Gremlins...

Posted on Fri Apr 16th, 2021 @ 7:31am by Captain David Tonelly [Reece] & Lieutenant Baeryn Whavi-Tonelly
Edited on on Mon Apr 19th, 2021 @ 1:17am

Mission: Challenge Missions
Location: USS Elysium, Marine County
Timeline: 1605 hours (Part 1)
1758 words - 3.5 OF Standard Post Measure

***Discover a computer glitch in the ship's onboard computer system in Marine county and work with the CHOPS to fix it***



***ON***

David was busy in the Marine Armory, running some diagnostics on both his sniper rifle and armor, following the recent away mission. Suddenly, the PADD he was using as a screen blinked out, then popped back on, but the screen showed nothing but jumbled images. He tried to fix the issue, working on it for several minutes.

Finally, not finding a solution. He sent in a work order to OPS. After the system told him there was a queue and his request would not bee seen for at least thirty minutes, he made a note that he would be in his private quarters, waiting for the technician to arrive. With his clearence as Range NCOIC, he not only pulled his own private quarters, but he could access the files in question from his desk computer access terminal.

The work order pinged onto Baeryn's screen. She knew no one was readily available, seeing how she had just divided up assignments to her crew. Glancing at her own schedule she shrugged and sent a notification she would be there shortly.

It took her almost twenty minutes to reach her destination. Cursing herself for constantly getting turned around, she really needed to get better at navigating this ship.

Standing in the threshold of the room where David was, she crossed her arms over her chest, "You know there are other more profitable ways to get attention other then breaking things." She joked with a smile.

Hearing the unfamiliar feminine voice, David stopped doing his inverted sit-ups, his dog tags hanging at the end of their chain, off his neck. Facing the upside-down Fleeter in Operations yellow, he was at first caught by how pretty she was.

Then he saw her officer pips.

Quickly, he crunched back up, grabbed the bar he was hanging from, held it with one hand, while he unhooked his ankle straps from the bar, lowered his feet down to the deck, all the while his well built physique rippled as he used each muscle group. Once he was back on his feet, he snapped to attention, standing there, in only his boots and uniform pants.

"Apologies, Ma'am! I did not realize you were an officer!" His eyes were planted on a spot of the bulkhead that was behind Baeryn's head. He tried to slow his breathing as he stood there.

Baeryn, while impressed with the Corporal's technique, tried not to look too pleased by the scene she had walked in on. She let out a soft chuckle watching him shift from relaxed to tense. "Please, no ma'am, just Baeryn is fine, or if that's too informal for you, by all means address me as Whavi."

Shoving off the wall she slipped passed David, the corner of her eye catching sight of the amount of sweat dripping down the Marine's chest. She probubly could have added more space between the two as she passed, but where was the fun in that? Another chuckle escaped her. Setting her tool bag on a nearby table top, she plopped down in an open chair. She picked up a PADD and began tinkering with it. "Is this the PADD you were using when you discovered the glitch?"

David relaxed, feeling that the lovely officer was not one for strict military protocol. "Yes Ma...Baeryn. I'm David, by the way. Pleasure to meet you." He gave her a friendly, lop-sided grin. As she was now sitting in the only chair in his small quarters, he moved to lean against his desk, grabbing a towel to wipe the excess sweat off his torso and head. Afterwards, he dropped the towel around the back of his neck, holding both ends with his hands. As he did this, he subconsciously flexed a few muscles, possibly due to the atteaction he was feeling for the young woman who was seated a mere few inches from him.

This close, he was enjoying the soft perfume that she was wearing. "I was trying to set up a new training program, to help me improve my sniper skills."

Baeryn started a diagnostic on the PADD, hoping the issue was with the lone piece of tech itself and not a broader, more time consuming issue. Her eyes couldn’t help but linger from the PADD to David, she hadn’t been conscious of the spacious but confined quarters until that moment. A bit of heat started to warm her core, her empathic abilities told her of his attraction, which sent her own body into a tizzy.

Baeryn grabbed a tee shirt from a shelf near the desk and threw it towards David. “Your current attire or lack there of is distracting.” She said it with a smile but kept her eyes on the PADD.

