Mission 3, Day 1

[Amanda Rose]

[Iar Edra]

[Cmdr Phil]

[Iar Edra]

Varina stood in place, watching as the ship's XO walked away. Even if he didn't seem upset, she couldn't help but think this hadn't been the best introduction. She couldn't do it here, so she imagined banging her forehead against a wall. She was certain she'd given the wrong impression to the Captain, but at the same time, the woman (or was it girl? She really was quite young) had interjected herself into her conversation with the Commander, and insisted on the tour when she clearly had wanted to get situated first.
She sighed audibly as the lift opened, empty, and she entered. "Sickbay." The doors closed, leaving her to continue her train of thoughts. She'd have to talk to the Captain again, when she had looked over the events Commander Wilson had referenced.
And maybe when the Captain had had a chance to calm down.
For now, the lift was opening and she had a medical team to meet. And this time she was determined to make the proper impression.

[Amanda Rose]

Admiral Wheeler looked over Lieutenant Williams' report regarding Lieutenant Whitney. A small smirk crossed his face. I've got you now Cynthia Jackson. You and your run of Legacy are over. He knew that Jackson was on her way but he had to be certain of his position before he could relieve her. After all, she was gaining popularity in the Admiralty.

Despite his misgivings and vigorous objections, Legacy had been performing well. But, Captain Cindy, as she was becoming known, was soft and the last thing that Starfleet needed was soft Captains. What if another Nero arrived? No, Captains should be prepared for war and what was she? Some scientific dilettante?

He looked over her record again. Her only blemish besides a barely passing grade in tactics was her reprimand for conduct unbecoming an officer. That officer probably was wishing that he could still be with Cindy. The Admiral had to admit that Cindy could have been a model in the 21st century had she not been a Starfleet officer. She wore it with confidence, too, wearing uniforms that strongly hinted at the beauties below. Other men might fall in line for her looks but the Admiral knew that he would not and he would see to it that she was busted down to an appropriate level on some science vessel far, far away.

Again, he stared at the fact that Cindy's reprimand and noted that she had not been involved with another individual as far as he could tell. He wondered why. She seemed to be surrounded by men whenever she was off her ship. Certainly she held some sort of secret. But what was it?

It did not match with his image of Cindy being soft. The lack of a court martial did. Of course, the person providing the information had been thrown off of so many ships that his word would not be held overly credible, despite the evidence. Damn it. I will have to bait her and wait out my time unless she does something stupid here and while she may be naive, she's not stupid.

Cindy entered the room, already a bit soured by her experience with her new Chief Medical Officer flirting with Phil. At least this should not be painful. After all, Legacy has performed extremely well. And, with Nav as a new Chief Engineer, we are going to be even better! I can't wait to promote her! With those thoughts, Cindy strode into the dragon's den.

"Captain Jackson," Wheeler started. "So glad you can make it. Have a seat."

Cindy did so, suspicion playing in her mind. Wheeler was never nice to her. "I am here as ordered. I suspect that you wished to discuss the new mission."

"Yes," he said. "And this...." He threw a PADD across the desk and Cindy read the report from Williams.

How could he?!!! I'm so going to beat his brain in with my racquet when I see him next! Despite her thoughts, Cindy maintained her composure and only shifted slightly in her chair. "Is there a concern, Admiral?" she asked coldly.

"I thought I should hear your side of the story. Why you chose not to Court Martial Mr. Witney and perhaps why your Chief Medical Officer has opted for a transfer."

"The details of Mr. Whitney's ailment are detailed within my report and the medical report, Admiral. I do not know what else you could desire."

Wheeler pounded his fist on the desk. "Off the record.... You're soft, Captain Jackson. You're a liability to Starfleet. You make bad decisions. I believe that you have been lucky. If this report was written by anyone else, I'd have your head before the Admiralty. But as Williams has been nothing but trouble, I don't have enough yet. Just keep it up, though. I'll have you busted back to cadet by the time I'm through."

Cindy sat and took it. What could she say? She was not going to change his mind.

"Nothing, Jackson? You don't even have the nerve to fight back, even off the record?"

