Chapter 7
Zachary North had been in some dangerous situations during the war, but none of them made him quite as nervous as he felt now, standing in front of Vaughn's quarters.
The day had been uneventful and had flown by too quickly for North. Part of him kept trying to think of excuses not to attend the dinner, although he knew he owed it to himself to try new things. Once, at least.
Vaughn himself had not mentioned the dinner again until the end of the day, where he had helpfully reminded North of the time to be there, but he had still been his usual, cheerful self.
North had briefly returned to his own quarters to change into something more casual - a bottle-green polo neck with light brown jacket and pants - then made a hasty detour to the commercial building when he realised he had nothing to bring to the dinner, as was customary. It had been so long since he had attended an informal function, he almost forgot.
Thankfully, the ever-savvy Sal had pointed him in the direction of a visiting merchant who had a small selection of fine wines for sale.
North now tried to put on a natural-looking smile as the door slid open and Vaughn enthusiastically greeted him. The Lieutenant was also casually dressed in a more laid-back red-and-black short-sleeved shirt and jeans.
"Come in, sir," Vaughn said, beckoning him in.
North entered the living area. Unlike the quarters aboard starships, space was not so restricted on the base, and even junior officers like Vaughn were allocated relatively spacious accommodations. Vaughn's was decorated with numerous photographs and some landscape paintings. There was a small kitchenette in one corner, at which a portly woman with a short bob of blonde hair stood.
This woman smiled at him and made her way over.
"Commodore North! So good to meet you," she said in a Welsh accent similar to Vaughn's.
"Commodore, allow me to introduce my fiancée, Angela Davies," said Vaughn.
"Oh, Angie's fine," she said, extending a hand to North.
"A pleasure," North said. He instinctively reached for Angie's hand, only to realise he was still holding the wine bottle.
Some awkwardness ensued as he transferred the bottle to his free hand as Angie simultaneously reached for the bottle.
They all chuckled at this, while North shook Angie's hand, then offered the bottle again.
"This is for you," he said.
"Oooh! Thank you," said Angie. She took the bottle and examined the label, reacting with exaggerated veneration. "Chateau Picard, very nice."
"Yes, the 2109," said North. "I'm told it's a good vintage." He didn't mention that he had been told this a mere ten minutes ago, in what was surely nothing more than an effort to drive up the price.
"We shall have to find out," said Vaughn with a big grin.
"I'll put this away until dinner," said Angie. "You boys get settled, won't be too long."
North had rather hoped to get straight to the meal to dispense with the evening quicker, but he acquiesced to the standard etiquette.
"Have a seat," Vaughn said, gesturing to an armchair by the large window.
North seated himself, with Vaughn sitting in the couch across from him, and noticed that most of the photographs on the wall were of Vaughn and Angie at various tourist destinations - the Grand Canyon, the Great Pyramids, Tranquillity Base on Luna.
Vaughn noticed him looking at the pictures and said, "Yeah, we're quite the wanderers."
"Being far from home is nothing new to you then," said North with a small smile.
"Not at all," said Angie from the kitchenette. "When Rhys got offered the position, we jumped at the chance. All our friends and family back home are well jealous. Not many people can say they live on a planet with real life dragons!"
"You don't mind living on the starbase then?" North asked.
"I love it!" said Angie. "I was just lucky I could find a job here too."
"Angie's part of the legal department," said Vaughn.
North nodded. While Starfleet conducted its own tribunals, hearings and even the rare court-martial, it was all done with civilian oversight where possible. Starfleet did not want to be like the secretive militaries of old Earth; hiding their legal proceedings behind closed doors. As such, Starbase 1 had its own law offices to handle any judicial matters that may arise. Although there were a few people, like North himself, who felt that Starfleet could use a dedicated justice division of its own sometimes.
"That must be interesting," North said to Angie.
"Nothing too exciting so far," said Angie. "Mostly just paperwork."
"She's been helping Ambassador Mamao'lani look over his written agreement with the Draco," Vaughn said proudly.
"Very admirable," said North.
"Pssh!" Angie exclaimed dismissively. She a tray of three steaming bowls to the set table by the kitchenette. "Now, come and get your soup while it's hot."
North was glad that the small-talk was over and the meal had begun, but he realised that soup to start meant there would be more courses to follow. He steeled himself for a long evening.
