One Last Adventure I

Posted on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 @ 2:35am by Ensign Ilan Ocara & Lieutenant JG Corvin Hartjin
Edited on on Thu Nov 3rd, 2022 @ 2:37am

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Anorra
Timeline: Mission Day 21 at 2200
3164 words - 6.3 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Being the last day on Anorra, Ilan would not miss the opportunity for a little last-minute fun. The day had been spent at the beach; then she had taken a short nap in the comfortable bed in her room, and lunch was had at one of the street vendors selling non-Vidiian food. It was the evening she had been looking forward to the most, getting dressed up in a tight little black dress that looked like it was painted on her body and a pair of strappy silver heels. She had thoroughly enjoyed her time on the planet and would end it with a proper bang.

Ilan had landed in one of the nightclubs; the music was loud, and the bass was heavy. It wasn't that far a cry from dance clubs on Earth. The scents of alcohol, sweat, smoke, and bodies filled the air; the faintest smell of sex was under it all. She was sidled up to the bar, flirting with the handsome bartender who ensured her drink was always topped up when she came to see him. She didn't worry about paying. Anytime she got low, it was inevitably paid for by one of the people who had repeatedly come and hit on her. With a little flirting and a few winks, her cup was magically full again. She had been up and danced a while and was about ready to head back onto the dance floor, but she was looking over her potentials of people to dance with before she did so.

His time on the planet had started a little rocky for Corvin. Between the somewhat confusing moments at the street festival followed by the run-in with Lyra and Andrei, he'd found his rhythm. The discovery of the blackout nightclubs had been a godsend on the planet of perpetual daytime. He'd even locate the black market and the fighting pits. At the rings, he'd become enamored of a sport called Tsunkatse, making sure to purchase the details for the holoprogram to enjoy back on the ship.

The last day on the planet had started with him watching a match between a hulking canid he was told belonged to a species known as the Binern and a lanky-looking Kazon. As opposed to his expectation that the fight would be over in a couple of hits, the Kazon came out on top after delivering the final blow. His afternoon had been spent finding street food that wasn't the slop Vidiian's called food before wandering down to the club. Though he wasn't dressed to the nines, he had gone for a more casual look; a plain henley-style shirt that fit him snuggly, jeans, and his favorite pair of leather boots. While he wasn't trying to catch anyone's eye, his exotic appearance and how he carried himself had plenty of attention going his way. He'd danced with a few women and entertained them, even if it silently confused him.

He had just finished his drink and was scanning the room when his eyes lighted on the unmistakable form of Ilan, looking as drop-dead sexy as ever. He set his empty glass down as he stood and made his way towards her, moving up behind his crew mate as he leaned in close to be heard over the heavy beat of the music. "Mmmm, damn, you look poured straight into that dress...trying to decide if it's body paint or nano skin."

Ilan laughed immediately, recognizing the hamfisted pass anywhere. She didn't even need the voice. "Corvin," she greeted and turned to him, "What are you doing in a place like this? I almost find this more unlikely than the festival." She then turned fully in her chair and leaned back against the bar, showing off her figure and the ample amount of cleavage the low scoop neck of her dress afforded.

Corvin didn't miss a beat as she turned to face him. He was far from subtle as he eye fucked the woman with a smile, his appreciative sound lost in the heavy beat of the music before finally meeting her gaze. "I've been letting my hair down, just trying to enjoy myself; you look like you are having a great time." He grinned as his eyes drifted down to the valley created by her cleavage.

"Buy you a drink?"

"Sure, or save your money. There's a long line of people wanting to do that." She said with a self-assured grin and gave him a wink. Looking him over, she figured he was mostly more appropriately dressed for this setting. "No lucky leather jacket?"

"A little too warm for the planet; I got it out once." He chuckled softly as a fresh drink was set down on the bar for Ilan. The bartender indicated an alien man with dark skin and bioluminescent markings covering his broad face as he raised his glass to her. "I guess I'll save my money then,"

Ilan picked up the drink and looked over to the man, admiring his markings for a moment; they were quite pretty. She raised her glass to him, gave the drink a sip, and then looked back to Corvin. "I'd ask if you've been staying out of trouble, but I know the answer."

"I've been being good," He defended himself. "No fights, just watching some of the entertainment on offer here and even uncovered a couple of new alien species in my travels." He smirked while managing to order a fresh drink for himself since the bartender was hovering around Ilan.

"Even got some of the species information and genetic material since I know someone who is into those things." The Terran man smirked while sipping his drink, glancing over at the alien man who was still subtly watching Ilan. He was conversing with his companions, others of his species with the same appearance and similar but distinctive markings.

"Oh, did you? Though… probably not through the same methods." She grinned lasciviously and crossed her legs. It made her skirt higher on her thighs to glimpse her defined legs. "Tell me about them?"

