Trying Something New

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 3:05am by Lieutenant John Sandoval & Lieutenant Alexandra Alves MD
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:44pm

Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: Evening after success at Paradise

ON:

The Paradise mission had been long and arduous for John Sandoval. On the one hand, he and his security attaché had improved their relations with the Irokari, who had given them useful intelligence on the Breen and directly helped overthrow the Breen takeover of the outpost. On the other hand, he had been caught in an embarrassing lie to Lieutenant Griffin, who blew it out of proportion and put a sour note on the positive aspects.

Cognizant that he couldn't spend all of his off hours with Aeryn, he was eager to spend an evening with his new friend, Dr. Alexandra Alves. A few minutes early, and dressed in blue denim pants and a black short-sleeved shirt, cane in hand, he waited for her outside the door to one of the holodecks.

"Oh, sorry, am I late?", Alexandra apologized in a hurry, as she made her way towards the holodeck entrance, where Lieutenant Sandoval was already waiting for her. She was wearing a casual outfit, her super-curly dark hair combed in a huge afro style. "I don't know if you've ever had the chance to watch a football game. I hope you'll like it.", she then said with a friendly nod, "This is one of Veronica's favorite matches ever. And I got tickets for the best seats in the stadium."

“I’ve never been to a football game,” John admitted. “Soccer isn’t exactly the favourite sport of Canada. But it sounds fun! And you weren’t late. I was early. So what is this match we’re seeing?”

"That's obviously not true about Brazil.", the doctor said with a laugh, "Well, we're about to go back in time to 1970AD and witness the world cup final. Brazil vs Italy. I don't want to spoil the outcome, but there's a reason my daughter loves this match so much."

"Big Italy fan, is she?" John said with a wide smile.

"Surely, she is.", Alex replied with a smile, sensing the heavy sarcasm in the Lieutenant's voice, "Her father tried to get Veronica interested in rugby... well, I say, it'd still be an easier task than makng her root against the Brazilian team."

"It would not surprise me," John said with a laugh. He gestured to the holodeck door. "Shall we then?"

"Ah, of course!", the doctor smiled, and initiated the program at the panel near the door. 'Program ready. You can enter, if you wish.', the computer said on its emotionless female voice, as the doors slid open, and the loud noises of a huge crowd filled the air. Inside awaited the recreation of the Estadio Azteca stadium in Mexico City, on June 21, 1970, filled with an audience of 107,000 people.

John had a look of awe and astonishment on his face as he saw the massive stadium filled beyond capacity. He had never seen so many people in one place, all there to do a single thing: cheer one side or the other in the most anticipated sporting event of the year, if not the century.

"I'm following you!" John yelled over the crowd. "I don't to get lost!"

"Don't worry. Just keep up with me.", she assured her friend, "We have great seats right there.", she pointed to a direction, "Oh, and we definately need some Brazil flags, some snacks and something to drink." She had to shout, because otherwise her voice would've been lost in all the crowd noise.

John followed closely. Thankfully Alexandra couldn't move fast in the crowd, so he was able to keep up. He looked at the Brazil flags on offer. "Alex, I'm not sure if I can hold this without bursting into flames though. The colours are all wrong. And where's the maple leaf?"

"Don't worry, I know a great doctor who can handle burn injuries.", Alex replied with a firmly tongue-in-cheek grin, "Today we're green and yellow.", she said, inspecting the flags, "In fact, these flags are not correct. We got 27 stars only a few decades after this match. There should be only 24 in this time period.", she explained, "Sorry, I'm a total nerd."

“No need to apologize for that,” John said with a smile. “Flags were what got me into politics and history. There’s something satisfying about how a symbol on a piece of cloth can unite people, and disturbing about how it can divide.” He picked up the proffered inaccurate Brazilian flag. “You’ll have to teach me the chants, of course.”

"True. True.", she nodded, "Don't worry. Just follow the crowd. Do you know any Portuguese?"

“I know French?” John offered. “I’m sure the sounds are similar enough. What do we snack on and drink?”

"You should know that Brazilians can root like noone else!", Alex smiled, "You should once hear Veronica singing all the 150 football chants... or even more.", she laughed, "Well, since we're in Mexico, we can sopas. Noodles with lime and chili.", she suggested, "The favourite football snack in this country."

“That sounds delicious!” John said. He looked forward to trying them.

"Are you aware that we're gonna see some of the biggest legends of this sport?", the doctor pointed at the field with a proud smile, where the teams were already gathering for the national anthems, "Pelé. Carlos Alberto. Jairzinho. Gérson. Oh, well... and a few Italian guys as well. Facchetti, Luigi Riva."

“I’ve heard of Pelé,” John said with an apologetic look on his face. “But I’m loving this vibe so far! I can’t wait for them to start. Thank you for sharing this with me.”

