Joint Personal Log - CO & CINTEL - aCapt Rhodes & LtCmdr Rinehart - "The Danger of Desire" pt I

Posted on 241407.10 @ 8:06pm by Commander Tierney Rinehart & Acting Captain Mark Rhodes

=*=Corridor=*=

Tierney's heart beat a wild tattoo as she winged down the corridors at that late hour. Her feet moved swiftly, never pausing, only barely hesitating from breaking into the jog her heart and soul yearned she pick up in order to find safety more quickly.

Safety, however, was a relative term for promised death lay in the lion's lair she was headed towards. Casablanca had given way to a successful dealing with Nug and from there? Rhodes. Rhodes, who had promised his senior crew her death if they so much as suspected she was thinking about turning towards the dark side of the Federation, was what lay in that grim corner of the ship.

It didn’t matter. What had to be done, had to be done and she played the willing martyr entirely way too well.

A short lift ride and a final scurry across the bridge brought her to his ready room where she pressed the chime and waited for his answer by guarding her back.

=*=Captain's Ready Room=*=

"Come," called acting Captain Mark Rhodes from inside of the Ready Room. He had been there late into the night shift reading rounds of reports that have come in from Department Heads. "Commander? What brings you by at this late hour?" asked Mark.

"News of your ship." She replied as she stepped off the bridge and into the relative safety of the ready room. "The Ferengi and I have reached an accord." The addition nearly sent tingles of euphoria down her spine knowing it meant she'd bought herself more time.

"Interesting," mused Mark. "How long before they send the goods and what was the going rate?"

The Commander soothed her tongue along her lower lip, quelling her burning nerves. The game had changed. "I sign and we'll have her in twenty-four hours. The agreement is we sell them technology and purchase supplies from them exclusively." She responded, deadpan. "If they didn't accept that, I'd have offered myself in trade."

"We won’t be exclusive with them... we are getting the ship so we can go on a supply run," said Mark. "If we get medical supplies through them, someone will trace it back to us. Ships are easy, but medicine is tricky. We just don't let them know we are not buying from them right?"

Tierney nodded "I never said what kind of supplies." She shrugged in earnest. Screwing the Ferengi was an easy task in theory, but one that still let further bitterness creep its fingers tighter around her intrepid little heart.

"Understood. Well, good job Commander," said Mark. "On this upcoming away mission I want you to keep an ear open and see what you can find out officially and unofficially when it comes to news chatter. I know you are good at finding out information that no one else seems to know."

"That I am." The little redhead nodded, pushing a strand of hair back behind an ear, "but at this point very few will talk near me let alone to me. I'll do my best."

The gold star he offered did little to console her aside from tempting the dying flame of her hope. She studied him a good long minute, taking advantage of their relative positions to trace his strong facial features and the line of his shoulders with her eyes. This wasn't a bad man. He wasn't the enemy -- he was simply a man in a Godforsaken situation, damned if he trusted her and damned if he didn't.

There was a moment of silence as Mark watched his Chief of Intelligence study him very carefully, noting how she toyed with her hair. Now that he sat there in that silence he started to notice her too. Up until this moment she may have been with him or against him, but in this silence she was innocent, warm… cute.

Then he blurted out something that he had not expected himself to say, especially to her: "I... uh, was just going to head back to my quarters for some dinner... I was... curious if you would maybe like to join me?" he asked turning a light shade of red.
Tierney's head tilted to one side, canting to serve her a sidelong view of the Captain. Dinner? Blushing? Mere hours ago he promised a kill shot at her expense and, yet, here she was considering him as a man, not the rugged engineer turned Captain, but a man.

God forbid her secrets shed to his knowledge, God forbid it was a trap, her death after procuring their survival an escape. The less cynical side of the young officer yearned for the warmth she'd lost when she parted from Kerenal before any romance could bloom. She was lonely and fear gave way... for now. "I could eat." She nodded quietly, taking his offer in a gentle fashion.

He stood and started walking towards the door before pausing in thought for a second and turned back to Tierney who was still seated and likely somewhat confused by Mark's sudden rush towards the door. The Captain walked back to where she was and took her by the hand, guiding her out of his office, across the bridge and into the turbolift. The night shift officer barely had time to notice what had just happened and blinked his bleary eyes. "Deck 2," he called as the door closed. "So, what would you like for dinner. I am a world famous cook you know?"

Blinking, Tierney once again rested her focus on the man's face as she stood and allowed him to lead her across the bridge. Somewhere, and of this she was certain, her grandfather was watching and chuckling at the Captain's bold move. The ship would be talking about it for months, how he consorted with a traitor, or would it be that she seduced him to save her own hide? She shook her head. It didn't matter.

