old faces new places

Posted on 09 Jun 2024 @ 6:49am by 2nd Lieutenant Cassandra Mathews & Master Sergeant Thomas Zang

2,057 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: Theo - Marines Galley

The day had moved quickly. Cassandra had finished reporting in with Falk. She'd stowed her gear. Gotten her posted assignments for her time on the Theo. Just the usual basics. A few watches, mostly training and briefings. Probably all revolving around the mission to come. It was near lunch now and having nothing pressing to do she headed for the main galley to find something to eat. She hadn't had much of anything minus the coffee she'd shared with C'Tirr when she had first gotten up this morning. It felt like ages ago. Already she missed Martha and C'Tirr very much.

The galley was not very busy just yet. Cassandra found herself with ample choice in places to sit. Grabbing a tray from the replicator she settled on a chicken sandwich and a salad with an apple. She kept with the coffee. It helped to keep her sharp right now.

Thomas walked in from having just did some training in the gym and was dressed in sweatpants and a white t shirt. His hair clung to his head as he moved to the replicator. He ordered a steak, eggs and potatoes with a large glass of ice water and a cup of coffee. He turned to look for a place to sit and smiled when he caught sight of Cass. He headed her way and stopped next to her. "Room for one more?" he asked with his typical grin.

She had just finished her sandwich. His voice seemed to bring an automatic smile to her face. "Well hot damn. Have a seat. You got invited to the party." She said obviously happy to see him. She patted the bench beside her as though she'd been saving it for him the entire time. "I'm glad your here."

Thomas smiled as he took the indicated seat. "Thank you. I stopped by early this morning hoping to catch you before you left but you were already gone." He took a quick bite of his potatoes and eggs then spoke again. "I ended up having breakfast with C'tirr and Martha though that was pretty pleasant." He took a bite of his steak and chewed it as he smiled at her.

"I bet it was. I hope C'Tirr didn't give you to hard of a time. He can be a bit protective. Though I will admit he seems to have focused that more on Martha these days than myself." There was a sound of relief in her voice. "Was Martha doing alright?" She couldn't help but ask. "She was still asleep when I left earlier. I feel pretty lousy about that. "

Thomas let out a chuckle as he swallowed his food. "He was great, and Martha was doing good too, I brought her some oatmeal with strawberries and blueberries in it and she loved it. C'tirr ate the food i had brought for you though." He took a long drink of his water, downing over half of it.

"That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you. I bet she made a mess of it." Cassandra chuckled. "Poor C'Tirr."

Images of Martha eating so daintily and cleanly ran through Thomas's head and he let out a chuckle. "Nothing the two of us couldn't handle to be honest. She was on her best behavior, and I told her to hold my figurine until I have a safer place to keep it though I did try to give it to her." He said as he ate a bit more of his food.

"That's very nice. You really don't need to give her things. I mean I don't want you to feel like you need to do that. Just getting to hang out with you is its own gift ya know." Cassandra said before starting a few bites into her side salad.

"I actually wanted to give it to her, I'm sure my father would have wanted someone like her to have it." Thomas said with a casual shrug. "I enjoy having a friend to chat with too. I hope to make a good friend of C'tirr as well and for that, I need to let him know I am a good guy. What better than by making friends with the child." He shot her a grin.

"Ah. Okay." Cassandra said, "To be honest you don't need to get close to Martha to be friends with my brother. Just go out and do guy things together. He's actually very easy to get along with. If anything, getting close to Martha might make him think you have ulterior motives. Best to adjust your strategy there." She suggested.

"I'll take that into consideration and adjust my tactics." Thomas said before he downed the rest of his water and took a drink of the coffee as it had cooled down enough as to not burn his mouth. "So, what do you do for fun and relaxation these days?" He asked.

Cassandra took a moment to think about the question. Lately her world had been revolving around Martha. Before that she didn't really do much in the way of fun. Just duty. "I ... I don't know. It's been a while since I had anything fun to do. Or anyone to have fun with. I honestly couldn't say."

"There has to be something you like to do, dancing, singing, hiking or just reading." Thomas said with a chuckle. "I like to go hunting and camping." He thought a moment before he spoke again. "We will have to go camping on the holodeck one of these days. I'm sure Martha would love it. I could teach her how to go fishing."

"That actually does sound like fun. I haven't done any recreational fishing or camping in a long time. We could even go on a nature hike." Cassie suggested finding herself to be rather excited about the idea. "Hey Tommy, I was just thinking. Since we don't really know anyone else here you wanna be bunk buddies? It can give us more opportunities to make plans and to help each other out. What do you think?" She suggested. It was a bit out of the blue perhaps. Still, she knew he was very detail oriented, and he didn't snore. So, his bunk would always be neat, and she would not lose any sleep at night. Plus, she trusted him impeccably. She couldn't say that about many people.

