Miss Jade and The Ghost

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

**Twenty Minutes Later**

Jenna looked at herself in the mirror and swore lightly. Why had she said only twenty minutes, when she'd needed thirty to really do everything right. The dress she wore was a rather simple one that she'd had at one of the last get-togethers before shipping out to Chimera, the dress was a green and white off-the-shoulder design with what appeared to be several ruffled layers that ended shortly above the ankles. The same deep green shoes were a perfect match to the dress and the broad-brimmed hat came down coquettishly and would require her to raise her chin to be seen properly by him, as was fashionable. But she'd not been able to put on highlights to her face, only rushing to put a ruby lipstick before she stood in front of that full-length mirror to appraise herself. Certainly it was only a walk, but she'd suggest something like the arboretum, because it was the closest thing to a pathway outside the holodeck.

"Ah suppose this will have to do..." She said to herself, pursing her lips in a mock-kiss just as a test before brushing down the dress once more and glancing at the chrono as she heard the chime ring a second time, "Ah'm comin'!" She called out before rapidly walking to the door and letting it slide open at her presence, then stepped out into the hallway, looking up towards him and setting her feet just so, "Sorry about the delay, Quinn."

Quinn, for his part, was in a simple button-down shirt and khaki pants with simple brown shoes. His eyes went so wide they threatened to pop out of his skull when he saw her. "I...thought you said casual," he said, looking down at his plain clothes. "I can change if you need."

"This old thing?" Jenna glanced down for a moment, "This is casual, didn't take any time at all to put on, really! You should see what Ah've had to put on for some really formal parties and celebrations. Ah'm not even wearin' any petticoats under this, which would be somethin' of a scandal back home." She reached out with a hand, palm-down in a reverse invitation to take his.

Quinn tried not to think about the effort that it would take to be "properly" dressed, and thanked his parents for at least having him in a simpler culture. He took the offered hand and nodded, leading her out of her room and down the corridor. "Well, even without proper petticoats, you look amazing."

"Why thank you, Quinn." Jenna gave him a very demure smile, allowing him to tacitly lead her, but using a subtle pressure of her hand to guide him along, "Ah was thinking the arboretum would be the best place for a nice walk, it's got plenty of foliage and trees and flowers, Rala set it up to be very friendly for everyone and it really is rather pretty."

Quinn nodded absently, his mind trying to assemble the disjointed thoughts he was currently having. "Arboretum it is," he finally said. He walked next to her, unable to formulate proper words. "I...so this style of dress is the norm for you, then?"

“For certain things.” Jenna allowed, “Mostly while goin’ about Columbia downtown, or when visitin’ friends on a casual basis for a party, tha sorta thing. It’s a bit more difficult to go ridin’ in it, of course, side-saddle is a fair bit trickier than the normal way.” She had the grace to look away for a moment, “Of course, maybe Ah’m overdoin’ the ‘casual’ a bit, but Ah didn’t want to go walkin’ in jeans, and wearin’ sweat pants would have been way too trashy and a tennis skirt just wouldn’t have been right as well. But Minerva always told me that this one had just the right look for me, though she would murder me if she knew Ah wasn’t wearin’ the eyeshadow she’d picked out for me, or the blush, or-“ She finally cut herself off.

"I like jeans," Quinn said. "They're comfortable. I wear them most of the time."

"Jeans are all well and good, especially when workin' on the farm, but Ah've usually enjoyed havin' a bit of air floatin' around my legs when doin' some walkin'. A good set of worn-in jeans are rather comfy, admittedly." She glanced back at the corridor behind them, "Did you want me to go back to change? Would that make you more comfortable?"

Quinn thought a moment, then wrapped her arm around his, keeping them moving forward. "You look beautiful already," he said. "And I want you comfortable."

Laughter came from ahead of them and Jenna edged the pair of them to the side as a pair came half-running around the corner, clearly having been in the arboretum before them. Tessa came to more or less a halt as Henry caught up to her from behind, her eyes opened at the sight of Jenna and her dress, but she gave Quinn and Jenna a cheerful wave before grabbing Henry’shand and tugging him past, waiting until they were halfway down the corridor before hurriedly whispering something into Henry’s ear that Jenna couldn’t catch.

As they arrived at the arboretum, the doors opened and the fresh, naturally oxygenated air hit them as they stepped inside. The room was far more green and overall colorful than the rest of the ship. Quinn's nose twitched immediately. "Wow," he said.

“Right now the scents are all intermingled, but as we get closer to certain flowers and the like, each individual will start to come through.” Jenna sniffed delicately, “The roses are really out in bloom today, if Ah’m not mistaken, but the lavender is comin’ through as well.” She guided him towards a path that started to lead through the trees, “There’s a stream in here too, somethin that Rala put in for the actual sounds of the water, not just a facsimile.”

Quinn nodded, taking in the details around him. "I suppose if you have enough room for one, you might as well," he said.

"Which we do, though there's a forcefield that contains it, as well as a pump system to recirculate it underground." It just sounded so technical, which wasn't the mood that she had been planning for at this point. "There's somethin' soothin' about the sound of the stream."

"Because it's like the first sound," Quinn said after a moment.

"The first sound?" Jenna looked up at him from under the brim of her hat. It was a coquettish look, but completely unintentional.

"The first thing you hear is the sound of everything around you in the womb. Nonstop movement of blood circulating, and your mother's heartbeat. It's why we enjoy the sound of a clock ticking, even though there's no practical need for it anymore." He walked slowly next to her, trying to time his footsteps to keep him in line with her pace. "Often times we're too loud to appreciate sounds around us."

"Which is why Ah have always enjoyed walks in the wilderness, even if Ah never really had much of a chance to go and doin' much campin'. Ah was always too busy with other things, even if Ah did have opportunities to go out on trail rides, which did have much the same effect. What Ah woulda given to have gone campin' in the forest or somethin' like that."

"You...enjoy camping?" Quinn said. "I didn't know that. You've told me a lot, but that hadn't come up."

Jenna stopped and turned to him, sliding her arm out of his but kept a grasp on his hand, "Ah've never actually been campin', Quinn." She admitted, "Ah went to 'Tennis Camp', but that was just an out of the way hotel where we focused on improvin' our play, no real campin' involved. Ah've always been surrounded by civilization."

"Maybe we could...use the holodeck," he said, awkwardly. "That way, civilization isn't too far away. There are some camping spots that I think you would enjoy."

Her eyes never left his face, even as his cast to the side while he made his suggestion, "Why, Quinn Sullivan, are you askin' me out on a date?"

His eyes snapped back to hers and he cleared his throat. "Well...insofar as...that is to say....yes," he finally said, looking her in the eye.

Jenna's own eyes glittered as she counted to six in her head. It wasn't fair, of course, making him wait, but she had been taught to always hesitate before answering because the answer should at least look considered. "Well then, Ah accept the invitation." She lowered the angle of her face to hide it from him, along with the blush on her cheeks while squeezing his hand, before transitioning her arm back into his, but holding it closer to her, "May Ah assume that you'll set up the program? Ah honestly would barely know where to begin."

"I can make the arrangements," he said, walking next to her.

"Then, suh, Ah believe we have a date. Just you tell me when and where and Ah'll let you set up the rest." She led them on down the path, "And as you'll see as we continue on..."