Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

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Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

October 07, 2021, 12:08:22 AM

[Lt. Reggie Suder | Outside the Public Baths | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Stegro88

This ship had a bath house. Not a holographic re-creation of some spa or stylized Risian bath house, but an honest to god ‘brick and mortar’ bath house. Ever since she had seen that on the Theurgy’s deck plans she’d been jonesing for the opportunity to check it out. After spending most of the afternoon in a simulator and living it up with the squadron mixer she and Victor had inadvertently walked in on she was more than ready for a good hot soak, especially since she was planning on a training run with her wing tomorrow and did not want to be sitting in Wolf-13 with a stiff back.

Lucky 13

But as she approached the entrance to the Public Baths, she stopped short when the doors remained still, a gap no bigger than a few dozen centimeters between them and a sign with a simple, disappointing message.

CLOSED FOR REPAIR

Reggie stepped back with a sigh. Of course it was under repair. Half the ship was damaged from it’s various engagements so while it was a disappointment, it was not much of a surprise. She turned to head back to her quarters but stopped after a handful of steps and backtracked to the computer access panel she had just passed and called up the maintenance records for the Public Baths compartment. Perhaps there was an ETA on repair completion.

Tomorrow morning at 0800.

Apparently the main pool needed to be filled, and the deck needed a final cleaning. Everything else was checked off as on line and ready. Both tasks had been scheduled for 0200, which told the pilot that the work was easy enough that the graveyard shift could handle it in the middle of their watch. Clearly this was just a case of putting the final touches on an otherwise completed repair job.

So what if the decks were a little dirty? All she wanted was to sit and soak for a bit. She’d be out and gone long before the cleaning crew arrived. They’d never know she had been in there. Hell, it wasn’t even like she had to break in! The doors had been left wedged open. It was practically an invitation!

Even so, she looked up and down the corridor before squeezing herself through the gap and into the locker room. The compartments were dark, almost too dark for a person to see, but her ocular implants adjusted to their low light mode, providing her what she needed to navigate the locker room benches and step out onto the deck of the main pool before she turned into the steam room and crossed into the jacuzzi area.

All three were topped off but unoccupied leaving her to her pick. Slipping out of her warm ups, she adjusted the shoulder straps of her one piece. Eventually she would need to expand her wardrobe with some bikinis to say nothing about clothes for tomorrow night’s concert. But for now, the deep cut one piece she had replicated would suffice.

In one graceful motion she made her way down the steps, the hot water of the in ground jacuzzi lapping at her smooth skin as she descended before crossing to the control panel mounted low on the bulkhead. With a few light taps of the LCARS display, the underwater jets thrummed to life and the water around her began to roil. She lowered herself onto the submerged bench, leaned her head back and closed her eyes, allowing the steam to build and the heat to relax her muscles.

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs] - Fluid Reunion

Reply #1 – October 25, 2021, 04:00:47 AM

“Need to adjust burst fire rates to allow for more even charging of the individual power cells from the EPS grid,” T’Less mused as she made notes on a PADD as she walked. “Will need to modify the targeting algorithm to compensate for the altered readiness but there should not be a significant measurable decrease in overall firepower, coverage or protection. Also need to check if the latest refinements to the servo systems match those of projected response.”

The Vulcan had been moving about, using the late hour to allow herself to walk and think as she went over plans for her schedule tomorrow. The late hour provided emptier corridors and lower risks of her bumping into someone as her mind focused on other tasks. She found that she was passing the public baths and added a swim to her schedule for the next day. She had wanted to go earlier but the area was shut for repairs until 0800 the next morning. She was just about to walk away when she heard the jacuzzi start up from beyond the wedged open doors.

“Odd,” T’Less mused before bringing up the repair schedule on her PADD. Nothing was scheduled for that time and the Vulcan found herself curious; especially as no one had checked into the area to perform additional maintenance. Squeezing through the gap proved only a moment’s hinderance before the tactical officer was walking around the empty main pool and towards the Jacuzzi area.

“Who is here?” she called out before rounding the corner and stopping, her heart skipping a beat as her eyes fixed on a face she thought she would never see again. Memories flashed through her mind, as if they had only happened yesterday. The runabout, the island, the ocean, reef. The storm. It all came flooding back.

“You!”

