Tea Time - A New Command & Hijinks

Posted on Mon Aug 18, 2025 @ 9:05am by Civilian Gertrude Helsing & Civilian Florence Cooke & Civilian Beatrice Weatherford & Civilian Henrietta Barton

2,110 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Time After Time
Timeline: MD15 - afternoon

The ladies of Tea Time had taken a few weeks off while repairs were made. In addition, there was just too much dust and noise to spend time on the Promenade where they did their recording. But now that the dust had settled--literally--and a new command team was in place, it was time for the Ladies who Lunch to talk dirt.

Gerty was the first to arrive as it was her turn to make the tea. She'd stopped at one of the bakeries to pick up scones, tea cakes, and decadent cupcakes. While she put the kettle on to boil, she set the table with a stack of plates, cups, and a lovely display of delectable desserts.

Florie arrived next and picked up tullaberry scone. "Where are the date scones, Gerty?" She said. "You know tullaberries make me break out in a rash."

"They're still in the box. I've only unpacked these so far. Go help yourself."

"Oh, here they are." Florie finding them. Grabbing a couple, she went to find her chair.

Beatrice arrived after picking up her new sweater at the stations oldest clothier it was a good thing she had because she had a bomb for the girls. A knowing smile on her face. "Ladies.."

She sat pouring herself her tea, plopping two lumps into it and setting several biscuits on her plate sitting back stirring her tea.

Henrietta Barton came in last, carrying a small tray of triple berry tarts, she preferred the tarts, not that she was against having scones or cakes, she was more in the mood for the tarts. Besides she made them herself. She set them nearby, acquired some tea, taking a seat at the table with the others.

Finally, when each of the ladies had their tea, scones, and cakes, they sat around the table. "Are we ready?" Gertie asked the others. "We have five minutes before we go live." She activated the holographic list of topics that would not be picked up by the cameras. There had been a lot to talk about this week with the arrival of a new command team and the subsequent rumors.

The computer counted down the time. One minute before they were to begin, the lights brightened, indicating it was time to stop chatting and start gossiping.

When the clock reached zero, Gertie smiled. "Welcome back to Tea Time. I'm Granny Gertie. Today's Tea Time is brought to you by Knitty Kitties, our favorite shop for all your knitting needs. Now, before we dish, the other ladies would like to say hello."

"Hi I'm Florie, the fun one." Florie said. "I'd like to thank Pex Hover Bike rentals for letting try out the new Zephyr 3000. It’s a bit hard on the hips, but luckily mine are made of metallo-plastic." She said with a smile.

Beatrice looked to Florie, "Yes...now those hips can really take a beating." taking a quick sip of her tea.

Gerty giggled at Bea's comment. "They usually do."

"At least when the holosuites are working. Fortunately, the promenade's commercial holosuites are once again operational thanks to Aurora Imaging Systems and Lasuma Enterprises."

"And I am Henrietta, sometimes known as the queen of tarts, because of my passion of making these little pastries." Taking a bite of one then having a sip of tea.

Gertie took a sip of her tea. "Now that repairs are mostly complete and the dust has settled, we're back to dish the dirt." Her smile grew impish. "To start with, did you hear about Commodore Michaels and the owner of Lasuma Enterprises? They showed up at the new Marine base on the planet fully dressed and soaking wet. The rumors around the promenade vary from a clandestine affair to one of them assaulting the other." She set her teacup down and grinned. "The tea leaves say this may just be the beginning of the stories about those two."

Beatrice set her cup down. "OHHhhhh do I have scoops on those two... As to their 'activities' on the planet, I have it on good authority that they were anything but hostile towards one another when they showed up at the base.

"Now...a little birdy told me that one of the Lasuma yachts was out for an evening spin about the system the other night. And the next day his tailor showed up in the Station's Operations center to take some measurements."

"Oh. That does sound interesting. If there's a dress, there has to be an outing somewhere," Gertie said. "If any of you listening catch them together, send us images. We'd love to dish on what they were wearing."

"They do make a beautiful couple, I wouldn't say 'no', if they asked me to join them." Florie said with a wink.

Shaking her head, "I swear Flo, you have no shame."

"Shame," Florie said as if it were poison. "Stops you doing what you want to do, I've never had time for it."

After finishing her tart, Henrietta exclaimed, "You talk of shame, the one who brought about shame is that of Hydel Turvan bringing about dishonor to the Cardassians, him infiltrating the station and causing turmoil and injuries to our home and the citizens of this station. He was captured and sent to Rura Penthe."

"Serves him right. Nasty man." Gertie shook her head and took another sip of tea. "He walked around here like he owned the place. I'm glad the Cardassians came to their senses and cut ties with him. He acted like he wanted to rule the galaxy. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say."

Henrietta picked up another tart, gesturing with it in hand, leaning back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other,

"Ah yes, the command team. The XO, I have news about her, she was at one time an admiral in charge of a station, then for some inexplicable reason, she was demoted to a Commander. She became part of a command staff, on another station. She rose up to being a Captain. She was placed in charge of that station to solve a mystery of the death of a famous writer. She must have botched that, and was sent here as punishment, and dropped back down to a rank of Commander once more. I do hope that she will make certain to mind her p's and q's." Henrietta remarked tartly, taking a bite of her tart.

