Misery Loves Company

Posted on Tue May 23rd, 2023 @ 5:01pm by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jasper Branson & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov
Edited on on Wed May 24th, 2023 @ 4:41am

Mission: S1 Episode 5: Ex Post Facto
Location: After 11
Timeline: Date 2371-08-18 at 2115
3478 words - 7 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

While it had seemed most everything in life had been looking up for both Jasper himself and the fleet as a whole, the last three days had felt like fifteen steps back in that respect. While the computer issues had been largely dealt with, there had been a cost; damage, injuries, and two deaths one of which had been Immy who’s life had ended in a literal flash in the middle of the admin offices. While Jasper had not shared the same intensity of attachment to Immy as she seemingly had for him, he had cared about her in his way and the traumatic death she had suffered did disturb him a great deal. On top of that, Andrei had returned to the Vengeance alone with news that Lyra had been taken by the Baneans; another member of the crew plucked away by an alien race despite the captain’s destruction of the Ocampa as a warning to what happened to those who would perform such an act.

The people of this quadrant seemed very slow to learn.

Jasper found himself heading to After 11 to get himself a drink after a long day. He was dressed in a dark green long sleeved pullover shirt and a pair of dark blue though slightly faded jeans. He wasn’t dressed to try and impress anyone tonight, he just wanted a drink… or six. The Vengeance was en route to Banea and may as well have been dragging a sheet of hellfire behind them while they were. No one was pleased with what had happened, and if there were any who wished Lyra ill they all seemed to be intelligent enough to keep their mouths shut. He strode up to the bar, ordered, and waited for his drink which once he had in his hand he turned to find a seat when his incredibly blue eyes fell on a familiar figure but in a very out of place spot. Andrei was usually the life of the party front and center surrounded by a table full of people, but Jasper found him sitting at one of the two tops in the darker back corner of the room alone and brooding with a nearly empty drink. He turned back to the bar, and then with a second drink in hand he walked over to Andrei.

“Seat taken?” Jasper asked, putting a full glass of Andrei’s chosen drink down in front of him while he held his own and waited to see if Andrei would accept his company or not.

Andrei had been largely composed if not a bit intense and overly poetic in public, but in private, he had been a wreck. Both guilt and anger were eating at him; anger because Lyra had been taken by the Baneans, and guilt because he was the one to hand her over on a silver platter. He wouldn’t admit it, of course, but he felt the pangs of a feeling which was almost completely foreign to him: guilt.

When Jasper walked up, he started by ignoring the man, but when he recognized the voice, he looked up with dim and slightly drunken eyes.

“It’s open for you.” He said simply, gesturing loosely toward the seat on the other side of the round table. “I was just sitting and watching the stars stream by, wishing they would go faster. I am impatient, Jasper, to have Banean blood on my hands.”

Jasper took the seat, his large frame falling heavily into it as he gave a sigh. “I’m sure you are. I don’t blame you.” He paused and took a sip of his drink. “I’d say I feel the same, but I know I don’t - though just on principle of them taking a Terran, especially a woman, I’d be happy to see them die.”

He looked across to Andrei, studying the other man but not with that analytical intent that so many others would have used. That wasn’t Jasper’s way; he was a follower and really he didn’t mind that in his life as long as the person he was following was worth it. It was something that had driven his father to rage on more than one occasion… but Jasper really could not have cared less about the man’s opinions.

“And you will.” Andrei said, picking up his glass and taking a healthy sip to finish it off. Swallowing the burning liquid, he slid the glass Jasper had brought over to replace it and sipped that as well. “It was never so complicated before when the women meant nothing. But she’s still alive. I Can tell.”

Andrei looked to his Yeoman, his patch noting the man’s body temperature, heart rate, and a dozen other readings he was coming to understand more and more.

“That’s more than Can be said about your red-headed slave girl.” He said. “I read about it.”

“Mm…” Jasper acknowledged, pensive for a moment as he thought about Immy. Andrei’s readings would discern the mixed feelings Jasper was currently mulling over. “Yeah, it’s been a shit few days all in all.”

