Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Posted on 05 Jun 2025 @ 5:11am by Story Teller & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant JG Sunni Wallace & Ensign Ronin Tetnel & Crewman Nicholas Foy

3,151 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Cover of Darkness
Location: Carter Family Home
Timeline: July 2, 2390 || 1800 hours

Following their adventures in town and at the quarrry, the Flotsam crew had been invited to the Carter's home early. Though the colony appeared to be fledgling, one wouldn't know it by the look inside what once had been several cargo containers. That's not to say the Carter's home was a mansion. It featured only two bedrooms, one for the married couple and one for a visitor, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and an expansive multipurpose area. For now, this multi-purpose room had been configured as a dining area. Eight chairs surrounded the table. At the moment, seven of the seats were spoken for, and only the Carters knew who would take the eighth.

For now, the Flotsam crew had been invited to take advantage of the bathrooms in order to freshen up. Whether they used the facilities or not, the Carters were able to continue their conversations with the crew while they prepared the meal.

Foy had used the washroom to just splash some water on his face and to clean his hands after following Camila all day. He knew his probably didn't look perfect, but was happy to be along for the ride. Foy came out of the washroom and waited to see where everyone else went off to.

Camila had taken the offer to freshen up and soon sat at the table in a clean pair of clothes taken from the Flotsam and a few freshly replicated vegetables and fruit to offer for the meal. She chatted idly of space lanes, life in the Gamma Quadrant and things in general, hoping that the eighth seat would reveal more than they had found so far.

Ronin sat by Sunni, having freshened up as well, having spent a few hours checking out the colony and secretly scanning everything.

Like the others, Sunni chose the option to freshen up and change her clothes, and now joined the others at the table. She felt like they hadn't learned much, but had hopes that further exploration would offer much more. For now, there was this dinner to get through, and hopefully by the end of it, she might have some kind of job that would help the teams cause out.

Emily entered the residence through the front door, this time carrying a crate with a few items, including a bottle of Cardassian canar and a Selubassari whiskey. "Looks like you lot clean up nicely."

Nick pointed to the Cardassian canar and asked, "You can actually drink that stuff?"

"Beggars can't be choosers," Emily said with a grin. "Besides, it reduces really well with a chocolate cake. The syrupy texture just gives it an extra twang and bond."

Wasn't that the truth? "I can't remember the last time I've had chocolate cake," Sunni said with a smile.

Nick thought about it for a second himself and replied, "I can't either. One of the last times that we came close was when we had the Bajoran concoction that reminded me of a chocolate cake mixed with maple syrup."

Camila resigned herself to the beverage with a promise to herself to have her taste buds scoured and restimulated when she got back to the ship. "I do not mind it at all. Thank you, Emily."

"Chocolate has been a rarity for us," Alice said from the kitchen, still chopping away at a couple of vegetables for a salad. "In fact, our family went several generations without it."

Richard entered the main room from the bedroom, straightening his tunic as he did. "I remember the very first time I tasted chocolate. It was in 2371, shortly after the Ferengi brought us what they called a "Alpha Quadrant Sampler" which I'm certain was a ruse to in fact start selling substandard products at an extreme profit to us unsuspecting locals. I was a young man then, and the sensation was absolute bliss."

"Yes, well," Alice jabbed with a smile, "describing one's first taste of chocolate as bliss certainly colors other blissful experiences."

The elder man scoffed, chuckled, and playfully spat, "I fully maintain that bliss is an appropriate word and that it fails to reach other descriptors, including those such as divine."

It was at this point that Emily rolled her own eyes. This was not the first she'd heard such arguments, nor was it the first that she was disgusted that her parents would so playfully discuss their overnight antics. "So, canar? Whiskey?" she quickly offered, pulling both bottles out of the crate.

Nick looked at the bottle of canar and said, "Why not try it again. It has been a while since I last had it and maybe I was too judgmental about it. May I have a glass please and is there anything I can do to help out before or after I get the glass?"

"No help is required!" Alice called from the kitchen as Emily poured Nicholas a glass of the syrupy liquid. "But if you don't mind making sure the table is ready, that would be appreciated."

As the glass was being poured, Nick helped to make sure that the table was prepared for everyone. He counted the places for everyone, to make sure that everyone had a place to sit and eat. Once everything was done, Nick walked over and accepted the glass of Canar. Nick said, "Thank you very much for everything. It looks like the table is all prepared and ready for everyone!"

Emily did a quick review of the place settings, and saw that there was only enough out for seven. As she handed the glass to Nick, she observed, "We're going to need one more seat. You won't be the only ones joining us for dinner tonight."

Nick was taking a sip of his own drink when he heard he made a blunder. He became bit embarrassed and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that there was going to be just six of us here tonight. Where can I find the plates and everything, so I can make space for our extra guest?"

