Joint Duty Log / Capt. Ivanova, Cmdr PontBrillant & LtCmdr. Waterhouse / - "À trois, c'est mieux"

Posted on Sun Aug 17th, 2014 @ 2:37am by Commander Amelia Waterhouse & Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Vlimar PontBrillant

3,638 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: In the Dark
Location: Holodeck

-=- Commander PontBrillant's Quarters -=-

Vlimar finishes putting the last button on his tunic. As he looked down on his chrono, he notices that he was still on time. After all, it was his first official appearance as a member of the Vindicator, a ship which bears the name of his first initial positing, twenty some years ago. Obviously, the ship had changed, the command crew as well. The only constant was that the Vindi always had been one of the best of the fleet, the jewel per say. And Vlimar was proud of that, even though he still hadn't act in any official capacity as of yet.

The Commander turned to face the door of his quarter. He stopped in front of the mirror to check one last time his attire. His ceremonial white tunic was, obviously, new, as the white of the fabric was glaring into the light. It rose a smile to his face, as he slowly, carefully, realigned the pips to ensure their straightness. Satisfied, he stepped out of his quarters and began the walk towards the Holodeck.

-=- Holodeck -=-

Vlimar entered the room, pausing in the frame of the door. Obviously, as he just arrived, he did not know anyone, nor did he actually had a chance to meet his new CO. He was informed, upon his arrival, that the ball would be held and that since he was a Department Head, he was expected to attend. Therefore, Vlimar looked around trying to seize up the room, hoping to be able to identify his new CO and colleagues.

Rochelle was a resplendent creature even if she was petite. The power she held rested in the way she carried herself, elegant, poised — barely hinting at the war-blooded nature of the woman who had been spoon-fed diplomacy by Commodore Levine only just a few years ago. It was hard to believe that this demure vision had derived from something so utterly caustic and volatile.

There, near the windows, she stood in her off the shoulder black gown between dances, talking easily with her crew — accepting their condolences over the loss of Captain Neyes and still congratulating her over her fresh promotion. It was only out of the corner of her eye she noticed the man making his entrance, unknown to her by name or face. Immediately an eyebrow raised and she looked around the crowd for Amelia, excusing herself from the company she kept.

Amelia had found the bar between dances, and ordered something pink from the bar. When no one was looking, she slid a small flask out of her pocket, and poured blue into the drink turning it purple. She had literally just tucked the flask away again when she spotted Rochelle headed her way. She grinned and met her friend along the edge of the dance floor.

During that time, Vlimar moved from the entrance of the holodeck. The ambiance was pleasant, where the people present seem to have a good time, sign that the ship had good morale. There was no obvious active confrontation happening, something that used to be quite current in his days. He approached the bar, next to a woman who dropped a liquid into a pink drink, but choose to ignore it. Vlimar waves at the waiter.

"Do you have actually ethyl alcohol, or is it only the fake kind?" he asked.

"Him," Rochelle nodded towards the gentleman now sitting at the bar, "He's not brass. Do we have any knowledge who he is?" She asked, watching him with earnest interest. "You were right next to him for a bit." Her eyes traveled the line of his shoulders, the soft dark salt and pepper of his hair. He was seasoned, human, well-built — not the sort of man that just randomly steps into a ship's holodeck during an award ceremony and, given the night, she was in no mood for further surprises.

Amelia thought for a second, she'd gone through the roster of incoming crew just before arrival to the shipyards and there had been a lot of new faces. Most had appeared almost as soon as they made port, and she'd spotted most of them in the corridors before the ceremony, but a couple hadn't. The man Rochelle pointed out looked like one of those in the latter group. She tried to remember the name as she sipped the drink in her hand. Not quite a succubus napalm, but not bad for a pinch.

"PontBrilliant I think was the name... Commander in Operations? Maybe the new department head?" Amelia made a face as she said this, rolling her eyes upwards as if trying to use a HUD to look up the information. "I saw commander's pips on his collar for sure. Shall we find out?" Without waiting, Amelia strode back to the bar. She leaned against it next to the man, and with a dazzling grin, she leaned close. "My name's Amelia; I don't forget a face and I don't recognize yours. What's your name?"

Vlimar, who just ordered a double single malt, was just putting the glass to his lips as the woman began to speak to him. He slowly took his sip and turned his head to face her. He returned the grin and leaned on the bar, imitating the woman in front of him. "Nice to meet you, Amelia. I am Vlimar," he replied, warmly, politely. "As for the face, hopefully you will not forget, as I will not forget yours," he added, taking another sip of his drink.

