Reunion

Posted on 21 Sep 2018 @ 11:31am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin
Edited on on 21 Sep 2018 @ 11:36am

2,283 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Saalm's Quarters
Timeline: MD -181, 1901 hrs

[ON]

It was 1900 when Lirha Saalm finally finished all of her first-day duties aboard the new starship. Gamma shift had just begun which now afforded her five hours of sleep before the next shift. Thoroughly exhausted, the door to her quarters swished open when she approached, allowing her to enter and retreat to her private sanctuary for some R&R.

Inside her personal chambers, the captain unclipped her belt and tossed it on the couch, then started to undo her uniform jacket. Her mind quickly wandered to Amaranai and her green fingers tapped her commbade. "Lirha to Amaranai," she said.

Amaranai was in her quarters. She had just gotten back to her quarters, having worked a split shift to make sure that some of the newer officers were comfortable with their requirements. Charlotte was nowhere to be found until Amaranai asked the computer and found the girl in the holodeck. She didn't bother her, figuring to allow the girl time for herself. The communication chirp almost scared her. At least, to the point of causing her to flinch. The voice also caused her insides to tingle.

"Amaranai here," she said. "It's nice to hear your voice."

Lirha smiled to herself, feeling exactly the same way. "And yours too," she replied softly. With her uniform jacket now removed and the communicator held in her hand, Lirha wandered over to the nearest chair and took a seat along with a relaxing deep breath. "Are you busy? I want to see you," she invited.

Amaranai blushed at the thought of Lirha having the same feelings. The question perked Amaranai up a bit.

"If I get to see you," Amaranai started. "I'm not busy." She paused as she started to take her uniform off. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

The security officer changed out of her uniform and into a standard pair of pants with a blue blouse. She left her quarters after she left a message for her sister to play when the girl returned.

Amaranai didn't rush to the captain's quarters but she still walked briskly. She didn't want to look like she was in a hurry but she did miss her lover and her body was aching for the woman's touch. She stopped at the door and pressed the chime. When the door opened, Amaranai smiled.

"Hello," she whispered and moved into the room quickly and wrapped her arms around the olive-skinned woman.

The captain shivered at the embrace and immediately welcomed it by returning the favor. Her bare green arms wrapped tightly around Amaranai's waist then moved up across her back to pull her frame closer to her. Then, she tilted her head and leaned in to kiss her with much longing.

Amaranai felt the woman's arms tighten and nuzzled against her chest. She felt Lirha's hand tilt her head to look at her. Amaranai watched as Lirha's lips moved closer. She let the woman's lips touch hers and closed her eyes, letting a small moan escape her lips. After the initial kiss broke, Amaranai lunged her mouth toward Lirha and began kissing her voraciously. The brunette loses her breath after several more minutes of kissing and then returns her head to nuzzle in the embrace.

"I'm glad you called," she says into the woman's shirt.

Lirha let out a deep and airy breath. She licked her lips and smiled at the familiar taste, then cuddled the Human's head to her neck. "How was your first day?" she softly asked while pushing her green fingers through Amaranai's hair to wipe the stray locks from her cheek.

Amaranai felt the soft fingers brushing through her hair and smiled at the question.

"It was another first day," she started. "I've had several. This was just as hectic and fun and nerve racking." The security officer paused. "I mean, it's the same each time but just as different."

She took a deep breath to take in Lirha's scent.

"How was your day?"

"Hectic," Lirha answered with a light laugh. "I only completed half of my inspections because of an issue with the secondary coolant flow down in engineering. Then there were a few personnel issues including Ensign Derani's last-minute departure..." She was vaguely aware of Amaranai's friendship with the young Boslic hybrid and wanted to give her a chance to ask about it if she wanted. In private, of course.

Amaranai recalled the quick message that she had received from Miraj and was sad for her to go but knew that there was no other choice for the helmswoman. The brunette considered the day her lover had experienced and smiled.

"Well, at least it wasn't boring," she offered.

Lirha smirked and kissed Amaranai again. "Being a captain is never boring. You should try it sometime," she teased before flicking her eyes to the bathroom chamber. "I need a shower. Come."

The casual comment about Amaranai trying to be captain caught Amaranai off guard. She hadn't originally thought of becoming captain when she joined Starfleet, but recently her mind had changed somewhat. Those thoughts disappeared when Lirha mentioned a shower.

The brunette followed Lirha to the other room and pulled the green-skinned woman toward her and began to remove the other woman's clothes. As each piece of clothing was removed, Amaranai kissed and nipped each portion of skin that appeared. Her smile widened as her lips wandered the naked body and tasted the salt from her sweat.

Lirha reached out with a free green arm and touched the side of the wall where the sonic shower control panel was located. The shower turned on and the vibrations started to wash the day's grind from both their bodies. She returned Amaranai's kisses with equal enthusiasm then pushed the smaller woman against the wall by her shoulders with passion. Then, however, the captain took a step back and paused, admiring the nude form of her partner while feeling a lustful twinge between her legs.

"Do you remember?" she asked in a most soft and private tone, her thoughts suddenly traveling back many months prior to the Klingon warship Du'JaQ. "This is where we first...met."

The water had surprised Amaranai, as she hadn't realized the kisses had gotten them into the sonic shower. The push, though firm, didn't scare Amaranai, but when Lirha paused and stared at her, Amaranai was worried. She gave the captain a confused look when she first spoke and then offered a large smile at the realization of their first meeting place.

Amaranai pulled Lirha close again and kissed her neck and shoulders.

