Topic: Star Trek: The Scales of Eternity
Subject: The recurring dream
Stardate Undetermined
USS Peregrine; Deck 5, The Aerie
“You are staring again,” Asovil admonished, the blue skin of her cheeks flushing to a deeper shade as her sapphire eyes dipped to the scarcely touched plate before her.
“I’m sorry,” Tochi purred, his hand propping up his chin above his similarly untouched plate as he gazed, utterly infatuated, across the table at her, “You’re just so beautiful and I’ve come to look very forward to these times together over the past few weeks. I’m not sure that I can resist kissing you for much longer.”
“I’m not sure that that is entirely appropriate, Commander,” she tittered, her gaze flicking nervously about the sea of undefined faces that surrounded them. She didn’t look up so much as she peered at him from beneath her perfectly sculpted silver brows as she demurred: “There are so many people watching. What might they say? What might the Captain say if he hears…”
Sighing softly, Tochi reached across the table and brushed a stray shock of her hair back behind her ear. “I honestly don’t give a damn what any of them might think or say,” he assured her, his fingers tracing delicately along her cheek and then her jaw as he reluctantly… slowly... withdrew his hand, “I’ve been watching those lips for weeks, Asovil, and if I could taste them just once, I’m sure I could die a happy man.”
“Stop!” the Andorian beauty breathed, the apples of her cheeks darkening enough to almost match the hue of her eyes which, in her embarrassment, had fallen to regard the featureless surface of the table. “I don’t… I… don’t…know if...”
“If you want me to kiss you,” Tochi veritably purred the query, reaching across the table, again, to place his fingers tenderly beneath her chin and coax her face up so that he might look into her eyes.
“No,” she whispered, her breath hitching, “I do… want you to, I mean… but… here?”
He was sure he could feel the thudding of her heart against the cool tips of his fingers where the met the graceful curve of her neck and he knew he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself much longer. “Here,” he whispered, leaning purposely closer, “In the corridor outside. In your quarters or mine. I don’t care. I’m going to kiss you very soon, Lieutenant, and if you want to stop me, I’m afraid you’re going to have to stun or kill me… and I don’t see a phaser anywhere within reach.”
“Oh…” Her breath shuddered past her lips and, perhaps involuntarily, the tip of her tongue danced over them in the wake of that breath. “...Ummm…”
Suddenly, both of Tochi’s hands had her face cupped between them and he had risen from his seat, leaned across the table, and pressed his lips to hers. It was a gentle, tender kiss, to begin with, but, as she overcame her initial shock and began to reciprocate, it became almost hungry… and most definitely passionate. Both Tochi and Asovil’s eyes had been goaded shut as their lips met and, as the kiss deepened and their tongues began dancing with one another, a soft moan escaped one or both of them.
When the weight of Asovil’s face diminished between his hands, though, Tochi couldn’t help but let his eyelids lose their weight, too, and, as his eyes came open he watched in abject horror as she disintegrated; turning to motes of drifting motes of blue-black dust that settled in a thick layer on his fingers and lips.
“No,” he choked, desperately trying to reform that dust into the beautiful blushing blue face he so longed to see, “NO! Please…PLEASE...”
Stardate 2365.05.15
USS Peregrine; Deck 2, LtCmdr Zai’s quarters - 0337
“Noooo!”
He woke screaming, his heart pounding in his chest and soaked in a cold sweat. In the frantic moments it took Tochi to realize that the dream was just that, he had thrown himself from the bed, clutched at his pounding heart with one hand and found himself staring in disbelief at the other, the taste of ash thick on his tongue.
“F***,” he chuffed, foregoing the less offensive Trill version of the expletive in favor of the weightier Terran English translation. The one hand remained at his chest, trying to steady the racing rhythm of his heart, while the other went to his face to swab away the tears that had streamed down his cheeks and, futily, tried to scrub the taste of ash from his mouth. “F***,” he repeated, his knees threatening to buckle beneath him as he staggered toward the bathroom adjoining his sleeping chamber.
He propped himself up over the sink and, for a long moment, fighting the urge to throw up. Once he managed to slow his heart rate, he spit into the sink to rid himself of the bitter ashen taste that yet lingered there, and slowly, lifted his gaze to study the reflection that stared back at him from the narrow rectangular mirror. His red-rimmed eyes were underscored with dark circles and cold beads of sweat still streaked along his temples. This has got to stop, he told himself, It’s been months, now, of the same nightmare! We’ve got to get a hold of ourself… She’s gone… That’s not going to change…
“She’s gone,” he muttered aloud, lifting a hand to press his eyeballs into his skull and pinch at the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stifle the sob that threatened to break free of his chest. “F***!”