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs] - Fluid Reunion

Reply #2 – October 31, 2021, 01:32:47 AM

[Lt. Reggie Suder | Public Baths | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Stegro88

The rumbling of the jets provided ample enough background noise to drown out the world around her and the pressure from the nozzles drove air and water into Reggie’s back, massaging tension out of her she had not realized had existed. Reggie was not surprised given how the past few days had gone and now to learn that she’d been named flight leader of her group only added pressure and responsibility that, if she were being honest, she was not sure she wanted. This ship and crew had a mission, one hell of one at that and one of which she was now a part. It all seemed a bit over the top to her… how could it not. Even so, when she had been briefed by Captain Jackson, and then the orientation officers on board the Theurgy, she sensed just how sincerely they believed what they were saying and just how serious they took the situation. The news of Paris now had a broader context, one that Starfleet had not been able…or willing… to provide and that attempted Tal Shiar attack on Qo’Nos… no. Too many events to be considered coincidence.

Reggie let out a sigh as she pushed everything out of her mind, and tried to be alone with her thoughts Just her, the water and a presence she’d not felt since…

“You!”

Reggie yelped in surprise as the sudden outburst startled her. She tried to stand, but her foot slipped on the tile bottom of the hot tub and she fell all the way in, the hot water stinging against her face. Her feet found stability and pushed herself up and out, coughing as she wiped the hot water off her face and eyes before she opened them again to see who it was that had crashed in on her reverie.

Reggie almost couldn’t believe it. She looked maybe a year older by human standards, even though it had been a decade since they’d looked each other eye to eye. Her hair was the same as it had been then, though perhaps a bit longer by choice. Gone was the cadet’s uniform, replaced by an officers duty uniform complete with red tunic and lieutenant’s pips. Reggie’s own memories flushed back, her first impressions as she woke up on the back of that runabout, the look of her in a wet, clingy uniform, the island, the swim, that damned jellyfish and the storm. Oh what a storm that had been. And then the pain. Their quick parting of company, the utter silence and the acceptance that she was gone. But she wasn’t gone. She was standing right here, looking down at her and in that moment little else mattered. She was not the one who had ghosted her, not the one who had broken Reggie’s heart. No. She was just the one who got away. She was…

“T’Less…”

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs] - Fluid Reunion

Reply #3 – November 22, 2021, 03:27:18 PM

“Reggie...”

It was all T’Less could think to say in that moment as he memories and emotions beat at what little control she was able to maintain, threatening to overwhelm her. It was if the last 10 years had never happened at all while at the same time they had. Everything and nothing at all was different. She was standing here, on the deck of the Theurgy’s Public Baths, while simultaneously being back in the rear of the crashed runabout as a storm beat against the hull. And all that mental turmoil was caused just from seeing a single Betazoid woman.

T’Less had to admit, Regiene “Reggie” Suder looked good, the years having been kind to her. The tattoo on her hip was new, but T’Less acknowledged that it fitted with what she remembered of the Betazoid’s personality. And given the size and detail of it, T’Less was sure that it had a special meaning given its prominence. Everything else was almost exactly as she remembered it, even down to the wet hair plastered to her face.

“How did you get here?” T’Less asked, even as the answer was supplied by herself. The Vulcan had reviewed all transfers that had been organised by Admiral Anderson and Reggie’s name was not on them which only left a transfer from the USS Oneida as the solution.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice firm, belying her frustrated composure.

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs] - Fluid Reunion

Reply #4 – December 05, 2021, 08:48:57 PM

[Lt. Reggie Suder | Public Baths | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Stegro88

In that moment, everything that had seemed odd since she had come aboard ship, fell into a new context that made sense. The incident with Kate in sickbay, the random memories, a decade buried, coming back of the beach, the storm, the intimacy…the song. Had she sensed T’Less’s mind aboard ship and just not realized it consciously.

The Vulcan looked as good as Reggie remembered. Age was an odd thing when it came to Vulcans as their longevity made the differences due to age, even after a decade, subtle at best. They were there, of course. Her hair was slightly different, the trim of her uniform was red instead of the blue Reggie might have suspected. At some point T’Less had transferred divisions, not that it was un heard of of course. But perhaps the most discernable change that had taken T’Less over the decade was also the hardest to discern. Reggie sensed emotional response from the Vulcan- Frustration. Confusion, maybe?

Of course, much as she had been when they first met, T’Less was straight to business asking, if not outright insisting on an explanation as to why she was here. Anger flashed through the Betazoid. What right did T’Less have to question her? What the hell had her excuse been a decade ago when Reggie’s messages to her had gone unanswered? For as free spirited as she was, Reggie did not just throw around words haphazardly, but she might have actually loved T’Less back in the day and while she couldn’t have known for sure, it was T’Less who had robbed her of the opportunity to find out.

