Joint Log | CO & CSec | Capt. Carpenter & Lt. Lucas | "Devious Dinners"

Posted on 241403.08 @ 6:01pm by Captain Eric Carpenter & Lieutenant Alyssa Lucas

Mission: Where no man has gone before.

= Captain's Private Dining Room =

Dinner with the Chief of Security now. His first meeting with his head of security hadn't gone very well for her, but he did surprise her somewhat, and she'd coped considerably well with it. He'd give her a chance to impress in this informal setting, allowing her to make a good impression. Given that it was dinner, casual wear was permitted, if she so chose.

Aly stood outside the dining room a moment as she glanced down at herself with a furrow of brows. It was dinner, casual dinner.... She tugged a little on the white jeans before running a hand over the soft blue silk blouse. A hard swallow as she pondered the fact that perhaps she should have just stuck with wearing her uniform? This was dinner with the Captain after all. A quick glance at the time told her she didn't have the time now to go back and change. Pushing a strand of auburn hair behind her ear, she gave a confident lift of her chin as she rang the chime. ~Here goes nothing.~ She thought to herself.

The steward opened the door for her, and allowed her to enter. Eric, having long surrendered to the fact that the Steward was going to do keep doing this, rose from his feet. "Lieutenant, welcome. Glad you could come."

Low heels tapped upon the floor with every step taken. Part of the reason she wasn't an overly huge fan of wearing them, but it had seemed just the touch to give her outfit a bit of a classy look. Emerald eyes gave a glance around the area before landing upon the Captain as they appeared before him. "Thank you, Sir, for the invite." She replied as she moved closer towards him and the table.

"Well, I'm touching base with all my officers, now that we've departed, and it gives me a chance to get to know them." He said, offering her a seat. "So try to relax, this is an informal dinner. Just food, drink and conversation."

"Sounds good to me, sir. It's always good to get to know the other members of the ship." Although if they all decided to do that over food, she was going to have to up her exercise program. Sitting down, she gave a glance over the table before her gaze went to Eric once more as that hint of shyness seeped in.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself. I've read your service jacket of course, but that just tells me your abilities and prior postings. Doesn't tell me who you are. If you're going to be the meat-shield between me and some other unforseen threat, might be nice to know who you are." Eric said, sitting back in his chair as the Steward served up a roast chicken dinner.

Aly couldn't help but to ponder his question a moment, she really wasn't a big fan of having to tell someone about herself, after all it could either make her sound conceited or just the opposite. "So you're wanting to know that I can be a bit of a workaholic, and when I'm not working, I'm usually in the holodeck doing some kind of daredevil activity?" She wrapped her fingers around the glass before her. "Of two children, I'm the one that decided to take after my father and grandfather. Something that displeased my mother greatly." Of course that hint of rambling started showing though now as she struggled with her nervous shyness.

"Your father and grandfather were Starfleet officers?" He asked, prompting her to continue.

"Yes, my father was Commander Jonah Lucas and my grandfather was Admiral Tanner Lucas." There was a hint of pride in her voice as she spoke of them. "Both Security officers." She took a bite of the chicken as she studied him some as they talked and ate.

"So there's a bit of family lineage there. What profession was your mother, and therefore what she wanted you to go into?" He asked, as he ate his own chicken.

A drink taken in hopes to cover the subtle tenseness that question caused. " She was a civilian teacher. And far from pleased that I took after the others and my brother took after her... kinda. He's a civilian Cop." She gave a little shrug and decided to turn the tables. "So what about you? What is something we should know about you?"

"Well, I'm a former criminal." He smiled as he sipped his drink. "A different life, that's for sure."

Well, that caught her off guard a moment and she made a mental note to explore the Captains past a little more in her downtime. "Considering where you are now, you must have really made some changes in your life."

"Some, yes." He agreed. "They generally don't let convicts fly their flagships, but I'm still the same person, just different - I guess."

"Perhaps someday you will tell me about it?" Her curiosity was starting to get the better of her now. Of course, anything that took the focus off her was a good thing.

"Not much to tell." He said. "I was a street thug, I got arrested, I turned on the gang, had to leave Earth - Starfleet was that instrument."

"Oh, so nothing overly major." She said with a more relaxed smile as she looked at him. "So what kind of things do you like?" Aly asked before taking a few more bites, enjoying the flavor of the food before her.

"As in hobbies? Food? Women? Crimes?" He responded in a mock-teasing tone.

"I don't even want to know about your women, Captain" She said with a soft chuckle, green eyes sparkling playfully as they joked. "Let's stick with hobbies."

"Martial arts and physical training mostly." He answered. "Or reading a good book, if I get the time."

"Anytime you want company doing those things Sir, I'm free... Well, when I'm off duty that is." That hint of shyness showing through a little as she picked at her food. As confident as she was off duty on duty was a different story. It was why she enjoyed the closeness of a few friends and not a big group. Of course the last time she'd had dinner with a guy not related to her was.... Well, too long.

"Well, I do martial arts exercises at 0600 each morning in the main gymnasium. You're welcome to join me." Eric said.

"I'll remember that." She shifted slightly in her chair as she looked to him. "If I may be so bold, for an informal dinner... This one seems a slight bit formal..." Then again, it could just be here and the fact that she was struggling with being able to relax fully around him.

"Not on my part it isn't." He smirked. "But then being Captain does tend to put people on edge."

Well, he did have a point there and she looked a bit sheepish. "You could be right, I can't say I've ever had dinner with the Captain of the ship before." Of course it was made even harder by the fact that she'd only met the man once so far, so she was still trying to get a feel for him.

