And the Two shall Become One (again)

Posted on Thu Jul 19th, 2018 @ 10:54am by Lieutenant JG Jaya Maera Garlake & Lieutenant Colonel Storr Garlake & Warrant Officer Laena ben-Avram

Mission: S1E1: Bynars Be Bygones
Location: Pegasus Runabout / USS Swiftsure
Timeline: MD 13; 1430

The runabout's primary LCARS display blinked rhythmically, the same message flashing on and off again under the Marine's gaze.

"Happy One Year Anniversary, Lieutenant Colonel Garlake!"

One year. He couldn't believe that it was that long, that he had spent the last nearly two months away from his young bride, or that they were actually being reunited today. Their anniversary. Storr wasn't sure how he felt. Sure, he was a big proponent of history, celebrating the past and its institutional markers but it was always for something bigger than himself...a ship, a unit, the Corp, his homestead's founding. This time, it was personal, and not something he had no hand in (like his birthday). He and Jaya had chosen this path together and it had been one year since they made that commitment. His mind rushed over the whirlwind, tumultuous romance, the trip to Earth, the wedding...all seeming like just yesterday yet also so very far away. Is that what separation had done, dulled the memories? Shaking his head as the proximity sensors beeped in cadence, he hoped not.

"Runabout Pegasus, this is the USS Swiftsure. You are cleared to land, rear starboard dock."

"Roger, Swiftsure. Commencing landing sequence now."

The small runabout nimbly maneuvered behind the frigate and Garlake handed over control to the ship's docking officer as soon as the display showed three white lights on his descent angle. Despite being a mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging Marine, meat-eating he had really started to get a handle on spaceflight. Or at least, so he kept telling himself.

The Swiftsure's tractor beam worked in tandem with the docking bay's remote operation systems, contacting the Pegasus gently with the Swiftsure's hull with a *thud*. Storr looked out the panoramic front viewport and saw two very lovely ladies standing by the large cargo doors, much luggage in tow. One seemed far giddier than the other and the Afrikaner felt butterflies in his stomach and static electricity crackle over his hairy arms. He hadn't felt these sensations for over sixty days and their sudden onrush was like a tidal wave against a desert-parched dune. Was this what it felt like when absence truly made the heart grow fonder?

"Storr!!!"

The Memory Theta Commandant had barely cleared the short umbilical between the two ships when he heard a familiar voice.

Jaya ran on her toes to meet Storr at the airlock. People were watching, but she didn't care. The faint pulsation of his mind drew her like a tractor beam. When she reached him, she jumped up and wrapped herself around his thick torso, arms and legs barely reaching around him. Before any words were exchanged, she pressed her mouth against his, releasing her pent-up loneliness and grief in a burst of jubilation.

Of course, she should have had a thought for how that might overwhelm him. "Don't you dare set me down, Storr Garlake, or so help me I will bite you in front of everyone." Her brow arched in playful sincerity of her threat.

The husky Marine gasped in shock at her rapid grapple (not to mention disregard of decorum and rank), the complete and utter rush of two months of separation surging between the two like an EPS conduit feedback loop. The feeling wasn't unlike a jump into the sea he and his brother did on a dare during a winter trip to the Isle of Man during his Sophomore year at Sandhurst...it completely took his breath away. Her lips were like honey and wine, the taste delectable and greatly craved while the feeling of her voluptuous body in his hands and her shapely thighs locked around his waist began stirring more primal desires. He returned the kiss with equal fervor and only stumbled slightly to the rear.

"I'm sorry that you didn't miss me," he said with a grin, a wink, and a playful pinch to her backside.

Jaya playfully smacked him across the mouth. "Losing my touch, have I? Sounds like we'll have to make up for lost time."

Storr chuckled as he pealed his newlywed wife from him, a whimsical pout coming from the Deltan. He couldn't help but quirk a grin as he looked into her ever-sparkling eyes. Storr could get lost in her gaze for days (which wasn't too far from the actual truth) and could only look away and beyond Jaya's shoulder with great will.

"I'm sorry, Laena, I'm a bit tied up at the moment but it's great to see you," Garlake said, taking Jaya's hand in his and walking forward and gently shaking the Orion's. Akiva's...wife had similar brown eyes and a nubile young frame that mirrored Jaya's...Storr considered Akiva (and himself, for the moment) a very lucky man.

