Knight in Shining Armor

Posted on Thu Jan 26th, 2023 @ 1:53am by Lieutenant Commander Ryan Knight & Lieutenant Callie Knight
Edited on on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 @ 1:15am

1,088 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: New Sheriff in Town
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD 1, 1030 hrs

Ryan stepped into an empty Sickbay and looked around for a moment. He had planned on getting his inprocessing physical done following his late breakfast with the Captain and Security Chief. Seeing the empty room, it dawned on him that most of the ship's officers and crew were taking a short liberty on Arcadia Base. He was just about to leave when the sound of someone cursing could be heard from the medical storage closet.

In the storage closet Callie been trying to reach a box that was sitting on a high shelf, managing to grab it the box had slipped out of her hand and now it’s contents lay strewn all over the floor. She was so annoyed with herself for making a mess that her senses hadn’t picked up on the arrival of anyone else.

Ryan pursed his lips for a heart beat before walking over to the door and activating the open switch. He looked down at the attractive young woman kneeling to pick up supplies scattered about the closet floor. He took a knee next to Callie and started to help clean up the mess. "Let me give you a hand."

Callie had almost leapt out of her skin as the door opened, her own emotions blocking her Betazoid senses for a few moments. She offered a polite smile as she looked at the man now kneeling down beside her. “Thank you, you’re very kind. I take it you must have heard my momentary lapse in decorum a moment ago? I’m sorry if you did.” She paused picking up for a moment. “I’m Callie Vali, the new Chief Counsellor.”

Ryan collected the last of the supplies and deposited them in the box before rising, the supply box in his left hand. He reached out with his right hand and helped Callie to her feet before shaking hand. "Pleasure to meet you Chief Counselor Callie Vali. New Chief Helmsman Ryan Knight at your service." He easily returned the supply box to the top shelf and then pointed in turn to each box on either side. "Which one did you need down.

Pointing to the next box along Callie offered a warm smile. “That one please.”

Ryan took the box down and handed it to Callie. He gave a slight nod to the Sickbay entrance. "Do you know when one of the medical officers will be back? I just came aboard this morning and was hoping to get my boarding physical knocked out."

Callie shook her head. “To be honest I’ve no idea.” She offered an apologetic smile. “I could do that for you, but how’s about ...” she paused for a moment. “Would you like to have dinner with me? As a thank you for your help.”

Ryan was slightly caught off guard by the invitation for the span of a heartbeat. "I would consider it an honor and a pleasure Counselor, but I don’t think what I did warrants such a reward. All I did was help pick up a few scattered items and pull down a piece of equipment for you."

Callie smiled warmly. “To be honest I don’t want to eat alone, and you’ve been my Knight in shining armour saving me from this...so dinner is the least I can do.”

Ryan chuckled at the play of words on his name. He returned Callie's warm smile with one of his own. "Very well then. I know a few good restaurants on Arcadia, unless you would prefer to remain aboard the Defiant."

“I’ll go with whatever you care to recommend” Callie smiled warmly. “There is something you should know about me first though ...” she paused for a moment. “I’m a Betazoid, one of, if not the only Betazoid in Starfleet.”

Ryan looked thoughtful for a moment. "Betazoid. Home world of Betazed, joined the Federation about ten years ago as the 81st member. Capitol is the city of Rixx.... Betazoid are a telepathic race aren't they?"

“That’s right” Callie nodded. “Telepathic and Empathic, don’t worry I don’t read minds without permission, and you’d feel me doing it anyway. I can sense and read your emotions, it’s something that’s always there. Think of it as a constant hum of background voices and feelings, I have to keep my mind closed off or they’d practically drive me insane.”

Ryan made a mental note to keep his emotions in check. "Anyway, back to the topic of dinner. Do you have a preference for a particular type of food? Do you want someplace with music and dancing or something a little quieter?"

“Erm ...” Callie paused. “Somewhere a little quieter would be good, just until I’ve had chance to fully adjust to my new surroundings. It can take a little while sometimes. That’s if you don’t mind of course?”

Ryan knew a good place with quiet background music and comfortable booths, but it was rather upscale. "I know a good place, but I have to insist it be my treat."

Callie offered the biggest smile yet. “If you insist! As long as I get to return the favour another time. I cook a mean dinner.”

Ryan matched Callie's big smile with one of his own. "We have an accord then. How about we meet at the airlock say.... What would be a good time for you?"

“How’s about 1900 hours? It’ll give me time to freshen up first.” She gave Ryan a curious look. “That’s if it’s a good time for you?”

"Perfect." Ryan nodded. He didn't have any duties other than inprocessing and unpacking once his belongings arrived from Arcadia’s BOQ apartments. "I recommend dressing up a bit. Giovanni's is a pretty upscale Italian restaurant."

Callie nodded. “Oh I’m sure I can do that, I still have my things to unpack but I’ll find something suitable.”

Ryan smiled one last time before gesturing towards the exit. "I'll leave you to your work. Hope you're day is pleasant and see you at nineteen hundred." He stepped away from Callie almost reluctantly and exited the Sickbay. He's paused halfway to the turbolift and chuckled. 'Haven't been aboard for two hours and you have made a dinner date with the promise of a second,' he thought.

Watching Ryan go Callie smiled to herself, it seemed she’d found a very interesting man that she was looking forward to learning more about.

{OFF}

 

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