Marriage of Convience You Say? (2/2)

Posted on 23 Feb 2016 @ 2:58am by Jesra Moore & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,093 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Jupiter Station - Various Locations
Timeline: MD82 1925hrs

Previously...

"Computer, halt lift," said the Orion with a droopy head. She felt the momentum of the turbolift car suddenly stop as if it was in tandem with the thoughts that were running through her head. She couldn't keep up the facade much longer, nor did she want to.

"Jesra, I am pregnant and unmarried," she revealed. "It is a big problem for an Orion such as myself." Her family and cultural customs frowned upon such a situation and she not only felt perpetually apprehensive, but also a bit ashamed. "I am sorry I did not tell you earlier..."

...And Now....


Without hesitating, Jesra moved her hand to cup the Orion's chin as she raised the woman's face so as their eyes once again met. "It's your personal story to tell when you are ready but I have one question for you...Since when did the opinions of other's matter so much to you?"

"Not others, I suppose. Computer, resume lift." Lirha felt the turbolift continue on its journey before finally beginning to slow as they approached their destination. "My family," she clarified before looking curiously at Jesra and then tilting her head slight to the side with curiosity. "Do not Humans value their elders within their families and their decrees?"

Stuying the woman's eyes closely for a few moments, Jersa left her fingers linked against the alien's green skin before brushing a loose strand of hair behind Lirha's ear. "Humans value their elders because they are the people who raised us. But in relation to decrees, they don't exist. In some families you wil have elderly heads of the family and each differs but in general, in the closest of families, they just want you to be happy. Of course at times they will be upset at yo but love will always superseded everything else. Are you happy mon elt*?"

Lirha was usually a happy woman. Sometimes she was unhappy, other times she felt in between. "I think so. Yes, usually," she hesitantly answered, not quite sure how much she should analyze such a loaded question.

"Then why does the opinions of those not involved in your life matter?" As the turbolift came to a stop, Jesra took the woman's hand and lead their way to the gardens.

The Orion followed the taller Human woman and let herself be taken into the calming foliage. "But it is my family...they are involved in my life. And always will be." Perhaps Lirha had a different relationship with her kinfolk than Jesra, but on Rigel, loyalty to family was essential. "I cannot simply ignore them or dismiss their wishes. They are a part of me and I am a part of them. We have a bond," she tried to explain.

As they entered the gardens, Jesra moved her arm around the Orion's waist before gently guiding the woman's head to rest against her shoulder. There was a convience sometimes to being the taller of the two. "So let me get this straight...you're happy but you're not really happy because your relatives and elders back on your home planet are unhappy that you are going to be an unmarried mother...so the only thing stopping you from being truly happy is the fact that you're not married and thus can get your family off of your back?"

A moment of silence passed while Lirha thought about the line of reasoning. "I suppose so," she finally answered in agreement. It was a comforting feeling to be hugged by her old friend.

"Right so m'dear...there's a very simple solution...marry me." Jesra stopped them both before she maneuvered the Orion so they were looking directly at eachother, "I'm here a couple of days so can get the arrangements sorted. It won't be the most romantic of weddings but as a marriage of convenience it will get your relatives off of your back. Of course there's that thing with Noel I have to sort but...don't you worry your pretty head about that."

Lirha's light green eyes widened at the proposition. it had seeming come out of nowhere yet also seemed sincere, if not for the convenience element. The Orion's gaze slowly fell to the floor and she shook her head softly. "I..." she was at a loss of words but eventually composed herself, "I would like that. But not for convenience...a marriage should be out of love and not just to appease my family."

The followup question was undoubtedly a difficult one. "Do you...love me, Jesra?" Lirha asked.

Jesra should have realised what was coming. She'd known that beneath the toughened exterior which the woman showed to the world, a soft hearted woman lay. A woman who just longed to love and be loved in return.

Hesitating for a moment, the freight Captain reached out to take the woman's hands as she brushed her thumbs across the knuckles. "Sweetheart...you know I don't do love. Do I care for you? Yes, I wouldn't be willing to do unless I did. I care for you deeply since the first time we were together and I recognised that there was more to you than a woman lost and looking for guidance and a semblance of just belonging."

As she tried to find the words, not being used to talking this way with people, Jesra cleared her throat a little before moving one set of their joined hands so as she could brush her knuckle across Lirha's cheek. "I have alot of respect for you. Respect for a woman who has spent her life fighting the stigma which comes from being an Orion and making a career for yourself in the federation. Most of all, you have alot of guts to decide to bring a baby into this world all on your own."

Lirha smiled at that and shook her head. She should have known before asking, but Jesra's reply didn't upset her. It was honest and forthcoming which was always a sign of a mature individual. "We all have our own paths we must follow," she remarked. "I...appreciate the offer of marriage, but I must decline. It is very sweet of you but I believe such a bond should be genuine and not simply for the sake of appeasement." She kissed the back of the freighter captain's hand to further show her gratitude.

