The Ghost and Miss Jade

Posted on Sun May 3rd, 2026 @ 1:00am by Petty Officer 2nd Class Quinn Sullivan & Lieutenant JG Jenna Jade
Edited on on Sun May 3rd, 2026 @ 1:01am

Mission: Die Hard: Chimera Edition
Location: Main Shuttlebay

The shift had been a rather intense one, but very productive for the two of them in the shuttlebay. It had been a mix of silence and talking as was getting to be their pattern, but the talk had been all about the shuttles today and how they were all ready for whatever mission they were needed for, all except the Argo. That one had been giving them some trouble. Jenna had already replaced everything in the cockpit, so today the two of them had done a complete overhaul of the containment chamber, defueling and refueling, trying to hunt any additional identifiable gremlins.

"Ah think that's that." Jenna said simply, shaking her head as she just glared at the utility shuttle, "Not much more we can do today on her. Ah'm thinkin' we may need to focus on the nacelles tomorrow; nothin' else we've done seems to have solved it. Heck, ah'm outta ideas if degaussing the nacelles or even replacin' them doesn't work, what about you?"

"I agree," Quinn said, nodding. He took their tools, putting his away, and then packing hers for her as well. "We can also try running it on one nacelle to see if it's an isolated issue."

"We can try that, sure." Jenna nodded, "See if somethin' works." She glanced towards the door as he packed up their kits. "Ah, um... You know, Quinn, Ah was wonderin'... Would Ah.. Ah mean, would you like to get dinner tonight? Ah was thinkin' that it might be nice to eat with someone else, rather than by myself, or somethin'."

Quinn finished packing their kits, then stood up and looked at her, his hands draped casually behind his back. He stared at her, silent as a tomb, dissecting her with his gaze. Finally he nodded and said, "yes."

Inside, Jenna squirmed and she wasn't sure whether it was because he'd just said yes, or the fact that he'd been so quiet and looking at her when he said it. "Let's stash these in the Argo since we're comin' back to her tomorrow and just head over from here, unless you wanted to um... Put on somethin' more casual? Or if you wanted somewhere more um..." She trailed off.

Quinn looked down at his coveralls and the engine grease they were displaying. He cleared his throat self-consciously. "I can change," he said.

"Well, yes, there is that." Jenna glanced down at herself as well, not filthy, but definitely could use a change of uniform at least. But what if he wanted something more casual than that? No. Katie had been adamant, don't make it personal yet, feel him out and see if there was something potentially there. "Ah think Ah should change uniforms as well... Maybe meet back up in about ten minutes? Or do you need more time?"

Quinn thought it over with an expression usually reserved for contemplating quantum theory. "Fifteen minutes is fine," he said, finally. "I can be at the mess hall by then."

Jenna leaned down and picked up her kitbag and held it in front of her. "Fifteen minutes, Ah'll be there." She flashed him a smile before beating a retreat towards her quarters. She stripped off the uniform jacket first, tossing it to the side as she punched in a request for a new uniform and paused as it was replicated. "No." She took the uniform and put it to the side for the next day, but paused for another moment as she thought and punched in a request

She took another minute to brush out her hair quickly and put some lip gloss on, but otherwise put on a pair of jeans and a light blue blouse of a light cotton material, leaving the top two buttons undone before putting back on the regulation shoes and heading back out the door, destination: Mess hall. She checked the chrono on the way out, three minutes. Plenty of time.

Quinn was already there, waiting by the entrance. He'd washed up and changed into a simple blue button down shirt and a pair of khaki pants. He was somewhat surprised she hadn't thrown another uniform on, but he couldn't complain about what she'd chosen. "You look great," he said, gesturing for her to lead the way into the mess hall.

Jenna flushed pink, but led the way, "You look quite handsome yourself." She remarked with a smile, "Ah've got no idea what Ah'm hankerin' for tonight." Her mouth started off, nerves getting to her right from the get-go more than in the shuttlebay, "Don't think Ah'm gonna get anything too complicated. What are you thinkin' of?"

"Roast chicken," Quinn said without hesitation, as if he'd anticipated the question. "I don't want to have to waste time focusing on my food."

“You’d be surprised just how much attention is required for pickin’ chicken off the bone,” Jenna said with a smile, “Ah think Ah’m gonna go with some tamales and sticky rice with adobo seasonin’. There was this place just outside the Academy campus with what Ah swear were the best tamales and sauce that ever came to be. A bit of heat, but nothin’ like a flamethrower or any thin’, with some sweet aftertaste to it.”