“That girl of yours, Immy, I mean. She was incredibly gorgeous.” Andrei said with a sad grin.”I think Lyra was considering putting her on a kill list based on the remote possibility she might make eye contact with me.”

He looked up to Andrei and wondered for a moment if the sadness behind that grin was for Lyra, or the loss of the gorgeous Immy. “Possible.” He said and took a sip of his drink. “She seems like one of those women who doesn’t really realize how gorgeous she is herself, and then couple that with the usual ‘all other women are going to try to steal your man’ your noble women get drilled into their heads well…”

Jasper waved his hand slightly, either not realizing or not caring that he had tipped his own attraction to Lyra in the open, but really it wasn’t that hard to believe.

Andrei didn’t blame the man for his attraction in the slightest. If he hadn’t been attracted to Lyra, he would have thought there was something wrong with the man. She was amazing.

“I haven’t ever really felt…well, anything about a woman quite as much as I do now.” Andrei admitted in a rare moment of candor. “The others are mostly nothing but body and talk. You know, in one day, out the other, and after a while, who can tell the difference between them?”

Jasper did take note of Andrei’s honesty and openness; it was far from the norm, but he had also seen the haze of mild drunkenness in the XO’s eyes and knew it likely had stemmed from that. Fortunately for Andrei, Jasper really wasn’t the type of man to try and take advantage of that fact. “But not her.”

It was partially a prompt, partially observation, but wholly fact in Jasper’s mind. If he’d had the chance of course he would have tried with the full knowledge he would have failed, but he would have tried anyway. He was not, however, the steal your girl type… well, not with people like Andrei. That was pure stupidity.

“Of course not.” Andrei said, and took another drink. “If she was normal, I’d be surrounded by a harem right now like the old days. But now, I seem to be sulking like a plebeian, pining like an idiot.”

“Is she worth it?” Jasper asked, his brows lifting curiously. “I would think so, but I’m not you. Though I also don’t particularly think it is a bad thing to have feelings.” He smirked just slightly and took a healthy sip of his own drink.

“Feelings are for women and children.” Andrei said, and allowed a grin to finish the joke. Of course, it wasn’t really clear whether it was truly a joke or not. “And if she wasn’t worth it, would I be doing this? Do I seem like the sort of man who tolerates his time being wasted?”

“Mmm, no. Point taken.” Jasper said with a slight chuckle that was almost apologetic in a way. It wasn’t an answer, but it also was a very blatant answer. He rolled his glass on the bottom edge as he held it. “You really think she’s alive then?”

“Of course she’s alive. She’s capable and…well, if she wasn’t, it would take the lives of billions of Baneans and Numiri to pay for hers.”

As Andrei answered, there was a cold quality to his visible eye. It was clear he meant it and had every expectation that there was going to be suffering like these aliens had never known before.

“But no, she’s our chief of security and a trained fighter. She can hold her own.”

Jasper nodded and leaned back slightly in his seat, putting one arm over the back of his chair while he relaxed. He continued to swirl his drink around, pensive, and then finally spoke. “How’d the Captain take all this? I’ve heard rumors that he seemed to care… less than when it was Callie and Kassandra.”

It was a small ship, people talked, especially the NCOs and young officers.

Andrei furrowed his brow at the question and thought back on some of his father’s interactions as well. They had been more subdued and quiet than those of the past, but he had rushed out to get her just as quickly as every before.

“If you’re asking if he had the same emotional reaction as before, then I guess not. When Kassandra and Callie were taken, it was just hours after this ship and its crew had just been stranded 70,000 light years from home by an alien entity and his former XO had been killed in a massive explosion. I don’t think that can be compared to now. If people were smart, they would stop that stupid gossip and get back to work.”

“Most aren’t smart, though, and gossip is the favorite pastime of the lower decks when the stars aren’t streaking by fast enough.” Jasper indicated toward the viewport drink in hand toward the streaking stars. “We’ll see what happens, I suppose.”

