Is Clothing Optional?

Posted on Tue Jun 23rd, 2020 @ 12:53am by Cailus Griffin & Commander Mindo & Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Eva Griffin
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:21pm

Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Little Caesar's
Timeline: current

A Mission Post by Lieutenant Mindo & Lieutenant Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant Kalin 'Shae' Brennan-Griffin PhD & Aoife Brennan
Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Little Caesar's
Timeline: current
Thu Nov 8th, 2018 @ 2:19am

It was always great when the Death Star blew up. Mindo felt a sense of satisfaction as the old graphics depicted an exploding space station. Time for Level Five, thought Mindo. He'd been standing on a stool for almost an hour trying to beat Nash's high score in the original "Star Wars" game. Currently, Nash had the most high scores of anyone on the ship, about six games. It had been seven, but Mindo had managed to top his "Ms. Pac-Man" score after a few long hours of gameplay.

The video games had been good for Mindo in his few off hours. They'd helped him keep a clear mind and fast reflexes. This might be something other crew members could do, he thought.

The next level began, a repeat of the last four, though Mindo knew the game would up the difficulty again. Soon TIE fighters began swarming towards him, firing asterisk missiles at him. Mindo reacted fast, and did not notice Cailus as he approached.

Curious at how Mindo was playing the game, Cailus was quiet as he approached from behind, not wanting to disturb Mindo's concentration. Standing behind Mindo's shoulder (at the same height as his own with Mindo on the stool), Cailus found himself trying to track the graphical chaos onscreen and failing miserably. It was an insane jumble of coloured shapes, yet Mindo was somehow not only making sense of the chaos, but kicking ass.

"Damned impressive," Cailus finally said quietly, judging the moment to be opportune for minimal distraction. He was clad in his duty uniform, although the lack of an equipment belt or phaser showed that he was off-duty. "I had no idea that your reaction time and tactical awareness was that good."

And then Mindo died... game over. Mindo saw he was just one slot away from Nash's lead score. He typed in his usual "MND" initials at the prompt and turned to face Cailus.

"Don't worry, it wasn't you. I didn't see that last missile til it was too late." Mindo hopped down from the stool and activated his LEGs, hovering to Cailus' height. "It's really good to see you again, Cailus. How is your recovery from the bubble coming?"

"Well enough," Cailus said off-handedly as he looked around the arcade. There were a couple of people upstairs, out of sight, but otherwise the arcade felt quite empty despite the flashing lights and energetic music of the machines. "Shae and Aoife will be here soon. We just found out that Aoife hasn't been here since before we got into the Bubble, so we're giving her a treat. Nurse Davies didn't know how much she liked all of this."

"Sounds exciting for the little tyke!" said Mindo. "I'm here off duty. I usually come here after a shift, though I haven't spent as much time here as I would have liked the past few days. All the disappearances had me working double, sometimes triple, shifts a day. Very chaotic. But I got some sleep last night and I decided to take the day off and try to beat some of Commander Nash's high scores."

Then Cailus refocused on Mindo with an unusually friendly look. He wasn't smiling, but Cailus did look oddly relaxed and open given his habitual surliness. "We were hoping to catch you here, too. Commander Nash mentioned that you were responsible for getting all of us out of the transporter buffer. That you worked day and night to make that happen."

Mindo looked down and smiled. "I got about five hours of sleep over three days... but hey, it was worth it. Nash put in a lot as well. We had several coffee cups over the whole thing."

Now Cailus smiled in turn, reaching out to grasp Mindo's shoulder. "That's the second time you've saved my life, my friend," he said with quiet warmth. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," said Mindo, enjoying the rare moment of bromance he knew Cailus hardly ever did.

And just like that, the moment was gone as Cailus lowered his hand, his smile fading into his usual soberness. He glanced around the arcade, thinking for a moment, before calling out loud, "Computer, reduce ambient noise by 50% and soften all bright lights to account for mild photophobia." Cailus then looked to Mindo with a shrug. "Shae's audio and visual acuity is still recovering from the Bubble. She damn near jumped out of her skin when I put on a football game last night."

Mindo nodded. "You think Mars will repeat this year? They don't have Lang anymore, and Davon is injured."

"They'd damn well better," Cailus said with a frown, easily falling into the familiar sport chit-chat. "The Utopians are supposed to be the best team that Mars have fielded in decades. This'll be the first Solbowl that I'm watching in ninety years, even if it's over subspace. Shae won't let me live if it down if the Earthers win, even if she doesn't care about the sport. Speaking of which, she should be here any moment now."

His timing was perfect, as at that moment the holodeck doors opened to allow Shae in, with Aoife toddling along at her side. She was relieved to find that the lights and noise had been muted before her arrival. "Hello?" she called out as she made her way to the steps that would take them to the upper area of the arcade. "Sorry if we're a little late, Aoife's lessons ran a bit long," she apologized when she finally saw Cailus and Mindo standing at the Star Wars game.

Mindo looked back and forth. "You guys have a date here?"

