Cecily and Bridget - Chance Encounters

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the stations Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

Taking another bite, Bridget nodded. "It's the comfortability of knowing I probably don't have long for this job. I was the fifth in line on the station. I'm sure they'll be bringing someone else in, someone more experienced. Maybe then my peers will stop looking at me with envy in their eyes." Bridget was saying too much and she knew it. Stuffing her face, she stopped herself from going any further. Next she'd be spewing the names of the four people she knew who liked her on the station and the fifty who didn't. Maybe she could lie and say she had friends.

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

Taking another bite, Bridget nodded. "It's the comfortability of knowing I probably don't have long for this job. I was the fifth in line on the station. I'm sure they'll be bringing someone else in, someone more experienced. Maybe then my peers will stop looking at me with envy in their eyes." Bridget was saying too much and she knew it. Stuffing her face, she stopped herself from going any further. Next she'd be spewing the names of the four people she knew who liked her on the station and the fifty who didn't. Maybe she could lie and say she had friends.

Cecily nodded gently. "The accident was a blow to everyone...especially security and marines. Didn't help that so many heads were lost and now we're left to rebuild practically on our own."

While she had her own personal beliefs about Starfleet she knew this wasn't the time nor the place to be talking about them, especially given her position. She was a Senior Officer and she had been one at the time of the accident and lost men to it all so having people hear her talk about how Starfleet had wrong them, was a really bad idea. So she decided to change the subject and instead ask the young woman about herself because they were enjoying food together and it was only polite.

"You were picked because the Captain thinks you can handle the pressure of it all," Cecily explained to her with a nod. "It might not seem like it now, but you're here because you're supposed to be. So...what do you do for fun?"

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

Taking another bite, Bridget nodded. "It's the comfortability of knowing I probably don't have long for this job. I was the fifth in line on the station. I'm sure they'll be bringing someone else in, someone more experienced. Maybe then my peers will stop looking at me with envy in their eyes." Bridget was saying too much and she knew it. Stuffing her face, she stopped herself from going any further. Next she'd be spewing the names of the four people she knew who liked her on the station and the fifty who didn't. Maybe she could lie and say she had friends.

Cecily nodded gently. "The accident was a blow to everyone...especially security and marines. Didn't help that so many heads were lost and now we're left to rebuild practically on our own."

While she had her own personal beliefs about Starfleet she knew this wasn't the time nor the place to be talking about them, especially given her position. She was a Senior Officer and she had been one at the time of the accident and lost men to it all so having people hear her talk about how Starfleet had wrong them, was a really bad idea. So she decided to change the subject and instead ask the young woman about herself because they were enjoying food together and it was only polite.

"You were picked because the Captain thinks you can handle the pressure of it all," Cecily explained to her with a nod. "It might not seem like it now, but you're here because you're supposed to be. So...what do you do for fun?"

"Humanoids," she joked. "I usually just spend my free time on a computer terminal, in the holodeck, or roaming about the shops and fooderies on the promenade. What about you?"

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

Taking another bite, Bridget nodded. "It's the comfortability of knowing I probably don't have long for this job. I was the fifth in line on the station. I'm sure they'll be bringing someone else in, someone more experienced. Maybe then my peers will stop looking at me with envy in their eyes." Bridget was saying too much and she knew it. Stuffing her face, she stopped herself from going any further. Next she'd be spewing the names of the four people she knew who liked her on the station and the fifty who didn't. Maybe she could lie and say she had friends.

Cecily nodded gently. "The accident was a blow to everyone...especially security and marines. Didn't help that so many heads were lost and now we're left to rebuild practically on our own."

While she had her own personal beliefs about Starfleet she knew this wasn't the time nor the place to be talking about them, especially given her position. She was a Senior Officer and she had been one at the time of the accident and lost men to it all so having people hear her talk about how Starfleet had wrong them, was a really bad idea. So she decided to change the subject and instead ask the young woman about herself because they were enjoying food together and it was only polite.

"You were picked because the Captain thinks you can handle the pressure of it all," Cecily explained to her with a nod. "It might not seem like it now, but you're here because you're supposed to be. So...what do you do for fun?"

"Humanoids," she joked. "I usually just spend my free time on a computer terminal, in the holodeck, or roaming about the shops and fooderies on the promenade. What about you?"

Cecily smiled shyly. "I think my work is fun. Sometimes I even spend my shore leave collecting molds and spores. Makes me seem like a workaholic, I know, but my job was my hobby before it was my job."

