Reunion

Posted on Wednesday 29 June 2016 @ 23:02 by Captain John "Apollo" Barstow, M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Nadia Kovac

Mission: Old, New Ship
Location: Round Table
Timeline: Current
1239 words - 2.5 OF Standard Post Measure

John walked into the Round Table and stopped in the doorway with a smile. He had toured the ship before anyone was aboard, but, then this had only been listed as 'lounge' and had been pretty standard, not including it's two levels and almost double size of a standard crew lounge. Ino and his sister had given it it's name and had done wonders with it. The atmosphere was a relaxed one and the room was filled with laughter and conversation. He nodded to himself, part of his 'style' was to give people a lot of freedom in how they completed assignments or set up and he was impressed with what had been done here. As he looked around and made a note to speak with the Lounge Managers to let them know he liked what they were doing. His eyes stopped as he spotted the brown haired, brown eyed woman dressed in a red command uniform. Apollo grinned and walked over, staying just out of her line of sight, "buy you a drink, Marine?" he asked with a smile.

It didn't take Nadia a long time to make friends in any case and now had not been totally different. Of course, this was the first time she was around non-marines she had any authority over. She finished a joke and the people gathered around her giggled with delight, some because they were amused, and others because she was their boss. This distraction was a big reason why the voice behind her caught her off-guard. It was familiar...very familiar, so she turned around slowly. When she saw Apollo, her initial reaction was a smile, but then she remembered herself. She stood up quickly and stood at rigid attention, a bit much for a fleet officer but perfect for a marine.

"Captain Barstow." she said seriously. "You can buy me anything you want, sir!" with that, the corners of her mouth moved up a bit, but not enough to make her salute any less formal.

John grinned and returned the salute loosely, "Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but I need to barrow the Commander," he said to the group and motioned for her to follow him as he moved toward an empty table, "you made good time getting here, I appreciate you taking this on Nadia," he said as he sat down and motioned for one of the lounge staff to bring two drinks, "how was the trip?"

"I don't know what the hell I was thinking saying yes to you." she said lowering herself into the chair across from him. "My blood runs green and this uniform makes me feel like an idiot." She cleared her throat and leaned back, looking at him squarely. "Trip was fine."

Barstow chuckled, "it's just my devilish good looks," he joked, "and it'll grow on you, it beats the cush post on Starfleet 1, I know you wanted to see some action..besides that night in Italy....." he added, getting a mischievous smile at the memory.

She arched an eyebrow but didn't smile. "You were trying your best weren't you?" She responded, an then a small smile crossed her face. "I suspect you'll be forgetting all about that, right sir?"

"On duty at least," he replied, his smile widening, "so, I know you're just getting here, but, what do you think of the ship, or warp capable starbase as my Company Commander put it, so far?"

"She's a pretty boat. Command school taught me the bare minimum when it comes to running one, so I'm not sure how much use I'll be." Nadia responded, reaching behind her head with her hand and releasing the hair tie that maintained her tight ponytail. Her brown hair burst forth and she took some time to rein it back in. "Big and tough; that's how I like em. Should be a fun ride."

John held back an obvious reply to the comment, though the smile and playfulness in his eyes told exactly what he had thought, "yes, it should," he finally responded, "she's got a tough crew as well, for us just having shipped out the way they pulled together for the drill we ran was impressive, I'd have almost thought they had been serving together more than a week."

"That's good to hear." she responded with a nod and a slight smile. "These Starfleet types are a bit softer in my experience, so I'ts good to hear they can pull together when the time comes. I'll do my best not to make anyone cry."

"At least not until we've gotten to deep space where they can't run," Barstow said with a chuckle and sipped on his drink, not having noticed it'd been set down, a little more focused on Novac then he thought, "we have a briefing in about twenty minutes, I'm just going to introduce you and let everyone wonder for a little bit, however, I would like you to make the rounds to the department heads in person and get a feel for them and vice versa after the meeting."

"I'll do that." she said, lifting up her drink smoothly and taking a healthy drink. "Anything I should look out for?"

John shook his head, "nothing in particular," he replied, "this change was kind of sudden though, with Alein....getting sent back to Earth, I think a few may be uneasy about the suddenness but I'm not sure they'd tell me, kind of like going to the principal, at least that was how I felt about approaching my CO's with issues like that," he added with a chuckle.

"Remind me again why you asked me to do this." Nadia responded. "I'm assuming it's only half because you couldn't bare not seeing me every day."

"A little more than half," John replied, giving a Kirkian smile, "I need to have someone I can trust and I know you. I trust my crew, but, with us just starting out I wanted someone who knows me as well as I know them, it gives everyone else a strong foundation.....besides, who else is going to smack me upside the head when I get stubborn," he asked with a smirk.

"I have been pretty good with knocking you into shape way or another." she said with a subtle wink. "I want you to know it's alright to admit you can't live without me. I might laugh a little, but it'll be okay." she placed her hand gently on his with mock care and concern and held his eye contact for a while.

Apollo grinned and blushed slightly as she rested her hand on his and his eyes locked with hers, "it's a good thing my ego doesn't bruise easily then," he finally said with a wink, "dinner after shift? You know, to discuss ... stuff," he added giving his best look of innocence.

"Close your mouth, sir. People are looking." she said with a grin, looking to her left and right and then standing up. "See you after shift." At that, she released his hand and walked slowly and confidently toward the exit.

Barstow chuckled and shook his head as he watched her leave. After a second he stood up and headed for the door, "help you, Ensign?" he asked a young helm officer who had still been looking, causing the man to turn quickly, his cheeks starting to turn the color of his uniform and causing Bastow to smile.