Fonder memories swept in, pushing the anger aside. She hadn’t exactly been kind to T’Less’s Vulcan sensibilities back then and there had certainly been enough tension between them that Reggie might have legitimately alienated her. Odd how a decade could bring a certain perspective.

“I…” she hesitated. “I was on board Oneida with a handfull of other TacConn pilots when Captain Jackson and the crew decided the help the Theurgy. We helped cover the Sabine’s flight to Qo’Nos. Heard you guys needed a few more bodies behind the stick, so we transferred over.”

She turned and offered a slight curtsy in the water, her breasts dipping under and then back above the surface before she turned demurely.

“Wolf 13, aft your service.”

She tried to push down the smile that threatened her. For whatever T’Less might be experiencing, Reggie now realized she was just as much confused, hurt, and yes… maybe a little excited about all this.

“I’m happy to see you again, T’Less. You look good.”

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs] - Fluid Reunion

Reply #5 – January 13, 2022, 03:18:23 PM

Her voice sounded just like she remembered it did. Better even, if that was possible. Seeing her there, in the pool, only strengthened the tide of memories assaulting her. It was all T’Less could do to remain standing there as her own mind betrayed her control. And the worst of it was, she liked the memories being presented to her. She enjoyed them. With the benefit of experience and time, she could look back at things with a different eye and see what she hadn’t before. Could see how she had acted and what the potential outcomes of that behaviour might be. But that wasn’t who she was anymore.

“A wolf,” T’Less mused, trying not to be distracted by the curtsy performed for her. She had seen Reggie in much less, as her mind was reminding her, but a memory was never as good as the real thing.

“As do you,” T’Less admitted, looking down at Reggie from her elevated position standing on the deck. “And I am glad to see you as well,” T’Less continued, squeezing her hands tightly to try and focus her mind past everything that was happening within it. “There is much I regret about how I left things between us. After everything.”

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs] - Fluid Reunion

Reply #6 – February 01, 2022, 03:25:44 AM

[Lt. Reggie Suder | Public Baths | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Stegro88‍

Anger flared up within her and she was glad she was in the water as her clenched fists remained obscured by the frothing and churning water. After a decade, that was the best T’Less could do? ‘There is much I regret’? The Vulcan had disappeared on her. She had not returned her messages, had not tried to reach out. She went through that entire war, looking at every casualty list afraid of seeing T’Less’s name. Over a decade and not a word.

The wave passed her just as quickly. A decade was a long time, certainly long enough for some perspective. Lord knew she was not the same woman today as she’d been back then. That much time, and a war changed people….even Vulcans. But T’less’s choice of words stuck with her. ‘I am glad’. Was that the sign of an emotional connection? Sure it was a colloquial nicety, but accompanied by an empathic wave.

Still, Reggie had been hurt and Reggie did not hurt easily. She waded back to the underwater bench on the far side from where T’Less was, and sat down, letting the water come up over her breasts and lap up against her neck line. There had been a time when she didn’t care what T’Less saw of her and, if she had to be honest with herself, that time might come again. But that time was not now.

“You could have called.”

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

Reply #7 – April 13, 2022, 03:01:41 PM

“As I stated, there is much I regret. Not communicating with you further is but the first point,” T’Less admitted openly, not seeing a reason to deny it. It had been she who had cut off contact between the two of them, out of fear, but still her fault. The irony was that her fear from that time had been realised with an entirely different source but with the same outcome nonetheless. She was an emotionally compromised Vulcan far from any help and without hope of getting back to it in any reasonable timeframe.

“Much has changed since we parted all those years ago,” T’Less stated, using a Terran phrase she had heard multiple times over the intervening years. “You have probably changed, and I know I have changed. I look back on my life, even to when I was at Starfleet Academy, and I find it difficult to recognise myself from that time,” T’Less revealed, opening herself up for a moment before slamming that part of herself shut again, fighting herself for composure.

“Still, that doesn’t explain why you have entered an area that was sealed for maintenance,” T’Less continued, her tone firmer as she tightened down on her emotions. “It would be better to sort this out here without my having to called Security.”

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

Reply #8 – May 30, 2022, 10:42:54 PM

[Lt. Reggie Suder | Public Baths | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Stegro88‍

The Betazoid fought down the urge the shove her arms forward and drench the Vulcan in a wave of hot jacuzzi water. It seemed that no matter how much she professed to have changed, there were some things about T’Less that had stayed very much the same. Still a stickler for the rules, she was. Reggie could understand that. Honestly, she could. But to threaten to call security for ‘breaking in’ to a compartment that was already open?

“Seriously?”