"Well, we're going to be working together for a good while to come - being deep space explorers. We'll only have ourselves to rely on out there - lightyears from the fleet. I felt it a good idea to get to know my officers, upon whom I am going to be trusting the management of my ship." He said, simply, as he took a bite of chicken.

"So shall I assume you are going to be one of those Captain's that plan one going on away missions yourself and putting your life in danger often?" She said with a slight smirk.

"Within acceptable limits." He smiled. "I don't know of a single captain who is 'content' to sit up on the bridge and let someone else have all the fun. That's not why we joined Starfleet. However, I'm a reasonable guy, and if the risk is clearly unacceptable, I will acquiesce to the advice of my first officer and chief of security. After all, its you who'll have to protect me, and answer to Starfleet for why I've come to harm."

"Hence the reason I asked that Sir. I wanted to get an idea of how often I'm going to have to save your.... err... you." She said almost jokingly, after all, there was some seriousness to that statement.

"Depends, it might balance out given the number of times I'm going to have to come riding over the horizon as the cavalry when you lot screw up on an away mission." He smiled, serenely.

That brought a little smirk from her. "Hmm.. What little faith you have in your crew, Captain." Though she should have expected it, considering she'd implied she didn't have much faith that he wouldn't get in trouble himself. Oddly enough, it was this bantering back and forth that seemed to have her smiling and joking around much more.

"Expect the best, prepare for the worst." Eric said. "The mantra of the Starfleet Security Corps." He said, and produced a badge from his pocket, a Starfleet Security badge, and plopped it on the table. "Until about two years ago, I had your job on a different ship."

Well, now didn't that just bring her to surprised silence a moment as she glanced from it to Eric. Once more making note to do a bit more research on him. "Hmm, perhaps I should have asked what you did before you got the Captains spot before I teased you about it." She said sheepishly.

"Possibly." He smiled. "But life is a learning experience, would you not agree? Next time, you will investigate further before leaping to a conclusion and a course of action. A lesson everyone in our line of work has to learn."

A blush touched her cheeks now and she quickly lifted that glass for a drink before speaking with a slightly squeaky tone. "Point made, lesson learned Sir." She nipped at her lower lip, quickly trying to recompose herself.

Eric chuckled. "I'd rather you learned it here and now with me, than at a critical moment when your decision could endanger lives. Now, next time, you'll be far more cautious before leaping to conclusions, and that's all to the better. Don't be ashamed you were caught out, learn from it, absorb the lesson, and adapt. I'm not trying to humiliate you, Alyssa, merely better prepare you for your role."

She understood what he was saying, but that didn't stop her from mentally fussing at herself. She was her own worst critic... A blessing or a curse that was. "Aye, Sir. But that was a rookie mistake, not one that a Chief officer should have made." And not in front of the damn Captain!! He was trying to keep the mood light, though, and she worked to follow suit. Though that flustered look was still there, at least her voice had returned to normal.

Somehow Eric knew that she wasn't going to stop beating herself up over the mistake. Perhaps that was for the best, because then she wouldn't repeat it. But it hadn't been his intention to humiliate her. "You've only been chief a week, Lieutenant. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Aly gave a slight nod of her head with that reminder. "True, Likely won't be the only mistake I make as I'm getting adjusted to this new role." Although probably something else one shouldn't have said in front of the man running the Ship, though it was true. "I have the embarrassing one over, the rest shouldn't be near as hard." That light, sparkle once more caught her eyes as she worked to lighten the mood again.

"Well, unless you turn up on duty having forgotten to put your uniform on." Eric cackled. "There was an Ensign on the George, my last command, who overslept, panicked, ran to her duty station, and only realized when she got there, that she was only in her nightclothes. I was a kind department head, and figured the humiliation of turning up on duty in her knickers and bra was sufficient punishment for being late for duty."

Well that got her to laugh and for the moment, everything else was forgotten as she pictured that in her mind with a slight shake of her head. "At least she had 'something' on." After all, some people didn't sleep in anything, not that she was going to say that out loud. "So did you ever do anything that foolish?"

"Well, during an unscheduled drill, when I was a junior officer, we were woken in the night to conduct a weapons drill, and I grabbed what I thought was my phaser and ran out into the hall for inspection - to discover I was holding a banana." He chuckled. "My CO at the time didn't know whether to reprimand me or what... in the end he did though."

Aly chuckled and took a drink. "Is it safe to assume the other members didn't let you live that one down either?" she asked, knowing she wouldn't have if she'd been there, more than likely she'd have sent him a bushel of banana's.

"Light hearted ribbing is all part of the game." Eric said, scowling slightly. "And yes, they were rather mean."

"Can say that again. If one can't handle being teased by the other for doing something silly, they are going to struggle all the way. At least that's how I feel." She remembered well when she'd been the brunt of the joke herself.

Dinner was finished in short order, and cleared away. Eric stood from his chair and smiled. "Well, its been a very pleasant evening, Lieutenant. Thank you for coming."

Aly hadn't even realized the time or how long they had been talking till the dishes were being picked up. And she still had a lot of things to do before the night was up! Rising, she looked to him with an easygoing smile. "It was an interesting evening, Captain. Thank you for the invite."

"See you in the morning." He said, which was her cue to depart.

"Aye, Sir." With that, she moved to head out. And then took the long way to her quarters with the need to think some more.

= End Log =

Captain Eric Carpenter
Commanding Officer
USS Enterprise
NCC-1701-F

Lt Alyssa Lucas
CSec
USS -Enterprise