From her spot near the dance floor, she watched her friend settle in beside the Commander at the bar and couldn't help but smile. This was Amelia's place, gathering Intel. With no great overture the young Captain made her exit, quickly swept up into yet another idle conversation spent with an Admiral trying, in vain, to guide her to their son who 'needed a nice girl'.

"Vlimar, has a nice ring to it. Rolls off the tongue smooth," she returned, a corner of her lip turned upwards and she hid it behind her purple drink.

Vlimar smiled, obviously thinking much, but saying little. A quality he had learn over the years in the SSS and, of course, with women. The silent diplomacy. He actually rolled his tongue in his mouth a few time, took a sip of his drink, then replied: "Smooth as that drink, I imagine," he said, smiling.

Smooth as you, Amelia thought, eying him as she sipped her drink again. At some point, she may need to take him for a test drive, but right now she needed to make sure she had pegged him as the right guy in the incoming crew list. "What brings you tonight, missing all the awards and promotions?"

The man smiled and looked at Amelia for a few seconds. "New position. And it wasn't my place to witness the awards of something I wasn't part of it, isn't?" he said. "And you? Who are you to this place?" he asked, politely, but firmly, as he took a sip of his drink, finishing it.

"I get stuff done," Amelia dismissed, which was a truth of a sort. "You missed my promotion though. It was cracking," she insisted, setting her drink on the bar with two fingers to either side of the stem of the glass.

Vlimar smiled, on the verge of laughing. He looked back at the wait and waves his drink & hers. He then turned again to Amelia. "What does that make you? Cadet 2nd year?" he asked, obviously teasing.

"I'll choose to take that as a complement, it's been a while since someone accused me of being jail bait." She grinned wide at him.

Vlimar, this time, couldn't help it and laughed out loud. He observed as the bartender placed another single malt in front of him and another pink drink in front of her. "Well, there is not much I can say about that, is there?" he replied. He raised his glass to offer a toast. "To Jail Bait..." he said.

"To no longer being jail bait," she returned, picking up her nearly empty purple glass and raising it towards Vlimar. It only had a sip left, then she was faced with a pink drink lacking tasty blue contraband.

Vlimar knocks his glass on hers, then sipped a good part of it. "So, tell me Amelia. What is your goal here?" he asked, frankly.

"Beyond flirting?" She smiled and winked, emptying the purple glass. Another momentary glance at the pink glass, and a bit lip.

Vlimar smiled. He stood and faced her, raising his glass with his left hand. Slowly, with his right hand, he reached inside her jacket, entering through the minuscule pocket opening. Inside, a larger pocket was felt and Vlimar slowly retrieved the flask from her inside pocket. He slowly deposited the flask into her hand, as he approached his lips from her ear, muttering: "You are full of secrets, aren't you..."

Amelia's jaw dropped open as she realized where his hand had slipped. She hardly noticed the flask in hand, but the words that brushed her ears from his lips made her lose a little color. She looked around quickly, trying to see if anyone else had noticed, but it appeared everyone else was involved enough they weren't paying them any mind.

"You're quite a bold one," she finally managed to spit out. Trying to hide the shock, and how the violation of her privacy felt, she quickly tucked away the flask again, then moved close to lean towards his ear. "And I'll thank you to not pursue that particular secret." She suddenly wished she had a weapon on her, but she hadn't picked up her mother's paranoia and all her toys were back in her quarters.

Vlimar smiled. "Of course... our secret," he replied in her ear. "Shall I go ahead and seek all your secrets?" he added, while returning to his original place, grabbing his drink and taking a sip, while looking at her.

His question made her flush, a feat to do, and she couldn't decide what to think of it. Part of her hated it, and in turn the man who posed it to her... but then, there was a thrill of someone who could keep up. She glanced at the pink drink again, then pulled the flask out with a sigh. He already knew, no one else was paying attention, and the Romulan Ale made the drink. In went the tasty blue contraband into the drink, and away went the flask again.

Vlimar grinned with satisfaction, as he returned facing his drink. He slowly brought the glass to his lips and asked: "Now, tell me. Who's who here..." prior from taking a slow sip, without looking at her.

