En Route to the "Pale Blue Dot."

Posted on Sun Mar 24th, 2013 @ 5:37pm by Lieutenant Anandra Delair & Ensign Anthony La Baron
Edited on on Sun Mar 24th, 2013 @ 5:44pm

2,014 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 82 - The Aggressor
Location: USS Durga
Timeline: Directly after "Heading to Earth"

Anthony's duties were unsurprisingly light. A straight shot trough Federation space to Earth seldom presents any dangers or a need for a Science Officer for that matter. Despite the calmness aboard the Durga, Anthony's heart slammed against his sternum in a frantic rhythm. He approached the door which had "Counselor's Office" etched into its surface and rang the bell.

Anandra sat in her office, neglecting the PADD in her hands as she mused over..well, several things, related to this mission and otherwise. Her feet were curled up beneath her on the seat, her chin rested on her palm as the sound of the bell pulled her from her thoughts. "Come in," she called, lifting her head and straightening her posture.

Anthony stepped into the counselor's office. The moment his eyes focused onto Anandra, a large smile came over his face.

"Hello Doctor, how's the trip to Earth treating you?" Anthony asked as he sat in the chair across from Anandra's desk.

"Ensign." she said, the smile apparent in her tone as well as expression. She dropped her feet to the floor, setting the PADD down and looking at him. "It's been..fairly routine." she said, lying only a little. "Are you looking forward to arriving?"

"Of course," Anthony leaned in closer to Ana. "I'll take any chance to visit my home. Especially when I get the opportunity to show such a remarkable woman my stomping grounds."

"Stomping grounds?" she smiled, leaning closer as well. "That sounds enticing."

"Very much so," Said Anthony, leaning in even closer. "New Orleans is a city that should never be experienced alone."

"You know, I've always wanted to go there."

"Wonderful, I'll give you the grand tour then."

As soon as Anthony finished speaking, he leaned in as far as he could go and planted hips lips on Anan's. In the back of his mind he knew that they were moving faster than a Borg Cube using a transwarp conduit, but he shrugged off those feelings. All of this felt so right.

Anan allowed herself to be swept away by the kiss, pushing aside the fleeting thoughts that nagged at her - for the first time the words 'too fast' breezed through her mind, but she told herself that their current environment was to blame and that it was nothing. She didn't hesitate to throw caution to the wind before and even now, her only hesitation was in her reluctance to pull away. She broke the kiss with a warm smile and spoke softly, her hand on his arm. "I'm happy you're here."

Anthony pressed his forehead against her and closed his eyes. "I'm happy to be here."

While she was content as they currently were, Anan couldn't resist the pull of approaching free time - and she planned to take advantage of it now that he was here, but first. "You're not going to be late for anything, are you?" she teased, pulling away to look up at him. "I mean..if you have some free time, and you promise not to distract me too much - I only need to finish a couple of reports, and then I'm all yours for a while." she smiled sweetly, sinking back into her seat, hoping he'd be free to wait just a few more minutes.

"I'm off duty for the rest of the day," Anthony said. "I'll have plenty of time to distract you."

"I'll do my best to work efficiently, then." she said, scooping up the PADD with a smirk. She continued where she'd left off in her reports, though she quickly realized that simply having him there was a distraction itself. She found it impossible not to look at him, engage him in conversation. His spontaneous visit was easily the highlight of her day. "Did you have a strategy in mind for this evening?" she asked curiously as she worked.

Anthony studied Ana as she worked so diligently. There was a certain attractiveness about the way she sat there going through her reports with such thorough detail. In his mind, Anthony was somewhere between infatuation and budding love.

"I was going to go down to the ship's mess hall and have dinner all on my lonesome," Said Anthony with faux puppy-dog eyes. "But then I heard it's Gagh Wednesday, and I'd hate for you to miss out on that."

"All on your lonesome?" she quipped, arching a brow at him over her PADD. "I could use a good meal, and how could I pass on Gagh Wednesday? Not to mention it would be completely unacceptable for you to have to eat alone."

Anthony smiled, he hadn't found a woman yet who enjoyed gagh, she was a keeper.

"Wonderful," Anthony playfully snatched the PADD from Ana's hand. "Let's go."

Anan gasped as he snatched the PADD, then let out a laugh as she playfully made a futile swipe to get it back. "Alright Ensign, you've convinced me." she said with a huge smile - anyone else might have gotten an impatient look (at the very least) if they'd tried to snatch something from her while she was working, but in this case she simply added it to the list of things that made him cute. "I'll join you for lunch." she stood from her seat, giving him a friendly push toward the door. "But only because you're holding my reports hostage." she teased as they walked out the door.

Anthony slid the PADD back onto her desk before leaving the office. As they walked down the ship's corridor side by side, he locked his hand with hers. Anthony's frantic heartbeat returned.

