You Could Cut the Atmosphere With a Knife (Part II a)

Posted on 19 Jun 2015 @ 5:42am by Jynn & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D.

2,044 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2 - Mess Hall
Timeline: MD02 - 1715

ON:

As Tinaro left all Jynn could feel was disappointment. That was alright, though. He was fond of varied emotions. Tinaro was still a good man, though, despite his unwillingness to participate. The disappointment was almost enough to distract him. Almost. But at that moment, all Jynn could think of was distraction. Reflexively, Jynn reached under his robe and retrieved the Klingon D'k tahg he always kept with him should situations like these arise (or if he just wanted a bit of fun. The Klingons sure knew how to deliver in those regards). He needed separation.

At the next table, the glint of the blade caught Tuula's eye. She had been discretely studying the man since she first noticed him at the table across from her, having been drawn in by the wealth of body art plainly visible on his hands and neck.

Also alone at her table in the crowded mess hall, Tuula decided to throw caution to the wind and introduce herself. After quickly gulping down the last of her coffee, she pushed herself back away from the table and approached. "Hi!" she said, getting the man's attention. "Sorry," she quickly added, blushing slightly. "I couldn't help but notice the knife. What are you going to do with that?"

Jynn grinned from ear to ear in a split second decision that he couldn't reverse. He didn't know the mystery woman that was before him, but something told him she would like to play his game. He held the D'k tahg that had been given to him by an old friend of his up to the decorated human he was meeting for the first time, The old friend, a Klingon named Redkoth, was the source of his inspiration. It was during Jynn's time in the Academy while he was still a hot mess of pent up emotion that the Klingon had approached him with the perfect method of removing one's self from thought and emotion. It had come just as much a surprise to the young Jynn as the situation no doubt was going to be now for the beautiful woman in front of him.

"Want to play a game?" His tone was almost disturbing. Like he was on autopilot. He knew what had to happen and it had to happen fast.

"A game?" asked Tuula, raising an eyebrow, as her eyes were drawn up to the tattoos on his head and neck then back to the blade. She was utterly fascinated by it, the craftsmanship on the blade made it look like one of the antique medical instruments in her collection. But no one would mistake this for a precise surgical tool; the D'k tahg was clearly designed with the opposite purpose in mind. "What sort of game?"

"Some call it 'Five Finger Fillet,' though I find this unfair to races with more or less digits. 'Knife game' will suffice." Another friend! Jynn was more than excited. He grabbed the reigns of Tuula's chair and wheeled her gently to the table she had been at. He barely even noticed her physical impairment. At the moment, the chair just made it easier to get her into the game. "Place a hand on the table. Your choice."

"Okay..." she said, adjusting the position of her chair in front of her. Normally she would be irritated at someone grabbing her chair like that, but right now she was more fascinated than anything. "What's the objective of this game?" she asked, slowly reaching out with her left hand.

Jynn leaned in close behind her, practically embracing her as he moved his left arm over her's placing his inked hand atop of hers. He placed the knife tip down to the side of their pinky fingers slowly with his right hand so as not to alarm her (Redkoth had not been so accommodating to Jynn). "Take hold of my hand and we'll tap a tune together," he smiled a comforting smile at her. He counted the spaces to her, starting to the left of their pinky fingers and ending to the right of their thumbs, one through six. "Got it? Now the hard part. One. Two. One. Three. One. Four. One. Five. One. Six. Repeat," he said as he slowly tapped the pattern out between their fingers. "First one to let go loses. Ready?"

Tuula took a deep breath and wrapped her hand around his and the knife as she admired the inkwork on his hands. While Tuula had her share of ink, she was always fascinated by the tattoos of others. Especially ones which were this visible. She had considered tattooing her hands before, but had always decided against it. It was maybe a bridge too far in her conservative profession, even for her.

"Ready," she said, looking back up into his eyes.

As he started to tap the pattern with Tuula, Jynn moved in close to her, his head beside hers to the point of almost touching. "Watch the dagger," he spoke as he continued, feeling his whole mind and body focus on the movement of the blade. He whispered the pattern to her as they started to move in unison. He felt it more appropriate to lend assistance to one who had never played before. As the movement continued Jynn slowly felt himself separating from his reality. The desire was gone. All that was left was the focus. He had even forgotten he was left handed.

For a few seconds, Tuula's held her hand around Jynn's as they tapped out a pattern together. Quickly, however, the closeness of the fast-moving blade to her fingers got the better of her and she released her hand, pulling away from the knife. "I'm sorry," she started, "this is just too... dangerous."