"Might still be in the sink," Richard offered, pouring himself a single whiskey. "We've been so involved with the quarry and the mining that we've barely had time to keep up with the laundry."

Camila wondered who was coming to dinner with them but decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being. She had asked enough questions during the day for a simple pirate freighter captain and asking more would be seen as curious.

Nick headed into the kitchen and washed the plate and utensils again, just to make sure that everything was good to go before bringing it out. He placed it on the open spot at the table and grabbed a chair in the corner of the dining room for the mysterious guest.

Like the others, Sunni wondered who would be joining them, but unlike the others, she didn't mind asking the obvious question. "Who will be gracing us with their presence?"

"An old friend of mine," Richard said, beginning to migrate food from the kitchen to the dining area. "He manages the shipping of all of our goods and exports, but he's been offworld for a couple of weeks trying to drum up some new haulers. I do believe he will be pleased to see you since he hasn't been able to drum up much help."

Nick finished setting everything up before asking, "Mind if we ask what his name is or what he goes by? I don't want to be disrespectful to someone who might be able to get us some good work by the sounds of it."

"His name is D'rimo," Emily said, placing the open beverage containers on a nearby hutch. "He's basically my uncle. In fact, we used to have a lot of Karemma running around. There's still a few here, but not so much anymore."

Camila looked up; D'rimo was a name that she was familiar with and so was the Commodore of the Black Hawk. She also knew there was another D'rimo in the alternate universe that she and the crew had been blown to when she had detonated a tricobalt device next to a Romulan micro singularity core. That D'rimo had been less than pleasant and had a bounty on Harvey's head and she sincerely hoped that it wasn't that one who was coming to dinner. "I have had some dealings with them, but not many," she said honestly.

"Not a terrible people, I must say," Richard said, carrying the last of the food items to the table. "Although one could argue that most species subjugated by the Dominion aren't terrible. There's not a soul left in the quadrant who wasn't born under their thousand-year reign. And while the Dominion keeps to themselves, species like the Karemma have had to rebuild their economy, an irony not at all lost on my own family. Please," he said, gesturing to all of the chairs at the well-stocked table. "Let's get seated."

Sunni took a seat at the table at Richard's urging. She wasn't familiar with D'rimo, as that happened well before her time with the crew, but she'd been told stories of the past by members of the crew that experienced them. They sent a shiver down her spine then, and even did so now. However, this time it was more mental. "Thank you," she said with a polite smile.

Nick too a seat somewhere amongst the people, trying to stay a bit closer to the crew of the Black Hawk more than their hosts. Nothing against their new hosts for the evening, but Nick just didn't want to be the one sitting next to this guest of theirs. D'rimo was a name that Nick hadn't heard much about before, but he had heard that the crew of the Black Hawk had some dealings with them before. As Nick sat down, he also said, "Thank you."

TAG CDP / Ronin? optional

It was at that moment that there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" called Alice as she took a few seasonings over to the table, only glancing up to see a familiar face be revealed by the opening door.

Richard rose from his seat instantly. "Drimo!" he practically exclaimed as he rose from his seat to greet his old friend. In his excitement, he failed to notice the scratches on his face. Instead, it was the bandage on the Karemma's neck that stuck out. "My word, D'rimo. Is it really that rough out there?"

D'rimo shook his head and waved his hand as if to brush the thought away. "No, no. Just ran into an old friend, and it didn't go the way I thought it would. Nevertheless, I am here, and I have something for you. Ironically, something from another old friend." He lifted a metal cube about a half-meter in size. "He would want you to see it right away. Supposedly, it is perishable."

The elder Carter chuckled as he accepted the box. Looking back to the human visitors, he smiled and brought the box over to set beside the drinks on the hutch. "I think this is from one of those Rakhari clans who assisted me back in the day," he suggested as he started to open the box. "They are known for their incredibly rich cakes, a mixture of tulaberry and something better than human chocolate."

"Rich indeed," muttered D'rimo, positioning himself cover to where he could see Richard's expression.

Richard's hands undid the clasps, and with an easy motion he opened the case. The bright big smile on his face, which had expected a beautiful cake inside the tin, quickly evaporated, replaced with one of shock and confusion. He turned away from the box, revealing the mystery the box contained. When he stammered and looked back at D'rimo, he was greeted by what appeared to be his friend holding a disruptor pistol at him. Immediately, the door was pushed open and three other Karemma burst into the room, each one brandishing disruptor rifles.

Alice, shocked and confused herself, looked at the Karemma who had burst into her home, and then at the open metal box. There, unobstructed by her husband, sat in the box the head of a Karemma, lifeless and severed, which bore an exact resemblance of the man holding a weapon at her husband.

