Manufactured Bliss III

Posted on Sun Jan 22nd, 2023 @ 7:12am by Ensign Ilan Ocara & Lieutenant Sovas Nyseth
Edited on on Sun Jan 22nd, 2023 @ 7:13am

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: Anorra
Timeline: Mission Day 14 at 1400
5079 words - 10.2 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Ilan seemed fascinated by the water dripping off of Sovas' fingertips. It was shimmering, sparkling, even gave off a bit of a glow itself. She just stared for a moment and then blinked, seeming to snap out of it. "Mmm? Oh, sure. Yeah. Sounds like a good idea. I'm sure it will feel really neat. Probably."

For a moment, Sovas had become enraptured by the water dripping from his finger, fascinated by how it seemed to glow on the tip of his finger before starting to shimmer like a disco ball catching the light as it fell from his finger. Only when it had hit the ground did he look back up and smile at his companion, dipping his finger in the water and then letting the droplet fall onto her pale skin, slowly rolling down her arm and leaving a pleasantly tingling trail while the slick path left behind would feel more intensely cool.

Ilan giggled immediately and then let out a soft, pleased sigh as the tingling was suddenly replaced by the intense cool feeling. She poked at her skin to see what happened and noticed that the cool went away very quickly.

“So strange. Really cold… then not.”

"Whatever this drug...drink it's quite the experience," Sovas purred as he reached out to lightly run his fingers over her arm, enjoying the electric tingling that came with the touch. He stood there for a moment or two more, letting his fingers dance over her bare skin, fascinated with the sensation but curious to see her reaction.

“No, no it’s definitely drugs. Most definitely. I should know; I do science and… stuff.” She giggled again and then looked down toward Sovas’ fingers as they moved over her skin. “Your fingers are cold and warm at the same time and it’s really weird. They also feel… slide-y.”

"Weird...when I move my fingers over your skin, it feels like a static, electric feeling in my fingertips." He shared, chuckling before looking up at her tilting his head to the side. "What do you mean by slide-y?"

“I don’t know. Just… slide-y.” She shrugged and waved her hands aimlessly since she had no better way to describe it. “Weird. Neat. Let’s find… what were we doing again?”

"We stopped for water, I think?" Sovas offered up while looking down at the glass he was holding before looking back up to his companion. "Music? Or something like that...I just suddenly feel like dancing."

“Water? Why did we stop for water?” Ilan looked around and frowned. It had been a very long while since she had been this out of it, but instead of railing against it or regretting it, she embraced it. They were on shore leave and they could easily get back to the Vengeance if something was going awry.

“We can dance. I like to dance. Dancing needs music.”

"Yes it does." Sovas agreed and downed the rest of this glass before setting it down on the nearby cart; he'd never purposefully been this out of it before. The last time he could remember being like this was when his father sent him through his twisted version of survival training. Then again, everything about that time was missing time and he didn't know what happened then.

"If it's music you are looking for," The alien woman at the stall spoke up and made sure she caught their attention as she pointed down the street they were on. "There's an open square set up for dancing and music, in case you just wanted to listen and feel the colors washing over you, you can't miss it."

“Oh okay.” Ilan blinked down the path and then looked to the alien woman. Her skin was shimmering and her eyes were sparkling; when she spoke there were beautiful colors that bloomed from her lips.

“You are… a very pretty lady. Do you want to kiss me? I want to kiss you.”

The alien woman smirked as she beckoned Ilan forward, reaching out to lightly run her fingers over the other woman's skin in a subtle pattern that would feel more electrifying than slide-y. She drew the dark-haired woman into a slow embrace, pulling her close.

Sovas' eyes went wide as he watched the women kissing and had to blink for a moment to make sure that the drinks they had imbibed were causing him to see things before he began to see the play of light around their bodies, the shifting of colors that radiated from them both in excited patterns, mingling and mixing together in new bursts of light that seemed to shift in the way they touched and kissed.

The two continued to kiss for a long moment, touching each other and enjoying the moment, but eventually Ilan broke away with a smile and giggle. "Mmm... yes, very nice. Lots of tingles. Very pretty."

"Mmm, yes quite nice, makes me wish I wasn't tied to this stall," The alien woman playfully pouted before turning to look at Sovas, who was looking between the pair and watching the aura around the slowly fading.

"Just watching you two kiss was...vibrant and tingly..." He poured while stepping over to Ilan as he reached out to touch her and coaxed her into another embrace.