Spitting the taste of ash from his mouth, again, Tochi cranked the cold water tap open and splashed his face several times before shutting off the tap and toweling off the excess moisture. “Computer,” he called, both hands gripping the edge of the counter to keep him propped over the sink, “Time?”
=/= The time is Oh-Three Hundred hours and forty-three minutes.=/=
“Current status of the holodeck and gymnasium?” He pressed.
=/=The Holodeck is currently unoccupied,=/= The computer’s synthesized voice answered. =/=Occupancy of the gymnasium is negligible.=/=
“Reserve us a slot on the holodeck from 0400 to 0530,” Tochi ordered, then, pushing away from the sink and padding back into his bedroom, “Select a program from catalogue Zai Delta Seven; difficulty level, challenging.”
=/=Holodeck confirms, reserved for Lieutenant Commander Zai from Zero-Four-Hundred to Zero-Five-Thirty. Program selection pending.=/=
The Trill nodded as he stripped down, redressed in his PT gear, then gathered up his rapier and the rest of his fencing kit. Moments later, his gear stowed in a duffel slung over one shoulder, Tochi emerged from his quarters and made his way toward Deck Five in hopes of alleviating some aggression before too much of the day crew awakened to take on the new day.
Posted on 2021-02-12 at 13:21:22.
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Topic: Star Trek: The Scales of Eternity
Subject: She Talks to Angels (a Meri and Eol collab... how long's it been since ya saw one of those?)
Stardate 2365.05.14
USS Peregrine; Bridge - 1445
The door of the turbolift didn’t so much shoosh open as stutter and SCPO Matthews had to hop rather than step from the lift onto the deck of the bridge in order to not get pinched by the glitching door. “Faelirh ch'susse-thrai,” she swore under her breath, casting a narrow-eyed glare back at the thing, “I thought they’d fixed that damn thing!” She made a mental note to contact Engineering to let them know that the lift glitches hadn’t been resolved as completely as they might have thought. Then, straightening her jacket and offering a respectful nod to the Captain, she strode purposefully toward the helm.
“Good afternoon, Commander,” she said as Tochi turned his eyes her way, “I stand ready to relieve you at the CONN, sir.”
“Good afternoon, Senior Chief,” the Trill replied from behind a cordial smile, “We hope you’re prepared for a thrilling shift of watching the stars streak by.” He gestured at the viewscreen, indicating the warped starfield there.
“Nothing I’d enjoy more, sir,” Lana returned, a faint smile playing on her lips as she glanced, first, at the indicated viewer and, then, at the CONN to check the nav display and engine status readouts.
“We’re en route to the Calican system,” Commander Zai informed her, “Warpfield, engines, and course are five by five. Aside from that, there’s little else to report, here.How are things on the flight deck?”
“Five by five there, as well, sir,” she answered, “The Bees are being primed for deployment and the Eights are on stand-by should they be necessary.”
“Excellent,” Tochi nodded, his fingers evoking a series of beeps from the console as he input her codes, “We suppose there’s nothing left to do, then, but put the helm in your hands and call it a shift.
She’s all yours, Mister Matthews,” the Trill rose from the seat and motioned for her to take his place, “Steady as she goes.”
“Aye, sir,” Lana grinned as she settled into place and set about configuring the consoles to her preference, “Steady as she goes it is.”
“Have a good shift,” he said, turning to make his way to the turbolift.
“I’ll do my best, sir,” she replied, “Enjoy your evening.”
Tochi had almost reached the lift when Lana remembered something else that she had intended to tell him. “Oh… Commander Zai?” she called to his back, prompting him to stop in his tracks and turn to face her, again, one brow raised inquisitively, “Commander Kennedy was in Bay Two, this morning, and spent a decent amount of time aboard the Angel.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, sir. I didn’t think you’d mind, so I left her to it, but I figured you should know.”
Tochi smiled and nodded appreciatively; “Good to know. Thank you, Lana.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” she replied and, with that, returned her attention to the CONN as Commander Zai turned on his heel and continued on his way.
“Deck Five,” Tochi said as the turbolift door closed smoothly behind him.
=/= Deck Five.=/= The computer chirped in acknowledgment and set the lift in motion.
