Interview With A Former Admiral

Posted on 10 Feb 2018 @ 12:04pm by Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,736 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Rigel II - Avondale Production Facility Administrative Complex
Timeline: MD 101, 1401 hrs

[ON]

Amaranai had been contacted about an interview, though the message didn't state which ship it was for. As she recalled, she had been invited to join the Saratoga without an interview, so what was this about?

The message indicated she needed to be at Rigel Station on a given date and time for the interview, so Amaranai made sure to make the proper arrangements. Once aboard the station, Amaranai made her way to the lounge as had been indicated on her message. She was a few minutes early and glad for that because there were a lot of people waiting for an interview.

Based on what she saw of the station when she arrived, they could be interviewing for one of several ships.

Inside the waiting lounge within the shipyard complex's large administrative wing, the midday rush was coming to an end and personnel were returning to their desks after a quick lunch. A combination of red-collared yeomen and senior officers was mixed with yard engineers and dockworkers, and could be seen throughout every corridor as they hurriedly moved to their destinations.

Several junior officers and enlisted crewmen occupied the various chairs, each one waiting their turn to interview for their new prospective assignments. A young Andorian yeoman approached with several PADDs in his hand and looked over the seated personnel. "Franklin? Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin?" he called.

It took a moment before Amaranai had heard her name. She hadn't been interviewed for a position in some time, so she was not used to waiting. She stood up quickly, though, and stepped forward.

"Yes," she said. "I'm Lieutenant Franklin."

The yeoman gestured with his blue hand for the Human woman to stand and follow him. "Just follow me and I'll take you to your interview," he explained, then began to lead the way down the private back hallway corridor where the offices were located. Looking down at his PADD, the Andorian read some final notes then looked back over his shoulder to her while walking. "So you requested the Galileo-A...for three years?" he curiously asked before adding a "ma'am" at the end of his sentence.

Amaranai rushed to catch up to the Andorian as he started talking. Amaranai was still unsure of what this interview was about. They walked down a corridor and Amaranai saw the many closed doors that no doubt were conducting interviews. She heard the comment and stopped in her tracks.

"What?" she said. "I thought I was interviewing for the Saratoga."

This wasn't right. She had been rejected from Galileo with no chance of anything.

"Huh?" The yeoman slowly stopped mid-corridor and turned around to face her before looking down at his PADD. His antennae lowered and craned inward while he thoughtfully reviewed the scheduled appointment's details. Finally he looked back up at her. "No sir, it says right here you're scheduled for review for a posting on USS Galileo. On the captain's authorization," he explained.

Without asking, Amaranai grabbed the PADD from the yeoman and looked at it. Sure enough, Amaranai's name was listed under the Galileo interviews.

"I don't understand," she admitted. "I was rejected days ago. Something must be wrong with the data. I should be here for the Saratoga."

The young petty officer simply blinked then shrugged, not sure what to tell her while also eyeing his commandeered PADD. "I guess you can ask the captain about that. She's waiting for you," he replied as he continued to walk to the far door. He pressed the chime then allowed the door to swish open before stepping to the side. "Good luck, sir. And, uh, can I have my PADD back?"

She is waiting?

The door opened and Amaranai still stood there, gawking and confused. The Andorian asked for his PADD back and without thinking, Amaranai passed it over. The brunette then shook her head and moved toward the door. When she looked - really looked at the person in the room - she couldn't believe her eyes.

Inside the office, Lirha Saalm had been anxiously awaiting her 1400 appointment. It was the first time the newly-minted Orion captain had seen Franklin since their last meeting in the Perth penal colony, and twinges of excitement and happiness put a welcoming smile across her gold lips for the Security officer to see when she entered.

Words wanted to form. Words like, how and why and is it really you. But no sounds came from her vocal chords. She stood at the door, unmoving, unsure of what she was seeing. There, Lirha - all her beauty, confidence and glory returned - sat behind a desk. She wanted to tackle the woman and rip her clothes off and take her on the desk that moment. But protocol needed to be followed. Even if there weren't any cameras in the room, she still felt as if she were being watched.

"I . . ."

She wanted to say, I want to kiss you and never let my lips leave yours. But there was still nothing. Amaranai stepped into the small office and the door slid closed behind her. She stood in front of the desk, still unsure. She looked into those beautiful eyes and the curves wrapped in the uniform - and were those captain's pips? Her body wanted to feel the Orion in many different ways and it was killing Amaranai to be steady.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Amaranai Franklin," she finally managed. "I'm here for the interview."