"I've never had much taste for overly spicy food," Quinn admitted, "but that sounds nice." He stopped by the replicators, letting her order.

It wasn't traditional, but along with the tamales and rice, Jenna punched in her order for steamed broccoli and cauliflower instead of beans and waited for a few seconds as the meal was replicated along with a glass of a murky pink liquid which she withdrew from the replicator and stood back to wait for him. "Ah wouldn't call this overly spicy, especially not compared to a lot of Thai food or some of the fads that go around. Ah'm not a big fan of those myself."

"Not something I've tried," Quinn said. He replicated roasted chicken breast and vegetables, along with a mug of ale. "Where would you be comfortable sitting?" he said, simply.

"Ah think the window may be best?" Jenna suggested, taking the lead as she weaved through the tables of which about half were occupied, but at this time it wasn't abnormal for that to be the case, selecting a table and sliding her tray onto it before positioning herself behind it in the booth. She frantically tried to find a subject aside from work to talk about, but everything was slipping her mind at the time, so she busied herself with her fork to start with.

Quinn watched her for a moment, then made a decision. "What was your hometown like?" he said.

"Columbia?" Jenna asked, "Ah should say the far outskirts of Columbia is where the house is, but it's one of the population centers in the region. We've got a pretty good sized ranch out there, but most of the social events were in the main part of the city, like the debutante balls and girls parties, dances and the like. Ah know I did a lot of the socializin' when Ah could, but that was really Minerva's venue. Ah think Ah was there for about two-thirds of the time at best."

Quinn frowned. "Debutante ball? What's that? A dance?"

"It's a really formal dance, usually when a girl turns fifteen to eighteen they're presented in a really extravagant white dress, perfectly made up and hair done, long gloves, heels, everythin' matching." Jenna gave a fond smile as she remembered her own debutante ball, "Lots of the boys there in tuxedos, the other girls in their own less ornate dresses. The tradition is that all of the boys get a dance with the debutante before the end of the night. It goes back a long time, Ah think half a millenium, makes the girl feel like a princess at the time."

For a brief moment, Quinn looked like she'd just described his vision of Hell, then he pulled himself together. "It sounds...very special," he said, quietly. He chewed a mouthful of food and when he swallowed he gave a small shrug. "However pointless."

The screech of her fork along her plate as the words hit her was audible through the room and her eyes showed a mixture of hurt and anger, “Pointless? Look, Ah know that the lines between wealthy and ‘poor’ are gone in society and with that…” She made an annoyed sound as her words failed her, “Confidence in one’s self and the standards of bein’ polite and knowin’ HOW to act in public without seemin’ to be a barbarian don’t just grow on trees! Besides, do you know how many young ladies don’t get the opportunity to have special attention paid to them except in a weddin’ or somethin’? This sorta thing helps girls get ready for that sort of event, gives them confidence in themselves through positive reinforcement!” she leaned her fork against the plate as she considered just leaving.

Quinn faced the storm with the same calm he'd always shown. He sipped his drink slowly, and set it down with meticulous care. "I see your point," he said, evenly. "And I apologize. I tend to oversimplify. Sometimes I express the sum outcome of my thoughts, rather than everything I'm thinking. My mind is always processing, thinking and analyzing; it helps to distill things down to the essential phrases." He paused for a breath. "My statement wasn't that the concept was pointless, just that the requirement of a ball to make someone like you feel like a princess seems pointless, given that you...already look like one." He stopped before his voice lost its calm tone. It was a new record for him. Not only the most words he'd said to her in one go, but the most he'd said to practically anyone on board. He was used to keeping his own counsel. It was easier, safer. He looked back down at his food and took another bite, sitting there stoically as if he'd just commented on the weather.

The carefully formulated words that Jenna had been putting together to politely make her dignified yet properly haughty exit vanished from her mind as his words hit. Even during her own debutante appearance, she’d honestly felt silly, because she’d been in competitions for several years with lots of attention her way, but this had been expected of her. She was finally aware of the heat in her face and looked down at her plate as if seeing guidance in the still steaming Mexican food in front of her. “Ah umm…” She squeezed her eyes shut for a heartbeat to compose herself, “Ah um…”

"Of course, I am somewhat biased," he said, pulling the focus away, protecting her from the embarrassment he'd just dropped on her. "I don't like bowties. Never have. Never liked tying them. A half-windsor necktie works better at my height, anyway."

