Starlight Sparks

Posted on Tue Nov 26th, 2024 @ 9:40pm by Captain Neyin Vessk & Lieutenant JG Rose Andrake

2,525 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Deliverance After Dark
Location: USS Deliverance
Timeline: MD-07

The bustling hum of Deliverance filled the air as Neyin Jorrak Vessk paced nervously in his quarters, the faint shimmer of the stars visible through the small viewport. His tail flicked anxiously behind him as he glanced at the clock. The evening was fast approaching, and he still hadn’t figured out what to wear, what to say, or how to even begin.

Rose Andrake.

Her name alone sent a ripple of nervous energy through Neyin’s chest. She was everything he admired: confident, bold, and unapologetically herself. But asking her out? That was another matter entirely.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and adjusted his glasses awkwardly on his snout. "Alright, Neyin," he muttered to his reflection, "you’re a Starfleet officer. You’ve faced hostile boarding parties, defused high-pressure situations…you can handle this."

The reflection stared back, unimpressed.

His wardrobe wasn’t helping. Neyin pulled out his standard-issue dress uniform, held it up, then frowned. Too formal. He tried a simple black shirt and jacket. Too plain. With a groan, he set them both aside, rubbing the back of his scaly head. Maybe it wasn’t about what he wore—maybe it was about confidence. Not that he had much of that when it came to her.

"What do I even say?" he whispered to himself, flopping onto his bed and staring at the ceiling. He imagined all the ways this could go wrong—tripping over his words, knocking something over, or Rose simply laughing at the idea.

But then he thought about her smile. That rare, genuine grin she gave when something really amused her. The thought was enough to make him sit up. He could do this. He had to do this.

Taking a deep breath, Neyin stood, straightened his jacket, and gave himself one last look in the mirror. “Just...be yourself. She already thinks you’re...not terrible, right?” His tongue flicked nervously, but there was a flicker of determination in his golden eyes.

With one final adjustment to his glasses, Neyin headed for the door, his heart racing. All he had to do now was find Rose—and hope he didn’t faint before he got the words out.

Rose... Wasn't hard to find. Not with what he knew about her. Not with his sense of smell. The milk and honey body wash she used and the pomegranate scented shampoo and conditioner. But she was everywhere on the ship, adjusting this, tweaking that. But following her scent would lead him to the arboretum, or what would become one, and was, for now, a glittering expanse of white sapphire, lined with extra grav plating, below another layer of sapphire. The pylons had gone in days ago, followed by some form of plastic shelving, a vertical cone mesh and carbon rods, Zinc and Sulphur, battery chemistry gravel above and wired by contact. She had been working hard, and her dusty, grime covered form could almost be missed laying in the bottom of what would eventually become a pond and the wetlands core of her filtration system, taking a break or ignoring her duties it was impossible to tell. But the arch she had envisioned was in. As were the paths like bridges, with ladders leading down into the lower layers for her access, and a great pile of what looked to be a plastic aggregate gravel in one corner.

Neyin lingered at the entrance of the arboretum, his claws twitching nervously against the fabric of his jacket. The space was breathtaking even in its unfinished state. But as awe-inspiring as the sight was, it didn’t distract him from the figure lying at the base of the pond.

Her scent, distinct and familiar, was stronger here, mingling with the earthy tang of gravel and the faint metallic whiff of construction materials. He could see her chest rising and falling steadily, her hands streaked with grime and her hair slightly disheveled. She looked... peaceful, though her posture suggested exhaustion more than relaxation.

He hesitated, his heart thudding loudly in his ears. Should he wait for her to notice him? Clear his throat? Or just turn around and come back later? No, he couldn’t leave now—not after working up the courage to get this far.

Stepping carefully, Neyin descended one of the sturdy ladders. The rungs felt colder than he expected, or maybe his nerves made everything feel sharper. His tail swayed slightly for balance as he reached the bottom and stepped onto the packed gravel floor.

"Rose?" His voice came out softer than he intended, more a croak than a call. He tried again, clearing his throat. "Rose, it's me, Neyin."