So, the new CEO has discovered the Angel, Tochi mused, I wonder what she thought of her.
USS Peregrine; Deck 5; The Aerie - 1510
As the doors opened to admit Commander Zai to The Aerie, Leah Finnley let out an audible squeak and scampered out from behind the bar. “Tochi!!!” she squealed, practically running across the floor to greet the Trill with a warm embrace; “It’s so good ta see ya, luv!”
On the other side of the bar another had noted the entrance of the XO, and kept him under the gaze of her hazel eyes as he spoke to the barmaid.
“Hello, Leah,” Tochi chuckled, his spots going slightly purple at the woman’s unbridled display of affection. His arms went around her, though, and he returned the hug. “It’s good to see you, too,” he said, “We’ve been in a few times but it’s always been Natasha behind the bar; I was beginning to wonder if you were avoiding us.”
“Oh stop,” she giggled, playfully swatting at him as she let go of the embrace, “You know I’d never!”
Her smile and her voice softened a bit when she noticed his gaze tick, briefly, toward that table and she reached out to touch one of his cold hands; “How are ya, Tochi-luv,” she queried, “I know it’s gotta’ve been hard given circumstances and all.”
The Trill offered a faint shake of his head and a genial smile. “I’m managing,” he answered, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, “It’s not something I’m quite ready to talk about, just yet, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Leah nodded understandingly and led him toward the bar, “When ya are, though, ya know I’ve always an ear for ya?”
“We do,” he smiled as her hand let go of his and she slipped back around to the business side of the counter, “and I appreciate it.”
“So,” she beamed, clapping her hands by way of dismissing that particular subject, “What’s it gonna be for ya, today, Toch? Are we havin’ dinner or...?”
“Let’s start with a whiskey and see where it goes, hm?”
From her seat across the room Kennedy felt a little touched by the warm greeting the XO had received, however she maintained the stoic countenance she had perfected for many years. The commander was still dressed in her civilian attire and had taken over the bench seat under the large windows in the lounge. She sat with her arms draped over the back and her legs stretched out on the seat, crossed at the ankles. On the small table in front of her sat a glass filled with ice and a blue liquid, although it didn’t appear that she had touched it.
Leah had set him up with a healthy pour of her best Irish whiskey and moved on to tend other customers, leaving Tochi free to finally turn and survey the expanse of the lounge. It wasn’t wasn’t terribly busy but there was a smattering of clientele scattered about; faces both long familiar and relatively new. Leaning casually against the bar, he exchanged courteous nods of greeting with several of the more familiar crew members as well as with a few of the newer ones. When he lifted his glass to his lips to take the first sip of his drink, he saw Commander Kennedy stretched out on a bench in front of one of the observation ports, her hand raised in greeting, at first, then a gesture of invitation to join her at her table. A cordial smile touched his lips as he pushed away from the bar and made his way across the floor to where she lounged beneath the window.
“Good afternoon, Callie,” the Trill grinned as he reached her table, “It is Callie, correct?” He hoped he was recalling her name properly. When he’d first introduced himself to the Engineering Chief on his round of meet and greets, he had only addressed her by her rank or surname.
“I answer to that.” She gave him a non-committal shrug.
“But it’s not your preference, we take it,” he inferred, setting his glass on the table and taking a seat, himself.
“You read my file…” another small shrug, “California. Eugene.” A sigh then, “It’s not like I have lots of great options here. Callie works. Kennedy is better.” She leaned forward and picked up her own glass, leaned back and simply swirled the liquid around the glass.
“Kennedy it is, then,” he acquiesced with a marginal nod, one hand falling to his drink and turning the glass slowly, “Feel free to call me Tochi, if you like.” He lifted the glass to his lips, then took a slow pull from it’s contents, and returned it to the table.
His green-gold eyes slid past her, taking in the view beyond the window for an instant, before they framed her face, again. “We understand you spent some time in Shuttlebay Two, this morning,” he grinned impishly, turning the glass between his fingers, again, “Find anything interesting?”
For the briefest moment a smile tried to tug at the corner of her mouth, but she quickly wiped it away. “Yeah…” she frowned and sighed. “Someone parked some space trash in there, taking up a lot of room.” Her own gaze shifted to the blue liquid she kept swirling, but not drinking, in the glass. “Should I have asked permission before poking around?”
