Make Your Move

Posted on Mon Sep 12th, 2022 @ 1:06am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Lieutenant JG Corvin Hartjin

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Anorra
Timeline: Mission Day 17 at 1430
4199 words - 8.4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

The previous evening had ended on a good note even after their brief tiff during their conversation. Andrei had woken up after an hour or so of a nap feeling more refreshed after their rather destructive outing. They’d opted to try room service, found the food still absolutely disgusting, and settled for a moderately more appealing meal of their own making. Another strange Vidiian movie was watched, this time with both of them getting bored halfway through and deciding that they had all the entertainment they needed between the two of them. It had of course ended with them tangled together in their bed which would have surprised absolutely no one in the universe at this point. They’d slept well, enjoyed a simple breakfast, and spent the morning quietly working in their room separate but together. Every now and then they spoke of plans for later, deciding on doing some swimming in the oasis and then seeing where the day would take them.

Lyra had finished her work a little before Andrei and gotten ready to go, wearing that red bikini he had so very much liked on first seeing her in this new body though this time paired it with a sleeveless white lace accented cover up that hit in the middle of her thigh. The neckline was low, revealing quite a bit of cleavage and the vibrant pop of red from her bikini which was still visible through the fabric but mostly obscured. If they decided to go anywhere after swimming, she would be decent enough given it was a beach resort and this kind of clothing was common. After making one more check on the bag she had packed with various things for their outing, she slid on her sandals, gave Andrei a quick kiss goodbye and told him to meet her down by the oasis at the Little Palm bar since he would be done soon anyways.

So she sat at one of the high top tables with some strange hot pink drink in front of her that was sweet and acidic, quite a pleasant mixture. Of course she had gotten some attention, but had ignored it all and simply watched the aliens milling about on their little vacations. Such insignificant little lives they must have led.

Corvin was dressed a bit more appropriately for the planet than one a few of his other trips but it wasn't often that he was able to pull out his lucky jacket, though it wasn't the most comfortable attire for the tropical planet. Instead he was dressed in a pair of long swim trunks decorated with an interesting black, red and gold fractal pattern, a loose button up shirt that displayed only a window of his torso and the intricate pattern of interlaced scars, finishing it off with a pair of sandals. He was just wandering the streets when his eyes lighted on Maddie, or Lyra, seeming to be taking some time down on the planet and he took a moment to admire her from afar and while she had been gorgeous before, this change in her appearance was entirely on a whole other level as he smirked and wove his way towards her table, ignoring the aliens around him and the stench he was convinced that he was able to smell coming off of some of them. He swept in across from her, shooting the Chief an easy grin as he took a moment to admire her up close.

"Lieutenant," He greeted her with a bit of formal familiarity since he wasn't wanting to overstep, well at least making the pretense since he had no intention of maintaining it as Christoph was dead and gone, which meant there wasn't anything stopping him from making a move now. An easy grin formed on his lips before he spoke again "Glad to see you taking advantage of shore leave in rather striking fashion,"

"Ah Moonshiner, good to see you again." Lyra greeted with a grin and took a sip of her drink. "I hope you're staying out of trouble while you're down here?" Corvin's hatred of all things non-Terran was barely controlled, so truthfully she was surprised he had bothered, but a little sunshine and a beach could be a temptation to anyone, she supposed.

"Mostly, found a few places that let me express myself within the bounds of what's legal." He chuckled while looking at his right hand and Lyra would be able to see the barest of bruises still showing there. "But a chance to get off the ship for some real sun and real beach is worth having to put up with what comes with."

As if to emphasize his point, Corvin cast a glance around before turning the true focus of his attention back to Lyra as he let his gaze roam over with a lusty admiration. He made a slight sound before pulling his gaze back up to her eyes "Though the fun in the sun had most definitely improved with you here, think I might be able to convince you of having some fun?"

Lyra took a sip of her drink, not really seeming to look at Corvin, but she did look enough to notice his rather lustful eye falling on her. Her brows lifted at that and she suddenly looked mildly amused. When she had worn a different skin, she had exercised a bit of flirtatiousness on the man to catch his attention, but this was quite forward.

"That depends on what your notion of fun is."

"Well I have found at rather entertaining fighting arena where they hold all manner bouts, knock out, first blood, death matches." He offered up since he'd asked about what had happened specifically on the Kazon vessel and he was fairly certain that this might peak her interest a bit. "Maybe take in some of the local cuisine," though he'd tried some of the local food and found most of it to be rather unappealing as he held Lyra gaze. In truth, if he never had to eat another blob of what he had been told was some sort of fish again, he'd count his blessings.

"If nothing strikes our fancy, say we retire somewhere a bit more private and see where things take us."

