First First Date

Posted on Sun May 17th, 2026 @ 4:58am by Lieutenant Zachary Addams & Petty Officer 1st Class Alexis Aenera

4,774 words; about a 24 minute read

Mission: Flight Of The Valkyries
Location: Zach's Quarters
Timeline: Evening before mission

Zach hadn't run back to his quarters, but he walked rather fast. He got a quick sonic shower and quickly dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants, stocking a few tricks until he was feeling confident enough to continue. He tidied up his quarters, and had just gotten himself put together when he heard the chime. "C'mon in," he called out.

She had endured some additional teasing from Keeta, who had been off duty for the day, but after a sonic shower and some silver eyeshadow, she'd quickly slipped on a charcoal-colored shirt that seemed to flow like liquid over her and another black skirt and stockings, which would match it nearly perfectly. She stuck her tongue out at Keeta when she'd left, that knowing smile on the Trill's face. The basket that she now held had several ripe, red tomatoes along with fresh basil, oregano and rosemary along with the smile that she kept for when she got to enjoy what she was doing. "Hiya!" She said as she flounced in, "Where's your kitchen, I'm going to have to get started if we're going to have dinner before it's much too late."

Zach gave an appreciative smile. "It's over there," he said, gesturing to the far corner of his living room that had a modest kitchen corner. "I'm afraid it's not the roomiest kitchen, as that wasn't really a priority for me when I requested quarters." He walked over to her and leaned in, kissing her cheek gently to avoid smudging her makeup. "You look beautiful," he said, taking the heavy basket from her. "Thank you for coming."

She accepted the kiss as if it were her due and wanted to shake her head as she realized that this one was really hooked and all she'd done was drop a hook in the water. Of course, the little wriggly worm on that hook couldn't harm him, right? Her smile was slight, "Thanks, I really did mean what I said about morale earlier, and I find that home-cooked meals really do the job, replicated is usually decent, but if you've never had fresh pasta and Bolognese sauce, you've never had a good meal."

He smiled and walked her over to the kitchen, setting the basket on the counter. "I also took the liberty of replicating a bottle of wine," he said, holding picking it up to show her, "since what real alcohol I have isn't fit for human consumption, and certainly isn't fit for a lady." He gave her a wink.

"Lady? Me?" Alexis shook her head with a grin, "Oh please, just because I was born to an equestrian family doesn't mean that I'd qualify as a 'Lady'." She walked over to the replicator and punched in a few commands, a bowl of flour, eggs, olive oil and some salt all sitting on an apron that she offloaded onto the counter and put the apron on, getting straight to work, plucking the tomatoes out of the basket and starting to make them into small pieces, "But I bet you didn't even know that, or much about Roma Nueva now, do you?" She grinned at him.

Zachary uncorked the wine and poured each of them a glass. He put hers near her supplies and leaned back against the counter with his glass in his hand. He frowned as he tried to think about all the worlds he'd visited, all the Starbases, outposts, et cetera, but nothing was ringing a bell. "I'll be honest, no. I don't know much about Roma Nueva. I've traveled throughout the Federation quite extensively, but that place has been out of my reach so far."

"We're a Republic down in the southernly part of the Federation, four star systems, a total of six inhabited planets and moons. Our people left Earth right at the start of the twenty-first century on a cryo ship, the 'Augustus', fell into a wormhole apparently, and found a planet that could support life and went on from there. The whole thing is that our ancestors thought that Rome of the age of Caesar Augustus was the pinnacle of Italian society." She was putting together the sauce ingredients, pausing only to replicate a fragrant sausage and start the cooking process with that. "The Federation found us about seventy years ago, and we negotiated an alliance: we keep the Federation apprised of what we come across in our area of space, and there are things out there, they send help when needed." She gave him a cryptic smile, "And now we're thinking of joining up formally, but that's for the politicians and the Senate to negotiate."

Zach bobbed his eyebrows as he took that all in. "Well, if you are any indication, the Federation would do well to bring your people back into the fold," he said, raising his glass. "Our starships could do with more gymnastics." He gave her a cheeky grin and clinked his glass with hers before taking a sip. He watched her work and was impressed by how confidently she added ingredients. Clearly not her first go at this, he thought. "Is there anything I can do to help? I have ten perfectly good thumbs."

