[ Theta Eridani IV | The Thermal Springs Lounge | In the Shadow of the
Harbinger ]
Joint-Post by @Kurohigi &
@Auctor LucanMeters away from the thermal springs, beyond the wall of steam, ThanIda zh'Wann circled the water with her hands behind her back - watching the proceedings in the hot springs like a crestfallen hawk. In full uniform, and being Andorian, the atmosphere felt utterly unbearable. Even if she spotted one of her people in the water - the stellar cartorapher Irnashall ch'Xinya - she was not so inclined to undress and enjoy getting light-headed from the combination of hot water and a high metabolism. She had found out perfectly well what had happened in that overheated holding cell together with David Grayson.
Grayson... That Pinkskin fool had died, after all, but put in stasis. There was hope yet to tell him... What? There was little to be said other than he had fallen in the line of duty, almost killed at the hands of future holographic technology. No, what was worse was how that Cadet had disobeyed orders and endangered himself, opening fire against that
Calamity hologram without hiding behind cover. Still, she should not have taken him into the Shuttle Bay. He had not been ready. By Lor'Vela, he had held his first phaser not an hour before he was shot down. Understaffed or not, Security had to act if there was an intruder alert sounded. It had been his duty and he had willingly come along. At the same time, Scosche's words had come to her when she'd seen his face lit the nocturnal sky.
"Just so we're clear, it was Security or the garbage detail. As it stands, I'm doing this because there's nothing else to be done right now. First and foremost, I am a gymnast, not a security enforcer. Much as I might enjoy having something to do on this gods-forsaken ship, if there were an option other than sitting in your brig day in and day out, I would be doing that. I will do my part and I have never given anything other than my utmost to any task. This will be no different, but the first opportunity I get to return to my old life, I will."
He had never gotten that chance. Ida frowned and looked towards the ground as she walked - antennae angled forward as well. She would take full responsibility for the death of that Cadet. It was bitter in so many ways. Not that it mattered to her anymore, beyond the import of keeping the crew safe and in capable hands, but Jien Ives would probably not give her David's position as Chief of Security. Since the Niga Incident, where people conveniently forgot that she was a damnable victim just so that they could lay the blame on someone, Ida had become a woman of very few friends. T'Less had come to understand her, yet she had also fallen at the hand of the
Calamity's AI - also clinging to life in a stasis-coffin. Along with David... who she had hated for being promoted over her at first, but not for the obvious reasons rather than she thought him a risky choice. Yet a couple of days ago... they had...
It hurt too much to think about. All the unfairness done to her. With the lack of anyone of higher rank, she was the Acting Chief of Security now, Captain Ives yet having spoken to her since David was shot. There was a halfbreed Ktarian CSec in the Valley too - one Diadeniera Drovo - by the same rank of Lieutenant as she... but holding the Csec position in full aboard the
Harbinger. They had traded brief words. Divided the valley in two. Arranged for tight patrols and scouts in the wilderness... the fauna of Theta Eridani IV largely unknown.
No humanoid life did not mean no life at all.
Looking up, she continued to survey the bathers idly - almost hoping for a fight to break out so that she could put her mind off her own hurt.
"Lieutenant," Edena said, approaching ThanIda. The Andorian woman had taken on more responsibilities with what happened to Adam Grayson, someone that the commanding officer was well aware she was close to. It had to be a difficult trial for her, and she felt the need to check on her. Illya, however, asked to be the one to do it. She understand psychology better then any of the other personalities in the Rez Symbiont, and she liked to think she had more of a rapport with Ida then Edena did.
Edena's body was not dressed down to her underwear, like so many others who were enjoying the water. Instead, she wore a wrap around her waist, along with a tank top that was a matching blue to the wrap. "Edena has to assure that you are fit for duty after what happened. I asked to be the one to conduct the interview with you, but she is still able to hear everything we say and to see through my eyes. I wanted to start by assuring you that this interview is not because your competence is being questioned, but more a concern for your mental and emotional health. You have been through some difficulty as of late, and I know you and Lieutenant Kingston were close. If you have anything you'd like to say before we begin, I welcome you to. Don't think of this as a test. Just tell me your honest feelings and if you think they might affect your ability to perform in the role you are needed for." Edena's usual professional tone, mixed with the softness of an understanding woman, was even more gentle then usual, like Illya was treating Ida like a baby bird with a broken wing, in need of some nurturing during a difficult moment.
Ida recognised the voice first, yet it was the accent and the body language that told her whom was really speaking through that mouth, looking at her through those eyes. It might be the mouth and the eyes of another - contemporary - woman, yet this particular ghost of the deceased had spoken to her before. Twice, once as a newly released prisoner from the Brig and the next time as Ida's Executive Officer.
"Commander," she said in greeting, coming to a stop and turning to face the Trill.
Remarkable, came an errant thought, how quickly things change in times of strife and necessity.
When told that Edena - or Illya, by extention - wished to talk to her, Ida was somewhat heartened that her duties and efforts were not altogether ignored or forgotten by her commanding officers. A lightening of her heavy thoughts, even if the yoke of the past days and deaths were not to be lifted so easily. Not even the sight of Illya's current body - or more accurately the Rez symbiont - in tanktop and some sort of beach skirt did much to lighten her mood. Ida stood at ease, and spoke in answer.