"You've better heard of him!", she said with a friendly laugh. To many Brazilians, Pelé was literally some kind of a religious figure, nothing less. "Hey, you're welcome. Thanks for coming along!"

Meanwhile, the announcer told the spectators - first in Spanish, then in English -, that the game will begin, and everyone should take their seats. The two teams stood quietly in line, to listen to the anthems of Brazil and Italy, as the crowd was literally going crazy. The German referee and his aides have also arrived to the center of the field.

“So, from what I know of soccer,” John said, but then noticed the look that Alexandra and the holographic fans were giving him, “I mean, football, those gentlemen in the middle are the villains, right?” He pointed to the referee and his aides.

"Oh, well." Alex slightly laughed, enjoying the man's funny demanour "It depends on the situation. Haha." she said "If you ask the 1966 runner-up German team, they'd probably tell you they are. Fans usually just tend to recommend them to wear glasses." The doctor paused for a moment. "Ah, you know, eyeglasses. Ancient solution for near-sightedness."

"I've seen those," John reassured her, with a laugh at her joke. "My wife has a friend who wears them. A Science Officer that used to be on Jupiter Station." On the field, the ball hit the turf and play began. "So we're rooting for yellow."

"Of course we do!", the doctor smiled, as she slowly turned her attention towards the field, "Movimento verde-amarelo!", she shouted, raising her fist into the air.

"Yeah!" John joined in with the cheering. It was a tense match and he found himself getting taken up by the crowd. When Pelé scored in the eighteenth minute, half the stadium exploded in joy, and John couldn't help but join them.

Despite having seen this match from the very same spot about ten times already, Alexandra was taken by the enthusiasm of the Brazilian crowd, and shouted out of her full lung capacity. "Heeey!!! We're good!", she turned to her friend with a large smile, "He wasn't called the best player of his century for nothing!"

"He's incredible!" John couldn't help but agree. When the crowd quieted back down, he looked a bit toward Alexandra, but both kept their eyes on the field. "So do you and Veronica do this a lot?"

"Oh, well... We used to." she replied, while keeping her eyes on the field. "Nowadays, not so often. But we've watched all the important games a dozen times in the past."

“Have you ever thought about having live games broadcast into the holodeck?” John asked. “We did that for hockey games on my last assignment, and other big events like the Olympics. I’m sure we could get a few games from next year’s World Cup to be shown here.”

"That's a fun idea.", Alex said, after a moment of thinking, "Maybe we'd be able to round up more people and throw a world cup watching party?"

“Sounds like a plan,” John said with a smile. The game continued, exciting as ever, until the area where they were sitting became furious when an Italian scored a game-tying goal. Before today, John had never been to a soccer game. But thirty-seven minutes in he found himself as furious as Alexandra seemed to me that those damned Italians dared score a goal.

The Brazilian crowd looked angry and disappointed. Despite seeing this game for who knows how many times, Alexandra felt with them. However, she ws more surprised that John did the same. "I promise, I'll never bring you to watch the 1998 final." she joked. "By the way, Mr. Mindo showed Veronica an arcade football game. Now that's her new obsession."

“Ah!” John said with a smile. “I’ve not played Mindo’s, but I played others as a young man. Mindo’s arcade is wonderful, isn’t it?”

"It is!" she replied with a grin "I've never played anything like those machines before. It was fun. He showed me a game in which I play a strange yellow figure and have to eat some ghosts." she explained "Veronica loved that as well."

“Ah!” John said with a smile. “That was always a favourite. There are actually a number of old games like that that over the decades have been turned into proper holoprograms. As a youth I enjoyed one where you were a hero who had to travel through time to prevent the end of the world. It was called Chrono Trigger. Too fun.” He looked at his empty cup and smiled at Alexandra. “I need another drink. Will I miss anything crucial if I went for one now? And do you want a refill too?”

"Chrono Trigger. Never heard of it. It sounds like some anti-tremors medication." Alex laughed. "The first half is almost over. You can fill up during the half-time break." she suggested. "But nothing of note will happen until then, so it's up to you."

“I’ll wait till the break,” John said. “I didn’t realize it was coming up. I’m having a good time...Alex.” He wasn’t sure she liked shortening her name, but he was confident she’d correct him if she hated it, or used a different nickname.

"No worries. I'm glad you do." she replied with a gentle smile. She was truly happy that her friend enjoyed the game. Some people were utterly bored even by the idea of watching a football match. But, it seemed, the Lieutenant was different. She also liked the fact that he called her by her nickname. "All the exciting stuff will now happen in the second half."

A few moments later, the clock ran out, and while John was confused that they playing for a few minutes, that eventually ended and the players left the pitch. “Alright. Beer time? Do we fight the crowds or pause them for a moment?” He gave her a wink. “I’m not great with standing in line.”

