Upside Down And Inside Out

Posted on Sun Nov 10th, 2019 @ 10:27pm by Commodore Jane Saulitis & Hak

Mission: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: Mariame's Quarters
Timeline: Backposted- During travel to Claddin System
1104 words - 2.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Alta stood outside Mariame's quarters nervously and pressed the chime. He knew they needed to talk to figure out what they were going to do, what it had meant. He was scared she was going to say that it meant nothing to her and would turn him away. Which of course meant that he liked her, and that made him even more nervous. And the fact that he was broadcasting this in his mind and was sure she could pick it up was almost too much to bear. He took a deep breath and waited for her to answer.

Of course Mariame knew who was at the door before Alta had pressed the chime and so it was almost in the same instant that the door to her quarters whooshed open, the whole place now freshly cleaned and re-made with crisp yet unfortunately disappointing Starfleet-standard bedding.

"Alta!" she made the welcome sound like she was surprised, yet happy to see him. "Come in, love."

He puffed out a breath at her cheerful attitude. Alta glanced around the room but still had no memory of the events. "I got a visit from Hak." He said simply as he stopped inside, forgoing speaking what he was feeling since it was pointless. "One of the more awkward conversations I've had."

She rose from her seat on the long, curved sofa and set the slender glass she had been sipping from on the side table next to the pitcher of juice. "I imagine so. Fiercely protective is one of his more adorable qualities, and one I imagine Janey was attracted to. Maybe it reminds her of her father's love, even if she would never recongize it as such."

"I suppose so. I regret I was not more in her life as she was growing up. Beatrice raised her and yet she takes after me." He rubbed the back of his neck. Now that he was here he'd lost all the nervousness and was just tired. "And then after that I spent the evening with two ladies who have fallen head over heels for each other but are confused about whether it's real or not due to the implants and other strange things that have apparently been happening on this ship. I just wondered . . . are you confused at all?"

She smiled, but it was soft and sympathetic. "All feelings are real and all feelings can be confusing," she touched his shoulder as she moved around him. "No, no," she tutted as he started to move to face her. "Let me give you a shoulder rub."

"You're very tense," she noted quietly as her fingers almost immediately found the spot. "It's not healthy for one to be this tight." She pressed expertly into tissues of his neck and shoulders with firm touches.

Alta made a tiny fuss but when she started working on the knot he completely relaxed into her touch. Something Hak said drifted back into the tiny portion of his brain that was still working. "Mariame, have you been by sickbay since this all started?"

"As I understand it, they can't do anything about the implants anyway," the Betazoid answered, slowly moving along his shoulders and down into the spaces between his spine and ribs. "So what would the use be of that? Hm?"

"Don't you want to know if you have one?" Alta was moving away from her ever so slightly. A feeble attempt to maintain his thinking pattern under her touches.

"So what if I do? My day would look exactly like it does right now, only I would drive myself mad questioning everything I'm doing or feeling. No, this is simpler," She got his point when he started to pull away. "Has anyone actually been hurt by these devices?"

"There have been some unexplained injuries, but I don't know if they were caused by the devices." He turned around to face her, took her hand and pulled her down with him to sit on the sofa. "I just . . . what happens if these feelings are caused by the devices? To be perfectly honest, I know this is all new but I like the idea of having someone. It's been a long time since I let anyone close to me."

Mariame sat and she touched the spot on her chest where her heart was and she reached out and touched Alta's with her other hand. "The feelings are real. I can sense that. Does it really matter how they came to be? Humans have an expression.... something about looking in a horse's mouth. I never quite understood it, but this is what it means. "Embrace the goodness, Alta. Let go of everything else. Perhaps this is something like divine intervention."

He grinned. "Doesn't Betazoid religion follow four goddesses? Which one of them did this do you think?" He was teasing her a little bit but it felt really good to be sitting there, basking in this new found affection. At least he thought it was affection.

Mariame withdrew her hand, but placed it on his knee. It was comforting to her to have someone to talk to. "I've seen enough to not be so close-minded. The Q, the Prophets of Bajor, the First Federation, the Tempar... Oh, Alta, there are beings out there capable of goddess-like powers we can't even fathom because we haven't met them. What if this is our chance?"

"Our chance? You and me?" She'd switched subjects kind of quickly on him if that was what she meant. He smiled again. "I say we throw caution to the wind. Why not? We don't have anyone tying us down. I'll move to Betazed, I like it there. Truth was I was pretty lonely on Earth anyway."

She nodded a bit and leaned in to kiss him softly on the lips and then whispered, "I can't wait to start our new life together, Alta."

He couldn't help but blush. He'd always thought her a beautiful woman but he never thought for a second she'd be interested in him. "Maybe we should start with a first date? We kind of skipped that part." He put an arm around her though, while they were so close.

"A real date? So old fashioned, Alta," she gave him a soft laughed and leaned into the embrace.

He chuckled and felt a wave of incredible nervousness wash over him again. He didn't know what the hell he was doing, it was just like the first time with Beatrice. But, this time, he was determined to make it work.

---

Alta Saulitis
Jane's Father

Mariame Hale
Hak's Mother