All Work, Maybe Play I

Posted on Sat Oct 22nd, 2022 @ 3:28pm by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov
Edited on on Sat Oct 22nd, 2022 @ 10:45pm

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: XO's Office
Timeline: Mission Day 28 at 1900
2430 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

To some, it may have been rather odd that Lyra had made an appointment to speak with her own partner, but to Lyra it was appropriate for them. Business was business after all; as for play... there might be time for that as well, but business first. As her XO, she had several matters to address with him regarding Security and in general, and while nepotism was a favored method in the Petrov family, Lyra felt she was not in range enough yet to try and flex herself into that particular blanket. That, and she also preferred to keep their personal and work lives mostly separate - Andrei and Lyra, Commander and Lieutenant. Of course there would be times where they would intersect, but coming off of a vacation where they had devoured every moment they had with each other so greedily, their time together would start to become less frequent and much more precious.

She was quite aware of the heads she was turning as she walked down the corridor sporting the female variant uniform. It was still entirely impractical for security work and she would never wear it in a normal duty shift, but for something like this it was just easier. Far fewer layers to deal with given she got back into uniform just for the occasion. Far fewer layers to take off too.

Stopping outside of his office, she reached out and tapped the chime while holding the PADDs she had brought along against her stomach with her other hand.

Six days on the job and already Andrei had started to adjust to his newfound authority. He had always dreamed of being top dog and now, after a few short months in the Delta Quadrant, he was second in command of the fleet flagship, perhaps a heartbeat away from running the entire operation. He had been quite the hard worker as well, getting up before the daily Senior Staff Briefings, working for a few hours after it started, and then taking some time to train in the gym, job, and spar on the holodeck before reporting for his actual duty shift at 1600 hours. Since his shift was a command, he split his time between the Bridge, his office, the Conference Room, and any other place where his presence was needed. Sitting around, however, was never on the agenda much like he had thought it was for command officers before. He was always moving, and even when he sat down for lunch, he typically had a PADD in hand.

When the chime rang, he grinned, knowing his next meeting would likely be a highlight of the day.

“Come.” He said simply, leaning back in his chair decently far and taking up space.

Stepping inside at his summon, she gave a restrained smile. "Hello, commander." She greeted, her words formal but her tone slightly more familiar. "I'll try not to take up too much of your time." The smile she wore tugged into a smirk at one corner of her mouth.

His eyes went to her midriff and then her toned tan thighs. She had the most amazing legs, and he wasn’t shy about looking at them. His natural eye moved up and down her body before landing on her face, his mechanical one was hidden behind the textured interface patch.

“Prompt as always, Lieutenant. And in proper uniform as well, I see. I’m impressed.” He said, a dashing grin forming lightly on his face. He moved his hand on the desk in smooth motion in front of him, much like he was thinking of touching her; subconscious, yet somewhat obvious. “And I appreciate your concern for my time, but I know we have much to discuss. It will take as long as it takes.”

"I'm always in proper uniform, Commander, just not in popular uniform." She replied, the little smirk on her lovely lips growing. Taking a seat, she crossed her legs and placed the PADDs down on the desk in front of her. Lyra had noticed the shift in the way Andrei carried himself; the confidence, pride, authority. He was coming into his own power and she loved it for him. "There's the matter of Assistant Chief. My recommendations go to Simmons and Hartjin. They are both capable officers." And good doggies.

“Yes, I’m sure.” He said, his mind moving to the two men while his eye still lingered on her. “Hartjin would require a commission though. I assume you and he made up after your misunderstanding on the beach?”

"He hasn't made any fuss, still says 'yes, sir' and obeys, so made up enough I'd say." She said and moved her eyes from the PADD in her hand, looking into Andrei's eyes. They were alone, so they could be more frank. "They are both loyal and would likely do anything asked of them." Anything for just a moment of her favor.

“Those are just the soldier’s we’re looking for.” He said, nodding a shallow affirmation, clearly not looking for consensus between them so much as considering her advice. “Making enlisted into officers is clearly fine when it’s necessary, but Simmons has the rank to make him the man most likely for the job. Which one do you prefer?”

Lyra was fully aware that in the end, this was Andrei's decision. Though technically it was Ivan's, she saw little likelihood that he would overrule Andrei's recommendation when it came to his own former department. Rank wasn't everything. They had promoted a giant walking, talking cat to lieutenant over Nolan Nazar's daughter after all, so she was dissuaded very little by Simmons' single gold pip over Corvin's lack of one.

"Hartjin is aggressive, Simmons is meek. Both are useful in their own ways as long as they can be controlled, which I believe they can. Hartijin needs a firm hand, but would likely be more useful in the long run. I'd rather have an aggressive dog on a short leash than a timid little mutt hiding behind my legs."

“You prefer aggression between your legs, I know.” He said, his smile suggestive, his eyes communicating his interest even as he directed his attention back to the topic presented. “Then I’ll recommend we go with Hartjin. That’ll leave Law as the senior NCO in the department. Just remember that.”

There was a delight in Lyra's dark eyes at his comment, a promise of later, but she did not give any reply to it. "It will, yes." She confirmed passively, having already mentally moved on from the topic to the next with Andrei's assent at her choice. "I'd also like to change up the assignments for security patrols. People are getting complacent and too familiar."

“With each other?” He inquired, lifting one eyebrow and trying to read her meaning.

"With each other and their routes. I'm all for camaraderie, but not when it becomes unprofessional during a shift." She offered him the PADD in her hand and he would see the proposed changes were mixing up the three shifts personnel and moving the leads specifically to different deck sections. It wasn't anything massive, though it would likely earn complaints until people were settled into their new shifts.

