A Sequus and a girl

Posted on Wed Nov 11th, 2020 @ 10:40am by Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea & Lieutenant Commander S'hib

Mission: Season 4: Episode 2: Rest And Relaxation
Location: Various
Timeline: Shortly after arriving at Pacifica
1990 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

Naxea sat on the edge of her bed with her duffel bag packed and dressed in a grey tank top and tan shorts and boots. She looked down at her boots, contemplating on changing to sandals or something more suitable for visiting Pacifica. She shrugged, deciding to stay with her decision as she was comfortable in boots.

At the moment, all she wanted to do was get away from the ship and everything that happened. During the previous shore leave, she discovered a genocide committed by a supposedly forgotten Cardassian Prison Base and then she lost over half of her detachment to their Mirror Universe Counterparts. Not to mention that she was tortured, physically altered, and brain washed into hunting down members of the Elysium.

"Hey," S'hib asked softly, noticing Naxea staring off into the distance, her mind elsewhere. "You ok?" He asked as he moved away from the bags he was packing and sat beside her, his long legs sprawled out on the floor in front of him as he found her fingers and wrapped them around his own.

S'hib's voice broke her from her train of thoughts and she looked at him and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you ready? You take longer than Talarian Slug to get packed," she teased.

"Simply making sure everything is folded correctly, I don't exactly want to be doing push ups because I rolled your socks up wrong." He teased back, curling his upper lip up and poking his tongue out.

"We better get going. The sooner I get off this ship, the better," Naxea said, standing and grabbing her bag.

"I know..." He replied softly, watching her get up and leave his hand empty beside his lap, his response layered with and far more meaning than a simple reply. "We'll be there soon,"

With this, he stood and slowly moved past her while grabbing hold of the handle to their travel case, wheeling it silently to the door before looking back as the door opened, his features far more pronounced now he lacked his mane. "And when we do, there will be no kidnapping, no uncovering secret cults... and no time travel," He said firmly, though his mouth remained open as though still mulling over his last sentence. "Unless we drink too much."

"Oh? Are you an expert on such Time Travel methods?" she asked, grinning as they exited her quarters.

"I may have mellowed out in the last few years, but I was quite the party animal back at the Academy..." He grinned back, his free hand reaching out for hers.

"I'd hate to ask," she chuckled, grasping his hand in the process, as she pictured S'hib getting drunk at an Academy party. "I never attended many parties. I was always the one focused on courses and training. I actually had instructors order me to take breaks several times."

"Well you're stuck with me now, and although I can't order you around... I make a pretty good doorstop should you try and run back to your desk." He snorted, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and savouring the sensation of her skin pressing against his coat.

"You don't have to worry about that," she replied, not having told him of her decision to possibly resign from Starfleet in the next few days. Have you ever been to Pacifica?" Naxea asked as they rounded a corner, nearing the transporter room.

“I have not, sadly I’ve not had the fortune of visiting many new worlds, Though I did enjoy our trip to Bajor even if it was brief.” He trailed off, blissfully unaware of the choices raging inside her head.

“I should really take you to Sequella, and not just on the holodeck.” S’hib added as the transporter room doors opened, though his voice was filled with joy his face remained somewhat troubled at his own words. “Though that may have to wait for my mane to regrow...”

"Why? Do they view that as a dishonorable trait?" Naxea asked as she stepped onto the transporter pad. She knew of several warrior cultures who wore long hair as a sign of honor and status.

"It is a punishment for those who have committed the worst crimes on my world, I took it upon myself to carry the shame of my mirrors actions, once I learnt what he had done... though explaining that to my people would be rather difficult." He said quietly, falling silent as he rested his hooves inside the transport pad.

"You had no control over your Mirror's actions, S'hib. If I thought that way, Doctor Sthilg would have been killed and his skin would be mounted on the bulkhead in my quarters."

“It just felt like the right thing to do...” He replied, his proud posture shrinking as he reached out for her hand again.

"If you say so," Naxea shrugged and took S'hib's hand before looking at the transporter operator. "Energize."

S'hib and Naxea dematerialized a swirl of blue light, rematerializing a moment later on the surface of Pacifica. The sky was clear blue as the sun shone brightly in the sky with only a few clouds in sight. Next to them was a resort that seemed bustling with people. Endless ocean seemed to surround them.

Naxea took in a deep breath of the fresh ocean air. "Well this is definitely better." She already felt better being off of the ship.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to sand being so bright and pale...” He remarked, lifting a hoof skeptically, watching the clear white grains fall back to the beach below.

"Well get used to it for the next several days because I'm staying down here," Naxea said before turning towards the resort. "Come on, we need to check in." She tugged him along towards the resort entrance.

