Joint Duty Log - Cmdr Dahe'el & LtCmdr Waterhouse - "Shall We Take a Turn?"

Posted on Sun Aug 17th, 2014 @ 2:34am by Commander Amelia Waterhouse

977 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: In the Dark

Amelia had noticed when her father had cornered Rochelle for a dance, and how her mother had swooped in on Commander Dahe'el at the same time. She didn't watch too close, but she knew what her mother could be like. Rochelle was still handling the choppy waters of losing Captain Neyes, but it was clear that something was trying to take hold between her and the Cardassian. So while Amelia knew her mother was usually good about being mindful of others' relationships, sometimes it was hard to tell something was there when one of the people involved didn't even realize it. After her parents had parted from Rochelle and Almar, Amelia swooped in.

"How'd you get conned into dancing with my mother?" Amelia asked him, coming up from behind and announcing herself with the question.

"It wasn't so much a con, as me not being rude," the Cardassian replied as he spun on his heel softly and gave a brief nod to the intelligence officer, "Your father left with Rochelle, which left me with your mother, she asked to dance and it would be ungallant to refuse."

"Does that mean if I ask, you'll be obligated out of politeness too?" Amelia grinned, holding her hand out with a wink, to make it clear that she was asking.

"Of course," the newly minted Commander replied with a slight bow as he took her hand and led her towards the dance floor, the third time in the night that he had been asked to dance, something unheard of in his relatively quiet life.

"It's odd, the things people do because tradition dictates it," Amelia mused, following Almar's guidance on the dance floor. Already she could tell he was going to be an easier dance partner than Dani had been. "Did my mother behave while you two danced?"

"She was a delight," Almar replied with a light chuckle as he fell into a similar dance routine, moving the pair of them around and between other members of the crew who had begun or continued dancing, "She cares for Rochelle, that much is clear."

"I think she sees a kindred spirit of a sort," Amelia returned and it was all she could do to keep from audibly sighing with relief. "Besides, I think it's clear Rochelle is part of the family now. Family's important."

"Always," the Cardassian replied as he was reminded of his own family, he suddenly found himself wondering what had happened to them in the recent events surrounding the Federation, his face displayed this as they continued dancing, "She mentioned that they both worked at Utopia Planitia, I was based there too."

A small frown graced Amelia's face as she recognized the look that crossed Almar's, but before she could inquire into it, it was gone and he'd changed the subject.

"Oh, yeah, they've been there for years, ever since like a month before I was accepted into the Acad, when was it..." Amelia made a face as she did the math, and her eyes widened a half a second later when the answer clicked. "Has it been ten years already? Wow."

"Time sure does fly," Almar replied with a slight chuckle, "I was the lead on the development team for the Vindicator, so I was stationed at UP for quite some time, they were loathe to let me go when I demanded to be the ships Chief engineer."

"The brass tends to get upset when those of us below tell them what to do, even when we're right," Amelia allowed with a smirk. "They'll never admit it though."

"After spending so much time sorting out the specifics of this ship, I couldn't bare to let another engineer make a mess of things, it took so long for us to get her running right." he replied.

Amelia nodded, while she wasn't an engineer, she'd certainly tried her hands on smaller projects with her father's help. She could sympathize. "I'm surprised Daddy didn't corner you to talk shop with him."

"The offer is on the table for after we are done here, we have plenty of time while the Vindicator is being repaired," the Cardassian responded with a slight chuckle, "I'm sure the Admiral will find time to visit my office."

"He'll insist on taking you out for a pint, if he can find anywhere that can pour a proper one. Blood wine may have to suffice, but he'll avoid uniform and rank if he can," Amelia insisted with a grin. She glanced around, looking to see if she could spot where her parents had wandered off to.

"Your family seem to have a thing about real alcohol," he replied with another chuckle as the song begun slowing down, a lull in the melody providing a respite from the slightly higher tempo.

"It tastes better," Amelia dismissed with a shrug. "I think the pint's more of a social thing that came from Gran'dad. When we'd go and visit Earth, I'd sit on his knee when he and Dad hit the Lighthouse pub in San Fran, or they'd visit some pub back in London."

"I'd rather not talk too much about Earth, the last time I was there was rather an unpleasant experience," Almar replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Amelia said softly. She wasn't sure what to change the subject to, so she stayed quiet.

Coming to an end gently, the song found the two parting slightly, the Cardassian giving his partner a bow of his head, "It was a pleasure Lieutenant Commander."

"Likewise, commander," Amelia returned with a slight nod. "Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your evening."

"I shall do my best," he replied before turning on his heel and heading towards the bar.

=/\= END LOG =/\=

Commander Almar Dahe'el
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Vindicator

Lt Commander Amelia Waterhouse
Infiltration Specialist
USS Vindicator

 

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