From: Margie Benham (madhron_at_yahoo.co.uk)
Date: Sun Sep 14 2008 - 14:30:59 PDT
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"The First Kiss....."
(Continued from my own "A Hiding Place")
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Location: USS STONEHENGE
Stardate: 2.80914.2228
Scene: Captain's Ready Room -> Bridge
Rharn stretched and rising to her feet dropped the final PADD onto her desk. She grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and pulled it on over her uniform vest top. Stepping quietly out of her Ready Room and out onto the Bridge, Pol'Gra glanced up.
"All finished?" The El'Aurian asked softly.
"Seems to be." Rharn walked across the deeply carpeted floor of the Bridge, "Anything odd happening?"
"Not really." Pol'Gra shifted slightly, "We are just keeping our eyes on all of the other 'traffic'."
"And are in no way getting in their way?" Rharn smirked.
"No Captain, how could you say that?" The Ops Officer laughed, "We are just simply shifting our orbiting position in line with those requested from the Base."
Rharn patted her friend's shoulder, "So why are you pulling the grave-yard shift?"
"Well not much point in myself and T'urick hogging all of the usual relaxation times, especially as he's the chef." The dark skinned woman shrugged, "So I decided to do a double shift."
"That's good of you." Rharn looked around the Bridge, "I see most of the old hands are on."
"Well you know how it is." Pol'Gra turned in the chair, "So why exactly are you hanging around?"
"Lost track of time." Rharn offered, "But I am off to read a good book and have a soak in my bath."
"Lucky you." Pol'Gra turned back to the main view-screen. "The most we have to look forward to is moving about two metres to the right."
"Well you can always run an emergency drill." Rharn winked, "I mean if you have to do a couple of loops and deploy the various secondary vessels, then hey it's good practice."
Pol'Gra wrapped off a quick salute, "Aye aye Sir,"
With a brief wave of her fingers Rharn disappeared from the Bridge.
-[/\]-
Scene: Rharn's Quarters
As the doors swished open for the crimson skinned Nocturian, she was already shrugging out of her uniform jacket. Unlike any of the other senior officer's quarters the lights did not immediately turn themselves up to a humanoid standard, instead the room remained in it's more nocturnal gloom.
Rharn tossed her jacket over the back of a chair and then reached up to pull the pins from her hair. Bast dropped from the ceiling and wrapped his furry tail around his companions neck. His high pitched squeaks and chirps managing to convey his annoyance that his sleeping time had been interrupted.
"Lights 20% above normal levels for myself." Rharn ordered as she shielded her large black eyes from the sudden increase in the ambient lighting of her quarters.
She looked around her living room and gasped. "Oh my."
A dress was standing in the centre of the open space on a mannequin. Soft creams and rosy pinks gleamed in the dim lighting, the skirt was full and fell to the floor, it nipped in at the waist and had elbow length sleeves.
Bast yabbered at her and Rharn reached out a gentle hand, attached to the sleeve was a simple note. Carefully the Nocturian read the note and then looked at the dress. "He has so got to be kidding." Rharn absent-mindedly rubbed Bast's eyebrow ridges. "I mean it's like nothing I'd ever wear." Bast butted his friend against her cheek, and leaned into her soft scratching.
"Right then," Her eyes glanced at the old fashioned clock that hung on the wall, "I have approximately an hour to get ready."
-[/\]-
Scene: Holodeck 4: Regency Ballroom
Rharn's natural inate grace enabled her to walk without making a complete fool of herself. A few minutes of almost stumbling and Rharn had realised that she simply needed to lift the hem a few centimetres. Her naturally long hair had been relatively easy in pinning into an appropriate style, small blue, cream and red crystals added additional sparkle to her outfit.
She looked around the gilded room with interest, whoever had designed this holoprogramme had added many of the more exotic races known to the Federation, so Rharn did not feel quite so out of place knowing that there are a number of Bolians and Andorans walking around, her bright red skin did not make her quite such an oddity.
A large mirrored wall allowed the soft candlelit glow to be reflected back into the room, and several large crystal chandeliers hung from the ornate ceiling.
