Coping Strategies For A Boring Sister

Posted on 15 Jul 2017 @ 4:51pm by Nesh Saalm & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,282 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Earth - San Francisco
Timeline: MD 16, 1844 hrs

[ON]

Nesh arrived at her sister's quarters unannounced, intending to take her big sister out and abuse Lirha's stipend. There was a whole bunch of cool art for sale coming out of the Gamma Quadrant, not to mention the new fashions. And she needed her hair done, and her nails. And eye brows. It was time to go shopping. Lirha was still boarding at SFHQ, and she knew the way. It didn't take her long to reach the small apartment and lean on the bell until her big sister answered.

"Yes?" sounded Lirha's distinctive light voice through the keypad's intercom. It wasn't necessarily a late hour of the evening, but the Orion rear admiral hadn't been expecting company.

"Its me, open up." Nesh said. Who else would be calling on her in the evening without announcing herself? She bet whoever Lirha was getting it on with would still be calling ahead. "We're going out."

The door unlocked and a green indicator on the keypad signaled permission to enter. With a soft swoosh, the entrance to Lirha's temporary quarters parted to allow the younger Saalm to enter.

Inside, Lirha was in her bedroom getting dressed for the evening. She'd already made plans to go out into the city for a few hours, and the last fifteen minutes had been preoccupied with fitting herself into the newest dress she'd bought. Backless as always, the light and form-fitting black fabric clung tightly to her skin and showed off her seemingly-ageless curves.

Nesh walked in, glanced at Lirha and nodded to herself. She had a white off the shoulder top paired with wide bottomed pants, also white, but with gold thread embroidery rising up from the ankles, along with some gold strappy sandals, and she examined Lirha's choice with interest. "Never let it be said you are not a brave woman."

An invisible shuffling could be heard in one of the corners, and Snuffles suddenly burst out of the closet and trodded up to Nesh. Already familiar with the younger Saalm's scent, he happily pressed his wet snot into the side of her leg and began to rub the side of his head against her leg, tusks and all.

"Do you like it?" Lirha asked, referring to her dress while she spun around in front of the mirror one last time.

Nesh jumped away. "Urgh. Why do keep that disgusting pig? It smells and its ugly. And its ruined these trousers!" She kicked them off, and then began to rifle Lirha's clothing catalogue. "Old, old, old, hooker gear, old hooker gear. You desperately need to go shopping." She threw her balled up trousers at the targ. "Maybe something in suede?"

It wasn't often that Lirha was caught off guard by Nesh's comments, but this one stung. Her mood suddenly turned somber and she stopped what she was doing to look her younger sister in the eyes. "Snuffles is all I have as a reminder of Siren. And Belle," she explained, her eyes flicking over to the pink long-haired tribble in its cage on top of the dresser. "You know this, you were at Rigel with us when we bought him as a pup..."

"And she left us," Nesh said tartly, still picking though options. "You were married, what? a year? Long enough to abandon you the moment you're knocked up and really need her." Nesh found a pair of pants that didn't look too dowdy and sent them to the replicator.

"Months," Lirha corrected with a heartfelt sigh. Then she shook her head. "And she didn't leave...she was transferred to another assignment. Somewhere in the Federation, wherever Starfleet Intelligence decided she should go." Joyful yet painful memories of her red-headed ex-wife flooded her thoughts. Deep down inside, she still loved Siren, and it'd taken her many months to be able to detach herself from the feeling of longing and begin dating again.

Changing the subject before it became too depressing, Lirha frowned at Nesh's choice of trousers. "I think your hips are too thin to wear those properly," she remarked.

Nesh glowered at the mirror. She didn't think Siren had fought that anywhere near hard enough. This was Starfleet. You could take a bloody baby on board a ship that also carried torpedoes. Keeping partners together couldn't be that hard. "Well, you are a wide load."
She grabbed her purse. "The dire state of your wardrobe won't get fixed whilst I'm trying to find something that can't do double duty as a tent. Come on."

"I need a few more minutes," replied Saalm who moved over to her vanity and began to procure several earrings and a necklace. "Take Snuffles for a walk around the block. I will be ready when you return," she instructed. The young targ was happily clicking his hooves on the floor and impatiently waiting for attention.

"I'm not taking him. What if he marks territory all over my shoes?" The younger Saalm looked down at the hopeful beast. "Go away. Shoo. Bugger off."

"Nesh, go!" Lirha repeated, this time raising her voice in their native tongue and giving her a stern look. She had a private communique to make in addition to fixing her jewelry for the evening, and the least her sister could do after arriving unannounced was spend five minutes taking Snuffles around the block. "Don't argue. I will be here when you get back."

"If he ruins my shoes, I will have him stuffed." Nesh threatened, picking up the lead from its hook and clipping it to the harness. "Come on you stinky lump." She stomped off, meaning to find the nearest lamppost or hydrant or whatever it was the creature used and be back in record time. She hadn't come all the way up here to play dog-walker to a targ. She wanted to have fun.


Five Minutes Later...

With her gold earrings now adorning the rims and lobes of her ears, and a slim necklace perfectly situated along her collarbone, Lirha was finally ready to head out for the evening. Nesh hadn't returned yet, and after having a brief chat with one of her friends through her PADD, the older Orion now sat on the couch watching the latest FNN transmissions on the large wall-mounted LCARS screen in her living room.

Her door chimed again, and from beyond Nesh shouted, "let us in!" The moment the door opened, Nesh dropped the leash and Snuffles bounded in with all the enthusiasm of a new puppy, and all the weight of the young adult boar targ he actually was.

Nesh followed behind, "Stinky lump," she said grumpily, not entirely hiding the fondness that was begrudgingly creeping in. "Ready now?"

