First-Name Basis

Posted on Fri Nov 21st, 2025 @ 4:08pm by Ensign Tenzi Sh'reyva & Josef Forstinger & Lieutenant JG Leilani

1,911 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Barisa Prime Conference Center
Timeline: MD 08, 1710 Hours (After Part 3, Before the Shattering Hour)

Tenzi arrived late--because of course she did. Originally, she had not been authorized to attend the opening ceremonies because of a duty shift, but after promising Vashti a favour-to-be-named-later, she suddenly found herself not only available, but eager to see the pomp and circumstance that came with multicultural gathering.

Her knee-high black boots clicked against the wooden floor of the reception hall and her sharp black-and-gold dress uniform caught the light of the chandeliers like she were a tall, blue iceberg covered in flashy wrapping, just floating into harbour.

She scanned the room, seeing several crewmates from the Astrea--mostly senior staff--but a few junior officers who were also taking in the occasion. That was when she saw him.

Across the floor, near one of the side alcoves where the crowd seemed to thin, a human man stood with Counselor Leilani. He wore that same look he'd had in the bar--an uneasiness that didn't belong to just anyone.

Tenzi froze a moment, her antennae twitching before she could stop them. Then she muttered something in Andorian that translated loosely to of course it's him. Deciding it was time for a chinwag, she smoothed her expression and walked over.

Reaching Leilani's side, smiled at the Betazoid woman. "Counselor," she said with a slight nod.

He opened his mouth, about to speak-unsure weather it would have been an emotional outburst or another affirming statement- for that's when he saw her approach. That blue woman from the bar.

That night was somewhat foggy in his memory, but what he did remember made him smirk slightly. It seems she was all dolled up for the event too, those boots even making her slightly taller than him-though he wasn't quite sure it was her until she spoke up, for a voice like hers was hard to forget.

"Well well well, what a coincidence seeing you here again, blue ." And with that statement, Leilani could most likely sense the shift in his mood.

"Huh," she said, looking out over the room rather than at him. "I didn't expect to see you standing upright again."

"And I didn't expect to see you up and about so soon-with the speed you ran off you must've almost broken the sound barrier. Good to see that that tinge of green wasn't permanent however," he teased her back, crossing his arms.

Tenzi smiled at Josef. "What's your name?"

Oh right, they had never actually told each other their names. Something that only now came to his mind. Though, he did return her smile as he responded. "It's Josef."

Her antennae twitched once, while she let his name cook a little in her mind. The hum of faint music and laughter pressed around the rounded edges of their little pocket of quiet.

"Tenzi," she said finally, offering it like it were a truce. He grin was quick and crooked, there and gone again. She folded her hands behind her back, posture far too formal to match her usual tone, as though she couldn't conclude if she were still one duty or just trying to survive small talk.

"I'd say it's good to see you sober," she added, glancing at his glass--empty, thank the stars. "But I'm starting to suspect that's not your natural state."

"Ten-zi...Tensi...well, nice to finaly put a name to the face." His accent came through as he pronounced her name differently twice, as if to test that his mouth could even pronounce it in the first place.

He chuckled at her dig at him. "Well, I guess the same could be said about you. I don't normally drink--" he interrupted himself as he followed her eyes down to his glass. "Well, that much."
His hand went to put down the empty glass, grabbing an hors d'oeuvre and inspecting it--as if not quite knowing just WHAT it was before throwing it into his mouth anyway.

"So, what is it you do around here Tenzi?"

"Depends on who you ask," she said, her tone halfway between jest and confession. Her antennae lurched forward a little. "Officially, I'm an engineer. Unofficially, I stop the ship from turning into a very expensive piece of space junk."

Her gaze jumped over to Leilani to see if she was picking up on her thoughts. Then back to Josef. "Mostly, that means crawling through ducts and swearing in multiple languages. Glamorous work."

She took a sip of her drink and looked at him. "And you?"

"Josef is our friend from another time. He's still finding his place." Leilani said from the side of her charge.

Josef was about to say something after a long line of thought but Leilani beat him to the punch and let the proverbial cat out of the bag. "Yeah, what she said." He pointed to his "Watchdog".

Tenzi blinked and tilted her head, antennae swiveling lazily. A small, amused smile curled at the corner of her mouth.

"Josef," she said, repeating the name. "Well, Josef--I think it's safe to call you my favourite human disaster."

The man raised an Eyebrow at the Andorian. Not having quite expected THAT reaction from her. Not that he would have cared either way-but still. "Well, Tenzi, I think I'll take that as a compliment from you," he mirrored her-right, disaster, as if !

The Andorian engineer grinned. "It was definitely meant as a compliment."

