Part III - Lunch

Posted on Thu Aug 8th, 2024 @ 6:33pm by Lieutenant Fang Lee & Lieutenant JG Zai & Lieutenant Lanna Alexander & Lieutenant Chloe O'Connor MD

1,347 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Lacertae Mortis
Location: Mess Hall | USS Arcadia
Timeline: Current

Previously on Lunch....


Lee Fang entered the mess to grab a coffee. A familiar laugh drew his eyes. He finished pouring his coffee and looked around, his eyes landing on a laughing Zai. He smiled when he saw Doctor O’Connor and the Counselor. Zai was coming out of his comfort zone and making friends. While Fang himself was not the best at this he was happy to see Zai smiling.

Fang added some milk to his coffee and headed over to say hello. It didn’t take long weaving through the full mess. “Hello Doctor, Counselor.”

It was Zai who turned around first and Fang stopped for a moment, eyes widening at the genuine joy on Zai’s face, something he hadn’t seen in a long time. Zai was having fun. He felt an odd burning behind his eyes but resisted the urge to rub them.

“Lee Fang! Have you come to join us?”

And now the conclusion ...



Fang gave a startled cough as he noticed Zai being Zai. He sighed and walked over and placed his coffee on the table. “First. Hello again ladies.”

“Hello Fang” Lanna smiled warmly. “Please sit and make yourself comfortable.”

“Yes, please,” Chloe chimed in, pointing out the empty seat. “We have plenty of space. And food.”

“No, I’m sorry I can’t join you. I have a shift meeting to lead in a few minutes but I wanted to say hello.” He picked up the napkin on the table and shook his head. “You eat like a child Ah-Zee” Fang proceeded to grab Zai’s chin and turned it up as he wiped the side of his cheek and mouth. “Always with the sauces and desserts.”

Having cleaned off the sauce he placed the napkin on the table. “There, better.”

Before he could grab his Coffee Zai grabbed it. “Ohhh Coffee.”

“Wait it doesn’t have…”

Zai took a sip and scrunched his brow. “Yuck. No sugar.”

Fang shook his head “I warned you.”

Zai grabbed the sugar on the table and added a little stirring. He took another sip. “There. Better.” He handed it to Fang who took it and shook his head.

“You know I hate sugar in coffee, Ah-Zee."

Zai laughed. “But you’ll drink it anyway.”

“Indeed.” Fang used his middle finger and thumb and flicked Zai's forehead and then turned to the ladies. “I should go. Enjoy your lunch. It was great to see you again Counselor and Doctor once again thank you for your care in sickbay.”

“Thank you for fixing the tricorder,” she countered with an easy going smile, although she genuinely confused by the interaction between the two Capellan’s. All that was clear was that Fang saw himself as something of a mother hen, given how he had chided Zai and taken steps to clean up the mess but what followed reminded her more of her brothers. “Hopefully you won’t need our services too often, but happy to be there if you do. Especially if you keep fixing things while you are there!”

“It’s a shame you’re not joining us Fang” Lanna offered a warm smile as she finished chewing on some of her salad. “You’ll have to make sure you can next time.”

He smiled. "Next time for sure Counselor." He turned to O'Connor. "The tricorder was an interesting issue. I actually used it as a briefing for unusual issues. I was able to recreate it since Zai and I solved it and the staff found it a fun exercise, so if anything else goes wrong like that please let me know. As for sickbay," He chuckled. "We're engineers so chances are we will get there quite a bit as a group but I aim to ensure everything runs as smoothly and safely as possible."

Fang paused briefly. "Well, I should go." He gave a slight bow then placed a hand on Zai's shoulder. "Ah-Zee I know you do not like swimming when others are around I have asked the rec ensign to keep the pool open a bit longer for you after your shift tonight."

Zai smiled. "Thanks. Oh wait!" He cut a bit of chocolate cake, Fang's favorite. "Double chocolate orange."

Fang laughed a deep laugh. "Are you bribing me for a better shift?"

"Only if it works."

Fang rolled his eyes. "No, but I'll still have the cake." He leaned down and ate it from Zai's fingers. "Alright. See you later." He gave Zai's shoulder a squeeze. "Enjoy your lunch everyone."

“Are the two of you always so...close?” Lanna looked at Zai curiously wondering about the relationship between the two of them. “The way you treat each other, is quite...personal.”

"Indeed. We've always been close. It seems as if we've known one another forever." Which wasn't a lie. In a sense they had. He brought forth another deflection. "As I said Lee Fang saved my life on the first day of the Academy and he stayed with me until I was recovered. From then on, although he was in a different level at the academy we were both bound by our Capellan blood and we stayed together. All of our postings have been on the same ships, we served in the warrior battalion together during the Klingon war and now we are here." He looked at the counselor. "Are friends not personal?"

Lanna nodded. “Of course they are Zai, you just seem close in more of a family way rather than just friends.”

The comment went right over Zai's head. "I guess, in a sense, we are like family. We are the only two Capellan's in Starfleet and few of our people are off planet at all so...we have one another to rely on. So yes Friends close as family."

Lanna smiled. She wasn’t suggesting there was a romantic element between the two and she didn’t want to push it any further than what she’d already said. “I miss my home world, but I love being here out in space learning what’s out here. It’s exciting.”

He gave a nod. "It is. I never truly appreciated the vastness of space until I left Capella." He looked at the two women. "I must say I do find it interesting learning new things. May I make a request of the two of you?"

Lanna gave Zai a curious look. “That’s fine with me!” She looked towards Chloe.

Fang turned to Lanna first. "Can you teach me about Betazed...the matriarchal culture is so fascinating. If I ever do return to Capella I would like to advocate for more equality."

Lanna gave Zai a wide eyed look. “By all means Zai, that’s a very noble thing to do.”

He shrugs. "Capella has a lot to learn...we are slightly more xenophobic then Vulcan is. This," he motions to the ship. "Is eye opening in some ways. If I ever do return it would be nice to do something that means something to someone."

He turned to Chloe next. "Will you teach me to mix drinks. I can make engineer's hooch alright but I would like to learn more."

“Sure,” Chloe agreed, unable to see any harm. “I’m a little out of practice though.”

Zai smiled and meant it. This was the first time he could feel himself relax completely as if all thoughts and worries just melted for the moment. The rest of the time was spent chatting and laughing and getting to know one another. For Zai it was interesting getting to know both Chloe and Lanna. There was a bond of sorts that he knew was forming and as much as a part of him was worried about it, being that he'd never formed these kinds of bonds or friendships before, there was also a bit of surrendering to the now.

It would be something he'd remember when he left the ship and another memory for the little treasure box in his mind.

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