You are cordially invited

Posted on Wed Aug 3rd, 2022 @ 9:17am by Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani & Commander Sthilg

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Senior officers deck
Timeline: Before start of Reef
1620 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Sthilg let out a whistle as he made his way along the corridors before stopping at the door. 2 W-0. Opening up the wallet of invites he began flicking through until he found the one he was after. Miraj's invite slid quietly under the door before he began heading to the next door.

He was half way down the corridor when the turbo lift at the end open, and Miraj herself stepped out, uniform boots dangling from one hand, feet bare, Seeing Sthilg standing in the corridor she gave him a big smile and a cheery wave. "Ahoy, doctor Sthilg! How's thing's in sick bay? "

Looking up from the door he was sliding an invite under the gorn gave her a warm smile. " Thingsss are well in sssickbay my friend. How are thingsss; is the girl holding up?" he said tapping the ship's walls.

Miraj reached our and ran a palm soothingly over the bulkhead. "Starting to get testy I think. She needs a good long run on our next mission. Let her stretch her warp coils."

" I'm sssure ssshe'll get one." The gorn said as his hand began going to his bag. " Oh dear I've already ssslid your invite under the door."

Her blue eyes went huge with excitement. "Invitation? Are you having a party? "

" An engagement party. I've asssked Deanna to marry me and ssshe'sss said yesss." Sthilg replied beaming with happiness.

Seeing the gorn smile was adorable, despite the teeth, and she beamed right back. "Congratulations!" And then it hit her, and she felt embarrasment surge. "I'm afraid I don't know Deanna. I don't think I've even met her." She pulled at the ends of her pigtail with one finger. "Sorry."

" No need to appologissse my dear. I'm sssure you love Deanna when you meet her. In fact I'm giving out the invitesss. Would you like to walk and talk with me?" he asked.

"Always" she said, falling into step beside him. "Is it a big party? Are you having it here? or waiting till we hit a party world? Or a station?"

" Oh I'm inviting the whole ssship. Hopefully, we can have it in one of the cargo baysss next time we're docked." The gorn replied as he slid the next one under the door.

Miraj's jaw dropped. "Shiver me timbers! All of us? There's thousands of us!"

" Well a gorn wedding isss meant to included all of your family and everyone on thisss ssship isss my family." The gorn replied with a smile.

"Awww, that's so sweet. You might need bigger than a cargo bay though," Miraj realised. "You may want to find somewhere with a big arboretum, like they have on Spacedock. Twetny five hundred people in a cargo bay sounds... sweaty."

" I'm sssure we can find somewhere." Sthilg replied still holding his smile.

Miraj nodded. "I guess if it comes to it, I can play Shuttle Tetris and clear the main hangar. But a big arboretum would probably be better. Not everyone likes hanging around ships as much as I do," she sighed.

" Don't worry my friend. I'll find sssomewhere ssso you neatly ordered ssshuttlesss may remain ssso." Sthilg replied before he paused as he thought something through. " Well there isss sssomething you could help me with."

"Anything you need! I'm always happy to help."

" Well...." the gorn said as he best though his way through to describe it. " Part of the marriage ceremony of my faith has the family granting their blessssing to the union. Asss my own are no longer with usss would you do me the honer of standing in for one of my sssisstersss." he asked softly.

"Shiver me timbers, Are you sure?" it seemed like an awfully important job to give to someone he only really met in meetings. She'd probably spent more time with his evil counterpart in the Mirror Universe than with kindly lizrd in front of her. "I mean. I'm flattered, very very honored, but, is that okay? Wouldn't Commander Kelea-Selik be more suited? Or, or, or the captain, or the colonel?"

" I have other roles I need to ask them to do." The old doctor replied.

"Oh." Gorn weddings sounded complicated. "Okay, well, yes, of course, Absolutely. Do I need to do anything beyond say "yes" at the right moment? Is it just on th day, or are there before and after bits too? Whats the dresscode? lIke, is it bad luck to wear purple, or multiple colours, or look in mirrors?"

" All you need to do isss sssay a few wordsss. There no dresssss code so feel free to wear your dress blues or whatever formal wear you like." The gorn explained.

