Fitting In

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 6:50am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Commander Mindo & Ignatius
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 1:41pm

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: Deck 5 - The Crescent, Gentleman's Clothes
Timeline: Prior to "Where No Greep Has Gone Before"

A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Mindo & Ignatius
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: Deck 5 - The Crescent, Gentleman's Clothes
Timeline: Prior to "Where No Greep Has Gone Before"
Mon Sep 11th, 2017 @ 2:34pm


Standing in front of a wide, floor-length mirror, Nycolas Temple frowned disapprovingly at the image in front of him, as he grew ever more frustrated at the clasp of his tuxedo pants which strictly refused to come together. Now matter how hard he tried, or how deep a breath he took, the trousers would just no longer button up. In preparation for the formal dinner the Captain was holding tonight, he had come to Gentleman's Clothing on the Recreation Deck to dress into his favourite tuxedo. However, he was finding the pants were less friendly than he remembered.

"I must have used the wrong setting on the sonic washer." He complained loudly. "They've shrunk."

Nearby, the surly attendant Ignatius, with his slicked grey hair and square black eye-glasses looked up from his desk and sighed. "Yaaas." He drolled in a sarcastic tone. "Must have."

Ignatius and the Captain were old friends, having met when Nyx was holidaying on Risa. The older fashionista actually helped to dress Nyx for his wedding and designed Emilie's dress, travelling to Lucis for the occasion. The captain is the reason Ignatius came onboard the Pandora, giving him the opportunity to explore the uncharted styles and trends of the Inconnu Expanse in order to help Ignatius rebuild his fashion empire. Sure, it meant spending his time supplying and dressing the same crew members, and a Starfleet science vessel didn't have the exuberance and energy of Paris or New York, but Ignatius had been there, done all that. New frontiers were the trend in Earth fashion at the moment and Ignatius was determined to be a pioneer of exotic designs.

"They were fine six weeks ago when I had the first senior dinner." Nyx continued to live in denial. "Maybe they were damaged when we went through the dark matter?"

"Of course." Ignatius cooed flippantly. "First thing they taught me at L'Ecole de la Couture in Paris is how cotton pants shrink when exposed to subspace particles."

Nyx looked back at the reflection of the man, his face clearly not amused, "Well I hope that although the Ecole de la Couture failed to teach you in customer service, they managed to show you how to restitch waistbands."

Ignatius smiled quickly, "I thought you'd never ask, Captain. Step back into the change room, whip off those damned trousers and I'll fix them as swiftly as possible."

Taking one final look of disappointment in the mirror, Nyx shuffled off behind the curtain once more as Ignatius readied his sewing tools.

Just then, Mindo wandered into the store, looking around at the various suits, shirts, pants, and accessories as he did so. The place was bigger than he thought it would be, with plenty of items to choose from. Seeing Ignatius, Mindo immediately went over to the counter, where the attendant was folding freshly-cleaned clothes.

"I'm looking for a nice suit," said Mindo, activating his LEG apparatus to float to a better height. The counter was a bit tall for him, and Mindo didn't want Ignatius to think he was some phantom voice. This happened quite a bit with Mindo.

"Oh!" Ignatius remarked as the petite Engineer floated up into view. He put on a cool smile, "Yes, welcome to the Pandora's Gentleman's Clothing, where we supply unique civilian attire for all occasions. You won't find anything here on your industrial replicators, we have totally individual designs. And of course, we have some of the finest suits direct from Earth."

The suave couturier slinked away from his desk and guided Mindo over to the large mirror.

"May I suggest something in an ice-grey?" Ignatius proposed, looking intently at his reflection. "To bring out sir's eyes?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you have anything white?" Mindo looked at himself in the mirror, sizing himself up. "Maybe with a red vest and matching tie?"

A concerted smile passed over the older man's face, "A white suit? Well, I may have something in our bridegroom's range. Allow me a moment to check for you." Ignatius stepped away quickly as he whizzed off into a rear corner of the store.

Suddenly, a voice from behind the curtain called out, "Catch!" And a moment later, a pair of charcoal tuxedo pants came flying out of the changeroom and towards the Chief Engineer.

The pants landed right on Mindo's head. Mindo was a moment too late in getting his hands up to catch them... how could he be ready?

Grabbing the pants from his head, Mindo said, "Thanks for the pants, but I think they're a little too big." He brushed himself off. "Who is in there anyway?"

