Breaking the Ice

Posted on Fri Oct 23rd, 2020 @ 3:37am by Captain Cynthia Jackson & Lieutenant Luke Osswell

1,430 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 3.5 - Some R & R
Location: Starbase Sickbay

Cindy was bothered. So far, this entire break, Cindy had not seen Luke. It felt like that he was going out of his way to avoid her. When they talked last, he mentioned needing time but this was starting to get ridiculous. After all, it was just sex, right? And it was not as if So, Cindy made her own personal mission to find Luke and tell him to shake it off. She wanted her friend back. Determined to make Luke see reason, she hunted for a half an hour thus far without success. If I were Luke, where would I be?

Luke was in the Starbase's sickbay, being patched up after the heavy brawl that had ensued in the bar. Doc was just suturing up the cut above his left eye. "That should do it", the Doctor stated. Luke regarded himself in the mirror. The cut had been healed very nicely, but his blue right eye still looked as bad and as swollen as it did when he got in. A questioning look from him resulted in a frown from the Doc. "Oh that will heal just fine on its own, give it a few days, Lieutenant", the medical officer commented matter-of-factly.
It was at that moment his Captain walked in.

When Cindy had first heard that Luke was in the Starbase's sickbay, she was more than shocked. He did not seem like the fighting type. What in the world was Luke doing, getting himself into a fight? The moment that she saw Luke, she stared at him and shook her head. "You had better have a good story for this, Luke." She stood, hands on hips and her green eyes having a distinct brown ring around them.

Luke smiled, at least, he attempted too as well as he could, what with the bruised face and all. "You know me, I always have a good story." He grimaced as he smiled too much, causing the nerves of his jaw to remind him of the predicament he was currently in. "No, honestly, there's a good explanation."

"Hopefully no Orions are involved this time?" she asked stifling a laugh.

Luke smiled like a farmer with a toothache (at least that is how the Dutch expression goes), "well, not the same ones, at least..." Luke said apologetically.

"Oh?" Cindy asked in a curious tone as she sat down on a nearby chair. "Get on with it. This sounds like a story that I simply must hear."

So without further ado, the Assistant Chief of Security told his Captain the story, leaving nothing out. Including the fact that now that he had been patched up, he was supposed to report to the brig if he didn't want to be dragged there by the burly security officers near the entrance of Sickbay.

Cindy laughed at Luke, "Well, at least you're getting dinner out of it!" Her eyes turned light green. "You're just a hot mess, aren't you? What ever am I going to do with you, Luke?"

Luke laughed along with her. He wished he could shake off the feeling that she was flirting with him though, which made him less at ease than perhaps he should be. After all, his captain had taken time out of her shore leave to see if he was okay, that was a kind thing of her to do. Ploughing through any discomfort Luke might feel, Luke attempted humour to battle his discomfort: "Well, putting in a good word for me to the Warden of this station would be greatly appreciated, my Captain."

"So, I should tell him that he should not be holding my Chief of Security and that I will chastise him properly? Is that what you are saying?" She grinned at him devilishly. "Hmmm?"

Luke sighed a heavy sigh and buried his face in his hands before a blast of pain reminded him that his face was still bruised pretty bad. With a blushing face, he said: "Not exactly what I meant, Captain Cindy..." Looking for ways change topics, he asked: "How's the Commander? Station Security tased him. They are very jumpy over here, I noticed!"

Cindy frowned. Luke did not hear that he got promoted. He must be very beat up, indeed. "I have not checked in on Eli, yet. I will have to give him a proper scolding."

Luke's face, unaware of having missed something, turned more serious. "I feel responsible, you know, if I hadn't acted so cocky we wouldn't be here. I should have de-escalated the situation instead of the other way around. I'm a Starfleet Security Officer, I know better. Sorry for having let you down, Cap."

"You're more than just a Security Officer," Cindy tried again. "You're a Chief Security Officer." She paused for effect. "You haven't let me down, other than continuing to call me Captain rather than Cindy," she told Luke with an amused giggle.

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware I'm the Assistant Chief Security Officer. Which is why I should have shown more restraint, na?" Luke said, ending the question in the way like those who grew up in the area of Bombay tended to do, a sign of how preoccupied his mind was.

Cindy shook her head. "My Chief Security Officer seems to have had his bell rung," she informed Luke sadly. "I think I will have to have Josh look at you again because these base doctors clearly have not done an effective job."

Luke frowned. "Wait a minute....", he said suspiciously. "Last time I checked Lt. Commander Hudson was a woman, I wasn't aware she was thinking about undergoing a sex change?" He eyed his Captain suspiciously. She must be alluding to something else! "Captain Cindy, has this something to do with the alternate dimension thingies at Vulcan? Or are you just pulling my leg?" Then he gasped. "Is this about Lt. Grayson, don't tell me you made HIM Chief Security now? I'll resign on the spot! Besides, I thought he was from an alternate reality... Oh no... Am I in the wrong universe!?"

"Are you still suffering from the whole Vulcan affair, Luke? Bec was from another dimension. And I just promoted you to Chief of Security." She shook her head. "You really know how to take the fun out of promoting someone, Luke. I think you really need another checkup." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Luke was ready with a counterargument and was just about to tell her when it finally clicked. "Wait...what?" Luke said, "me?". He was speechless for a moment. "And Bec was from another universe?" SO MANY QUESTIONS! Surely there must be a plothole somewhere... Then something else clicked: "and you made me a Lieutenant!?" Luke let himself fall back on the biobed. Then he laughed, a lot. And loud! Those meds were really doing a number on him. "Captain", he said when he had calmed down, "if I had known getting into brawls would get me promoted like this, I'd have done it sooner.", he said with a wink.

Cindy laughed warmly when Luke winked. He was getting back to his normal self. No longer was he regretting their intimate encounter that had been brought upon by the Orion pheromones. Finally, they could be friends the right way again. "Perhaps if I had known about this fight, I might not have." She punched him in the arm for good measure.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Captain Cindy", Luke proclaimed, 'it will not happen again. You have my word. And thank you for the promotion, it means a lot to me." He looked around, the doctor was busy with other patients, and seemed to be finished with him. "Well, I guess I'll escort myself to the Brig then, won't I? I do trust the visit will be only a formality?"

"Unless you are expecting a special guest," Cindy teased.

Luke arched his eyebrow. "A special guest in prison? With a special surprise, I assume?", he joked. He got up and straightened his tunic. "But seriously, don't forget me in there?"

"In the brig?" Cindy shook her head and laughed. "Nyeh. I don't think that would be a good look for your staff."

"That is right, it wouldn't look good for my staff at all, especially considering I am more of a hands on kind of guy" Luke said in all seriousness. He nodded to his Captain and exited the Sickbay, heading straight down to the Brig.

Cindy laughed as Luke left. Sometimes, that boy is completely clueless.

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