She shrugged because that much was true and her eyes twinkled when she got her food delivered to her. Cecily knew this wasn't going to be fun at all, but decided that it was worth it to try new things and the company was enjoyable. So without much ceremony, Cecily put the food up to her mouth and took a bite, only hesitating a moment and feeling the spicy hot wash over her tongue before she knew she was in for it.

"Water?" she managed to get out.

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

Taking another bite, Bridget nodded. "It's the comfortability of knowing I probably don't have long for this job. I was the fifth in line on the station. I'm sure they'll be bringing someone else in, someone more experienced. Maybe then my peers will stop looking at me with envy in their eyes." Bridget was saying too much and she knew it. Stuffing her face, she stopped herself from going any further. Next she'd be spewing the names of the four people she knew who liked her on the station and the fifty who didn't. Maybe she could lie and say she had friends.

Cecily nodded gently. "The accident was a blow to everyone...especially security and marines. Didn't help that so many heads were lost and now we're left to rebuild practically on our own."

While she had her own personal beliefs about Starfleet she knew this wasn't the time nor the place to be talking about them, especially given her position. She was a Senior Officer and she had been one at the time of the accident and lost men to it all so having people hear her talk about how Starfleet had wrong them, was a really bad idea. So she decided to change the subject and instead ask the young woman about herself because they were enjoying food together and it was only polite.

"You were picked because the Captain thinks you can handle the pressure of it all," Cecily explained to her with a nod. "It might not seem like it now, but you're here because you're supposed to be. So...what do you do for fun?"

"Humanoids," she joked. "I usually just spend my free time on a computer terminal, in the holodeck, or roaming about the shops and fooderies on the promenade. What about you?"

Cecily smiled shyly. "I think my work is fun. Sometimes I even spend my shore leave collecting molds and spores. Makes me seem like a workaholic, I know, but my job was my hobby before it was my job."

"I don't consider my training to be a hobby. My hobby... hmm... would be playing the flute."

She shrugged because that much was true and her eyes twinkled when she got her food delivered to her. Cecily knew this wasn't going to be fun at all, but decided that it was worth it to try new things and the company was enjoyable. So without much ceremony, Cecily put the food up to her mouth and took a bite, only hesitating a moment and feeling the spicy hot wash over her tongue before she knew she was in for it.

"Water?" she managed to get out.

Bridget concealed a giggle. "You can handle it! C'mon!" She slid her glass across the table. "Here, but I don't think it will help if you plan to eat more."

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

Taking another bite, Bridget nodded. "It's the comfortability of knowing I probably don't have long for this job. I was the fifth in line on the station. I'm sure they'll be bringing someone else in, someone more experienced. Maybe then my peers will stop looking at me with envy in their eyes." Bridget was saying too much and she knew it. Stuffing her face, she stopped herself from going any further. Next she'd be spewing the names of the four people she knew who liked her on the station and the fifty who didn't. Maybe she could lie and say she had friends.

Cecily nodded gently. "The accident was a blow to everyone...especially security and marines. Didn't help that so many heads were lost and now we're left to rebuild practically on our own."

While she had her own personal beliefs about Starfleet she knew this wasn't the time nor the place to be talking about them, especially given her position. She was a Senior Officer and she had been one at the time of the accident and lost men to it all so having people hear her talk about how Starfleet had wrong them, was a really bad idea. So she decided to change the subject and instead ask the young woman about herself because they were enjoying food together and it was only polite.

"You were picked because the Captain thinks you can handle the pressure of it all," Cecily explained to her with a nod. "It might not seem like it now, but you're here because you're supposed to be. So...what do you do for fun?"

"Humanoids," she joked. "I usually just spend my free time on a computer terminal, in the holodeck, or roaming about the shops and fooderies on the promenade. What about you?"

Cecily smiled shyly. "I think my work is fun. Sometimes I even spend my shore leave collecting molds and spores. Makes me seem like a workaholic, I know, but my job was my hobby before it was my job."

"I don't consider my training to be a hobby. My hobby... hmm... would be playing the flute."

She shrugged because that much was true and her eyes twinkled when she got her food delivered to her. Cecily knew this wasn't going to be fun at all, but decided that it was worth it to try new things and the company was enjoyable. So without much ceremony, Cecily put the food up to her mouth and took a bite, only hesitating a moment and feeling the spicy hot wash over her tongue before she knew she was in for it.

"Water?" she managed to get out.

Bridget concealed a giggle. "You can handle it! C'mon!" She slid her glass across the table. "Here, but I don't think it will help if you plan to eat more."

