Reporting In (Finally)

Posted on Sun Mar 18th, 2018 @ 3:09pm by Lieutenant Elodie Raintree & Captain Enalia Telvan

Mission: Curing the Black Blood
Location: Captain's Ready Room, USS Hera
Timeline: Before Checking in with the XO

Elodie Raintree, Elle to most everyone who knew her, crossed the Bridge, quiet now that the ship was in for repairs, and stopped at the Captain's Ready Room door.Slim and on the short side of average, her physical presence could never be considered imposing nor did she want it to be. Her uniform was neat and presentable, her hair, black and the kind of straight that defied even the most determined efforts to be otherwise, hung to mid-back and was tucked behind her ears. What stood out about Elle were here eyes. Gray, which was rare for a Betazoid, and brimming in equal measure with a lively intelligence and interest in the world around her. She pressed the door chime and waited, hoping that the crewman who'd directed her here hadn't been misinformed.

While the bridge had been replaced during the Hera's Intel themed refit some time ago, Enalia's ready room , while it had gotten a face lift, had not gotten any bigger. Apparently there were only so many square meters available in the standardized bridge module layout in this saucer socket type. As the door chime went off, Enalia set aside her 14th century replica tea cup and pressed the door control to reveal just who she hoped would be visiting her soon. "Come in and have a seat. I was just looking over the repair docket again so you have perfect timing. You're our new Chief Counselor? Ellie Raintree? Did I get that right?"

Elle entered and took the offered seat, tucking one foot up underneath her from long habit. "Yes, Captain, I am though its Elle, like the letter. You know, that's a lovely design," she said as she nodded in the direction of the tea cup. "What kind of tea do you drink?"

"My apologies then. The records aren't the sharpest when it comes to personal preference at times." Enalia held up the tea cup and saucer set with a smile. "Thank you. It's a replica of one of the originals in my collection. It was used by Guar 'de Ru'mon over a thousand years ago on Trill. As for my tea, it's an herbal concoction my wife prepared for me. It's supposed to bring the color back to my face and the pep back to my step. Normally I'd drink a nice chamomile or chocolate mint tea, but she insists."

"I've never tried chocolate mint," Elle said, "which is saying something. I love tea and am always trying something new though I do have my favorites. A friend sent me some Dragonwell recently, if you're interested, I'll bring you some to try."

Enalia beamed brightly at the prospect. "I'd love to. I'll have to let you raid my supply of teas as well sometime. And if you prefer alcohol or coffee, I have a supply of both of those as well. Since I never took a yeoman, I converted the quarters assigned for them into a small distillery and storage facility. Captain's prerogative."

"I have a small hoard of my own, " Elle said and smiled in return, delighted at the prospect of trying new teas, "though mine's tucked into a small chest in my quarters generally. You're welcome to anything I have, Captain. May I ask what it is you distill?"

"Moonshine, whiskey, and brandy for the most part. Things that you'll want to mix with other things or slowly sip over ice." Enalia grinned as she reached into her desk to pull out a wine bottle with a rather ostentatious purple label with five rather deadly looking exes in the shape of bones scrawled across it and handed it to Elle. "Consider this a welcome aboard gift?"

"Thank you," Elle said as she accepted the bottle, inspecting the unusual design, and cocking her head slightly to one side. "An interesting label. What is it exactly? And also, what is moonshine? I know whiskey and brandy having tasted both back at the Academy." She wrinkled her nose slightly, bouncing her head back and forth a time or two. "Liked brandy better than straight whiskey but really liked bourbon." She offered up a wry grin. "Which I found out later is a type of whiskey."

"It's mostly alcohol. That is a bottle of moonshine. Highly explosive, so watch where you store it. I recommend either sipping it very slowly over ice or mixing it with tea or juice." Enalia chuckled softly. "It used to be made outside the law and as close to pure as possible, but the Artan family moonshine tends to be made from berries and syrups rather than grains so it has a bit more flavor. One of the perks of being the heiress of a pirate empire is inheriting the recipes and methods of creating the family booze."

"I'll be ... cautious ... with it," she said as she cradled the bottle in one arm. "If I might ask, how did you go from the child of a pirate to the Captain of a Starship?"

Enalia leaned back in her chair thoughtfully. "I guess I wanted a normal life and with my outgoing personality, then the joining... Some bribes from my mother... I kind of had a fast track to the Captain's chair. Now that I'm the sole heir to the Artan family though... And my mother being retired... I probably shouldn't make Starfleet a lifelong career. And I'll need to come up with the next generation of Artans somehow."

"You may just be," Elle said as the corner of her mother quirked upward slightly, "the first starship captain I've met to say so." Her index finger found the edge of the label and smoothed a rough spot with short strokes. "An interesting way to phrase it." She cocked her head slightly to one side. "Are you interested in having children one day?"

"That's the classical method of providing an heir..." Enalia replied with a chuckle. "And it's the only way that's traditionally recognized in any pirate family so eventually I'll have to settle down and do so. Having a holographic wife, that's a bit problematic... But I'm sure once word gets out, there'll be no limit to the number of potential donors. Anything else you'd like to know about my back history? Am I crazier than you expected?"

"Apologies, Captain. This isn't an evaluation and I hope it didn't come across as such. I confess to being naturally curious, a trait exacerbated by my profession and culture. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave and get on to my next appointment."

Enalia nodded. "I've had a few surreptitious evals in my career so I tend to expect them now. Have a good day. If you ever need anything, my door is almost always open. If you need a massage, my wife is the ship's masseuse."

"Thank you, Captain ..." she said as she held up the bottle, "for everything."