Dinner by Starlight

Posted on Sun Jun 15th, 2025 @ 5:43pm by Commander Alesia Harrington & Lieutenant Jaina Zalla

709 words; about a 4 minute read

Alesia made one final adjustment to the lighting, dimming it just enough to let the starlight through the view port take center stage. The table for two was set neatly with replicated grilled fish, sautéed mushrooms, roasted asparagus, and a bottle of red wine already opened. She’d even taken the time to add a real linen napkin, folded with care. A soft jazz playlist from early 20th Earth played gently in the background, a soothing contrast to the sterile hum of star ship life. Alesia had dressed in a casual low cut civilian dress, one meant to show off her figure more than anything. As on cue, the chime rang. She smiled, already guessing who it would be. “Come in," she said.

Jaina stepped inside, still in uniform, though her duty jacket was partly unzipped and half open. She looked like she’d just come off a twelve hour shift, although her expression picked up a little as she entered the darkened room. “I would’ve changed, but security drills ran longer than planned,” she said, offering a faint, crooked grin as she took notice of her host's clothing. “You didn’t say this was formal, and you really didn’t have to go to all this trouble," she added as her eyes took in the room with the soft lighting, the dinner and the music that was playing.

Alesia walked over with a glass of wine and pressed it gently into Jaina’s hand. “I didn’t have to,” she said. “I wanted to.” She stepped in close and lowered her voice just slightly. “And for the record, you look exactly how I wanted to see you.”

Jaina chuckled, the tension melting from her shoulders as she took a sip of the wine. She walked toward the view port and stood in silence for a moment, watching the slow drift of stars outside as the Eclipse warped along. “It’s strange. I spend so much time planning for worst case scenarios, I forget space can be... peaceful.”

Alesia joined her at the window, standing shoulder to shoulder. “I used to think my work was the only thing I needed. The data, the research, the drive to succeed where others have failed. I never took the time to stop and look myself,” she said.

“I’m not used to this myself,” Jaina admitted. “Making space for someone. Letting them in when everything in me wants to compartmentalize.” She reached out and took Alesia’s hand. “But I don’t want to keep pretending there’s no room for this. For you.”

Alesia's fingers tightened slightly around Jaina’s. “Then let’s not pretend. We don’t need to rush anything. Just allow ourselves the time to get used to this. Because I have a feeling that we're both going to be learning a lot more than we expected to.”

Jaina nodded as she sipped more of her wine. "I have to admit that I didn't expect this outcome when you came to my office. I simply took a chance and honestly didn't know what was going to happen."

"Well, I'm glad that we both allowed our guard to drop just a little," Alesia admitted with a nod as she slid her arm around Zalla's waist and pulled the security officer closer. "Now, I vote that we get started on dinner before it gets cold or you get called away for some unknown security related matter."

Jaina laughed softly and gently spun away from the research officer and towards the table. "I left someone else in charge tonight," she said. "In fact, I left orders to not be disturbed unless it was a serious life or death matter."

"Oh, the joys of being able to give orders," Alesia smiled as she crossed the room to the table and sat down. Pouring herself a glass of wine, she took a sip and nodded.

Jaina sat down and raised her glass. "Well, rank and position must have some form of privileges," she said. "Shall we see where the night takes us?"

"Indeed," Alesia said as she raised her own glass in response to the toast. Much to her own surprise, she was definitely interested in seeing how this evening unfolded.

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