"The local cuisine is terrible outside of the bread. I've tried it a few times and it's just a no." She shook her head and then crossed her legs. He was absolutely propositioning her, she had to fight off a laugh. "Well, I can't say I've heard of any sort of arenas here... are you sure you didn't stumble onto some sort of illegal fight pit?"

Andrei had finished processing requisition requests and adding his own comments about some Delta-Quadrant products and materials they might use to augment their supply lists. It had been relatively brain-heavy work and he was starting to get tired just as he finished. When he was done, he uploaded the files to the Command Office aboard Vengeance and slipped into a pair of green shorts, black flip flops, and an open black button up that showed his impressively muscled torso underneath. He then popped on his sunglasses and headed down to meet Lyra.

When he got to the bar, he looked around for several short moments before he located her sitting across from Chief Hartjin. He recognized the man from his time as Assistant Chief of Security, of course, and had never noticed him and Maddie talking before. Now, it seemed, he was taking great interest in her, and even the most cursory heat reading was telling Andrei where all the blood was going in the man's body. He grimaced, but decided to stand far off and observe. One learned more from listening and watching than from acting and speaking at times.

"Well it might have been down a shady looking back alley with a fellow that was just a touch shadier than a Ferengi trying to sell an authentic pair of Empress Georgiou's underwear," He chuckled and shifted around the table to stand a bit closer to her, holding the woman's gaze ignoring anything else around him as he reached out to place his hand on her knee with intentions of seeing how far she would let him go.

When he put his hand on her bare knee, Lyra's expression shifted to mild annoyance. She reached down and grabbed him by a finger, her grip quite strong despite her delicately shaped hands. She lifted his hand off and put it on the table, leaning back from him. "Sorry, Corvin, you're just a little late. I am very much taken." Had she not been, she probably would have taken him up on his offer. He seemed like he could be the fun kind of trouble.

Corvin didn't fight as she removed his hand from her knee since even if he was a bit brutishly forward he also recognized that if she was taken it wouldn't be wise to press until he knew more, he was impetus not stupid. "Oh? Well damn, too slow on the draw" He smirked and shifted back a little from her as he watched the woman's expression seeing the mild annoyance still lingering there. "Any hints as to who managed that? I'll have to send them a bottle of something with a bit of a kick."

When Andrei saw the hand hit her leg, he became murderously angry, but he quickly willed himself to calm down and to think. As Lyra guided the hand away from her leg, his anger was decisively no longer directed at her. He could only assume the Chief didn't know she was his. He pushed the anger away and then grinned as he saw an opportunity.

"Hey, you two." he said in a friendly and charming voice as he walked up to them. His eye contact with Lyra would remain cryptic, meaning she would have no evidence what was going through his head. "Lyra, Corwin. Good to see you. What are you drinking? I'll fill you up."

"This is something they are calling a Summer Swing." She replied, her eyes drifting up to Andrei and though he tried to hide it, she saw a certain glint there. While she wanted to slide her arm around Andrei to prove a point, she simply sat back in her chair while Corvin still remained too close for her taste even after backing off a bit.

“Ooo, swinging in the summer. Sounds exotic and kinky, doesn’t it?” Andrei said rhetorically, laughing brightly. He then turned to Corwin. “What are you drinking, Chief?”

Well fuck me, what is Andrei doing here? Corvin looked at the other man as he looked between their pair, uncertain as to what was going on here. Was it Andrei? Merely a coincidence? He wasn't certain but he felt a tension in the air but he wasn't certain if it was coming from the other man or Lyra. He gave the other man a nod and smile as he let out a deep breath before letting an easy smile form on his face. "I was just here talking with the Lieutenant and was about to find out who I could get a bottle of something stout and strong, a token as it were."

"I'm-" He paused and considered the situation before silently nodding to himself. "A starburst nova, the drinks are about the only good food on this planet."

"Talking indeed, Chief." Andrei said with a grin. "I saw you trying to cop a feel under the table, you devil. You don't have to play the saint with me." Andrei then looked between the two of them again. "One Summer Swing and one Starburst Nova coming up."

And, with that, the Russian turned and walked away toward the bar.

"Talking indeed." Lyra said and leveled her dark eyes on Corvin. She then put her elbow on the table and put her head in her hand. "Well what happened to all that curiosity and bravado, Moonshiner?" She asked, her brows lifting but her eyes betraying none of her amusement at the situation.

He turned his attention back to her once Andrei had gone, it seemed that she was curious about his behavior though he was also still trying to figure out why the other man was here. It was more than enough to throw him off since no one had really been talking about the pair save for Lyra being the one to rescue Andrei from the Kazon's clutches. "Still curious, but I know when to step back and you did make that clear, I'm a brute not a savage Lieutenant, at least not with Terrans."

