Joint Duty Log | Capt Neyes & Cmdr Ivanova | Sweet Stuff

Posted on Wed Oct 23rd, 2013 @ 2:12am by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova
Edited on on Wed Oct 23rd, 2013 @ 7:37pm

1,942 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: In the Dark

=/\= Captain’s Ready-Room =/\=

Watching the simulations of the Vindicator in battle had left Rochelle feeling taxed, drained, dead. Part of her simply wanted to curl up in bed and forget everything she'd seen during those simulations -- and then there was the small part of her that was invigorated by the battles that had waged, however catastrophic they had proven for the Vindicator. It was that part of her that drove her to ring the chime of the Captain's quarters, daring to bother him after hours. Her fingers soothed themselves along the PADD she carried, in it the promise of her words and the necessary evil to come.

The Vindicator needed to stay put, docked, and be repaired. They'd be flying absolutely... Nowhere. Not for at least another seventy-two hours.

Landon froze when he heard the chime on the door. His eyes slowly turned to the door, and his gut bucked for a moment. For this moment, and the last five minutes before it, had been a moment of weakness for him. He brushed at his mouth slowly in contemplation, torn between opening the door, talking to whoever on the other side, and eating the little cupcake sitting before him. Landon had already taken a bite, and it was in that moment he understood once again what sugar tasted like. It had been a long, long, time since it was last plated in front of him. This most recent few weeks had taxed his inhibition to a breaking point, and he couldn't control himself.

It was so good.

He mad a sad, pained face as he placed it back into the replicator. "Enter." He said through a mouth of cake.

The muffled voice, it sounded not unlike pillow talk, but held a certain ring to it. The sound spoke of something far more carnal and far more innocent all at the same time. Ivanova smirked at the thought of just what temptation the Captain could have found while left to his own devices. But that would be a conversation best left for another time – one far less important than the one to come.

“I hope I wasn’t interrupting something, Captain.” She started off with as she let herself slip within the confines of his state room, the smirk tugging at the corner of her pretty mouth, “I’m afraid I have bad news.

Neyes looked up at her, his dessert spoiled by her visit. Bad news was all well and good, expected even, but his hand tapped on his desk with staged preoccupation, "I don't suppose we could just... skip all that and eat some more. I'm pretty well traveled; I'd be willing to bet you haven't tried Theridian mud-slides. They're absolutely delicious, but I don't think you'll want to know what they're made of." He stood up to recycle his cupcake.

The redhead paused, pulling the padd from her jacket pocket, and fingers along it’s edges. “You’d win that bet.” She answered, studying him in contemplation, her teeth worrying her lip for a second before she found herself in motion, dipping slightly to set the padd down on his coffee table in a pointed fashion. “Business first, sweet temptations later, deal?”

"Fine. Lay it on me." He turned to face her.

Lay it on him? The thought crossed the young officer’s mind – and most likely the minds of every other red blooded woman on the ship – but those thoughts were far better left for other times. Later times. She shook her head slightly, pushing away a strand of hair that had escaped her tight bun during the battle simulations, tucking it back behind her ear. “After careful thought and conversation with Commander Dah’el, I feel it best that we have the ship docked for repairs. If we don’t… It’ll likely be the last mission we ever set out on.” She shrugged with a sigh, showing her chagrin and displeasure as it wrote itself across the delicate lines of her face. “I watched the simulations myself. We’re hopeless right now.”

Neyes picked up the PADD casually and tapped at it a few times, nodding, "That bad?" He'd known they were set for a massive repair and resupply after their ordeal, but he hadn't thought it was more than they could handle themselves. His inner-captain wanted to think they could accomplish anything faster, and more efficiently than any of his previous ships. While that may have still been true, there was a difference between realistic superiority and fantastical expectations.

He looked up at her for a moment, his first officer, as she looked back at him. The Neyes symbiont was nearly 750 years old, and had been in female hosts more times than he cared to remember. There were certain giveaways he knew to be true of women, and Ivanova was not doing her due diligence in hiding them. While Landon was still very young, energetic, and rather alone since his fiance disappeared years before, he needed to quickly side-line the creeping thoughts he allowed to coalesce as he glanced her way. Quickly getting back on track, he cleared his throat. "Perhaps it was an error on my part to expect our Chief to handle all the repairs himself. Even with our resources, I think it might be best we get a little down time. Last thing I need is to get everyone killed in a hurry."

Taking a seat, the Executive Officer shook her head “He’s not at fault.” She found herself defending the Cardassian almost too quickly, but gently, as she crossed her legs. “He’s done what he can, but we need more at the moment, more than any of us can give her. She’s served us well, and giving her a rest and repair isn’t a bad thing.” Rochelle added, plucking a piece of lint off her knee in true idle fashion. Sometimes it was entirely way too easy to forget who she was dealing with, the inner knowledge that people like the Captain possessed. Someday, perhaps quite soon, it would either be her undoing or her resurrection. That path was yet to be traveled.

