The need for therapy

Posted on Mon Jan 21st, 2019 @ 10:12pm by Lieutenant Commander Shaille Levine & Warrant Officer Koh Otassu

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/5

By the time she had stepped into her quarters, Shaille had already pulled off her jacket and her boots, dropping them on the floor near the couch before she flopped back onto the couch, an exhausted sigh escaping her parted lips as she closed her eyes momentarily.

To say she was exhausted was a complete understatement. While she wasn't entirely sure exactly how little the amount of sleep was that she got. She had no idea what time it was when they had actually stopped drinking, she had no idea what time it was when they had finally made it into her bedroom, she had no idea what time it was when they had finally fallen asleep, or how long they had managed to sleep for before waking.

She wasn't even sure how it was that she managed to get through the day, except for the fact that every replicator she passed had provided a steady stream of coffee that had some how gotten her through the duty shift and back to her quarters.

Now, despite the fact that she had a barrage of other things she should be doing, she had no desire to move or do anything more than just lay there and contemplate.

Well, that wasn't entirely true, there was something else she wanted to do...

With a smile, she moved off the couch and headed for the shower.

20 minutes later Shaille found herself in the hangar, glancing around hopefully.

The Federation Hangar was well stocked and well maintained, with fighter after fighter in rows ready for the call to action. Each of them identical to the one next to it, save for minor personal touches.

All of them, except for one.

As alien as its pilot, built with military supremacy AND aesthetic in mind, the sleek and predatory Blink Fighter stood out among its peers, despite being smaller than the larger Federation powerhouse fighters. Sleek aerodynamic curves, dark matte finish, and warnings written in the alien tongue of the Ts'usugi, the Blink Fighter was an elegant and alien sight. Just like her pilot.

Koh was walking along the perimeter of his fighter, a gloved hand running gently over the contours. The very shape and form was under inspection, it seemed. Dressed in his flight uniform, Koh was ready for the call to action at a moment's notice. He hadn't seemed to notice the presence of Shaille yet.

It only took her a moment to find him, his fighter being the one that stood out in the hangar as being different from the others. Much like him. She smiled as she watched him moving about, fussing over the vessel with each step.

She moved closer, brushing her hair back from her face and tucking stray curls behind her ear. "Impressive," Shaille said softly, "Very impressive." It wasn't entirely clear whether she was referring to the fighter or the pilot.

He gave a smile, his ears perked as she spoke. "In the wing, I've earned the callsign 'Ghost'. With that, I get to name my fighter. She's the 'Specter'." he told her story, and turned to face Shaille with those enigmatic hollow eyes of his. "Thank you, and I'm certain the fighter would thank you too if it could." he smirked, and walked towards her with his hand out to her. "I.. I've been thinking about you."

"Good thoughts I hope," she replied with a smile, slipping her hand into his and squeezing gently. "Though if I'm being honest, I've been thinking about you too," she said softly, her free hand moving to brush gently along the length of his ear. "I'm off for the night, I thought I'd see if you had plans?"

"Only." Koh offered her a soft smile in return, his eyes closing slightly at the touch to his ear. "Oh, I wish I didn't. We're on elevated readiness with the concern of the Shalti intruders, so we're on a rotation in case there's another fighter swarm so for the next few hours it's me and Specter. Well, not just me, but you know what I mean." he replied.

"Though, when I'm off shift, if you're still up, we can relax together. We could share stories about how embarrassing our childhoods were." he offered, though this time with a smile. "And certainly a lot less whiskey." to that, he gave a nod.

Shaille glanced around the hangar, taking note of the fact that there was basically no one else around. "If it stays this quiet I could always hang out here for a while," she said with a slight smile. "I promise to be out of the way immediately if anything happens... and lets be honest, if you're getting scrambled, I'm getting called onto duty anyway..."

Koh gave a nod and a smile, "I think that'd be acceptable." he offered, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before he moved slightly to motion to his Blink Fighter. "Well, I promised to introduce you. This is the Ichiga class Blink Fighter, Class One." he smirked, "Be nice."