"Err... what?" Alex asked slightly puzzle for a moment, then she realized they are on the holodeck. Ah, of course, how silly I am, she thought. "Whichever you prefer. I can do the standing in line part, if you'd prefer staying at the stand."

“No, no, I’ll walk a bit,” John said. “Computer, for the duration of halftime, remove spectators from the queues in front of the food and drink vendors.” He heard the computer chime as he picked up his cane and walked out of the stands, Alex presumably following behind. “I’m not sure I thanked you for being so understanding the other day. When I was wholly inappropriate in your sickbay. You were far nicer to me and Aeryn than I might’ve been if it were my staff.”

Alex smiled on the way her friend solved the problem of standing in a crowd - by eliminating the crowd itself. "No worries." she then replied to John's sincere gratitude (or was it an apology?). "True. I wasn't exactly following the book." she grinned. "I'm not a model officer, that's for sure."

John smiled widely. “Model officers are boring and stuffy. The ones who aren’t prim and perfect are the ones that find outrageous and amazing solutions to the most difficult problems.” As they got closer to the beer vendor, he asked “I’m still not sure what I owe you for the private exam room. Aside from my eternal adoration and gratitude, of course.”

"Truer words were never spoken!" Alexandra smiled. "Please tell that to my former boss, Doctor Sintar." she added. "Ohh, I don't know if I can live with the burden of bearing one's eternal adoration and gratitude." the doctor laughed. "And you don't owe me anything. Really."

“Well, thank you regardless,” John concluded. The hologram behind the counter gave them each a pale beer in a plastic cup, though John understood that in real life some exchange of currency would have taken place. “I was worried about Aeryn that day. I’ve been slowly coming to terms with my feelings for her. It’s been hard. That incident in sickbay helped in more ways than you know.” He started walking with her back towards the stands. “Oh, should we get food too?”

"I understand." she nodded gently. "It's not always easy to come in terms with our feelings." she said. "You know, I feel... I might be feeling something for someone. But I'm not sure. And I'm not sure if I should pursue it or not." she admitted with a sigh. "I'm hungry like hell. Of course, we should get food!"

“I’ll follow your lead on food!” John said, holding his beer in one hand and his cane handle in the other. “Who’s the lucky person who’s on the top of your mind? Do I know them?”

"Yes, I think you know him." Alexandra smiled mischeviously. "And no, it's not Mr. Mindo." she added with a grin.

John couldn’t help but smile at that. He knew the Fesarian’s reputation, and that he had been in a short-lived relationship with Aeryn before John came aboard. “You remember my security attaché, Ensign Larose? She shot him down pre-emptively. It was a sight to behold!” He laughed at the memory. Absolument non indeed! “Well don’t leave me in suspense! Who is he?”

"I can imagine!" the doctor laughed. The chief engineer was an entertaining guy, and a fun person to be around, but she certainly wouldn't consider him as a romantic interest. "Alright. He's French, and he's into flying." she grinned.

It didn’t take long for John to realize who she meant. “Ah! Nicholas is a good guy. I had a beer with him just recently.” They approached a food vendor. “Should we get some of those sopas you mentioned earlier?”

"He is. He is." Alex nodded with a mischevious smile, which told that she knows the Lieutenant in 'depth'. "Of course! I'm hungry like hell."

John couldn't help but catch that smile and grinned as well. He signaled to the vendor, who began preparing them each a portion of sopas. "Just be aware, the landing bay isn't as private as an examination room. And don't think I'm letting you use my workspace just because I used yours." He playfully stuck his tongue out at his friend, who he was glad he could joke around like this with. "How has Veronica taken that you have a new friend?"

"Don't worry. We're not as impatient as certain people." Alex replied with a huge, sarcastic smile. "Well... She doesn't know it yet. I mean, she knows Nick and that we like each other. But she doesn't know just how much we do." she explained. "And, well, I think my daughter finds Mr. Mindo much more fascinating than Nicholas."

"Well, Mindo's arcade is a fun space, and he's an entertaining guy," John agreed. Food in hand, the two headed back to their seats, arriving just as the game was resuming. Now playing on opposite sides of the field, Brazil and Italy resumed their match.

"I know. I find him entertaining as well. But Nicholas... he's an entirely different case." she shook her head and grinned, as they returned to their seats. "Okay. The second half is gonna be quite exciting."

As they watched the game, John once again found himself caught up in the crowd’s excitement. The score going in was 1-1, but the crowd got more and more wild as Gérson scored a goal, then Jairzinho. By the time Carols Alberto Torres scored the four goal of the game, with a mere four minutes of play left, it seemed like Italy had lost all hope. The Brazilian crowd was already celebrating their victory, Alexandra and John with them.

Alexandra was happy that their little get-together turned out great, and hoped she'll be able to 'drag along' John for similar 'adventures' in the future. She was always glad to make new friend.

OFF