Chapter 7 - Starving At The Banquet
An hour later, Mei-Wan and Natalie crawled out of the tunnel covered in dust, having successfully activated the release mechanism.
Mei-Wan caught the younger woman smiling at her as they both attempted to brush their clothes clean.
Kristy Bishop walked up to them. "It looks like you got it. Why don't the two of you take a break for a while."
"I'm ready to do something else," Natalie said with far too much energy for Mei-Wan's taste. "Where do you need me?"
"Well, I could use the break," Mei-Wan said. She sat down on a set of nearby crates while Bishop led Natalie toward a small group of her engineers who needed something translated.
Everything about this place was so familiar, except for the people. The last time Mei-Wan had been here, it hadn't actually been here, or at least that's how she had decided to think of it. The physics behind alternate timelines wasn't something she had studied in any depth, and after her experiences, she was reluctant to ever do so.
Last time, he had been here.
Maybe that's why her counterpart's memories had returned. Being back in this place, she half expected Todd to come by at any moment to take her to dinner just as he had in the other timeline. Though at the time Mei-Wan had felt his visits an intrusion, those moments with him had been an oasis in the desert of her life.
"Hey, Mei..."
She hadn't noticed Natalie was back. "Yeah?"
"What are you doing for..." Natalie's voice trailed off as her eyes widened. "What the hell's he here for?"
Mei-Wan glanced the direction Natalie was looking and saw Kyle Hoffman standing at the entrance of the chamber wearing an expression that told Mei-Wan the Chamberlain's science officer wasn't in a good mood.
"I wonder who pissed in his breakfast," Natalie whispered to Mei-Wan.
It only took Hoffman a few seconds to find his way to the two women. "Taking it easy, Lieutenant Lau?" he sneered.
"Just a short break." A second later, she added, "Sir."
"Breaks don't get the work done." He cast a glance back at Bishop and her crew. "Aren't you supposed to be helping our chief engineer get this whatever it is out of here?"
"Bishop told us to take it easy until she needed us again," Natalie jumped in. "Since she outranks us, we figured we'd do as she said, unless you think we should make a habit of disobeying superior officers."
"That's one habit you've already perfected Ms. Fowler."
Mei-Wan stood and faced him. "Was that really necessary?"
He chuckled. "Mei, this isn't the day for you to butt heads with me."
"Your day not going so well?" Mei-Wan asked with a sarcastic smile.
Hoffman looked as if he were about to explode, but suddenly, his features softened. He waved Mei-Wan to follow him a few steps. "Mei, I don't want to argue with you. We used to be friends. Can't it be that way again?"
Mei-Wan knew the game he was up to, but this time she wasn't even tempted to play. "Friends show each other respect."
He wore a hurt expression. "But I've always..."
"Don't waste my time. We both know better."
"You need me, Mei."
She laughed and walked back to Natalie. Out of the corner of her eye, Mei-Wan watched Kyle Hoffman storm out of the chamber. She was absolutely certain of one thing: the last person she needed in her life was Kyle Hoffman.
***
Later that evening, with the Ancient Progenitor device removed from the chamber on Dalvanax Two and in the process of being installed in the Abdiel's main shuttlebay, Natalie convinced Mei-Wan to have dinner with her in the officer's lounge on Deck Twenty.
Mei-Wan liked this place. It was large enough for fifty or so people, but the reduced lighting, soft sapphire walls, and understated décor made it seem far more intimate than it really was.
She also enjoyed the steady, but slow beat of blues music playing just loud enough to obscure the voices at other tables, yet softly enough to allow for conversation with the person across from you.
She was glad she'd agreed to come here. It was certainly better than sitting alone in her quarters, agonizing over a man who no longer existed. The two bottles of wine Natalie had brought along had made forgetting about Todd Nakano just a little bit easier too.
Mei-Wan had asked why two bottles, but now that they had moved on to their desert, it made perfect sense. The sweetness of the Malvasia delle Lipari went nicely with the frozen whatever they were ending their meal with.
"What was this again?" Mei-Wan asked pointing to her dish.
"It's called semifreddo con frutta e croccante."
Mei-Wan smiled at her dinner companion. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I never would have imagined you'd be into Italian food to this degree."
"Actually, it's Sicilian." Natalie grinned over her glass. "What would you have imagined I'd be into? Ribs and potato salad?"
Mei-Wan laughed. "Well, nothing that far down on the culinary ladder."
"I had a friend at the Academy who took me all over Europe trying the local cuisine. This meal of peppers, swordfish rolls, and zucchini salad has always been one of my favorites." Natalie paused and seemed to smile at some unspoken remembrance. "I learned a lot from her," she murmured.
"I'm glad you shared it with me."
"I like to share the good things in life with people I care about."
Mei-Wan looked at Natalie. "Thank you."
"Speaking of sharing," Natalie began. She seemed uncertain at first about whether to continue, but then, "I'm curious about something."
"Go ahead."
"I got the impression the other day when you were talking about the beliefs of the Dalvani that you're not religious in any formal sense."
Mei-Wan was a little startled by the comment. On Earth for the last two hundred years or so, it had been seen as at best impolite, and in some circles downright rude, to inquire about someone's religious beliefs. However, since the Dominion War, Mei-Wan had noticed a significant change in that particular social norm. It just wasn't easy getting used to it.
"Not really," Mei-Wan said. "My mother's family were Buddhists, and she still practices, but I've never felt drawn to any particular set of beliefs." She watched Natalie closely as the younger woman took another sip from her glass. "What about you?"
