Hotdogs and Philosophy, Pt.1
Posted on Tue Jun 30, 2026 @ 6:05pm by Lieutenant Commander Curtis Thibideaux
Edited on on Tue Jun 30, 2026 @ 6:23pm
1,044 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
Jubilee
Location: Brother Boyle's Hotdog Bus. The Promenade
Timeline: First few days of Jubilee
Curtis lurked near the lifts. Well, loitered was a better discriptor.
He hadn’t properly lurked since working at Fleet headquarters. He’d arranged to meet the station’s chief counselor on neutral-ish ground. Curtis had dressed simply in loose fitting trousers and kimono wrap shirt both in altering shades of blue. Comfortable sneakers shod his feet and he slouched against a wall comfortably. From this vantage point, the crowds weren’t severe yet, though in the coming weeks that would get worse.
T'Lul had replayed the entire conversation with Curtis in her head. She was uncertain whether he just wanted her experience or whether he intended this meeting as a date. While the probability was, by her calculation about 62.15 per cent that it was a date, she had to account for the fact that it might not be. She was intrigued by the Commander but she also was confused by him. After all, going to a hot dog stand did not seem like a traditional date.
Once again, T'Lul opted to dress out of uniform. There had been some gawking at her when she was in dresses. It was an intriguing reaction. Therefore, to elicit another reaction, T'Lul dressed herself in flexible blue trousers with a plum colored tunic that had a slight v-neckline. The tunic itself stretched just past her hips. On the tunic, she wore a silver geometric pin. She had worked on her hair for at least five minutes prior to leaving. Her long black hair fell smoothly across her shoulders, the curled ends more voluminous than usual.
Upon spotting Curtis, she gave him a polite Vulcan hand greeting and said, "Live long and prosper, Commander."
Straightening when his HUD indicated the counselor was approaching, Curtis took T'lul in. She was a stunner, but it wouldn't do to simply tell her that. It wouldn't be logical. That she had showed up out of uniform did show promise. As she neared he said, "You're beautiful, T'lul. You look almost how I imagined out of uniform." It was cheeky, but very well might fly right over her head, but it was worth saying for his own amusement.
Smiling, he gestured toward the busy promenade. "Brother Boyle's bus is about a six minute walk or ten minute saunter. Are you hungry or would you prefer to wander for a bit and observe the crowds?"
When T'Lul heard the compliment, she simply responded, "I accept your compliment as it was intended, though I question your imagination for my being out of uniform. Normally when one imagines someone out of uniform, they are bereft of clothing."
At Curtis' gesture, she started to walk in the direction at a leisurely pace. "Observing the crowds is often intriguing and sometimes it leads to useful data. However, if you are hungry, I can observe on the way and while we eat and communicate." She added, "I have discovered that when I dress out of uniform, the baseline of the populace differs in their behaviors, which is interesting."
"Well my imagination is an over-achiever," Curtis said as they walked through the concourse. Sound enveloped them as they joined with the crowds. "Can't really blame it to jumping toward a possible future. As to the baseline differing in their behaviors, of course they would. You're an attractive, specimen. Not to mention slightly aloof, though that's mostly the Vulcan."
They rounded a corner and he touched the small of her back once to guide her past a group of performers that were busking, featuring a pair of jugglers and singers. He tossed a strip of latinum from his waistband at a hand drummer dressed like a rag doll that winked at him. Curtis winked back at the man before returning to the topic. "Observing crowds is always full of information. On a station like this, it can tell you how the whole organism is running. When weird things start to happen, you can pick up on it here and there first, usually. I am hungry, so we'll grab food and picnic while we people watch."
So, this is a date, T'Lul confirmed in her mind. He has talked about a potential future and told me that I am attractive a second time. Intriguing. Is this potential future solely based on his perceived attractiveness of myself or more? He mentioned that I'm slightly aloof but also characterized that as "mostly the Vulcan." Does he think of me as not being Vulcan? More data is required.
"I agree with your premise that understanding how the station functions as a whole is important so that if something is out of place or extraordinary, that it can be remedied quickly. It is one of a number of reasons that I observe so much." Perhaps I should attempt what humans call "opening up" more? "You appear to have an easy method of communicating with individuals. How did you develop that?" T'Lul asked. "I have been told by my teachers that I could use improvement on my bedside manner," she confessed.
Curtis touched her back again, guiding them into a separate street where the smell of cooked foods floated more densely and made his stomach grumble slightly.
He let his hand remain against her back for seconds longer than probably was necessary, building the familiarity and trying to decipher what the doctor might enjoy.
"I grew up on small freighters so you learned to get along with people, even if those were mostly family by blood and choice," Curtis related. "Most recently, I served as an Aide to an Admiral, surrounded by other Admirals and their staff. You pick up fairly quickly how to communicate, decipher and pick up on motivations and moods. After that, it's listening." He mulled her words for a few beats and said, "Been my experience that bedside manner is listening, then responding emphatically with sympathy to ease another's mind. Not knowing you very well but knowing a few Vulcans I'd hazard you're mostly analytic and factual in relaying information to patients. I'm not even sure Vulcan medical books touch on bedside manner."
A joint post by:
Lieutenant Commander Curtis Thibideaux
Strategic Operations Officer
DS5
Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor
Deep Space 5
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