Saying Hello to Old Friends

Posted on 08 Apr 2013 @ 1:07pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Jesra Moore

1,787 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 05 - 1015 hrs

[ON]

Lirha slumped into the large and plush chair in her ready room with much relief and a long sigh. The day had started out busy enough with Galileo's arrival at Rojar II in the early hours of the morning, and she had since been busy monitoring the progress of her ship's shuttlecraft expeditions. Away teams were scheduled to start departing in a little under two hours which meant even more work for her, but for now, she had about thirty minutes to relax and take a quick break. She tapped a button on her desk's console and the LCARS screen unfolded from the tabletop and sat in an upright position to allow her access.

Tapping several commands into the terminal, she activated the long range comm system and requested a link to one of her old friends who she had not spoken to in over a week. Patiently, she waited for a response to her hail, but also knew that it might take a while depending on where the woman's ship was currently positioned in the quadrant.

Jesra swore as she simultaneously heard a crash and the sound of an incoming subspace message echo in both of her ears. Looking around, her eyes quickly focused on Brandy, one of her ship's mechanics, so nicknamed for the obvious of reasons.

As her booted feet sounded on the bulkhead plates of the engineering section, Jesra clipped Brandy across the ear before pointing at the mess he'd created. "If I find your drunk Bartholomew you'll get your ass kicked from one side of the universe and back, I'd like to see you manage to sit on your ass and do sloppy work after that."

As the crew member turned white, he quickly turned to start repairs as Jesra turned on her heel. With no terminal nearby but the beeping still going off in the communicator in her ear, she slapped the device and started in the direction of her quarters. "Captain Moore. This better be good..."

Lirha's gold lips spread into a large smile when she finally saw Jesra on the screen. Instinctively, she reached up and pushed a lock of her dark hair from her cheek as if it would somehow give the freighter captain a better glimpse of her. "Hi." she said in a soft voice, noticing that the fellow captain appeared to be not in the best of moods.

As the eye piece showed her the Galileo's Captain, Jesra couldn't stop the wide grin from spreading across her face. "Lirha! You'd think you'd give a woman some warning, I coulda made sure I was sitting down for this." Moving into a turbolift, Jersa programmed the destination of her quarters as her focus stayed on the Orion Captain. "Ill tell you sweetheart, your a sight for sore eyes. How you been?"

The Orion captain let out a light laugh at the Luna-native's inflections. "I have been well." she answered, then briefly reminisced about her past adventures with the woman. Jesra had done more for her than anyone else in recent memory, save her XO who had rescued her from the torturous depths of Klingon captivity. When Galileo had finally activated the Sienna device and returned in a crippled state to the Alpha quadrant, it had been Jesra and her crew who had answered their distress call and safely towed them to Vega Colony. And shortly afterwards, it had been Jesra who had visited Lirha in Vega's medical facility and helped her to escape the non-Starfleet treatment which she had to endure. "And yourself? I trust you are not working too hard?" she added with a wink.

Letting out a short laugh, Jesra rested her shoulder against the side of the turbolift as she studied the woman as much as she could through a video chat. "Me? Work too work...Ive got crew to do that for me. Could you imagine me working hard? I might break a nail." Winking at the Captain, the grin spread wider on her lips as a memory came back to her, "It'd never do to have me break a nail now would it, Ive too many uses for those..."

A shameless blush flooded across Lirha's face and her cheeks' olive tone turned to a deep green color. "No...a broken nail is no good to me." she answered as she recalled the expertise with which Jesra was able to coax her into a climax with only her fingers. Setting her elbow on her desk and resting her chin in her hand, she let out another soft sigh. "I miss you."

Moving forward as the turbolift doors opened, Jesra shoved her hands into her pockets as she left a strand of hair, fallen across her cheek, in place. Suited in her black jumpsuit, her boots echoed against the playing under her feet. The ship wasn't afforded the luxury of carpeting or cover, instead the credit was needed elsewhere.

"What's up sweetheart? It can't just be that you are missing me..."

