The Hunt

Posted on 01 Feb 2020 @ 5:55pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Scarlet Blake

3,596 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 5, Holodeck 2
Timeline: MD -40, 0200 hrs

[ON]

"Son of a...." coming to a standstill in the corridor, Scarlet let out a long, heavy sigh at seeing the screens beside the two large archways. It wasn't often the First Officer had someone volunteer to look after Lily when she wasn't on shift. And it wouldn't usually have been often that she accepted. But with their recent routine? She needed a break. Just a couple of hours in a different headspace. Maybe even some 'fresh air'. Well, as fresh as it got on a starship.

So, of course, she'd made her way to the holodecks...it was the closest thing they had to new scenery after all. But, of course, they were both in use. Murphy's Law.

She rubbed the back of her neck to try and shake off the rush of annoyance that had washed over her, turning to make her way to work out instead...but noticed that one of the holodecks didn't have an actual user logged in despite being active. She figured it didn't hurt to take a quick look in case someone had just left it running, opening the door up to head inside, not ready to give up on a couple of hours away time just yet.

The door to the holodeck swished open to reveal a green, lush and steamy tropical forest environment. Ground plants and foliage were as high as three feet while the trunks of massive jungle trees dotted the terrain all around. Their canopies were tall and thick, only occasionally letting slivers of sunlight through their leaves. The audible sounds of foreign wildlife chirped and screeched in the distance, presenting a striking replica of the rain forests on Qo'noS.

Scarlet looked around with surprise, smiling as she reached to touch the trunk of one of the strong trees. It felt familiar even if she didn't think she'd actually been there. Despite being a fully grown woman, she had to resist the urge to try climbing a tree. "Hello?" she called out lightly, risking moving further into the wildlife.

Foreign arboreal sounds echoed through the treetop canopy, accompanied by the buzzing of insects amid thick humidity. Then the rustling of leaves could be heard in the distance along with a small commotion. Ever so methodically, the strange sounds and rustling became louder and louder as they approached the first officer's position.

Scarlet leant in with interest, her hands resting on the small of her back as she walked towards the rustling to get a better look. Afterall, the holodeck safety would keep her safe enough from whatever was lurking in the undergrowth, and frankly, her curiosity won out. "Hey...." she said softly, half expecting some kind of animal that belonged in this little haven.

The rustling moved closer and closer until the nearby underbrush could be seen swaying from side to side. A deep, bass-filled grunt echoed in close distance and audible thumps from rapid footsteps accompanied the jungle symphony.

The bushes to the front of Blake suddenly burst open and a small ferret-sized mammal with green fur burst from cover and sprinted straight between the first officer's legs, on a dead course away from her backside.

Scarlet twisted with the rush past her, her gaze trying to follow the dashing path of the little creature. She'd never seen anything like it, the green fur quivering and almost shimmering with the speed it was moving. She couldn't help but laugh with it...it was almost cute.

As interesting as the small alien fauna was, a heavy snort broke any introspection and the Klingon presence of Snuffles the Targ was revealed. In close pursuit behind the holographic prey, the semi-apex predator sprinted after the elusive creature with jaws half-open and tongue dangling across his sharp lower teeth.

Snuffles was a simple creature with simple needs; a juvenile targ with much energy and a natural desire to hunt. It was not surprising then, when he directly followed his target's path through Blake's legs with no regard for the Human's presence.

Scarlet's first instinct was to try and jump out of the way, however, by the time the plan got to her feet, the young targ had beaten her to it. The only thing she could be grateful for was that she was knocked backwards by the solid weight, sprawling back as she had no choice but to roll with it. She managed to lift her head enough to look down at the targ that was half tangled with her leg, trying to ease it free. "Thanks...."

Snuffles snorted and shook his head, now disoriented as he clumsily rolled to his feet. One of his many cheek tusks had barely missed impaling the commander's thigh and instead had torn through the fabric of her pants. With each shake of his nose, he continued to rip her pants until he was free from the clothing's restraints.

The targ then trotted up next to the woman on the ground and stuck his wet snout in her face to sniff her scent with curiosity.

"Stop...stop!" Scarlet wrinkled her nose and turned her face away as she tried to discourage the worryingly damp mouth away from her face with careful hands, half groaning and half laughing with disbelief as she managed to somehow pull herself up to an almost seated position. "I said stop...sit....sit, boy..."