"I am... uncomfortable with the idea of an informal interview," she said in a tight voice, yet she was even more uncomfortable with the sympathetic tone - the undermining emotions that eroded the walls she had raised. "For as informal as the questions might be, Commander Rez still wants to ensure my capacity, so it is still an test, despite any reassurances you might make. In the Imperial Guard, one's ability to perform the duties that were needed was gauged by strict hearings and evaluations. Especially in cases like these, where a Guardsman or two might have died for Andoria."
Still, it was not like she had a choice. Pick the hosts however you liked, it was still Commander Rez standing in front of her, and she had to comply - the difficulty of the tone of this hearing notwithstanding. "Lieutenant Kingston and I were not so close as you might have thought, even if he was - and still is while he rests in stasis - a valued Security officer. Last we spoke, in your office," she said, frowning as she looked out into the darkness beyond the firelight, "I spoke of my troubles. In how I was judged after I was skipped over for Grayson's position, the crew questioning me because of it, followed by what I did during the Niga Incident... and still is. Perhaps even more so, since a Cadet has now fallen victim to our crusade while under my command. Grayson is also in stasis, his fate uncertain, and while I had issues with his promotion, we will never know if my doubts were merited now, will we? First Wenn Cinn and..."
She swallowed and frowned even more. Trailed off when remembering the Bajoran that she had served the whole time while on the
Theurgy, how she had failed to save him from being sucked out through that hull breach. That ridge-nose had been a fine Chief. One which understood her need for a firm and righteous commanding officer.
"My voyage has been hard," so damnable hard, "yet I will not fail in the line of duty... unless I am brain-washed or possessed by some lecherous flora again. Emotions and passion has their place and time, and that is not a part of my job description. Unless I can't help it, my first priority is - and has always been - the safety of our crew. You might remember having experienced this first-hand..." It was just to prove her point, bringing up the fact that she had held Edena Rez at phaser point in a sonic shower what seemed like ages ago.
It brought other memories too, but the moment was not right to dwell on those...
"If you don't like the idea of an informal interview, then consider me contracted by the ship's Commander to evaluate you." Illya was not a Starfleet officer, and any medical licenses she had to practice psychology she might have held were long expired. For that reason, she wasn't exactly formal, but if the idea helped Ida, then she would play along with it. Comfort was the first priority of any good doctor who was counselling a patient. "Do you feel that David Grayson was unsuitable for his position as Chief Security officer?" It wasn't to speak ill of him, but Ida spoke of being passed over for that position. Maybe if she stepped back and viewed it, she would see it as David deserving the spot, not as her being denied it based on her involvement on Niga.
A just question, even if it was a sensitive one. Ida did not know if it was more or less sensitive now that Grayson was in a stasis unit. "I did at first," she said quietly, the steam rising in wisps and surrounding her where she stood with her hands folded behind her back. Her antennae rose a little as she continued. "Until we had to flee from the Sol System, Grayson had been a quiet man. Withdrawn. Humble. Not a leader in any sense. Yet when we learned about the conspiracy in Starfleet Command, you might remember a certain Admiral Grayson in the transmissions we uncovered. The Admiral - Grayson's father - was one of those that had been... compromised, and after learning this, Grayson became more bold in the fighting during our escape, taking the centre stage, on his feet all the time. I knew he was motivated by personal issues that related to the loss of his father... and in my eyes, that was a liability. His priority was not the safety of our crew but the intent to vanquish the enemy. I wondered if Captain Ives and Commander Nerina - may she be restored to us when we get back to port - saw this too. Yet with the times being as they were... I doubt it. And since I... cracked when Wenn Cinn died, Grayson was promoted over me and given the Department Head position - me remaining as Deputy."
She paused. It was dishonour to speak ill of a fellow Guardsman like she had just done, only Starfleet was not the Imperial Guard. She had challenged Grayson about his personal attachment to the fight they led in that holding cell they'd shared, yet she had not voiced her concerns to Ives. Nor to Nerina. She had thought the problem obvious, perhaps to her fault. "Grayson proved his merit though, during the Niga incident and afterwards, until the
Calamity hologram got to him. In retrospect, I believe my concerns were undue."
Illya gave this some due thought. "His training was different from yours, as are your values and your beliefs. It's reasonable to question what you don't understand. The important part is that you figured out your common goals and that you could work well together."
Could the same be said of Edena and Ida? Ilya wondered. Hadn't the two of them started out at odds with one another, and now found themselves fighting for the same goal? Maybe Ida wasn't entirely trustful of the Commander just yet, but maybe that was a good thing. She acted to protect her crew, and as illya had already stated, that was something all the hosts of the Rez symbiont would respect. "As you may know, there are four aspects to the Rez symbiont right now. None of them feel that your actions taken against Edena were wrong. It was for that reason that she wanted you to be disciplined off the record, so that your service record would not be marred by it. We all saw a woman fiercely protective of her crew, who would do anything for it, even at the personal cost you were risking back then. It's a quality that we could use in a Security Chief right now. You're someone who isn't afraid to butt heads with your superiors. You respect the chain of command, but you don't have blind faith in it. You'll speak your mind when you have your own way of doing things, let it be judged accordingly. On a Federation vessel, that can often mean trouble, given that the chain of command is such an important thing, but right now, Edena thinks the
Theurgy needs you where you are, Lieutenant."