Anandra was practically beaming as she walked through the hall hand in hand at his side, nodding a greeting to a few passers-by as they went. Anthony had been flitting through her mind since they boarded the Durga, her constant hope being that they would find some duty-free time to spend together on this mission - Anan could be terribly impatient in anticipation of things she yearned for. She could just barely feel his pulse as she held his hand tightly, and she wondered as she stole glances at him if it was just her, or if that pulse seemed a little quickened. In the back of her mind she thought of his offer to show her around New Orleans, and she found herself also wondering if they would even have that kind of time while they were orbiting Earth. Naturally, she knew the details of the mission - on a need to know basis she knew enough about it anyway, and as such she expected to be a little busier than normal as far as counseling duties went, so she was cautiously hopeful in that respect.

"Do you know why we are going to Earth for?" Anthony asked, "It seems like the Admiral dragged us all aboard the Durga without saying much."

"I might." Anandra nodded, looking sideways at him. "But if I did know anything, I wouldn't want to break any confidentiality protocols, would I?" she said, her tone suggesting that she was not entirely serious. "I honestly don't know how much I can say about this one." she said with a more serious tone. "I'm sure we'll be briefed when we get to Earth."

"I hope so," Said Anthony as the doors to the ships mess hall pried open. "My duties are so dull on the Durga. I'm just glad to have you to keep my company."

"I'll do my best anyway," she said with a sweet smile. "You should come visit more often..I'm rather happy with the company myself." she breezed through the doorway at his side, looking about the room as the two of them headed toward the mess.

The Klingon Chef spotted Anthony as he entered the mess hall. Holding up a ladle-full of gagh he shouted at him in Klingonese. Anthony repeated the guttural phrase and they shared a laugh together. The chef dished out two heaps of fresh \gagh into two tin bowls, which Anthony grabbed.

"It's nice having Klingon friends." Said Anthony. "Please, take a seat."

Anan couldn't help but laugh at the exchange between the two, though she resisted the urge to respond in Klingon herself. "Friends in high places." she teased, taking a seat at the table. "Thank you, sir."

"Do you need a fork?" Asked Anthony. "Or are you going to eat this the traditional Klingon way?"

"Oh I only eat it the traditional way." she said, looking the wormy dish over. "Otherwise, what's the point of eating a traditional dish?" she said, picking up one of the serpent worms and eating it. "So you speak Klingon, and you know the chef..you're full of surprises yourself Anthony." she smiled. "Tell me something else I don't know about you."

"Only enough Klingon to order food and make friends," Anthony grabbed several of the clingy worms with his hand and placed them in his mouth, gnashing them with his teeth and savoring their flavor. "We've talked about me enough, I want to hear more about you, Anan."

"About me?" she asked rhetorically. "I can assure you my life story is very boring..not to mention long-winded." she spoke self deprecatively, but she was not really so low on herself. "But I'll tell you anything you want to know - for you I'm an open book.." she picked up a small handful of worms and took the time to eat it before speaking again - despite her confidence and disposition, she always had a little difficulty talking about herself - a bit of an ironic plight, considering her profession. "What kinds of things interest you in a woman? I'd be happy to start there."

"Well," Anthony ate another handful of worms," Her ability to eat gagh is always a factor I take into consideration. So far, you're the first woman I've met who can truly appreciate the stuff."

For a moment Anthony thought back to his girlfriend in his days at the Academy. Anthony recalled how sick she got off the Klingon delicacy. He felt that story wouldn't be particularly good for present company.

"I want to know where you are from, what you like to do, what your dreams are." Anthony caught himself before he began to ramble, "We can take that one step at a time though, I don't want to overload you."

She smiled proudly at his words. "It's an acquired taste, I couldn't always handle Klingon cuisine so well." she admitted, taking a breath to collect her thoughts. "Well, I've lived abroad for most of my life. My father and I ..were on a ship when the Borg attacked our home world. Um, after that I spent some time in the Lorentian system, quite a few years on Riza; and there my father married and he went to live with his wife's family. I spent some years on Vulcan and then Earth, where Starfleet finally managed to sweep me off my feet...and here I am."

Anthony felt guilty for bringing up painful memories of the past. In a way they were very similar. The only home he knew was destroyed by the Dominion and his mother was caught in the crossfire. The deep connection he felt compelled Anthony to place his hand on hers and grip it tightly.

"Wherever you've been, whatever happened to you, has brought you here," Anthony smiled with deep affection. "And I'm glad for that."

Anan sensed the deep affection in his gesture as he gave her hand a squeeze. The memories had become less painful over time, though she would likely never be able to shake the overwhelming sadness over the loss of her people and her home world. "I am too." Said Ana, smiling warmly across the table at Anthony. "I can't think of any place I'd rather be."

Anthony kissed her once more, more sincere than ever. The two continued to talk as the Durga made steady progress towards Earth. What Earth held for the remained a mystery that they would soon solve together.

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