"Mmmm, no, but I don't think I quite have the looks to use the same methods." Again the conflicting feelings of arousal and disgust boiled within him as his eyes moved to the further exposed flesh of her thighs. He imagined her perfect skin being touched by the alien hands, Ilan's head leaning back in the throes of passion entwined with any of the aliens in the club. He focused and took a drink from his glass, stepping closer to her with a smirk on his handsome features, his hand moving down to start lightly caressing her knee and working its way up to her thigh. "They are called the Binern, look like a wolf or a dog walking on two legs, lots of hair like a mane, tail like a dog."

"Well, that sounds fascinating, not my type, though." She laughed and shook her head, taking another sip of her drink and looking down at his hand. "Still as forward as ever, aren't you?" It wasn't her protesting, but he genuinely amused her. He was a man who knew what he wanted, and she liked that.

"Til the day I die, beautiful." He shot her a self-assured grin while holding her gaze as he began to caress her bare thigh a bit more though he didn't try to slip it under the dangerously high riding hem of her dress. "I thought it might be something you'd be interested in, so I poked about until I found someone who deals in medical supplies."

He let it hang in the air for a beat as he sipped his drink and continued to caress her thigh. "I was able to get a small library of genetic materials of a variety of species from this region of the Quadrant if you are interested, of course."

Ilan's eyes lit up, and she smiled with genuine happiness, not that slick, seductive expression she usually wore. "Really? Do you mean it? How much did you pay for it? I can repay you; I have some saved credits."

He'd seen the keen interest the woman had taken in the raptorial alien at the street festival; this seemed something wholly different. However, it wasn't unpleasant, and he certainly couldn't say that he didn't find this expression to be attractive in its own right. With a smile and a throaty chuckle, Corvin shook his head as he gently caressed her thigh and looked into her eyes. "You don't need to pay me back; it was supposed to be a thank-you gift for putting up with my sullen ass the other day."

"Though that said, I'd never say no to shows of enthusiastic, possibly physical, appreciation." A coy grin formed on his chiseled features that reached his brown eyes and made them lighten from their usual dull, earthen color.

While the expression didn't entirely fade, it did sober a little and went back to more of the typical one she would wear. Of course, that's what he wanted as payment, whether it was called that or not. She leaned in closer and smirked, reaching out to finally put a hand on his chest.

"Well, I would definitely feel inclined to reward such a gift." It wasn't a gift, but what did she care? It would have just been a bonus to what she usually received anyways.

Do you want to move out to the dance floor and enjoy ourselves a bit? He continued to grin, his hand gently massaging her thigh as he stood close to her. He'd noticed that her expression had shifted though was she disappointed that he didn't want to take the money? Or that he'd instead pursue a more intimate, physical reward? Or that he offered it as a gift and then made it seem like he was buying her bed with it? He wasn't sure; some part of him wondered if he should take a step back and just let her have the medical library with no expectation of anything else from her.

While he wasn't a shallow man, Corvin did go for what he wanted. This felt dangerously close to a moment of self-reflection and self-enlightenment that he'd never entirely embraced. It felt different and strange to examine his feelings and motivations.

"Do you actually dance? Well, club dance?" Of course, there was this kind of dancing and the dancing they did at court. She expected Corvin didn't do either, so this was a surprise. She could see his expression shifting as if the gears were trying to turn but not clicking together correctly. Her fingers pressed into his chest a bit to bring his attention fully back to her.

As her fingers pressed into his chest, his attention was brought back to the here and now as he smirked, giving a slight shrug before laughing a little. "Well, sort of; it's not something that I'm good at, but I do like to move with a partner, and this seems like something you'd enjoy, and with it being the last day here, I was thinking I could live a little dangerously."

"Well, the good news is, there's not anything set in stone for these venues. Don't flail around too much, and you're usually set." Ilan teased and then reached back to grab her drink. Finishing it off, she slid from her stool and took Corvin's hand. "Alright, handsome, let's see how you can move, shall we?"

"Lead the way," He took her hand with a smile, lead letting her lead the way out to the packed dance floor. The people around them gyrated to the beat of the music, pressed against one another with just a little space between them. The temperature around them increased due to the number of bodies around them. The Terran man smiled as he began to move; it wasn't as fluid as some of her other partners might have been, but he was making an admirable effort.

Ilan grinned as they moved out to the dance floor and made sure to move to an area that wasn't too crowded, given Corvin's dislike of aliens. Once they had found a good place, she moved up close to him. She began to move with the music, taking it slow to ensure he wasn't one of those aforementioned flailers, even though she had cautioned against it.

"I'm glad to see you again, you know."

"Oh yeah? That's a great coincidence since I'm glad to see you again, too," The Terran man offered a warm smile, doing his best to move naturally. "I like that I made an impression with you, even though I've been pretty hamfisted."

