Something Going On

Posted on Thu Dec 13th, 2018 @ 10:01am by Chief Petty Officer Leslie Calhoun & Staff Warrant Officer Jennifer Masters - Calhoun
Edited on on Thu Dec 13th, 2018 @ 10:06am

1,767 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 5 - It Would Be Their Pleasure
Location: Shuttle Holiday in the rings of Casperia
Timeline: MD008 1300 hrs

Jennifer walked through the hallway to the shuttle bay. She had made a picnic basket. She had put on sweatpants, shirt and trainer. She didn't had that much casual wear. Maybe she should take Dana shopping, she probably knew more about fashion than she did. In anyway she didn't want to come in her uniform for this one.

She walked in to the bay. "Billy?" She called looking around. "I got us a picnic." she added.

"Top notch my dear, top notch..." Billy said as he popped his head out of the Holiday. "So where would you like to go down to the planet, stay here or go picnic among the stars?" He spoke as he hurried to embrace her. The old man was falling for her and he knew it.

Jenn sighed almost satisfied when he held her in his arms. "Well that picnic in the stars sounds great. I would love some alone time with you." She smiled. "We could go down to the planet after. Lieutenant Wakefield got a beach house. She invited us over."

"Sounds great! In that case your chariot awaits." He motioned for her to board the Holiday. "I already have been granted clearance to use the shuttle. I figure we can launch and park among the rings. It should be pretty."

"You're pilot of the day," She said winking. She brought the picnic basket in to the shuttle and put it down and then took the seat next to him. "Let's go."

Billy cleared for launch with the bridge and off they went. He navigated the shuttle into a geosynchronous orbit around the planet. He successfully found a spot where not only could they see the stars and the rings in all their beauty but off the port side they could see the Pioneer in all her beauty as well. It was quite the spot. "Well my dear here we are. What do we have for lunch?"

"oh eh.." She opened the basked. "Chicken sandwiches, tuna salad, grilled cheese sandwiches. It was the best I could whip up in a short time." She smiled.

"Sounds perfect. It is great to be back from those ordeals. Great to be here with you. Here come take a look at the scenery." Billy said as he motioned for her to come and cuddle with him under the stars.

Jenn moved to Billy and sat down next to him. She looked up and looked around at the view. She gasped and said, "Breathtaking." She looked to Billy. "Love it."

The Pioneer orbited the planet just above the rings. The ice crystals in the rings caused an interesting reflection. From the angle that they were Billy and Jenn could see the whole ship including the ventral. "She dances around the planet like a lady." Billy said as he motioned toward the ship, he was quite taken with the way an Intrepid looked in space. "Have you ever wondered why ship's are given the female identity."

"Not really," She leaned against his chest. "But you will tell me right?" She gave him a warm smile.

"Of course..." Billy said feeling sheepish and a little embarrassed that he came across as a know it all. "...On ancient Earth it was considered bad luck to bring a woman on a boat. It was also said that a Captain was married to the sea. So for those reasons Captains would oft get lonely, so they gave their boat a woman's identity. It became the only woman in their lives. My guess is the tradition continued more out of tradition than anything else. Our lady up there certainly is a beauty."

Jenn looked up to the Pioneer and nodded. "That she is," She whispered. She remembered seeing the other Pioneer. Suddenly she said, "You have been a father, haven't you, Billy?" She turned to him. And sighed. Her other self had children. She couldn't help but think what would have happened to them.

"I have five children that I am aware of. Two sons and three daughters. I hope to one day have some more. How about you? Do you want to have any children?" Billy was curious of two things. The first being where Jen was going with this and the second was actually if she wanted to become a mom.

"I had...I mean the other me had children. I had the opportunity to spend some time with them." Jenn sighed. "Mostly because we didn't want to upset them thinking their mother was gone. They're either dead or worse and somehow that does something to me. I never really thought about it. Until faith gave me 2 and then took them away. I just don't know if I am good enough to be a mother. I have a wild and turbulent life and I am not sure if the Pioneer is the best place to have children."

