Marriage of Convience You Say? (1/2)

Posted on 23 Feb 2016 @ 2:57am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Jesra Moore
Edited on on 23 Feb 2016 @ 3:15am

1,917 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Jupiter Station - Various Locations
Timeline: MD82 1925hrs

[ON]

Jesra whistled to herself as she walked along the promenade. It had taken a hell of alot of wrangling and a hell of alot of favors but she'd gotten here just ontime. There wasn't a person in the galaxy who wasn't away of the symposium taking place on the Jupiter station this week. It had taken only a handful of queries in order to establish that the woman she was looking for would it there.

It had been years...at least since they'd last seen eachother. It was a pity indeed because the freighter woman's memory of their last encounter were quite nice indeed. Lirha had been a passionate woman, so easily dominated which is how she liked them but there had been something else about the woman...a spark which gave her extra attraction.

If it hadn't been for that, Jesra wouldn't be here now, bribing certain people in order to obtain the Orion woman's location to help with her element of surprise. Sure it could be the case that Lirha hadn't given her a second thought since; but sure there was only one way she was going to find out.

"Well lookie here who i see...of all of the stations in all of the galaxies what would be the chances that we would both end up here together." Jesra slid into a boot which the Admiral had taken, presumably for food, but she wasn't expecting the amount of food which the woman had gathered infront of her. "Hum...I'm not gate crashing a party I hope? Surely there is room for one more old friend?"

Lirha heard a familiar voice speaking to her but for some reason it took a long moment to place the name. Turning to face the dark-haired curvy woman, the Orion's eyes suddenly sparkled with delight when she saw Moore for the first time in over two years.

"...Jesra...?" she tentatively asked while her brain processed the woman's presence. "What...what are you doing here? And how have you been?" She resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, for they were in a public place.

Leaning over, Jesra nudged one of the the Orion closer to her before wrinkling up her nose as she tried to figure out what lay on the plate. "What am i doing here...well had to do a fuel stop over and it seemed that this station was as good a place as any to stop over. And then the iciing on the cake was hearing that the USS Galileo. Where one typically find the Gally, her Captain can't be very far behind...mind you..."

Leaning forward, Jesra placed a finger under the Admiral's chin before raising it slightly to get a better glance at the woman's rank pips. "Looks to me like someone is heading up in the world. Rear Admiral Saalm?"

"Yes, it seems so," the Orion agreed. Why Starfleet had thought her competent enough to be promoted to a flag officer rank so quick was beyond her, but she also wasn't complaining. The perks were fun, despite all the additional paperwork. "You picked a busy time to visit Jupiter Station. The Exeter symposium is underway and I have never seen the facility so crowded."

Something seemed a little off and Jesra found herself unable to pinpoint what precisely it was. Moving her hand away from the Orion's neck, she gently caressed her fingers against the woman's cheek as she looked directly into her eyes. "That's not like you to create ideal chit chat...is there something troubling you?"

A little white lie wouldn't hurt in this situation, Lirha supposed. Whether it was the stress of redeploying, or overseeing her scientists during the symposium, or dealing with the aftermath of the Mirror Universe adventure, there were no shortage of random and stressful thoughts running through the rear admiral's head at any given moment.

Forcing a small smile on her face, she shook her head, her dark hair bobbing across the tops of her shoulders. "No, I am well. It is just a busy time for me. Shore leave has ended and there is much to prepare for, according to Starfleet."

Sitting back in her seat, Jesra crossed one leg over the knee of the other as she studied her former lover a little closer. "Liar...When have you ever been able to hide things from me my dear....Do I need to resort to old measures to get you to talk?"

Saalm smirked at the mention and recalled the old persuasive measures the freighter captain was referring to. "Possibly," she light shrugged, open to the idea. "But I am being truthful." To some extent at least, she was. "Galileo is set to depart Jupiter station within the next two weeks."

"Two weeks you say..." The smile hadn't escaped Jesra's notice but there was still something which she couldn't put her finger on, "...that gives me a couple of days at least to get to the bottom of what's happening....I do seem to recall that with the right amounts of pressure and pleasure you do eventually manage to cave my elt*."

A shy smile spread on Lirha's face and she briefly looked down towards the floor tiles. "Jesra...some things have changed since we last met," she began with an internal sigh. She wasn't quite sure how she would explain her brief marriage and subsequent pregnancy.

"I am..." she began, taking a deep breath, "...happy to see you." For some reason, the words she wanted to say weren't able to come out.