Guzzling down water did nothing for the fire on her tongue and as a science officer she knew why: she needed dairy. So she quickly ordered some dairy to help her through this as she laughed it off with Bridget and blushed a little bit at this very embarrassing situation that she had gotten herself in, but she felt pretty okay, honestly. She didn't feel judged and Bridget seemed to be a good sport so she thought that maybe she could get out of this a bit unscathed.

"That's quite the first impression of me, isn't it?" Cecily asked with a warm laugh.

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

Taking another bite, Bridget nodded. "It's the comfortability of knowing I probably don't have long for this job. I was the fifth in line on the station. I'm sure they'll be bringing someone else in, someone more experienced. Maybe then my peers will stop looking at me with envy in their eyes." Bridget was saying too much and she knew it. Stuffing her face, she stopped herself from going any further. Next she'd be spewing the names of the four people she knew who liked her on the station and the fifty who didn't. Maybe she could lie and say she had friends.

Cecily nodded gently. "The accident was a blow to everyone...especially security and marines. Didn't help that so many heads were lost and now we're left to rebuild practically on our own."

While she had her own personal beliefs about Starfleet she knew this wasn't the time nor the place to be talking about them, especially given her position. She was a Senior Officer and she had been one at the time of the accident and lost men to it all so having people hear her talk about how Starfleet had wrong them, was a really bad idea. So she decided to change the subject and instead ask the young woman about herself because they were enjoying food together and it was only polite.

"You were picked because the Captain thinks you can handle the pressure of it all," Cecily explained to her with a nod. "It might not seem like it now, but you're here because you're supposed to be. So...what do you do for fun?"

"Humanoids," she joked. "I usually just spend my free time on a computer terminal, in the holodeck, or roaming about the shops and fooderies on the promenade. What about you?"

Cecily smiled shyly. "I think my work is fun. Sometimes I even spend my shore leave collecting molds and spores. Makes me seem like a workaholic, I know, but my job was my hobby before it was my job."

"I don't consider my training to be a hobby. My hobby... hmm... would be playing the flute."

She shrugged because that much was true and her eyes twinkled when she got her food delivered to her. Cecily knew this wasn't going to be fun at all, but decided that it was worth it to try new things and the company was enjoyable. So without much ceremony, Cecily put the food up to her mouth and took a bite, only hesitating a moment and feeling the spicy hot wash over her tongue before she knew she was in for it.

"Water?" she managed to get out.

Bridget concealed a giggle. "You can handle it! C'mon!" She slid her glass across the table. "Here, but I don't think it will help if you plan to eat more."

Guzzling down water did nothing for the fire on her tongue and as a science officer she knew why: she needed dairy. So she quickly ordered some dairy to help her through this as she laughed it off with Bridget and blushed a little bit at this very embarrassing situation that she had gotten herself in, but she felt pretty okay, honestly. She didn't feel judged and Bridget seemed to be a good sport so she thought that maybe she could get out of this a bit unscathed.

"That's quite the first impression of me, isn't it?" Cecily asked with a warm laugh.

"You like trying new things. I can appreciate that." Bridget finished off what was left on her plate and dabbed her face with a few napkins. The white stained an orange hue as she matted and rolled her fingers over the material.

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

Taking another bite, Bridget nodded. "It's the comfortability of knowing I probably don't have long for this job. I was the fifth in line on the station. I'm sure they'll be bringing someone else in, someone more experienced. Maybe then my peers will stop looking at me with envy in their eyes." Bridget was saying too much and she knew it. Stuffing her face, she stopped herself from going any further. Next she'd be spewing the names of the four people she knew who liked her on the station and the fifty who didn't. Maybe she could lie and say she had friends.

Cecily nodded gently. "The accident was a blow to everyone...especially security and marines. Didn't help that so many heads were lost and now we're left to rebuild practically on our own."

While she had her own personal beliefs about Starfleet she knew this wasn't the time nor the place to be talking about them, especially given her position. She was a Senior Officer and she had been one at the time of the accident and lost men to it all so having people hear her talk about how Starfleet had wrong them, was a really bad idea. So she decided to change the subject and instead ask the young woman about herself because they were enjoying food together and it was only polite.

"You were picked because the Captain thinks you can handle the pressure of it all," Cecily explained to her with a nod. "It might not seem like it now, but you're here because you're supposed to be. So...what do you do for fun?"

"Humanoids," she joked. "I usually just spend my free time on a computer terminal, in the holodeck, or roaming about the shops and fooderies on the promenade. What about you?"

Cecily smiled shyly. "I think my work is fun. Sometimes I even spend my shore leave collecting molds and spores. Makes me seem like a workaholic, I know, but my job was my hobby before it was my job."

"I don't consider my training to be a hobby. My hobby... hmm... would be playing the flute."

