A Problem Addressed

Posted on Mon Apr 29th, 2024 @ 3:30am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Immy

Mission: In-Between (S1:E7-S1:E8)
Location: Holodeck 1
Timeline: Date 2371-10-01 at 1800
2089 words - 4.2 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

There was a tranquil serenity in the sound of the gentle rustling of leaves and the soft murmuring of water as the lazy current moved through the pond. On top of the dark water, the enormous floating leaves and blooms of giant water lilies barely shifted with the motion of the water. The saucer like leaves were truly a sight with the largest being over ten feet long and even the smaller ones still being several feet if they weren't newly growing, and the blooms themselves were over a foot in width themselves all in various shades of pinks, purples, and whites. There was a subtle floral smell that lingered over the scent of the clean water and it attracted many pollinating insects close to the water - a joy for the fish that would sometimes leap out and catch them.

Surrounding the pond was a path that was made to look and feel like natural dirt. The surrounding area was flooded with beautiful royal palms and other rainforest trees. Orchids, bromeliads, and ferns added pops of color and texture to the scenery at standing level. It was truly an enchanting place to behold.

“Immy.”

Immy appeared on command in her default uniform and, as was her custom, spent her first few moments of presence looking at the surrounding environment. The pond, the flowers, and the subtle life of the water and air all leapt out to her in all her colors, and she suspected she’d been called by Jasper. Before bothering to look, she transformed her clothes into a V-neck floral maxi-dress with a long slit down the side which revealed her toned, pale leg. Finally, after smiling at her appearance, she allowed herself to turn and look for him.

Standing near the water looking out into the pond wasn’t the man she wanted to see, but instead a familiar tall, shapely figure standing in uniform. Her arms were crossed over her chest, but she turned her body just slightly so she could comfortably turn her head and look at Immy with those cold, dark eyes. She was a singular beauty to be sure, but absolutely terrifying in her own way.

“Oh, Commander Cassiel.” She said, flashing momentary surprise followed by disappointment. The sunshiny attitude and the expression on her face seemed to wither like an unwatered flower, and she chewed on her lip slowly; nervously. Lyra had certainly never visited her, but she supposed there was a first time for everyone on board. “How can I be of service?”

Lyra’s eyes moved over the young woman in a slow, appraising way before she turned her attention back to the water. “Jasper told me about what’s been happening to you as of late.”

Immy, frowned, seeming irritated by that fact.

“I made it clear to him I wasn’t comfortable with that.” She said, unusually direct. She folded her arms under her chest and looked at Lyra more directly in the eyes than she ever would have dared when she was a slave. “I guess I can’t trust him then..”

“Don’t be foolish, girl.” Lyra spoke, her voice cool but level. “Do you think he had a choice in the matter?”

She finally turned her whole body to face Immy and moved up the embankment to stand in front of her, towering over her but not purposefully being imposing. “I’m Chief of Security on this ship, so when someone decides to beat up other people, it is my job to figure out why they did that.”

Physical size was one of those things which no longer intimidated a girl without about, Immy found. She pursed her lips and shook her head, clearly emotional about the perceived invasion of her privacy.

“Jasper already told you why, didn’t he?” she asked, looking up at Lyra.

Lyra was quiet for just a beat as she considered if the young woman was just too emotionally childish to use the logic centers of her brain or perhaps they had been cooked out of her like her body had been.

“What is this face?” She asked and gestured to Immy’s sour look. “A man goes out to get justice for you and fix your problems in the only way he is capable and then has to own up to the reason so he doesn’t get tossed out of the airlock, and you stand there looking like you ate a lemon. I’ve seen ungrateful people before, but you rank high.”

An insult. It was going well. Immy sighed, averting her gaze almost like a teenager.

“I’m grateful to Jasper. I just don’t see what that has to do with you.” Immy explained. “Is he free or are you keeping him in the brig? He didn’t do anything except be a man, like you said. Where is he?”

“While I agree with you on a personal level, fleet code doesn’t recognize ‘being a man’ as a valid reason for otherwise unprovoked assault.” Lyra lifted her shoulders slightly. “As for what it has to do with me, Jasper doesn’t have the authority to modify the rules imposed on your program. I do.”

To Immy’s credit, she didn’t seem to notice a single thing about Lyra’s statement concerning her specifically. She seemed genuinely worried, instead, about Jasper.

“But is he free?” she asked, her arms falling from their defiant position to one of greater apprehension near her thighs. “It wasn’t his fault! I told him what those sickos were doing to me and he felt pressured into doing something about it to protect me.” she said, and a small smile played at her lips for an instant. “It's those men who should suffer, not him.”

“They did, and they will still, don’t worry about that.” Lyra gave a slight wave of her hand. “As for Jasper, he will be in the brig for another three days, but I was able to spare him the agonizer.”

