Arts and Crafts

Posted on Mon Jul 15th, 2019 @ 4:46am by

Mission: Episode 1: Hell is a four letter word
Location: Liorga's and Estelle's cabin
Timeline: before the battle
924 words - 1.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Estelle had put in three half-afternoons of work, whenever Liorga was otherwise occupied, and had finally finished painting the carved wooden panels with representations of vines of ivy, a casing that covered the functional parts of a small holographic projector that sat on the living room table. Of the octagonal projector, only the circular white surface was visible, the part that had to be exposed for the device to work. She was anxious to see whether Liorga liked it, but wasn’t going to draw attention to it. She wanted Liorga to find it.

Liorga had been beating her head against the wall trying to figure out how to keep Sami from leaving Elysium, not to mention dealing with the regular duties of engineering and her three times a week mandatory counseling sessions with Cadet Masters, who Liorga was trying desperately not to hate. She walked in and shucked her jacket, tossing it into the replicator, and walked to Estelle’s side, “Hey, baby.” She began, the new piece of furniture catching her eye, “So, uh, what’s this?”

Estelle put her arm around Liorga and kissed her, in lieu of saying hello. “Well, I didn’t have a lot to do these past few days. The bridge said sickbay should be ‘prepared for wounded’. Like we’re ever not, that’s like telling the tactical officer during a red alert they should be prepared to fire. I mean, what else would they be? Anyway, I thought I’d make something beautiful.”

“It very much is.” Liorga nodded, her arm still wrapped around Estelle’s waist, “Second most beautiful thing in the room in fact. So, uh, back to question number one, what is it? What does it do?” It looked like just a piece of beautiful furniture, but she knew with Estelle nothing was ever what it seemed to be on the surface.

“Are you feeling adventurous?” Estelle asked. “One of the leaves is a button. Press it and see for yourself.” Estelle’s eyes were full of mirth, she was looking forward to Liorga’s reaction.

“My common sense is tingling.” Liorga joked, a part of her wondered if this was a good idea, but her curiosity overwhelmed her, as it always did when it came to Estelle. She began tapping the leaves until she hit the one that turned it on, raising her eyes to see a holographic duck playing ‘Take Five’ on a piano, “Okay, that is cute.” She laughed, “Very cute. What caused you to pick that song, love?”

“It’s the top of your playlist”, Estelle said. “I figured, to have earned that placement, it must be something you like.” She had followed Liorga to the table and now squeezed her lover’s butt in a teasing fashion. “It’s not easy finding something special for you. You’re not nearly as snobbish in your tastes as I am.”

“Well, you’re so complicated, I figure it’s best for me to keep it simple.” Liorga laughed, “I love it, thank you.”

Estelle switched it off and sat down in front of the piano. There was more, of course. She started playing, but instead of one of her usual classical pieces, she now showed off her knowledge of Liorga’s favourite songs. She’d put her time to good use.

“Ya know, it’s not fair.” Liorga smiled, “A woman with your beauty and all these hidden talents, makes the rest of us look like we’re not even trying.”

“I’ve got to figure out a way to make it worth putting up with my annoying antics, don’t I?” Estelle grinned. She loved the fact that Liorga loved this, made it all worth it.

“Your antics aren’t as annoying as you think.” Liorga replied, “They’re actually a lot tamer when it’s just you. When you and your little redheaded friend get together though..."

Estelle snickered. “We just can’t pull off the big ones without some help.”

“Duly noted.” Liorga nodded, “So if I see you two with Anje I should expect real trouble?”

Estelle stopped playing and looked at Liorga. “Wait… you saw us?”

Saw them? She wondered, muttering, “Oh, shit…” Before continuing, “So, do I need to be worried?”

“No, just please don’t tell anyone”, Estelle said. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“Have your secrets then.” Liorga replied, figuring this was a time that she simply had to quote Frodo Baggins.

“No worries, it’ll be exactly on time”, Estelle grinned.

“That’s good.” Liorga laughed, “I’ll have a damage control team on standby just in case.”

Estelle stood and hugged Liorga. “You always know exactly what I need.” Which was true most of the time, anyway. She just hoped this little remark would make Liorga even more curious. “So, what’s your general level of annoyance today, after your session and everything?”

“Very low actually.” Liorga said, “The day wasn’t all that bad, then I came home to something very nice, so, yeah, low.”

“Then perhaps you could help me get rid of some of mine?” Estelle asked.

“Okay, how can I help?” The Deltan offered, unsure of what annoyances she could rid her lover of.

“Join me in the bedroom and I’m sure you’ll figure it out”, Estelle said with a naughty wink.

“I’ll diagnose the issue myself.” Liorga agreed readily, “I’m an engineer, after all.”

“Go get your toolbox then”, Estelle said, walking off into the bedroom.