Survived the purge

Posted on 01 Feb 2024 @ 3:05pm by Lieutenant JG Cleopatra McCaine PhD & Captain Ricardo (Rico) Montoya
Edited on on 02 Feb 2024 @ 12:39pm

852 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: M-18 The Past is Future
Location: Deep Space 3

[ON]

When he found her, Cleopatra was off duty, at the back of a smoky bar tucked into the arse end of DS3's oddly shaped promenade. There was a man in his early twenties leaning against each side of her; the one on her left was trying to subtly grind against her, head resting on the swell of her breast; the one on the right had his hand under her skirt, half way up her thigh and inching higher. Her eyes were dilated, and whilst she didn't appear high, she was obviously buzzed on something. The table in front of them was littered with bottles, plates, pipes and small dishes.

Seeing him, her eyes narrowed, and she cocked her head to one side. "I'm off duty, Captain, and these fine young men aren't even in Starfleet," she said pre-emptively. "And this isn't an establishment that typically appeals to high ranking officers."

Rico was torn, on one hand he could understand less than reputable behavior, given the news now spreading across the area. Many Starfleet personnel were dealing with the loss in their own way. On the other he couldn't let one of his officers just degrade herself and Starfleet in public. He as bout to call her out but stopped, it wasn't like she was in uniform, and he'd been known to 'enjoy' the pleasures of life when he was younger, but he had at least kept it in private.

Deciding that there was no need for a public display; "I don't mean to interrupt your...activities, but I need to speak with you."

Despite his have taken a more cordial approach, one of her companions seemed to take offense and moved to rise. Rico shifted his stance to meet him if he wanted to go that route, but was he stopped by the her before he made a mistake.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Cleo put a soothing hand on his hip, thumb rubbing a circle. "Duty calls." She slid out of the booth, letting her thighs brush the lap of the other man as she moved over him. "We'll pick this up next time I make port." She stood in front of Montoya and raised a perfect eyebrow. "What can I do for you, captain?"

He kept an eye on her acquaintances for a few seconds, just in case, then focused his attention on her. "You may or may not have heard but the effort to retake Deep Space 5 failed and the Cardassians destroyed the station. Since the Phoenix was built there and a lot of the crew had severed on the station there will no doubt be a lot of them that lost people and those that didn't will be worried about anyone, as yet, unaccounted for."

She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "I hadn't heard, captain. But I am not surprised. Scorched Earth is a notable Cardassian approach. Especially if they were losing."

Rico leaned against a support as he crossed his arms. "Well from the reports I wouldn't say they were losing. They had done serious damage to the initial Klingon assault and while they were being border it was still hard to say who was winning.

"The loss of the station aside we most lost a lot of people. Some of our former crew may be among them." Letting out a breath, the faces of his former senior officers flashed through his mind and he hoped none of them had been killed in action.

"I'll organize a death list. Make sure to look out for any relevant names."

"Thank you." Knowing how he felt at first when he got the news he added; "We also have 2 half Cardassian crewman, I wouldn't think anyone on the Phoenix would do anything, but you may wanna keep an extra close eye on the mood of the crew. I don't want any incidents."

"Of course. I shall instruct my staff accordingly." Her tone was polite, formal, but cooling fast. "When do you expect to leave?"

"The only thing holding us here are few additions to the crew. As soon as our stragglers get here, we will be heading out." There was no missing the curt edge to her question but there was no need to rehash things here. "Well, I will let you get back your evening," adding with a slight nod, "happy hunting."

As he left the lounge, he stopped thinking about the scene he had walked in on. He had never had, or at least never seen, a member of his crew act so...hedonisticly. Perhaps she had heard about the loss of DS5 and was acting out because of it; or perhaps this was just normal for her? He knew firsthand that having our hands tied and being cooped up on the station extremely frustrating. Resuming, he continued to think was we walked back to the dock. He was no counselor, but he would make himself more available to the crew so. He needed to get to know his officers better, so he wasn't caught off guard.

Captain Ricardo Montoya
CO

Lieutenant JG Cleopatra McCaine
Ship's Counselor

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