Salvatore's Soiree - Part II
Posted on Fri Mar 21st, 2025 @ 11:45am by Captain Robert Burke & Commander Vincent 'Vin' Salvatore & Lieutenant Marques Hunt & Lieutenant Ryssa Dari & Lieutenant JG Gianna De Luca & Ensign Shanice Winters
1,100 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
EPISODE 1: SHAKEDOWN
Location: Deck 3, VIP/Officer's Mess
Timeline: MD029 2000 hours
::ON::
Feeling a little awkward to be wandering the ship out of uniform, Burke had opted for a light blue shirt, sleeves rolled up. He'd paired it with a dark blue pair of chinos, brown shoes and a nice watch. He'd also picked out a chunky pair of glasses from his little collection. Don't want to make a bad impression on the crew, now, he thought. After some thought, he had decided to bring two bottles of wine. A fine Argentinian malbec and a New Zealand white, to cover all bases. A part of his small box of treats for the voyage, he decided to share them with his senior officers.
Finding the officer mess's door opening on his approach, Burke took that as his que to step in to the Executive Officer's quarters. Seeing both Dari and De Luca had arrived before him, he gave everyone a wave and a louche, 'good evening.'
Vincent heard the door open, then the familiar voice of the Captain, as he looked over to see him enter and wave. He was surprised, at first, half expecting the man to be too busy to show up. However, thinking back on their talk in the ready room, the fault of thinking he wouldn't show up was probably on Vincent.
With a smile, he approached the Captain with and extended hand, as he placed his other on his shoulder. "Captain. Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me that you did."
'Of course, Vin,' Burke replied with a smile as he looked about the room, 'I wouldn't have missed it. It's a good opportunity to get to know my crew outside of the Briefing Room or Bridge.' He held out the bottles of wine, 'here, I thought I should bring something to share.'
"Still... Captain...uh.. Robert. It's a pleasure to have you here." He released his hand from Burkes and took the bottle in hand. Vincent looked it over, reading the label and the year, before looking back to the Captain. "Great minds, Sir. I have something you may be interested in tasting later. Purely voluntary, of course. That's later. As for now, please enjoy the music and food the chef prepared."
'I'm sure I will,' Burke replied affably, 'and don't let me keep you from the rest of your guests.'
Marques Hunt was the next to make his way through the doors. Looking around, he was impressed how the mess hall had been transformed. The music was blaring and there were already people in the room dancing. Right behind him entering the room was a very attractive young woman. She smiled at him and started making her way to the other side of the room. Feeling suddenly motivated, Hunt quickly intercepted her. "Hello, I am Lieutenant Marques Hunt, Chief Flight Control Officer. What's your name?"
The woman simply stared at the Lieutenant as if she was considering entertaining him. "Ensign Shanice Winters, Media Relations Officer."
"Well Ms. Winters," Marques responded. "Would you care to dance with me."
"Sure."
As the two headed towards the area people were dancing, Vincent noticed them walking. With a smile, he turned away from one of his guests and walked over to them, hand extended. "Marques Hunt... Glad you could make it." He said as he stopped in front of the two. Vincent looked over to Winters and nodded a greeting. "I won't take up much of your time, I just wanted to say hello and show my appreciation for being here."
"Good to see you Commander," Marques replied as he extended his hand. "I like the spot here."
As he released Hunt's hand, he looked over to Winters, to keep it held out towards her. "I'm sorry, I am afraid we haven't meet yet. Vincent Salvatore. Commander Salvatore. First Officer and Chief Intelligence Officer. Nice to meet you... Miss?"
"Ensign Shanice Winters," she replied. "Basically the ships media."
Seeing that most of the crew were busy interacting with one another, Burke wandered about, making small talk and pleasantries as he went. Spotting the Counsellor, he moved on up to her. Beaming he asked, 'how are you settling in, Lieutenant?'
"Hello, Captain," Gia's shoulders relaxed a little bit at the familiar voice and face as he walked up to her and she gave him a smile that reached her eyes, "I'm settling in nicely, thank you. It looks like I'm going to have a good little team going and," she looked around the room, "there's going to be no shortage of work either, so that's good for me. How are you?"
'Better after yesterday's fighting,' Burke smiled. 'The ship and crew seem to be bouncing back well.' Picking at a canape as a waiter went past, Burke took a long, critical look at the bruschetta before popping it in his mouth. 'I'm glad you find your team to your liking.' He leaned in a little, and smiled again, 'and please. We're off duty. Call me Robert. Or Bob. People seem to like doing that.'
"I think Robert would be best." Gia said as took a piece of the bruschetta offered and bit off a part of it. It wasn't quite the same as what her mother made, but it was still really nice. "It's still an odd feeling, being on a new ship and in a new environment, I must say, but we'll see how things work out."
'First days are always strange,' Burke replied with a smile. 'Remember if there's anything I can do to make you comfortable, please let me know.' He indicated the party, 'I'll catch you up on the coffee and pastry, but I'll not detain you from these wonderful people further. Enjoy,' he said with a wider smile.
"Thank you, Robert, it means a lot." Gia smiled a genuine and warm smile in a reply as she reached out and lightly touched his forearm as a term of gratitude before removing it, "If you'll excuse me, I think there's a couple of people over there I need to introduce myself to." She smiled again and politely excused herself to go where she pointed out, leaving him alone.
[To be Continued ...]
::OFF::
Captain Robert Burke
Commanding Officer
USS Hecate
Commander Vincent 'Vin' Salvatore
Executive Officer/Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Hecate
Lieutenant Marques Hunt
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Hecate
Lieutenant Gia De Luca
Chief Counsellor
USS Hecate
Ensign Shanice Winters
Media Relations Officer
USS Hecate
Lieutenant Ryssa Dari
Chief Science Officer
USS Hecate
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