Rharn made her way across this large outer room and into a slightly smaller one. Here many couples were sedately stepping around the dance-floor were a line of ten couples were dancing. The crimson Nocturian stopped just inside the doorway and tried to spot T'nnent. A lull in the dancing and a narrow path opened up. Suddenly he turned and smiled at her.
"Oh." Rharn gasped and blinked, her black eyes regarding the tall green skinned Nocturian coming towards her. He was wearing a dark blue jacket over a cream waistcoat, with dark blue trousers and knee length boots. His normally long golden hair had been cut and now brushed his shoulders. "You've cut your hair..." She whispered, "Why?"
"It's good to see you too." T'nnent smiled, "Come walk with me." He held out his hand and Rharn found herself placing her own in his.
Turning he led her through the crowds and out onto a verandah. The heady scents of roses and jasmin filled the night air.
"T'nnent why have you cut your hair?" Rharn asked again, trying to take in this sudden depature from normal Nocturian ideals.
"Because I wanted to, because it was driving me mad, because it helps me to fit in." He offered, "Do you not like it?"
"I..." Rharn swallowed and looked up into his familiar face and then stepped back slightly to see his entire body. "I do like it." She suddenly smiled, "It suits you." She reached up a hand and gently tucked a lock back behind his ear, "And its much softer..."
T'nnent smiled, "I'm glad you like it. I didn't have to have it cut and I checked with Mia. Her attitude was that we are living in the Federation now and that we should 'go with the flow'."
Rharn giggled, "So where are we?"
"Not when?" T'nnent asked.
"No got that from the computer." Rharn answered him, "So where and why?"
"I looked up romantic on the computer." He winked at her, "And it suggested a dance or a ball, sooo...."
"You asked Matthew?" Rharn supplied.
"Yes." He nodded, "Anyway he suggested regency England and we are technically guests at Pemberley, a Mr Bingley is our host."
"So?"
"So we are going to have some food and then we are going to go dancing and generally we are going to have some fun."
"Oh a date." Rharn smiled at him, "Alright but I do not know how to dance." She wafted a hand in the ballrooms general direction, "And even if I did I am not entirely sure I could even manage to dance in this dress."
"Ah yes." T'nnent smirked, "You look beautiful by the way."
"I feel over dressed and hemmed in and I have a..." Here Rharn just waved a hand in her general chest area, "And a backside." She sounded surprised and stunned. "I mean I am not supposed to have any shape."
"I rather like it." T'nnent winked at her, "Can you do a turn for me?"
Rharn regarded her companion and then sighing turned slowly on the spot, "Well?"
"You look stunning." T'nnent stepped forward and took Rharn's hands, "I..." He took another step forward closer to Rharn.
"You?" She encouraged him.
"I.." Slowly he dipped his head, "I want to try something."
"Oh?" Rharn whispered softly and took a step closer, lifting her head up towards his.
"Yes," He nodded and closed the final distance between them. "Actually I have been wanting to try this for a while." With that he bent his head and pressed his lips to hers.
Rharn's hands crept up around his neck and her right hand slid into the hair at the nape of his neck. T'nnent's arms wrapped around Rharn's waist and pulled her closer to him, with gentle pressure he deepened the kiss.
After what seemed like hours, but was in fact mere minutes, the two seperated and gazed at one another.
"Oh..." Rharn whispered, her black eyes huge.
"Wow." T'nnent replied, he swallowed, "I think we should have tried that weeks ago."
Rharn blinked, "I would say that it requires some more practice." She smiled up at him, "Just to see if it was a fluke."
"In that case." T'nnent smiled and lifted a hand to stroke Rharn's cheek.
"But before we practice some more, and as you got me into this dress and brought me here, I think I would like to go dancing." She grinned up at him.
"Whatever you wish Tal-kam." He bowed and offered her his arm, "Shall we."
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Margie Benham <madhron_at_yahoo.co.uk>
Speaking for:
Captain Rharn Alcedo
Commanding Officer
USS STONEHENGE
NCC 12507
-and-
Captain Mad'hron Zanders
Commanding Officer
E4
-and-
Lieutenant Ronnie Zanders
aCEO
USS STONEHENGE
NCC 12507
-and-
Commodore Morelia Amethystina
Director Of Advanced Command Training
Starfleet Academy, EARTH
From HyperNews_at_youth.net
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