"Off the record, Admiral," Cindy seethed, her words slithering out like the hiss of a snake through clenched teeth. "I think you're a chauvinist pig that likes nothing better than to try and push around what you think is a pretty, young woman. I may be pretty but I push back."

"We shall see, Captain Jackson. On the record, I must inform you that you will be leaving in 48 hours. We have received unusual signals from Sector 348.58. You are to explore the sector and report back."

Cindy glowed. This was nearly a true exploratory and scientific mission. She flung her hair over her shoulder carelessly. "Very well, Admiral. We will leave in 48 hours. Anything further?"

"No, Captain Jackson. Just remember what I said and you are dismissed."

Cindy flew out of the Admiral's chambers with elation and anger simultaneously residing within her brain.

[T-Prime]

[Iar Edra]

OOC: You do know how to make it fun, dontchya?

IC:
Varina heard the bickering when the lift doors opened, but didn't immediately react, because she had been used to that at the UP Hospital. But when the threat directed at the unknown medic reached her ears, her location didn't matter. Nobody threatened her staff. She crossed the short distance in about 3 steps as she spoke, her voice loud and stern, without yelling. "Hey! How about you be a little more respectful to the staff around here, or you'll be making those threats from the brig." She turned to the nurse, "I'm Doctor Hightower, your new CMO. What's going on?"

<tag>

[T-Prime]

[KendleRJ]

Later that evening....

It’s been two days since that kiss. Luke couldn’t help but to reminisce…. Time might have moved on, but Luke’s mind hadn’t. He still felt her lips on his, the gentle touch of her hands clasping his. Something beeped, bringing him out of his thoughts. He quickly regained composure and he hoped he hadn’t been caught dreaming and/or drooling. His shift was over, he logged out of his console and headed to his shared quarters.

He thought about seeing Nav, but decided against it. He hadn’t seen her since that kiss, she’d come to him when she was ready, he didn’t want her to feel rushed into anything. That being said, he hoped she’d come to him soon.

Absent-mindedly he scrolled through his news feed when a notification from one of his friends came in, alerting him to some article. It didn’t take a second guess to realise who it was about, hell, he was mentioned in the article himself, although not by name.

The article shocked him, for various reasons. First, there had been a development concerning Nav’s predicament he had been unaware of. Second, the article didn’t mention anything about what had happened to Nav after, like, was she still on the ship?!. Third, Whitney’s transfer implied there had been some blame put on him but it was far too lenient for the crime… And a bunch of other reasons, but those were not so important now.

Luke immediately accessed the ship’s manifest and saw that Whitney had transported to Earth this morning. He quickly looked up Nav and….she was promoted to Chief Engineer… Hmm… Luke hadn’t expected that, and couldn’t quite explain it either.

He felt confused, too many why’s and how’s. But simultaneously he felt enormous relief and happiness that Nav was going to be here for the long run and as Chief Engineer no less! He had no doubt she’d do an excellent job.

Luke wondered why she hadn’t told him about the good news yet, but he assumed that the news, how much good it might be, would’ve been overwhelming to her, and he already saw her locking herself in her quarters trying to make sense of the past few days. The Whitney debacle, the Kiss...and now this. Luke felt a strong urge to go to her and put his arms around her, congratulate her and support her.

There were now several things running around in his mind that required his attention and Luke was unsure what to do first. But fortunately that decision was made for him.

Nav… now 1st Lieutenant Navkiran Khangura, didn’t feel any different, to be quite honest, and wasn’t sure how long she had been standing outside of Ensign Osswell’s door. Was it awkwardness that had kept her standing outside for so long? Or perhaps a lingering memory of the last time she had stood here, waiting? Self-conscious. And unbelievably concerned.

That part hadn’t changed. In fact, she was now even more concerned; she had been promoted twice since coming aboard the Legacy, and was now sitting as part of the Command Crew as Chief Engineer! She wasn’t sure what that might mean, or even if there would be any difference… but her main thoughts were how might Luke, uh Ensign… damn it all, she had no idea if there might be a rift… or… she was being silly. But that wasn’t new, was it?