She had to follow protocol for now. Amaranai didn't know what was going on, but she wanted to make sure that everything was done by the book just in case.

A spark of invisible lightning crested sharply through the room when Saalm set her eyes on Franklin. Her partner's toned and llithe body was wrapped in a form-fitting Starfleet uniform and her face looked as vibrant as ever, if somewhat hesitant. It was the sight of bliss.

Slowly standing from her seat after the door had swished closed behind the junior lieutenant, the captain presented herself to Franklin and grinned. "Well, Miss Franklin... Are you going to stare or come give me a kiss?" she teased with narrowing, jubilant eyes.

The request came quickly and Amaranai needed no real invitation to proceed. Without any other thoughts in her head, she moved toward her lover and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist and pushed her heels up and kissed Lirha on the lips.

It hadn't been that long - just over a week - since they had kissed and yet this kiss was that of lovers having not seen each other in years and connecting after such a long separation. Amaranai started panting as the kiss grew deeper and deeper and her hands began to wander.

Amaranai's lips moved across Lirha's and then down her neck as best she could considering the height difference. After several minutes, Amaranai was out of breath and her lips were very chapped. She took several deep breaths.

"How . . ." she panted. "How is this even possible?"

"My people would call it fate, but some would praise the spirits," Lirha whispered into Amaranai's ear before giving the lobe a kiss. "And it seems Starfleet wasn't done with me quite yet," she softly laughed on a more practical note. She held the lieutenant close to her and stroked her back and bottom with affection for several long moments. "I saw your application for Galileo-A when you sent it in. And the one for Saratoga. I thought you might like it here with me better?"

Amaranai listened but kept her head against Lirha as she listened. It felt right to be standing there being held by the Orion as she explained what had happened. It wasn't something that Amaranai understood, but there were many aspects of Starfleet politics that she didn't care to understand. Her mind was simply reminding itself of the curves of Lirha's body and the sound of her heart and the soft breaths from her lips.

When Lirha mentioned seeing her application, Amaranai released the hold and stepped back. This wasn't formality anymore, that was certain, but Amaranai's other emotions began to flare.

"You saw my application?" she said. "Were you the one to reject it, then?"

Amaranai stepped further back. The elation. The infatuation. The giddiness that had been in her heart just moments ago was gone, replaced with bitterness and anger.

"Why didn't you want me?" she said, her voice cracking as she fought back tears. "I thought you loved me!"

Lirha was not surprised by Amaranai's initial reaction. The time apart the two had had to endure over the last months had been stressful on their relationship, and for her first time seeing Franklin after she'd been released without even informing her... It would have infuriated the Orion as well, if she'd been on the other side. But, she at least had an explanation. She hoped. "Amaranai..." Lirha began, trying to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The brunette turned away from Lirha and moved toward the door but it didn't slide open when she approached.

"I don't understand," she said barely above a whisper. "Why reject me first and then invite me?"

"Because..." Lirha continued to walk after Amaranai and closed the distance to put both of her hands on the sides of the woman's arms. "It is standard procedure for all volunteer assignments. Especially long voyages away from Earth like this. First-round applications are always rejected to give candidates more time to evaluate their request and decide if it's what they really want. If I'd broken procedure, it could have been interpreted as favoritism..."

Amaranai listened. She understood but didn't understand at the same time. Tears had fallen and stopped. She was confused.

"You know I would follow you to the center of the galaxy and back," she said, still not turning around. "And I knew it was a long assignment," she continued. "But if you were going to be in prison, I just wanted to be far away."

"I know," the captain replied softly to the security officer. "I see the way you look at me and I know in myself how much I missed you. I couldn't fault you if you rejected me," she admitted for the first time out-loud. "But, we're both back here now, together. Against all the odds." Saalm's green eyes brightened up.

"I missed you so much that my body hurt," she said. "I tried to keep busy but nothing helped. Even my sister gave up on trying to cheer me up completely."

It was then that Amaranai thought of her sister.

"Charlotte!" she exclaimed. "Will I be able to bring Charlotte? I can't just leave her on Earth any longer. I need to protect her."