She gave the nescient sauce an expert look and crumbled the fresh rosemary into it very carefully, "Grab about a half cup of water, pour it in and stir the sauce slowly." She requested, mincing the garlic before sliding it into the saucepan, "I need to get started on the pasta. But Rome is resilient and I would say it's our citizenry in general that's a boon to the Federation. We have a tradition of service to the Republic in one way or another."

"Rome was more than just the military service of Athens and Sparta, if I recall," Zach said, replicating the water and pouring it in, stirring gently. "It was the epicenter of culture for half the world for a time. Painting, sculpture, architecture, even technology and so on." He smiled at her. "Ancient Roman engineers were the best in the business."

"And they still are, and when I say service, I mean Service with a big 'S'." She made a pyramid of flour before pressing down to make a hole into which she cracked a pair of eggs and sprinkled some salt onto it, before pouring in a little olive oil, "Everyone gives to the Republic in one way or another, some as artists, politicians, engineers, but I would say at least half either serve in the military and all politicians must serve in the military. And it's not all active duty. We have a fair sized navy at this point, but most serve in the Legions, even if it's only in the Legionary Reserves. The result of that means that we can respond to natural disasters because everywhere has Legionaries." She was kneading the dough in the bowl as she spoke, "It also means that to destroy Rome, they have to kill us all, because we'll never surrender." She gave him a smile, "During the Dominion War, we were allied with the Federation and the Dominion sent a fleet after us. Our navy couldn't stop them, though they fought to the last ship in defense of Roma Nueva, but on the ground we stopped them despite them holding the orbitals. We held out until the Federation and our out-system fleet units came back and kicked them out." She sighed, "I was eight at the time, but a couple of my uncles fought in the battles at home."

The mention of the Legion gave him pause but he put it aside. The mention of the Dominion War caught his interest, however. He did the math quickly in his head and realized she was a few years older than him. That didn't bother him in the slightest, but made him wonder how she felt about the Dominion coming in, being old enough to appreciate how dangerous that was. During the war, he'd been very young, and his brother a newborn. His parents had stayed as far away from the front lines as possible. It's one of the things that convinced them to settle on Vulcan where it was considered "safe."

"Being the oldest of three," he said, "I can only imagine how my sister would have felt if she knew I was going out to fight the dominion," he said. He and his sister had a surprisingly good relationship, all things considered. "Hell, she was in tears after I graduated the academy and had to ship out."

"It was rather frightening." Lexi remembered back to when she was looking at the skies after the Dominion fleet arrived, "One of them was in the ground Legions, the other was in the Navy, but assigned to one of the outer systems. The view from the Palace was spectacular, the best defenses in the system, but from the very beginning of the attack, it was clear that it wasn't a matter of if they were going to win the fight in space, but when." The entire time her hands kept moving, this time spreading some of the extra flour on the tabletop in front of her and acquiring a rolling pin to roll it out, "Brief miniature suns of ships exploding."

"Brave soldiers, one and all," Zach said, raising his glass again to the fallen. He took the liberty of giving the pot another stir, scraping the bottom gently, his other hand moving to the small of her back as he stood beside her. "Who taught you to cook? Or is that simply required to graduate from primary school?"

"If I said anyone other than my mother, you wouldn't trust me." Alexis laughed, "But my father was better with the sauces when he could get away to the kitchens, and I know it's simple, but it's all about proportions." She reached out for the oregano and tore off a few leaves. "Finely chop this into very small pieces and add it into the sauce, then I'll need a taste of it.. The basil is going to go in at the very end."

"Understood," Zach said, getting a knife. A kitchen knife was not the type he was accustomed to (they didn't throw well) but he did his best, and after a moment had a respectable pile of respectably cut herb, which he added the pot. "Your shrubbery, madame," he said, grinning.

She abandoned the now very thin dough and reached around him to grab a spoon to dip into the sauce that was appearing to come together pretty well, her hand going to the small of his back this time. She brought it to her lips and carefully tasted it, then plucked another sprig of rosemary from the basket and stripped half of it, raising it to nose to scent it, "Not mature enough yet, that's why it's not as flavorful. She crushed it into tiny pieces as she motioned him to keep stirring before brushing off her hands and going back to the pasta, twirling the knife he'd used for the oregano once before beginning to cut the pasta into four inch strips. "In about ten minutes we'll get the water started for the pasta, but we'll need some crusty French bread to go along with this, replicator I'm afraid."