"On the contrary...I am missing you. Very much." Lirha admitted with a deep breath, then began to explain. "I tend to get attached to those who I care about...and those who care about me." she added as she stared into Jesra's beautiful dark brown eyes through the screen. "I had not planned on contacting you for another week, but..." her voice trailed off as she felt that her feelings were already somewhat obvious to the other woman.

As she moved into her quarters, Jersa moved over to a console and imputed a number of commands in order to bring Lirha up on screen. Deactivating her head piece, she threw it across the room before collapsing into a chair. "Now sweetheart, you have my full attention..."

As Jesra studied the woman on the screen, she knew she would only be trying to fool herself and Lirha if she tried to deny that the Orion had fallen harder then had been intended. The freighter Captain herself was still trying to sort out her own feelings. "I tell you what, tell me how the ship's doing. Was she worth the cost of my new engine to get her to the colony and repaired? Is that knight in tarnished armour of yours still gallivanting around and quoting rules and regulations?"

"Galileo is doing very well." Lirha answered. "We received an extensive upgrade from Starfleet's Corps of Engineers while we were planetside, and we are currently operating as good as new. And...yes, John is still being John." she said with a light laugh and a dismissive shake of her head. "What about you? How is Nautica holding up?"

Pulling her legs up under her, Jersa stretched her arms over her head, molding the top of her jumpsuit to her body before resting an elbow on the arm rest. "Well now, when I don't have crew trying to break her, the ole gal is holding up good. The credits your starfleet gave towards her repair went along way to getting her back on her feet. Just need to find some work to keep her happy."

"Well...perhaps I can help?" Lirha replied with a tilt of her head and a raised eyebrow. As a former trader herself, she was familiar with the struggles of finding work in a competitive universal market.

As a twinkle entered her eye, Jersa rested her cheek against the upturned palm of her hand. "Can you now...you plan on shipping me over there so I can be on hand twenty four seven for all our your needs Princess? That might keep me happy, but not too sure about my crew and ship."

With a soft laugh, Lirha shook her head, her dark hair bobbing across her shoulders. "As much as that sounds delightful, I actually think there is much profit to be made here in our region of space. Currently my ship is surveying the newly-discovered Rojar system, and we have so far identified several rich deposits of deuterium, dilithium, and many other types of raw ore. I know your ship is not exactly a mining vessel, but there is still ample opportunity to arrange a contract with Starfleet...if you are interested?" she offered.

Straightening up in her seat at this news, Jesra watched the woman carefully as she tried to read the Captain behind the woman. "Hummm....and tell me, where would the catch be?"

Lirha shook her head again, this time with a much softer expression in her eyes. "There is no catch. You mentioned something about finding work, and I will be glad to assist you, especially considering everything you have done for me...and my crew. But, I would be lying if I said that I did not want you to spend some time with me. Alone." she added with a mischievous grin.

Chewing gently on the side of her baby finger, Jesra still continued to study Lirha for a moment. To her this was serious, she'd heard the news reports and the rumors about the system in which the Orion found himself..to land this job was a very very big deal, especially if she was first in. "Let me talk to my crew...I don't imagine them turning it down but at the end of the day we are a team and family."

"Yes, of course." the Starfleet captain cordially replied. "However, the sooner the better. I am currently in direct contact with Starfleet Command and there are already arrangements being prepared for a few other merchants. So...the earlier you can inform me, the more able I will be to assist and help negotiate a deal for you."

Smiling at the woman's response, Jesra moved her finger away from her mouth. "You'll have a response within 20 minutes of this call finishing and sweetheart...you know very very well that I always keep my promises."

Lirha slowly nodded. "Yes...yes, you do." she answered with a content smile. "Twenty minutes." she reiterated, then leaned forward and pressed her gold lips against the screen to give Jesra a virtual kiss. "I look forward to seeing you soon."

Pressing her fingers against the screen in an unusual gesture, Jesra hesitated a moment before the smirk stretched back across her lips. "Talk to you soon Sweetheart." Leaning across she killed her screen before using her terminal to gather her crew together. There wasn't a chance she was allowing this to slip through her fingers....for more reason then one.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Jesra Moore
Freighter Captain
SS Nautica
NPC'd by Pola Ni Dhuinn

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