A Cozy Evening

Posted on 26 Jul 2013 @ 9:09pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm

2,432 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD 12 - 1105 hrs

[ON]

After an exhausting day of monotonous administrative work coupled with a crew promotion ceremony and her own brief tattoo removal session in sickbay, Lirha Saalm walked into her bedroom for the first time of the day with Siren in tow behind her. The Orion captain stopped, groaned, and stretched her arms out over her head, then lazily plopped herself down on her large bed with a much needed sigh of relief. She scooted herself up to the pillows then rolled over and began to peel her clothes off, absentmindedly tossing them to the side as she removed each layer until her bare green skin was completely exposed. Her eyes looked back up towards Siren who was still standing at the foot of the bed, and she gave her a warm and sensual smile as she invitingly spread herself out across the sheets. "Thank you for coming to sickbay with me today." she said in a soft voice as she tried her best to suppress a yawn.

"You don't have to thank me for that," Siren said firmly, holding her eyes with a reassuring smile. "Honestly. Any time, I'll be there." She couldn't resist as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed, stroking lightly over the freshly tended skin of her back. "I'll understand if you're tired and just - want me to leave you to it," she added softly.

Lirha let out a quiet yawn and shook her head. "If I had wanted privacy, I wouldn't have invited you into my quarters." she replied with a playful push of her foot into Siren's side. "Besides...do you not like my bed better than the small one in your room?"

"Yeah, I was meaning to talk to you about the shameless rank-ism going on with beds, quarters and comforts," Sirens replied, but with a playful smile, laughing softly. "Hm, well, if I'm staying," she started to pull her own clothes off so she could get more comfortable. She curled up on the bed with her, keeping close as she ran her fingers down over her arm in a soft caress. "Mm, much more comfortable. Can't wait to be a Captain."

"A captain?" Lirha repeated with surprise while snuggling herself closer into Siren's arms and feeling her body warmth. "Aside from the bigger quarters, there are not many perks. Mostly just more work." she mumbled into the red-head's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, I've come to the conclusion you all keep that myth up to avoid more competition," she teased softly with a smile, closing her eyes as she wrapped her arms around the warm, slender body to urge her closer against her.

"Well...considering my XO has just been offered a new command of his own and is having second thoughts about staying aboard as my first officer...I am somewhat wary. I do not want to lose him, he is a wonderful officer." the captain confessed with a soft sigh, taking Siren's invitation to curl herself firmly into the other woman's arms.

Siren frowned at the news, stroking her hair absently as she rested her head close to hers. "Galileo is a unique posting."

"Yes...and not always ideal for some officers." Lirha admitted, looking up into Siren's blue eyes with a sad smile. "There is not much prestige in scientific investigation - a realization which has slowly dawned on me over the past six months."

"Well, I suppose that depends on what you find out from it," Siren suggested with a small smile. "One little find can change the universe. I also guess it depends how much value you put on prestige. Not everyone's driven by that."

Lirha remained quiet for a short moment while she contemplated Siren's words. She was right, of course - prestige and glory were all measured differently according to the individual - but Lirha knew her XO well enough to understand his longing for a more tactical vessel. "No, not everyone." she agreed. "But what we have discovered here in the Rojar system has Starfleet Command salivating. I am very proud of all of us for our recent discoveries."

"And I'm proud of you for getting us through it all," Siren whispered against her hair before kissing it gently. "You've had a lot to contend with. A lot to fit in and coordinate. You've not dropped the ball, not once."

Lirha was happy to hear the compliment; it meant a lot to her, especially considering she had lost several crew members in the line of duty. Nevertheless, she had pushed those memories to the back of her head and tried her best to focus on her ship and remaining crew. If she could protect the rest of them while still completing her mission, it was a victory in her eyes. "Mmm..." she mumbled then wrapped an arm around Siren's waist, stroking her lower back with her short fingernails. "You have an uncanny way of making me feel better despite the circumstances." she said with a tiny smile. "But...enough of that...I want to relax. Do you want to watch a holovid with me?"

"I think that's a grand idea," Siren gave a bright smile, sighing as she leant into the hands on her back. "I can even get us something to snack on?" she offered, stealing a quick kiss.

Returning the kiss with a deep one of her own, the Orion slowly nodded. "That would be lovely. I have some fresh fruits in a bowl on my kitchen counter if you fancy any." she offered after remembering Siren's troubling upbringing in which she had been deprived of the many forms of basic and exotic foods. "What would you like to watch?" she then asked.

"Hm, something in space? Strangely, I'm in the mood," she winked to her, sliding delicately to stand up. She didn't bother putting anything on though as she moved through to the kitchen. "You shouldn't have told me about your fruit stash, I'll clear you out!" she laughed warmly, looking around the kitchen area.

"Help yourself!" Lirha called back into the kitchen, not upset at all if Siren wanted to indulge herself in some of the Orion's food collection. It was more than she alone could possible eat. Turning her attention back to Siren's request, the captain began to ponder the various holofilms in the computer's database. Something in space... she repeated to herself, realizing the vagueness of the request.

When Siren returned, she held a large tray, covered in bits and pieces. Fruit salad, savoury nibbles, a jug of something that was purple, and a bowl of popcorn, as she'd been told on movie showings that was the preferred thing to eat. "Mistress," she teased, bobbing a curtsy as she settled the tray on the bed, but rescued the drink and glasses to put more safely on the bedside table before curling back up with her.

A mischievous grin spread across Lirha's gold lips and she had a sudden fleeting thought of Siren serving her every need and desire back on Orion. Fortunately for the human, Lirha wasn't exactly in the practice of employing indentured servants as other Orions were; instead, she preferred to travel the stars in her starship...with, of course, Siren serving her every need and desire. Well, somewhat.