Without missing a beat, D'rimo added, "Mellon is now under control of the Confederation. I apologize for your friend, Richard, but I really can't afford to be in two places at once, not with the new order I intend to bring."

Sunni shot up so fast at the sight of the severed head that her chair flew backwards, clattering against the floor. Everything happened so fast, and now there were four people with weapons ready to fire at any given moment. Everything in her wanted to try to diffuse the situation, but that was unlikely to happen. For now, she cast a glance toward the others to see what they planned to do.

Her kneejerk reaction was to reach for her phaser, but it wasn't there as she wasn't Starfleet Security but a freighter captain for hire. She had a small disruptor stashed in a side pocket, but it was nothing compared to the three armed Karemma and the fact that she was now faced with the D'rimo that she knew and had hoped to never see again. She hoped that she was not recognizable to him as he was to her, but glanced at her companion who had came to her feet. "Stop!"

Ronin gasped and jerked himself back from the table where the head was in view in the box and looked at Camila and the others, hoping no one got jumpy.

"Excellent," sneered D'rimo, still keeping his pistol trained on Richard. "You might not believe me, but I am sorry about your friend." Not that he needed to emphasize the unfortunate news, but he still nodded in the direction of the severed head. "I had tried to be civil with my counterpart from this universe, but he simply forced my hand. We wanted to cooperate with you, work together on extracting the birthyium, form a partnership."

D'rimo sighed, and then smiled. "But my short time here has shown me that we simply won't be accepted. I shouldn't need to demonstrate my resolve, but I'm afraid I must be absolutely clear." Immediately, the sneer fell from D'rimo's face as a disruptor blast launched from his weapon into Richard's chest. The elder Carter was dead before he even hit the floor.

"No rebellions," the Karemma shouted over the screams that came from the deceased's wife and daughter. "No escape. You will continue mining under our watchful eye. And you," he said, turning the pistol on Camila, "I hear you are a simple freighter captain. I have use for you."

"Me and my crew have no association with the Carter's," Camila said, not wanting any of them to get shot. She was still rocked by the fact that the alternate universe had made their way here. She wondered if that were her fault as well.

"Whether or not you know the Carters or the Golden Stars does not matter," D'rimo stated. "Your ship must be the one on the landing pad out there. The locals tell me you're going to going to use that to help haul the ore. Impressive."

"We hadn't yet reached the price negotiation stage, but I'm sure you and I can reach one quickly," Camila said.

Now wasn't the time for any of them to be a hero, especially considering none of them could defend themselves against the four armed individuals. She would follow Camila's lead on this, and if she meant to play along for now, then she would do the same, too. "I'm willing to help you out with whatever you need," Sunni offered.

Nick had been watching all of this unfold and just waited to see how this was going to unfold for the group. When Camila said that she was going to work for the new guy, Nick stood up and stood to the left of Camila and said, "Yeah, I'm with her on this. Anything you need, just name the price."

Nick didn't want to say too much or to blow their cover, especially since his heart was beating out of his chest.

D'rimo glanced to both of the eager beavers, finding it curious that they would speak for, or even over, their Captain. "I'm sure we could," D'rimo said coldly. "And if you and I cannot, then it seems that I have two volunteers that will. We've been setting up refineries on the other side of the sector. These Mellonite locals will package what they've collected so far, and you'll assist my counterpart's ship in transporting it there. Deliver successfully, and without trying anything, and I offer you your lives, fuel, and quarter. Perhaps even more."

Camila glared at Sunni and Foy. "One more word out of either of you and I'll leave you in space without a suit," she growled and turned her attention back to D'rimo. "That sounds reasonable," she said, not seeing another option and money was less important than the information she had just gotten. The problem would be getting out of there alive with it.

Sunni had no plans to apologize for her offer. Especially when she was unarmed and had a disruptor rifle this close to her. All it took was a simple slip of a finger... She pushed those thoughts from her mind. Letting those get the best of her wouldn't do any good, but for Camila's sanity, she planned to keep her mouth shut for the time being.

Nick knew better than to talk right now and backsass anyone. While he had quick access to a type-1 phaser a few different daggers, that would only cause more harm for the team than help. But, Nick knew that he was going to have a talk with the team once they got out of this situation and back onboard the Runabout.

"Good," D'rimo said with a smile. Without taking his eyes off of the dark-haired freighter captain, he tilted his head slightly to the left and ordered, "Sequester them with the others. Everyone will need their beauty rest tonight, for tomorrow, the work begins."

Nick just waited to see what Camila would say or do, hoping to get this D'rimo guy out of the house and far enough away. So, they could all talk about what just happened.

Camila nodded to the others and D'rimo. "We'll see you in the morning." She felt horrible for the Carters and for the Golden Stars, but she had to keep her people alive now and get this information back to the Black Hawk.

~To Be Continued~

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