Fashion Favors the Bold

Posted on 31 Jan 2016 @ 6:34am by Lieutenant JG Natalya Kirilova & Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika
Edited on on 31 Jan 2016 @ 10:37am

2,285 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Jupiter Station - Promenade
Timeline: MD 22, 1325 Hours

[ON]

Natalya had recently arrived at Jupiter Station. From what she knew the Galileo was already there, but she still had a few hours before she was expected to board and formally report in. There was nothing stopping her from checking in early, but to be honest she had a few things she wanted to take care of first.

One of them was lunch. She figured reporting in on an empty stomach was no way to start off a new assignment, so she'd visited a coffee shop for some brew and a sandwich to top off her energy level. On the way there she saw a florist, and made a point to stop in after lunch to pick out some arrangements to decorate her quarters. Since her time on Earth attending the academy she'd developed an appreciation for the sights and smells of plants and pretty flowers to improve the ambiance of her quarters. She picked out a selection to have delivered to the ship.

Afterwards Natalya sought out the final item on her checklist: some new uniforms, and perhaps a new pair of boots. She was not a vain person, and didn't care much for fashion trends, but when it came to looking good on the job she could be rather particular. Replicated uniform patterns simply would not do... she preferred tailored ones, used with high-end fabrics that the likes of admirals sought for their uniforms. Her personal resource allowance was usually modest because of this preference.

A few minutes into her search, Natalya found herself window shopping outside of a Betazoid clothier. The thought the dress on display in the window was in awful taste, but that didn't matter much. So long as the shopkeeper could take measurements and was authorized to make uniforms, this place would suit her just fine.

Strolling past in a colorful summer dress, Marika stopped and looked at the woman staring into the shop. Glancing at the dress the other seemed to be looking at, Marika fought the bout of fashion panic that hit her. Taking a chance, she walked up behind the woman and offered another alternative. "If you're looking for a good tailor, I could point you in the direction of a great Bolian seamstress I had the pleasure of meeting yesterday. Rumors say she even has some Tholian silks hidden somewhere." Her reflection offered the stranger a genuine smile, with a hint of urgency in her eyes.

Natalya wasn't a jumpy person and didn't usually get surprised by random people coming up to her. The fashion advice was surprising, however. She was used to blundering through life making all sorts of fashion mistakes without help from other women. Still, that didn't mean she wasn't receptive to any advice.

"Tholian silk.... hmm. Thank you." Natalya said, acting as if she knew that that should be a deciding factor. Her burgundy blazer was made from silk, but other than that she had no silk in her wardrobe. "As you can see I don't get out of a uniform much." She added, glancing down to her duty jumpsuit, which was the nicest one she had. Her others were starting to get a little beat up.Still, she looked rather dull compared to the young Bajoran woman, who looked like a garden in full bloom.

Her eyes brightened up, smile widening as she let out a giggle. "That's what shore leave is for silly! Come! I'll show the place I'm talking about." Reaching out to grab the other woman's hand, Marika stopped herself less than a inch from her intended goal. Touching without permission is not always welcome, she reminded herself. The hand was left open, as was the invitation.

Natalya still had plenty of time before before she was due to report in. And even if she didn't she would have been hard pressed to turn down the invitation. It wasn't every day that she got to meet someone as friendly and cute as... Natalya didn't even know her name yet! Seeing the Bajoran stop short of grabbing her hand, Natalya wondered what the other woman was thinking. Natalya was friendly and outgoing, but perhaps not to the same extent that her new friend was. Still, she did not leave the open hand waiting long.

Walking hand-in-hand, Natalya decided to introduce herself as they started off toward the Bolian's shop. "I'm Natalya, by the way."

Beaming her new friend one of trademark smiles, the young Bajoran happily headed towards 'The Escapade'. "Marika! I'm assigned to the Galileo. Lovely ship. Have you ever been on a Nova class? They are lovely. All about science and cramped places. And ours has this great arboretum. True it was rather messed up during our latest ... shall we say ... accident? But still, it's lovely. Found a place I just loooove to bits. And the gardener even gave me my own patch of soil to work!" Taking a quick breath, Marika seemed about to continue on her tirade... but forced her mouth shut and smiled some more.

Natalya couldn't help but stop short in shock for a second, and their arms almost went taut before she rushed a step to keep up. "I'm on the Galileo! Well, I will be, later today." She couldn't believe that she'd happened across someone like Marika so quickly. She'd made many friends aboard the Excalibur, but those had formed over time. She was used to being aboard a ship full of hundreds of people, most of which she'd never met. She made the Galileo seem like a really nice place to be.

Nat couldn't help but smile back. Marika's bubbly, cheerful demeanor was catching, and felt more than a little intoxicating. The engineer tended to be a bit more reserved, and she wondered how she'd be acting ten minutes from now if this kept up.

Marika's eye widened in wondrous surprise. "Really? How awesome! I get to keep you for more than a day! You'll love it there! It's great! What are the chances? Well, rather good if you think about it, this being a federation station and a place where people change assignments. And yet... it is fate! The universe has aligned itself so that we may meet." Stopping suddenly, the young officer turned to look at her companion with a serious as sudden as he stop.

"You must really need fashion advice in a bad way if I was sent to help you out." Giggling, she jumped and started back on her way as brusquely as she had stopped. "Hmmmm ... I'm thinking... Ah! See? There we are. Not far at all." Turning around again, this time much more gracefully, Marika beamed at the engineer and offered a grand gesture, showcasing the said shop.