"We'll have to suffer through with merely this delicious...creation," he said, turning towards her and pausing as he realized how close they were.

"That we will." She looked up towards him and blinked, before placing a hand on his chest and pushing him back a single step, "Don't even think about it." She said, her lips curling up a bit, "If you let that sauce burn, you would get into so much trouble. Making a move on me right now would make that far too likely." She turned back to her own work finishing cutting the dough, "Try again after dinner, perhaps?"

"Most certainly," he said, keeping her close, but turning his attention back to the sauce, stirring it gently but consistently. "Course, I only need one hand to stir." He moved his other hand from the small of her back down to her rear and gave it a brief, playful squeeze, smirking, but not taking his eyes off the sauce.

Lexi swatted at his hand as she gave a yelp and laughed at him at the same time, "Be-have!" She swatted again as a second squeeze followed up the first, this time connecting and she backed away from him, shaking her head as she grabbed a pot and replicated some water to go into it, putting it on the burner next to the sauce and turning it on. Her eye caught the sauce bubbling as he stirred and watched the next series of bubbles pop and nodded, turning that one off then pushing him back against the counter, leaning up slightly to plant a kiss on his lips, then stepping back after several seconds, "Preview." She whispered.

Zach could smell every ingredient in the sauce and it was enticing, but the lingering smell of her perfume was invading his nose like it was demanding his attention. And, hungry as he was, the taste of her lips made him very much no longer want dinner, but he wasn't going to let that sauce burn if it was the last thing he did, and he focused on stirring it, pretending not to glance at the smile on her face, and try not to let her see the one on his.

"So, do you have any siblings?" he said, changing the subject deftly.

"I've got two brothers and two sisters, one younger sister, one older sister and brother and my twin, Fontaine, joined the Imperial Navy when I did. While I went into Intelligence with a sideline of Engineering, he went into Command. Xavier is the top Aide to a Senator, Juliette, my older sister, is a civilian doctor and my little sister Helvetia? She just happens to be a singer back at home, pretty well known on Roma Nueva, but she got all that talent."

"I was never the best singer, but I did my part," Zach said with a modest shrug. "But kudos to her for excelling at it. And you went into Intelligence, then Engineering, hm? I suppose I should be thankful for that. If you'd gone into Medical, we'd have much less to talk about." He glanced at the pot. "Water's boiling. I'll set the table," he said. He gave her rear another gentle swat as he walked out of range, smiling as he went to the replicator and got place settings for them.

Lexi dumped the pasta into the water and stood there to wait it out, moving the sauce off the now residual heat of the first burner. The basil was rough cut and stirred into the sauce and within a few minutes, the pasta was looking just right and she drained the water before dumping it too into the sauce and stirring it thoroughly.

Zach set the plates, bowls and cutlery out. He brought her wineglass over and set it by her plate and then replicated a couple of candles, setting them in holders on the table and lighting them. He also replicated a large bowl of cut French bread, and placed it on the table. He put their chairs in position near each other, then replicated a large serving bowl and brought it over to her. "All set," he said.

"As am I." She picked up the pot and dumped it into the serving bowl, "Relatively simple meal, but hearty and good. And while you're taking that over, you can tell me if you have any siblings?"

"Two," he said. "Erik is twenty-three. He's studying as a master mixologist. He can create drinks that literally taste like a place. I bet he could make something fantastic for Roma Nueva. Sarah is nineteen, and she's the literary one. She writes novels and holonovels. Creates these amazing plots and dynamic characters. They're fun to test out. She lets me run through some of them to look for plot holes."

As Alexis put the bowl of pasta and sauce on the table, he stepped behind her chair and pulled it out for her.

That caused a raised eyebrow from her and she placed a hand on the back of the chair, "You know, I get you're trying to be all 'gentlemanly' about this..."

"But you're no 'lady'," Zach finished, nodding.

"Exactly." She set herself down and scooted the chair in, "No matter what anyone else says about me."

He snorted and sat down next to her. "On Vulcan, good manners aren't enforced by law, but they may as well be. Everyone strictly adheres to their idea of courtesy and good manners. If someone visits your home, you offer refreshment, doesn't matter if it's your best friend or your bully. Everyone is treated the same way in an initial encounter. And my mother used to say, 'good manners are our way of showing someone we appreciate them being there.' And poke fun at me if you wish, but I do appreciate you being here." He picked up the serving spoon. "Say when," he said.