Laena took Storr's hand, surprised at how gentle his grip was, in contrast to his large, solid figure. "It's good to see you too, Storr," she said, hoping the informal use of his name was appropriate.

Despite the Ops noncom yellowshirts who were milling back and forth around her, Jaya had eyes only for Storr. "So does this mean you're finally going to tell me where you've been secreted away to all this time?"

"Yes," he replied with a smirk, his eyes lighting on the mound of luggage that piled up against the bulkhead, "though if you have half the baggage I think you do, I might just have to turn right around and leave you here."

Jaya gave an incredulous snort. "I've never known you to pass up an opportunity to handle my bags."

Walking over to the stack, he expertly took a duffel over each shoulder, one under each arm and another in each hand. If there was one thing that they taught well in the Corp, it was how to only make one trip.

"Shall we?"

Jaya nodded eagerly and placed a light hand on Storr's elbow to follow his lead.

Quietly, Laena followed the two. While she knew she was about to see Akiva, they hadn't spoken since he called after he had left the Vindex. She had no idea what she was about to walk into, but she had a feeling their reunion would be different than Storr and Jaya's. Especially after the conversation she and Jaya had had on the transport here.

The three made their way onto the Pegasus and Garlake unceremoniously (though gently; these were ladies things after all) deposited the luggage into the cargo area. Taking the pilot's seat on the left, he had a moment's hesitation as he looked back at the two women.

"I don't want to make you feel like a third wheel, Laena, but do you mind if Jaya sits up front? I..." the Marine was cut off by a lithe figure suddenly springing onto his lap, his arms instinctively wrapping themselves around her waist. "...suppose this is a solution. Thanks, liefie." he finished, blushing a bit more than he anticipated. Sliding his arms around Jaya, he began punching in the command codes to release the docking umbilical clamps and to automate the close-in departure.

Laena smiled at the couple, though anyone who was paying too much attention would know how completely forced it was. But her problems were not their problems, and she would never want to begrudge them their reunion for her. No, they deserved every moment of happiness and she wouldn't be the one to ruin that.

"Swiftsure, this is Pegasus requesting permission to depart, heading two-one-eight tack five five."

"Copy Pegasus, you are cleared departure heading two-one-eight tack five-five, no other traffic in your vicinity or anticipated along your route. Have a good flight." the more-than-anticipatedly energetic male voice responded. Storr nodded to himself and initiated the departure command, the Swiftsure's system moving the runabout away from the ship before releasing it back to its own flight controls. Punching in the headings, backcourses, and an arc for good counter-intelligence measures, Garlake pressed the COMMIT and COMSEC buttons (for autopilot and internal jamming) and sat back, his hands sliding back toward his sides to rest on Jaya's hips. He didn't want to be too "handsy" with his wife so as not to frustrate Laena but it seemed that his body started acting on its own accord as soon as he came within 20 meters of the little minx that shared his seat.

"Now, about your new assignments...Memory Theta isn't the Vindex. It's not like anything you've ever seen, heard of, or frankly can imagine. Sure, secret hush-hush skelm and all but we're glorified librarians. I think. To be honest, I'm glad that you're both coming as it'll help add some sanity to the kraaines place."

Jaya turned skeptical. "I don't know. The Vindex was... one of a kind." She tapped her finger against her lip in thought. "Though I think I could handle being a librarian." She regarded Laena, keeping silent as usual. "I find it convenient this Library of yours has openings for both a counselor and a stellar cartographer at the same time."

"I do enjoy reading..." Laena said, almost to herself. Her voice sounded slightly distant as she looked out the window of the small craft. "Hopefully they have a wide selection to choose from."

"Storr has the largest personal library of any Marine in history," Jaya teased. Shooting Laena a knowing look, she added, "I'm sure there will be a few volumes that will snag your interest... when you come to stay with us."

Storr chuckled at the first comment as he looked over the consoles and then out the viewport. It probably was true, though he had to admit that there were more books that he hadn't read than those he had. His reach exceeded his grasp it seemed, as being the detachment commander on the Vindex hadn't left him with near enough time to study as he would have liked. He hoped that the situation would be different on MT but something told him that he shouldn't hold his breath. As his thoughts continued to wander, they immediately snapped back to the present when Jaya finished speaking.