"What's your specialty?" She asked, settling against the lift wall. "I find it's always best to let the chef choose. They know their strengths."

"Well let me clarify. I am a damn good engineer who knows how to fine tune a replicator. Tastes just like your mother made it... but I still haven't figured out how to convince the replicator to let me make real alcohol," said Mark as they entered his quarters.

=*=The Captain's Quarters=*=

Mark had just finished the last of the moving earlier that day and his quarters were decorated for an engineer. Ancient tools such as a crescent wrench and wooden meter stick sat on a shelf. There was even an ancient west revolver sitting on a shelf, but that was a story for a different time.

"So how about this..." he said walking to the replicator. "'Broccoli Chicken Alfredo, garlic bread-sticks warm.'" a few seconds later 2 plates appear and Mark picked them up moving them to his dinner table.

"While we're being honest, I assure you that you're better with a replicator than my mother ever was with real food." The redhead offered him a smile as she watched him move about his quarters, "She could burn water." She added and turned her attention to his choice of décor, some of the pieces were downright fascinating.

"No fancy dinner is complete without..." started Mark as he walked to his bookshelf and moved a few books on the top shelf out of the way to reveal a small door that opened to the his personal stock of real libations. He took a bottle of wine out of the cabinet and hid the door again with books. He replicated 2 wine glasses and took put these on the table. Last but not least he pulled out a chair for the lady, "ma'am."

A smile again lit het normally reserved and stoic features and she moved to set upon the offered chair like a bird coming to rest on a branch. "Wine, good Italian cooking. Chivalry hasn't died in the house of Rhodes, has it?" She asked, opening a napkin and resting it in her lap.

"You don't know the half of it," he said with a boyish smile. He stopped back at the replicator and acquired a lit candle and placed it on the table. Finally taking his seat he called out, "Computer, dim lights to 60%. Access music database, start with Luck Be A Lady, Frank Sinatra, Earth and follow with others in that category, volume low." The brilliant vocals of Frank Sinatra started to play softly in the background as the lights dimmed a bit. "There we are. A proper dinner, a proper setting and a proper dame to share with," said Mark with a meaningful grin.

"No. I suppose I don't." She mused to them both, watching the way he masterfully moved about his quarters, the way the candlelight played along the contours of his jaw and the fullness of his lower lip as he sat. The sudden dip of the lights made her breath catch and her heart quicken until she realized they weren't quite low enough for anything more than an imperceptible dewey glow, something easily passed by and attributed to any number of things, the least of which being alien.

It was almost her turn to blush at his words, the music and the smell of the food all stealing away at even the toughest of her barriers. "You flatter me. Hard to believe just a few hours ago you threatened to waste me in your observation lounge." She teased, plucking a breadstick.

"Indeed," said Mark taking a sip of wine. "Isn't it funny how I run a ship?" he said with a wink. "So enough about duty, I want to know about Tierney if that is alright? Why bog down a wonderful night with talk of work?"

"Very much so." She replied, popping a piece of bread in her mouth, savoring the wonderful comfort garlic and butter could bring to the soul. She relaxed a bit, sinking into her seat just a little more as he spoke. "What's there to know?" She shrugged with a wry smile. "I grew up on Earth, spent summers in Martha's Vineyard because my father thought it was vogue to follow the footsteps of the Kennedy family. I still wonder, honestly, why America was so enamored with them way back when, but..." she shrugged again, sipping at her wine, "that's not for me to decide on. I love old Earth classics, the more melancholy the better. Wine either makes me giddy or sleepy and I have a penchant for reading a good novel. The rest you'll have to wait and see for yourself."

Tierney surprised herself by being so candid, by allowing herself to slip into this new role. It wasn't the gentle magic of Kerenal, but it was refreshing, new and energizing. She couldn't help but welcome it.

"I always enjoyed the eastern seaboard," said Mark. "I grew up on a small island in Lake Huron, Mackinaw Island. It was a heck of a place to grow up. It was unique because technology never seemed to catch up there. They say that's why I was driven to become an engineer."

Another smile, this one far away from the nervousness that had plagued her -- genuine and warm, "I can see why. There's few places left like that on Earth and part of me wants to be able to retire and explore them eventually. My father would sooner break my neck before he'd allow me to retire before reaching flag status." She chuckled and shook her head. "It's a dysfunctional family, based heavily on pride and honor. You'd honestly think we were Klingon."

--- to be continued in part II ---

Acting Captain Mark Rhodes
Commanding Officer
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-F

Lieutenant Commander Tierney Rinehart
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS ENTERPRISE