Beatrice, too, had refreshed her plate and was handing out her cup for a refill on her tea, as the tea was being poured. "Oh, I don't think she's worried about minding anything. Do you hear about her thrashing and gyrating herself about at the Marine Corps celebration? Then kissing the Colonel in front of everyone."

"I saw the holovid." Gertie set her cup down and chuckled. "I can see why she got demoted if she flaunted herself like that. Can you imagine, flipping and gyrating like that. And flirting with every male she danced with. My, my, but that girl is limber."

Florie laughed. "Good on her, you only live once." She said.

"She did look like she was having fun." Henrietta giving a bit of a smile towards Florie.

Gertie set a lemon tart on her saucer and brushed the crumbs off her fingers before moving on to another subject. "Did any of you notice the raid on the Raddon Corporation? I couldn't sleep, so I was walking through the station and noticed a number of men in black. They were carrying out boxes and loading them onto a cargo ship. And, since I take the security of this station seriously, I had to make sure that Melvin Raddon wasn't sneaking away with his illegal goods." She looked around at the other ladies. "Do you know what I found? It was Starfleet security and it was a raid. I overheard them talking. All Raddon Corporation holdings have been seized and he's fled the station. Couldn't happen to a more deserving man, if you ask me. By the end of the week, everything that belonged to him will be off the station and headed to Earth."

"I hope they put him in a deep, dark hole, and then throw away the hole." Florie said.

"I would be surprised if Mr. Geral didn't have his fingers in that in some way. With Raddon out of the way and him," Beatrice leaned forward slightly, "involved", sitting back, "with the Commodore, AND securing the Presidency of the Merchant's Association...he's basically running the Promenade."

"Well now, good for the Commodore if she has someone in her life. I am also quite happy Face in and all that is associated with him is eradicated off the station. I didn't like him here, plotting and being smug about what he thought he was getting away with." Henrietta popped in the last piece of the tart she had been nibbling on into her mouth .

"Of course. Everyone loves a love story--and we're no exception. If the rumors are true, we might get a front-row seat to this one." Gertie loved nothing more than to watch young love bloom. "I'm sure we'll be talking about love for a good while. It'll be a nice change from recent events." She paused and looked at the other three. "And speaking of love, any of you hear any rumors about Commander Letsul?"

"Other than her having fun at the Marine celebration? She has been seen just exploring the station. I had heard that she had coffee with a rather handsome man the second day she was here. And nothing more after that. For a pretty lady, she seems to be part of the lonely hearts club." Henrietta offered up.

"I also heard she had a nice "meeting" with the Colonel in the cigar lounge in the new Lasuma's shop." Sitting back with her tea Beatrice smirked with raised brows and a wry expression, "Maybe we will see a double date with the station new command team."

"It will be interesting to find out what else can happen, though something tells me that, Commander Letsul will be something like a Will-o'-the-wisp hard to pin down or capture. As she seems to evade the normal pathways. for someone to see her, unless totally following her." Henrietta drinking the last bit of her tea.

"The colonel is quite the catch. If I were thirty years younger..." Gertie laughed. "But few men can match my Victor, rest his soul."

"Well, you'd probably still be missing out; wasn't he still MIA 30 years ago?

"I agree on both accounts Gertie, the Colonel is an attractive man, and your Victor was one in a billion." Florie said. "Never could get him to look at me, the way he looked at you."

"Good." Gertie smiled at Florie. "But there are still plenty of good-looking men on the station." She looked around at the other ladies. "And I think it's time we invite a few of them to Tea Time. Maybe we should start with the colonel? I'd love to hear how he won the battle on Pangaea, wouldn't you?"

"You don't have to ask me twice." Florie said. "I'm in."

Beatrice shook her head. "Well, I'll have to be sure to sit between you and him with a spray bottle for that show."

"Definitely," Gertie said. "Now, to move on to news on the Promenade. Did you hear that there are three new establishments? One is for security and Marines, bless them. It's called The Dusty Dragon, there is Lasuma's - Beyond the Veil selling merchandise from the Tarelis system and their client systems...only available through Lasuma Enterprises. Complete with a cigar lounge that our favorite Colonel has been seen frequenting, and the other is a coffee shot palled Rex's Roast. I haven't been to the first, but the coffee shop is delightful. I highly recommend it."

"Yumm, coffee, I like mine like my women, dark and bitter." Florie said laughing at her own joke.

Henrietta gave a smirk. This show was turning out to be rather amusing. "Here's to our next show, with Colonel Means as our first guest. Shall we say Goodnight folks?" looking at the other three women.

"Goodnight Folks." Florie said.

"Feel free to tell us how you liked today's show and any suggestions for upcoming episodes," Gertie said. "And please join us next time on Tea Time."

A post by

Henrietta Barton
Self-Proclaimed Queen of Tarts
Deep Space Five

Florence Cooke
The Fun One
Deep Space Five

Gertrude "Granny Gertie" Helsing
Deep Space 5

Beatrice "Whizbang" Weatherford
Deep Space 5

 

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