It wasn't often that he had moments of self-clarity about himself or his behavior. Still, it seemed he realized he'd taken a misstep earlier, even if it hadn't been fully realized.

That was indeed the impression she had of him - hamfisted and uncouth. However, it wasn't necessarily a turn-off for Ilan. It could be endearing in small doses. Very small doses. "Oh, it hasn't been so bad. You know what you want, and go for it."

She winked at him and moved closer, reaching for his hands and placing them on her hips so he knew it was okay to touch her while they danced.

As she placed his hands on her hips, he became a little more confident with his dancing, enjoying the closeness of her body with his as they moved to the music. "That I do," He shot her a confident grin before continuing. "Though I've been thinking I could use a little more of a finessed approach, so I'm not coming off entirely like a caveman."

"Oh? What happened to get you thinking that?" She asked and slid her arms over his shoulders. Their bodies were nearly pressed together, but Ilan left just a bit of room between them. She did have a bit of a guess but was curious to see if he would provide an honest answer.

"Just thinking about the medical library, I found for you, what I mentioned in payment and how your expression shifted." He answered honestly; the Terran man didn't lie to others, refuse to answer, or deflect, though never lying. It was a conditioned response from his time as a slave, but he'd learned to hold his tongue well when it came to someone asking him for the truth if he didn't want to provide it.

"So if you'll let me, I'd like to just give it to you, no strings and nothing expected in return 'cause I liked seeing that really happy and excited expression on your face." Obviously, he was trying to make up for his crude behavior. However, he wasn't sure what to do since he solved most of his problems with some application of violence or copious amounts of explosives AND THEN violence. Self-awareness wasn't his strong suit.

"Isn't helped by the fact that I may have crossed a line with someone else on the crew being hamfisted and making an ass out of myself when her other half joined us."

"Oh? What happened?" The song switched to one with a slightly slower beat, a bit of a breather coming off the high-energy music that had everyone moving. Her green eyes held his gaze steadily, searching with quite intense curiosity.

Corvin proved more coordinated with the slower song. One of his hands lightly caressed her hip, up her side, holding her gaze before finally deciding to share.

"Lieutenant Cassiel. I ran into her down on the planet a day or two after our encounter. I was a bit hamfisted with her, which she didn't take well. Her male friend didn't take kindly to what I did, but ultimately I walked away unscathed."

"Male friend?" Ilan asked, looking somewhere between amused and confused. "Like... a boyfriend? An escort? An actual male friend? I haven't heard anyone say 'male friend' in years." She giggled and pressed into Corvin a bit more to hopefully dissuade him from being offended by her amusement.

"At the time, it wasn't apparent, but it was her boyfriend," Annoyance flashed momentarily, his expression easing with the feeling her body pressed close. The weight of her breasts was an added balm while he held her gaze. His hand continued to caress her body though it had moved slowly to the small of her back while giving a slight smirk. "It. should have been as obvious at a torpedo salvo from orbit, with the way things have progressed since I think it's pretty obvious to anyone that looks at them."

"I missed the memo, though I've been terribly busy entertaining myself. Who?" Her voice was engaged and curious while offering a charming smile and letting her hands wander over his back lightly, working to keep him focused on her. Willing to answer her questions. It was a fine line to walk, but she walked it masterfully more often than not.

Corvin was conflicted since he didn't know if he should say something about Andrei and Lyra's relationship. Still, they hadn't been keeping it a secret, or at least a well-kept secret, as he enjoyed feeling Ilan's hands gently caressing his back. Eventually, he concluded that it wasn't a secret and hadn't been sworn to secrecy over it as he took a deep breath before answering. "Andrei, the Captain's son, has recovered quite well."

"Oh wow, that's… something," Ilan said with genuine surprise. "Just like as a fling, though, you mean, right? Andrei is… well, Andrei." She laughed and shook her head. "Anything with an even semi-appealing figure he would chase like a dog."

"If his reputation lives up to reality, it's an odd turn for him," Corvin agreed with a little smirk. Andrei was known to bed any woman on two legs and, as Ilan put it, a semi-appealing figure. He continued to caress and touch her, holding her a bit tighter, so she had to press her quite appealing figure to his as he shook his head. "It seems they are a thing unless they are keeping their other liaisons guarded secrets but again, Andrei."

"Well, who knows? Nobility is weird like that." She laughed then and leaned in, stealing a quick kiss from him and then pulling back to see how he would react to someone being forward with him for a change.

The quick, sudden kiss from Ilan was a surprise for Corvin, though it wasn't an unwelcome surprise as a smile tugged on the corners of his lips and made a soft sound of approval. Since gaining his freedom, he'd always taken the first hamfisted step with someone who caught his interest. Still, he couldn't say that there wasn't a lingering desire for someone to make a move on him for a change.

"Wasn't expecting that," He held her gaze, but she could see that he had indeed enjoyed it.


TBC