Well, now this was starting to get interesting. Josef at first had perceived this as nothing but banter and shittalking-and this he was very much used to with his boys back in the day...not so much opposite gender. So her grinning-seemingly genuine answer made him almost do a double take. "Thats a strange way to compliment someone then. So tell me-what exactly makes me your favorite human disaster ?" he challenged her with a grin. Again, this was all just a bit of banter....right ?

Tenzi smiled, taking a sip of champagne. "I heard a rumour you're from some point in Earth's history."

The Man folded his arms together. "Ah, so then a lover of history ? Wait. Someone's been spreading rumors about me?" He acted a little smug at first before realizing the possible implication of her words.

Tenzi giggled and looked to Leilani, then back to Josef. "The Astrea's big," she said, "but a good story about a time traveler living on board is exciting."

"Never a boring day in Starfleet, but a genuine man from the past is truly something remarkable," replied the counselor.

"Right. Good," he responded somewhat sarcastically. In his mind there had been nothing good about this story so far. At this rate he might just be waking up at home and having had the last 6 years be nothing but a bad dream... with another 400 now added on top. "Lemme guess. Someone saw me headfirst run into a turbolift door because I didn't know how they open."

The Andorian engineer threw him a quizzical look. "Oh, please. Humans from your era weren't so primitive." Her attention turned at a male server delicately balancing a silver tray of hors-d'oeuvres on individual wooden disks. She deftly reached out as he stopped and snatched what looked to be a piece of toasted bread topped with a pâté and garnished with a silver leaf.

The server smiled and nodded at Tenzi.

"What are these?" she inquired, her antennae waving slowly sideways as the mouth-watering smell hit her nostrils.

"These are smoked grapok crostini--our chef's twist on Romulan cuisine," he said with a smile. "I do hope you enjoy it." He swiftly and gracefully turned and disappeared into the swell of the reception crowd.

Tenzi turned and grinned at Leilani. "I'll bet our 'man-out-of-time' hasn't tasted alien cuisine before."

"He's been enjoying the replicator and his homeland's cuisine, but I'm sure he'll be willing to try some foreign cuisine," replied the Betazoid counselor.

Just as Leilani finished speaking, another server came sauntering past. Tenzi reached out again and pulled another hors-d'oeuvre from the tray. This time, the tiny snack was a little canapé--a little oval-shaped cracker that was topped with a piece of what Tenzi could only guess was fish, a small dollop of soft, white cheese, and a sprig of fresh spice. She held both in front of her with a lopsided grin.

"C'mon Josef," she teased, her antennae waving loosely, "do you want to try the crostini or the mystery bite?"

"Enjoying is a rather strong term for it..." Josef interjected at Leilanis's comment just as Tenzi got up to her devious scheme. Watching her retrieve the hors-d'oeuvres as the smallest thought of, "Oh great..." was formed.

"Foreign Cuisine--I mean listen, I've tried burgers and fried rice and that, but that's stuff from Earth. What if I turned green and keeled over from something? Or have something burst out of my chest..."

Though watching Tenzi, his eyes specifically fixated on the teasing waving of her antennae which seemed to convince him--either to spite her teasing or out of genuine curiosity. "Fine, hit me with the mystery bite."

Tenzi's grin widened as she pressed the canapé into his palm. "That's the spirit," she said, her antennae now curling in amusement. "No better way to face the future than to eat it."

The Man countered the Andorians wide grin with a raised brow. "Great, whats next, gonna have me eat a communicator?" he remarked as the piece of bread-or he assumed it was bread, as it had the same shape and look- was placed onto his palm.

He held it up to his eye for a second, inspecting it. Some of it looked familiar, of course-other things looked like some child spilled paint on a bunch of different foods-or well, it was mostly that piece of fish. It seemed to be....green. Or, not a fish at all perhaps.

With a exhale of his nose which could almost be called a sigh, he eventually catapulted the entire cracker and its toppings into his mouth and down his throat-making sure to chew once or twice with a questioning look on his face.

Tenzi watched him chew a couple of times, waiting for his expression to break into either satisfaction or disgust--but it remained fixed firmly in inquisitiveness. She removed her one hand that rested on her hip and crossed her arms. "Well?"

Josef finally chose to swallow. A questioning look still on his face before inhaling and answering. "Well... it's different," he answered as if that was all he needed to really say. "And, green. Well, it wasn't the worst thing I've had." Which sounded more like a compliment than one might think. "Still better than Canned Rations. I'll have buckwheat come out of my ears just thinking about it."

She smiled at Josef and cast a knowing look over to Leilani.

"This is your new world, Josef. Take a look around," Tenzi said motioning to the busy reception hall with a slight flick of her chin. "Welcome to the twenty-fourth century."

---

Lieutenant J.G. Leilani
Counselor
USS Astrea


Ensign Tenzi Sh'reyva
Engineering Officer
USS Astrea


Josef Forstinger
Civillian
USS Astrea

 

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