"Charlotte?" the captain repeated, then quickly realized she was referring to her teenage sister. "Oh. Well...yes, I don't see why not. But Galileo-A is scheduled to depart in a matter of days. She would need to arrive on an express transport to get to the shipyard in time. And she will need to be registered into the OPM database..." Which, naturally, required a good deal of paperwork.

Amaranai's mood had changed from sadness and bitterness at seeing her lover to elation at being with her once again. But then, it changed to agitation and fear.

"I can get Charlotte onto a transport," she said. "And I can get a friend to help her with the paperwork along the way. I just need to send her a message."

She paused and looked at Lirha once again.

"I just realized," she started. "We haven't even discussed the position."

"The position?" The Orion tilted her head to the side with slight confusion at the nature of the query. "Well...I'd assumed you wanted your current title and duties, yes? As assistant chief of security?"

The brunette stared at Lirha a moment. When she had applied for Galileo-A it had been with the intention of being promoted to Chief and full lieutenant. She was visibly disappointed when she looked at the olive-skinned woman.

"I guess Chief is out of the question?" she asked.

"Chief of security?" Saalm wondered out loud before pausing for a very long moment to ponder the idea. "I hadn't given it any thought," she quietly admitted to herself out-loud while holding Franklin's eyes. "You're still a little...young to be a chief."

"What about my rank," she continued. "Am I stuck at jg forever?"

Clearing her throat and looking down to her PADD which contained Amaranai's personnel file, Lirha slowly nodded to herself. "Yes, about that." She thumbed through several pages on the slim device. "I'd hoped you'd have been promoted during your debriefing after returning to Earth...but I don't see any record of a recommendation in your file..."

Another moment of internal sadness flooded Amaranai. She had done exactly as she had been ordered while on Earth, even helped with the cadets on their cruise. And yet, nothing in terms of rank promotion. She wondered if being associated with Lirha, even by proxy, was keeping her from the promotion that she felt she deserved.

"I . . ."

What could she say. She knew she deserved at least a rank promotion, even if she couldn't be chief.

"I understand, ma'am," she said.

She was quiet another moment before lifting her head confidently.

"Whatever role you need me on the ship, I'm there," she said.

It wasn't hard for the captain to judge Amaranai's feelings. Her Human nature -- like all of her kind -- produced a combination of tonal inflection, facial expressions, and body postures that served as visual signs of thoughts and moods. Orions were adept at cueing in such details, and Lirha'd also spent enough time in bed with the junior officer to become very familiar with her wants and needs. "You were hoping for more," Saalm candidly stated.

Her comment was meant to be sympathetic but Amaranai didn't equate it that way.

"Of course I wanted more!" she said, raising her voice. "Another ship was ready to make me full lieutenant and chief. I actually thought I was coming here for that interview." She paused. "I'm happy to be here, you have to know that. And I'm glad that we can be together again, but I just hoped that I could at least get a rank promotion. Is that too much to ask?"

Lirha listened to Amaranai explain her feelings and vent her frustration. She supposed she'd probably feel the same way if she were in the other woman's shoes, and so she lightly shook her head. "No, I don't think so. You've been a good officer for as long as I've known you. Even through your time on Kreanus. If I'd still been your captain after we returned...I would have already promoted you," she confessed.

The sentiment was nice but ultimately didn't do much to encourage Amaranai. She had hoped for the Hawthorne and the full promotion, rank included. She would have to settle for the ship and hope that her continued hard work would pay off with the full promotion soon.

"I have to get ready for my sister's arrival," she said. "Permission to end the interview?"

Before letting the captain speak, Amaranai moved closer again and kissed Lirha on the lips for a moment before breaking the kiss and stepping back, waiting for a response.

"Yes, permission granted," the captain answered. She smiled at the brunette and put a comforting green hand on her shoulder. "Dinner at my quarters tonight. 2200 hours. We can talk more about your promotion then," she arranged. "In the meantime," Saalm bent over and searched through one of the drawers in her desk before retrieving a small keycard and handing it out for Franklin to take, "here is your access card for Galileo. It will give you the necessary permissions to access all authorized areas aboard the starship.

Amaranai took the key and smiled. She then looked at the captain and moved closer for a soft kiss.

"I'll be there."


[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant JG Amaranai Franklin
Assistant Chief Security / Tactical
USS Galileo-A

RSS Feed

Comments (1)