Jesra heard the intake of breath before the woman seemed to change her words mid sentence. She wasn't sure at what point what to do next, the woman hadn't been this difficult to crack before which indicated to the freighter Captain that something wasn't right and she wasn't afraid to admit that it worried her.

The Orion had only been momentarily in her life but she had still left an impact and part of that impact was that she cared for the federation woman, more than a sister but less than a lifetime commiment. She wouldn't admit it aloud, neither did she wallow in self pity that things hadn't worked out; but nor would she ignore her feelings.

"Lirha sweetheart....Fancy a walk? I believe this place is meant to have an arboretum to die for...lots of little nucks and crannys one can hide away from sight in."

Saalm nodded, albeit somewhat hesitantly. Perhaps it would be good for her to get away from the science symposium for a bit. "I would like that. Lead the way," she replied. "Deck 196, I believe."

Moving to her feet, Jesra held out a hand to help the Orion to her feet. "While we walk you can tell me how the lovely Holliday is doing. Is he still as stiff as a wooden plank and in need of a good lay?"

She took the offered hand and made her way to the turbolift with Jesra. "Yes, I am afraid he is still the same. Perhaps even worse and more consumed with duty than ever before. Do you know he is a captain now, and in command of Galileo?"

Jesra had easily hidden her surprise when she saw Lirha's abdomen which previously had been hidden. Lirha's little surprise was a turn out for the books...she had never thought her previous lover to be the settling down type. The Captain wouldn't say anything unless the Orion choose to...no matter how curious she was. "Good lord...who on earth thought that to be a good idea? Has he fitted all of the crew with chastity belts and ruling them all with an iron fist?"

"Essentially, yes." Anyone who knew Holliday well knew that crew fornication was not encouraged by him. As it should be, she supposed, for it was a matter of Starfleet protocol despite her own tendency to overlook such transgressions. "But the crew is well and responds to him in a good manner. He is a capable captain and an excellent strategist." Absentmindedly her hand traveled down to her stomach and rubbed her swollen belly while she walked.

The gesture didn't go beyond Jesra's line of sight but still the woman selected not to make comment. Something was stewing in her ex lover's mind and abit longer would do no harm. "Perhaps he is but it doesn't take away from the man needing a good lay...it wouldn't surprise me that if you looked close enough, you'd find cobwebs in his pants." Her language was designed to try proke a laugh from the Orion, she respected the woman too much to many offensive statements against her friends. "I still don't see how he kept his hands off of you my dear."

"He could be an android, I suppose," Lirha joked. "Some secret new and advanced tactical model sent to Galileo for experimental trials." It actually made a bit of sense, so much so that she began to think about it for a moment. "But I suppose the engineers would be smart enough to program such a model with sexual functions to avoid arousing suspicion..." she thought out-loud to herself.

Jesra managed to stifle a laugh as her hand moved to call the turbolift which they would need. She could easily see it if she was to be honest. Holiday had a way about him that made people question his sexuality. "And you my dear? Anyone special in your life?"

The Orion stepped in when the lift arrived and door swished open. "They come...and they go." Such was life for the young Saalm, it seemed. Apparently holding down a wife or girlfriend was more challenging that it seemed. "And you?"

Placing her hand softly against the small of Lirha's back, the Captain guided her into the travel capsule before issuing their direction. As the carriage begun to move, she moved in a little closer before softly pressing a small kiss to the Orion's lips before pulling back just as quick. "No one since you beautiful."

"...Really?" Lirha was suddenly flattered and blushed a bit, her cheeks turning to a darker forest green hue. "We did have fun together..." She then began to reminisce for a bit while thinking of their Vega colony adventures together. "It seems like so long ago."

Jesra twisted a piece of the Orion's silky black strands of hair around her finger, tugging it ever so gently before taking a step back as she waited for their lift to reach it's destination. "Hasn't been much more than a year and a half, two years my dear but somethings..." Pausing she watched the Orion closely, "...somethings seem like only yesterday."

"Computer, halt lift," said the Orion with a droopy head. She felt the momentum of the turbolift car suddenly stop as if it was in tandem with the thoughts that were running through her head. She couldn't keep up the facade much longer, nor did she want to.

"Jesra, I am pregnant and unmarried," she revealed. "It is a big problem for an Orion such as myself." Her family and cultural customs frowned upon such a situation and she not only felt perpetually apprehensive, but also a bit ashamed. "I am sorry I did not tell you earlier..."

[TBC]

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

&

Jesra Moore
Freighter Captain
SS Nautica
NPC'd by Drusilla McCarthy

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