“I’ll tell you what will happen.” Andrei said, looking squarely at his Yeoman, his piercing green eye growing wide. “I’m going to make up for any deficit in my father’s resolve, and these disgusting creatures will be a signpost for my vengeance.”

For a moment, Jasper looked Andrei up and down with some mild skepticism. Many men their age talked about making a show of their superiority, but in the end the majority ended up prostrating before the experience and wisdom of their sires - either by their own accord or by the heavy hand of paternal discipline. Sometimes that was needed, sometimes it bred vendettas that saw those same sires dead five years down the line by the son’s hand.

If there was a man to rise above, though, it was likely Andrei Petrov.

“Hear, hear.” Jasper replied, raising his glass slightly to Andrei and downing the contents. “Just let me know if you need anything when the time comes and I’ll see what I can do.”

Andrei understood the subtext of that statement, and nodded his confirmation of it. He had no intention of challenging his father unless the old man put him in a position where he had to. If he did, then he would he was aiming at no matter what.

“I know a few girls who would look your way twice if you’re trying to fill the place in your bed left by the slave girl.” He said, watching the other man and sipping his drink again. “None quite as beautiful, but many close.”

“Mm.” Jasper downed the rest of his drink and then gave a sigh while he grinned. “I’d never say no, but I don’t really suffer from the empty bed problem.” He put his now empty glass down on the table. “She wasn’t my only, as much as she wanted to be for whatever reason. I couldn’t figure out why she was so demanding after literally four days but I guess some just delude themselves into thinking there is something there. My guess is she wanted something from me, though, and thought her pussy was enough to get it after such a short time.”

He shrugged. “She was gorgeous though, I’ll give you that.”

“Of course she wanted something from you. Doesn’t everyone?” Andrei asked, rapping his finger on the table repeatedly. “And pussy is often an effective tool for getting it; just not alone. I don’t know her, but she was probably just trying to manipulate you. That’s part of the game.”

“I’m sure, and if she’d given it enough time she probably would have gotten what she wanted, but she rushed; beautiful, but not too smart in that respect.” Jasper shrugged. “Not that it really matters now. Such is life.”

“Well, some men are very stupid.” Andrei responded with a chuckle. His tension had slackened just a bit, though it was clear he wasn’t nearly as relaxed as he usually was. After this short respite from his worries, he would no doubt return to brooding alone in his quarters. “It does leave us short of a command slave. Shall we make it a man this time?”

“Probably less distracting… less fun, but less distracting.” Jasper noted and then laughed slightly. “Maybe we could all use a little less distracting for a while.”

“I’ll let my mother know the challenge, though I imagine she understands already.” Andrei responded, then his mind shifted to a related topic. “And if it's a man next, you’ll have to direct your attention to Little Lottie. Do you think she’s as innocent as she says she is?”

“Mmm… honestly, yeah. You remember her face when she walked in on all of us in the office when Immy was on top of me. I know people can fake that kind of thing but… I’d think that might be hard to fake to that degree.” Jasper chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t know. Innocence has some appeal, but there’s such a thing as too innocent, I think.”

“At least for your purposes.” Andrei remarked and issued a chuckle loud enough to attract the attention of the people at the tables around them. He had been so sour that many of them had avoided him. Once the life of the party, now silent. But the laugh gave hope that things were more settled. “The look on her face was priceless. But it doesn’t make any sense to me. That can’t be the first time she’s seen sex. With her reaction, you’d think she believed the stork brought children.”

Jasper was glad to see Andrei relaxing a bit given the situation. He liked Andrei for the most part, almost as if some sort of pseudo-friend, but he was under no illusions that there wasn’t really an actual friendship there. Unlike many though, Jasper was alright with that. He also knew, from experience, that the relaxation would evaporate the moment Andrei was alone in his quarters without Lyra there or at least right across the hall from him.

“Couldn’t tell you. Do they even teach slaves where babies come from?” He wasn’t being serious of course, but also he would believe that some just… weren’t ever taught.