"What's the rush?" He asked curiously as his long legs lazily went about keeping up.

"I don't feel like hauling this duffel bag around unless you want to be a pack mule," she grinned at him

S'hib simply snorted, his brow frowning somewhat at her comment. "I'll put you and that bag over my shoulder if you aren't careful..."

"Promise?" she chuckled as they approached the check in.

“Promise.” He replied, nudging gently into her as they walked.

--------------------------

A few minutes later, Naxea dropped off her bag in her Suite that offered a private, view of the surrounding ocean and landscape. On the balcony, was a generous-sized jacuzzi built into the deck. She sat down on the edge of the King sized bed, looking at S'hib. "So, what do you feel like doing first?"

“Depends, you tired at all?” He asked curiously, placing his bag and suitcase down beside her, idly unpacking as he admired her features against the white sheets and pleasant furniture.

Naxea grinned as she looked back at S'hib. "Calm down. Maybe tonight," she teased. She opened her duffel bag, pausing as she grabbed the PaDD on top. She had yet to mention her possible resignation to S'hib. And she knew that he would want to know--he deserved to know. She kept the PaDD in her hand and looked at S'hib, taking a deep breath as she did so. "S'hib...I should tell you that I have been considering of resigning from Starfleet. This PaDD contains my resignation."

“What?” He blurted out, taking a step back as he tried to understand what she had just told him. “Why on all the red dunes would you do that?” He asked, his confusion plain to see as he crouched down in front of her, hands grasping at her fingers as if hoping to pry them from the PaDD.

"Because of what happened," she shrugged her shoulders, fighting back tears. "The abuse and tortures I underwent, losing over half of my detachment and add that to the Bajoran Massacre we discovered recently...it's too much. I even hunted down those on the Elysium that I served with."

He could see the pain in her eyes and hear the way her voice changed as she spoke, subtle differences that he had slowly learnt to understand, giving him an insight inside her defences, and her heart.

“Red sands...” He sighed as he stood up, sounding disappointed as he moved to his bag. “I wanted to wait until sunset, but I cant stand seeing you unhappy.” He snorted, lazily flicking a finger at her as he unzipped the small backpack.

He fell silent, rummaging about inside the disorganised contents until he found what he was looking for.

“Put the PaDD to one side, we can talk about why resigning is a silly idea later...” He smiled, trying to hide his nerves with a show of stubborn confidence, even as he held the second most precious thing in the room cupped between his hands at his waist.

"What is it?" Naxea sighed as her eyes moved from the PaDD she was holding to S'hib.

He smiled, a slow blinking smile as though hearing a joke only he understood. “You’ll see.” He spoke in front of her before bending his long unguligrade legs until he was sat atop them, his large hooves near his front, back arched and ears flicking nervously as he attempted to get comfortable while also delaying the inevitable question. “Now I'm not exactly sure how you say it on your world, but on mine...” S’hib said softly before taking a deep breath as he held out both hands, still cradling whatever it was he took from his bag.

“Naxea, will you start a herd with me.” His voice stuttered slightly as he spoke, causing him to snort ever so slightly in frustration until he realised he hadn't even opened his hands.

Cursing silent he hurried his fingers and revealed a small dark red wooden box, with a white ring inside.

The ring itself had been intricately woven from his own mane, something he had spent countless hours trying to make due to the size of her dainty humanoid fingers.

Atop the ring sat a small black stone, shaped and polished into an oval and allowing all the vibrant minerals inside to shine a whole range of colours

Naxea stared at the ring, blinking a few times. Was he proposing to her? Was he crazy? "Why would you want to marry me?" she asked softly, keeping her eyes on the ring a moment longer before looking at S'hib.

“Because you make me happy, and I want you to be happy too.” He replied as though the answer was obvious, shifting his head to one side in confusion, was this her way of saying no? he thought for a brief moment as panic raised from his gut into his throat.

“And I did catch those flowers...” He added with a nervous chuckle.

"That doesn't count," she replied with a lopsided grin. "The flowers were for single women only according to Terran Traditions. She let out a long sigh as she thought over her time with S'hib. It was true he had been there for her through the most difficult of times and protecting her when needed. She really couldn't imagine anyone else being there for her as S'hib had. "Yes, I'll marry you," she said at last.

“Oh thank the dunes...” He sighed happily as he placed the ring down between her feet and rushed forward, practically tackling her onto the bed with a happy squeal from his flared nostrils, wanting nothing more than to hug her for the rest of the day.

“You won't regret this.” He said softly into her neck, wrapping his long arms around her.

"I better not, or it's the airlock with you," she teased, enjoying his closeness. She was appreciative at how S'hib could make her feel better and make her forget her troubles for awhile. This was what she needed as she leaned in to kiss him.