"I was raised in the Christ Proclamation Church. I guess I still believe in it for the most part," Natalie said with a shrug.
"I don't think I've heard of that one before."
She grinned. "It's fairly small. It came out of the Second Reformation."
That explained it. Mei-Wan hadn't spent too much time studying specific religious movements of the last several hundred years. She knew little about the Second Reformation except what she'd learned in her general Earth history course in high school. After the Vulcans dropped by Earth in 2063, many Christian sects went through a period of turmoil and uncertainty which lasted for more than fifty years. The end result was the Second Reformation.
Natalie leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "Don't you think there's something in the Universe helping us? A higher being of some sort?"
"As far as a divine being, no. The whole omnipotence thing has always been difficult for me to accept in light of what we know about the Universe. Of course, I can't say for certain a divine being doesn't exist."
Natalie laughed. "The rational scientist to the end, huh?"
"I am what I am."
"I think there's more to you than merely being a scientist," Fowler said, her gaze fixed on Mei-Wan.
"I'd like to think that was true, but there are times..." She looked down at her glass as her words trailed off.
Natalie set her own glass down. "Hey, you okay?"
"The way my personal life has gone, perhaps I'm better just being a scientist," Mei-Wan told her.
"Nonsense," Natalie said. "A life based solely on work isn't much of a life. Everybody needs people they can relax with. Someone they can be themselves around."
"Yeah," Mei-Wan said, nodding. "I just wish life in Starfleet allowed for more fulfilling personal relationships."
"Tell me about it," Natalie said with a sigh. "Don't forget, I'm the fool that slept with Kyle Hoffman." She let out a regretful laugh. "Talk about unfulfilling."
Looking about the lounge to make certain no one else was listening too closely, Mei-Wan leaned forward. "I'm curious about something."
Natalie's smile returned with the upturn in Mei-Wan's mood. "What about?"
"Well, I'm certainly not curious enough to actually find out for myself, but..."
A soft chuckle erupted from Natalie. "How was he in bed?"
"I've always had this theory that the more a man boasts about his cocksmanship, the less able he is."
"I've found for most guys, that is indeed the case," Natalie said. "However, despite all his boasting, Kyle actually wasn't all that bad. He's not spectacular or anything, but he's certainly no amateur."
Mei-Wan let out a long sigh.
"Do you regret not sleeping with him?" Natalie asked with wide eyes. "Believe me, there are plenty of men who are just as able as Kyle who aren't the slimy bastard he is."
"No it wasn't that." Mei-Wan drank what was left of the wine in her glass. "Just regrets about not..." Her inhibitions were dulled by the alcohol she'd imbibed so far, but not so much that she'd let her innermost feelings erupt in a semi-public place like the lounge they were in.
"Lack of sex in general?" Natalie asked in a hushed tone.
Mei-Wan gave a quick nod.
"You know we are on a ship with a crew of three thousand."
"I know, but..."
"What about Tim Blackwell?"
"He seems nice," Mei-Wan said. "But I don't know."
"I had gotten the impression he likes you," Natalie said. "And you'll have to admit he is cute."
"He is that." Mei-Wan set her glass aside. "He just seems kind of, I don't know…"
"Come on Mei, your divorce from the captain is official now, right?"
"It has been for a while."
"Then go ahead."
"I don't know if I'm ready to start into another relationship yet."
"Who said anything about a relationship?" Natalie smiled. "I'm talking about sex."
Mei-Wan stared at her dish. It had been so long since she'd had something as rich and full as the semifreddo that she'd nearly forgotten what a wonderful experience eating could be. The entire meal had been that way. Maybe the same was true for her love life.
"How long's it been?" Natalie asked.
"Since I've..."
"Yeah."
Mei-Wan was about to change the subject, but she liked being this open with someone again. Needing a friend aboard the Chamberlain was like starving at a banquet--- you were hungry, but right there in front of you was all the food you could ever want. All she had to do was open herself up to it.
"Over a year."
Natalie's brow raised. "Wow."
Mei-Wan leaned forward onto the table. "Pretty sad, isn't it?"
"Hey, let's not get all mopey now. We're nowhere near that drunk yet."
"Guess you're right." Mei-Wan chuckled, trying her best not to come across as needy as she really felt. "You got any more of this wine?"
"In my quarters," Natalie said. "That's probably a better place to continue this discussion anyway."
"Good idea."
***
On the way to Natalie Fowler's quarters they chatted about silly bits of ship's gossip. Walking the corridors of the Chamberlain, Mei-Wan couldn't help noticing how the tighter than tight, red and black jumpsuit Natalie wore bewitched every male crewmember they passed. However, she suspected it wasn't so much the outfit that mesmerized them, but the details of Natalie's petite body the garment made no effort to hide.
Natalie's jumpsuit wasn't revealing in the sense of being transparent. It just gave the impression of having been painted on her body, and thinly painted at that.
The cream-colored, wool-knit dress Mei-Wan wore made her feel downright frumpy by comparison. Look at yourself, Mei. You're so afraid a guy might discover you have breasts that you're wearing a black cotton top under this plain-Jane dress.
Attracting men had never been the reason behind Mei-Wan's clothing decisions. Her own comfort and her mood were her only guides.
They rounded a corner and a few feet later, approached the door to Natalie's quarters.
Perhaps I should rethink my wardrobe choices, Mei-Wan pondered with a smile as she followed Natalie inside. You never know, there might come a time when I'll want to catch the eye of some interesting man who crosses my path.