She sat down in the water, her breasts dipping below the surface where they were concealed by the frothing of the water, both as an act of defiance towards the threat and as a way communicating that, for now at least, T’Less had lost the privilege of seeing her.

“First,” she said. “The area was not sealed. The doors were already propped open when I arrived. I didn’t break in so much as I let myself in. Second, it’s not exactly like this place is a hazardous area. According to the maintenance logs, the pool needs filling and the overall deck needs to be sterilized.”

Reggie dipped her mouth below the waterline, and took a drink just to spit it back out; a needed rinse.

“Now I’m not exactly trying to fill the pool right now, and if I chose to walk on a non sterile surface in my swim suit,” her voice trailed off as a devious idea hit her. Why she decided to run with it, she didn’t know, but it seemed to make sense. “Or less… Then I suppose that’s my choice to assume the risk, is it not?”

She sat up a little, letting the top of her breasts and her cleavage peek out from under the water.

“Now are you really going to call security over this?”

Another devious thought. Inappropriate as hell, but if it made T'less squirm a little. So much the better.

“Or are you just looking for an excuse to make me your captive?”

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

Reply #9 – August 19, 2022, 05:28:57 PM

“So, you admit that you have entered an area that was closed to you," T’Less summarised, hammering down on the exact violation that Reggie had committed and pointedly ignoring the flirting that the Betazoid was unleashing in her direction. Its effect was not visible, though nor was it deniable. “The more things change, the more some things stay the same. No matter, I think we can spare Security the trouble of coming up here to escort your wet form out the door. I fear that they would enjoy themselves too much.”

T’Less was going to leave it there but something inside her wouldn’t allow it. Reggie had thrown down the gauntlet, so to speak, with her blatant flirtatiousness and it was up to T’Less to respond. “I would advise against behaving like a typical Betazoid here during normal hours. I understand that a fellow wolf likes to collect women for his own personal harem, so to speak. I’d hate to see you reduced to a captivity of that level. I remember you always enjoying your freedoms of expression.”

“Will that be all Reggie or are you going to continue to try and tease me into submission?” T’Less asked, choosing her wording carefully.

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

Reply #10 – September 02, 2022, 04:15:29 AM

[Lt. Reggie Suder | Public Baths | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy] attn: @Stegro88

Reggie couldn’t help but chuckle at T’Less’s ‘gotcha’ comment. There was truth to her accusation, but at the same time there was an additional truth that as yet remained unspoken. The bathing Betazoid did not offer any direct response, until T’Less cautioned her about one of the other Wolf pilots. It wasn’t the first time someone had implied such a scenario and while Reggie had her suspicions, the pilot in question had not propositioned her as yet.

“I…uh,” she stuttered. “I appreciate the heads up,” she said, a softer more sincere tone in her voice. “That was very kind of you to be concerned for me.”

And as she stood there, taking in the hot water, she regarded T’Less and sensed…confusion. That in and of itself was somthing as Vulcans were notoriously difficult to read, to say nothing of the emotional sense T’Less was giving off. It intrigued her but she knew better than to push it. Accuse a Vulcan of emotionalism and they’d clam up faster than the Borg could adapt to phaser fire.

The Vulcan’s question pulled her back.

“Would you care to join me,” she offered. There was no hint of flirtation or tease in her suggestion. “It’s good to see you and we should catch up. Even if you just take your boots and socks off and dip your feet in, I’d welcome your company.”

Reggie stepped back. “Besides,” she said as she sat back down on the underwater bench. “Given the fact that you’re not security, and as you pointed out this is a closed area, it would seem that you’ve also broken in.”

The playful tease was back in her voice. She knew she shouldn’t have, but the Betazoid just could not help herself.

“A technicality, I know. But last I heard, Vulcans do embrace technicality.”

She deflated, let out a breath as her head lowered.

“Please stay,” she implored. “I’ve missed you.”

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

Reply #11 – October 25, 2022, 05:13:20 PM

“Your implication that I too have ‘broken in’, as you put it, is unfounded,” T’Less corrected calmly, ratcheting down on her emotional control once again. “As the entrance was already breached prior to my arrival, my violation would only amount to trespass, if it could be proven that I was acting outside of my duties. Which I do not believe that I am,” T’Less commented as she locked eyes with Reggie.

“As for your invitation,” T’Less began before stopping. She had been about to dismiss it out of hand given that the area that they both were currently occupying was closed, but something inside her, something that she hadn’t felt for quite some time, forced her to stop. With a start, she realised that she wanted to remain, to stay with Reggie and discover all that had happened to the Betazoid since they had parted years prior, and to share what had befallen her as well.

