Best Man - for the job

Posted on Sat Dec 28th, 2019 @ 9:41pm by Lieutenant Commander James Trallos MD

Mission: Delta Operations
Location: Medical

Frank entered Medical after the meeting with the Major and Lieutenant Commander Sky or soon to be Kamar. Seeing the Doc, he asked, "Doc may I ask a favor sir, this is a favor and not a request from your commander?" he said with a grin.

James saw the Captain grinning as he walked in. He was obviously in good spirits since the grin never left as he spoke. "Of course Captain. I keep the bottle in the bottom right drawer of my desk. Good Kentucky Bourbon, I'll be glad to join you."

Frank smiled as he took a seat in the doctor's office, and poured himself and the Doc a glass of bourbon. Taking a sip he nodded appreciatively, "Excellent taste, Doc. I hadn't pegged you as a Bourbon guy, I assumed you were more of a whiskey man," he teased.

He laughed. "My parents were originally from Kentucky. They moved to Mars about a year before I was born. Guess it's genetic. But give me a good Irish whiskey and I'll convert." He joked taking a sip. "I would assume you came down for more then getting this prescription filled?"

“Yes sir, I’ve decided, we’ll Arianna, I mean Lieutenant Commander Sky has agreed to marry me. We’ve discussed it before and I kept putting it off but after realizing how short life is we’ve decided not to wait any longer. With that being said I’d like you to stand with me as my best man.”

James leaned back in his chair, his eyes big. "Huh, had no idea you were seeing her. I guess I need to get out of the sickbay more often. Congratulations Captain!" James raising his glass to him. "I'll be honored to be at your side Captain."

"Thanks Doc, Arianna and I have known each other for a few years. We worked together at the Horizon colony before boarding the Penn. We've been close and this is the next logical step. Losing the Chief of Security made me realize how short life was, so we decided not to wait any longer,"

James nodded. "I can drink to that." He said and took a drink, then refilled both glasses. "One of the downfalls of the profession I guess is you can get used to that. Life can and is painfully short. Seeing it happen regularly close up, you just have to ignore the facts to focus on the job and try to extend that short life." He smiled, "It's wonderful things like this, a marriage, that keep me grounded in humanity and remind me that we need to live life while we can. I'm glad to see you grabbing hold of that Captain."

"Well to be honest I was hesitant, after losing my first wife and our unborn child, I thought that part of my life was over. I dedicated my time to Starfleet and was actually preparing to retire," Frank took a sip of his drink before continuing. "I volunteered to go to the Horizon Colony due to the many engineering challenges. My thought was to fix the problems there as the Chief Engineer and then retire. I was ready to mothball myself a bit early it seems," he said with a chuckle. "But while there, I met Arianna, and the rest is history."

"Don't sell yourself short based on your age Captain. With age comes experience and wisdom. If your lucky, maturity as well, and if they gave you command of a Nebula, I'd say you have that in spades. Your going into this well thought out. It's not a young man's passion that is leading you to the alter, but a mature mans analysis of the pros and cons, not just for you, but for her sake and for the crew you have under you. If you feel this is right, even if your nervous, then I believe your making the right call." James said with a smile.


“Thanks for the advice and the drinks Doc, I may need to have more appointments with you,” Frank teased, “The next bottle will be my treat, for medicinal purposes,” he said with a grin.

"Sounds like a plan to me Captain, office is always open."

“Thanks again Doc, I’ll see you tomorrow in the Ready Room,” Frank stood and excited the office. He couldn’t help but compare his new friend with Dr. McCoy, a good man under pressure, excellent listener, and a damn good drinking buddy.

James corked his bottle and put it back in his desk. He was happy for the Captain and was glad he could be in the wedding. He had better head to his quarters and make sure his dress uniform was up to snuff.