"As I recall," Amaranai said. "That meeting turned out pretty well."

The Orion sighed with content and closed her eyes while Amaranai's lips played across the green skin of her neck and collarbone. "Yes," she agreed with a smile, "it did. And now we have three more years together." The thought was either terrifying or incredible depending on how some people viewed relationships, but Lirha was quite happy to live and work next to Amaranai every day for the forseeable future.

Amaranai's lips wandered the length of her lover, finding creases, crevices and beauty spots to linger and excite. She could feel her body tense on its own as she nibbled and nuzzled, excited for what was to come.

Hearing Lirha's voice and the mention of three years together, Amaranai stopped her kisses and looked up at the captain.

"Only three?" she said. "Do you plan on tossing me aside once this assignment is over?"

Amaranai hadn't meant to sound defensive. She was glad that the two of them could spend so much time together. But Lirha's statement seemed more like a finality than joy. The brunette stepped back from Lirha and got out of the sonic shower. She grabbed a towel and dried off before moving to lie down on the bed.

Lirha was surprised when Amaranai pulled away and asked the rather blunt question. She had trouble discerning the tone in her voice, but after seeing her body language change and her quick departure from the shower, she realized she'd probably said something wrong.

She finished up in the sonic shower then turned it off and began to wipe herself down with her towel while walking into the bedroom. She looked at the backside of Amaranai's beautiful naked body laying down on her bed, then she moved to sit next to her. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to suggest that."

Amarani felt the bed sink as Lirha sat down. She heard the words and kept quiet. Her mind was racing with too many thoughts. Was Lirha's love only temporary as Miraj had suggested? Was there nothing that could keep them together after the three year assignment? Amaranai sniffed as she tried to clear the tears.

"I know," Amaranai said. "Maybe I'm just insecure."

She paused.

"I don't want to invest all this time if you're just going to end this."

The tears, despite Amaranai's attempts, started to fall again.

The Orion felt confused and uncertain what her partner meant. "Why do you think I want to leave you?" she quietly asked in reply. "I took you as my mate on my homeworld only a week ago." A green hand reached out and rested on Amaranai's shoulder to try and comfort her.

Amaranai thought back to the Orion homeworld and the ceremony between the two women. It was special and Amaranai knew that Lirha loved her to the point of even going through the special ceremony in front of the important people in Lirha's life. But her words . . .

"I know," Amaranai let loose, quietly. "We'll be together here, on Galileo, and wherever else we go. But . . ." She paused. "Things happen. People change."

"Well...yes. But," Lirha stopped short then remained silent for a long moment. She contemplated what her lover had just said and tried to make sense of it. But she couldn't. "Amaranai...everyone changes. Life changes and tomorrow is never promised. But you know I love you. What is this about?"

Amaranai considered the question. What was it about? Was it Charlotte? Was it pettiness? What could it be?

"I don't know," Amaranai admitted.

After a moment, she turned to face Lirha and placed a hand on her naked thigh.

"And I don't know if I'll ever know."

She paused again.

"And I don't want to talk about this to anyone. I'm not ready for that."

Amaranai didn't talk to counselors. She had always felt they didn't know what they were talking about.

Lirha regarded Amaranai with more curiosity and tilted her head slightly to the side. "...Do you want to marry me?" She gently poked at the woman's thoughts with her words to try and understand while also remembering Humans were generally more conservative with their words than her own people.

There was a word that Amaranai had never considered, regardless of her relationship with Lirha or anyone else. She had only one very terrible example of marriage - her parents - and she wasn't sure she would be any good at it. But the love that she had for Lirha was different. It felt different than anything than she had experienced in the past. But did Amaranai need to be married to make these feelings go away?

"I . . ." she stopped, unsure of how to answer.

She wrapped an arm around Lirha's leg and pressed her lips against it.

"I need to think about it."

Reaching down to stroke Amaranai's cheek, Lirha quietly pondered her own experience with marriage alongside the trauma of losing her two unborn children when Galileo had been destroyed. "My first marriage was a failure," she admitted with a sad shrug.

Amaranai heard the comment about Lirha's first marriage. It saddened the brunette even further knowing the captain had been in a relationship prior to the current one. Amaranai, though having had several relationships prior, had never been married. She even had had a fling while Lirha had been incarcerated, though she wouldn't ever tell Lirha about that.

"I don't want this to fail," Amaranai finally said. "I want this to last."

"I think you worry too much," Lirha decided for now with a private smile. She had no interest in anyone other than Amaranai and found her to be an excellent bed partner. She also knew from her command training courses that crew members often experienced varying degrees of anxiety at the beginning of each new deployment.

The Orion lay down next to Amaranai and spooned her from behind while pulling the sheets over their collective form. "Computer, lights." The room went dark and the only illumination now came from the streaking stars outside the window. "I would never betray your love," she whispered into her lover's ear while closing her eyes contently.

Amaranai smirked at Lirha's comment about worrying. She was just like Charlotte. Amaranai needed to worry. The brunette needed to worry. It was her job. She had to worry about the ship and her crew. And Lirha. And that wasn't even the fact that she had to worry about Charlotte, especially now that she was going to be taking lessons from Luke.

She felt Lirha crawl over her and lay down behind her. Amaranai took Lirha's arm and pulled it across her abdomen in an effort to feel safe for the moment. The lights went out and Amaranai felt the whisper on her ear.

I hope not Amaranai thought.

The security officer pulled herself against Lirha and allowed herself to feel safe and loved in the woman's arms.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin
Deputy Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

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