Raising her eyes, Ida listened to the praise and the suggestions, and while she did, she wondered if the decision about the Chief of Security position had already been made. Commander Rez said that the
Theurgy needed her where she was, but that left it open to interpretation about if it meant as Chief or Deputy. She was not about to pursue this, however, since that was not the honourable way. If there was to be an exchange of crew, perhaps Lieutenant Diadeniera was more merited to hold the position of Chief - since she already did on the
Harbinger- and had not carelessly led a Cadet on is first day to his near demise. Given how alone she was in her own Department, with the loss of respect from her subordinates after Niga, perhaps Diadeniera would - in that case - be the better choice. Perhaps it was due time Security got some new blood. She would just have to wait and see what the turnout would be.
Illya had stopped speaking for a moment, instead letting a warm breeze brush across her face, blow her rather short hair back a bit, and rustle the wrap around her hips to display a bit of thigh, a bikini bottom that followed the same blue pattern which brought out the creamy color of her skin. Was the choice of blue Illya's idea, another way to put Ida at ease. On a planet filled with red, the Andorian woman stood out in the color palette. The clothes on Edena's body at least complimented her, maybe helped to cool the woman's mind amongst all the fire and heat. "Security shouldn't be so much of an issue while we're here, but we will work jointly with the
Harbinger crew on it. This should let you and their Security chief share the duties for the time being. You can both arrange shifts that provide you some time of your own to rest and recuperate. I am sorry that the temperatures on this planet are not very accommodating to you, Lieutenant. I will be speaking to the captain about choosing a location on
Theurgy, perhaps Below Decks, where we can create a cooler environment for crewmen to escape potential heat stroke. Until then, just try and dress lightly. As I am sure you can see by the thermal springs, we are relaxing the dress code temporarily, so don't feel the need to wear something stuffy. Unwind while you can. You should put those artist hands of yours to work. It's good therapy."
Illya's suggestion to undress and unwind a bit was first met with a stoic frown of unease from Ida. It was true that she would nothing rather than remove her jacket and undershirt. Objections about the fauna on the planet being unknown crowded in her throat, the risk to the crew unknown even if it was highly unlikely... yet in seeing Edena's thigh bared by the breeze, Ida decided that she would follow the suggestion of her superior officer. Looking to the bathers, she did spot an Andorian from the
Harbinger crew. The young crewman seemed to have been pushed there by peer pressure, since he looked so light-headed he barely needed the blue ale in his hand. If nothing else, she might go advice him to retire for the evening.
"Yes, Commander, I will speak with Lieutenant Diadeniera," she said, using the rank even if it was the grafter who spoke to her. She smiled a little and cleared her throat, beginning to remove her garments one at the time. She happened to wear a non-regulation white tanktop underneath the undershirt, and it was damp with perspiration. She looked to Illya, if she was still present. "Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. After T'Less and Grayson fell, I thought I'd have to continue with my duties in quietude."
"What's with all this Commander stuff? It's Illya, remember?" Edena wasn't the one in control of the body at that point, so why bother with ranks. Illya had only been doing it to make Ida more comfortable, the Andorian still too stern with herself when around superior officers. To see her shed some of her uniform, a white t-shirt that had become rather see through the first thing staring her in the face, Illya was using Edena's face to show off that mischievous grin of hers.
"Illya, of course," she corrected herself with a small smile and dropped the jacket and undershirt in a pile beside herself. ThanIda had come to know Illya quite well, even if she had spoken with Edena to an extent in the First Officer's Ready Room a couple of weeks past. The drawing came to mind anew, yet this was not the time for canvas and paints, with the humidity not good for either.
"Seems you have a habit of getting into wet t-shirt contests when around me, babe." Illya was flirting again, using that same nickname she had given her long ago. "You know, I always did take it personally that you didn't fall for my charms back then. Here I was, naked in a sonic shower, you could everything, and I am flirting with you,. And you don't accept? Started second guessing if Edena's body was as hot as I thought, which thankfully was put to rest by the SCO and his little crush on her."
Illya leaned in closer, saying the words that were far too blunt for Edena to dream of saying to anyone, let alone to another woman. "So is it that you don't wanna fuck me, or were you just too serious that day, babe?"
Admittedly, Ida felt a bit too strict and formal considering the occasion and the setting, yet it was just because Illya had managed to break the proverbial ice and made her look at things without the yoke of failure and fear for the safety of the crew. Trust was a rare thing coming from Ida, and she still had the fact that Edena Rez had been hiding her identity for a long time aboard the
Theurgy in the back of her mind when speaking with her. Yet apparently, so did Illya, whom addressed the incident on new terms - or rather with ideas of old that had come to fall into focus again that night.