Cailus raised an amused eyebrow at the Fesarian as Shae and Aoife approached. "Yes, Mindo. With you, if you're amenable.""

Mindo shrugged. "I'm abominable... anenamal... animal?"

Shae giggled softly. "Aoife likes to play Skee-Ball, but she hasn't been here since we went missing, so we thought we would bring her around, and we wanted to come to thank you for getting all of us out of the transporter buffer," she said softly, then approached the floating Fesarian to envelope him in a hug. "Thank you, Mindo. I heard how hard you worked to save us, and that effort has not gone unappreciated, I promise."

“I will not be hugging you, however,” Cailus said with bemusement, his arms crossed.

"Too manly for a bro-hug?" said Mindo with a grin. "Skee-Ball is upstairs, as you know," said Mindo gesturing toward the stairs. "Would you guys like any refreshments? Beverages? Snacks? Buffalo wings? I recently found out that buffalo wings are made of chicken. The good Doctor Tyson was kind enough to introduce me to them before his departure."

That caught Cailus' attention, his eyes widening. "Buffalo wings? Properly greasy wings? Where?"

"Upstairs," said Mindo. "Hot and spicy. I used a recipe from an old friend of mine from the Academy as a template for the sauce."

"Oof, I think I'll pass," Shae said with a grimace. Normally, she'd love some spicy buffalo wings, but right now something like that would sit too heavy on her stomach, and her taste buds weren't yet ready for the punch to the mouth buffalo wings would give her. Maybe she would get some regular chicken with no spicy sauce. "Shall we go up?" she said, then headed for the stairs, patiently going slow, step by step, so Aoife could ascend at her own pace.

Once they got to the top, Mindo activated the roll-down screen implanted in the ceiling of the top floor and put on a sports channel with the sound turned down. A board of three reporters sat behind a desk, discussing the latest Federation Football league news by the looks of it.

Mindo went over to the bar, ordering a basket of "fried chicken wings, buffalo style, Mindo recipe one, side order of French fries, Mindo recipe seven." Within seconds a basket of buffalo chicken wings materialized, with a basket of seasoned French fries. Mindo grabbed the order and set it down on the nearest table.

“Good man,” Cailus said with gruff approval having followed them up, and no sooner had the food hit the table did he grab a wing and begin his attack. As per form, Cailus wasn’t shy as he ate the chicken, devouring it with as much grace as a drunk lion. Inbetween bites, he glanced at Shae and Mindo with an apologetic half smile. “Sorry. I haven’t eaten food like this since I was a teenager on Mars.”

Mindo took a chicken wing and shrugged. "When on Mars..." he said, and started his own kind of sloppy eating. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a human devour fried chicken in such a way. Before the good doctor left the ship, Mindo learned many things about old eating on Earth. He had become particularly attached to the Big Mac.

Shae ordered some regular fried chicken and more fries for herself and Aoife and joined them at the table. "Reminds me of sneaking off to the pub to watch rugby with my brothers," Shae chimed in with a grin as she set Aoife in a chair so she could eat as well. Aoife was curious about what Cailus was eating and held out a hand towards the basket of hot wings.

Halfway through nibbling a wing, Cailus glanced in surprise at Aoife. "What is it with you stealing my food?" he grumbled, albeit with an amused smile. "I'm sorry, little one, but this chicken is a bit hot. If Mama doesn't like it, then I guarantee that you won't either."

"Oh I love hot wings, I just can't handle it right now," Shae replied. "My sense of taste hasn't quite recovered yet, everything from the replicator still tastes almost overpoweringly salty to me since I woke up. Even still, I don't think she'll like it, but II don't have a problem with her figuring that out for herself." Shae reached over to peel a tiny piece of spicy chicken from one of the hot wings, then offered it to Aoife. Aoife sniffed at the little morsel, and despite the grimace on her face she opened her mouth to accept the chicken, only to immediately spit it out into Shae's hand.

"Pleh pleh!" Aoife said with a shudder.

"Yeah, I thought so," Shae said with a chuckle as she found a napkin.

"Serves her right for trying to steal my food," Cailus remarked with a smug grin.

Mindo smiled and took another bite of chicken. "Cailus would hate it on Fesaria. The whole planet is vegetarian."

"He's not the only one; I love a nice salad as much as the next veggie lover, but I just about lost it in the Bubble without any meat. We figured out how to make tofu from soybeans, but it's never the same," Shae said as broke apart a piece of the regular fried chicken for Aoife to eat, then started nibbling on another piece. "I almost started drooling on my second night home; Cailus brought me this lovely salmon steak, it was absolutely divine, like biting into a piece of heaven."

Cailus snorted in amusement. "I've never seen anyone enjoy salmon so much. If I'd known that you'd be drooling, I'd have brought Huyo along so that she could see your reaction to her cooking." Glancing at Mindo, Cailus sobered a little, his ice blue eyes piercing the Fesarian as he took a new hot wing out of the bucket. "Mindo, really, how are you doing? Have you managed to talk to Caradan yet?"

Mindo looked up at the mention of his former love's name. "No, I haven't," he said, swallowing a bite of chicken. "Why, have you heard something?"