A light and familiar female voice called out from the nearby distance but the body was obscured by the tropical foliage. "Snuffles? Come! What have you caught?" the Orion captain's voice projected in her native tongue before she pushed through the nearby leaves. Dressed in her off-duty red Starfleet tank top, she suddenly saw her first officer laying on the ground being affectionately assaulted by her pet targ.

"Scarlet!" she said with surprise. "What... Are you okay...? Snuffles, come here now!," she commanded her animal companion in her native tongue.

Scarlet took the chance to catch her breath, although it was hard when she was also trying to suppress her laughter. "I think I'll recover...even if my pride and dignity may not..." she shook her head with a half smile, managing to push herself up into a fully seated position. She wiped her hands off on her thighs before swiping her fingertips over the torn remnants of her uniform leg. "And my uniform for that matter...." she added with a chuckle.

Lirha stepped forward and quickly reached down to snatch Snuffle's collar and tug his large boar body back towards her and away from the innocent Human. He snorted with reluctant compliance and allow his handler to corral him before turning the other direction and trotting off into the brush to find a new species of prey.

The captain extended a green hand to help her XO up off the ground. "Until colonies of assimilated targ are threatening to invade Earth, Starfleet will never fix our pants. What...are you doing here?"

"I was after some holodeck time," Scarlet admitted, brushing herself down with a soft laugh. "I found some adventure at least. No one's showing as logged in here. I thought someone had left it running. I must admit, I'm used to being the hunter rather than the hunted..." she met her eyes with amusement and a small, knowing smile.

Suddenly remembering the security overrides she'd put in before activating the holodeck program, Lirha realized her attempt to conceal her holodeck time had seeming backfired on her. She shook her head at her own short-sightedness then gave Scarlet a friendly squeeze on her shoulder. "That is my fault," she sheepishly admitted. "I wanted some private time 'off the grid', as you say. And Snuffles has grown large and needs more stimulation."

"So I found out," Scarlet replied wryly, but with humour glinting in her eyes as she watched her. "Everything alright, Lirha?" she asked softly at the admission. She didn't like the idea that her friend felt the need to hide her activity. It wasn't really that long since she'd been imprisoned. It must have felt like her privacy had been ripped away during that time. And it had to be important to someone like her.

The question caught Lirha off guard. It was a casual query and often without implication, but Scarlet knew her well enough to pick up on her private idiosyncrasies. Then again, it should have been expected from her first officer, the woman who was her fellow crew commander.

"I suppose," she vaguely yet candidly answered. "It's hard to escape the monotony of our journey at times."

Scarlet's features softened to a small but warm smile at that. She couldn't do anything but nod in agreement. "That's why I'm here too," she admitted softly, looking around with a sigh, drinking in the different surroundings. "I'm sure it makes me very bad, but....I just needed...a breath of fresh air," she chuckled softly, unable to find a better turn of phrase as she looked back to her, meeting her eyes. "I got more than I bargained for...."

Lirha grinned and looked up to the dense canopy where bright sun beams were peaking through the massive leaves hundreds of feet above. "The rain forests of Qo'noS," she gestured, in all of its holographic glory. "And Snuffles' natural habitat." Strangely, Saalm wasn't perturbed by Blake's presence and in a way welcomed the unexpected company. She looked curiously at Scarlet. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

It didn't take long for Blake to make her mind up. She leant down, tearing the tattered scraps of fabric away from below the knee so they wouldn't get in the way. "Would love to..." she chuckled, falling into step next to her. She almost asked 'do you come here often?' until she realised what that sounded like. "Have you been to the real life version?" she asked softly, deciding that sounded better. She sometimes thought herself far travelled, but she was realising more and more that the possibilities were infinite.

The captain took notice of her first officer's ruined pants and toned calf. She'd served with her almost long enough to forget she was a Marine before she transferred to Fleet. "Qo'nos? Yes. But no place like this," she answered, looking up again. "My people have a...strained relationship with the Klingons. Orion tourism isn't very popular on their homeworld."

Scarlet watched her for a long moment, unable to stop herself from considering that her people had had a strained relationship with a good many races. It couldn't be easy. On a personal level, or a professional one. Things were changing though, so were attitudes, but old feelings and viewpoints were sometimes stubborn in changing. "Their loss," she said lightly, with a glint of humour and rare hint of rebelliousness in her eyes as she gave a slow, half smile to her.