"Well, then, yes, I'd be happy to." Miraj had a couple of nice dresses. There was the turqoise tartan one with the peter pan collar, or the lovely bronze pinafore dress, and her sailor suit. Though if everyone there was starfleet, maybe the dress uniform was more appropriate. "I can manage words. As long as they're short. And easy to understand."

" I'm sssure you'll do great, little one. " Sthilg said reassuringly.

"I won't let you down!" The young hybrid promised, "And thank you for the consideration. And congratulations on your engagement."

" The plessssure isss all mine my friend. " Sthilg said happily. " You know I have a fressshly baked chocolate cake if you'd like sssome."

Miraj's ears pricked up. "Baked? Not replicated?" Please say yes, please say yes She hadn't had home baking since she last saw her father, before her senior year.

The gorn nodded. " Ingredientsss delivered from earth two daysss ago."

Miraj bit her lip. She had been planning to go into her quarters and read some of her Bloodbeard novel, but...cake! "I would love some!"

Sthilg leads the way to his quarters. As the door opened a welcoming smell wafted out as he lead the way through his more library than quarters. " A beef ssstew for tonight's dinner. " He said as he walked over to the kitchen and picked up a static pod and pressed the lid. The smell of a warm sticky chocolate cake wafted into the room and towards Miraj.

"That smells amazing!" Miraj gushed, mouth watering, "Do you bake a lot?"

" I have ever sssince Conner/Alicia came into my life. I don't know why but after my ssshot in the mirror universssse I've ssstarted wanting to make thingsss with my own hand. Ssstill trying to work out why. " Sthilg replied as he cut Miraj a decent-sized slice the chocolate running down the brown sponge.

She took the offered slice, and took a far larger bite that she should have done, letting the ganache ooze across her tongue, and reveling in the velvety texture of the sponge. "ohmigoodnessthasam'zing." she mumbled through her mouthful, spraying a couple of crumbs, and closing her eyes in bliss.

"I take it you approve?" Sthilg said happily with a reptilian grin.

The young hybrid nodded, mouth still full. It took a moment to work through the massive bite. "Its really good." She agreed, and took another bite, demolishing about a third of the remaining slice.

The gorn smiled. Good to know others like his cooking.

The young pilot finished cramming the cake into her mouth, eyes bright with pleasure. "theysayrep'catorsdon'tastediff'r'nt," she said miraculously managing to keep her mouth mostly shut and without spraying crumbs, "buthomemade'sbetter." She swallowed the last lump, and winced as the barely chewed mouthful forced its way down. "Blow me down, that was good."

The gorn chuckled. " Glad you approve."

"Always." She wiped away a smear of ganache from the side of her mouth. "So, do you want me to take the rest of this deck?"

" There'sss ssssome chocolate sssconesss in it if your willing?" Sthilg added with a smile.

"You had me at chocloate." Miraj swept the pile of invitations off the table, leaving another for the doctor. "I'll be back for scones later."

The gorn smiled as he watched her leave. " I'll see you later." He called after her as his arm extended to take the other invitations.

--------

An hour or so later, Miraj made it back from her deliveries, humming a sea shaty and swinging her boots in her hand. Just inside the door was was her own invitiation. She saw it and the shanty died away. Picking it up she looked at it. It was elegant and restrained, indicating a date, with a location to follow. Letting the door slide closed behind her she took it to the shelf in the living space, to find it a home.

Already on the shelf was the invite from the two Commander Taylors wedding from a few months ago. And the invite to Captain Lalor's wedding with her new man. And S'hib's and colonel azul's of course. Four invitations and she hadn't been on board a year. And of course she'd read of others' weddings and engagements that she hadn't been to. The annoucement of George and the woman he married almost instantly on meeting her for example. And Lieutenant de Tolly's engagment announcement. There'd been the one about the de la rosa's practically the day she'd come aboard. And there was scuttlebutt going around about Lt Mcbride and a marine that would probably see them added to the list sometime soon. And probably more besides.

The young pilot put the fourth invitiation on the shelf, between S'hibs and the Captain's, stripped out of her uniform and into her night gown. With a sigh, and a last wistful look at the shelf, she slide into the cold sheets of her large bed and tried not to feel how empty it felt.

If she didn't succeed, well, there was no-one there to know, was there?

 

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