"Hhmrrf..." Rose curled inwards, grumbling slightly before leaning up and stretching, letting the data pad fall from her lap, having been working on something in the pad when the exhaustion had taken her. "Sorry, fell asleep... What... did I miss the hit time? Am I late? What time is it?"

"Well while I dont know when you got down here and began working, I would probably have to guess that you have been down here a few hours...are you trying to build a pond for the hydroponics area?" He says reaching into his back pocket and handing her a rag he usually uses for sweat, making him pause and realize he's still in his marine attire of camo pants dog tags and tattoo on his chest that says "Rock N Dragon".

"Main bunch of the water system. Wetlands filter. Sorry, I was running the numbers again." She reached to take the rag with a grateful smile.

"I uh was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me, but I can see you would probably just like to get cleaned up." he says holding his hands up in defense. "I know why dont you and I head to the spa area of the ship as a date instead?" he adds with a tongue flick.

"Wait... What?" Rose's brows furrowed in confusion, still holding the rag as she stared at the young, but no less big, Gorn in front of her. Okay, he's actually pretty small for a Gorn. And his glasses are probably because his compound eyes haven't come in yet. But... Me?!She knew her thoughts ended at the edge of her skull, and she consciously had to tilt her head to show her confusion. "Okay. Let's go over this one more gain. You, an accomplished nerd and leading the ship's contingent of jarheads... Want to go out with my depressed, angry, and dishonored ass? Bro, you're too good for me. I've seen you working. And I've come after your work. Frankly, Marine doesn't suit you."

Thinking he heard her he corrected. "Well no something more of a defect for my family lineage I wont have compound eyes, non of my family does. I just have poor eyesight from sitting infront of computer screens constantly" with his tail wagging slightly he closed his eyes and smiled before continueing. "As for the other issue of being depressed join the club I figured someone who is also depressed has teleporter sickness and is a local Writer in the same kind of stuff I draw isnt such a bad thing."

Oh, gods DAMNI IT! Rose's thoughts cried as she stiffened, suddenly extremely awake and extremely aware of Neyin's presence. Something else, though, behind her eyes shifted, a wave of insanity and sadistic rage like a maelstrom coiled itself around her mind, blocking it off from view. Though her face showed no trace of it. "I didn't say anything about your eyes. Look, if you're telepathic, I can't be here. It's not you, I swear."

"Well no I dont think I'm telepathic the calling you out on the writing is just a common denomination situation of who likely writes Walking With Jameson and cross referencing will the upload data came from and it can be seen coming from one of the lower decks." He stated, more mater-of-fact in his awkwardness, before adding on the compound eyes comment. "As for me stating the compound eyes thing I more or less over explained things that I'm constantly asked when I'm stressed and I see your stressed and I'm sorry." he says before taking a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Rose took a moment to process that, watching him carefully. Her thoughts buried beneath that alien tempest lashing at the inside of her skull, a primal hunger for violence that was just waiting for the tiniest opportunity to break loose, to have some fun and create more. Finally, she gave a sigh. "Okay... Okay. Sorry. I'm sorry for assuming. Look, I live on deck 3, not in lower decks. I've been mistaken for Sam Rampart before, I'm not her, sorry. I... I have a parasite so being around telepaths isn't safe."

Having calmed down a bit his tail continued to sway side to side. "Oh my bad, if you where Sam Rampart I wanted to point out that they got the Gorn fantasy bit wrong we can hold our breath for a hour not thirty minutes." He stated apologetically before studying her features. Either he was right in thinking she was and her emotions show or she's like him and is just a big nerd who reads smut. "Well the offer still stands though, Would you like to join me at the spa? I hear its nice but I haven't gone yet."

Rose gave a small huff, turning to try to hide her growing blush, furthering the divide between her and the thing snarling at him and aiming its fangs for his heart. "Yeah, I wouldn't have gotten that wrong, but you gotta admit she writes some pretty hot stuff."

Finally, she looked up. "I've never been to a spa."