“It’ll give us all a chance to mend and refuel. Make downtime mandatory, boost morale?” She offered, her eyes leaving her knee, feeling his eyes, however briefly, study her.

He nodded. Now came the aftereffects of the botched uninitiated mission to Carida. His friend and former Captain of the Crazy Horse, Robert Lansine, had been reassigned with no word to where or why. Landon suspected some kind of operations work for the intelligence section, but there was no way to be sure. Landon knew there was nothing he could do but continue his lead on the Vindicator. "You’ve heard of our new orders already? More details? The Crazy Horse left not too long ago. The Lieutenant Commander who replaced Rob wasn't keen on explaining herself, so I didn't ask where they'd been reassigned."

“I’ve heard rumors about her, not all of them flattering.” Rochelle shrugged again. Another PADD was tugged slowly from her jacket, tapped at, and handed to the Captain. “We’re off on another adventure. Looks like we’re off to explore and negotiate some sort of trade agreement. Menial work, but…” Her nose twitched, “…it’s work. I think they’re trying to teach us a lesson in diplomacy. This place has made the demand that we don’t bring our brand of voodoo into their town while we’re there. Should be a walk in the park.”

He shook his head. “The planet is named Noturi and it’s in the Idran Belt Nebula. A little out of the way, so that’s probably why they are generally left alone. The people are the Noturans… shockingly.“ Neyes chuckled after correcting her. "Voodoo, really?" By this point he'd spent enough time with humans to just... ask.

“Oh you know,” Rochelle waived her hand in the air flippantly gesturing to the ship. “Technology in general. Everything we stand for, really.”

“What kind of culture bans technology?" Being a Trill, it was difficult to imagine. They were bent on scientific achievement, in some cases, to the extreme. “Admiral Malone didn’t seem to think it would pose much of a problem. At least he didn’t make a point of it. And they're warp capable?”

She nodded, “Completely. From what I gather they seem to believe it’s blasphemy and the root of all evil. Needless to say I doubt we’ll be encountering electricity, much less common creature comforts. Kind of like camping.” Of course, camping was an understatement in that regard, especially when they were expected to obtain information and sign contracts binding a culture to Star Fleet.

“Some cultures just don’t harbor your sense of adventure, Captain.” The woman grinned, teasing lightly although immediately fearing they really would be working by the light of tiki torches.

"I can see the appeal, I suppose." Neyes interjected, taking a different perspective. "Technology may have its advantages, but there are those who would make the case that it only leads to more devastating wars. Machinery and weaponry makes everything more efficient, even killing. These people may want to keep the indulgences to a minimum when it comes to their needs. All a small group of people really needs is agriculture and hunting skills to survive. A society is much easier to handle when you're maneuvering the population of 100, instead of an entire planet."

“I guess that would make sense. It’s just relatively hard to swallow given the indulgences our society has allowed us.” Ivanova responded with a nod, “Your cupcake being one of them.” She dared to pursue, perhaps her lack of sleep responsible for the untethering of her bold demeanor. “Icing and sugar being the modern conveniences they don’t want to allow their people. Just one taste is enough to cause addiction and craving.” She continued, shifting her position and perching on the edge of her seat as she spoke, “Cravings lead to demands which could potentially lead to war… All over something as simple as a fingertip worth of icing which, to some, may seem worth the destruction it takes to obtain it. Avarice, gluttony, sloth… Lust… The list of the oldest sins committed in the newest of ways could easily go on. Perhaps that’s what they think we represent.”

"Everyone has problems." Neyes shrugged. "I assume we're not heading over to interview them about their interesting way of life. Or maybe..," he smiled hopefully, "Maybe we are?"

Rochelle’s head shook, “Not unless you want to tack that onto getting trade agreements signed.”

"Well... relax. That's an order. I've received the mission details from Command and we'll head out in 72 hours." He paused, "…I didn't mean for it to sound negative when we discussed engineering. I know Dahe'el is doing his best, and there's no one else I would rather have taking care of the ship. I know he's capable."

“Relax?” She asked incredulously, “As you wish, Captain.” She shook her head, chuckling lightly as she got to her feet, his voice once more breaking the silence. “I didn’t truly think you’d knock him. He’s a good man. I just wish our crew could remember that as well.” Rochelle smiled, happy the Captain understood, that he wasn’t harboring the same ridiculous resentment so many members of the crew seemed to.

"Good." He smiled, and handed back her PADD. "See you on the bridge."

=/\= END LOG =/\=

Captain Landon Neyes
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR

Commander Rochelle Ivanova
Executive Officer
USS VINDICATOR

 

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