[backlog] JL | Com Ivanova, Com Levine, PhD. - CO, Academy Professor | "Keep The Light On" pt 1
Posted on Tue Aug 8th, 2017 @ 4:12am by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commodore Andrea Levine PhD
1,798 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission: Ballynamony
Morning had crested, with it came yet another day marked off the calendar and a promise of freedom once more. It spoke of the fingers of velvety darkness that the ship yearned for, that she yearned for - and pathways marked by starlight and starlight alone. It called to her, beckoning her like a lover, with the hushed whispers of temptation and laughter. Rochelle couldn't help but follow the piper with near reckless abandon. So much had transpired over the last couple years, and most of it should have frightened her beyond belief... It should have made her feel for her mortal soul, but instead it encouraged her, spurred her onward towards a fate that seemed star crossed at the very least. No longer was she the wild child that had been birthed into Starfleet by the whims of a father that watched from afar, and on the behest of the memory of a mother that had vanished. No longer was she the foolhardy girl that risked life and limb, carelessly at best, simply because her heart drove her to commit to its passion. Before the starshine, before the silvery blue light of the waking Earth, stood the woman few had ever dreamed such a rapscallion could have become. The Vindicator's launch had been secured, the last tour of the brand new class was running as she waited from the privacy of the bridge, and now the countdown was on until she once more tasted that sweet addiction; open space and the scores she knew she'd need to settle once she returned to it.
---
"We should have brought the other bag." Anne pointed to her mother and turned on her heels, not waiting for a response, walking out of the shuttle bay and towards the hallway as if she owned the place. Her mother, following along with an inner sigh, ignored the implied "I told you so" and the impatience that oozed from her teenage daughter's skin like a bad odor no one actually knew what to do with.
"Turn that way. It's right there," The girl continued, and her mother followed tentatively, nodding at an officer that passed by. "Actually, we should go towards the bridge, A--" She attempted, but her daughter shrugged and pointed towards the hallway, marching with intent, her large pet rat, Schlompi, trailing behind her like a body guard. "I know. It's right there."
It wasn't, and Andrea knew it. All ships, large or small or new or old had certain indicators - certain magic traits - that a trained eye could spot and tell where they most likely led. As it were, this particular hallway, devoid of people and filled with closed utility doors, was most likely leading towards Engineering. Or waste control. Definitely not the bridge. They turned the corner, and Andrea, electing against initiating a teenage-induced argument, gave up pointing out the obvious, and instead stopped mid-stride, waiting for her daughter to reach the end of the hall and realize it was a dead end. A dead end, leading to -- you guessed it -- waste control unit #11.
Anne reached it, stared at the sign as if it was an unknown alien that just demanded to kidnap her to be its queen -- and turned around. "I knew it was the other turn. Come on, mom!"
Andrea nodded, hiding a smile, and followed, hoping the next turn would make more sense in their quest to reach their destination. Hopefully, keeping the element of surprise alive enough to make a proper friendly-but-a-little-embarrassing entrance to greet her friend where she reigned supreme.
As providence would have it, their trip would loop around in two circles before winding up in the right place to find that aforementioned friend.
Rochelle wasn't completely immune to the sound of the bridge doors hissing open - but it was to be expected with the constant ebb and flow of workers and crew humming and flitting about. She heard it on the edge of her hearing, but chose to continue studying the spacedock framed patch of star shine. An imperceptible shift of her hips brought her weight onto one foot and her arms folded in front of her chest in a subconscious display of her impatience.
All of it was brought to a halt by the sound of what could only be described as a barking squeak. She paused in her thoughts, her eyebrows furrowing before one of them finally hiked high in suspicious questioning. It was a sound she'd heard before... Hundreds upon thousands of times to be exact, but one she hand't heard in a couple years. In fact, Javaan hadn't even been a thought the last time she'd heard such a raucous noise. "Schlompi." She all but whispered, honestly wondering if it was symptom one of having a stroke, as she turned around to come face to face with an incredible sight. Rochelle blinked twice, her eyes as wide as the smile that plastered itself across her previously pensive features. Schlompi indeed, but the giant rat had brought with him a pair of friends that always set Rochelle's mood alight. "Andrea! Anne! Holy Hell... Anne..." Surprise lit the bell tones of her voice, both at their appearance and the fact the girl had grown so much since the last time she'd seen her, "You're taller than I am. That's not fair."