"Thank you for visiting." he said to Shaille softly, as though worried who else would hear. Though, there was no shame or concern in his voice, just giving a thought that heavy the tone it needed. "Every fighter pilot hopes for the call to duty. Right now, I hope things stay nice and quiet."

"You and me both, quiet is good, especially right now... " Shaille said, moving in closer to him, one arm moving around his back, her head resting on his shoulder lightly as she turned back to look at the fighter. "She is impressive," she said softly. "Do I get to see inside?"

He smiled, leaning against her slightly as she spoke. "Certainly. Hold on..." and he snuck an arm around from around her and removed he glove he was wearing, and pressed into the hull near the canopy and slid up along the edge for about a few inches. There was a hiss as the pressure stabilized, and then the canopy slid up slightly before sliding back up and behind the cockpit. "It won't recognize you, so you can't accidentally sortie, if you want to have a sit?" he motioned to the cushioned cockpit. More of a cradle for the pilot to sit in rather than an actual chair. Buttons, control surfaces, stick joystick, throttle control... everything where one would expect it in some form of simulator.

As the canopy hissed closed behind them, Shaille hesitated just a moment before turning into him, her arms moving around his neck as she buried her face in his shoulder, taking barely a moment to inhale his scent and revel in his softness before she pulled away, drawing in a sharp breath. "Sorry," she said with a quick smile. "So if I sit you promise I won't fly us into the bulkhead or blow something up?" she asked, still keeping one hand in contact with him.

"No need to apologize." he offered, and gave her a soft nuzzle on the top of her head, "And no, there's no real accidental way to activate the Blink Fighter. I'd have to tell it to activate the main spin up sequencer and then ... oh no." he looked panicked for a moment, then offered a smirk, "I'm teasing. It isn't programmed to respond to Federation English." he got a little more comfortable, "But if you want to see what it feels like, I can request clearance for a quick patrol." he gently pressed his forehead to her's, "Or, we can stay in these cramped quarters for a while. Did I mention the canopy can go from clear to opaque?"

The momentary look of panic on his face caught her by surprise and her heart skipped a beat, a sense of fear balling up inside her stomach until he smirked and said he was teasing. She exhaled slowly, leaning into him as her heart beat returned to normal, that was, until his forehead was against hers. The heat from his ears radiating around her sent a delicious shiver down her spine. "Is that so?" she finally murmured. "You know, it's doesn't feel all that cramped in here, in fact, I'm sure there's plenty of room for all kinds of things," she grinned wickedly as her hand moved slowly along the length of his back.

He gave a soft smile back to her, forehead to forehead. "Oh it's very spacious. Comfy and soft. Padding where it needs it, smooth where it stays. And the control seat is nice too." he teased, "I'd never put you in harm by intent. Though, I'd hate for anything we start to be rudely interrupted. Perhaps a loop patrol around the local space, then at the end of the shift we can get comfy." he offered with a smirk. The last thing he wanted was the flight deck officer to catch them with their flight suits down.

"Ts'usugi eyes don't really enjoy bright light. First time I walked onto the Wellington, I got a headache right behind my eyes, so the canopy can filter out outside light. If we need to, we can fly on the HUD alone." he explained in a bit of a hush. No need to break the tender moment with a loud voice. "Some of the enemies of the Empire and our allies, they liked to fight us with their backs to a local star or set up a flare-field. Dirty fighting, but in the end, whoever lives wins."

He was quiet for a moment, just enjoying the feel of her touch, the feel of her closeness. "I'd love to show you Ts'usu. The home moons, the planet rise, the way the dawn breaks over the mountains. The glow of the Tattle Tale fields." he just closed his eyes, as though remembering them himself. "We're not allowed to show pictures of home that haven't been filtered. Next time I talk to home, I'll see if I can request a few to share." he opened a single eye to look at her, a smile the whole time.

"I'd love to see it one day, it does sound beautiful," she said with a smile. "Do you miss Ts'usu? Or being around your own people?" There was something in the way he spoke to her, the soft tone of his voice, even the things he said, it all just made her feel warm and content.