“Maybe so,” he answered, his tone full of feigned indignance, “Especially if you’re going to refer to her as space trash.” He flicked her a playful wink, then, and chuckled as his finger chased a bead of condensation along the rim of his glass.
Finally Kennedy let her eyes fully meet his and spoke with pointed dryness. “She’s incredible.” She licked her lips momentarily and then continued. “It doesn’t look like you’ve done much with her since…” she let that trail off. “What are your intentions towards her?”
“Thank you,” he said, reclining in his seat a bit and taking his glass with him. He tipped it to his lips, again, and sighed softly as it came away. “There’s not been much time to work on her... since then,” he admitted, gazing into the amber depths of his drink, “We’re hoping to find a few spare moments here and there to get back to it, though.” His eyes ticked to the warp-streaked vista beyond the window, again, before finding their way back to Kennedy’s and, when they did, his shoulders lifted in a scant shrug. “She’s spaceworthy, at any rate, so I suppose it’s just a matter of getting the remainder of her systems installed and tuned, then buttoning up the interior.”
“Well…” she sat up fully now, swinging her legs down as she set the glass down, a little too hard as the liquid sloshed out a little, she paid it no mind though. Instead she reached for the PADD she had stashed in the cushions on the bench and put it on the table, immediately flitting her fingers across the front to open up her notes. “Not quite… see I noticed that you have the intake vents set up for atmospheric and interstellar travel, but the blast shields on the starboard side are installed wrong, you’re going to burn a hole in the side of the ship as soon as you try reentry into an atmosphere. And… you see here…” she starts tapping away at the PADD again and then stops. She flushes a little bit and raises her eyes up to him. “I’m getting ahead of myself.”
Biting her lip she sits back up and pulls her attention from the PADD. “Please let me work on her with you. I need something to do around here, and she’s… **** she’s what I need right now.” The look in her eyes is just short of love, for the ship, not the man across the table.
“Well, frill me running,” he huffed when she pointed out the mistake with the starboard blast shield, “How did I miss that?” He only caught a fleeting glimpse of her other notes before she stopped tapping away at the PADD but it seemed she had quite a list compiled.
His brows raised a bit at Kennedy’s impassioned plea to be allowed to work on the Aurora Angel, then, and he smiled brightly. “She has been without an engineer of your caliber since…” the smile faded slightly but didn’t truly disappear, “...since we lost Eric.” He tipped his glass, again, swallowed, and returned it to the table. “Given what we just saw of your notes, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have giving her some TLC.”
She caught the look in his eyes at the mention of Eric, and this was what she had been dreading, that perhaps those memories were still too painful. She had seen his file and knew the two had gone back a long time. I know I’m not Thorson… but please… As soon as he gave her a positive response though, she practically beamed with the brightest smile she’d put on since boarding this ship.
Leah appeared at the table, then, a bar-towel in one hand and a bottle of the Irish in the other. “Bless me if this don’t bring back some memories,” she smiled, wiping up Kennedy’s spill, “The fly-boy and the grease-monkey hoverin’ over ship schematics an’ makin’ a mess of my tables. Next thing ya know, the two of ya’ll be playin’ cards and spillin’ mead on my bloomin’ floors.”
Tochi blinked and a somewhat wistful expression wafted across his features as he turned his eyes to Leah and then to Kennedy. Huh, he mused, a soft chuckle escaping him as the familiarity of all of this actually struck him, I suppose that hadn’t occurred to me.
Kennedy laughed and shook her head. “Nah… I don’t like the commander, just his ship. Although I’ll do whatever I have to to work on it, except lose at cards…” she gave him a small wink.
“Don’t let your mouth spend credits that your ass can’t cash, there, Kennedy,” Tochi chuckled.
“Ya want another, Tochi-luv?” Leah grinned, draping the towel over her shoulder, now, and waggling the bottle she carried at him, “Yer lookin’ a wee bit low, there.”
“Sure,” the Trill nodded, sliding his glass closer to her, “We’ll have a top off. Thank you.”
“Always a pleasure,” Leah cooed, refilling his glass and then turning her gaze to Kennedy. “Anythin’ else for you, deary?”
“For me?” She shook her head. I think my head is swimming enough already. “No I’m good for now.” She glanced at the still mostly full glass. “Thanks though.”
“Right then,” Leah chirped, sauntering away, “I’ll leave the two of ya to it, then.”