Shae shook her head slightly. "It's so strange, the modifications to the deflector that Cailus found is no longer intercepting communications, yet somehow we still can't reach the Tornado," Shae explained softly. The only thing she could figure was that someone piggy-backed a secure transmission to plant a programming exploit in the subspace beacon transmitting to the Pandora, but who would go those lengths to intercept communications like that? "But we're not going to stop trying, Mindo," she offered with a meek smile.

Mindo nodded, but something was troubling him. "While you were in the Bubble," said Mindo, "I received a notice. The Tornado has been decommissioned. All staff reassigned."

"Makes sense," Cailus said with a frown, pausing his assault on a third hot wing. "For a science-focused frigate, the Tornado took a lot of beating during our skirmishes with the Klingons." His eyes flicked back to Mindo. "I am sorry, Mindo. I understand how difficult this is for you. I will keep trying to track her down, I promise you."

Mindo nodded but his head was down. "I think at this point I have to learn to move on. Maybe the Tornado being decommissioned is a sign to put it all behind me. And anyways, I have a new life here. The Pandora's my home now, and I hope to stay here for a while."

Considering the Fesarian for a moment, Cailus sighed, briefly looking up at the ceiling with resignation. "Okay, you can tell him," he said to Shae with a tone of concession, before standing up. "I'll get us all some drinks."

Mindo's brow furrowed. "Tell me what?" he said as Cailus walked over to the bar.

"Oh, we're getting married," Shae said with a bright smile. "And it would mean so much to me if you would attend," she offered.

Mindo's eyes went wide, and he absentmindedly dropped the wing he'd been eating into his lap. "Seriously?" he said. "I've never been to a wedding before. What do I have to do?" He picked up the chicken wing in his lap and continued eating.

"Well, we're not doing a full 'bridal party', so you don't have to 'do' anything. It's just common when people get married even in simple ceremonies that they have their closest friends and family attend while they exchange their vows," Shae explained softly. "But I also understand if you don't want to; I know culturally the concept is foreign to you, and that there is still tension between you and Cailus, so you won't hurt my feelings if you decline the invitation, it just meant enough to me to at least offer because you are a dear friend, Mindo."

Mindo shrugged. "Cailus and I may have our quarrels, but I certainly don't dislike him. I would love to attend your wedding! And if you change your mind on the bridal party, let me know. I've never thrown a bridal party, but it sounds like fun!"

Shae giggled. "A 'bridal party' is part of the wedding procession itself, not an actual party. Although..." Shae glanced over to Cailus who was still getting drinks, then she leaned in to whisper to Mindo with a mischievous grin. "You do throw a mean party, so maybe you could round up a few of the guys and organize a bachelor party for Cailus. It's sort of a last hurrah as a single man and a celebration of the vows he's about to take. But let's try to keep it a secret."

"Will you be there?" asked Mindo.

Shae shook her head. "A bachelor party is traditionally a men-only thing, unless you hire a stripper, which I don't think Cailus would appreciate anyway," Shae replied. "I was thinking of checking with some of the ladies I work with to see if they would be up to a spa day for my celebration."

"I'll need help on this," Mindo said. "When is the big day?"

"We're not sure," Shae said with a wince. "We're kind of playing things by ear since it's so last minute. Normally for this kind of thing, a couple will set a date that will allow them months to plan the ceremony, but neither of us want to wait that long."

It was then that Cailus returned, deftly (if precariously) carrying three tall glasses and a smaller cup for Aoife. "The admiral is still trying to get Sean on this," he said as he put the brimming glasses down on the table, then gave Aoife her own drink with an accompanying straw. "His ship's holodeck is too old for this kind of thing, so they're trying to find a workaround. Either way, the wedding should be two weeks from now at the latest. Possibly much earlier if we can wrangle it."

"I don't know much about weddings," said Mindo, "but isn't it true that clothing is optional at these things?"

Quite by accident, Mindo's question came just as Cailus was taking a drink. The shock resulted in a spectacular backup of his fizzy drink, accompanied by rough spluttering and coughing as the Martian man recovered from his accidental inhalation. "W-what?" he asked hoarsely, rubbing his throat gingerly.

The question took Shae by surprise as well, but at least she wasn't choking like Cailus. "Oh, uh, well... That's sort of a Betazoid custom, and we've decided we don't want a Betazoid style wedding. Clothing is, um, recommended."

"Gotcha," said Mindo. "So if I have this right, you guys will go up in front of people and tell them all that you're going to be together forever and then afterward there's a party, right?"

“More or less,” Cailus confirmed, choosing to sip his fizzy orange soda more carefully this time. “And by party, we mean a party that Aoife and other children can have fun at. Nothing too extravagant.” Then, with a ghost of smile, he raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Shae. “Although afterwards, when the kids are off to bed, Shae and Tatsuo could show us the wonders of Japanese sake.”

Shae blushed crimson. "Oh my stars, don't remind me!" she said with an exasperated laugh.

"Now that's something I definitely know about!" said Mindo, raising his glass.