Andrei took the PADD and looked at it for no more than three seconds before handing it back to her and shaking his head.

“Rotate them as often as you like. Just include changes in your department reports. You’re too big for hand-holding and I’m not going to make you do it.” He said, avoiding saying something else suggestive. It was good if they could be professional with one another. Some of the ways that the military did things had always struck him as needlessly bureaucratic. Every now and then, with people he trusted, he was using his authority to give them a longer leash. Some people, however, would find themselves on one so short they would feel as if he was doing half of their job for them. “You may modify patrols within the bounds of rank convention and you’ll only hear from me if you fuck it up.”

He turned his head to the side, his mane of black hair falling from his quickly broadening shoulders. He gave a shrug. His eyes traveled the tempting bronze road between her knees and the base of her skirt. His mind drifted to a fantasy of bending her over his new desk; the feel of her tightness against him; the sound of the smacking and moans of pleasure; the look in her eyes when he was reaching her deepest places. He was only lost for four or five seconds, but returned to reality with an unselfconscious lift of his brows.

“Best make sure that’s alright with the old man, though, on second thought. Expect a memo by the end of Beta Shift with the new policy in detail. Shall I have Eritrea deliver it to your quarters or have it placed on your desk?”

Lyra was silent for those few seconds as she watched his mental journey play out in the slight shifts of expression on his face. She was familiar enough with Andrei to know where his mind had gone, but kept her expression neutral as she waited for him to return and speak. When he did, she continued to just look at him. He was trying to bait her with Eritrea and she knew it, but she didn't rise to it in the slightest neither outwardly nor inwardly. She didn't appreciate it, but the slight tugs and pokes were a way of testing limits and boundaries and she knew that.

"She can put it on my desk." Lyra replied calmly. "Though funny you should mention her. I know you were potentially looking for a way to shift her away from her position given your... unique history, Commander. I did have a thought, unless you have grown accustomed to having her serve you."

“I am desperate to have that mongrel away from me.” He said, his face not turning or becoming emotional in the slightest. “Does your solution involve a spacing?”

"I do still want that fancy coin purse." Lyra replied in turn, her expression simply conversational as if they were discussing the weather. Her eyes simply remained on Andrei to gauge his sincerity. "With the influx of supplies and purchases, Operations I'm sure could use another set of organized hands to help make sure reports and manifests flow where they need to. Then it would simply be yeoman interacting with yeoman when you choose another."

“But her replacement would have to come from somewhere. Likely operations. It would just be trading one for another, really…which I wouldn’t mind, I suppose.”

"Yes, it would. Or there is the option of Tuli since she was recently freed if you would prefer her. I know Commander Marshall requested her, but the commander doesn't have to get everything he wants." Lyra replied and shrugged slightly.

“One slave for another.” He said, dismissing the thought with a slight wave of his hand. He had taken off his leather uniform gloves to let his hands breathe. “I have had quite enough of their kind. One eye is enough.”

Lyra wasn't affected by the dismissal of the idea and merely took a moment to think, drumming her fingers on her knee. "What about Ruben Grant?" She asked after a moment. "He's one of the specialists in operations and is trained in logistics." Obviously, Lyra had given some thought into divesting Eritrea of Andrei and had thought of a few options to bring to him.

"Well, that was very quick, wasn't it?" he asked, chuckling lightly. "Clearly you've been doing some research. I don't know Grant. You can tell me about him, if you'd like and...give me the other options you've dreamed up too."

"I know you don't want to work with Eritrea and I know you have been extremely busy getting settled in, so yes, I have." There was a slight shift in her tone, more gentle and familiar, the supportive partner rather than the subordinate officer. As she continued though, it went away into the more professional tone she had been taking thus far. "From what I have found, Grant is a good officer and does his job well. He got passed over for the actual position of logistics specialist but has more or less become a secondary one with everything we have been bringing on board. He hasn't had any disciplinary issues and from what I hear is easy to get along with."

She sat back in the chair and continued, "There's Anton Ellis also from Ops, good officer though I hear he has all the personality of a dead fish. Jasper Branson from Ops who does have some attitude problems but nothing you couldn't handle I imagine. While maybe not the obvious choice, Corinne Stroman from Engineering would do well in the position too. She handles most of the supply requests and updating duty shifts. Nice woman."

"Branson. I've seen his name on a discipline report for back talking a superior officer and assaulting a fellow enlisted, though it was weeks ago." Andrei said, his right eye testing the patch's interface with the main computer. An image of Branson appeared over the image of Lyra in front of him, a watermark surrounded by scrolling text. He observed the official service photo of the man, his attention settling on his nut-brown hair and blue eyes before he read the text. A commoner from Atlanta with no name of note...accepting his father tried and failed to scheme his way into the Lord Mayoralty of Atlanta a few years back. He doesn't seem to play well with others. Do you know more about him?"

As he read the information and looked at her, his natural eye remained fixed on her, though it seemed vacant, like someone looking at nothing at all. When he asked the question, it came to life again.

Lyra had grown accustomed to the vacant stare Andrei wore when he was busy accessing the interface in his eyepatch. She simply sat and waited, taking off her own gloves and putting them on her thigh. A smirk had however appeared on her face when he went after the troublemaker and she was not really surprised in the slightest. There was a reason she had included him in the mix. "Not too much, though doing a little digging he does seem to bow to a firm hand."

TBC