Thomas thought a moment before he replied. "It all depends on what Captain Falk says, you are an officer and I'm only enlisted. I'm not sure if that would work but as for the extracurricular activities, they sound like fun. I'm sure that Martha and even C'tirr would like that once we got back to StarBase 51." He quickly finished his food then took a long drink from his coffee to wash it down.

Cassandra nodded. She had no intention of bothering Mazal about it. Nor would she bother Thomas about it again. She had overstepped if not leapt over a few social barriers in her excitement. She would need to take a few steps back now. He kept bringing up C'Tirr and Martha. Maybe he was just interested in her family as a group? He had no family of his own. Cassandra understood how that was. She must have made him feel uncomfortable. Angry at herself she managed a half smile through her humiliation. She attempted to back pedal quickly. "I'm sorry about that. I was out of line. I didn't mean it as anything but being friendly. As to camping and stuff when we get back, I'm sure the two of them will like it very much..." she could feel her cheeks burning. "Excuse me I better head off. I have a lot of things to do before departure. See you around." She got up with her tray and attempted to move away quickly.

Thomas reached out a hand and caught Cass by the arm gently. "You didn't overstep your bounds as a friend Cass. I would really enjoy being bunk mates if its allowed." He shot her his boyish grin.

"Yeah, I did. I didn't stop to think about what I was saying. What it might sound like or look like for that matter. Your right. As an officer there are certain expectations that need to be considered. Not to mention regulations to be observed. Truth is that I wasn't looking at the situation objectively as I should have. I just saw an opportunity to spend some time with a good friend of mine. That's unprofessional. It's also showing favoritism. Both are unbecoming of a person of my rank." Those blue eyes had grown darker. "It's probably best if we limit our activities together to training and mission-based things until we get back to Star base fifty-one."

Thomas was standing now he reached out and took her tray setting it down swiftly. Realizing now just what he'd said. He hadn't meant to drag rank into this. He understood her reaction completely.
"Cassandra. Please. I didn't mean to bring up rank in this. We are friends." He put his other hand on her other arm. "Can we just rewind things back five minutes and go back to being happy to see each other?" He asked.

He could see it in her eyes. Those dark cobalt blue eyes. She wanted to say yes. He was right however with what he'd said. Back on star base fifty-one they could be friends. They could afford the luxury of forgetting rank and just enjoying each other's company. That ended the moment they'd checked into the Theo. She was a superior officer and with that came certain expectations. Even if they could forget the last five minutes of conversation it wouldn't have changed the facts of the matter. Eventually they would have had to face this truth.

"Master Sargeant Zang, I will always be happy to see you. I really must go." Cassandra said her voice was that of an officer. Her eyes betrayed her sadness at the necessity of it.

Thomas regretted the transformation. Six years ago, he'd worked hard to break through that barrier. It had taken three months of near constant death for them to reach the point of throwing rank to the wind. The monsters they'd faced didn't care, nor had there been any Starfleet to give a damn. They had survived. Still for those dark weeks cut off from everyone and everything they knew they had all grown close to each other. They had talked about family and homes, about the things they missed and wanted to return to. To live for. It had kept moral up. Had reminded them just what they were fighting for. In those days they had functioned as a unit, a singular thing hell bent on finding a way home. Cassandra had kept them alive and led them home. He had an idea how to break through this armor again. "Distance yourself all you want Mathews." He gave her that boyish grin again a little extra charm. "We both know I'm still your favorite."

It took a moment. But only just, Cassandra couldn't stop herself. First, she smiled. A full toothy smile and then she broke into a hearty laugh. "Fair enough." She finally said. "No need to go making it obvious though."

"Made you laugh, I'm off the hook." Thomas said with a laugh of his own. "When we're off duty, we're friends." He pulled her in quickly for an embrace.

She made the hug brief. "Your never off the hook. I'm just giving you slack so I can reel you in easier. That's all." She quipped before pushing gently back. "Now oh favored one I do have things to do." She grabbed her tray again from where it had been discarded. "Do try to stay out of trouble. Being my favorite doesn't carry much weight around here. So don't go pressing your luck." With that she turned again headed for the recycling unit.

Thomas watched her go and chuckled to himself. He turned and glanced around the room before grabbing his own tray and disposing of it as well. He headed off to get changed and report for duty.

OFF:

Master sergeant Thomas Zang
sniper/demolitions 95th rifles

 

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