He gave a nod, "I do. Back on the Imperial ships we always had a piece of home. See, we don't really bring photos, memories, or anything like that for our quarters. The ships we serve on have something from home. Artwork, a garden, music, something. So that if someone attacks our ship... they're attacking Ts'usu. When we fly in the defense of the ship, we're defending Ts'usu. Marvelous strategy." he chuckled.

"As for being the only Son of Ts'usu aboard, there's another of my people serving in sciences so I'll have someone to talk to in the home tongue. As pretty as she might be, though, she's no threat to you." he assured her. "My people are the people of the cosmos now. I have to get used to that fact."

Shaille laughed softly. "That's okay, I'm not the jealous type. I'm sure if you wanted to be with her you would, yet you chose a boring human like me," she said with a quick grin. "So are you gonna show me how this thing flies?"

He gave a smirk, then gave a click of his comm badge. "Tower actual, this is Specter. Requesting flight plan for standard patrol of local space." and after a moment the reply came back. "Specter this is Actual. Flight plan to follow, you are clear for local patrol." and then Koh went through something of a mantra.

"Six." he started counting, and flipped up a toggle near the cockpit hatch. The HUD sprang to life, illuminating almost the entire interior of the cockpit canopy. He reached for the control stick on the right, "Five." he flicked another toggle, and a series of lights turned on. "Four." another toggle, and on the HUD, a series of symbols and images appeared in the corners. "Three." a final toggle, and more indicators filled up the HUD, to the point where it looked complete. "Two." he took hold of the other control stick to his left, and checked the toggles before he finished his count. He took a breath, held it, and then just smirked, "One."

The craft's engine powered up, cycling through a few warm up series before finally leveling out. Slowly, the Blink Fighter moved into a launch position, and then waited. Waiting. Waiting. A light by the shuttle launch field turned green, and the Blink Fighter catapulted off into the stars. Rapid, fast acceleration that should have left Shaille cramped against Koh.

Instead, she felt almost nothing. A nudge, maybe even just the slightest shift. Other then that, nothing. Once free from the Wellington, the Blink Fighter took a quick bank, and started a lazy patrol route. Once they were far enough from the Wellington where impact wasn't an issue, he slowed the craft to a standard speed, and let loose the control sticks after he pressed a toggle or two.

"The right one is for direction, the left controls the speed. I've disabled the weapons, so neither of us will get brought before a judge for attacking the parent craft. You also can't accidentally activate the Blink Drive, so that's not a concern. I'll show you that in a few but, go ahead. Take the helm."

As he offered to hand over the helm, Shaille balked, looking at him but not actually able to formulate an exact response. "I... uh... I really don't think...." she hesitated again and looked at him, eyes wide and questioning. "Honestly, I don't think it's a good idea. Seriously, I'm likely to kill us both and I'd rather not do that to you..."

He gave a nod, accepting her position, and then took the controls back in hand. "When you're ready..." he said, more open ended than an expectation. It seemed it was more an acceptance then anything. Once the controls were back in hand, he brought the disabled systems back online. "Let me know when you're ready, and I'll bring the Blink Engine online."

"I honestly don't think I trust myself, honestly, remind me later tonight and I'll show you my academy transcripts," Shaille said softly with a smile. "But I put my life in your hands. I trust you." she said pointedly.

With that, he brought the craft about and started to build up speed. Faster and faster, and yet there was almost no sensation of motion. It was like sitting in a chair against a gentle breeze. A quick bank, was just a gentle leaning motion, while the thrust of acceleration was nothing more than a nudge. Once they built up enough speed, Koh brought the throttle up to max, and then an option on the HUD popped up. Images of various pre-set maneuvers slid by, Koh dissatisfied with each option until he simply selected what seemed to just be a straight forward motion. With that in mind, he counted down from three, and then everything went weird.

They said, in Ts'usu legend, that no two people experience the Blink the same way. Some see nothing. Others see everything. Some just travel, others become one with the universe. They land, they marry their school year crush. They raise a family, they grow old, and die. Some see heaven, while others see hell. All in all, the transit took a fraction of a second and while the Wellington started off on their port side it was now on the starboard.