"You didn't do your homework before the party?" she challenged him, turning to lean her back against the bar and look out at the dance floor. She held the purple filled glass near her lips but didn't drink. She could tell she was going to need her wits sharp, and even with the Klingon in her, the Romulan Ale could pack a punch if she wasn't careful.

Vlimar laughed a little, then nodded, taking another sip. "You got me there..." he answered. "Besides, I prefer genuinely meeting someone, over stalking them and knowing more about them than they probably know about themselves..." he added, obvious aimed at Amelia intel gathering mission she was undertaking.

She giggled and leaned closer. "If I'd done my homework, you wouldn't have been able to get your hand in my pocket without me turning it off first. Honestly, I was trusting security could do its job, and it was only because you made the Captain a little worried as an unfamiliar face arriving late that I did anything other than ask for a dance." She gestured at the dance floor with her drink, then took a sip.

Vlimar nodded, smiled and offered his hand. "Shall we?" he asked, taking her up at her word.

Amelia considered a long moment, before quickly emptying her glass to leave on the bar, and laying her hand in his.

Vlimar lead Amelia into the dance floor, eying the room around them. As the band was in the middle of the set, he grabbed Amelia and made her spin immediately.

Amelia laughed out loud as she was spun, and once again internally cursed at forgetting to kick off her high heels. She should have learned the lesson with Dani, but nope. Now she was in the arms of a near stranger, and he was looking like he was going to cut quite a rug.

Vlimar smiled as the band finished his set. He clapped at the band in a very polite way, then smiled at Amelia. "Now, I need to go and make an appearance to the CO... Don't get lost, I will be back..." he said, looking around for someone with four pips on its collar and a newly found ego.

"I'm not the one who'll get lost. I set this shindig up," Amelia insisted, slipping her arm into Vlimar's. "You, on the other hand, don't know who the Captain is and I do." Amelia looked for Rochelle, and spotted her holding court near the far window. She lead the way towards her.

In its near mirror finish, Rochelle could see the approaching storm of Amelia and the handsome Commander dappled by the rain clinging to the window. She sighed as she excused herself from yet another gaggle of well wishers, promised she'd look them up the next time she was on Earth after the war finally sputtered and drew the centering breath she knew she'd need. The tall, willowy redhead she called a friend had obviously had a couple and the man who had become her arm candy had trouble written across his dapper brow. Still she offered a smile as she gingerly pivoted to meet their advance, refusing to give up her favored vantage point of the city wrestling with life below. "I see you've made a new friend." She greeted Amelia with a smile, the delicate nature of her face alight with the tease she offered on a silver platter.

"Friend, enigma, something interesting," Amelia dismissed with a grin. "He answers to the name Vlimar. Commander PontBrillant, may I have the pleasure of introducing you to Captain Rochelle Ivanova?"

Vlimar smiled to both comments, obviously enjoying the interaction between the two women. Vlimar, as Amelia introduced him, extended his hand. "It is nice to meet you, madam," he stated. "Congratulations on your new promotion," he added.

She chuckled lightly at her friend's antics as she bowed her head ever so slightly to the Commander and slipped her hand within his, "The pleasure, I assure you, is all mine, Commander. Thank you." Oh the song bird remained a charmer, so prim, so proper... So polite. She deigned to become the epitome of a Captain, standing, shining in all her grace and power -- not unlike Andrea had done before her. It suited her, gave her a facade by which to hide the heartache and the savagery that catered to her spirit hand in hand. "What brings you to the Vindicator aside from the charms of one of our finest officers?"

Vlimar smiled at the comment, as he shook her hand gently. "The charm of the Vindi has an effect on me since the beginning of my career. It was, actually, my first posting," he said. "And, besides, I must say the charm must run in the family, as your charm is quite remarkable as well," he added, politely, borderline flirty, but respectful.

A demure gaze followed a shake of her head and her hand slowly escaped his. "Flattery will get you everywhere in life, Commander." Rochelle smiled, brushing a wayward strand of hair from her eyes. "Charm, however, will get you into the Command chair."

Vlimar smiled with all his teeth. "Well, if I may be candid, I've sat on the chair for many years... And, although comfortable, I have little intentions of returning to it," he replied. Somehow, Vlimar now doubted if Rochelle knew about him, at all. "Besides, I am sure you look quite a bit more appealing on that chair than I ever will..." he added, mixing, again, compliment and flirt.

