Dinner For Two [Nefen / Kaz]

[Leela's Quarters]

Leela had been trying to find ways to bond with her newest co-worker, Nefen. He seemed a bit stiff while in Engineering. She was hoping the quieter setting in her quarters may make him more comfortable. She was genuinely interested in getting to know the only other joined Trill onboard.

She was working feverishly to get her quarters in order. Leela knew that Nefen would be arriving any moment and in true Kaz fashion her quarters were a mess. She replicated a glass of Vulcan Brandy and picked up the last few pieces of clothing from the floor.

[Crew Quarters Deck]

Tufezr sighed and looked at a nearby panel as he made his way down the hallway, noting the time. With a curse under his breathe, he hoped Leela wouldn't be upset that he was a few minutes late. The inertial dampeners had taken forever to calibrate today on account of some unexpected setbacks, but the issue had been resolved with determination and a little elbow grease. Still, Tufezr found himself embarrassed at not seeming punctual to his fellow Engineering Officer and Joined Trill.

He finally found her quarters, smoothed his tunic and his hair, then tapped on the button to ring for her. He heard the chime through the door, and waited patiently for her to invite him in, hoping she wouldn't be upset.

[Leela's Quarters]

As Leela gathered the last of her dirty clothes she heard the chime of her door. Damn she thought. She glanced around her quarters looking for an appropriate place to hide the stash in her arms. The she noticed her bedroom door. "Just one minute." Leela hollered from the door to her bedroom. She opened the door an threw the dirty clothes on her bed. She slipped on the shoes by her bed and grabbed the earrings from the nightstand. She put the earrings on as she made her way to the door to greet Tufezr.

Her dress was purple print, fitted, made its way down to the top of her knee. Leela had always secretly hated her short stature, other than her uniform, nothing seemed to fit right. Above her knee the dress featured a slit that ran up her thigh along her spots. She tapped the button to open the door.

A smile found its way across her face as the door slid open. "Tufezr! Please come in." She made a gesture towards the interior of her quarters. "The table was near the door. She picked up a glass of Vulcan Brandy she had been working on prior to Nefen's arrival. "Vulcan Brandy, Ensign? If recall correctly I owe you one."

[Leela Kaz's Quarters]

Tufezr heard his fellow Engineering officer call out for him to wait and he did so, folding his hands in front of him. He wondered what it was that was holding her up, but knew it wasn't his right to pry, not even a little bit. So, in his overly polite manner, he waited outside the door. Thankfully, he didn't need to wait very long.

He felt underdressed when he saw Leela in an elegant and complimentary purple dress, then he wondered if he was actually supposed to feel overdressed. He had presumed when he was assigned to the Fleetwood that only uniforms were allowed, but ever since he'd come aboard, he'd seen plenty of people wearing different outfits whenever they were off duty. He smiled back in a friendly manner as he entered her quarters, having been invited in, and briefly looked about her quarters in curiosity before answering her.

"Thank you, I think I'll go ahead and try it."

There may be hope for you yet. Leela was surprised that Tufezr had agreed to the drink. He seemed lace so tight in Engineering. She made her way to the cabinet. Leela had always made it a point to keep real glasses and maintain a small bar. She set the glass on the table and poured out about 3 ounces. A smirk appeared on Leela's face as she passed the glass to Nefen. "Take it easy... this stuff has a way of sneaking up on you. I hope your feeling adventurous. I thought I would introduce you to some of my favorite Vulcan food... It goes well with the Brandy. We're having Plomeek Soup, Vulcan Mollusks and, my personal favorite, Kreyla Bread. Its out of this world!"

Tufezr himself had been surprised he had even agreed to such a social, non-professional encounter in the first place, but then again Leela seemed to have a way to disengage. He just couldn't say no to someone who was so congenial, let alone the only other member of his species onboard. The Vulcan delicacies did sound intriguing, and he and his symbiont did enjoy new experiences, as the Symbiont would be able to carry them on to it's next host. He accepted the glass with a smile and a nod of his head in thanks. "Well, good thing I've had drinks before and know how best to take in something strong." He raised the glass to his lips and lightly tilted it first, getting an initial taste, then backed off a bit before continuing to slowly take a drink, then set it down on the table. "Wow!...Out of this quadrant is more like."