When Ida was in her damp white tank top and Illya commented upon it, stepping close and demanding uncomfortable answers from her... Ida had a choice. Either she would join in on the jargon, or she would allow her failures and the deaths of the other day bring her down. As much as she missed T'Less, and regretted the fate of the Cadet, the voyage to the Sol System was far from over, and here was the Executive Officer putting credit into her fortitude and the way she performed her duties. Perhaps, she should try and push back the regret, and enjoy herself in the way she could before her Security Officers had decided to not invite her to their nights in Below Decks.
"Miles Renard would hardly be the only one finding our First Officer easy to rest one's eye upon," she said and smiled in a lopsided way, tilting her head and antennae to meet Illya's intimate glance, "and as I recall it, I paused in thought of the offer you made, yet I decided that the risk was too great - putting the crew in the first room... instead of my own desire."
Running her teeth across her lower lip, Ida's blue eyes dropped to the opening of Edena's wrap... and she lifted a blue thumb to lazily hook it behind the waistline of the bikini bottom - her fingertips against the hip of the spotted pinkskin. Her other hand hung idle for the time being. "For my desire," she said and raised her eyes with a slowly growing smile, "was never something I could deny, be it as an artist or as a woman. I merely had to make a hard decision, Lor'Vela knows it, and the option of 'fucking' you right there in that sonic shower made it so."
Perhaps distraction was the right choice that night. She basically had the XO's permission to set her duties aside, didn't she?
Ida's efforts brought Illya against her, the thumb in her bikini bottom serving as the tether that drew her, their hips meeting in an act which brought a smile to the borrow face of the ghost that inhabited the
Theurgy's Executive Officer. Edena's hips were only covered by what parts of the wrap hadn't been adjusted by the wind and Ida's contact, bare thigh brushed against uniformed pants as the Trill's face took on a slight arousal. "You speak like a poet, babe, but are words all you have for me? During the Ishtar incident, I had my body again, you know. I got to use it and everything. It awakened some urges in me that I have been wanting to satisfy, but Edena is a bit too tame when it comes to the bedroom. Other then what happened during the outbreak, she hadn't slept with anyone since she was still in the Academy."
It was a proposition, but not like the one that ida had suspected when last they spoke. She had thought it was blackmail back then, but this time, Illya was making it obvious that this was flirtation, and invitation even. She wanted some comfort which could only be found in another body, and maybe the Andorian security officer needed some of her own, the feeling of closeness after going through losses of both friends and colleagues, maybe even loved ones.
"Perhaps words are more than enough right now... right here..." said Ida and glanced around with conspirator's smile, "given as you are not in your own body right now but that of our First Officer's. Like you said, I hardly think Edena would like if we progressed any further tight here and now in plain sight. It might be bad for her public image if she was thought to enjoy displays quite so publicly..."
Odd to speak of someone in third person while she was right there behind those eyes. Still it was best considering all parties involved, and given the reactions she remembered when speaking of painting Edena's bare body, she thought that the Executive Officer could not be entirely opposed to Illya's and her immediate desires.
"Edena doesn't mind me having some fun as long as I am discreet. It isn't like her body is innocent to most things." Illya confirmed. Edena wouldn't be upset if the two of them wanted some time together, so long as no one else knew about it. She was still being professional, still trying to figure herself out in the midst of an identity crisis. Illya knew exactly who she was, however, and she also knew exactly what she wanted to do with the blue skinned beauty.
Unhooking her thumb from Edena's bikini-bottom, Ida stepped past Illya and slowly let her steps carry them away from the springs. The bathers might not see any details because of the whirling steam, so Ida did glance behind herself from time to time to make sure Illya did not loose sight of her. The soft undergrowth beyond the hot springs met her shoes eventually, and the lush terrain gave plenty of hiding places. Not before long, Ida came to a stop behind a jutting corner of a tall boulder - her white hair catching the spotlights of distant cranes on top of the
Harbinger without really casting any light upon where she stood.
When Edena came into view, Ida just stood there, waiting for the ghost inside the Executive Officer to approach... even hands idle by her sides. The tension was thick in the humid air.
When they found each other again, hidden from prying eyes by the lack of light, the lushness of the foliage and the cover of the boulder, Illya wasted no time taking what she wanted. She pressed up against Ida, their chests swelling together in union, as their lips met. It was tentative at first, testing the grounds before getting deeper, stronger. Her hands found the woman's sides, holding her closely, intimately. She was used to people feeling hot, but Ida was cooler, not to the point of cold, but enough that she noticed. For blue skin and cooler temperature bodies, Ida had a way of turning up the heat. "Been a while since I was with an Andorian woman. You'll have to remind me if all the buttons are the same." It was a simple question. Compared to other humanoid females, did Andorian women have different erogenous zones that Illya could take advantage of. She had once had fun with a species whose greatest erogenous zone was their elbows. Suffice to say, a nudge from one's elbow meant something far different in that culture, something illya learned when her means of getting someone's attention was taken as a sexual advance. That had been a fun night.
