Wining, Dining and Talking - Part I

Posted on Fri May 30th, 2025 @ 9:11pm by Captain Robert Burke & Lieutenant JG Gianna De Luca

2,394 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: EPISODE 1: SHAKEDOWN
Location: USS Hecate, Gia's Quarters
Timeline: MD032 - 1830hrs

ON:

It had been a few days since Gia and Robert had spoken over breakfast and for some reason she had suggested a dinner to learn more about each other. Not in that way, but in a friendly, 'get to know who you're going to be spending the next five years with' kind of way.

As a result she was now in her quarters, following the recipe her mother had written and was trying to not mess it up. Spaghetti Bolognese, something simple, with a few secret herbs and spices to make it super special. So far, the sauce had gone everywhere and Gia was pretty sure she had forgotten something too.

Checking the time via the computer, Gia realised that Robert, sorry, the Captain, would be arriving sooner than she expected. She was just getting the pasta going on the little stove top when the chime rang. "Come in!" she called out.

Opting for a less formal look, Burke had selected a simple light-blue button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows and neatly tucked into chinos with a brown belt and brown loafers. Adjust his glasses at the call, he stepped through and smiled, glancing this way and that around Gia's quarters, curious as to what she had done with the place.

'Good evening,' he said softly. He smiled at her, and opened the little gift-bag he'd brough with him. 'I thought I'd bring some wine, as you so kindly offered to cook dinner.'

Gia smiled as he walked in, feeling a little more than relieved he hadn't made a big deal of it, "Thank you for being able to make it." Taking off the apron she'd been wearing to protect her clothes, she came and greeted him, "I promise dinner is almost ready, I've only got a few more things to do, so please make yourself at home." She quietly appreciated his outfit choice, noting that it was a good look to see higher ups out of uniform and being normal.

The outfit she'd chosen was a tight fitting dark purple v-neck tank top tucked loosely into a pair of flowy black pants with a pair of soft black slides. Her hair was straightened and a pair of simple gold hoop earrings and her family medallion that hung on a simple gold chain completed the look. It wasn't anything fancy, unlike what Robert was wearing, but it was comfort to her.

"Did you want to open the wine, or save that for later? Completely up to you with that," she said as she walked back to check on the food.

'It'll need some time to air for it to taste it's best,' Burke replied, quietly appreciating Gia's look for the evening. It was classy, without being fussy, which he appreciated. 'And don't worry if food isn't completely ready - I can lend a hand if you'd like? I feel I'm taking advantage of your hard work otherwise,' Burke said with a wide smile.

"I promise you're not taking advantage of everything," Gia assured him as she pushed her hair back behind her ears so it didn't annoy her. "I only just put the pasta on, so that's still a few minutes away, and other than that, there's not really that much else to be done. Unless you want to grate some cheese or something?"

She sipped on the glass of water sitting near the stove. "And I would normally offer for you to taste the sauce if you wanted to, but I'd prefer the taste to be a surprise."

'If you want it to be a surprise, I can wait,' Burke replied. 'But let me grate the cheese at least - I'll just wash my hands first.' Making his way to the sink, he ran his hands under the water, found the soap and cleaned his hands. Satisfied they were clean, he cast about, looking for a tea towel or other method to dry his hands.

Gia passed him the towel to dry his hands with, "How's your day been? I feel like I haven't seen you descend to the lower decks for a while now, so welcome. It's plenty of fun down here." She laughed at her own little joke as she stirred the sauce a bit more and turned the heat right down.

He chuckled at the joke. 'It's true, I've been kept busy,' he replied, fetching the cheese and the grater and starting his work, 'it's been quite a job crossing the border, as you know from the other day. There's been a bit of back and forth between us, the Klingons and Starfleet Command. But so far, the Klingons have left us well alone, even if they're circling and waiting for provocation.' Burke shrugged, 'besides, I'm not sure the Lower Decks would enjoy having their Commanding Officer wandering about all the time - everyone deserves their time off from the brass to relax, you know?

She leaned against the bench once she was satisfied with the progress of dinner and looked at him, "I'm not a strategist, but I think as long as there's no provocation on either side, the Klingons should be respectful of our mission here, right. I mean, don't they pride themselves on being honorable?" Sipping from the water again, Gia added with another laugh, "And yes, the Lower Decks do deserve some time to relax for a bit, as long as they don't get too comfortable and forget where they are."

'I'm sure you'll keep them in check if they do forget where they are,' Burke replied, and considered her answer about the Klingons. 'And you might not be a strategist, but you have their psychology down to a tee. The Imperial Fleet likely won't attack as we're leading a convoy of relief supplies after Praxis exploded. Some of the Great or Minor Houses might chance their luck, however. It's unlikely while the Jaj is escorting us though.' He looked at the heap of cheese in front of him. 'Is this enough?'

Gia nodded in response and smiled as she laughed, "I'm sure that's plenty of cheese. An excess of cheese, if anything. I think you need to pass me the grater," she held her hand out to him. "I think on the Klingon situation though, we should stop talking about work related topics and start talking instead about others things like this amazing dinner that's now done, maybe?" She raised an eyebrow at him as she moved past him to go and get the pasta to drain it.

He sheepishly handed her the grater, and nodded, 'got it, no shop talk.' Burke popped his head over the pot of Bolognese and breathed deep. 'It smells wonderful. You've added something extra to it, no? I know every Bolognese is different depending on the chef, but still. There's definitely something different about this one.'

