Dinner Date
Posted on Thu Mar 12th, 2026 @ 7:23pm by Petty Officer 1st Class Kaylara Loran & Lieutenant Junior Grade Stefan Zamfir
Edited on on Thu Mar 12th, 2026 @ 7:50pm
1,483 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Episode 17 - Going Home
Location: Gymnasium - Deck 7 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD010 1800 hrs
Stefan had a secret that he'd been keeping to himself. He had planted a red rose bush in the Garden Cube, it having buds that were almost ready to open. The name of the rose was Mister Lincoln, the color of the rose a deep dark red, with a pleasant scent. And also, the petals were edible. (He could blame the knowledge of that from his brother, Lucien)
Tonight the roses bloomed, and tonight he was going to take Kaylara to see the roses then to dinner on the holodeck. They weren't on duty, and the ship was on its way towards Earth for shore leave. He wasn't dressed up in uniform or his civvies. He wore instead a black tunic top which was loosely laced up in front a pirate style of shirt, black trousers and boots, with a red sash about his waist. he also wore a red kerchief about his head.
Stefan stepped outside of his quarters, he didn't care about the glances he was receiving. His focus was more on Kaylara.
He wasn't certain where Kaylara was, so he asked the computer to locate her.
Kaylara was running the ropes course, more for fun than exercise. And it helped her keep agile. She had nothing planned for the evening and she didn't have to be in intel the next day, so tonight was for relaxing.
She was in the gymnasium on deck 7. He'd not been there yet. It was rather serendipitous Stefan mused, as he'd wanted to check it out. The door to the gym opened with a quiet swoosh, Stefan stepping inside. His eyes were drawn towards Kaylara, as she made her way through the rope course. It was like watching a dance, he was mesmerized by her graceful movements, he was outright staring.
She was focused on getting through the course as quickly as she could without any slips or stumbles. She often raced Jayna, but the half Vulcan was a gymnast, which gave her an edge. But it did push her to do better.
She was not so focused that she didn't notice when someone came in and stopped. It only took her a moment to recognize who it was. Without slowing or turning her head, she smiled. "I'd ask you to join me, but that sash will get in the way."
Stefan looked down at the sash, then laughed. “Well, that can be taken care of rather quickly." the sash coming off in seconds and he went to where Kaylara was. "Okay lets climb. Or I play follow the leader."
When was the last time he had climbed ropes with Kaylara? Oh yes it was when they first met on Poseidon Station. That was quite the encounter. He never thought he would find someone like Kaylara a beautiful woman who turned his world upside down.
Laughing, she responded, "If you can keep up." No, she wasn't as good at climbing the rigging as Stefan, but this was something she had done a lot. She grabbed a rope and used it to cut a corner and get to the next platform.
"A challenge gauntlet has been tossed at my feet." Stefan quipped, grabbing another rope to climb after Kaylara.
He decided to get up high enough to swing up after her. Besides he didn't mind the view he was getting, as he followed.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner with me." landing where she was. Stefan giving a chuckle.
She flashed him a saucy grin. "If you can keep up, sure."
"Though I do have something I'd like to share with you, before we do go to dinner." Stefan ready to enjoy the game of tag. "It’s located in the Garden Box."
"Okay." Kaylara picked up her pace to get through the course quicker partly to stay ahead of Stefan and partly because she was curious what he'd one in the garden cube.
Stefan concentrated on going after Kaylara, though he almost slipped on a couple of the ropes, he was sort of distracted as he watched the nimbleness of the dark haired intelligence officer.
"Whoops!" Stefan grunted quietly after catching himself from falling off the course.
Kaylara paused, looking back at Stefan. "Careful. there are mats, but a fall can be painful." When she was sure he'd regained his footing, she continued.
She was going to win that was certain, Stefan didn't mind. Though he should pick up the pace, there was the fact of dinner and the rose he wanted to show Kaylara. And he acted upon his thoughts, catching up to Kaylara.
"I am catching up to you." he chuckled.
"Until now." Kaylara grabbed a rope so she could use the momentum to swing out. Then she let go, did a flip mid-air, and landed on her feet on the mat. It was something Jayna taught her and the two had been practicing landings for several weeks.
Stefan pulled a rope towards him, not moving at the moment as he watched Kaylara do her flip. It was amazing! He didn't perform a stunt, he just swung down landing next to her, sweeping Kaylara into a kiss.
"That was fantastic" Stefan remarked, looking into her eyes. "You're quite good."
"Not as good as you on that pirate ship," she countered.
Leaning in, Stefan gave Kaylara a kiss, Whispering "I am thinking that with all the practice that you've been doing, I may need to worry about you taking over the pirate ship." taking her hand interlinking their fingers together.
As they walked towards the exit of the gym, Stefan paused momentarily to scoop up his red sash, draping it over his left shoulder.
"Nope. I'm a landlubber. I'm happy with ropes courses and computers." Playing pirate once in a while was fun, but Kaylara had no desire to make a habit of it.
A smile from Stefan, "Very well." him not being disappointed.
On the way to the Garden Cube, Stefan looked at the beautiful woman walking beside him, "Do you like flowers, Kaylara?" It wasn't something he'd asked before.
"Depending on the flower, yes." She looked over at him, wondering what he had in mind. "As long as they aren't pink."
"Well, the flower that I wish you to see, isn't pink" Stefan responded, leading Kaylara to where the rose bush he had planted resided.
When they neared it, there was a soft light shining which made the dark red of the rose stand out.
"This is its first bloom, and I really wanted you to see it. I thought it exquisite, which is also the same way I view you." Stefan softly caressed her cheek before he stepped back. He wanted Kaylara to have a close look at the roses if she wished.
It was beautiful. Kaylara appreciated the deep red color, too. "Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek. No one had done anything like this for her before and she really wasn't sure what to say.
A gentle smile. "You are very welcome." Stefan pleased that Kaylara liked the roses.
"Where dinner is concerned, I had thought to have it in the holodeck on a pirate ship. That could be changed though. We had dined on a pirate ship when we first met." Stefan remarked.
"I would like to know something. Where would you like to eat, and is there a favorite setting you like best?" Stefan looking deeply into Kaylara's eyes.
"I like a lot of things, so I don't have a favorite." She shook her head. "I don't have a favorite setting, either. I like a lot of things. So, I'll turn it back to you. Do you have a favorite food or location?"
"I actually do have a favorite place from my childhood. It is where my siblings and I were raised. We were on a farm just outside of Viscri, Romania. Plenty of fresh air, it was historical in nature the old ways preserved as in, no technology as they were wanting to live simply."
His eyes lit up as he thought of his childhood home. "I did go visit a year or so ago, hoping to find a clue about my brother."
"Kaylara, let's go have dinner there, and I can show you where I roamed." another thought hit him., "Would you like to see the place when we get to Earth?"
A slow smile spread across her face. "Yes. I've never been to Romania. I hear it's lovely."
"Fantastic, let’s go eat!" Stafan exclaimed, giving Kaylara a heartfelt embrace, before they left the Garden Cube.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Stefan Zamfir
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
Petty Officer First Class Kaylara Loran
Data Systems Analyst, USS Pioneer
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