[PQ-V] Lt. Chythar Skyfire & Cmdr. Alex Blair: Reunion
Jeremy Shaffer
OOC: Takes place sometime after Mess in the Captain’s Mess
((Personal Quarters, USS Veritas))
::As soon as his short check-in process was done, Alex wasted no time checking the computer for the location of the one person he had missed more than anyone else. With the information at hand, the trip across the ship seemed like a blur and Alex found himself standing outside the quarters that he shared with Chythar. As he stared at the door, Alex debated pressing the door chime, since it had been some time since he had been around, or simply letting himself in. After a couple of seconds of indecisiveness, Alex reached out a hand and pressed the chime.::
:: Chythar was laid out on the couch again, and paused the music as he heard the door chime. Devlin seemed to be trying to investigate through the door, but couldn’t make out the scent. CD chuckled at his beagle’s antics and called out. ::
Skyfire: Come!
::Hearing his partner’s voice through the door made Alex’s heart skip a beat as he stepped forward causing the door to open.::
Blair: ::smiling:: Boy, you’ll let just about anyone in here anymore won’t you?
Skyfire: To be fair, love: as you can tell, ah’ve nae unpacked yet. :: He limped forward and wrapped Alex in a gentle embrace. :: Just got reassigned here.
Devlin: oO Lexi! Oo :: and the little canine ran over to his other master, nuzzling at his leg in greeting. ::
::Alex smiled enjoying the embrace with his partner, before breaking the embrace to pet the cute little dog that was nuzzling his leg.::
Blair: ::to Devlin:: It’s good to see you too. ::looking back up:: Both of you.
Skyfire: :: smiling :: I’ve missed you. :: He paused for a moment and decided to start out with something positive. :: You’ll be pleased to hear the Prospero, our team, one the trials.
::Alex smiled, feeling a great deal of pride that the project he had been a part of before leaving the Veritas had gone well.::
Blair: That’s good to hear, but I’d be more interested in hearing how you’re doing Chythar. It has been a while since we’ve talked.
:: That much, he supposed, was true. There was that whole thing of Alex leaving a note then disappearing for who knew where just after the trials ended, and Chythar doing his medical shtick on another Starfleet vessel prior to getting shot. ::
Skyfire: Um...okay. :: He paused and ran a hand through his beard. :: We rescued a Galaxy class vessel out of the Shoals, then had to deal with Jilor and his pirate brigade, then...um...I was trying to dodge and failed miserably. Bolt to the leg. Light duty for a while and rehabilitation.
::Alex nodded, feeling guilty that he wasn’t around to help when Chythar had been shot, but even more so that he had essentially vanished without a trace.::
Blair: And to top it all off, I disappeared leaving only a brief note.
::Alex paused for a moment to grab Chythar but the hand.::
Blair: I’m sorry Chythar. If I could have, I would have contacted you to explain, but they wouldn’t let me. I was in communications blackout the entire time.
:: He nodded slowly, understanding the nature of classified missions. There was nothing that could be done, as it was in the past. CD squeezed his partner’s hand gently and once again stepped forward to hug Alex. ::
Skyfire: Don’t worry about it. You’re back, and we’re okay. That’s what counts, aye?
::Alex smiled. He hadn’t expected Chythar to take it so well.::
Blair: Chythar Skyfire, you never cease to amaze me. I guess that’s why I love you. I probably would have been so pissed off if our roles were reversed. ::pause:: Hell, I was pissed anyways. Getting back to you was my motivation to get the job done as quickly as possible.
:: CD chuckled slightly and gave a somewhat knowing nod. He’d been part of classified details before, so knew what that meant. Still, this was mildly entertaining in an almost poetic sort of way. ::
Skyfire: Ah’ve been there. Classified jobs are nae my favorite either. And that was long before we met. It’s good tae have you back, Alex.
::Alex pulled Chythar in close again and this time kissed him.::
Blair: It’s good to be back. ::Alex smiled.:: So you said you were shot? Are you recovering ok? Do I need to hunt someone down and kick their ass for you? Or can I just sit around here for a while spending time with you while you recover?
:: The string of questions rattled off like rapid-fire, but there was a pause as CD attempted to formulate answers to them in sequence. ::
Skyfire: Yes, yes, no, and yes. All in that order. We can begin the unpacking ritual as our first official reunification act.
::Alex laughed as he moved further into the room and got a good look at the boxes.::
Blair: I guess we could do that, but it sounds a lot like work, and the way I heard it the ship is supposed to be on shore leave.
::Alex grinned as he moved closer to a box. Giving it a questioning look.::
Skyfire: We are on shore leave, aye. But we’re nae going to have time to redecorate once we get back out there. :: As he followed Alex’s gaze to a box, he blinked for a moment. :: Don’t laugh. That’s my tinkering.