A slender sanguine eyebrow lifted at his words, "PontBrillant?" She asked, tipping her head ever so slightly to one side, "Je vous connais." (I know you) Her lips wrapped around the foreign words, acknowledging him and what she'd read of his history. Rochelle offered him a smile of her own in return, thoroughly enjoying the beginning of a mental joust between the old regime and the new that he and she each represented in Vindicator history. "Some have said as much, but there you go with flattery again. Surely you've learned new tricks over the years?" She countered, folding her hands neatly in front of her.

Vlimar smiled as he heard his native tongue spoken with such a lovely accent. He nodded at her last question, while giving a quick glare at Amelia. "Les années m'ont été très bonnes, je dois l'avouer..." (The years have been good to me, I must confess) he said, smiling. "Many have probably said the same, but acted differently. Let me assure you, your chair is the last thing I would want from you..." he added, obviously intending the double meaning.

Amelia raised an eyebrow as she released her hold on his arm. The words provided by the universal translator didn't match the look he directed at her, and she certainly hadn't done anything to deserve such a withering gaze. A thought occurred to her, and a snort of amusement slipped out.

"Perhaps monsieur le pew would like me to leave him to his futile pursuits," Amelia quipped, taking half a step as if to leave.

Vlimar firmly grabbed her hand and tugged her close to him. He smiled at Amelia. "Vous n'allez nulle part." (You are going nowhere.)

"Le meilleur d'entre eux sont encore à venire." (The best are yet to come) The delicate one all but purred in the man’s native tongue, the language like a fine mulled wine. Her own eyes followed his playful glare towards Amelia, briefly looking at the woman’s face and back to the man. "Je promets." (I promise) Rochelle offered with a wink of her own, "I'm not concerned about my seat, Commander. Better have tried to unseat me, none have succeeded." Her cool nature graced his wit with her own, dueling so easily and freely until a flash of white caught her attention from the corner of her eye. "I, unfortunately, have more rounds to make to be sure our brass fitted guests are happy. Both Admiral Archers are afoot, and they require careful handling."

Vlimar looked at Rochelle, adopting a sarcastically insulted smile. "Better?" he replied. "You judge me so poorly on my flirting abilities, madam?" he continued. He then nodded at the Admiral's presence, which Vlimar knew personally, but didn't want to start going nagging with the good old times and the latter. Besides, the presence of Amelia was ten thousand times better than any admiral's. "Have a great evening, madam, and congratulations again," he said.

"I welcome you to try and prove otherwise, Commander." Rochelle's laughter was a rarity, but it rang soft as bells as she shook her head and stepped away from them, passing a knowing glance to Amelia. "I'll trust you'll do the same. Thank you, again." And with that, the delicate little song bird took to flight, bowing out gracefully.

Vlimar looked at Amelia from the corner of his eyes. "What do you think?" he asked, obviously talking about his initial interaction with the Captain.

When Vlimar had grabbed Amelia's hand and pulled her back to him, a flurry of emotions tumbled through her head and settled somewhere lower. She felt a little color rise in her cheeks, and stayed exactly where he'd pulled her as if glued to the spot. She'd wanted his attention, but she hadn't expected it to be so forceful, yet casual, in its delivery.

"I'm surprised there wasn't a stripe of fresh white paint down the back of her gorgeous black dress," she answered, not ready to admit he'd found such an effective trigger in her.

Vlimar smiled softly to Amelia. "But, I am ze locksmith of love, no?" he said, imitating the Pépé Le Pew accent. He laughed.

She giggled. His recognition of the reference, and the teasing reply, grounding her again. "Then who am I to stand in your way?" She returned with a quick glance around. She met eyes with her father across the room, and quickly brought her gaze back to Vlimar. "And unless you'd like your locksmithy dampened by small talk with my father, the Admiral, you may want to return to your futile pursuit for a bit." She leaned close, laying a hand on the back of his neck as she whispered in his ear, "Find my quarters after the party."

A quick kiss on his cheek punctuated her suggestion as she pulled away. She made sure her departure was swift enough this time he wouldn't stop her, and headed straight to the bar for a glass of water.

Vlimar looked at the woman leave him in the middle of a crowd of Admirals and Ambassadors. He couldn't help but to laugh a little, then headed for the bar, with intent, this time, of being discrete and enjoy a good Old Fashioned.

-=- END LOG -=-

Captain Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS Vindicator

Commander Vlimar PontBrillant
Chief of Operations
USS Vindicator

Lt Commander Amelia Waterhouse
Infiltration Specialist
USS Vindicator

 

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