She shrugged because that much was true and her eyes twinkled when she got her food delivered to her. Cecily knew this wasn't going to be fun at all, but decided that it was worth it to try new things and the company was enjoyable. So without much ceremony, Cecily put the food up to her mouth and took a bite, only hesitating a moment and feeling the spicy hot wash over her tongue before she knew she was in for it.

"Water?" she managed to get out.

Bridget concealed a giggle. "You can handle it! C'mon!" She slid her glass across the table. "Here, but I don't think it will help if you plan to eat more."

Guzzling down water did nothing for the fire on her tongue and as a science officer she knew why: she needed dairy. So she quickly ordered some dairy to help her through this as she laughed it off with Bridget and blushed a little bit at this very embarrassing situation that she had gotten herself in, but she felt pretty okay, honestly. She didn't feel judged and Bridget seemed to be a good sport so she thought that maybe she could get out of this a bit unscathed.

"That's quite the first impression of me, isn't it?" Cecily asked with a warm laugh.

"You like trying new things. I can appreciate that." Bridget finished off what was left on her plate and dabbed her face with a few napkins. The white stained an orange hue as she matted and rolled her fingers over the material.

Cecily smiled at that and nodded, but pushed the plate away from her. "I think I'll stick to something more bland, regardless. As far as food is concerned, I prefer much less exciting dishes. Company, however? I like excitement." She was going to say more, but she found herself standing and blushing instead. "We should do this some other time, in a planned setting...maybe with steak or something. Nice chatting with you, Bridget."


<Taggles: You can end it. ^.^>

||Starbase 12
||Promenade
||July 30, 2387
||1400


Late lunch had never really been Cecily's thing, but she kind of needed a meal and being couped up in the labs just wasn't okay. Heading to the Promenade, she twirled her blonde hair absent-mindedly around her finger and wandered about wondering just which diner to go into. She wanted something hardy and yet subtle and yet her taste in what she was looking for changed when a smell caught her and her stomach rumbled, wanting it. This was how it happened with hunger sometimes, and she smiled and nodded, heading straight to the Bajoran restaurant: spicy it would be.

"I hope my palate is ready for this," she mused to no one but herself.

Shrugging, she got herself seated and took her hair down, always wanting to feel more relaxed when she indulged in food, looking over the menu. She figured she should get something dairy to drink to curb the spice of the food, but other than that she had no idea what to order because this wasn't normally her thing. In fact, she didn't even like to go out of her norm very often, but something had drawn her here and she wasn't going to just back out by any means. What to get though...that was the question.

Bridget took bite after bite of extra spiced Hasperat, a Bajoran delicacy similar to that of Earth's burrito. It was like a religious experience. How much hot, wet pain could her tongue take? A lot.

They had still yet to find her replacement, but the duty of Acting Chief Security Officer would surely soon be coming to an end. A leader needed the respect of those under her and she had yet to earn that kind of loyalty and devotion. She was green, wet behind the ears. She needed to find a way to make them see her as more than what she really was, a short-haired blonde girl drowning in a sea of self-doubt and self-aggrandized delusion.

An odd thing occured during Bridget's next indulgent bite: Cecily walked in. Cecily was the station's Chief Science Officer and she was several years her senior, several inches taller, and her hair was several shades more naturally blonde than her own--but it was clear as day to anyone who looked at either of them that their eyebrows were the color of tree bark.

"Cecily," Bridget prompted, turning all the way around to the booth behind her, "I mean, Lieutenant Branton... greetings..." Fail. Fail. Fail. "I'm Bridget Maldoran, the new Chief of Security. I don't think we've been formally introduced." She eagerly stretched her hand over the barrier between them--she had not met any of the other Senior Staff, at least not in an off duty manner. She doubted they paid her any mind. It was widely known her time in this position was likely going to be brief.

At her name and title, Cecily was suddenly alert and she looked over at the young woman and found herself nodding a little bit. She got up from her seat and went over to Bridget's table, looking at the other blonde curiously. Cecily spent so much time in her Science Labs that she hadn't really met anyone new lately and stuck to her officers...that was also partially because of the accident. With new people was new potential for them to get killed off and Cecily didn't want to be too attached even though she knew it was healthy and God forbid she be told that not being sociable meant she was unfit for duty.

"Cecily is fine," Cecily said with a smile and a shrug. "We're not in a board room amongst all of our other peers or anything. What are you eating? May I join you?"

"Of course! And I apologize. I never know what to refer to new people."

