—- USS Luna, Lunar Base Lounge —-

The two Lieutenant Junior Grade Security Officers were sequestered in a booth. As two humans, both from Earth even if from different places, they had initially had a lot of talk about. Now though though there were content with silence, a different thing for William Hume who in his last relationship had been constantly feeling as if he needed to talk. Dating a half-Betazoid he had felt the need to explain basically any thought that popped into his mind, as his ex (Chief Counselor Yuhiro Kolem) could sense it. With Rosa Flores though he could let his mind drift to the 1984 Edmonton Oilers, or the 1994 Vancouver Canucks and not have to explain anything. He could spend ten minutes thinking about how the curve of her caramel brown neck made him want to kiss it without giving the thought away.

”Hmmm,” Flores said as he kissed her neck, “We’re in public.”

Hume knew where they were, and while public displays of affection were not the norm in the professional ranks of Starfleet they were off-duty and kissing one’s girlfriend seemed to him to be well within the boundary of expected behavior. Granted not all of the things he wanted to do were, but again his own private thoughts were once more his own.

”We both got tapped by the captain for the next away mission,” Hume said, changing the conversation, his arms wrapped around her as if he were her owner. Of course it she did not like the arrangement she was more than capable of dislodging him, and likely putting him in a hold until she called for backup. Flores had joined the ship from a Starfleet recruitment office in Mexico City where she had been working and where the captain was from. It was the captain who had brought her along, wanting more women who had a similar background to her on the ship, feeling as if until this point Starfleet had not done enough to empower women like herself.

Hume was not sure about that, but then he realized that when he thought of Starfleet his family had served since the days of Admiral Archer had been a captain and helped to found the organization. He looked like the pictures of Archer, Pike, Kirk, Johansson, and Picard on recruitment posters. So his joining Starfleet had never been in question, even if he had not had the posters for guidance. The captain’s and Flores’ were much more winding pathways.

”A Romulan starbase should be tons of fun,” Flores joked. While it was not a Vulcan instillation the Romulans were not known to be the galaxies funsters. Though they did have good ale. Perhaps enough of that could ensure that even a sour Romulan would crack a smile.

“Romulans aren’t so bad,” Hume said, though he’d only really known two. The USS Seattle’s Assistant Chief Medical Officer T’Rala and the USS Luna’s Romulan advisor (or whatever her formal title was) S’anra Navan.

“You just like the hot ones,” teased Flores biting his lower lip and pulling on it before releasing it teasing him.

“You’re the one that called them hot,” Hume said defensively, teasing back.

While on the USS Seattle, and now the USS Luna, Hume had found everyone professional the fact was that on a long voyage of indeterminate length, like they were on now, people were people. Most of the species were in some way compatible, if you put the right pieces together, and so being young and fit and healthy they enjoyed themselves while off duty. It was not like a Galaxy-class ship where everyone had families on board and tried to maintain that structure. Most of the senior staff was unmarried (or uncoupled) and so a familial atmosphere was not important. The crew was family, but not in that way.

Flores playfully pushed him away, “Don’t get excited and start asking for additional company. That’s what got you in trouble with Lieutenant Kolem.”

Hume nodded feeling a twinge of guilt. He’d gotten angry with his ex after a proposal had failed and had cheated on her. It had hurt her in ways that he not being as emotionally open as she was, had not intended. He did not want to do the same thing a second time now, as it was a course of action he regretted. 

Thinking of the past ships he’d served on with more of less the same crew though it had ballooned in size on the USS Luna from 95 to nearly 400, they had stablished a nice atmosphere. Tight knit, they were friends and even if he didn’t exactly hang out with either of his captains they knew him and he liked them. Granted Captain Cruz was a bit suspicious of him due to the aforementioned affair that had hurt Kolem who she considered a friend or a confidant or something, but Hume figured he’d deserved that. But to go from the USS Anaheim a California-class ship handling mostly medical emergencies, to the USS Luna a Luna-class ship exploring Romulan space, was quite a thing.

“Do you want a hot tub, then bed,” Hume asked Flores, “I have a new program that’s in Hawaii overlooking the sunset. In a hot tub.”

Flores smiled, “You don’t look as good in a bathing suit as you think you do.”

Hume smiled, knowing she was lying, “You do.”

—- USS Luna, Transporter Room 1 —-

The next day Hume had rushed to get ready for the Romulan station. The Klingon First Officer Klar had been directed to stay aboard the Luna, and yet he was in the transporter room with a scowl on his face.

”Stay in pairs, be friendly, don’t be afraid to smile even if Romulans don’t,” Captain Cruz who was leading the away team said. The Luna was going to dock but the away team was the first contact, their arrival had been arranged.

S’anra Navan the Romulan Officer assinged to guide the Luna through Romulan space ignored Klar, and objected, “Romulans can smile, we are not Vulcans.”

“Let’s put that to the test shall we?” Cruz said selecting a transporter pad to stand on. The rest of the team including Hume, Navan, Flores and Chief Diplomatic Officer Diya Acharya took their spots. With a nod Cruz signaled for transport and the world blurred in blue and while light reforming on a darkened bridge.

Tricorders were immediately flipped open, as the mission very suddenly went from a diplomatic greeting to something else.

”No life signs Captain,” Hume reported, “Over two thousand corpses though.”

”We didn’t scan, this was all arranged with the government,“ Cruz said, the Romulans were still Romulans and had provided strict instructions for how this was to go, and those had not included instructions on scanning the base.

Since none of them had brought phasers Cruz said, “Alright we’ve got to head back to the Luna, get equipped and figure out what happened here.”

Tapping her badge she said, “Cruz to Luna, come in Luna.”

There was silence.

”Your ship is not responding,” Navan pointed out.

”Cruz to Luna, come in, Klar, Kolem,” Cruz tried again, then they all did. Once they had determined that for some reason they were unable to raise the Luna  the situation was assessed and a plan was made. Life support seemed to be the only system with power at the moment.

”Flores, Hume you two take Navan down to engineering and figure out the power situation,” Cruz ordered, “Acharya and I will stay on the bridge and try to raise the Luna. See if you can arm yourself while down there.”