"I suppose it is all of our loss, in the end," Lirha shrugged without wanting to say too much. "And you? Have you been to Qo'noS? Outside of combat simulations." The captain knew the details of Starfleet's now-disbanded Marine Corps and their operational training, which was to effectively wage a successful ground campaign against any major military power that threatened the Federation during a time of war.

"Once..." Scarlet paused as she tried to recall the brief visit, but the memories were more than just a little hazy after too much Klingon brewed alcohol. If it could even still be called that with how potent it was....maybe it was a new, dangerous substance in its own right. "I....don't remember much..." she admitted slowly with a grin, rubbing the back of her neck. "I left very, very ill though..."

Saalm lightly laughed. "From too much Bloodwine or the stench?" she half-teased. "There's always been a distinct lack of moderation in the Klingon Empire."

Scarlet watched her for a long moment, humour shining in her blue, narrowed eyes as she considered if she should say it out loud or not. Considering Lirha's pet had shredded her uniform leg, she figured they had moved past the polite small talk phase. "I rather think that's why you like it, Lirha," she half teased.

Lirha wagged a playful finger at Scarlet. "I will admit that I did command a Klingon battlecruiser. Once. But you can't deny that Starfleet can be very...prude."

Scarlet couldn't help but laugh softly at the way she put it, watching her fondly for a long moment, considering it as she pressed her lips together. "No, I can't deny that. Although, the marines had its..." she stopped midsentence, caught on a memory for a moment before shaking it away, as if to put it safely back away in the closet. "Never mind. It doesn't dim you down though," she said, knowingly, as she looked back to her with a small, half smile. "It's what I admire about you," she admitted softly. "You're so...intense. You...feel and live things so intensely. And you're unapologetic for it too. You're unafraid to experience in extremes. It's...rarer than you think."

The captain slowed her pace and came to a casual stop in their walk. "Is it, really?" Her eyes searched Scarlet's. "Without passion and exploration, what more is there to our short lives?" Lirha spoke practically but with a heavy dose of philosophizing. "We can't be afraid to regret that which we have not experienced..."

"But lots of people are," Scarlet replied softly, watching her with interest at the thoughts coming out. "Scared, I mean. It's pretty special to meet someone with the courage just to....do it. Live it. Feel it. Especially when it comes to other people. There's a...vulnerability in being open and connected with another person."

Lirha had never considered her exploration of life to be a crutch. Politically, possibly, but she was no law-maker and didn't have the desire for such mundane things. But emotionally -- the more she now considered it, the more she became aware of Scarlet's perspective. "Has this fear stopped you from doing anything you've wanted to experience?" she candidly asked.

Scarlet searched her eyes at the question, a small, almost wistful smile pulling at the corner of her lips as she watched her, giving the question the consideration it deserved. "Honestly? I don't think I have it in me to have an exclusive, long term, loving relationship again. It's a...stark realisation, but....not one I'm blind too."

It was interesting to Lirha that her XO's first answer drifted into the realm of love and partnership. But then she quickly remembered Scarlet's history -- her parents both killed fighting for the Maquis, and their legacy now a stoic Starfleet first officer. She felt much compassion.

"What if I told you," she looked into Scarlet's eyes, "being scared is the first process of exploration..." Lirha touched the Human's cheek and lightly caressed it.

Scarlet held her eyes with a moment of surprise, but it quickly softened with a fond smile, her hand lifting to cover hers, squeezing it gently with warmth. "I'd say you're a very wise woman....and that I know you're right. It doesn't make it any more comfortable, but....yes, yes you're right, Lirha."

The captain grinned then cupped Blake's jaw, stood on her toes, and tilted her head to softly kiss Scarlet on the lips. "I promise this won't be too uncomfortable..." she whispered before making contact.

Scarlet blinked with surprise at the contact, her breath caught in her throat with it. A rush of thoughts and feelings washed over her...shock, warmth, doubt, closeness, worry, excitement. She knew that she should step back. She was this Captain's First Officer...she knew she should stop before the fallout was too much. But as the heat flushed through her, and melted the loneliness and isolation from not having been with another person for so long...let alone someone as beautiful and alive as the strong, tenacious woman in front of her...her eyes closed and she caught hold of the side of her neck, kissing her back with awe.