Tilting her head, Ida met the kiss from Illya without retreating an inch. She closed her eyes, and felt Edena's body meet her own - the damp tank Ida wore doing little to mask the hardening of her cerulean nipples through the fabric. The dim, sweeping light of the crane high above them played over their bodies in the intimate embrace, and a small moan of tensions released escaped Ida - muffled by the First Officer's warm mouth.
Since her own waist was embraced by Illya, Ida's hands roamed the ghost's back and neck, cheeks and shoulders - raked through her dark hair. When asked if Andorian's had specific preferences, Ida chuckled ruefully against those inviting Pinkskin lips. "They are, all in all, the same..." she breathed, using her thumbs to pull Edena's blue bikini top upwards - the bared breasts spilling free from the cloth against her own bosom. Ida let the bikini top be afterwards, still clasped behind the back. The kisses never ceased. Not truly. "My antennae are very susceptible to touch... Not as sensitive to touch as the Ferengi ear, yet intimate contact with an Andorian's... nngh... antennae is nonetheless considered soothing."
Breaking the kiss to lean down, Ida framed a breast in her blue hand and encompassed the hard peak with her lips - tonguing and sucking upon it. "The stroking of antennae... is considered an act more advanced than a hug, but less intimate than a kiss... Otherwise we are the same... My endoskeleton... won't be in the way... Mmmhh..."
A fiery trail of kisses, so warm for being that of a cobalt-blooded being, roamed the skin of the Trill.
A lot of people made a big deal about Andorian antennae, the same way they often lavished attention upon a Trill's spots. They were those unique features about their race that made them exotic, different from others. At least Ida got something out of it though, even if it was just slightly more intimate then a hug. As she bared Edena's breasts, Illya used the Commander's face to give a wicked smile, returning the favor to Ida by pulling up her own soaked shirt, exposing her own bosom to the warm night air. Despite the heat, their nipples were stiff, thanks to the arousal they both felt. As Ida lowered her head to wrap her lips around the Trill's breast, Illya let out a satisfied sigh, her hands moving through the snow white hair of her partner, fingertips lightly brushing along her antenna Her other hand reached down to press against a trim stomach, the result of Ida's workouts and physical conditioning. Rubbing circles in the stomach, she soon drifted up to cup a breast, to return the attention being given her to, squeezing the ripe melon in her palm, letting her nipple roll between a thumb and finger, creating a gentle twist
"Mmm, your mouth feels so wonderful there. You had better let me return the favor before we continue onto anything else," Illya told her, always wanting to give as well as she received, if not better.
Paying diligent attention to Edena's breasts, which curve and mass became better known through touch and taste rather than sight due to the darkness, Ida gasped for breath when she was touched in kind - the air against her bared breasts making her moan against the First Officer's flesh. Her antennae shifted underneath the delicate touch, sending shivers down her body and filling her eyes with clouded memories.
The spotted pinkskin was clearly enjoying the attention, and said she wanted to compensate Ida in kind - something that Ida would surely not object to. Her tongue twirling around the hardened nipple inside her mouth, she broke away eventually with a hard kiss and framed her own breast with her hand in breathless offering. Her other hand pressed Edena closer as it lay upon the small of her back.
Last time she'd had sex was more than two days ago with T'Less in her quarters, so she might not be desperate for intimacy for lack of it, but rather for the sake of the moment found with Illya at long last. There had been plenty of talk and innuendo, yet now - finally - it looked liked they had caught a break. Between hasty breaths, Ida had to ask, "Would you still like me to draw you some day?" she asked, voice trembling and hands roaming Edena at every chance she got after surrendering her bared blue flesh to the Executive Officer, "I promise I will leave my phaser out of reach."
As Ida's mouth left her breasts, Illya started working down the Andorian woman's body, lips finding her neck first before traveling down, feeling her way around in the darkness. In a way, they were being cruel to each other, denying themselves the opportunity to see each other in better illumination, to fully appreciate the naked breasts in front of them. Finally, her lips found Ida's nipple, a small laugh before her tongue flicked against the stiffened point, doing so a few times before her mouth sealed over the nipple completely, sucking and tonguing it further. When she had good suction, she would pull back, giving the sensitive little bud a playful tug, only to go right back to it. She listened to Ida's sounds, the gauge of her pleasure, and when she started to balance out, Illya switched to the other breast, the unstimulated one, and started the whole process anew. By switching back and forth, she could keep spiking the pleasure levels.
"You name the time and place and I'll be ready to get naked for you," Illya said. Edena had already agreed, so long as the work was not made viewable to anyone but herself and Illya. Edena was a professional first and foremost, and would not have her fellow crewmen thinking differently of her if they saw what the blue skinned Security officer had created of her. As long as it remained though, she had no objections. She didn't hate her body enough to deny it the chance to be a model, though she was too nervous to sit in for the role herself. Illya, with her confidence, was far more suited to the role.
Finding herself leaning back against the cliff-face and leaving her body completely at the mercy of the First Officer, Ida gasped rhythmically into the night air - blue fingers raking through Edena's hair. The hardened peaks of her aching breasts were vivid to her mind despite the fact that she could only make out their outline against the XO's ghostly face in the darkness. They were so roused and firm it almost hurt, yet Illya made them hurt in a very delightful way.
