Lamenting

Posted on 26 Feb 2014 @ 2:44pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm

1,773 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Hotel Indigo, USA, Earth
Timeline: MD 03 - 1740 hrs

[ON]

Lirha stood outside of Siren's room in the hotel's hallway and pressed the door chime. Dressed in her favorite low-cut, backless black dress and with her hair down and pierced ears adorned with gold jewelry, she quickly reached up and pushed her bangs back out of her eyes while she waited for Hex to answer the door.

It had been a stressful day for Lirha which had begun at 0600 with meetings with various members of Starfleet's brass for several mission debriefings, and she had also been preoccupied with meeting a new medical officer who would be coming aboard Galileo as soon as the ship's refits were complete. She had needed an escape when her day ended at 1600, and so she had called Siren to arrange a visit only to be surprised to find out she was currently enjoying herself in one of San Francisco's nearby hotels. Slightly jealous and not wanting her to have all the fun by herself, the Orion commodore had quickly showered, changed, and packed an overnight bag, then had caught a ride aboard a hovercar to come meet her girlfriend. There was a lot on her mind at the moment, and hopefully Siren could help alleviate some of her stress.

Siren answered the door, her smile brightening when she saw who it was. She rested her head on the door frame, wearing a simple set of black jeans and vest. "You came just in time," she caught her by the hand and pulled her into the room without apology. It was a treat, a hotel room, just to get some privacy and away from fleeters for a while. Besides, she didn't have much else to spend her wages on. "I've opened a bottle of champagne..."

"Champagne?" Lirha hadn't had a glass of the bubbly drink for over a year, but didn't protest. "What is the occasion?" she asked, remembering it was usually reserved for special circumstances among Humans. Glancing around the room, she suddenly felt more relaxed. No Starfleet emblems, commbadges, or LCARS screens anywhere...just the decorative civilian aesthetics of San Francisco.

"Being alive?" Siren suggested with a soft laugh as she moved to find a second glass to pour. "After everything, I think that's a pretty awesome accomplishment. And you. Being...recovered. You had me worried there for a minute..." she glanced to her, meeting her eyes, jest on her features, but in her eyes, it was all too real.

The Orion wasn't sure if she technically qualified as recovered. Perhaps physically, but there was still a good deal of emotional stress she was feeling on a daily basis. For now, though, she didn't want to spoil the mood by mentioning any of it to Siren, and instead smiled back at her. "Sounds like a good reason to celebrate," she agreed. "I was also worried...not so much for myself but for you and Nesh. If anything had happened to either of you..." her voice trailed off and she pushed the troubling thought from her mind.

Siren moved close to her, close enough to feel the warmth of her body as she stroked her cheek gently to Lirha's. She put the slim glass into her hand, smiling gently. "Not gonna happen," she assured simply, but with meaning.

"To life, then, and being alive. Cheers," Lirha said, giving Siren a light kiss then raising her glass for a celebratory toast before drinking half of it in several long sips. "So...I saw you at the ceremony this morning," she continued, changing the subject slightly. "They took Galileo away from me. Not that John does not deserve her...but still."

"You think they've taken her away from you?" she said softly with surprise, taking her hand to lead her to sit down, making sure to take the bottle with them. It wasn't how she had seen it, but she wanted to hear how she felt, so she could understand it.

"A year in space and after I was just beginning to feel comfortable with the ship and it's crew...I get promoted and reassigned. I had to request to remain on board when the admiralty attempted to move me to the Orbital Office Complex," Lirha fussed, then let out a deep sigh and shook her head. "I suppose it is not that bad. The admiral was kind enough to accommodate me and let me remain aboard Galileo. But...still..."

"Lirha..." Siren smiled warmly, reaching out to touch her hand, to ease her anxiety. "How many Commodores of your age do you think there are? Not very many, even I can tell you that. They haven't taken your ship away, they're regonising your ability and promoting you for being a kick arse Captain," she smiled widely at that, reaching to stroke her cheek "And right now, you have the best of both worlds. You're still on the ship, and you've still been given the honour of pretty cool rank and position. You get to be the kick arse Commodore and do the boring stuff while still being involved with your ship. And me," she winked.

