T'osa's curiosity finally got the better of her. "Commander," she started warily, "I couldn't help but notice that you bowed your head before we began eating. May I ask what you were doing?"
"Oh..." Kirk was mildly surprised at the question. "I was praying... giving thanks for the food and the company, specifically." he replied with a genuine smile.
Bolerov swallowed quickly and interjected, "There are still some on Earth who believe in deities, gods, an afterlife, and such. Most of us, however, have come to realize that religion is an obsolete notion." He added a smile of confidence as he took another bite.
The Romulans looked surprised. Donatra, of course, was the first person to visibly recover. "Thankfully, there is room in this galaxy for many beliefs, even disbelief." She smiled and stomached another bite of the hen. Kolvash eventually visibly acquiesced and returned to the potatoes, which he found quite acceptable. Tolkaan's face seemed to imply that he had passed some form of judgement and nodded slightly as he took a long drink.
T'osa was the only one who remained on the topic. "Still..." she said slowly, "that is a pity. Romulans also believe in gods. It is part of who we are. It would be unfortunate if Earthers found us obsolete or backwards because of it."
Having realized the social mistake he just made, Bolerov struggled to repair the damage. "Um," he began, obviously flustered, "I used the wrong word when I said 'obsolete'. Russian is still my primary language." He offered a weak smile.
"I believe my captain was also exaggerating a bit when he said 'most of us', too. There are quite a large number of humans who believe in God." Kirk smiled first to T'osa, then to Bolerov. It was a chance to humble the captain a bit and save his butt.
"Another arguement against retaining individual nationalities under a global government." Tolkaan commented flatly.
Tom and Andrei both shot subcommander Tolkaan a glare. Donatra looked worriedly at the trio wondering what would be said next. On the surface, this seemed like a good idea. It was an opportunity to get to know the humans a little better. Unless things changed, this could turn into a diplomatic disaster. Things went so much smoother aboard the Devoras. The Starfleets had just kept to small talk, mostly about the award ceremony and the launch ceremony.
It almost seemed as though T'osa had read Donatra's mind. "Well, I didn't mean any offense," she offered humbly, "but I thank you, Commander, for praying for us. I also find it interesting that you gave thanks before you ate. Perhaps, some other time, we could discuss..."
At that moment, the light by the door began to flash red. Over the internal speakers, the music stopped. It was replaced by a robotic male voice repeating, "Intruder alert."
"What the hell..." Bolerov exclaimed. He tapped his comm badge. "Captain to bridge, what's going on?"
"Captain Bolerov, this is Ensign Carter. We have a pair of intruders on deck twelve, section four. They're Romulan."
"We'll be right there!" Bolerov yelled at his chest. He tapped his badge again as he stood up. "What is the meaning of this?" He demanded.
Tolkaan stood immediately, but was stayed by his commander's outstretched arm. "Captain Bolerov," Kolvash began, his voice excited, but controlled, "I assure you; I know nothing of this."
Donatra stood and waved her hands for patience. "Please, Captain... we were not sent here to be spies. Whoever these people are, they are not operating under our orders or approval."
"We'll know soon enough." The Starfleet officers were up by now. "Commander, secure us a pair of weapons and meet us on deck twelve, section four." Bolerov turned to Commander Kolvash. "Commander, I respectfully request you and your party join us below." His voice was conversational, but demanding.
"I would insist if you hadn't asked, Captain." Kolvash replied, his voice equally aggresive.
The Romulans and the Starfleet officers followed Bolerov's lead as he ran out the door. Kirk, in the meantime, took off the other direction, trying to remember where they stowed the hand phasers. As he remembered his to-do list, he started doubting whether they had even been unpacked yet.