The two continued to kiss for a long moment, touching each other and enjoying the moment, but eventually, Ilan broke away with a smile and giggle. "Mmm... yes, very nice. Lots of tingles. Very pretty. Do it again…”

—

After being distracted at the water stand for more than a few moments engaging with the server and each other, Sovas and Ilan eventually managed to find their way to the square they'd been directed to. It had been exactly as described, filled with moving bodies, an eclectic but not entirely unpleasant sort of music and anyone who had imbibed the Sinner's Delight would be able to see in the air and the music itself seemed to draw them in and to start moving with the other's there, drawing out the desire to move, to let go of their inhibitions as the air shimmered with sound and colors, the brushing of bodies that seemed to enhance the effects of the drugs the pair of Imperial Officers had taken.

Sovas was experiencing something more because of the drug, seeing psychic echoes from those around them as he gave himself to music, moving close to Ilan while others drifted in and out of their radius to dance with them.

Ilan was giddy, her beautiful green eyes were wide with fascination and joy in equal measure. She wasn’t good at the dance, but she didn’t care nor did anyone else it seemed. In fact a lot of people weren’t very good at the dance and were just there to move and enjoy the music and colors around them. At this point she has also amassed quite a collection of beads around her neck which shook and clacked with each motion.

She pressed up against him with a giggle on her lips. “Having fun, Sovas?”

The half-Vulcan initially only turned his attention to Ilan when he felt her body up against his before he made a soft sound, taking in her aura and watching as it shimmered out from her.

"This is a really interesting drug...everyone is shimmering!" He laughed, while the amount of necklaces around his neck was nowhere near what Ilan had earned, he had a respectable collection as a handsome alien man shimmered by the pair, pausing to draw them both into a heated embrace before the music pulled him away.

There was so much going on that Sovas hadn't really been thinking about or noticing the presence of his "friend," having been too distracted the effects of the drugs though as he just took a moment, he did notice that the world around him was feeling surreal and not in the effects of the drugs kind of way, like he was watching a vid of the world around him. He was feeling the beat and pull of the music as he turned his attention and focus on Ilan, though again it didn't feel like him.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself."

“Of course I am!” She giggled excitedly and grabbed him by his arms, swinging around in circles with him with the other dancers. She really did seem to be quite overjoyed, the drugs certainly helped in the moment, but she was also just happy to be in such a vibrant environment. It suited her quite well.

Sovas blinked as they swung around in circles amongst the crowd. Again he felt that disconnected feeling, and the vibrant aura around her began to glow and shimmer more brightly. It was making him feel...a frown formed on his features as he blinked and pulled Ilan close, drawing her into a passionate embrace as he didn't know if it was his choice to do so. Was it the entity? A combination of both? Neither? The drugs? The circumstances they found themselves in?

It felt like there was a pressure building in his head as his focus remained simply here, in the moment as the sounds of the music began to fade but he could feel the psychic impressions of everyone around them, but most keenly he could sense Ilan.

Ilan had returned Sovas' embrace quite happily, continuing to dance around with him in an animated fashion. Eventually though, she seemed to figure out something wasn't quite right as his motions changed and his expression shifted a few shades from giddy as it had been. He could sense her concern, dulled by the alcohol and drugs.

"You okay?" She asked.

As her expression shifted, so did her aura, it became more subdued, less vibrant as he frowned and reached out toward where he could see it before his hand moved to her face as he started to caress her features. "Noooo, you took away the color, I liked how it felt, I could ... sense it, taste it and it was so vibrant and rich...so many emotions and sensations..."

"Oh, you just seemed like you were a little lost and confused." Ilan explained and brightened again, even leaning in and kissing him once more. To him, her aura would also brighten again nearly back to the intensity it was. "I can't remember the last time I had this much fun."

"I think this is making the thing in my head feel weird...its like I can feel a pressure pressing against the inside, then when I focused on the aura it started feeling better," The half-Vulcan tried to explain the sensations he felt before he embraced Ilan again, the sounds around him becoming dull and tinny while she seemed to come into vibrant, perfect focus. When he pulled back he giggled and looked around as the sounds returned.

"This is so weird but I like it...I don't get high, my father dosed me with something one time as a survival test, it was a bad trip that I don't really remember!"

“Well that sounds kind of awful!” Ilan giggled and squeezed his hands. “But hey maybe if you’re having fun we can find out where to buy more of the alcohol… or whatever is in it? There’s supposed to be some sort of black market out here you know.”

"Yes, I know!" He exclaimed, watching the dark-haired woman as she squeezed his hand; eventually pulling it free, he began to caress her sweaty, glistening skin. Feeling that electric tingling, his head swam a bit as he gave a low growl. The pressure inside of his head was still waxing and waning with the vibrancy of her aura. "Want to find some? See what trouble we can get into?"

