Happy Valentine's Day!

Posted on Wed Feb 20th, 2019 @ 10:30am by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Mona Gonadie

Mission: Recovery Trek
Location: Observation Lounge Seventeen, Port Pylon
Timeline: 2396

While Mona had been looking forward to this a while now and planning it out to excruciating detail, she was nervous. The USS Hera was full of refugees still, even though they were at DS9. Offloading them all and getting everyone sorted would take considerable time yet, apparently. Either way, that didn't stop her from trying to plan the next date with her Minay.

She had planned out a meal based on the computer's recommendation. Hopefully, she hadn't screwed that up, though it was a bit unsavory to her... She wanted her love to be happy though, above all else. Hence how she was now preparing a meal with beef stew and boneless Asian hot wings for Dox and a ham and egg souffle for herself. For the drink, she had swiped a bottle of plum wine from the Captain's stash.

As for the location, she chose a nice secluded observation lounge that was actually built into where the port nacelle meets the pylon. Though calling it a lounge was a bit of a stretch... It was little more than a table, six chairs, and a replicator. The retracting wall that opened into space had a perfect view of the wormhole though, as long as it opened. And with a forcefield rather than transparent aluminum between them and space, their view of it would be completely unhindered in any way.

With the food in place on the white cloth covered table and a few electronic candles in place, Mona nodded and sat down to wait, tucking the green and white short-hemmed dress under her as she did so.

The wait wasn't long, as Mnhei'sahe Dox had stepped, somewhat nervously, from the turbolift to the corridor to the observation lounge. Managing the offloading of refugees was taking not only.the.transporters, bit coordination with the Hera's Runabouts as well and Dox had been running a bit behind taking care of the scheduling. But she had made the extra time to stop in her quarters and change for her evening.

She had been looking forward to it all day and couldn't wait for her shift to finally end. As she stepped into the lounge, she caught the aroma of the meal first and her stomach rumbled. She was wearing a mid-length, low cut rich purple dress with a black shawl over her shoulders. As she caught sight of Mona, time seemed to stand still. Framed against the view of space, Dox swallowed nervously as her anxiety began to kick in at how beautiful Mona was.

"Hi." She awkwardly whispered as she stepped in with a broad grin.

"Hey," Mona replied, a yellow flush spreading across her finer feathers as she stood to greet her love and give her a quick kiss. "I asked the computer what you liked and made something for you. I hope you like it. I um... I'll be eating something different though..."

Looking at the table, Dox noticed the meat heavy dishes that, while she admittedly loved, she felt.extremely self-conscious about since she started seeing Mona romantically. "It smells wonderful... uh."

Hemming slightly as she talked, she walked over with Mona to the table, holding her hand as she did. "But... are you okay with this? I mean, I know it's all replicated, but... I've been cutting this all out since we... started being serious."

The nervousness was palpable as Mnhei'sahe got to the table. "I don't want to upset you and there's plenty of other stuff to eat."

"Actually, while I replicated the ingredients, I cooked them all myself. And I just want you to be happy. If.. uh... If it's not that good, let me know. It's my first time." Mona helped Dox into her chair, then slipped into her own chair.

With her nerves starting to settle, Dox smiled. "If it's anywhere near as good as the dinner you made for... ya'know... the party, I'm sure I'm going to love it." Dox referred to the 'coming out' party Mona had thrown a couple of months ago now. It was a party Mona planned FOR Dox, but Dox tended to be slightly self-conscious about that fact. It was the first time that the young Romulan woman began to realize that she had developed feelings for her Miradonian officemate.

"I borrowed a few spices and the wine from the Captain's stores. She's let me do it before so... I really hope it turned out ok. I'm not used to cooking ch... Chicken... Or beef..." Mona looked a bit sheepish as she fidgeted. "They cook a lot differently than porcine..."

Noticing Mona's own anxiety, Dox pushed back in her chair, stood up and carried it around to her side of the table where she sat back down next to her. "Mona, your cooking is fantastic. I love it. But... I love you more. I don't want.you to feel bad at all, but I hope you understand when I say that I can't eat the wings."

Gesturing lightly to the chicken. "Replicated meat or not, I've stopped eating chicken for a few weeks now. I just can't. I'm so sorry that this made you uncomfortable especially with all the work you put into it. And the stew smells delicious."

Leaning her head over against Mona's, Dox continued. "I know we're both flying in... uncharted space here. But we can do this. I know we can."

the brightly plumed Miradonian leaned into Dox and took a deep, calming breath, letting it out slowly. "I'm not made of chicken. I supposedly taste like it... Kind of look like an Earth parrot... I was teased about it in the Academy... During cultural sensitivity training, I was a target for the Professor's attentions since my people are technically considered an early warp culture and new to the Federation... But seriously, after everything I'd been through to get there, I wasn't the one that needed the lessons..."

She then nuzzled tenderly on Dox. "And you need to know that you don't need to cut anything out of your diet because of any associations you may have between me and a creature that I have a passing resemblance to on a world half a quadrant away from mine. Now... You've tasted me... Do I taste like chicken?"

"Cultural sensitivity training was anything but, wasn't it? That's where I got outed as a Romulan which turned my first year at the academy into... well... what it became." Mnhei'sahe put her hand on Mona's knee. "I know what you are. You're not a parrot. You're not a chicken. You're Al'thindor, the Great Phoenix."

Tilting her head to look into Mona's eyes. "Before the Rihannsu worshiped power, we worshiped the elements. And before we worshiped the elements, we worshiped Al'thindor." She smiled over at Mona. "That makes so much sense to my now. As for my diet, I don't need chicken when I can taste eternity."

And almost as if Dox had planned it, behind them in space, the wormhole burst open like a great flower exploding in color in the vastness of space.

While Mona was caught a bit off guard by the sudden swirls of colors, what she was more interested in was the colors splashing across Dox's face. "Oh Minay, you always know just how to get to me." Without any further hesitation, she pulled Dox in for a passionate kiss under the light of the Temple of the Prophets.