Had Natalya not downed two cups of coffee before their meeting, she would probably not have been able to keep up. "Well then. I've never had a guardian fashion angel. Let's go see where they hide the Tholian silk." This time it was Natalya's turn to pull Marika along... or at least attempt to.

Bobbing her head in evident joy, Marika let herself be drawn in, all smiles and enthusiasm. Waving at the Bolian seamstress as they entered, she looked around in pure delight. "Look at those skirts over there!" Pointing excitedly at them for a second, she immediately followed by pointing to something else. "Ooooooh and those pants. Look! At! Those! Pants!"

Nat let the other woman's hand slip from hers as Marika started bouncing around the shop.The engineer tended to be bit more methodical, instead of flitting around trying to take in everything at once. She looked at the pants that her friend seemed to be freaking out over, and her eyes bulged a bit.

"They are rather.... sparkly." Was all Nat could say.

What followed would later be described as a flourish of jumps, loud exclamations and colors. As she jumped from one display to another, she would quickly come back with an offering of clothing, held up to inspection between herself and Natalya, then either set gently on a rack with a scream of excitement, or discarded to the side without even another look.

"Pink, black and blue seem to be your colors. How do you feel about frills?"

Nat swallowed. Pink might be a bit hard to stomach, but Marika did seem to have a better eye for these things than she did. Black and blue were colors she didn't mind wearing.

"I think the sparkly pants might be near my limit with frills." Nat said. "I'm not really a fan of lace, ruffles or gaudy prints. Accessories can be another story, however." Nat didn't have a lot in the way of fancy jewelry, but she did like metallic necklaces, bracelets and sometimes belts. She also liked fancy tights and colorful shoes.

"Noted!" With renewed purpose, Marika went through the pile of maybe's she had piled up earlier. Much was discarded, with a flourish and an exclamation, as she'd look over Natalya from time to time. In the end were left two ensembles; The dark and gold sparkly pants were with a black button up shirt, and a dark grey-green short skirt with navy blue turtleneck sweater. With a satisfied nod, the young Bajoran turned back to her new friend and beamed a smile. "There!"

Nat didn't know what to say at first. "I love them." She managed after a few seconds. The sweater and skirt looked great together and she knew she'd probably end up wearing them a lot. She even looked forward to trying out the sparkly pants, even though they demanded a braver approach to fashion than she was usually comfortable with.

"Thank you." Nat said softly, abruptly engulfing Marika in a big hug.

Perking up as she felt the other woman hug her, the young Bajoran beamed a smile so full of joy, one had to wonder if her face would split. Returning the hug with a vigor matching her happy disposition, Marika blurted out "Wow! Wait until I cook you dinner."

The word dinner struck a strong chord on Natalya's heartstrings. She'd been having so much fun with Marika, she hadn't really been thinking about the underlying feelings that were developing. Natalya had met women that were almost like Marika before and was not always good at telling whether one was being just very friendly... or something more.

Natalya had put that all out of her head, instead wanting to focus on having fun with a new friend, but now those thoughts came rushing back in. Was it dinner? Or dinner?

Natalya didn't want the hug to end, but she was the first to take a step back. "Can't wait.." Natalya said with a smile of her own. She took up Marika's hand again. "And while you were bouncing around, I found just the thing for you." She gave Marika a gentle tug toward a nearby rack, where a blue dress was stashed away. It was a dark shade of blue, not unlike the Bajoran's eyes and had a slinky quality to it. It was definitely on the snug side, and had a fairly short skirt and soft shimmer to it. It was daring but also tasteful... at least in Nat's estimation. Natalya didn't think she had the right curves for the dress, but Marika would look quite fetching in it.

Stopping in front of the dress, Marika stared at it for a minute, and quickly turned to Natalya with a jump and a squeal. "It's awesome! I have to try it on!" For a moment it was almost as if she hesitated to let go of her companion's hand, but she did, grabbing the dress as she ran towards the changing room.

She came out a minute later with the dress on, all smiles and radiance as she paraded for her new friend. Striking a pose, that ended up being an appropriate mix of sexy and innocent, she beamed at her fellow officer with questions in her eyes. "So?"

Natalya's face nearly glitched at the sight of how good Marika looked. But she hid it well. Barely. Probably not at all. "So?" Natalya said wryly. "Oh come on Marika. You know exactly how awesome you look in that dress. It's like... staring into the sun." She feigned shielding her eyes with a hand, as if the sight was too much to behold.

If it was possible for her to radiate more than she already did, then that is what she was doing now. She didn't shy away from the compliment, nor did she let it go to her head. She simply took it in, applied it to herself as a protective balm, and beamed pure joy at this singular moment in time.

Offering Natalya a curtsies, Marika giggled her way back to her and quickly kissed her cheek, before running off back to the changing room.

Natalya felt on the verge of giggling herself. She couldn't ever remember doing that in her life. As Marika went off to change, Natalya scooped up the outfits that had been picked for her. She had to try them on as well. She also had to get a new uniform made, though that had by now fallen far in her list of priorities.

Before making her way to the dressing rooms, Natalya thought back to earlier in their meeting. One of the cuter things Marika had said after learning they were both on the same ship.

"You can keep me as long as you like." Nat whispered aloud.

[OFF]


Lieutenant JG Natalya Kirilova
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

&

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

RSS Feed