As Jesra studied her for a moment more, she slowly backed the Orion towards a tree as she spoke softly to the woman. "It can only benefit you you know...I'm sure you remember those nights we spent together...the ways in which I made you cry my name. Your body was mine in those hours Lirha...and I made proper use of the time....Marriage would gain you all of that once again."

Saalm laughed softly to herself while the memories of their intimacy flooded into her conscious. "Are you attempting to bribe me with sex, Miss Moore?"

The smile on Jesra's lips extended as the Orion's back came up against the tree which the Captain had been aiming her towards. "And if I was Lirha...."

"There is no shortage of partners aboard my starship," replied Lirha with a light shrug. It was nice to be intimate with someone, but at the moment, she was looking for something more. "It is a shame that you do not 'do love'. That is what I am seeking." Now that the cards had been played, Lirha wondered how the other woman would respond.

With her pinned to the tree, Jesra moved until their bodies touched, her finger trailed down along the Orin's cheek. She took no offense from the reference to knowing the woman could get sex whenever she wanted. The freighter Captain knew better than anyone that Lirha's sexual appetite was unshakable at times. "Ok...three questions and then I answer yours. One...if love means so much to you, how come your unmarried and pregnant?"

Lirha didn't like the way this game was beginning, but instead narrowed her eyes and confidently answered in an attempt to best her opponent. "Because my former wife was reassigned to a covert intelligence unit and I will most likely not see her again for many years, if at all."

As her finger traced a path along the side of the Orion's neck, Jesra's eyes never left the alien's once. "Two...what is love to you?"

"Love is..." The pause was short but not instant, "a bond between partners that is eternal. It transcends everything material. Love is when a person craves another and must be with them for fear of falling ill." That was the best she could describe it without going into a philosophical debate.

As she stepped in closer, Jesra's lips were but a hairs breath from the Orion's, her eyes never leaving Lirhas. "Three...do you love me?"

Staring deep into Jesra's dark brown eyes, Lirha's head slowly and instinctively nodded as if it were a subconscious reply. "...Yes."

Jesra blinked...she couldn't help it. She hadn't expected that answer...not after the knowledge that the woman had married someone else after all they'd experienced. It was difficult to believe that Lirha connected love and marriage for surely true love entailed just one person...not many.

But then again...this was Lirha...and she was an Orion.

Resting her forehead against the aliens, Jesra let out a slow breath as she closed her eyes. Things never were that simple and easy between them both. "You're due to ship out in...just under two weeks? Any idea yet how long you'll be away on your next mission?"

The rear admiral now wanted to kiss Jesra. Very badly, in fact, for she felt that opening her heart up to the woman was worthy of at least some degree of affection. "I am not certain. Perhaps a month, maybe more?" She sighed and leaned her head against the crook of her neck. "Will you come with me?" she offered.

Jesra's cheek lightly brushed across the Orion woman's head as she thought this one through. "On three conditions...one, you give me that month to show you you want to marry me and to see if this...love...thingie...can work..." The freighter woman didn't intentionally word things as she had, it was just a difficult prospect to think about loving a person given the distance she usually maintained.

"Two...I get to drive your ship...or something...getting down and dirty in engineering works too. I don't do sitting on my hands ideally very well....Three...I don't do white weddings. You can wear and dress and be all fancy...just don't ask it of me."

"I think I would like that," she mumbled most happily. She kissed the side of Jesra's neck gently then looked up to her with searching eyes. She could feel pleasant tingles of anticipation running through her body -- the physical signs of what she knew as 'love'. "Come to my bed aboard Galileo. Right now," she then whispered breathlessly after finding herself immensely aroused by the conversation.

Jesra laughed a little at the woman's request before pressing a soft kiss to the side of the woman's head. Teasing she pulled back to look into Lirha's eyes, "You know that in some cultures it's tradition that the couple would wait until married before sharing a bed?"

"I thought it was tradition to please your future wife whenever she so desires," Lirha refuted with an amiable smirk. "My quarters, now," she repeated with authority, then took Jesra's hand and tugged her towards the arboretum exit.

Jesra couldn't help it, she begun to laugh but still allowed Lirha to drag her from the area. Wasn't this what she had enjoyed so much before...the woman had a mind of both intelligence but when she wanted something she was like a dog with a bone...she wasn't willing to give it up. "So is this how it'll work over the next month? I jump when you say so?"

Lirha looked over her shoulder with a mischievous smile. "Well...I am a rear admiral..."

Tilting her head a little to the side, Jesra took in the view from behind as the smile on her face widened. "Rear would be about right...let me show you what I like to do to rear Admirals."

[OFF]

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

&

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

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