Setting up the Future...

Posted on Mon Sep 12th, 2022 @ 8:30pm by Captain David Tonelly [Reece] & Lieutenant Baeryn Whavi-Tonelly

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: USS Elysium, Whavi/Tonnely quarters
Timeline: TBD
2367 words - 4.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Seated on the floor of their quarters, Baeryn sat with her long legs extended and crossed at the ankles as she flipped through digital designs she had found while researching nursery decor. At first she had thought she wanted to keep it simple with neutral colors and then when the baby developed a personality they would decorate accordingly. But who wanted to sit in a room with boring colors? If this baby was going to be born and raised aboard a starship, she wanted to show it all that she could from her home planet, along with glimpses of all the other magnificent and breath taking planets the universe had to offer.

“Woodland animals or underwater creatures? Do you think octopus are too scary for an infant?” Baeryn asked David without taking her eyes off the PaDD.

David entered the room that was to belong to their child one day. He knelt down and handed Baeryn a cup of decaffeinated tea, with a couple drops of honey in it. He then looked at the images. "I spent several decades at the bottom of Earth's oceans, designing habitats. So, I'm good with a water motif. As for whether octopi are too scary? Not if their represented correctly."

Baeryn accepted the tea, bringing it to her lips to blow on before taking a small sip. "I never knew you designed underwater habitats." She exclaimed.

Sitting down next to Baeryn, David nodded matter-of-factly. "Yeah, Pacific Habitat Construction Company, LLC. I was with them for a little over forty years. The habitats and science domes that are positioned by the Marianas Trench? Those are mine."

"Are they still around? Could we visit them next time we're on Earth?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

David smiled warmly. "Of course they are. I might even be able to swing a guided tour for ya, you play your cards right and be a good girl." His grin grew even more as he joked with her. They both knew that all she had to do was ask, and he would do whatever he could for her.

Baeryn smirked as she nudged David with her knee. She looked about the room that still needed to be cleared out, there were a few packed boxes and others still open awaiting to be filled. There wasn't any rush, given they had a long wait ahead of them before she would give birth, but Baeryn needed a project to focus on. "We have shore leave coming, a visit them? We're pretty far from Earth, so we would spend alot of the time traveling."

He shrugged as he replied. "Well, I'd rather really show you the place, instead of rush through it." He thought for a moment, then had an idea. We could go to the holodeck? See it that way for now, until we are able to spend some real time in the actual facility?"

"Now?" She asked with raised auburn brows.

He grinned in reply. "Why not. Maybe the break will help inspire us in decorating Junior's bedroom."

Baeryn snorted, "Junior? Know something I don't, Corporal?"

David grinned at the woman he loved. He didn't know how she did it but, whenever she called him by his rank, it always felt more like a private nickname, and not an official title.

Shaking his head, he replied. "Was merely speaking figuratively. Junior, as our child, not necessarily a specifically male or female gender."

"Mmmhhhm." Baeryn replied unbelieving as she stood from her spot on the floor. Suddenly feeling a wave of dizziness Baeryn reached out to steady herself on the wall.

David was on his feet and by her side in a flash. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" He offered his arms to steady her.

Baeryn waved him off, not wanting David to make a big fuss, but knowing he would regardless. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment she said, "I just got up too fast is all. I was sitting longer then I thought."

David allowed Baeryn to wave him off, but he still remained close by, in case she changed her mind. "You sure you're okay, Baer?"

"I'm sure." Baeryn put on a brave smile and pulled David to her, wrapping her arms around his middle and laying her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, breathing in Davids warm sandalwood scent.

David wrapped his arms around Baeryn and held her close. "If you're not feeling up to it, I can always have a holoprojection set up and show you that way?"

Shaking her head softly Baeryn pulled away slightly from David. “No, let’s go to the holodeck. I could use the walk to be honest.”

Looking down into the eyes that owned his soul, David gave Baeryn a soft grin and slight nod. "Okay," he replied softly, as he turned them towards the door leading out of their quarters, offering his left arm to her to steady herself with.

Linking her arm with his Baeryn followed David out of their apartment and into the hall. "Have I ever told you that you remind me of a vampire?"

He looked down at her and arched his eyebrows. "Oh? And why is that? I'm guessing it has to do with more than my interest in nibbling that delicious neck of yours?"

“Ha! No, but now that you brought that up it only strengthens my theory!” Baeryn chuckled before continuing, causally waving at a fellow officer as they walked down the hall. “I used to read books and watch movies about vampires who lived for centuries, most living multiple lives and always moving around in fear people will find out what they were. They were immortal and outlived humans, you remind me of that.” Baeryn had a fleeting thought she quickly contained. David would outlive her.

David considered the analogy thoughtfully. "Well, maybe there's some truth in the myth. I'm sure there has been more than one human who found out about aliens, long before your father's people even entered the Industrial Age. Perhaps, Dracula and the vampires of your literature were loosely based on an El Aurian?"

With a wink Baeryn asked, "Any blood lust I should know about?"

David could feel the slight unease in Baeryn as they spoke. However, before he could comment on it, she seemed to stff it away. He decided to respect her privacy and not ask her. Instead, he grinned slightly ss he replied. "The only lust that I am feeling, my dear, is for you." He emphasized his statement by leaning in and kissing her.

Baeryn laughed after returning David's kiss. "Is it wrong I'm slightly disappointed that you don't need to feed off my blood to sustain your own life?"

David arched his right eyebrow at that statement, his eyes filling with a glint of mischief and danger. "My dear, the night is still young." He gave her his perfect, toothy grin, his canines seeming to slightly fit the legendary shape of vampire fangs. Though, to be fair, they always looked like that.