Snuffles trodded up to Lirha and gave her a gentle snout-rub against her bare green leg. In turn, she reached down and affectionately scratched the growing beast between his ears which elicited a soft squeal of delight. "I'm ready. Where are we going, exactly?"

"Well, there's an exhibition of Early Federation Art at the Legion Of Honor. I thought we could take a look. They've got quite a lot of Andorian pieces reflecting reactions to the alliance that are worth a look. Plus I need some new clothes, and you need to be completely reinvented. Do you still have a job or are you going to be marched out or something?"

Motioning to the door to indicate for Nesh to lead the way, Lirha simply shook her head at the last question. "It's complicated," came her succinct reply. "I suppose I can deal with some art for the evening. For an hour," she added, setting a deadline for her sister to be aware of before she zoned out on the boring hobby galleries.

"Complicated?" Nesh asked as the door opened for her. "Still jerking you around? Have they even talked to you yet? Or are they just pointing and shouting 'unclean!'" Nesh put on an overly dramatic voice for that, "Unclean!" Then rolled her eyes at the never ending absurdity of Starfleet.

"I've spoken with several admirals already. Like I said, it's complicated. When I know more, I'll tell you." It was an already stressful situation for Lirha and the last thing she needed was Nesh potentially pestering her to the point of annoyance. "Tell me about this art exhibition," she asked, changing the subject while she exited her apartment and began to walk down the steps to the street.

"Its a collection of artworks produced in the time of Admiral Archer, reflecting the key nations reactions to the founding of the Federation. Most of its Terran, but they've got quite a few pieces of Andorain neo-primitavism, and a Tellerite Sound Sculpture. They've even got a Vulcan Mandala," Nesh turned and walked backwards so she could talk to Lirha better, eyes bright with excitement. "How cool is that? Do you have any idea how rare it is to see Vulcan art off-world? It like never happens! Its going to be sooooo coool!"

Lirha frowned and almost stopped in her tracks. "Vulcans have art?" she asked with a skeptical tilt of her head. "...That doesn't involve mathematical equations?" She thought for a short moment about how it could have come to be. "Did it come from a V'tosh ka'tur?"

"I don't know. " Nesh shrugged. Who the artist was, and if they were one of the freaky vulcans who'd rejected their logic fetish, was far less important than the fact there was art at all. "Vulcan art is sooo Vulcan. Its all mandelas and mandlebrots and fractals. Like IDIC put into pigments. You're going to love it. Or get a headache." Nesh swivelled back so they were walking facing in the same direction again. "Either way, better than brooding in your room."

"I wasn't 'brooding'. I was getting ready to go out for drinks before this evening's show," Lirha retorted. "Chuulak t'l Cheltol is playing at the Golden Gate Theater at 2200...and you're coming with me. After your art thing, of course." The play -- one of Lirha's favorites, was commonly referred to as an 'Orion Tragedy', a throwback to the pre-warp era of the Kolari.

"Oh no, not again." Nesh made a face like she was being asked to eat a poop. "That's a play to cut your wrists too. Why on Earth, literally, do you want to see that again? My art is going to be utterly hip and upbeat, and you repay me with that?" Her sister was cruel. Impossibly cruel.

Lirha cast a sideways and knowing glance at Nesh. "Because it has Morood Tuureh as the lead," she swooned with a happy sigh. "You know how much I love him. Too bad he will be viciously tortured..." she lightly shrugged with a small smile.

Nesh looked suddenly contemplative. The actor was very easy on the eye. Practically a work of art himself. "Too bad because he'll have a totally plot justified naked scene? Where we get to watch him flex and bend?" She bit on her lip, the thought drifting through the more active areas of her imagination with salacious glee. "You have good seats, yes?"

The older Orion's light green eyes blinked with surprise and a frown spread across her eyebrows. "I'm the only Orion to ever serve as a Starfleet admiral in the history of Starfleet...of course I do." Well, maybe not for long, she thought to herself.

"Pulling rank while you have it? Smart." Nesh said, coming to a halt at the transit stop. Then a thought struck her and she fixed her big sister with an interrogating look. "Drinks? And theatre seats?" Her eyes narrowed, but with predatory excitement, "Did someone stand you up? Was it the person you've been bumping uglies with?"

"Just because you came to my apartment early when I was getting ready doesn't mean I was 'stood up'," Lirha scoffed. "Maybe if you don't annoy me too much tonight...I might let you meet this person." Sometimes the carrot on the stick worked better than the forceful hand when trying to get Nesh to behave.

"No might about it. I can't wait to meet them." Nesh was just dieing to know who Lirha was getting over Siren with. After being abandoned her sister needed a damn good fling. "Mmmm. Nekkid Morood Turesh and your new screw. This theatre trip of yours is beginning to look like it won't utterly blow. Gonna give me a clue?"

Lirha let out a soft laugh and shook her head. "Nesh, you want to be an adult, yes? Then don't ask for clues. Figure it out for yourself," she advised, tapping the side of her temple to indicate the need for critical thinking. "Clues are always everywhere," she winked.

"Or I could just go through all the crew of Galileo in alphabetical order and see which one makes you twitch?" Nesh grinned. Not that she knew the entire crew, let alone in alphabetical order, but she hoped the threat of being annoying would make Lirha cough up her paramour in self defence.

"Perhaps you should stick with art....it seems the scientific method you learned on Galileo didn't take hold," retorted Lirha. They continued to walk to the bus stop and eventually came to a casual wait. "How far away is this exhibit?"

"Legion of Honor." Nesh said as an omnibus arrived, referring to the centuries old museum in Lincoln Park. "So get comfy. This will take a little bit."

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Nesh Saalm
Civilian

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