[JP] Cmdre Kalianna Nicholotti & Cmdr. Genkos Adea - Without You, Part i
Genkos Adea
((Unknown Beach, Risa))
Kali’s hand was in his, her fingers intertwined, her mind wide open and mingled with his. Her feet sank slightly in the warm white sands as they walked feet from the waterline, with the waves softly reaching for their bare feet but never quite reaching them.
The sky was the bluest of blues, dotted only by the occasional white puffy cloud and lit by the sun as it worked its way across the sky towards the sea itself. Twilight would come soon enough, but not until the fiery ball had fought not to sink as it inevitably would.
Squeezing his hand as they approached a rocky outcropping that blocked their current trajectory, Kali turned towards him.
Nicholotti: How are you feeling?
Risa held a mixed bag of memories for them all, particularly Genkos. Now that they were back, she could only feel that dark edge of deep maroons and blacks that lined some of the other thoughts in his mind.
For his part, his ebony orbs stared at one particularly slight and wispy cloud. He kept his eyes on it for a long moment, his mind turning his own emotions over and over, trying to figure out exactly how he was feeling.
Risa held a lot of emotional weight - the last time he had been here, it was for the fallout from his own command. The Resolution had blown up, over a dozen people had lost their lives, and a new planetoid was created. An inquiry had been launched, with his old captain and friend, Quinn Reynolds, leading it. As much as he’d wanted to spend time with his old Gorkon crew, he hadn’t wanted to do it like that.
All this was whirling around his thoughts, and he hid none of it from Kalianna as their minds naturally mingled and merged.
Adea: You know that’s a loaded question, my love.
She nodded, everything about her understanding wrapped up in the thoughts that drifted between two minds.
Nicholotti: I do, and I want you to have the space and time to feel what you need to.
Sometimes Kali worried that she wouldn’t be able to protect him, and she certainly couldn’t have protected him from what happened to the Resolution even if she had been there. It had been a hard fall, full of lessons that he would take forward, but far from an easy recovery.
He enclosed himself in a part of her mind, a mental equivalent of wrapping oneself in a blanket.
Adea: I know, I appreciate that.
She squeezed his hand as they drew closer to the rocks. The breeze seemed like it was helping drive the sun towards its nightly demise as it also pulled thick strands of her jet-black hair into the air before letting them fall back to her shoulders.
Nicholotti: Then and now, I am here by your side.
Genkos stared into the sea for a moment, his deep black eyes boring into it, almost as if he could see to the very bottom. Then, like a spell had ended he shook his head and he turned to face her, studying her face almost as deeply as he was intertwined in her mentally.
Adea: Thanks. I feel like the only person in the galaxy who just doesn’t like Risa. I can’t help but feel that the Resolution disaster weighs heavily on my shoulders. It’ll be a burden I’ll always bear.
That was a feeling she understood and shared. While he might have been in command at that moment, it was because her own issues had pulled her and Addison away. That part might have not been anyone’s fault, but that part of things would weigh on her as the other pieces did on Genkos.
Nicholotti: You are not alone in that.
Genkos brushed a strand of her hair from her eyes, and the hand remained, cupping her cheek affectionately. Kali smiled softly at his touch.
Adea: Have you ever lost a ship?
She paused for a moment and realized that in this, there was and hopefully always would be a gulf of sorts.
Nicholotti: Not a whole ship. Many good officers, but not the ship.
Her crystalline eyes glistened as she thought about it, melancholy waves of dark blues shared with her partner as they stood near the rocks. For the moment, he felt guilt for turning it to her, but he needed the comfort.
Adea: How do you remember them?
Nicholotti: I think, especially after seeing how and what they became, the best way to honor them all is to live.
Letting one of his hands go, she gestured to the cerulean twilight sky as the first stars twinkled into visibility. The breeze drew a chill to it as the sun bled into the sea.
Nicholotti: And to experience all the beauty we can.
A few tears welled in the corners of his eyes, and they began trickling down his cheeks. He didn’t bother to wipe them away, but instead smiled through them, in a cheeky, dare we say, naughty fashion.
Adea: Good thing you’re here then.
The corners of her lips twitched upwards as a new hue filtered through their shared thoughts. They had been through much together, and much apart. They’d shared joy, as much as sorrow, elation, as much as pain. And in the end they became bound in a way that few could understand. But that was okay. All that mattered in that moment was that they were there.
They had made it.
Nicholotti: I would have fought a hoard of angry Klingons and at least three space dragons to get back to you. ::She grinned slightly before turning more serious.:: Where and when you need me, I am there.
He turned back to her and placed his hands on her hips, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her forehead. It wasn’t just a loving kiss, but also filled with all his passion, his desire and his need for companionship. It only lasted a moment, his lips barely brushing her skin, but it was filled with meaning.
Adea: Thank you. I’ve missed you terribly. And I’d rather look at you for the rest of my evening than ::he gestured:: to any of this beauty.
There was deep sincerity in his words and she didn’t have to wonder the meaning behind them. That was in the deeper shades of burgundy and royal violets laced with what could only be described as sparks. She understood the look, the feel, the touch of it all, and now that she had experienced it, she could imagine no one else and no other way.
Nicholotti: I won’t stop you.
Her crystalline eyes locked his dark orbs and got lost in them as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned ever closer. Night continued to fall and darkness wrapped them up on the secluded beach, far from the lights of the city that would not sleep. Kali was pretty sure she wasn’t going to sleep either, truth be told. Softly, slowly, they seemed to sway with the rhythm of the waves, the sand squishing ever so slightly under her bare feet.
His feet were bare too, and the usual aches and pains of his left calf were completely absent; as they often were in her presence. A psychiatrist would have a field day, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it to them.
Adea: ::smirking slightly:: You wouldn’t dare.
Nicholotti: The universe and Starfleet command might have us tomorrow, but tonight is ours.
Her mind spoke the rest of her thoughts. There was nowhere else she would rather be, and with no one else. One finger moved, gently tracing his jawline before she pulled him into a kiss. And if there was any way of them getting somehow closer to each other…they did.
To be continued
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Commander Genkos Adea MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
G239502GS0
And
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Commodore Kalianna Nicholotti
Commanding Officer
USS Eagle
R238605KN0