"Once you've eaten it, I'll tell you what was in it and I know you'll laugh at how simple an ingredient it is," She gave him a knowing look as she put the grater down and moved to take the pasta off the stove. Draining all but a small amount of pasta water, Gia poured some olive oil into the pot to give it the glossy texture before mixing it, grabbing a fork and twirling the pasta onto each plate, "Do you think the wine would be ready to be poured? It's been a little while now it's been open for."

'Of course,' Burke moved to pick up the bottle. Looking about, he saw the places Gia had set for them with precision. It seemed she didn't do anything by halves. He poured the wine carefully into the two glasses, noting they weren't the usual Starfleet-issue, and assumed that she must have brought them with her when they transferred. Wiping the opening of the bottle, he made sure it didn't drip and stain anything. 'I must say I'm looking forward to this - do you get the chance to cook often?'

"Unfortunately, I don't," Gia said with a bit of a grimace as she spooned some of the mince and sauce onto each plate, draining off the excess fluid before putting it on. No one likes excess sauce liquids on their plates, "When I get the chance and I can get the ingredients, I try and cook like my ma or my nonna and I end up making way too much for one person." She laughed as she moved on to putting a reasonable amount of cheese on top of each dish, followed by some basil and some freshly cracked pepper.

Stepping back to look at her creation, Gia smiled and looked between Robert and the food, "There we go. my nonna's spaghetti bolognese, topped with parmesan cheese and freshly cracked pepper." She picked up the two plates and took them over to the table before returning to the kitchen and opening the oven to take out the garlic bread and put it on two side plates. "Can't forget this either. Home made too."

'Home made garlic bread is to die for,' Burke sighed as he moved to the table. 'One of my friends growing up was from Italian extraction as well. I swear his mother made the best garlic bread in the Sol system. It was a bit like a small pizza covered in garlic oil and it was just ... sublime.' He waited for Gia to take a seat and took his. He raised his glass, 'to a good meal, and good conversation.'

"To a good meal, and good conversation," Gia echoed as she raised her own glass and smiled. "I know exactly the type of bread you're referring to as well, my ma makes something similar and I agree, it was pretty amazing to the point she'd always make it for me whenever I came home." She waited for him to take the first bite of the food before she did the same.

Expertly twirling some spaghetti around his fork, Burke made sure to mix as many of the different elements of the dish in with his mouthful as possible. He took a bite, and was overwhelmed by the flavour, it hit the back of his mouth and his jaw muscles tingled with pleasure. 'Oh my,' he said, taking another bite. 'Oh my that is good.'

Gia chuckled as she leaned back into her seat and pulled the wine toward her and taking a drink of it, "You're very kind to say that, I'll be sure to tell nonna that I've finally done her recipe justice." She took a bite of her own food and tasted the different flavours and feeling the sudden pang of nostalgia from when she used to go to her grandmothers place for lunch or dinner with the family.

Burke wiped his mouth delicately with a napkin and said, 'it's a shame you don't have the chance to cook more often, you're very good at it.' He smiled, 'I'm sure your nonna would be pleased with your cooking.' He took a piece of garlic bread, and bit into it, savouring the slight crunch of the bread and its garlicky chewiness afterwards. 'Your family taught you well. Are you close to them? I know that your brothers were very protective, of course ...'

She blushed at the compliments and busied herself with eating some food for a moment before answering with a nod, "I certainly am close to my family. It was always Sunday dinner at my grandparents place, all ten of us, my uncle included, then any family event like a birthday or a wedding would be turned into a massive affair and there was always some sort of scandal, whether it be someone getting too drunk or one of my brothers sleeping with someone they shouldn't be and everyone finding out about it... It's always an interesting time being around them." As she was speaking, Gia used her hands to talk, a trait her whole family had, before taking a hold of the wine and drinking from it.

Listening to her talk, Burke found the trait of talking with her hands endearing. He was fascinated that she came from a large family, but from the other end of the pecking order, the youngest as opposed to him being the eldest. 'It sounds like a lively family,' Burke said with a laugh. 'For us, there was usually only the immediate family. We'd visit cousins and grandparents, but we wouldn't gather every week. The getting drunk part though, that happened. Titanians are hard drinkers.' Burke smiled, 'not much in the way of scandals either, apart from Uncle Ted running off with another married woman, but it happens.'

"So, it's still a close-knit kind of family you have, right? From what you've told me so far, growing up would've been an experience and a half for sure. At least we both understand what it's like to be in a large family too," She took some of the garlic bread and pulled it apart, relishing the smell of the garlic and herbs.

'An experience and a half is the right way to put it. Because of the domes, Titanian houses are pretty small, so we did live on top of each other, compared to other worlds in the Federation. Four boys is quite a handful at the best of times. Particularly when we had energy to burn. Thankfully our parents were pretty indulgent, they looked after us well,' he smiled happily, recalling the memories of a childhood. 'So just as boisterous as yours maybe, but in a different way.'

Finishing off the garlic bread in her hand, Gia swallowed and nodded, "Four boys and two girls in a two-story townhouse with no backyard were what my parents had to deal with, so the boisterous nature was a given in our house." Wiping her fingers on the napkin and clearing her throat by drinking some more of the wine, she added, "Titan sounds fascinating from what you've been saying. Tell me more about it?"

[To be continued ...]

Captain Robert Burke
Commanding Officer
USS Hecate

Lieutenant (JG) Gianna De Luca
Chief Counsellor
USS Hecate

 

RSS Feed