While the El Aurian couldn't read minds, his own enhanced senses could tell that his close proximity, and current state of dress, was having a positive effect on the young woman in his quarters. He stifled a chuckle when she grabbed one of his t-shirts and tossed it at him. Taking the shirt in one hand, he removed the towel with the other, tossing it on his bunk. As he donned the shirt, he deliberately made a slow show of it, flirting with the Ops Chief a bit.

After tucking the shirt in, which barely hid the musculature of his finely honed physique, he gave the woman a charming grin, and answered her question. "Well, Baeryn," he liked the way her name sounded on his tongue. "At first, the issue was with that PADD, but then," he turned and reached over her, their bodies so close, he could feel the breaths coming from her. He activated his desk computer interface, brought up the file in question, and showed her the glitching program. Turning to face her, their eyes locked and he grinned. "This," he spoke, his voice heavy. "Is the file in question. I've managed to isolate it, mostly, but, it is starting to affect surrounding systems." As he moved, his hands grazed hers.

It took all her self control not to react when the skin of their hands met. Internally she cursed herself for holding her breath during the interaction. When he leaned in close a few of her stray curls brushed against his arm, sending goosebumps down her spine. Whavi was used to working in close quarters with men, and women for that matter, but none had the effect David did. He was attractive, far more so then she would willing admit out loud and in more then just his face... It occurred to her in that moment how long it had been since she succumbed to her body's most primal need. When he said her name, every inch of her body erupted in flames.

Her obsidian eyes watched his lips move as he gave her further information on the computer issue. Her mind barely registering the words he was speaking. When they stopped moving and he grinned that beautiful grin at her she just about melted down to her core. Her body was aching to remove the blasted uniform. When his hot breath mixed with hers she suddenly became aware that she too had slightly leaned in closer to him. Her eyes blinked a few times and she tore her attention from him and to the main screen coughing to clear her throat.

"This will most likely take more time to clean up then I had anticipated." Clearing her throat again she began digging into the computers inner workings. The image of David shirtless and drenched in sweat kept popping into the forefront of her mind. The scars and tattoos adorned across his body peeked her interest, she wanted to know there story, what had caused the scares, what had inspired the tattoos. She knew it wouldn't be the last time that day she thought about the image.

As an El Aurian, David's species had been labeled as listeners. Right now, David was listening to Baeryn with every fiber of his being. He picked up on the delicious feeling that she wanted to do bad things with and to him. He certainly felt the same. On the other side of the coin, at nearly five hundred years old, he had learned how to be patient. A fool would rush in and take advantage of the situation. It might be fun to do so, in fact, he was certain it would be. However, afterwards, things would fizzle out as the candle had been burned too quickly. He wasn't interested in a single, quickly extinguished flame. He wanted a roaring inferno that would be impossible to extinguish. It had been nearly three hundred years since he had been intimate in any way. On the surface, this young woman certainly seemed worth the wait.

Stepping away, he said, "In that case, I'll run down to the mess hall and grab us something to eat. Are you hungry for anything in particular?" He had used the phrase deliberately, wanting to hear her answer and savor every bit of it.

The way her body tensed at the simple, yet daring, question was impossible to hide. The corner of her mouth slide up into a grin, oh how she wanted to voice what she truly hungered for! Her eyes seemed to darken into a glittering night sky, she didn't dare move any muscle other then her eyes towards him, keeping his stare for a moment before speaking, her voice taking on a huskier low tone, "Ice cream." She said coyly.

Baeryn didn't dare give him more then that. It didn't matter what flavor he brought back, she was only interested in the sweet, cold taste to help simmer down the roaring flame of desire under her skin. Bringing her eyes back to the screen in front of her, not fully registering what she was looking at, her mind was too entuned to the expression on his face, to the thickness of the air in the room.

With a slight bow of his head, David replied. "Ice cream it shall be then." He grinned again, flashing his nearly perfectly white teeth and gave Baeryn a playful wink. He then turned and left her alone, in his private quarters. The door slid shut behind him, leaving her with her thoughts.

***To Be Continued...***


Lieutenant Baeryn Whavi
Chief Operations Officer USS Elyium

&

Corporal David Tonelly
Marine Sniper