While she rolled her eyes, she let her hand roll on the wrist, then finally stopped him before pushing back her chair in a rush. "I almost forgot!" She made her way over to the replicator and brought back a wedge of cheese and a microplane, "Fresh grated parmesan, perfect accompanyment." She made a show of adding cheese to her own, then after he'd finished serving his own pasta, "Your turn, tell me when to stop."

He quickly served himself next and allowed her to add a considerable pile of cheese before saying, "when." He then held up his wine glass. "To a simple, wonderful meal with wonderful company," he said.

She raised her own glass, "I'll second that, just... No shop talk, this is all personal, nothing on the record."

"Absolutely agree," he said as they clinked their glasses.

The food may have been relatively simple, but that didn't make it any less delicious, and while the conversation flowed, it was often punctuated with comfortable silence as they ate. Zach listened with interest as she described her time at the academy, hearing about her having to do a mock investigation of one of her classmates. His eyes got wide when she revealed what she actually found, an actual case of treason, and he was glad he wasn't in Intelligence, having to deal with those things. He also prayed she didn't look him up before he was ready to explain why she wouldn't find much.

He regaled her with a prank he and a few friends pulled off in Engineering. They'd managed to break into the Universal Translator and set the professor's commbadge remotely. Instead of saying 'assignment', it was translated to 'hot Orion dancer.' The first day he asked if everyone enjoyed their hot Orion dancer, and to please share their hot Orion dancers with the class, the laughter was so intense the rest of class was cancelled while he figured out what was going wrong.

Zach couldn't help but smile as Lexi laughed at the story and that smile stayed with him through to the end of the meal. He stood up and despite her offering to help, insisted he would handle things. He cleared and recycled the dishes, taking the leftovers and putting them in storage for later. He was not about to sacrifice her cooking to the replicator's recycling program.

While he did that, she stood up and stretched, a full-body stretch that took her to her toes and did a wonderful thing to her upper body as she made sure she gave him a side-long profile.

Zach stopped and watched her, not even bothering to hide his appreciation. They both knew what she was doing and he wasn't going to complain. When she was done, he smiled at her, came back to the table, and blew out the candles. He walked up to her looked her in the eye. "Well, I suppose that officially concludes the meal," he said.

"I suppose that does, doesn't it?" She responded, smile still on her face, "Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to bring dessert, but we had that earlier anyways."

"True," he said. He leaned in a bit, his hands moving back to the small of her back as he put his arms around her. "So then, shall I resume what I was 'thinking about'?" he teased.

Lexi reached up and rested her elbows on his shoulders, taking a quick glance around, "It is after dinner after all, so I suppose it's as good a time as any, isn't it?" She didn't even wait for a response before she leaned up against him and kissed him.

He kissed her back, this time without hesitation or restraint, holding her against him and trying not to succumb to sensory overload. He'd been told he was a good kisser, but he realized he was going up against someone just as skilled, if not more so and when he finally was permitted a breath, he looked shocked and impressed.

When she released his lips, she also released her arms around his neck and giggled at the look on his face as she took a couple steps backwards away from him, her eyes glittering in mirth. "Of course, you have to catch me if you want any more."

He got as far as, "Catch?" before she took off. He immediately gave chase, rushing around the table like a cartoon cat and mouse. Being 6'3" usually gave him an advantage, but her being only a few inches shorter took most of that away, and she kept her distance. She also led him directly to his bedroom, where they both knew she was cornered.

As he crossed the threshold, he put on a burst of speed as she stopped in the middle of the room and he grabbed her, swinging her up and kissing her. "Looks like I win," he said, grinning. He put her back down on her feet and pressed her to him again, kissing her and putting one hand on her back and the other back on her rear, giving her another teasing squeeze.

She waited until they came up for air before she even tried to speak, her arms having gone around his neck once more, a groan having told him that she wasn't complaining as she wriggled her rear in his grasp, "Did you win?" She asked him, "Or did we both win?" She wiggled her toes, having kicked off her shoes in the chase and felt his hand up where her bra would be, if she had been wearing one. She arched her back, bringing her hands around to his front and began to undo the buttons she could reach, "Either way, I think we're overdressed."