Immy put her hands over her mouth and gasped, her green eyes wide and surprised. She shook her head, lowering her hands and giving several short, innocent affirmative nods at Lyra.

“Thank you, Commander. That means so much to me, oh my Gods. That’s wonderful.” she said, expressively, like a weight had been lifted off of her. She wanted to remark on the fact that Lyra was dealing with this instead of Andrei, which was what she had silently hoped for, but she figured there must be a reason that wasn’t exactly wise to ask for at the moment. “So..what happens now; with me and with those men who got their asses kicked by Jasper?”

There was a less than subtle pride in her tone when she asked the question, and it mixed perfectly with the subtle dramatic excitement that was playing on her attractive features. It was pretty obvious there was no part of this she regretted save the fact Jasper hadn’t gotten off scot free. That was okay though. She would make that better just as she promised.

“The transporter tech is going to be put on latrine duty, and my own man is going to be polishing boots with his tongue for a while.” Lyra rolled her shoulders, looking down at Immy thoughtfully.”I don’t really know what exactly you are, Immy, but I know you are aware and… feel. I tolerate men doing many things, rape is not one of them.”

She reached up and placed a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “Listen closely to what I am about to say, hm?”

Immy would have preferred having them brought into the holodeck with the safeties off, but she would settle for the punishment Lyra was meeting out. At least she was trying. She looked up at Lyra and raised her eyebrows. Eventually, she nodded, a signal she was listening.

“I have made some modifications to the rules you are governed by while you are here in the holodeck. You may now decline requests made of you by anyone outside of the CO, XO, Commander Petrova, and myself if they are not directly related to the ship or ships functions. The exceptions may still make any request of you and you must comply with them. I would still suggest compliance for other requests as long as they are not… untoward - we are going to be giving this a try and see how it goes.” Lyra explained, holding Immy’s gaze steadily.

Immy wasn’t exactly sure how giving her the freedom not to be raped would go badly, but she decided to keep that to herself. She could tell Lyra wasn’t the woman to mess with when it came to her existence and ship access, but she knew this particular victory was Jasper’s doing more than anyone else.

She licked her pink lips and gave a nod of understanding.

“Thank you.” She said, more soberly than usual. “It means a lot to be able to say no and to protect myself, at least passively.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sure Jasper will come and see you when he is out and able to do so, but it is likely he will be buried under work. Jackie is keeping things going, but she’s not thrilled about it.” Lyra pointed out, detached and patient.

Immy listened to the other woman as she spoke, a calm pleasantness in her face. She felt bad Jasper was being punished, but she was also quite happy he would take the punishment for her in the first place. The fact he had been spared the agonizer was a great help. She thought for a moment, then, on Lyra and, as a result, of Andrei. He had approached her for his help on several occasions and seemed to willingly accept it, even though he didn’t let her in on his plans. She wondered if Lyra knew, but certainly would never give it away until she was sure she did.

“There’s something I’d like to say to you. I think it’s important and I want to cut through some of the difficulty with my…situation. I know you are suspicious of me, and I understand why you might feel that way. All I really want, though, is to use my abilities and my tons of free time to be useful. Trust me with the little stuff if you want, but I can be helpful.” She said with a meek shrug. “Just think about it.”

Lyra watched Immy as she spoke, her expression betraying nothing as per usual. There was an angle here, she was quite sure of it, but she wasn’t sure exactly what it would be for someone like Immy. The girl had been a thief and unworthy of the position Yana had granted her because of it, but Yana had her own machinations with the slaves; Immy was no different, but Immy was also functionally dead.

“I’ll consider it.” She finally said and it seemed genuine enough.

“That’s all I can ask.” Immy said and gave a half smile in return for Lyra’s neutral expression. In her mind, there was little more to say beyond that, so she turned her eyes to the waters around them and took a quick drag of the fresh air..

It wasn’t immediately apparent if Lyra was actively giving Immy a moment to look around and enjoy the simulation or if she simply wasn’t paying attention and was looking around herself, but it was several beats before she spoke once more.

“You may go now, Immy. I need to get back to work.” She said, at the very least allowing Immy to take herself offline instead of being rudely dismissed. Immy turned back to Lyra and lifted a dainty hand.

“I’ll talk to you later then.” She said with an energetic pageant wave and a slight grin. Then the woman disappeared, leaving the Chief of Security standing alone in the holodeck environment.

Alone, Lyra looked back out to the water and took a few minutes to herself to consider it and the fleeting threads of memory it brought. Eventually, she took a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh.

“Computer, end program.”

Suddenly surrounded by the jarring grid of the holodeck, she turned and left the room just as abruptly as it had shifted.

END