He was grinning widely and his hands continued to roam over her body as other thoughts of what they could be doing swam through his mind, causing him to lick his lips as he tried to focus on dancing, on a physical action as the crowd and the music had them pressing close.

"Yeah, sure!" Ilan laughed and grabbed his hands again, pulling him off the dance floor. "Someone should probably know where... just think we could bring some back to the ship and we can have fun all the time, yeah?"

"We need to share this with the rest of the ship...maybe the first guy..." He trailed off and seemed to laser-focus on Ilan as they pulled away from the dancing crowd as the hold of the music seemed to lessen, and with it, the feeling of the pressure inside his head. "Maybe you can figure out what it is if we find it so we can make it ourselves?"

"Maybe... maybe. I do genetics... not drugs… well... I guess I do do drugs now..." She snorted a giggle. "Obviously. Yes, but yes let's yes go find the first guy." She grabbed his hand tightly and started to walk with him in the direction she thought she remembered the first man being in, though she really had absolutely no idea.

Sovas was at first pulled after the retreating woman before eventually finding his feet and catching up with her, he looked around trying to figure out if they were going the right way. It seemed the right way since they were moving away from the music. Then again there were multiple ways to get to the square they had been dancing in. "I remember he was very close to the entrance, greeting everyone."

He next surged forward, pulling Ilan along behind him as the half-Vulcan seemed sure while weaving his way through the crowds in the streets as he looked around, trying to spot the man and his booth. "Do you think he moves?"

"Well of course he moves, how do you think he got to the entrance in the first place?" Ilan retorted and giggled as if he had just asked the most ridiculous question she had ever heard.

"His stand, do you think he moves it or sets up in one place the whole time?" He clarified, pausing at an intersection and trying to figure out where they needed to go.

"Ohh... oh... I don't know. I didn't see wheels. You're a man you're supposed to be good at directions and finding stuff you find him." She whined at him impatiently and tugged on his arm.

Sovas quirked an eyebrow at Ilan's statement as if it was supposed to be a statement of true fact. Though it was only a beat that he did so while looking around at the sea of faces, trying to find a single individual. Though he was high, he focused and took it as a challenge, both to himself and Ilan, wanting to prove that he could do it.

After a few moments he firmly took hold of her wrist before pulling her along as he shouldered his way through the crowd when needed before they approached the stand of the first vendor as he was smiling and just seeing off another couple.

"Ah, my exotic friends, do you come back to have another taste of sin...or have you already tasted your sinful desires together?"

A squeal of delight left Ilan's lips as she practically bounced over to the alien man. She grabbed his hands in earnest, her palms hot from the effects of the drugs and alcohol. Squeezing them hard, she looked into his eyes. "Oh pretty Mr. Alien Man... we want to know where we can get more... stuff. The alcohol... or whatever you put in it. We really really like it and want to buy it and bring it up to our ship so we can do this all the time."

The alien man had certainly been keen on seeing Ilan again, though he cooled a little at her request. Though she could see that he wasn't a religious zealot or anything of the like, it caught him off guard a little. "Well I'm sure we can come to some arrangement. Would you like the pure essence or what's already been prepared?"

Ilan tried to focus, but it was a struggle. Whatever this substance was it was most certainly effective - perhaps too effective - and somewhere in the back of her inebriated mind she wondered if it was addictive and if yes, how addictive. A shimmer of color and light brought her out of those thoughts and she looked to Sovas and then back to the alien.

“Both? Both. Yes definitely both. Can we have both? We have money. I think. Probably. Definitely we can get money. I need all the things to make this go again.”

"Well I think we could certainly come to an arrangement," The alien man smiled as his gaze moved over Ilan's form as he licked his lips, he did love his job sometimes and he always got to meet the most beautiful of creatures. He'd gotten lost in his shameless ogling as he poured a drink for the three of them.

"I'd most certainly be willing to part with some of my stock, though does your friend want it?" He motioned toward Sovas, who was standing there, seemingly mesmerized by the way Ilan's aura was swirling through a kaleidoscope of colors. It absolutely fascinated him as he blinked and looked around but nothing seemed quite as vibrant as her aura.

"I want more of this amazing drink. How much are you willing to part with?" The half-Vulcan spoke up, his voice tight as he ran a hand over his mouth while trying not to look at Ilan, but failing to do so.

"It depends on how deep your pockets are and if our lovely companion might be willing to do something for me." The alien man smirked while offering them their shots.