"Agreed," Zach said.

---

Zach looked at the chronometer. It was coming close to 0100 hours. He felt Alexis' legs tremble as she laid spooned against him, his arms wrapped around her, and he pulled her hair back, kissing her ear gently. "Keep that up, it's good for my ego," he teased, his hand running up and down her side, fingertips teasing her as he went.

A shiver ran up her spine as his hand ran up her side, "Venus help me.." She whimpered, then covered that with a short laugh of mirth as her eyes saw the chronometer, "You know we have to get some sleep before tomorrow, right?" Alexis used her arms to get some leverage to twist in his arms, bringing her purple eyes to look into his brown ones. "And I mean each of us in our own beds."

Zach's brow furrowed, looking genuinely confused and sad. "Why our own beds? You're welcome to stay the night." He gave her a wry grin. "I can promise there would be incentives in the morning."

How to explain it, that was the problem with something like this, "Not that I wouldn't be happy to discover said incentives, but it wouldn't do any good for a Chief of department and one of his senior NCOs to be seen leaving the same room at the same time going to the same place."

"All right, then," Zach said. "I'll leave first, you leave five minutes later. You go directly to Engineering, I'll take a roundabout route. Problem solved."

"That's not the problem." Lexi said, shaking her head fractionally, "Well, that is part of it, but only part of it. The problem is that I'm in the direct chain of command below you. The optics of seeing me emerge from your quarters in the morning would make it look like either I'm seducing you for personal gain, or you're ordering me to your quarters to take advantage of me."

"Well since the you seducing me is clearly the more obvious situation, I suppose I'll have to do what I can to prevent my reputation as a vulnerable young man prone to the charms of an irresistible goddess." He gave her a wry smile that turned a bit sad. "But, I suppose if you really have to go..."

"I didn't say right now." Alexis pushed his shoulders back into the mattress as she adjusted their positions so that she was on top of him, looking down with a smile, "Thank Jupiter that my father had to step down because of term limits when I was twenty-one, otherwise we wouldn't be able to do this because the Praetorians would be here with me. But they don't go out of their way to protect the daughter of a 'former' Caesar."

Zach put his hands on her hips and was about to initiate another round when he froze. "Daughter of a former...Caesar?" he said.

"Emphasis on the word 'Former'." She said firmly, "My father was elected shortly before the War and was re-elected following the aftermath of it due to how it was handled. That why I wear that in my hair," She gestured to the silver laurel leaf that was on the nightstand. "Silver to indicate former, and short to indicate child of." She quirked a smile, "Don't worry, I don't have any actual influence or measure of importance at home, but it got me my spot in the Imperial Academy. Besides, I did say I watched the invasion of Rome from the palace."

"Yes but you didn't say the view was from your bedroom in the palace," he said. He shrugged and ran his hands up her sides and pulled her down to him, kissing her. "Either way, my interest in you has nothing to do with your status at home, nor your rank here. Right here, right now, we're just together." He paused as a thought hit him. "But, out there, at work, you'll understand if I need to keep things professional. At least, for now, until we see if this is going somewhere serious. It doesn't mean I don't care, but I think it would be best for both of us."

Alexis propped herself up on his chest with her elbows and forearms crossed and looked down at him with those purple eyes turning stern. "I wasn't planning on bringing any of this with me to Engineering, because it's none of their damned business. Mars himself wouldn't get anyone to admit I've even been here, which is why I was saying I need to go back to my quarters first without anyone seeing. As for this, what we're doing here? This is just for fun, I don't expect you to drop to one knee to ask me to marry you right now, I'd laugh at you if you did." She tempered that with a smile and put one finger on his lips to forestall a response, "No strings attached, no recriminations, whatever happens happens. Is there the possibility of something more? Of course there is, who knows what may happen?"

Zach took her hand and firmly pulled it away from his lips. "I know exactly what's going to happen," he said, seriously.

“And just what will that be?” Alexis asked curiously.

"You're going to ask Venus for more help." He grabbed her and flipped them over, putting her back on her back and keeping her in his quarters a little while longer.

END


Petty Officer First Class Alexis Aenera
Engineering NCO
USS Tokyo

AND

Lt. Zachary Addams
Chief Engineer
USS Tokyo

 

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