Surprise Visits - Part I

Posted on Fri Aug 22nd, 2025 @ 6:40pm by Commander Vincent 'Vin' Salvatore & Lieutenant JG Gianna De Luca

1,985 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: EPISODE 1: SHAKEDOWN
Location: Deck 2 - XO's Quarters

ON:

It had been a few days since Vin had hosted his party and Gia had bowed out of it, the Klingon bloodwine having not agreed with her, and even the chat they'd had the day afterward was polite enough that she had an interest in getting to know him a bit better outside of being on duty. There wasn't anything wrong with that, right?

Her shift had ended half an hour beforehand and she relaxed on the sofa for a while. "Computer, locate Commander Salvatore," she said in a nonchalant tone as she watched the stars go by outside the window she was lucky to have. Commander Vincent Salvatore is presently located in his quarters on Deck Two, came the automated reply.

As she stepped out of her office and headed toward the lifts to head up to the second deck, Gia considered that it was probably informal and inappropriate to go see Vin unannounced, but a surprise was good and the worst he could do was say that he was busy. There could be consequences to a visit such as this but there could also be benefits from a professional point of view too. Once she was at the door to his quarters, she pressed the chime and hoped for the best.

Vincent heard the chime and looked up from his PADD. He was sitting at the table, several PADD's spread out, with a glass by his side. He looked over to the door and tapped on the PADD he was looking at in order to lock it. Each PADD contained Intelligence information and he wasn't sure who was at his door. As he placed the PADD with the others, he stood up and looked over to Lola, his Betazoid cat. "Looks like we have company, Lola. Try not to make a scene." He said with a smirk before walking over.

He reached the door and tapped on the panel beside it to unlock it. As the doors slid open, his eyes immediately locked with Gia's, causing a smile to form on his face. "Gia... Hi." He said with a tone that was a mixture of surprise and joy. He took a second to check his appearance before adding. "Everything okay? What brings you here?"

He stood there in an old fashion blue suit, complete with matching blue vest and white buttoned shirt underneath, minus a jacket and tie. It was a style he was most comfortable with when not in uniform. A style he had back home as a young man. A style that expanded to the rest of his quarters. While the furniture was Starfleet standard for quarters like this, there was touches of classic things scattered around the place. The record player from the party, next to a box of records. A medium sized coffee machine with small mugs and dishes by it. As well as a few more trinkets.

"Hey Vin," Gia was slightly amused at the fact she'd caught him off guard and simply smiled, "Nothing's wrong, don't worry. I come in an off-duty capacity. Mostly just to have a chat and get to know who I'm working with outside of duty, that's all. I hope you don't mind." She noticed a piece of fluff on the sleeve of the blue short-sleeved uniform dress she was wearing and got rid of it before she looked back up at him, "Unless you're busy? Because we can catch up later if you want?"

"Of course not. Please, come in." He said before stepping aside and gesturing inside.

"Thank you," Gia said as she stepped inside and took in his quarters. What she'd seen at the party was exactly what was here, and she appreciated it. It was very... Vin.

He tapped on the panel again, closing the door, before walking over to stand next to her. "Welcome to my quarters." Vincent said softly, gesturing around a bit as he smiled. "Would you like something to drink? I think I have some leftover cookies." He said as he made his way to the kitchen area and opened a cabinet.

"I've already had a half dozen cups of coffee today, so I'll pass on that and take a water or something if that's on offer too?" She followed him through to the kitchen and noticed the movement of an animal that turned out to be a cat. Thankfully, unlike her brother Marco, she wasn't allergic as she crouched down to the cats level and held out a hand for a pat and looked up at Vin, "I didn't realize you had a cat." The fact he had a pet added a new perspective to her opinion on him.

Vin turned around and smiled back. "Yeah. That's Lola. She can be a bit of a diva sometimes, but she's always relaxing to be around. Supposedly, she's a Betazoid Cat. At least, that's what the guy who sold her to me said. They're said to have a close bond with their owners. Often sharing their feelings or emotions. I don't know how true it is, but I can say that she always puts me in a good mood." He watched her pet Lola, observing how lovable Lola seemed to be, even playing with Gia's hands and fingers like she was still a kitten.

"Well, she's absolutely gorgeous, aren't you girl?" Gia replied affectionately to the cat as she scratched her just behind the ear and on the neck before moving to run her hand across the top of her back to scratch at the base of the tail. "I've never heard of a Betazoid cat before though, but I'd believe they share a close bond to their owners." She stood back up, listening to her knee click in the process, and then went to sit on one of the seats available. "Don't suppose I could borrow her for a session or two with some of the crew?" Gia laughed.