“Well we have money… and stuff. What kind of thing am I supposed to be doing?” Ilan asked curiously, too hazy to really think about anything more than the conversation and not processing fast enough to pick up on what was probably the obvious answer given the setting. She ran her fingers through her hair a few times and sighed at the feeling.

"Well first we share our drink," The alien man offered her the other shot, which, if Ilan looked at it would seem like the liquid was glowing like the surface of the sun. "As for the other part, I would like to see you very much like to watch you dance, to see what passions and desires the drink conjures up within you."

"Dance? I'm not really a dancer... I guess I could try. We don't dance a lot where I'm from." Ilan seemed to think very hard for a moment, then became very distracted by the liquid which she automatically squinted at because it was shining so brightly. She took the shot and poked at the side of the glass with a finger. She did dance, she enjoyed dancing, she didn’t know why she said she didn’t, but she had, and it felt correct.

Sovas cleared his throat after downing his shot, blinking as he saw colors exploding within his field of vision a moment as the colors around him inverted. "We want to make our purchase," He stated firmly, licking his lips as he looked to the man, who blinked before looking to Ilan since it seemed he wouldn't be getting his little show unless he pressed harder and he wasn't sure that was wise with her companion right at hand.

"Fine, I have a dozen bottles of the alcohol and nearly twice that of the pure essence, how much would you both like?"

Ilan took her shot and let out something between a sigh and a moan as she physically felt the path of the liquid down her throat and settling into her stomach where it warmed her from the inside again. She was silent for a moment, just staring at the alien man almost as if she hadn’t even remotely heard him speak.

“All of it.”

"A-All? All of it?" He seemed surprised by her statement, blinking a couple of times before looking to Sovas, who nodded in agreement.

"All of it."

"Well, I think I might just close up for today and go out to enjoy the sights." The alien man chuckled as he pulled out a PADD and began to tap away at it. "Do you have a ship in orbit or how do you want to handle the delivery of the product?"

“Well how much is it, silly man, we kind of need to know that.” Ilan giggled and reached out to paw slightly at his arm then began to grope it a bit as if she were feeling his muscles.

"I'm calculating that up right now you gorgeous devil woman." The alien man chuckled as she pawed at him, he was a solidly built being, he wasn't too fat, or overly muscled. He kept himself in shape while he looked up at her and grinned. He offered her the PADD with the cost on it as Sovas slipped up next to her. While it certainly wasn't an outrageous amount, it was certainly a pretty penny.

Ilan was much more distracted by feeling the alien man up than she was with the price presented to her even though she had asked about it. She started giggling, her hand moving from his arm and to his chest to feel him there. “You’re very handsome, you know, Mr. Alien Man.”

She would find that his chest was as broad and well built as his arms as he puffed up a bit and smiled at her, reaching out to caress her arm before he reached out to start lightly touching her body before turning his attention to Sovas.

"Will your friend mind?"

"Mind what?" Ilan asked, blinking stupidly as if she couldn't really comprehend what he was asking of her. She then looked at Sovas, but still didn't seem to quite get it.

"No worries then," The alien man chuckled as Sovas seemed entirely focused on Ilan that he didn't even notice that he was the subject of their attention before shifting closer to her. The half-Vulcan shifted behind his companion, his hands moving to her waist as he started to touch her and looked to the other man.

"No reason we can't both enjoy a beautiful woman and give her attention."

"So I think we were focused on us...and I do think you are quite gorgeous yourself." The alien man smiled as he reached up to caressed her cheek and coax her attention back to him.

"Uh huh." Ilan agreed and then frowned suddenly and shook her head. "Wait wait wait we were buying things! Sovas... Sovas we are buying things. Let's buy the things; the fun things for fun."

She then looked around for the device the man had waved around with how much he was expecting.

"Yes we were talking about buying things for fun stuff." Sovas reached out to pick up the PADD and held it up for Ilan to take if she wanted to examine it while the alien man sat waiting since it seemed she was being a bit flighty as he watched Sovas running his fingers over Ilan's body.

“Stoppit I’m trying to focus.” Ilan grumped at Sovas and swatted his fingers away. She stared at the device for a long while then looked at the alien man. “Absolutely not, this is way too much. Make it cheaper.”

Sovas growled as she swatted his fingers away from her before leaning over to try and catch a peak at the PADD before frowning at the alien man.

"That's the price for my entire stock," The alien man countered while watching her, quirking an eyebrow before taking the device from her to consider the price before his gaze shifted again.