“Mm… yes you really don’t have much of a taste for aliens, do you?” Lyra chuckled and finished off her drink since Andrei was supposedly bringing another. “I do like that about you, Corvin, though you know it would be of a benefit to you if you could manage to tame the blatant hatred down in your day to day life. It won’t serve you well out here since we are, unfortunately, stuck serving with… non-Terrans.” She finished diplomatically.

Though it felt like he was swallowing bitter poison, a part of him knew she was right and he hated that she was right, but he could see that they weren't in a position for blatant bigotry. "I'll take that under advisement and work to tame it a bit."

“That would be for the best if I’m going to consider you for a promotion. Haven’t made up my mind yet though.” She picked a stray piece of random fluff off of the top of her swimsuit and let it float off into the air. “The first piece of advice is free, the next one will cost you something.” She flashed Corvin a smirk and looked up as she saw Andrei returning.

The man frowned as he was surprised by the hint of a promotion though to what position?

Though at her implied threat, his brow jumped as he nodded again before noticing that she had looked away from him, his gazing moving to Andrei as he returned with their drinks. It seemed that Christoph's death was shaking things up a bit in Security and maybe he should do a better job of making sure he was more in the know of what was going on.

Andrei returned with two drinks and sat down at the table, sitting them down and pulling one of the chairs to the side so Corvin and Lyra could still face each other. He slid the Summer Sunrise to Lyra and deftly kept the Starburst Nova in his own hands. He sipped it and then started to nod.

“Fuck, my friend, that is delicious.” Andrei said, taking another drink until it was half gone, and then pushing it in front of Corvin with a friendly smile. “Good choice, Corwin. That’s really good. I might have to get my own.” His eyes rested on Lyra’s for a second before turning back to the Master at Arms. “Or maybe I’ll just keep drinking yours, hmm?”

Lyra’s brows lifted in mock surprise that in no way actually reached her eyes. She picked up her second drink and took a sip, but not before Andrei would see the slightest tugging of an amused smile on her lips. Jealousy suited him just as much as it did her. She took another small sip and watched the exchange with interest.

While he didn't know what exactly to expect in this encounter with Andrei, dealing with a Captain's child was always a fraught affair since even if their parents hated them blood still came first in the Empire, he hadn't necessarily been expecting this either. He did take note of the way the couple's eyes met for the briefest of moments as his eyes narrowed a bit and he wondered if they were playing him, but why would they be playing him? Maybe it was just Andrei being an ass but then why would he be looking to Lyra while this was going on. The man was confused and he didn't like to be confused, so instead he reached out for the glass as if to take it but instead knocked it over with his fingers.

"Oh damn, butterfingers." He replied nonchalantly while returning Andrei's friendly smile, though his was seemingly apologetic, as the purple liquid spread out into a puddle on the table, the contents sparking a bit with the air. "It is a good drink though, I like the electric tingle on the tongue that makes it wake up the other senses like an agonizer on a low setting."

Though if this had been any other man, be damned the Captain's orders and moratorium on Terran-on-Terran violence, he would have immediately jumped across the table with the glass in hand and used it to gouge out one of the man's eyes. Though they weren't in the Alpha Quadrant and Andrei wasn't just some soft corn fed Terran that could be attacked without consequence, in all likelihood he'd be taken to some backwater world marooned or executed without a second thought. Though that didn't mean he couldn't fuck back with the man.

“Don’t we all like a little electric tingle now and again?” Andrei said, standing up, a grin still on his face. “I’ll grab a towel. Be right back.”

He turned then and walked away again, his body betraying nothing about what he was truly thinking.

“Here I thought you’d be good with your fingers.” Lyra’s voice was morose as she looked at Corvin and frowned. “How disappointing.”

"We all have our slip ups, just one of my moments." The Master-at-Arms shrugged, biting his tongue to keep a handle on any other kind of comments that he might want to make. Definitely not until he was able to figure out why Andrei was here. Where they just fucking with Corvin personally? If so, was this somehow arranged beforehand? If that was the case how would they have known he'd be here at this time when really it was coincidence that had him right here. Right now.

He was starting to suspect that maybe they were just fucking with him.

Well Andrei definitely was, especially with the drink. Lyra he wasn't sure, but it did seem like the couple were having a moment.

“Hopefully they are few and far between. Slip ups could cost you, you know.” Lyra offered cryptically and looked away, taking another sip of her drink.

"Yes ma'am, heard and understood." He gave a nod of acknowledgement to her, though the message was a bit cryptic, the implied meaning was understood and he intended to keep himself whole and healthy for as long as he could.