Nyx's head popped out from between the curtain and his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh Lieutenant! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there!"

The Captain quickly finished pulled on his uniform pants, while still loosely wearing his dress shirt. He quickly emerged from the changing rooms and retrieving his errant cotton torpedo from Mindo. Ignatius sauntered past and grabbed the offending trousers without saying a word, though his watering eyes showed his restrained amusement at the Captain's expense.

"I'm sorry, Mindo, I don't usually throw my pants at people." Nyx stammered, "No, well, I mean, I don't ever throw pants at people." He sighed loudly and tried to smile, "Forgive me?"

"Sure," said Mindo, chuckling. "But there needs to be a sign outside that says, 'Beware of flying pants.'"

"The Flying Pants!" Ignatius cried, as he reappeared from the corner. "I've been wanting to find a proper name for this place. Seeing as the Captain has sequestered me for the duration of your journey. And I love that as a name."

The couturier lifted up a few pairs of white dinner jackets and held them against Mindo, without asking first of course, contemplating each one for a moment before discarding it onto a nearby chair.

"Double breasted is out." He declared. "Slim and tailored for you." With this, he sauntered off again.

Nyx couldn't help but laugh. "I rarely see him this excited."

"The Flying Pants," repeated Mindo. "That would be a good band name."

"You may have to fight him for it," The Captain laughed, and leaned against the frame of the dressing room. "So how are you, Lieutenant?"

"I'm well. The repairs are coming along quicker than expected. I don't know if that's because I'm working them too hard or underestimating them. Morale is fine down there. I try to keep a 'business casual' demeanor down there. Makes things more friendly, makes tolerating your fellow crewman a bit easier." He added, "I have been working them pretty hard the past couple of days, though. Been pulling double shifts myself. That hull breach has had me re-calibrating and enhancing our shields, and that's been taking some time. How are you, sir?"

Nyx frowned a little, "I'm so grateful for all your hard work, you and the whole team. We will have to find some way of rewarding Engineering for their extra efforts, but I want you guys to choose your own reward. Feel free to ask your staff what you'd like and get back to me when you can."

"Thank you, sir," said Mindo. "I will discuss it with them."

Ignatius walked up, looked Mindo up and down, before sauntering off again. Nyx could hear him mutter the word "Ruby" as he departed.

Shaking his head, Nyx sighed and started to button up his dress shirt absentmindedly while talking to Mindo, "I'm worried, I won't lie, Lieutenant. Worried that we've bitten off more than we can chew, that the dangers we face out here are far greater than what Starfleet anticipated, and that our scientific investigations will always come second to just trying to survive the Expanse. I fear for the crew and their safety, and their happiness as well. But I put on a big smile and keep pushing on nonetheless. What else can we do but keep going?"

Mindo nodded. "It reminds me of my years on Feseria, especially my teenage years," he said. "I'm not sure if this is much of a surprise, but I really wasn't liked there. Got into fights, made some poor choices. I'm pretty sure they were happy to see me leave. I remember this one guy..." Mindo stopped for a moment. It looked to Nyx like he was thinking hard. "Huh," he said finally. "I thought I remembered him, but now I can't remember his name. For a second I thought I saw his face... or was it her face?" Mindo shook his head and was silent for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, Captain. I forgot what I was talking about!"

The Captain stared at Mindo for a moment, a small frown on his lips once more, trying to asses where to head from here. He paused before picking up his bowtie and started to tie it up, clearing his throat as he began, "Daily life can be hard enough without a friendly face to talk to. That goes doubly so for a life in service, way out here on the fringes of the Alpha Quadrant. I know our first chat was a little terse, but if there's ever a need to talk about things, anything at all, my door is open."

"Thanks," said Mindo. "I will admit I'm not used to such kindness from a Captain. Until now I seem to have had a bad history with commanding officers."

Nyx smiled, "Well let's hope we can change that." He put his chin down into his neck, trying to see why his bowtie wasn't quite tying up properly.

Ignatius walked past and without stopping called out, "It's crooked on the right."

"Where's my pants?" Nyx shot back, though dutifully started retying again.

Finally the clothier returned and stood in front of Mindo, holding up a complete three-piece suit. "I'm guessing on the sizes based on your uniform profile but it can be tailored in a jiffy if necessary. The jacket and pants are a bone-white, not plain white, to compliment the gentleman's outrageously youthful complexion. Second, the vest and pocket square are a rich ruby red, a little sophistication for the evening setting. To finish, I have a pair of white and burgundy spectator loafers."