"You can most certainly do better." Ilan countered in kind and watched the alien carefully while she leaned back into Sovas. This man was trying to interfere with her acquisition of a good time... she didn't like that at all.

As she leaned back against Sovas, the half-Vulcan's gaze turned to the alien man as he reached up to start playing with Ilan's hair some, he wasn't too keen on him now that he seemed to be more of an impediment to them rather than trying to make sure they could continue to have fun. "We should find someone more willing to help us have fun."

"Now wait, wait, wait...no need to be hasty." The alien man held up a hand, quickly altering the price to be cheaper. "How does that look?"

Ilan's eyes struggled for a moment to focus on the text of the device. She saw he had brought it down by around a quarter, but now she was just annoyed at him. "Nope... still not good enough. Do you even know who we are? I could just take it from you if I wanted to."

The alien man's expression spoke to the fact that he didn't know what she was talking about as he reached out to take the device from her and stood up, before Sovas stood up a bit taller behind Ilan and narrowed his eyes, seeing the man's aura wilting a bit. "I don't know who you are but we don't need to resort to violence, I'm just trying to give people a good time."

He altered the price once more by half before handing it back to Ilan.

Ilan swiped the device back and looked at the number then looked over to Sovas, offering it to him. "What do you think? Is that better? Can he do better? This is your job you know I don't know why I'm the one having to do it isn't this what Ops does?"

"The half-Vulcan took that PADD and looked it over, considering the price and the reductions they'd already been given, having to focus to make sure he was seeing everything straight given his current state of inebriation. He raised up his beaded necklaces before looking at the man. "Seeing as how all we had to pay to get our initial drinks was to accept these necklaces, it already appears that he's giving his product away for free so it will likely be pure profit for him."

He really wasn't on his A-game, but he was determined to do his best. Closing his eyes, Sovas did his best to center himself with a Vulcan mantra that he'd learned to help focus his mind. While it would normally last until he had stopped focusing, the drugs in his system were a variable he wouldn't be familiar with. "My past dealings with other vendors on the planet have been backed by the resort, they get paid for any merchandise they sell."

"So our friend is trying to make a little extra for himself, rip us off and stop us from being able to have a good time." Sovas continued, feeling that laser focus fading quickly before a deep chuckle escaped him.

"As for handling things, I was enjoying watching our friend squirm since it's obvious he's wanting your body to be part of what he's getting paid." The half-Vulcan watched the alien man squirming before snatching the device back.

"I....I....that is..." The alien fumbled with his words as he looked at Ilan while all the blood drained from his face. "I would never be so base, she is quite lovely...I would never ask for her body to be part of the payment."

"You know, if you hadn't been an asshole and tried to do that, I probably would have slept with you. You're gorgeous, but now that I know you're trying to take advantage of me..." Ilan narrowed her eyes at the man. "How dare you."

With completely dejected energy, he took the PADD from Sovas before signing over his stock to them at no charge as the half-Vulcan looked it over and then back to the alien man. "Apologize for your behavior to my friend."

The vendor frowned as he looked between Ilan and Sovas, as if the idea of him apologizing wasn't necessary in the slightest, though as he looked at the half-Vulcan, it seemed that he'd come to an epiphany about things as he looked to the dark-haired woman and swallowed. "I'm sorry that I tried to take advantage of you, that was wrong of me."

"Yes, it was. Now then have your stock delivered to my room here at the resort and we'll take care of getting it to our ship on our own. I don't trust you not to do something stupid, incompetent, or both." Ilan narrowed her eyes at the man again and then took the device from Sovas where she put in her room information and gave it back.

"I expect it all to be there... if it isn't we'll have no problem finding you to correct the mistake... but we won't be nearly as understanding. Is that clear?"

"Y-Yes. I understand. There won't be any problems." He audibly gulped, seemingly terrified of the pair now that they knew he'd tried to rip them off.

Sovas watched the man for a moment. It was very, very strange for him to be able to see the psionic aura around people and watch it react to their emotions. He place a hand on Ilan's hip before turning his attention to her. "Let's go find something more interesting and worth our time, maybe that pretty water vendor is still around...I think she would appreciate our company."

“Yes, let’s. We don’t need to let someone like him spoil our good time.” Ilan leaned into Sovas and then looked at the merchant. “Remember, no funny business.”

She turned and grinned at him then declared while pointing in the rough direction of the beach. “Back to the sex grotto!”

With that, she turned with Sovas to leave. She was quite excited to have acquired their new delight, and looked forward to continuing to experiment with what sensations and experiences would come with it. Sovas was good company for that, but he wouldn’t be the only one, she imagined.


END