“I, I would like to Reggie,” T’Less admitted, gazing at the woman before her. “But I have duties that need to be attended to,” the Vulcan hedged. She needed to gather herself before she sat down with Reggie again. “Perhaps we could meet tomorrow?

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

Reply #12 – November 04, 2022, 09:53:04 PM

[Lt. Reggie Suder | Public Baths | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Stegro88‍

Reggie was about to correct T’Less’s assertion that Reggie had broken in. IN fact the door had been opened when she entered, so there was no ‘breaking’ in the whole breaking and entering thing. But she never gave that technicality a voice.

T’Less had said no.

Again.

The Betazoid would not have thought it possible for her chest to ache as much as it did in the moment a hole in her stomach opened so large it threatened to swallow her heat whole. Why? Why after all this time was she so fucking hug up on this Vulcan who very clearly did not… no could not care for her company. God Dammit how hopeless had she become that after not seeing her in over a decade she could be so naive to think T’less had changed. Vulcans did not change.

That's not what she said.

The thought struck Reggie as if out of the blue and she had to stop for a moment to think and recall exactly what T’Less had said.

I would like to Reggie. But I have duties that need to be attended to. Perhaps we could meet tomorrow?

That wasn’t a ‘no’. It was a ‘now is not a good time’. She had even gone so far as to propose an alternate time…one that was… not…

“I wish I could,” Reggie admitted. “I’ve got the night duty in the bay tomorrow. We’re keeping a pair of pilots on deck at all times until we’re certain things have settled with the Klingons and I drew the short straw for tomorrow.”

Dammit. When could she propose from her end. She had the duty tomorrow, and the day after was the concert…

That might work. A larger social setting might make things a little less weird.

“That said,” she continued. “Kate Foster and I are hosting a concert night on the holodeck the day after tomorrow. An invitation should have been sent to your terminal. You should come. Maybe we could talk there a little?"

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

Reply #13 – December 06, 2022, 03:36:59 PM

T’Less had seen the invitation for the social event in her messages but had disregarded reading it. She did not make it a habit to attend such events; her prior appearances being more for the sake of others than for her own enjoyment. That, coupled with the amount of work that she had given herself during the Theurgy’s time in orbit, T’Less wasn’t sure that she should attend, not if she wanted to complete everything.

A glance at Reggie though made her pause in her immediate response. The Betazoid looked hopeful that the Vulcan would accept her personal invitation and T’Less was inclined too as well. She had just offered to make time for her tomorrow, what was the difference between that and the following evening? With more notice, she could ensure that she made a solid effort to complete as much of her workload before her attendance.

“I... I would like that,” T’Less confirmed calmly. Suddenly at a loss for words, The Vulcan glanced down at her PADD and then back up at Reggie. “I should complete this before it gets much later,” she said, sounding ridiculous even to her own ears. “I would suggest that you complete your bathing in a timely manner. I would dislike hearing that a Security team found you in a state of such undress.” That said, T’Less slowly turned and left the Public Baths, not looking back out of fear that she would never be able to leave.

Re: Day 01 [2200 hrs.] Fluid Reunion

Reply #14 – December 13, 2022, 04:00:16 AM

[Lt. Reggie Suder | Public Baths | Deck 6 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Stegro88‍

She sensed the conflicting…emotions…in T’less and it caught her off guard and as T’Less confirmed she would attend, Reggie found herself unexpectedly surprised. She wasn’t entirely sure why though. After all she had asked T’less, and she wouldn’t have asked her had she not wanted her to accept.

The Betazoid felt a warmth as T’Less warned her about security before leaving but she couldn’t think on it as she watched the sway of the Vulcan’s hips as she walked back into the relative darkness of the shut down deck. How she missed that woman.

The Demands of her career had not permitted Reggie much time to dwell on the past and in truth there had been many a time when she’d almost forgotten about her academy partner. But now that she was back on board this ship, standing there in the flesh, at least figuratively speaking, she was reminded of everything and it seemed to rush back to her as if no time had passed at all.

“Thanks…” she said quietly to T’Less. She doubted the Vulcan could hear her at this point and as she mulled over the comment another thought occurred to her. T’Less hadn’t commented on security finding her, but rather the state of Reggie’s attire in such an event.

“Wait,” she said. “What the hell does that mean?”

There was no response from the void of the Public baths, leaving Reggie to plop herself down on the underwater seat and wonder if that was to mean the Vulcan wanted to be the only one who saw her in her current state.

Maybe she’d find out at the show.

Maybe.

-FIN-