"If we... nngghh... can spare an hour or two for the preliminary sketches," she whispered breathlessly, "and not be otherwise distracted... I would like to begin soon...mmmhhhh... perhaps on the morrow? We cannot know how much time we get for... for... mmmh! ...for artistry these days..."
Ida ran a hand down her sweat-pearled abdomen and past the waistline of her own panties - seeking the third aching, wet spot in the darkness. Perhaps selfishly so, yet Illya was very good at what she did. She rubbed her herself slowly, until she had to quit and take the initiative - simply for sake of prolonging the inevitable. Her gasps were coming faster, and there was so much more she wanted.
"Should have known," she said through winded breaths, and turned them around so that Illya had her back against the cliff. She promptly, hurriedly kissed her way down her front, speaking in between each contact her lips made upon Trill skin, "I should have trusted you... Should have put my phaser away and shared Edena's shower with you."
Wrap and bikini were feeble obstacles in her path, made short business of before she lay her mouth to Edena's nether lips. One of the cranes cast them in peripheral light, and Ida's antennae danced slowly in appreciation of the taste.
Some time for her art was something Illya agreed to with a nod of her head, before they were back to the important task at hand, enjoying each other in their private manner. With her back against the cliff side, Illya's hands grasped at Ida's head as the woman began cunnilingus, soft gasps and moans leaving the woman as her fingers brushed through snow-white hair, thumbs caressed along Ida's antennae with the kind of care she would have given a pair of nipples, albeit very long ones in the case of the protrusions on the Andorian's head. "Mmm, you are too good at this. You've been doing it a long time, haven't you?" Illya said with a grin plastered on her face. One of her legs raised up, spreading her thighs further apart as she rested the leg upon Ida's shoulder. Easier access for Ida meant more pleasure for Illya. "I was nineteen the first time I was with another woman. A roommate aboard a Trill transport ship heading for a Federation starbase. I just left home with dreams of something more for myself, and I was feeling as daring as could be. A combination of a very receptive Starfleet woman I was sharing a room with and a few glasses of something Humans call 'tequila' and I was spreading my legs for her to do exactly what you're doing now."
Ida listened to the story and smiled against Edena's wet nether lips, her cerulean tongue scooping at the nectar covering the First Officer's clitoris. Images of Illya in the aforementioned situation made Ida lick more firmly against the clit and along the valley of her womanhood. It was intoxicating, this taste of the Trill that had come to her, looking out for her in a time of emotional and professional turmoil. A victim, even, to this turmoil, who was so magnanimous about it she rather saw it a benefit than a flaw to her character.
She had been asked a very private question, yet Ida did not suspect that Illya would ever meet any of those she had been with since she left Andoria. All of them had been on the briefer spectrum of relationships, and her being secretly romantic at heart despite all manner of pictures she might paint for others, she had come to think that perhaps all of them had been lacking in her love for them and instead earning her attention for the love of love itself. "Mmhhh... Well..." Was this what was happening again? Was history repeating itself? Far too early to tell, just like it had been with T'Less. Not the thoughts for the occasion. Easily suppressed given the moment.
"Oh sure, it is not the first time, I'll admit. And while I like the male canvas, your smooth grain is much welcome tonight, I tell you that..." She slid a hand up Edena's inner thigh and thumbed the slit she was licking, "At one time, I... indulged in finger-painting together with a Bajoran I met on Starbase 39 - the one named Sierra near the Romulan Neutrual zone? It.. turned out we were doing body-painting instead, for some odd reason that escapes me."
Pausing, Ida began to squirm her thumb past the XO's labia - slipping inside her hot wetness. Her tongue paused for speech anew while she worked her way into her depths. "The first time I was intrigued by a woman," she said softly, her thumb working rhythmically, "it was when I attended an art seminar on Lya Station - ages ago. Topic was naturalism, and my interest was peaked by the model depicted in a holographic waterscape. I... never dared speak with her afterwards, even when she came up to me and complimented me on my drawing of her. It was as if she had snatched off both my antennae and my tongue - fumble-footed and speechless as I was."
Ida chuckled at the memory, and applied herself to what she was doing again - her tongue flickering fast over the Trill's smooth pearl while her thumb surged into her. Her free hand sought to pinch a nipple above her in the darkness, then caressing it soothingly with her palm.
"Mm, once an artist, always an artist," Illya said, a small laugh accompanying it. She started her love affair with women over finger painting, something which led to her and her partner's bodies becoming the canvas of choice, it seemed. Illya's hips moved with subtle motions, only to deepen the actions performed on her by Ida. "We're a lot alike. We couldn't be restrained by what our people think is the right thing for us. You're a warrior who found artistry. I come from a race of people who dedicate themselves to science and all I wanted was adventure. I think we were destined to . . . come together." The choice of words no doubt were meant to signify the act they performed. Indeed, Illya reached climax only a few minutes later, but rather then just crumble to her knees in pleasure, she pulled Ida back to her feet and saw to it the favor was returned. The Andorian's pants and underwear were pushed down in one motion, freeing the blue velvet lips that awaited her. Illya let her hot breath grace the slick petals first, before her pink tongue touched cerulean skin, starting at the inner thigh and trailing up to the womanly folds. The acting Security Chief would get back what she gave. Illya would see to that.