She wasn't really sure what it was that the two would talk about, but Bridget looked more seasoned with Bajoran food than Cecily was. Cecily ate more bland foods and so it would be nice to share a meal with someone who knew what they were doing...besides, there was something about the woman that made Cecily want to take a seat. So, she plastered a smile on her face and kept eye contact as she waited for Bridget to answer her.

"Hasperat, silly. Surely you've had hasperat? No? I find the trick to be allowing the rich, inferno-like flavors to bathe your tongue in salsa-like sensations. And you can't put it down," she added, taking a bite. "The moment you stop eating it, that's when you really start to feel it. But, I get the super extra, insanely over-spiced kind. There are varieties, of course. I'm no expert, I just eat the stuff."

"Any reccommendation is a good reccommendation," Cecily said with a gentle laugh. "I eat much more bland foods, so I have no idea what it is that I should do with spicy."

Even with that being said, when the waitress came over Cecily ordered some Hasperat and made sure to ask for the mildest form that they had just to be on the safe side. She didn't know if she was going to embarrass herself here, but she knew that she had sought out the company now and she had to be polite and she wanted to be polite. Smiling at Bridget, Cecily leaned her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her hands, looking the young woman in the eye and beaming.

"So, you're the new CSO, huh?" Cecily asked her nodding gently. "I don't spend a lot of time outside of the science labs, but I do think it is probably best that we all be acquainted. Besides, I feel like something about you is...comfortable."

Taking another bite, Bridget nodded. "It's the comfortability of knowing I probably don't have long for this job. I was the fifth in line on the station. I'm sure they'll be bringing someone else in, someone more experienced. Maybe then my peers will stop looking at me with envy in their eyes." Bridget was saying too much and she knew it. Stuffing her face, she stopped herself from going any further. Next she'd be spewing the names of the four people she knew who liked her on the station and the fifty who didn't. Maybe she could lie and say she had friends.

Cecily nodded gently. "The accident was a blow to everyone...especially security and marines. Didn't help that so many heads were lost and now we're left to rebuild practically on our own."

While she had her own personal beliefs about Starfleet she knew this wasn't the time nor the place to be talking about them, especially given her position. She was a Senior Officer and she had been one at the time of the accident and lost men to it all so having people hear her talk about how Starfleet had wrong them, was a really bad idea. So she decided to change the subject and instead ask the young woman about herself because they were enjoying food together and it was only polite.

"You were picked because the Captain thinks you can handle the pressure of it all," Cecily explained to her with a nod. "It might not seem like it now, but you're here because you're supposed to be. So...what do you do for fun?"

"Humanoids," she joked. "I usually just spend my free time on a computer terminal, in the holodeck, or roaming about the shops and fooderies on the promenade. What about you?"

Cecily smiled shyly. "I think my work is fun. Sometimes I even spend my shore leave collecting molds and spores. Makes me seem like a workaholic, I know, but my job was my hobby before it was my job."

"I don't consider my training to be a hobby. My hobby... hmm... would be playing the flute."

She shrugged because that much was true and her eyes twinkled when she got her food delivered to her. Cecily knew this wasn't going to be fun at all, but decided that it was worth it to try new things and the company was enjoyable. So without much ceremony, Cecily put the food up to her mouth and took a bite, only hesitating a moment and feeling the spicy hot wash over her tongue before she knew she was in for it.

"Water?" she managed to get out.

Bridget concealed a giggle. "You can handle it! C'mon!" She slid her glass across the table. "Here, but I don't think it will help if you plan to eat more."

Guzzling down water did nothing for the fire on her tongue and as a science officer she knew why: she needed dairy. So she quickly ordered some dairy to help her through this as she laughed it off with Bridget and blushed a little bit at this very embarrassing situation that she had gotten herself in, but she felt pretty okay, honestly. She didn't feel judged and Bridget seemed to be a good sport so she thought that maybe she could get out of this a bit unscathed.

"That's quite the first impression of me, isn't it?" Cecily asked with a warm laugh.

"You like trying new things. I can appreciate that." Bridget finished off what was left on her plate and dabbed her face with a few napkins. The white stained an orange hue as she matted and rolled her fingers over the material.

Cecily smiled at that and nodded, but pushed the plate away from her. "I think I'll stick to something more bland, regardless. As far as food is concerned, I prefer much less exciting dishes. Company, however? I like excitement." She was going to say more, but she found herself standing and blushing instead. "We should do this some other time, in a planned setting...maybe with steak or something. Nice chatting with you, Bridget."

"You too," Bridget said, standing. She agreed that they should do this again. Cecily seemed nice enough and was a welcomed relief with all the goings on with the people under her. "Perhaps we can immerse ourselves in a holodeck program." She shrugged and picked up her tray. "I'll be in touch."