Leela smiled. "I'm glad you like it. Don't worry. If you do over indulge..." Leela laughed as she thought about her next sentence. "You wouldn't be the first drunken Ensign that Kaz drug home at 0200. The stories I could tell you. Some of my past host enjoyed indulging from time-to-time; to put it mildly." Leela finished her last sip and poured another drink. "So Nefen... Tell me about Nefen?"

He tilted his head at Leela in confusion for a moment, then understanding came over Tufezr. "Ah! Well, you see, despite tradition, Nefen is not the name of my Symbiont I'm afraid. Nefen was my father's name, and for his influence in my life as a child I honor him with carrying his name. My Symbiont prefers to keep his name private, it's just one of his quirks." The joined Trill smiled and set down his glass, intending to take it easy if at all possible. "But, to put it simply...he's the most knowledgeable and wisest being I've ever encountered."

Leela took another sip of her drink as she focused on Nefens words. "That's a beautiful way to honor your father. I know what you mean about the wisdom. In the blink of an eye so much of the unknown to Leela suddenly made perfect sense. Although I did struggle with pronouns for the first year. Gavin could tell you some stories." Leela laughed as she brought up Gavin. "Ensign Van Gelder and I went to the academy together and he was witness to the year that I didn't seem to know who I was from moment to moment... There were days that I would wake up and before I had a chance to think I thought I was Juval or Nantia. There are so many strong personalities swimming around in my head. I didn't even want to join Starfleet until after I was joined. How about you?

Tufezr nodded and listened to her in turn, taking a sip of the strong wine but not too much. The taste was pleasant to an extent, but he knew that if he had the whole glass he wasn't going to last without passing out or doing something foolish. He could already feel his inhibitions beginning to slip, but he held onto memories of professionalism from his Symbiont, of duty and responsibility in the face of any situation. That helped him stay focused, and he forced a smile that he hoped appeared genuine.

"Joining Starfleet was never really in my plans, to be honest. I was at the Trilius Prime Academy for Starship Engineering when a Starfleet Chief Engineer came through to inspect a design that was being shared with the rest of the Federation. I got to talk to him and....he just made Engineering seem like a calling, not just a profession involving research and mathematics, but actually going out into the known galaxy and doing something significant."

"I had a similar experience. I wanted to add to the greater good. But Kaz is what really tipped the scale for me. Leela was such a shy quiet girl before joining. Leela excelled in mathematics but Kaz took her understanding to a new level. One of my past host actually designed Trill's first warp engine. It was truly a magnificent accomplishment. One Kaz is probably most proud of. Ever since then Engineering seems to run through the blood."

Tufezr nodded. "It certainly sounds like your Symbiont has seen much in the way of our people's history, whether taking an active part in it or simply having the good fortune to be there to see it happen. My own has always ended up with Engineers, all who were usually involved in research and development more so than the practical application of Engineering sciences. I'm the first to not only be using Engineering in a physical setting, but to take part in it off of the homeworld."

Leela smiled at the Trill. "Yeah I guess I have. You probably have seen a lot too." She made her way to the table and placed a bowl containing the soup and a plate with the bread onto the table. "Please. Take a seat. Trust me, you don't want cold Plomeek soup." She said as she began to plate the food for both of them. "You know, I consider myself to be a connoisseur, of sorts, of Vulcan cuisine. I programmed this into the replicator myself. The recipe on file in the computer was terrible. My first host was a chef it's become a hobby of mine."

Tufezr nodded, more than happy to take up Leela's advice on this thing since he didn't have much experience with exotic foods. Vulcans were well known for their unusual dishes, and he just hoped that the soup wouldn't get the better of him, so to speak. "Well, then I know I can trust you not to be trying to poison your fellow Engineering Officer, I know you wouldn't want to be stuck doing all of the nacelle maintenance by yourself on a daily basis."

Leela let out a polite laugh at Nefen's attempt at a joke. He seemed to Leela to have some odd quirks but so far the evening was delightful. "Well I don't know Nefen, I guess there is only one way for you to find out." Leela dipped her spoon in and asavored one bite. "Its great, no poison. So tell me. What do you think of the Phoenix?"