"That... was the Blink."

Exhaling slowly, Shaille held her hand at her collar bone, closing her eyes as she steadied her breathing. "Wow..." was all she managed, even then the word more of a slow breath than actual syllables. "Is it always like that?" she asked softly.

"Everytime." he stated with a soft smile. "The only regret is you're probably the only Non-Ts'usugi in this sector to experience the Blink." he brought the fighter about to continue on his official patrol, sensors pinging as he turned, "Tell me about it. Did you see anything? Did you feel anything? Or was it just a blink to you?"

"It was...." she paused, trying to quantify the words to adequately explain what had happened. "It was different," she finally said softly. "What was it? I don't..." She stopped and shook her head. "It was different," she just reiterated, still not fully disclosing anything as such that she had experienced. "What do you see?" she finally asked, aware that he was likely completely immune to the entire thing. "Or is this something you do so often you don't feel anything any more?"

"Our best scientists in the Imaginary Sciences division have a guess. They guess that we're not meant to travel that fast, so it warps our perception of reality. We see dreams, and since dreams only last a fraction of a second, to us it feels like a lifetime." Koh said, but even his tone of voice sounded like he was skeptical. He didn't know for certain.

"My first time, I saw a beach.. but it wasn't any beach on Ts'usu. It had black sand." he recalled, like trying to remember a dream. "As you go, you see the dreams less and less often, but that first time is the one that sticks. We use Blink drives so often in our lives that we give children little notebooks to write their Blink Dreams down in." he chuckled. "See, we have a superstition about transporters, and using them to transport Ts'usugi. So we use Blink shuttles to ferry folks from moon to moon, and transporters for the cargo and anything that isn't a Ts'usugi." he explained.

"Every shuttle has a handler, just to make sure everything runs smooth, and to help the kids who had a bad dream." he continued after working on the next batch of maneuvers in his patrol. Quiet night tonight, it seemed. "Let me get some readings of the damage for the control teams while I'm out here." he tapped a few toggles on the panel of his fighter craft, gently reaching about Shaille's form. "To be a Blink Fighter, a pilot can't be distracted by their dreams. So I don't really see anything often, or if I do, I don't remember them."

Leaning into him, Shaille smiled slightly. "The first real beach I ever saw had black sand," she commented quietly. "It's different seeing the damage from this perspective, Engineering have their work cut out for them already, I don't want to think how bad it may get if the Shalti come back again." she shuddered involuntarily.

He shifted slightly to rest his head on the top of hers, perhaps in a motion that was calming to other Ts'usugi. "When things calm down, we'll find some black sands to relax on." he said gently. "As for the Shalti, if they come back, we'll deal with them twice as effectively now that we know their weakness and their strategies."

He didn't make the impossible promise to keep her safe or anything of that nature. "It's always gruesome to see the battlefield from above." he admitted, giving her a bit of a snuggle to drive the point home. No one liked the view of a wasteland, it seemed.

Shaille smiled, relaxing against him and enjoying the warmth and closeness of his form. “It is gruesome,” she said softly, “but it also reminds me why I do what I do. It may not be a homeworld but it’s home.”

He smiled, "There's a saying. Home is where you are. Wherever you lay your head is your bed. Wherever your feet land is your path." he chuckled gently, not wanting to dislodge their moment. "I feel at home right here." he looked down to her briefly before returning his eyes to the proverbial road. "Going to cycle for another Blink. You can keep your eyes closed if it helps, sometimes people say it does." he offered, giving warning before cycling up the drive. "We're almost done with our patrol here. It's quiet."

"If we're lucky, they'll let me off patrol a little early. And oh, would you look at that..." he looked down the length of their forms, and waggled one of his boots.

"A lucky rabbit's foot." he smirked, unrepentant in the terrible joke.

Shaille fought back laughter, trying very hard to keep a straight fast as she turned to look up into his eyes. “I have it on good authority that you need the whole rabbit to get lucky,”

=/\=

Warrant Officer Koh Otassu
Fighter Pilot
USS Wellington

Lieutenant Shaille Levine
Chief Security Officer
USS Wellington