Jynn stopped abruptly just as soon as her hand left his, letting go of the knife to let it topple gently onto the table. He took his hand off of hers slowly, the realization of what he was doing sinking in slowly. He had put the digits of some person he had never met in danger all to give him some form of 'distraction.'

It had worked. He was distracted, though not in the intended fashion. A sense of guilt washed over him as he felt her and the onlookers watching him. "I am sorry," he said quietly as he stood up slowly to give her some distance. What am I doing, he thought to himself.

"No, it's alright," protested Tuula, reaching for one of his hands. "I've just been very distracted lately. It's been hard to focus on anything."

With a hesitation at her touch Jynn sat down at the table they had been stationed at. There was a sense of uncertainty. Should he even be near her right now? He was so used to placing his own life in danger for a rush, it had never occurred to him just how much damage he could do to another in his quest for the heights of excitement. But it was over now.

"Distracted," he questioned. If there was anything he knew, it was the intense opposites of scattered distraction and laser-like focus. "Is something the matter," he asked as he placed his other hand on hers, the dagger upon the table but a thing of the past at this moment.

"It's kind of embarrassing..." admitted Tuula, recoiling slightly and blushing. Absent-mindedly, she reached for the knife and begun slowly twirling it in her hand as she continued her explanation. "I have a huge crush on someone I work with, and sometimes it's like he doesn't even know I exist. Sure, we have this great chemistry at work, and I pretended to be his wife a couple weeks ago, but..." Tuula sighed. "He just doesn't seem to notice me in the way I want to be noticed. And on top of that... he's kind of my direct superior at work."

Jynn kept his eyes focused on Tuula's, but he couldn't help but analyze the blade that began twirling in the corner of his vision. It almost looked at home in her hand. Despite its spinning, he kept focused on the matter at hand. "Well you certainly seem worthy of attention. Your decorations seem far more ornate than most other humans I come across and I can only assume that that is a reflection of the ornate personality that lies within," he said with a comforting smile. "Have you seen him much off duty? I find that most individuals find the constraints of their jobs to be quite limiting in ability to get to know others more personally." With a moment's pause he then added with excitement, "Perhaps a 'date!'"

"Well, I did pretend to be married to him for a few weeks while his family was in town," replied Tuula casually, as though it were no big deal. "And he did kind of defend my honour at the Klingon reception." Tuula sighed longingly and placed the blade back on the table. "I practically threw myself at him after that and invited him into my quarters, and it's like he didn't even notice."

Tuula sighed and picked up the knife again. "The funny thing is, in spite of all that, I just can't get him out of my head. I can barely concentrate at work, which is kind of a problem when you're a doctor."

"Sounds like bad chemistry," Jynn said, unable to think of an appropriate analogy for the medical field. "You need distraction! Something new or exciting. Perhaps focusing on something else for a time will refresh your mind. Allow you to look at it from a better perspective once you've got your head clear?"

"Do you have any suggestions?" asked Tuula, raising an eyebrow as she continued playing with the knife.

"I don't think you liked my first idea," he half-chuckled as he watched Tuula handle the blade with finesse. "You know, I thought all doctors where proficient with a blade. Maybe a bit of play would do you some good. Sharpen your senses." He placed his hand out in front of her with a danger-scoffing grin. "We don't have to put your hand in danger if you're worried. I trust you."

"And risk damaging one of those tattoos on your fingers?" asked Tuula in a teasing voice. She placed her left hand on the table, spread her fingers wide, and began tapping out a pattern. As she did so, she began going faster and faster, until her knife hand was just a blur. For a few moments, she focused intently before switching hands and doing it again, though not quite as fast with her left hand. Then, stopping suddenly, she placed the knife on the table and exhaled deeply, feeling exhilarated.

"Here's some free advice," she added in a teasing voice. "Never question a surgeon's proficiency with a blade."

Jynn was stunned. What he had just seen was almost as beautiful as the person who had performed it. He wasn't quite sure what to say after the display he had just witnessed, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "I love you."

"I..." Tuula froze. Did he just say that? she thought as she locked eyes with him. Of course, as a doctor, she had heard stories about Deltans and the thrills and dangers of intimacy with them. But it was all in such sterile language... Her face turning bright red, all she could say in a meek voice was the first thing that came to her head.

"Would you like to see my bone saw?"

It wasn't even a question to Jynn. He was more than excited at this point. She was thrilling! Exhilarating! It was the people who lived on the edge that he loved the most. That sensation you got that wasn't quite definable but somehow set every sense and emotion on edge. She seemed like the type. "Of course!"

"Follow me," replied Tuula, pushing herself away from the table. Whether it was instant attraction or something in the air, she just felt liberated, and perfectly at ease.

To be concluded...

Lieutenant JG Jynn
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

RSS Feed