"I don't see why not." He said as he turned around and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. As he poured her some water, he continued. "Although, I'm not sure how she'll respond to someone if I'm not there. If this bond is factual then, her feelings towards others, might be because of how I feel towards them." Vin said as he walked over to Gia and handed her the glass of water. "Then again, when I leave her here to go on duty, she tends to be fine. Not like she was when she was a kitten. Sometimes, I'd come back to my quarters, to find something scratched up or broken."

"We used to have a cat when I was growing up, Lucky, and if he was left for too long by himself, he'd end up knocking something off a table or scratching something too," Gia took the offered water and sipped on it. "Our biggest issue was the fact he'd go into Marco's room and sleep on his clothes, no one elses, which you'd know about because you'd hear sneezing followed by yelling to get the damn cat outta his room." She mimicked her brother's tone perfectly, having heard it so often. "I was only joking about borrowing Lola, by the way. I understand the bond between a person and their animal, especially a dog or a cat and how tough it can be around new people or places, and I wouldn't do that to her or you."

"Well, she seems to like you." He said as he sat down in a chair across from her. As he smiled back, Lola, jumped onto the table and sat down facing Gia. When Vin reached his hand over to stroke her head, she seemed to tilt her head toward him at the precise moment, without needing to look at him. As he scratched the top of her head, she immediately began purring, only narrowing her eyes slightly while she left Gia in view. "We never had any actual home animals. My father wouldn't let us and, to keep my father happy, my mother would agree. There were neighborhood cats and dogs we were all friendly with, but none we kept in our house. Carlo and I tried to keep a puppy secretly in the house, but you can imagine how far that went. Our dad immediately took the puppy away and then... well... let's just say we had a hard time going to sleep and sitting down afterwards." He sat there quietly, looking down slightly as he was reminded of the beating he and his brother took from that day.

Lola, as if sensing his sadness, looked away from Gia and walked over to Vin. She purred softly, closing her eyes and rubbing up against his face, allowing her tail to graze across it as she passed by. The cat repeated the action, this time moving the other way, which brought a smile onto Vin's face as he ran his hand through her fur. He brought her close, kissing the top of her head, before letting her go again.

"Carlo got the worst of it." He said, looking back to Gia, as he continued. "He kept insisting it was his idea and he forced me to go along with it." Vin leaned back in his chair while Lola got back in her seated position at the table, once again facing Gia. "It was something we both decided to do, but he did that a lot when we were kids. Took the blame for stuff even when it wasn't his fault."

Gia felt the sadness in his words and understood what Vin had just admitted, nodding sympathetically at his plight, but she couldn't say she knew first hand what he had experienced as a child, "Brotherly love at its finest, I understand that. My brothers, Marco and Enzo, were exactly like you and Carlo too, but I don't think they ever did something like bring an animal home. Even if they did, I don't think our parents would've cared, to be honest."

She took another sip of the water and added, "But still, I think having that bond with your brother has made you more... receptive... to forming relationships with other people, am I right?"

"Sure... I guess." Vin replied, looking back to her with a smile. "I learned a lot from my brother. He would say: 'Keep your eyes and ears open, V. Just because I'm not teaching you, it doesn't mean you shouldn't be learning.' He said, bringing his voice down to a slightly raspy tone, mimicking his brother as best he could. After wards, he laughed slightly, smiling as he placed his hands together on the table. "When we were kids, I am sure, he was trying to teach me about Brotherly Love. About loyalty and being willing to hurt yourself to protect someone you love. Later on..." He paused slightly. "The lesson shifted. It was about gaining loyalty and manipulating someone to do something with that loyalty. He once took a beating from a cop, at least I thought, to protect someone from getting caught. He then used that protection, that loyalty, to make the man do something that almost got him killed to pay off a debt Carlo owed. I learned later, Carlo paid the cop to hurt him, promising him some money and a bigger name. The name of someone that was giving Carlo problems." Vin shook his head slightly, letting out a sigh. "He always had an angle, my brother." He paused for a moment before looking to Gia and asking. "What kind of person would subject himself to to that much pain in order to manipulate someone for their own means?"

To Be Concluded... {In Part II}

===========================

Lieutenant JG Gianna De Luca
Chief Counsellor
USS Hecate

&

Commander Vincent 'Vin' Salvatore
First Officer/Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Hecate

 

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