Her eyes came up as she gladly took the change in subject, “Bow ties are just much too informal and the look silly regardless of who happens to be wearin’ them.” Jenna’s mouth opened and words shot out of it in rapid-fire as she was given another thing to distract herself with, “But if you’re lookin’ at formal, Ah think a full Windsor would suit you better, like with a blazer or other jacket. The half-Windsor would be better with a flight jacket or one that stops at the waist, makes you look a bit more rakish, but definitely would go with your hairstyle in that regard.” She followed up by taking a hasty mouthful of broccoli.

"Never thought of my hairstyle as 'rakish'," he said, quietly, smiling a bit at the amusing thought, then went silent again. He ate quietly for a moment, unsure what else to say, accustomed to letting others control the flow of conversation.

“Well, if you look at it, it’s a bit messy, but that’s just because of natural curliness.” She smiled at him softly, “Part of bein’ a ginger and all, Ah think. Naturally a bit frizzy, Ah knew a couple of girls that had the devil of a time stylin’ their hair.”

He blushed a bit and nodded. "I just brush it in the morning," he said. "I don't know much about styling."

“Ah could help you with-“ Jenna went red as she realized what she’d started to say and her attention grew focused on the plate in front of her very acutely again, “Ah mean, Ah could show you what you could do to straighten it out if you wanted, it really isn’t all that hard, but that’s only if you want to.”

Quinn considered it. "It would probably add too much time to my morning routine," he said, taking another bite. "But, I appreciate the offer," he said once his mouth was empty. He thought for a moment. "Do you enjoy your work?" he said, finally.

"Engineerin'?" Jenna asked, giving a shrug after a few moments, "Ah used to, Ah still sorta do." She glanced back up again, "Don't get me wrong, Ah'm a good engineer, but Ah almost think Ah should go into somethin' else for a bit. Ah know the other girls and boys in the department don't hold it against me, but a change of scenery would be nice."

He nodded. "Your work has been far more than 'good'," he said. "Maybe you're right about the change of scenery. Transferring to the shuttlebay certainly seemed to help your mood lately."

"It got me away from people in general." Jenna pointed out, "Ah didn't have to face everyone that Ah yelled at, didn't have to sit in judgement or anythin'. It gave me the chance to get my nerves settled, to get my rehab under way. Ah'm pretty good with small craft, so it was easier than other things. Plus, you're easy to get along with, even if you don't talk much, Ah guess Ah should say it helped with what Ah was tryin' to do."

He gave a small snort of laughter. "I don't talk unless I have something to say," he said. "And I'm used to keeping quiet. It's easier to just let others talk around me. Usually it lets me get things done while they prattle on." He looked at her and gave a small smile. "Must be why I've been getting so much more done lately."

Jenna snickered and covered her mouth as she did, "And then you sometimes start spoutin' off and start talkin' just as much as Ah do." She gave him a grin, "Which must just be me rubbin' off on you, with all of my own chatterin' about, don't you think?"

He nodded solemnly and put his fork down on his empty plate. "I agree. You're a corrupting influence," he said, his voice serious before finally cracking a smile.

"Now that, suh, is something that Ah have never been called." She smiled back at him, "Pure as the driven snow, Ah was called until recently, incorruptible if a bit of a perfectionist."

He looked at her for a long moment, holding her gaze, but not saying a word. He stared into her eyes with the same dissecting look he gave shuttle engines, letting the silence stretch almost to the point of tearing apart. "We're done eating," he said, finally, almost anticlimactically. "I usually go for a walk after dinner. Would you...want to join me?"

The length of the silence was almost unbearable with him looking into her eyes, but what was unexpected was the offer he made, "Ah think... Ah think that would be wonderful, a bit of a walk is always a good thing. But, would you be averse to a change out of uniform? There ain't nothin' wrong with them, but umm..."

"Oh, no, I mean, yes, of course. Out of uniform is...that's fine," he said, quickly. He nodded and stood up, offering her a hand. "Should I meet you at your quarters?"

"That would be wonderful, in about fifteen minutes, maybe twenty?" Jenna asked with a slight smile, "Nothin' fancy, mind you, just wear somethin' casual-like?"

Quinn nodded. "Twenty it is," he said. He gave a slight, nervous smile and was already trying to figure out what he owned that was 'casual-like'.

Jenna took his hand in a very delicate manner, allowing him to assist her from her seat without really doing anything, "And you know where my quarters are, good suh?"

He looked at her hand in his and then back at her. "No," he said. "But the computer can tell me where they are." He stood there, still holding her hand, not quite sure what is the 'proper and polite' way to say "see you in a few."

"Then Ah will see you in twenty minutes." She withdrew her hand and held it in front of her before they exited the mess hall and went in different directions.