She rested her head rather heavily against the door and sighed deeply, still unsure about pressing the chime. Her cheeks were already warm with a blush, and she was sure her hair was now statically clinging in a line of embarrassing frizz. She let her head thump down on the door again, sounding, most probably to whoever was within, like a stilted and oddly slow form of knocking.

Would she ever feel comfortable enough to just simply use the door chime? She shook her head slowly at that thought as the tendrils traced themselves across the surface.

*Thump, thump* Luke heard, it came from the door. He raised an eyebrow. That was odd. He got up and slowly walked to the door, which automatically slid open at his approach.

Chief Engineer Khangura fell head first through the now open door and gasped in surprise, hair everywhere, eyes wide and looking up long enough to show this stunning look to Luke before grasping at the air as she continued her downward trajectory.

Woah! Luke jumped from surprise as Nav literally fell in. Just in time, Luke caught her in his arms, inches from the floor… As they both stayed there in that position, catching their breath, Luke said: “In my country we have a saying: to fall with the door in the house… I never knew it could be taken literally…” And with that he helped her back up and sneaked in a tiny kiss on her forehead.

When all she expected to hit was floor, there was, instead, a pair of arms and she was grateful to not have to go to Sick Bay on her first day as Chief Engineer and explain how she ended up on the floor. In Osswell’s quarters. Face first. Not a pretty thought. Which was why she was even more grateful when he kissed her forehead, as though to banish it from her mind. She felt comfortable there, as though she belonged in them, and of course, that thought sent a whole new level of warmth through her cheeks.

“Thank you,” she said softly and smiled, her eyes shining slightly. “I, uh… have some news, Luke,” and she realised suddenly that she didn’t feel self-conscious about using his first name. “I’m not sure I imagined telling you while in this particular position on the floor of your quarters, but, I wanted you to be the first person I told.” She smiled again, a bit wider, lips twisting in a grin.

“I’m not leaving the Legacy.” She held that gaze with him, enjoying the feeling, and involuntarily moving closer. “I’ve actually been promoted.” Again, was the word she left out of the sentence, but that didn’t matter as much as finishing it. “I’m Chief Engineer now. And a full Lieutenant.” She broke eye contact, now self-conscious once more, concerned about what that might mean. To her. To him.

To the two of them together.

The smile she had was the most radiant he had ever seen. This was the real Nav. For the first time, Luke saw her as she was meant to be seen: happy, safe, cradled in his arms.
Of course, he had already known about her promotion, if only for 10 minutes, but still...should he tell her? Or should he let her think her news was the surprise she thought it was?

He decided to be honest, how could he not be? In the past, he might have decided otherwise. But the past was full of mistakes, and he had vowed not to repeat them. Ever. Relationships should never be based on a lie, even small ones.

“That’s amazing, Nav!”, Luke exclaimed. He pulled her back up and hugged her tight. “That extra golden pip on your collar suits you...Congratulations, lieutenant.” And kissed her tenderly. He didn’t once think about her superior rank. He never understood why such things mattered. Ranks were important in the professional sphere, but here, in this very personal moment, she could be a queen, a vagabond, it didn’t matter to him. She was Nav. And, more importantly: she was staying on the Legacy.

The two of them together.

He took a small step back and held her hands in his, taking a small moment just to look at her. So beautiful.

How would she take the news of him already having known? And then the headline? He didn’t want to ruin this moment, but he didn’t want to keep it from her any longer, she had a right to know.

His expression became more grave, concerned, knowing that what he would say next would come as a shock and ruin the happy moment they had just had. “Nav, dearest, I don’t want to spoil the mood, but there is something that you need to know.” He handed her the padd quickly, before she had a chance to think of a thousand things that announcement might have meant. As she read, he continued: “ fortunately you’re not mentioned by name, but Whitney is, so someone must have leaked your story to the media. I just read it myself, right before you came in. The story didn’t say anything about what had happened to you, so I checked the ship manifest to see if you were still aboard. To my relief I saw that you were, and that you were promoted! And then you ‘dropped’ in, and….now here we are.”