"I know right? I cant nearly think up such hot stuff with the Chronicles of the Unlocked Doors." he states before perking up. "Well then, how about I pay for a spa day for two I'm sure we both need it some more than others...are you okay your getting red its not a allergic reaction to something is it?" He asked, totally clueless.

"Human faces turn red with some emotions, it's fine. They also warm up." After a moment's thought, she stood. "Wait... Are you talking about that X rated web comic? The one where one of the MCs got covered in sponge because she walked in on a gay Gorn and his human boyfriend?"

Neyins face turned a deeper shade of grey, "I think I understand why your face changed colors." he stated before blinking and doing a tounge flick. "Yeah, I write and draw that web comic....anyway lets go get you your first spa day. I go about once a month, it starts with a deep tissue massage then an Epsom bath, followed by a nail trim and pedicure before finishing with a tanning bed. "

"Sounds..." Rose crossed her arms, leaning against the wall of the pond. "Sounds like an experience. I'll go with you. But I'll let you know I'd prefer to go pull galley duty with you as a first date."

Offering her a hand he would do his usual tongue flick thing before saying "Well in that case we should do galley duty together, then, but nothing we serve comes from a replicator, sound fair? We will still go to the spa because I believe you need a day to relax."

Rose tapped her comm badge, speaking clearly. =/\=Captain. Andrake. The Marine Commander has decided I need a day to relax. I have been voluntold to pull duty taking a spa day. So I'm going for it. I'm still on for galley duty tomorrow and I'm caught up on my maps. You mind if I go out with Vessk?=/\=

Before Noxi could respond. "We'll call galley duty a second date. Before we decide if we actually want to keep this up."

Noxi was in Devon's quarters, ignoring work and everything else while she made love to the Ambadassador. However, her comms badge was always close by, just in case the GQ freaks that hung out in this section of the Universe acted up, even in the midst of her trysts. She sat up, having falling asleep, and rubbed her eyes. She grabbed her Comms. =/\=You don't need to ask me to have a good time. Go ahead.=/\= Her own child didn't ask her to go on a date. Weird. She pulled her shirt on, and lay back down. She was SO glad that comms weren't visual unless you made them so.

=/\= I'm just giving you my PTO cause I ain't gonna be there. You gonna choke me about it later or you gonna keep your shirt on about it? Cause it's not like I'm interrupting you getting something I can't.=/\=

=/\=Well. When you can get the Ambadassor, let me know. Be safe, and don't forget to see the Doc for your birth control shot. No babies yet, ok?=/\= Noxi was too tired for this shit today. She clicked off the comms, tossed her badge on the nightstand, and then slipped under the blanket to show the aforementioned Ambassador a REALLY good night.

Devon had also been napping, desperately needing a small respite from the challenge of trying to satiate an insatiable woman. He was currently in the midst of a dream where he and Noxi were enjoying the sun on a private beach. He woke to feel something warm and wet. Looked to his right and didn't see Noxi on the pillow. He lifted the sheet and peeked, a smile growing on his face. "Now this is certainly a nice way to wake up."

"She hung up on me. And she's with the Ambassador? Damn, Noxi, get it with your tightpants captainly ship mother ass.". Shaking her head, Rose looked to Neyin. "She knows I can't have kids, right? Computer, send a hologram to Captain Nairut's current location. Rattlesnake, adult ten pound eastern diamondback in full threat displays."

Neyin did a facepalm before stating, "Well not like I can give you kids either not unless we were to make a appointment with the artificial clinic that my family goes to." his scales turning a shade darker out of embarrassment. "So should we prank Noxi ocasionally? like any time shes about to get hers as the kids say these days?". without waiting for a response from Rose Neyin called out. "Computer begin a red alert test signed off by myself in Captain Noxi's current location of the ship, end test in 5 minutes and announce test complete."

Rose looked shocked, at first, then her grin widened into a smile. A chuckle crept out of her throat and grew into a deep belly laugh that doubled her over in tears. It took a solid two minutes before Rose straightened, wheezing. "Okay," she sighed between breaths. "Okay, if that goes through, you can consider our spa trip our second date!"

Neyin takes her hand, "Then I believe I owe you a second date at the spa."

 

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