Lirha smiled then sighed with pleasure when she felt Blake return her affections. Years of knowing Scarlet as a fellow department head and command staff member made it all the more exhilarating to suddenly be engaged in forbidden Starfleet relations. She gently wrestled her tongue against Scarlet's then wrapped her free arm up around the taller woman's shoulder from behind her back to pull her closer.

Scarlet's breath caught in her throat with the slight tug, her hand lifting to press to Lirha's shoulder with the movement. The voice lecturing her on the fact she should be telling Lirha this was a really bad idea was fading by the moment, the way the warmth ebbed through her drowning it out. She pressed closer on her own impulse, her hand sliding up the back of her neck and into her hair. Her fingers teased through the thick, dark strands, tangling tighter to feel it slide between them.

After some time, Lirha gently pulled back and disengaged her lips from Scarlet's. She rested her forehead against the Human's temple and took several deep breaths. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that..." she confessed.

Scarlet touched her cheek, tilting her head so she could search her eyes, trying to see the truth of it. "I had no idea..." she admitted softly, a touch of awe in her voice. She ran her thumb down the delicate jawline, caressing the warm skin before letting it run over her bottom lip. "Hope I didn't disappoint..." she laughed softly, shaking her head, her thumb sliding off of her lip so she could press her own lips to it instead.

Disappoint was the last verb Lirha could think of to describe her new intimate feelings. She returned Scarlet's kiss and leaned forward into the former Marine. One of her hands snaked down underneath the bottom of Blake's top and and started to pull her shirt up.

Scarlet's breath caught at the action, at what it promised. She held her eyes, making no move to stop her. When the fingertips brushed against her skin under the material, she leant into the caress, her own hand reaching to slide her fingers under Lirha's belt, tugging it to drag her a little closer.

Lirha grinned then stopped to hold Scarlet's shirt above the woman's face to blindfold her. The captain looked lustfully at Blake's nude torso then leaned her head down to kiss the top of her chest.

Scarlet shivered with the touch, her senses only heightened without sight. Her chest moved up to the lips as she breathed harder. It sent a prickling of adrenaline through her, a mix of not being used to having that kind of control taken from her, and the anticipation of not knowing what touch would come next and when. She managed to get her hand to the other woman's hair, feeling through it before tugging it lightly...although whether it was for more or to try and gain back control wasn't obvious.

The pull on the Orion's hair was electrifying and evoked a surprised moan from the captain. As much as she wanted Scarlet to submit to her advances, she also reveled in the possibility that she'd now bitten off more than she could chew. Lirha captured the center of one of Blake's breasts in her mouth and exhaled through her nose with content while her tongue playfully explored.

A soft whimper escaped Scarlet before she could swallow the sound back, her lips parted as she stumbled back a step to lean back against the large tree, but gripped Lirha tightly to take her with her. Her body moved with the heat that shivered through her, making her hands slide over the toned body against her, pulling at her top to get to her skin.

Saalm felt Blake hit the tree then stumbled into her. The clumsiness elicited a grin from the captain who finally pulled Scarlet's shirt all the way off, then peeled her own red vest up over her green arms. She locked her lips back onto her XO's and rolled both of them to the ground atop of the soft green vegetation.

Scarlet's lips curled into a smile against Lirha's as they hit ground, the breath knocked out of her...an enjoyable sensation. Her hands dragged up over the beautiful lines of Lirha's torso, enjoying the contrast of soft skin with the firm, fit body. Her leg hooked around the other woman's and she used it to let them roll just a little more, enough for Scarlet to at least make a play of ending up on top, enjoying the thrill of pressing down onto the heat of the other body.

A heavy flicker of surprise pulsed from Lirha's eyes when Scarlet rolled atop her. Her first instinct was to resist but she instead relaxed with the weight of the Human woman atop her and stroked the sides of Blake's bare ribs. "This stays between us, yes?"

Scarlet gave an almost playful smile as she looked down at her, dipping her head for just a moment to steal a kiss, the tip of her tongue caressing her bottom lip briefly as she pulled back. "I don't see that it's anyone else's business..."

"Certainly not Starfleet's," Lirha grinned before pulling Scarlet tightly against her. "Now kiss me again."

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

CDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

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