Billy sighed deeply a little out of contentment, and a little out of discontent with what Jen was saying. "In terms of the Pioneer, that is home so of course it will be a great place to raise children. I mean are there threats and dangers sure. But there those exist just about anywhere. Once more the old adage states that it takes a village. So I ask you is there a bigger village then the crew of a Starship. As for you... You will be an excellent mom and believe when I speak I am an expert." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

She nodded. "You are right of course. It's just that, I am very tainted by what I saw in the other universe. I couldn't save those children. I couldn't save anyone on that other Pioneer. The people were real, almost everything looked the same. Some familiar faces, and watching those faces being assimilated. I didn't see exactly what happened to those children, I can only imagine and I have nightmares about it. I never encountered the Borg before. And I don't know why I would remember everything so vividly. I remember when I was there I had memories of my counter part, but those memories are gone. I wish I could forget everything else too. It was horrible." She put her hands on her face but couldn't stop the tears.

Billy embraced her in a bear hug, and kissed her softly on the forehead. It was all he knew to do to stop the tears. "You couldn't save them because they were saving you. They made a choice, one that every Starfleet officer has to make at some point. That choice is to put the greater good before yourself. It is something that I believe each of us would do if the situation called for it. Take comfort in the knowledge that here the Borg are no longer a threat. Here you can have a family who cares deeply for you, and you for them. Here is where we can be together.

Jenn smiled. "I guess your right. It would take me a while though to let that sink in." She leaned against him and sighed. "Let's try to move on. I want to be here and now, with you."

Billy wrapped his arms around her, it was one part comforting and the other part awkward. It had been quite some time since he had held a woman. He let the silence linger as he simply basked in the her presence. The warmth of her body pressed against him reminded him that he did not have to be alone in the universe despite the length of his life.

She sighed again. "So do you want to talk now or should we go eat something now?" She asked, feeling very content.

He chuckled, "I could eat.." He replied as the sound of the words broke the trance like state that he was in.

She took a chicken sandwich and held it up. "Here you go! Or did you want me to feed you as well?" She said teasing with a smirk on her face.

"Well if you would like to feed me, one does like being treated like a king. But I think I am old enough to feed myself." Billy returned the teasing. He took a few bites as he was lost in thought. Masters centered the old man, made him feel younger and yet wiser. "You know one finds love in the oddest of places." He wanted to say I love you, but he thought he better test the waters first.

Jenn looked to him smiled as she put her hand on his cheek. "Like on a federation starship in an intelligence lab?" She asked wondering where he was going with this.

He squared his jaw Leslie Calhoun was a lot of things but a romantic he was not, he always felt like he was being wedged into the smallest of spaces when he had to be romantic. He turned his head, looked at her and smiled as he kissed her hand. "Quite right, there of all the places." That was the closest he could come to saying I love you.

She smiled as she moved forward tilting her head a little before pressing her lips on his.

The kiss caught him off guard but it was not unwelcome. Billy returned it in kind, and as he kissed her his passions came flooding out of him. He pulled her close to him and the two intertwined. He knew he loved her, and that was perhaps the greatest compliment he could give her. There were not many people that he did love. Once more he knew that he wanted her, now he had to make his move and see if she wanted him too. Without breaking the kiss Billy carefully guided her to the floor of the shuttle.

Jenn held on to him as he slowly guided to the floor. She let him. All she knew in that moment was that she felt save and comfortable with him. And the return of his kiss made her long for him.

Shuttle Holiday loomed in orbit synchronized with the rings of Casperia Prime. Most people ventured to the planet's surface to find love and fun. Little did they know that high above them love could be found in the stars.

A Joint Post By

Warrant Officer Jennifer Masters
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer

Senior Chief Petty Officer Leslie Calhoun
Data Systems Analyst, USS Pioneer

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