::Alex smiled as he opened the box.::
Blair: Laugh? Why would I laugh? ::he reached inside and peered at the contents:: I’d help you put it away, but you have to tell me one thing...what is it?
Skyfire: It’s a….Frankenstein right now, but it’s supposed to be a wrist-mounted tricorder.
::Alex picked the contraption up from inside the box and started to look it over. While it definitely wasn’t pretty, the concept was there.::
Blair: How long have you been keeping your engineering skills a secret from me?
:: He shrugged in semi-cluelessness. He had only begun working on the wrist-mounted tricorder in Alex’s absence, so it wasn’t really a secret. Though he supposed that because he’d been confined to quarters when he wasn’t hiding in the lounge or the holodeck that he needed something else to do. ::
Blair: It’s not the best looking device I’ve ever seen, but you’ve got some good ideas here. With a few tweaks, it might even up to my standards!
Skyfire: Well, love...needed something to keep myself amused while you were gone. Did you see the message I’d sent to Lt. Peters about the armor?
::Alex grinned.::
Blair: Yeah I saw it. If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about you are in luck. I helped T’Mihn develop the first iteration of that armor way back during my time aboard the Tiger-A. If I search around enough I might even be able to come up with some of the design plans.
Skyfire: That’s exactly what ah was talkin’ about. Turns out that Peters met up with her on Duronis and they swapped notes, according to Lt. Cumar.
Blair: That’s pretty interesting. A piece of equipment that I had almost forgotten about working on has been carried on...I’d be interested in seeing their advancements. ::pause:: Did I ever tell you about the mission where we tried the armor out for the first time?
:: Chythar shook his head and began making his way toward the replicator to grab some dinner, smiling softly at his partner. ::
Skyfire: You ‘aven’t. Sounds like the perfect dinner conversation, aye? What’ll you have?
::Alex thought for a moment.::
Blair: I’m not sure, I guess whatever you’re having will do.
:: CD nodded and replicated something simple: spaghetti alfredo with mushrooms and a side of red wine. As he brought Alex’s portion to him, he planted a kiss on the engineer’s cheek and carefully set the frankensteined tricorder aside before returning to the replicator for his own portion. ::
Skyfire: Let’s hear the story.
::Alex took a moment to take in the sight of the food. It was quite the change from the ration packs he had eaten during his SCE assignment and Alex hadn’t realized how much he missed actual food.::
Blair: Thanks. ::pause:: So it was four, maybe five years ago. I was actually promoted to Lieutenant Commander right after this mission. The USS Tiger-A was tasked visited by a strange entity that had the ability to grant wishes. Things went wrong quickly and the Tiger found itself moving uncontrollably through enemy territory. Shortly after the crew blacked out and when we all woke up we found the ship completely without power lying on the floor of an uncharted ocean planet.
:: Chythar ate his food quietly, nodding at appropriate moments to show he was still listening. ::
Blair: Before this mission, T’Mihn and I had started working on the armor suit after some old Earth comic book character that T’Mihn had heard about, Iron Man. Well, with the ship lying on the sea bed we decided to use the armor to serve as the perfect testbed for the suit. We needed to patch some holes in the ship’s hull and to access some areas of the ship that had been cut off due to the turoblifts being offline. ::Alex paused to take a sip from his wine glass.:: Luckily for T’Mihn, who wore the armor, it worked pretty well.
Skyfire: I was thinking about getting a set for away missions, given the recent mishap. :: He nodded toward his leg. ::
::Alex looked at Chythar’s leg.::
Blair: I think that might not be a bad idea. It would definitely help me sleep a little easier knowing that there is another line of defense between you and getting hurt.
:: He nodded again and smiled softly. ::
Skyfire: Just waiting for Peters to get back to me with a list of his adjustments, then maybe we can combine the 3 versions.
Blair: That sounds like fun. Like I said, I’d love to see what ideas they applied to the initial design, and I’m sure that with the engineering knowledge I’ve accumulated since then, I could find other ways to make improvements as well.
Skyfire: Let’s eat, and unpack later. Shall we?
:: He stopped talking and managed to crack a grin before taking another fork-full of pasta into his mouth. ::
::Alex smiled.::
Blair: Yes sir.
::He then followed suit and took a bite of his quickly cooling plate.::
Blair: It really is good to be home.
:: The familiar presence of Alex and Devlin made it feel more like home, and it was taking a few extra moments to process. As they sat there and ate together for the first time in approximately a month, it was beginning to feel more like a reality than a dream. ::
===
Lieutenant Chythar Skyfire, MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Veritas
O239002CS0
&
Commander Alex Blair
SCE Liaison
USS Veritas
T238906AB0