Ignatius took a breath and smiled to the Lieutenant. "My friend you will be the best dressed at the table."

Mindo was impressed. It was easily the nicest suit he'd ever worn. "I think I'll try it on," he said, gently taking the suit and heading into the dressing room. A few moments later, a pair of small pants came flying out, landing on the Captain's head.

Nyx burst out laughing as the trousers landed right across his face. "Alright. I deserved that." He said as he removed the latest pair of flying pants from his head and folded them across a chair.

"You wanted pants." Ignatius replied flatly from behind his desk.

Painstakingly smoothing out his ruffled hair again, Nyx leaned against the chair and waited to see how Mindo looked in his specially chosen suit. He checked his PADD for new messages as he waited. "Hey, I saw we were getting another transfer from the Tornado. Another Engineer? That would help with the repairs and upgrades."

Mindo called back from the dressing room. "Another from the Tornado? I have yet to view the transfer list. Who is it? Maybe I know them."

Nyx frowned as he scrolled through his PADD, trying to locate the corresponding messsge. "Darn, why is it you can never find the right file when you need it. I only briefly looked at the crew profile to be honest. I think his name was Greg? Or Craig? No, that's not right. He was from Canada. Ontario, Canada."

Mindo poked his head out from the dressing room. "You mean Greep? The Ontarion?"

"That's it!" Nyx exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "Man I was way off base. Serves me right for only skimming the transfer papers but in my defense it's been a busy few days." He gave a mawkish shrug before continuing, "Another Engineer for your team will hopefully relieve the pressure you've been under, don't you think?"

Mindo's mind was suddenly on other things. The last time he'd talked to Greep, things weren't really all that cordial. Greep revealing his true position in Starfleet had caused the two some strain. And then Greep disappeared entirely. Mindo's words to his old friend, "This changes everything," still rang heavy in his mind.

Mindo didn't respond to Nyx's question; instead he stepped out of the dressing room wearing the full suit. "How do I look?" he said, striding over to the mirror to check himself out.

"Wow," Nyx beamed, giving a nod of approval as he stood behind Mindo. "Very suave, Lieutenant."

"Oh!" Ignatius cried as he hurried over, Nyx's pants strewn over his arm as he burst into spontaneous applause. "A dashing gentleman if I ever saw one! You're a statement of class young man! May I take a photo for my records?"

"Of course," said Mindo, striking a pose.

The couturier grabbed his PADD and held it up to take a photo of the finely dressed Chief Engineer. Nyx stood back out of view, wanting to give Mindo his moment.

"3... 2... 1!" Ignatius counted down as he took the photo. "That's going in my weekly newsletter." He declared as he passed the PADD to Mindo to show him the happy snap. Nyx leaned forward also to get a look.

"I do look good in this photo," said Mindo. "Mind if I have a copy? There are some friends on my old ship who might want to see this."

"Certainly," Ignatius replied warmly.

Nyx raised his eyebrows for a moment as he said, "Well you can show your friend Greep when he arrives too. It's nice to show that we're not all work on the Pandora, we have fun too."

Mindo nodded slightly, still studying the picture. "We certainly do," said Mindo, hoping to dodge the part about Greep.

Ignatius finished sending the photo file to Mindo's personal messages before slipping the PADD back in his pocket and turning to the Captain. Holding up Nyx's trousers with a disapproving air, he sighed, "I've added another two inches to the waist. I know I'm not your doctor but I highly recommend you lay off the fancy dinners for a while, or spend more time in the gym. I won't be resizing these again, Nycolas."

Nyx frowned, looking to the pants with a grim expression. He knew Igs was right, and he allowed his old friend to speak to him that way because he was right. "Yeah I know. Well maybe I should look at wearing something else instead of the charcoal tux, now that Mindo here has raised the bar so high on tonight's attire?"

Ignatius looked the Captain up and down, "Stick to the charcoal. It's more slimming." He quipped before striding off.

Mindo nodded. "I must say it is a very good look for you. We'll both be the best dressed!"

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Nyx pointedly replied, even if he didn't quite believe Mindo's words. He returned to looking at himself in the mirror and sighed. "Charcoal it is."

OFF