She turned back to Tochi. “Cards later… right now you have issues with these conduits sitting too close to the propulsion system…” and she got the PADD lit back up as she let him gander over the copious notes she had taken earlier in the day. “I believe we are both off the duty roster tomorrow, if you don’t have other plans… sir.”
“Tochi,” he reiterated at the use of the word sir. That roguish grin pulled at his lips, again, and he lifted his refreshed glass, draining away half of its contents in a single pull, this time. Wincing at the burn of it in his throat, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and cradling the glass between both his hands as he looked over the notes she had pulled up on her PADD. “I believe we’re both off the duty roster, right now,” he grinned meaningfully, inclining his head vaguely in the direction of the Aerie’s doors, “Unless you’ve got something better to do with the rest of your evening?”
Kennedy grinned and stood up, grabbing her PADD and tucking it under her arm. “Not at all…” She turned to Leah then, “We’ll take one of those bottles to go if that’s alright…”
“What,” Leah called from behind the bar, her eyes twinkling mischievously as the settled on Tochi, “did that spotted scoundrel already polish off th’ last one he pilfered?”
The Trill’s spots flushed faintly purple, again, and he was chuckling as he got to his feet and polished off the dregs in his glass. “Only just cracked it open, Leah,” he assured her as he crossed the floor and returned his and Kennedy’s cups, “We’ll be alright.”
“Good on ya, then,” the barmaid winked, dragging the glasses from the counter and stowing them somewhere out of sight, “You kids go play an’ let Mother get her cleanin’ done.”
Tochi turned back to the engineer, then, and gestured toward the door. “Shake a tail feather, Eugene,” he teased, “we’ve got knuckles to scrape.”
“Yes SIR…” she glared at him as they passed through the door, although there was still a bit of a smile on her lips.
Posted on 2021-02-11 at 14:07:40.
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Topic: Star Trek: The Scales of Eternity
Subject: Calican: Tally-ho!
Stardate 2365.05.14
USS Peregrine, Bridge – 1020
“Captain Drake, I have an incoming transmission from Starfleet Command.”
“Onscreen, please, Mister Warren,” Drake requested
Tochi’s eyes lifted from the CONN, flitted to PO Warren at the OPS station, then to Silas before returning to the viewscreen. When Admiral Harding’s face appeared, the Trill scowled faintly and may have even heaved an exasperated sigh. This bitch, he grumbled inwardly, It never bodes well when we see her face. He cast his gaze down, again, feigning an interest in his consoles so as not to let his sour expression be visible to the Admiral… not that she was likely to pay him much mind, anyway.
“…What can we do for you?” Drake queried.
“Commander Drake. Reports indicate that navigation beacon Gamma Four Seven Alpha has malfunctioned,” the pinch-faced woman intoned, “That beacon lies just inside of the Calican system, which is rather near your location. Your orders are to proceed to the Calican system and repair this beacon if at all possible.”
“Aye Admiral,” Drake replied as Tochi brought up his starcharts and located the Calican system, “That should be a simple enough task.”
Sounds like busywork to me, the Trill mused as he occupied himself with plotting a course to Calican, We can’t help but wonder what the Admiral isn’t telling us.
“I expect that you are correct concerning the repair itself,” Harding returned, “Do be advised, Commander, that the Calican system is home to a pre-warp humanoid civilization. They have developed rudimentary spaceflight within the past two decades, have begun placing satellites around their homeworld, have recently made a successful flight to and from their moon. Your orders are to complete these repairs, but to do so with the utmost of discretion - the Prime Directive is of course in full force here; the Calican sentients are to be left entirely alone. In no case are you to have any sort of contact with this society, do you understand?”
Condescending crone.
“Certainly, Admiral,” Drake answered rather shortly, “I am fully aware of the scope of the Prime Directive.”
“Very good, Commander Drake. Harding Out.”
“You heard the Admiral, Tochi,” the Captain said, sighing as he retook his seat, “Lay in a course for the Calican system, engage warp factor six.”
“Already done, sir,” the Trill replied, “Punching it at warp six.” His fingers danced over the console, bringing the Peregrine around to the proper heading and then engaging the warp engines.
“It looks like we have something to do, at least,” Silas mused as the starfield on the viewscreen morphed into streaks of light.
“Yes, sir,” Tochi said, “and likely more than we’re aware of, I would guess.”
Posted on 2021-02-10 at 13:25:56.
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What game do you own the 
Return to Charadun - Q&A
The Morphing Game
Return to Charadun - Recr