Lirha couldn't help but smile at the compliments, and she supposed Siren was ultimately right. After all, she was sort of getting the best of both worlds. Remaining on board Galileo was very important to her, especially because of Nesh, and her new duties as STGCO had the opportunity to be very interesting at times. At the same time...being a commanding officer was a very special and privileged job which she didn't particularly want to relinquish at the moment. "If I get too bored, I suppose I can always violate protocol and accept a demotion back to captain," she mused with a smirk then downed the rest of her champagne.

She waggled her glass and waited for Siren to give her a refill, then leaned against her while snuggling her forehead against the side of her temple. "Since I am apparently a 'kick arse' commodore, does that means you are going to move in with me finally? We would have our own quarters on Deck 1 together..." she proposed with a sultry voice full of fun implications.

Siren gave a small smile as she refilled her glass for her, stroking her thick, dark hair. "Is that what you'd want?" she asked softly. "I mean. It's a big step. Makes it kind of...official and serious."

"Well, I am a commodore now...'official' and 'serious' go along with my new title. Unless you have plans to go run off with another partner soon?" Lirha teased. She hadn't thought too much about the consequences of inviting Siren to live with her aboard the ship, mostly because she couldn't see any negative ones. She enjoyed the red-head's company and they had been dating for a while already. Moving in together was sort of the natural next progression, in her mind. "It is a big step but it is something I think would be good for both of us. There is nothing wrong with spending more time together, no? And we seem to get along well," she smirked, then took a sip from her fresh glass.

Siren laughed softly at that, nodding with a warm smile. That was true enough. In many different ways. "I suppose it just says that we're in a full on relationship rather than just...some fun..." she searched her eyes before laughing. "Damn, I'm really bad at this kind of talking. Listen, it could be fun to give it a go, I suppose I'm just asking if you're sure you want it to...mean that, about us. About me," it wasn't often her insecurities came through, but now and then, her disbelief that someone would want to settle with her and just her when there were so many 'better' candidates out there.

Lirha looked curiously at her then giggled and squeezed her thigh. "Of course I am sure. I would not offer to share my private space otherwise...Orions are very particular about their living arrangements," she answered, then continued to look into Siren's eyes while attempting to gauge her body language and feelings on the matter. "And you? Do you have any reservations? You can be honest..."

"Only that I'll disappoint or mess it up," Siren admitted with a soft laugh at herself, shaking her head. "I'm not used to living with people. But if you're willing to risk it? I'd love to be sharing more with you," she admitted softly, holding her eyes so she could see she meant it, reaching out to run her fingertips down the elegant line of Lirha's jaw.

"Well they do say life is a game of risk. So why not?" she answered with a coy smile. "I will contact the ship's new quartermaster and have your belongings moved to Deck 1 with me. In the meantime...how would you like to take a vacation with me next month? To my homeworld?"

Siren straightened up at the words, leaning close so she could searched her eyes with hope. "Really? You mean that?" she asked with obvious excitement, the grin already tugging at her lips. "Where you're from? You'd show me?"

"Of course. I would be happy to." Lirha had no qualms taking people to visit her place of birth, especially not Siren. "Have you...had any experiences being around a lot of Orions before? Or are Nesh and I the first?" she wondered out loud to her.

"I've bumped into a few around the bars and clubs," she shook her head with a small smile. "But I've never gotten to know any properly as friends before you and Nesh. You girls are my first...so to speak. Does that make me sound like I'm boring?" she laughed at the idea, her eyes shining. "If it helps, you've been an exceptional ambassador for your race," she teased softly with a playful smile.

Lirha tilted her head with intrigue at the red-head, then curiously raised her eyebrows. "I hope you did not think I was going to sell you to the Syndicate as a sex slave," she secretly teased. "Although I am sure you would fetch a hefty sales price," she added, looking mischievously up and down Siren's curvy body.

"Hm," Siren leant in close to steal a kiss as she stroked her thigh warmly. "Perhaps you are far more devious that I thought, perhaps you have captured me all too willingly into your service..."

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

PO2 Siren Hex
Intelligence
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Blake]

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