The laugh that erupted from the hybrid filled the hall. Baeryn hurried a little faster down the hall as her adrenaline grew at the sight of his teeth. The urge to run was becoming increasingly difficult each second.

"Run, little rabbit," he teased, playfully acting as the predator. "It makes my meal oh so much sweeter!"

Baeryn took off. Running full force down the hall like she was being chased by the galaxy's fastest and deadliest creature. She dared one quick glance over her shoulder to give David a wink. "You'll have to catch me first!"

David gave her a feral grin, giving her a few paces head start, before leaping after her.

As they enjoyed their little game, he was glad that there weren't too many people in the corridors to bump in to.

David quickly closed the distance, and in less than twenty paces, had caught up to her. Reaching out, he easily scooped her up into his strong arms. "Gotcha, little rabbit," he said with that same hungry grin from before. He then leaned in and started to nuzzle the side of her neck, playfully nibbling on her smooth flesh and her earlobe.

Baeryn squirmed in his grasp playfully as she laughed too loudly in the small area. There were others down the hall but she didn't care. It probably made her unprofessional, they probably judged her for showing such emotion in public but she didn't care. Life was too short. She geatured towards the door before them with her chin, "We're here Dracula."

"Mmmmm...." he murmured happily. "Then, it is time that I turned you into my concubine. That way, I can feast upon you until the end of time!" He leaned back and nibbled her again, as he moved them towards, and then through, the opening doors. Once they were inside, the doors slid shut, closing off the rest of the world.

They were standing in the empty holodeck, the grid work clearly visible.

The hybrid looked around the empty holodeck and nodded, "Impressive." She said in a teasing tone.

David managed to find one of her ticklish spots and stimulated it while he still held her in his arms. "Behave you," he playfully admonished.

Her laugh echoed in the empty room, causing the sound to be much louder then intended. Clamping her lips shut tightly Baeryn gave David a shove. "Well lets get this show on the road Romeo."

He chuckled quietly, then lowered Baeryn to her feet. After carefully positioning her in the center of the room, he said, "Okay now, close your eyes, no peeking! I want it to be a surprise." He moved off to the arch and started to punch in several commands. Looking back at Baeryn, he grinned. "Eyes closed?"

Baeryn rolled her eyes but obliged him. "They are for the moment." She smirked knowing she was being a brat but enjoyed giving her love a hard time.

David grinned to himself. He loved how saucy Baeryn could get sometimes. "Okay, here comes..." he activated the program and the blank holodeck morphed into the private observation port, from David's cabin, down at the Marianas Trench Observatory Installation. The section Baeryn was standing in was roughly circular, like a blister coming off the complex side. The entire section was covered by a single piece of transparent aluminum, giving full and unencumbered views of the surrounding area.

And to say that it was colorful, was an understatement. Over a few different sections of the installation, there was regular white lighting, primarily where the various submersibles entered and left the installation. The rest of the lights, however, were all black and ultraviolet, casting the area and the animals in it, in bright, festive colors.

There was life everywhere! Thanks to a few centuries of pollution remediation, along with various forms of animal breeding and husbandry, the Earth's oceans were nearly back to their former glory. Everywhere one looked, a different animal could be seen.

David moved over to stand behind Baeryn, gently wrapping his arms around her, placing his hands on her growing belly. "Keep your eyes closed a little bit longer, my love. I want you to to hear it first." He gently kissed the side of her head, then looked up at their surroundings. "Computer, activate audio for the live feed currently being displayed, and begin simulation.

The computer beeped it's acknowledgement and the silence was replaced with the various sounds one heard under water at this depth. There were soft creaking sounds from the installation, as the ocean constantly pressed against it. The current of the water could be heard gently whooshing past the viewport. Off in the distance, various whale songs and sonar clicking could be heard as well.

The sounds were unfamiliar to the hybrid. The sonar clicking causing her to tense in David's arms. She hated having her eyes closed but the fear of not knowing what was surrounding her vanished when she heard David's voice in her ear. Her body relaxed at his soft warm tone.

David smiled a bit brighter. "Okay, now...open your eyes slowly." He spoke softly, so as not to disturb what she was hearing.

Obsidian eyes widened when she took in the view. Her lips parted in a small gasp at the beauty of it all. So many colors, so much movement that it was impossible to take it all in at once. "Astonishing." Was the only word she was able find to describe it.

David grinned. "Yeah, that's about right. This was my view for about the last fifteen years. I'd wake up, and step up to this viewport and watch the life move around me."

"It seems so close, but yet....so very very far away." Baeryn left his embrace to step towards the viewport. "So much like space and its deep darkness that holds so much mystery."

David reached up for the support girder that he knew was there and stretched his frame slightly as he watched the woman he loved experience a moment from his long life.

"You built this?" She gestured around them. "It didn't affect the population of fish or coral?"

David smiled and nodded slightly. "Not by myself, but, I was the lead designer. And no, I made sure the every bit of construction caused little to no interruption in the local flora snd fauna. In fact, part of the design actually added more space for the local life to find new homes."

"Ahh." Baeryn was at a loss for words. She continued to look out into the deep blue, silent for a little while longer as she took in its beauty. "I want the nursery to be decorated similar to this. But no sharks or large scary creatures. Colorful fish, bright coral....." Her voice trailed off.

Releasing the girder, David stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around Baeryn's front, gently placing the left side of his jaw against the right side of her face as they both looked out the viewport. "Of course, my love." He then gently kissed her right temple.

~OFF~