"Wait...what?!" he nearly blubbered out, looking first to Laena and then fixing his gaze on his wife. Thoughts pinballed around in the Marine's head as he desperately tried to grasp at the moment. Weren't Akiva and Laena still married? Wasn't Laena still pregnant with Akiva's child? Weren't married people supposed to live in the same room together? What would that mean for his and Jaya's relationship, let alone...intimacy? Would their room be big enough? Why...how...what...

Laena looked down, wishing she was anywhere but here right now. She was under the impression that Storr already knew, but she was clearly wrong.

"I...can, we talk for a moment?" Garlake said more than asked his bride, standing and taking her by the hand to the rear of the runabout. It wasn't a great amount of separation but it met his requirements for propriety.

Jaya gave Laena a reassuring smile as Storr pulled her to the cargo hold. "We'll be right back."

"What are you two up to?!" he asked, sliding both his hands down his beard. "How do you see this playing out? I mean...she's married to Akiva and pregnant and should be with him and we're...really HAPPY to be back together and want children and...and..." his hands continued to spin in circles as his thoughts seemed to seize in a feedback loop. The good Lord knew that he had enough trouble keeping himself together with one minx under his roof but now two, one being married and with child, completely put him into a tailspin.

Once she saw his objections sputtering to a halt, Jaya pressed two fingers against his lips and then followed them with her own. "Everything will be fine," she whispered. Her other hand slid down his waist toward his hips. "I haven't forgotten my plans for you." She let out a husky giggle before turning more solemn. "But Laena needs this. She needs us. From what I've gathered, there is some disagreement between them as a married couple--chiefly being whether or not they are a married couple."

She lowered her chin and stared up at him with eyes wide and beseeching. "Please, Storr. Maybe by staying with us we can show her that their problems aren't insurmountable."

Lieutenant Colonel Garlake: Marine through-and-through, highly decorated during direct and deadly confrontation with the enemy, commander of many, mentor to few, Commandant of Starfleet's most secret treasury, physically gifted and mentally vigorous...had no defense against a 64-inch Deltan with doe eyes, an electric touch, and a nearly-symbiotic circuit directly to his heart. Sure, he put up a mental defense for a few moments but the decision was obviously in well before this conversation. And how could he say no? His best friend was in dire straights with his pregnant wife and he and Jaya could be a balm to Laena's consternation to ultimately help bring Akiva and Laena together again.

His thoughts began to roam as freely as his bride's hand was, one arm bracing against the bulkhead and the other wrapping itself around her waist, pressing her against him. Heat and a dull red glow seemed to smolder at their contact, slowly simmering Storr's resolve away to threads. Bringing her back in for a quick yet deep kiss, he smiled and stepped back nearly imperceptibly (mainly out of self-preservation).

"Alright. We'll make it work. I don't know how, but it'll work. You're a good woman, Jaya." he replied, two fingers slowly tracing her cheek and jawline before continuing down her neck to her cool, smooth shoulder. His hand began to tingle with anticipation and while he would have dared lower, a small cough from the front of the runabout caused him to flinch and draw his hand away, a grin on his face like the proverbial boy with the cookie jar.

Jaya slapped him on his rear end on the way out. "The best you ever had."

Taking his wife's hand, he lead her back to the front seat and the two resumed their positions.

"So, Laena," Garlake began, turning the seat so that the two could face her. "I think that it would be a great thing for you to stay with us. We have the room and Jaya is an excellent hostess. It'd be no imposition and I insist."

Jaya winked at Laena, as if to silently say, "See? Told ya."

"Thank you," Laena replied, her voice soft but her meekness had all but melted away at this point. "I won't be long," she said. "There are just a few things Akiva and I need to discuss. Who knows, it could all work itself out in a few days." She tried to sound hopeful, though she already knew the activity would be futile.

"Take all the time you need," Jaya said. She ran her hands up Storr's back and grabbed a hunk of shoulder. "We have no shortage of catching up to do ourselves."

Storr waggled his eyebrows and squeezed Jaya as he turned the seat back towards the front. They were near their destination and as he entered a few additional entry commands into the console, hoped that things hadn's completely descended into chaos in his short absence. To be fair, though, the trip wouldn't have been a very long or arduous one...