“Many of them learn the hard way, I think.” Andrei responded. He thought back on all the slaves he had known in his life. After all, his father was the Lord of Russia and their household had no shortage of slaves of all kinds. The young, pretty ones made an impression on him. He would have taught many of them where babies came from had the law not required slaves to be on birth control. “How about we get you a nice, handsome Vulcan man so that you can focus on your work? Or maybe develop a new interest?”

“I’m sure you taught a fair few.” Jasper noted. He didn’t have telepathy of course, but Andrei’s appetite - especially for the young former slave - was widely known and it would of course stand to reason that appetite extended to any pretty, nubile, barely legal slave he could get his hands on. He didn’t let the comment linger though and smirked. “Not nearly as fun to see the reactions from a Vulcan when you and Lyra go at it on your desk.”

Immy had loved it though in her own way, he thought, but he also knew that like most women it was because she wanted to be there. He could relate, but in the opposite position. “I’m sure your mother will figure it out.”

Andrei nodded his agreement, and the conversation lulled for the next couple of seconds. Finishing off his drink, looked back at Jasper, a gleam in his eye.

“I suppose I’m expected not to drown my sorrows in wine and women. Life can be so cruel.”

“Wine, sure. Women… probably not, unless you’ve written yours off after a drink.” Jasper replied, lifting a brow at Andrei. “I’m sure dear old dad could be convinced to just sail on by and keep heading home.”

The annoyance flashed on Andrei’s face in an instant at the implication he would allow Lyra to be left behind, let alone leaving her himself. He softened the expression but didn’t hide it.

“I’ll settle for wine this time.” he said, cryptic, as he gestured toward one of the slaves. The young man approached, his somewhat messy hair making him look boyish. He was handsome in a youthful sort of way, but he lacked the confidence that would distinguish him as a man. Hesitant, but kind, was the impression one got. “Pour me some of whatever I had before.”

“Yes, master.” the young slave said in a soft voice. He even offered a slight smile, though it was awkward. He moved away quickly for the bar.

“Typically, only women get the lounge jobs. I was surprised when my mother chose him instead.” Andrei said to Jasper as he watched the slave speak with the bartender and retrieve the ordered drink.

Jasper had been joking - sort of - and he did take note of Andrei’s reaction, but also the words that followed. The man never liked to give certainty on anything, and he truly wondered how long that was tenable in their situation here in the Delta Quadrant. Or with a woman like Lyra. Even the fear of Andrei likely wouldn’t keep other men from taking their chance if given the opening if he were to put her aside for even a moment as it had with many of his other former lovers. She was too great of a prize.

But Mr. Steal Your Girl wasn’t really Jasper’s thing.

“Yeah it's a bit weird but the women would probably appreciate it, I guess?” He asked and shrugged.

“Do you think so? He’s skinny as a green bean.” Andrei asked, really looking at Jasper for a read on him. “Women often have very interesting tastes though. Still, he looks like someone’s younger brother.”

“How the fuck would I know, they don’t make sense half the time.” Jasper grinned and laughed. “I mean they like you, there’s no accounting for taste.” It was a joke, obviously, playful ribbing at his expense.

“It’s because they don’t know if I’ll rip their clothes off or force them out of an airlock.” Andrei responded with a smile as the slave boy returned. He looked up at him and noticed he was holding an entire bottle. “The whole thing?”

“The bartender told me you might want the whole thing, master.” he responded, a slight sense of respectful hesitation in his voice, though it wasn’t fear.

Andrei grabbed the bottle and placed it on the table, turning to Jasper and smiling. He put his hands up in a ‘what do you know’ sort of gesture.

“Look at that, lucky day.” Jasper grinned and leaned back slightly in his chair. “Well, wine it is. Lamentations for later.”

“Lamentations for later.” Andrei repeated, pouring a glass of the brown liquid for both himself and Jasper. Then he raised his in the air with a lovely flourish. “Na Zdorovie!”

END