Andrei returned, this time with two glasses in hand. He sat down, sliding one to Corvin and keeping one for himself. He sipped it quickly and then turned to Lyra.

“So, Cassiel, what have you been up to down here on the planet?” Andrei asked, watching Lyra with the same interest he’d always watched beautiful women.

"Mmm?" Lyra looked to Andrei, giving him a passive interest and a polite smile after she finished taking another sip of her drink. "Soaking up the sun while I can, mostly, I did go to the market to do a bit of hunting for anything fun, but didn't really find much." She shrugged. "The food is horrible here, so that was a bit of a let down."

Corvin accepted the drink from Andrei as he came back to the table, taking the towel one of the wait staff had brought over to clean up the mess the silvery haired man made by accident. He took a sip of his drink while carefully studying the pair, looking for any signs or tells of them playing him as he suspected but why would they do that?

“The food is gods-awful.” Andrei agreed. “I tried to make breakfast a while ago and I almost wretched, it was so strange. It’s a tell-tale sign of an inferior people, wouldn’t you say, Corwin?”

Corvin's attention went to Lyra as he remembered her advice about taming his prejudices and wondered if this was a test of some sort. He sipped his drink and considered his words carefully, or more accurately he didn't just spit out his thoughts immediately on the subject. "It had me craving Cardassian work camp gruel again and that's something I never thought I would say, but as for the food, I think it would be a good indicator."

"Or that the cooks are shit at their jobs." He added while taking a draw from his drink.

“No, I shopped around.” Andrei said, shaking his head and grinning. “It was all just terrible.”

Andrei said, then he changed his stance a bit, leaning back.

“So, are you dating Lyra now or do I still have a chance?” He asked Corvin, though his eyes shifted to her flirtatiously at the end. “Eyes like that can’t go unnoticed by me. Not to mention the rest..”

He looked her up and down quite genuinely and carnally, taking in her assets.

Corvin was even more confused by the question since if they were messing with him, then what was going on?

He downed the rest of his drink and made a slight face as the electric tingling coursed down his throat and through his body for a moment. "The Lieutenant is spoken for already, seems I missed my mark," He finally replied while watching Andrei look her over and it felt like it was something more.

"So you'd have to take it up with them, though with a woman like the Lieutenant I'm certain they wouldn't be far from her side."

“I’d rather take it up with her.” Andrei said, looking at Lyra again.

Lyra looked between the two men and couldn't help but laugh. "I feel like I'm being circled by vultures." She finished her drink and slid out of her chair, fluffing her hair out over her shoulder and stretching a bit. "Sorry, gentlemen, I promised my boyfriend I'd meet him down at the lagoon for a nice swim. I'd hate to be kept waiting. You two... enjoy measuring your dicks." With that, she grabbed her bag, turned, and left to head down to the beach proper.

“No contest there, love.” Andrei said, calling after her, his eyes on her rear end as she moved away. He looked at Corvin, an expression of irritation in his face. “You scared her away.”

Andrei drank down his own drink, wincing at the electric feeling as well. He stood up as well, and turned to leave in the opposite direction Lyra had gone.

Corvin quirked an eyebrow at Andrei and his statement but didn't reply since he wasn't certain just what had happened but he sighed, shaking his head before getting up to go his own way. It seemed that the prince of the ship would keep doing what he was doing and leave everyone else to figure out what was going on.

Lyra for her part had gone to wait down at the beach for Andrei to show up - or not. Besides wanting to mess with Corvin, she wasn't entirely sure of his mood, though she was still hoping he would show up for the rest of their day together. She settled herself in a chair, her arms behind her head and simply watching the people mill about for a while and then closed her eyes.

After several minutes, a strong hand slid suddenly up Lyra’s leg, the voice of the man it was attached to doing the best Corvin impression he could.

"If nothing strikes our fancy, say we retire somewhere a bit more private and see where things take us."

The impression was passable, but the hand was no contest. She was much too used to being touched by those large, strong hands now. She opened her eyes and gave Andrei a smile. “He’s a good doggie, really, but sometimes even the best dogs try and hump their master’s leg.”

“I’m considering neutering your doggie.” Andrei said, his voice measured and a bit tighter than before. “You should train him better or I’ll have to.”

Lyra had to fight down a chuckle at Andrei’s words given she could hear the tightness in his voice. Instead she sat up and placed her hand on his cheek. “He didn’t know, darling, but he won’t make the mistake again.” She gave him a quick kiss on his lips and then his forehead. “Let’s go enjoy some time in the water. I’ve been looking forward to getting all wet with you.”

“Not a rare occurrence, but welcome all the same.” Andrei said with a smirk of his own as he took her hand in his. They walked together down toward the water, talking of their little prank.

END