The soup - chicken and leek - was thin but rich with flavour. North had complimented it, and Angie boasted about the herbs and spices she had laced it with, citing her mother's traditional Welsh cooking as her inspiration.
Over the starter and the following main course - lamb, roast potatoes and carrots, with a thick gravy - they had discussed more of Angie's career, how she had met Vaughn through mutual friends, how he'd proposed after the war, and the various adventures they'd had on their travels over the years, with occasional questions to North about his own career and ventures. He had politely answered them all, albeit with brevity.
North's wine had complimented the meal well, and had lived up to its inflated price. They were now enjoying an apple pudding with cream for dessert when the conversation turned predictably personal.
"The wedding plans are on hold at the moment," Angie was saying, "until we get proper settled. But another reason we love living here is that, once we're married, it will be great to start a family on such a faraway world."
Vaughn nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of his dessert. "If they build more of these starbases, Starfleet officers with families won't need to be restricted to Earth anymore."
North gave a grunt of acknowledgement, slowly finishing off his own pudding.
"Do you have anyone special to settle down with, Commodore?" Angie asked with a smirk. "A little woman of your own?"
North returned a thin smile. "No. I… prefer men." Discussing sexual orientation was no longer the taboo it had been in his grandparents' day, but North had never felt comfortable talking about such intimate subjects. "But I'm more focused on my career anyway."
"Well, that's what Rhys was saying - now that you're on the starbase, there's no reason you can't have it all," said Angie. "A career and a family. Or at least someone to keep you company."
"Perhaps," said North. "I'm content on my own for the moment though."
"You know," Angie said, pointing at him with a coy look, "Ambassador Mamao'lani is single too. You're both leaders, you'd have a lot in common."
North raised an eyebrow at the blunt hint and the insinuation that he'd have anything in common with the loud, outgoing ambassador. "I doubt that."
"Now, dear, let's not embarrass the Commodore," Vaughn said with a chuckle. North appreciated the intervention but not the belittling tone.
"You're right. Sorry," said Angie.
North tipped his head in acceptance of her apology.
Angie continued as she started to gather their plates. "Just don't let your career take up too much time. I hate to see people's lives disappear into their work."
North contemplated these words, wondering if that point had already passed for him.
"Now," said Angie, "who's up for some tea or coffee?"
"Well…" North said as he glanced at his wrist chronometer to find that just over an hour had passed. It had felt like twice as long.
"Get yourselves a comfy seat," Angie said without waiting for an answer. "I'll be right back." She deposited the dishes in the kitchenette before leaving for the bathroom.
North and Vaughn stood and made their way back to the living area. North felt that he had fulfilled his obligation to experience new things - he was well and truly outside his comfort zone now. He did not know if he could endure much more of the inquisitive small-talk or informal atmosphere. He and Vaughn were off-duty, certainly, but there should still be a respectable distance between them.
"Oh!" said Vaughn, slapping his hands together. "We should get the board games out! I'm sure I have Martian Monopoly somewhere…"
That was the last straw for North.
"Look, Vaughn," he said, holding his hand out passively. "I appreciate you having me over - the meal was excellent and Angie is lovely - but this is not me."
Vaughn's round, youthful face fell. "Sir?"
"I like you, Vaughn, don't get me wrong. I just think we should remain colleagues. Not friends."
That was a terrible way to phrase it, North realised, but before he could correct himself, the whistle of the intercom interrupted.
"Ops to North," came Captain Thorpe's voice.
"Excuse me," North said as he crossed to the wall comm unit, leaving Vaughn with his head hung.
"North here," he said as he opened the channel.
"Sir, Commander McQueen's expedition party has failed to report in and they're not answering hails," said Thorpe.
North frowned. "I'll be right up." He closed the channel as Angie returned.
"Everything alright?" she asked.
"Duty calls, I'm afraid," said North, trying to sound disappointed.
"Do you need me to-?" Vaughn started to ask.
"No, no," North said, a bit too quickly. This only served to make him look worse when combined with his earlier remarks, but he had no time to deal with interpersonal relations right now. "You stay and enjoy the rest of your evening."
He nodded to them both as he hastily made for the door. "Thank you for a wonderful meal, Angie, Lieutenant."
"Thanks for coming," said Angie. "We must have you over again," she called just as the doors shut behind him.
Not damn likely, North thought, trying to put the last disaster behind him as he made his way to the next.