If Illya liked adventure, she no doubt found some kind of merit in the hazardous situation that the
Theurgy - and the
Harbinger - was in. She said nothing, but applied herself more dutifully to her bountiful undertaking. Very pleased with having caused her First Officer to climax on her thumb, Ida's satisfied smile showed white teeth in the darkness as she looked up at the dark profile of Edena's heaving and shivering body. It seemed Illya did not need time to gather her wits about herself afterwards, and to Ida's delight, she was helped back on her feet and pressed against the warm cliff-face.
Breathless and shivering with her own anticipation, she could not help but make small sounds of primal lust as she helped rid herself from the remaining items of her uniform, gasping when the grifter's breath hit her womanly folds - made oh so very damp already. When Edena's tongue came, Ida leaned her head back - her eyes rolling on the waves of pleasure. "By Lor'Vela..." she moaned and ran her fingers through Edena's hair while Illya made wondrous acts with her mouth against Ida's gently thrusting sex. She was undulating her whole body as she leaned against the cool cliff-face, choking on her attempts to keep her voice down lest they'd draw unwanted attention from the crew that threaded the darkness as they went to and from the new Lounge.
Ida was not going to jeopardise the First Officer's integrity. The crew needed not get the wrong ideas about their Executive Officer. She would keep her voice down no matter what. Regardless how hard it proved to be. "You said... I wronged you when we were at Niga too... in not trying to claim you for myself. I tell you now... I wish I had not sent William Regal in my stead when I was infected... as strange as that might seem... given the circumstances." What a thing to say, even if it was true.
Edena had simply been trying to survive the Niga outbreak as best she could, but Illya had to admit she had felt a bit rejected. She had sent plenty of strong signals to Ida, and yet she hadn't come herself to infect Edena, instead using a proxy through Bill Regal. It had been a little insulting, as far as she was concerned, but at least she finally got her chance at Babe the Blue Andorian, her mouth working as eagerly as the other woman's lips had only moments before. "I can forgive you for Niga, considering how well you are treating me now," Illya said with a smile, before she was back to work Illya kept working until Ida hit her climax, her womanhood spilling forth the signs of orgasm.
When the climax hit her, Ida had to grind her teeth together as the convulsions raked through her blue ghelnoid frame, just to keep herself from crying out and alerting everyone about their mischief in the dark. Panting heavily, she unclenched her fingers from Edena's hair and ran hands over her lover's neck and shoulders, heart beating blue blood loudly in her ears.
Illya rose back up, kissing Ida, each one having the taste of the other in their mouth, sharing that experience with the other. "Was it as good for you as it was for me? Or do I need to go back down there and give you another?"
When Illya made Edena rise to her feet, Ida had nothing but a breathless embrace and pleased little noises to offer in response at first. The kiss stole the opportunity for speech anyway, the interspecies exchange of bodily fluids mixing in their mouths, and the Trill did have a quite memorable taste. The mere touch of those slightly colder hands had been a boon in itself during that warm night - each finger a chill delight.
Faces close, Ida chuckled as her antennae languorously swayed back and forth - their glistening bodies lit by the crane high above. The peripheral luminescence of a searchlight was passing them by again, and Ida glanced up by reflex to make sure they had not been spotted. They appeared to have escaped notice from the crewman operating the crane as well as the throng of people a stone-throw away. "We shouldn't press our luck, I suppose, despite how much I'd care to taste you a great deal more. The both of us have things at stake that we might loose if we linger, Rez."
A name fitting current and past hosts, which felt odd because it sounded less personal in this case, despite how she preferred using the last name due to her upbringing on Andoria. "Illya," she amended with grin and lay her blue hands against the Trill's firm bottom - pressing her closer so that she might burrow her tongue behind the First Officer's collarbone. "Then again, my name is already dishonoured, so my deepest concern is for yours."
Strange, how she found herself looking out for her superior officer's repute despite how she - deep down - refused to let herself trust the Starfleet Intelligence operative. After all, hidden behind those brown eyes of her was the host of Jona Rez, whom was a facet that justified all her old suspicions. The thought of him watching her struck her, as they...
"Has... he been watching us?" she asked quietly, her face rising slowly just as her antennae drew down.
Illya grinned when Ida asked about Jona, and if he was present when the deed had occurred between them. "Does that make you nervous, or does it turn you on more?" she asked, giggling a little as the two fished around for their clothes in the dark, looking to get dressed again before they rejoined the others. Ida was right that they couldn't be taking risks with getting caught in the act, or Edena would probably never show her face in public again.
Whether or not Jona Rez was present as a witness was never the real issue to Ida, yet the nature of the ghost called for her to be careful with what she said lest it might be used against her at some point. "Not nervous, precisely," she said as she pulled her panties up her legs, searching for the right word. "Somewhat cautious, perhaps. Though I am gladdened for your sake to hear that the four of you can respect each other's need for privacy somehow. It would seem to me that getting to be alone for once would be somewhat of a rarity."