"Rochelle!" The girl squeaked and ran, wrapping her arms around Rochelle's figure with a tight embrace, "See? I told you it was this way!" she blurted to her mother as Schlompi ran in frantic circles, trying to find his way in. Andrea chuckled and shook her head. "Well, we're here," she winked at Rochelle with a knowing, and somewhat tired, look and walked forward, dropping the small bag on the floor. Anne took it as an affirmation, and turned to pick up Schlompi, who barked excitedly and tried to jump onto Rochelle's lap. Andrea blocked his way casually -- clearly a practiced movement -- and extended her arms to give Rochelle a similarly warm but less restrictive hug.
"She's growing up, alright," she muttered into the smaller woman's ear with a chuckle. "Soon she'll outgrow us both."
Hugging the younger of the two blondes tight, Rochelle beamed brightly in spite of being constricted almost to the point of pain by the teenager's arms, "Jesus, I missed you guys so much!" She admonished, tussling Anne's wheat-hued locks with affection. Schlompi's leaping only served to add to her sense of merriment, and while Andrea blocked in favor of offering a hug of her own, Rochelle found herself reaching to tickle the springy rat's nose as she returned the favor, embracing her for a time before releasing and clasping her dearest friend by the shoulders. "You look great. Better than great. You'll have to tell me your secret." She chuckled, finally pausing to catch Schlompi mid-jump to give the wee beastie a hug of his own, letting him cradle in the crook of her arm. The crew, having seldom seen their Skipper in a fit of such churlish glee, watched with avid amusement and surprise - Rochelle couldn't have cared less what they thought or what they saw at that moment in time. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
"Time travel," Andrea mused with a smile, and turned to wrap her other arm around her daughter's waist, ignoring Schlompi's attempt to excitedly lick whatever piece of exposed skin it could find. "We were going to ask you the same thing. We brought you something."
"Right!" Anne jumped, her smile widening, as if she just remembered the bag on the floor was filled with pure latinum. She shoved Schlompi into her mother's arms and bent to grab the bag and present it to Rochelle like a trophy. "We bear gifts!"
"Maybe we could sit and catch up in your office," Andrea smirked, noticing the expressions on the bridge crew's faces with amusement. "Come on, Anne, she can open your gift in there," she patted the teen lightly on her back, guiding her towards the Captain's ready room.
Anne snickered and walked towards the room, pulling Rochelle along excitedly. "Right, mom said we should only embarrass you a little in public." And Andrea, shaking her head in amused dismay, followed along.
"Great minds." Rochelle nodded happily as she accepted the bag Anne held out in front of her like a prize. It was a prize, in a way, it came from them and whatever that bag contained was precious as far as she was concerned. "You guys know you don't have to do that..." Her protests, however, wouldn't go very far with the chirpy teenager towing her along by her hand as if dancing away with a daisy chain around a May pole. Her excitement was contagious, bubbling over and infecting the little redhead with a sense of glee that usually was usually smothered and hidden away by the stress of being the Captain of a Starfleet vessel. "Who's embarrassed?" Anne would never see the quick look she passed Andrea as they hopped up the risers towards the ready room and disappeared within its confines.
---
"Tea? Lemonade? Coke?" Standing in front of the replicator, Rochelle was still buzzing with the joy their visit brought. In fact, it was still difficult to contain herself, but somehow her composure won... For the most part. She was still grinning like an idiot. So much so, in fact, that her cheeks were beginning to hurt as she set a dish of strawberry milkshake on the floor as a special treat for Schlompi while waiting for their orders. "I still can't believe you two are actually here. I keep expecting to wake up and it's back to work or something just as mundane."
"Coffee," Anne picked Schlompi up, and then rose, her eyes catching her mother's disapproval. "What? For you. I want tea. With sugar. Lots of sugar." She grinned at her mother, daring her to say no in public. Andrea didn't bite, but it was an internal struggle. Everything seemed to be nowadays, with a headstrong teenager pretending to be an adult and carrying her entire environment by storm.
Well, at least that was her rebellious stage, Andrea mused quietly, and nodded at Rochelle with the tiniest of shrugs. It could have been worse; and from her experience as a Professor for late-stage teens - it could have been
a lot worse. That thought made her look at Anne again, confidence and pride creeping up her spine and filling her eyes. It would have never been worse, she knew. No matter what. Ever.
---
To Be Continued...
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Commodore Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS Vindicator
Commodore Andrea Levine, PhD
Dean, School of Science
Starfleet Academy
Anne Levine-Planck
(apb mooeypoo)
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