Wiggling back next to the red-head, she entwined her green legs and arms with Siren's, gave her a wink, then reached down to steal a small slice of fruit from the bowl and pop it into her mouth. "Computer, list all science-fiction movies in our database which take place in space." she called out, then listened as the soothing automated female voice began to describe various films from different periods of history.

Siren couldn't help but laugh with disbelief as the list went on and on. She shook her head with awe, stroking Lirha's arm absently. "There's so many," she said with a smile. They hadn't had films or holodecks on Nyx. There was so much she still hadn't seen. "Seems everyone's obsessed with the stars."

Lirha agreed wholeheartedly. There seemed to be countless movies which took place in space, although most of them were from the late 20th and early 21st century. However, one of them called 'Event Horizon' caught her attention with an eerily familiar title. "Computer, what is synopsis of Event Horizon?" she inquired.

It took only a matter of milliseconds for Galileo's computer to process the request. "Event Horizon is a late 20th century Earth science-fiction/horror film, released in 1997 and written by Philip Eisner. The cast stars acclaimed actors Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neil, Jason Isaacs, and Kathleen Quinlan. The film takes place in the fictional future of 2047 where a group of astronauts are sent to investigate and salvage the long lost starship Event Horizon. The ship disappeared mysteriously 7 years before on its maiden voyage and with its return comes even more mystery as the crew of the Lewis and Clark discover the real truth behind its disappearance, and something even more terrifying." (IMDb summary)

"Oh! Let's watch that one!" Siren laughed, her eyes sparkling at the prospect as she got hold of a grape. "Nothing like terrifying ourselves with the mystery of space while we're out here..." she arched an eyebrow, popping the grape into her mouth with a smile. "Besides, then I can be scared all night and have to sleep in your bed."

"Me and you both..." Lirha muttered with a soft chuckle as her thoughts turned inward for a brief second. For someone who was just finally getting over a terrible string of nightmares induced by her captivity and torture at the hands of the Klingon Empire, she was a bit reluctant to engage in any activities which might arouse or worsen her PTSD; but with Siren next to her, a woman with whom she felt immensely comfortable, she felt at ease enough to at least try and enjoy the film.

"Computer, play film. Adjust lighting to level one." she said, then reached behind her and retrieved a warm blanket from next to her pillow and wrapped it around their two bodies. The room went dark except for a tiny bit of ambient light from the ceiling, and the large wall-mounted LCARS display across from Lirha's bed light up in full high-definition as the movie started.

Siren settled down to watch the film, her eyes glued to the screen, getting lost in the makebelieve world. She picked at the food without realising it, leaning more and more forward as the tension and mystery of the space horror started to build. "This makes space seem so - isolated," she finally commented, her eyes still on the screen, wider than usual. Films and theatre had a massive effect on her. Not having grown up with it, it seemed so amazing to her, the creation of another place. "Although I wouldn't mind more officers around who look like that doctor - well, or her - or the Captain actually - oh heck, they're all gorgeous, being an actor must be just amazing."

"I agree." Lirha concurred in a quiet voice. Like most Orions, she was very fond of arts and entertainment, and probably would have relished the opportunity to become involved in film making had her career in Starfleet not played out so successfully.

"It is strange..." she mumbled as the film progressed and the plot thickened. "The 'gravity drive' they speak of...it reminds me of recent experiments in folding space-time." she added, careful to not accidentally divulge the true nature of Project Sienna or even mention the name. Lirha wished she could tell Siren and not have to keep the details of that mission a secret, but sadly she did not hold the required security clearance. "And their ship looks so...primitive." she said with a giggle, then grabbed some popcorn and began to nibble on a kernel.

Siren laughed softly at that, nodding as she tilted her head, watching the screen. "And a lot, less comfortable. Well I tell you, if this is the result of folding space-time, I hope it never bloody happens...."

Lirha had been through the fold of space-time. Once. And she never planned to do it again, if she had anything to say about it. She had no proof to substantiate her theory, but she privately thought that traveling through the Sienna gateway had been responsible for a variety of aliments which had plagued the crew shortly after their arrival at Vega Colony. Sleep deprivation had been the one which had affected her the most, and it had taken several weeks for her to return to her proper sleep schedule.

Without saying a word, she snuggled closer to Siren and continued to watch the movie as it progressed from science-fiction into a dark and eerie horror film, complete with bloody murders, dissections, explosions, and various mental terrors.

Siren was drawn in, unable to tear herself away from the crisis of the film - but also unable to tear herself away from Lirha. She'd pulled up close to her, and couldn't help but jump as one of the scenes took her off guard. "You'll never let things get ~that~ bad on Galileo - right...?"

A grin curled the corners of the Orion's gold lips while she watched a particularly horrific scene. "No promises." she teased while she lightly grazed her fingernails up and down across Siren's ribs beneath the covers. "But...if it does, I will be the first to put you in an escape pod." she reassured in a soft, affectionate voice.

Siren laughed warmly, arching lithely to the light touch and pulling closer against her with a sigh, her hand sliding to stroke her thigh. "I'd only go if you jumped in with me."

The final scene began to play and Lirha watched the screen intently, enthralled with the film's climax and final act. As Captain Miller detonated the explosives and sacrificed himself to save the remainder of his crew, Lirha finally replied to Siren's comment. "It used to be that Starfleet captains met the same fate as their ships...but after our heavy losses in the Dominion War, Fleet Command realized that commanding officers are too valuable to be sacrificed in the name of tradition. So yes, I will jump in with you." she murmured, then gave her lover a deep, long, and tender kiss while the end credits began to roll.

[OFF]

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CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

CN Siren Hex
Intelligence
USS Galileo

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