"When one of us is in control, there are still two others left with him. We like to make sure that private moments are observed. You see, to the Rez symbiont since joining with Edena, it's like there are three ghosts always following you around. Usually, I'm one of them, but Edena let me borrow the body, and she and Kiya took Jona . . . let's call it for a walk. They basically distanced themselves enough to lose awareness of what was happening here with us. The first hint that Edena should get of what we were doing is when she tastes you in her mouth. Mmm, I'm gonna enjoy seeing that reaction from her. You're her first woman, even if it wasn't technically her."
At the bold comment about the First Officer tasting Ida in her mouth when she'd repossess her body from Illya, the Deputy was not quite sure what to say, even though she saw some level of slightly embarrassing humour in the scenario. It was her First Officer they were talking about, and the idea that she would taste her... Well, it was not like Edena Rez wouldn't guess what Illya was about since there had been little more discussed between them at the times they'd met. Ida was just glad they had finally found an opportune moment to live out their desire for real. Ida's desire for Illya had only come to truly manifest itself after the Niga Incident, yet now - when Rez had been redeemed in the eyes of the crew and the Senior Staff - there was nothing that forbade Ida to consider the Trill as a lover. Except Jona, perhaps, given what had transpired on the Bridge a couple of days past.
"I hope Commander Rez can forgive us this little excursion into the dark," she said with a lopsided smile as she dressed, not necessarily mentioning the lingering smells and tastes that Edena'd have to take part in, "for this Andorian truly needed to unwind after all that has come about. I have lacked in fortitude because of resent events, admittedly, and after having tried to seek some mutual comfort with Lieutenant T'Less... she was shot down. Thank you seems an odd thing to say, even if it is gratitude I feel for you and Rez coming to speak with me tonight."
"Honestly, after all this time, it's kind of hard to imagine being 'alone.' When I was a host, I always had a bit of Kiya with me, her knowledge, her memories, even if she wasn't there in the physical sense. Since the joining with Edena, the three of us have been somewhat alive again, ourselves within her. It's sort of like Kiya and myself are Edena's room mates, and Jona is like that bossy landlord who won't leave us alone." A laugh accompanied that statement, as Illya adjusted the top on Edena's body. Pulling her wrap around her waist and tying it afterward. "I think this excursion was good for Edena's body too. A little endorphin rush to get the bocy relaxed. If only her mind could be affected so easily. Poor girl is so stuck in her own head right now. Identity issues have been getting to her, not to mention dealing with the idea that there is a member of the crew who actually wants her in a romantic sense. I suppose it might make it awkward for her too, considering I was with him when we were separated during the Ishstar incident, and when we rejoined, she actually got the memories of everything me and the others did in the way that a joined Trill was meant to." It meant she experienced having sex with Miles, and Jien through Kiya.
In hearing the explanation of her First Officer's unique nature, Ida had naught but sympathy for the feeling of having an identity crisis. When she left Andoria, she had ceaselessly tired to find herself. She had been uprooted and adrift, with no culture or countrymen to rely on. No keth and no one to trust but herself, with no place in the entire galaxy to call home. To take that scenario and then have three people inside you striving for control simultaneously, with no chance to ever be let alone and have her own private time. It seemed to Ida, holding her undershirt in her hand, that it was fortunate that the Trill were trained for the joined experience through their young lives, and were prepared for the feeling if split personalities. Then again, no Trill had been trained for what the Rez hosts were going through.
"I suppose I should stop mortifying her by telling her personal problems to others. I should just mortify her with one last tease." Illya moved in and grabbed one more kiss from Ida, deep and intense, only to halfway through it switch out, and leave Edena back in control of her body. To her credit, it was half a second before she pulled back, a frantic, embarrassed look on her face. She was speechless, her bottom lip moving like she wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words to say. Dammit Illya, why do you do things like this to me!
Because your reactions are just so much fun, Eden.
Ida was surprised by the kiss, even though she answered it immediately with a small sound in her throat. Tilting her head and welcoming the Trill's tongue against her own, the fabric of her damp bra grazed across her nipples as they were pressed tightly against the Commander's uniform. Her antennae had risen in surprise, yet then slowly lowered in contentment. Her arms wrapped around the Trill and... Gone were the lips and the embrace and the mix of tastes in their mouths, the interspecies mix of female juices, and Ida came to understand Illya's ploy - seeing the results in the startled expression on the Commander's face. Wicked, wicked Illya. By Lor'Vela, what should I say now?
Having let go of Edena, Ida cleared her throat and lowered both eyes and antennae, taking great interest in the undershirt that she held in her hands and the distant fires. The awkward pause between them remained while Ida folded her arms underneath her breasts and wrestled with the words that did not come, looking away again before meeting her First Officer's eyes. "It would seem one of your previous hosts have an odd sense of humour, Commander Rez. Apologies for the rude... awakening. I have a crew to protect, so I better be on my way. Thank you for... for the talk. Much obliged."
The darkness hid the darker blue shade upon her neck as she made her way away from the XO, having no idea where she might go quite yet.
Topic: Day 16 [1600 hrs.] Artistic Values (Read 4184 times)
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