Nav was sensitive to the mood shift as she watched Luke’s face, her face and lips still burning from his kiss. She felt a sudden drop in her stomach and waited for the words that would burst their little bubble. Instead, she had to read them and as she did so, her face paled and her mouth opened slightly in shock. Someone indeed had leaked it to the media, and wondered who it might have been. Not being privy to any of the intrigue that had surrounded her promotion and Whitney’s removal, her list was curiously devoid of names.

The ones she had wouldn’t have said anything; starting with Lieutenant Whitney. Who else might have known? And really, the one lead in line had been combined to implicate the recipient; SHE was the unpunished officer who has struck someone… but forged evidence? Her mind was reeling and she placed her forehead in her hand, palm chilled against the heat of her head. So many things happening… she looked up at Luke, her eyes shining slightly from unshed tears and she quickly looked away. Swallowing audibly, she continued looking down and handed the PADD back to him wordlessly, trying to find the right ones, and removing the telltale thickness in her voice in the process.

Her tears fell slowly, wondering what had actually happened, and her mind went back to the conversation with the Captain. The Commander and Lieutenant Williams were mentioned, how many others? Starfleet up the chain of command… and she suddenly realised she hadn’t said anything yet. Her voice was heavy. “Thank you, Luke,” she said and felt a little foolish sitting on the floor. Standing she tried a small smile and looked up at him again. “I appreciate you showing this to me.” Her smile became easy and she chuckled a little, despite the dampness on her cheeks. “And here I was, thinking I was sharing the news first.” She had been completely left out of the story. Why?

She reached out, hand still chilly and thought better of it. He had only meant to share… and she was grateful he had done so. “Here we are.” How dishevelled she must have looked: hair still askew from the door incident, face flushed and blotchy from different emotions, and damp too from the sudden release of them. Using the back of her hand, she tried to wipe the tears away self-consciously. “When the Captain told me…” she swallowed again, this time for a completely different reason; she was working up the nerve to tell him, “... you were the first person I wanted to tell.”

Luke now felt guilty. “I’m sorry that that has been taken from you, and I shouldn’t have pried.. I should’ve asked you in person when I read the article”, he paused a while and heaved a deep sigh, “It’s just that, when I read it, I felt so worried…” He paused again, then: “We’ll get to the bottom of this and clear this whole mess up, I promise you.” He hated how the good news had been tainted with a sour aftertaste like this. He needed to turn it back around somehow…

He managed a genuine smile. “But, let’s not forget Nav, that we can now stay together, and you’re a Chief Engineer! Plenty of reasons to be happy for. So let’s celebrate it, you and I, together.”

Nav flushed a bit and nodded, words suddenly leaving her. Staying together… and Chief Engineer… they were almost overwhelming. “Celebrate,” she managed to say before paling a little. “Yes. You and I… together… let’s celebrate.” She sat a bit heavily back on the floor and laughed a little self-consciously. “You’re right. Plenty of reasons to be happy.”

So what was hanging over her head now? Was it that stupid article? What was happening to Whitney? How people got involved? Or was it perhaps too far, too fast? It wasn’t that she hadn’t trained for such a thing… She only hoped she was ready for it. It was a great deal of responsibility…

Luke immediately got up and walked to the replicator. “2 glasses of champagne”. The replicator provided. “Computer, play “Koop Islands” the album by Koop from the year 2006.”
He took Nav by her hand and they both seated themselves on the comfy couch. He gave her the glass of champagne. He raised his glass: “to you, for the simple fact of brightening my day in a dark universe, and for becoming the Chief Engineer of this fine vessel. Frankie couldn’t ask for a better caretaker”.

His hand felt warm and reassuring, despite whatever concerns she had, she felt safe,somehow. She smiled self-consciously and sat, trying not to fall too far into the couch. Taking the glass, Nav raised hers as well. Her mouth opened in some surprise and then she closed it again quickly.

Her mind was moving rapidly. “Thank you, Luke,” she said softly. “And to you, for saying such nice things.” Was she supposed to drink now?

Yes, she was. They drank, they laughed, they giggled and for the rest of the evening the universe only consisted of the two of them.

OOC - Another chapter in the ongoing saga of Luke and Nav... This JP brought to you by Lucasauseums and KendleRJ, and Koop.

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[Iar Edra]