it between them.  At the center of the dish was a blob of white paste, garnished with parsley, lemon and crackers.

Waitress: Pate of fish. Enjoy.  Have you decided on your entrees?

She was looking directly at John, almost accusatory, as if he was gumming up the works in the kitchen.

Waitress:  Would you like me to repeat today’s specials? 

Pelley: No, that won’t be necessary, thank you. I think I’ll have the crepe with the cheese. But no garlic please. 

Suddenly, the image of T’Lea separated from the waitress.  Standing at the side of the table behind the waitress, the Romu-vulc crossed her arms and glared at John.

T’Lea:  Seriously, is she ::at Pelley:: your type?  A flat pancake stuffed with creamed spinach? 

John shook his head and looked over at his glass of champagne: it was still half full, which meant he wasn’t drunk. Then he looked across the table at Katrina, but she just smiled at him and didn’t seem to pay any attention to T’Lea. It was almost as if she hadn’t heard T’Lea’s snarky remark. Or did she choose to simply ignore her? But that didn’t make any sense either. 

oO What the hell is going on here. Oo

Pelley: Are you alright, John. You look a bit spooked. 

Waitress: Monsieur?  Would you like to order now?

T’Lea raised a classic eyebrow, and wagged her head. The waitress stepped through the image and T’Lea disappeared into the void of the hologram.

Kendrick: Uh-

As he looked back up, T'Lea was gone and only the blonde waitress stood at their table. He felt pearls of sweat slowly starting to drip down his forehead. His hands were shaky.

Kendrick: I'm not feeling all too well, actually. ::at Katrina:: I'd rather go back to my quarters to rest. ::feeling awful:: I'm so sorry for ruining our evening.

Pelley: No, it's fine. Don't worry. ::smiles:: But you have to promise me you'll take me out to dinner at the first restaurant that opens in Denali.

Kendrick: Of course. ::relieved:: Absolutely!

They both got up from their chairs.

Pelley: Computer, end program.

As the restaurant and Paris dissolved around them, they headed for the exit. 

((Soldotna Tower, 40th Floor, T’Lea’s Quarters))

From a deep slumber, T’Lea awoke from her twisted bedsheets and glanced around her empty room feeling lost and displaced.  Untangling herself from the covers she sat up on the bed and glanced out of the window across the room.  The foreign landscape was a stark reminder of where she was. She was no longer a resident of Juneau, or away on a secret mission for SFI.  She was at Denali Station, in her quarters.

But the dream felt so real…

Getting up, she wandered across the room and stood near the big window overlooking the grounds below.  The feelings, though fading fast, were very intense.  She rubbed at her face, trying to make sense of it all.  Her reflection in the glass revealed how disturbing the dream had been.  Recalling the circumstances was proving to be a difficult task, and even now the details were blurring into the background of the city lights.

oO Was it about John?Oo

She strained to grasp at the memory.

oO No, it was about a waitress.  In Paris? Oo 

She frowned at her image in the window.

oO How stupid. Oo

She shook her head free of the remains, and wandered into the dining room for a cup of tea, content to forget.

Whatever the dream was about, it was not important enough to remember.  Most dreams weren’t.

END

===

 

Lieutenant Commander T’Lea 

Historian and Archaeological Officer

Denali Station

I238301T10

 

&

 

Lieutenant John Kendrick

Chief Security and Tactical

DENALI STATION

J239801JK3

[+ Vitor S. Silveira]

Loved it. Now if Bullseye need's any advice Sil is available