This is the story all about how....

Posted on Sunday 21 March 2021 @ 20:51 by Civilian Sansa Draxx-Jones & Lieutenant Commander Hayley Godding

Mission: A Cry from the Darkness
Location: Hayley/Sansa's quarters, Main bridge, Arboretum
Timeline: MD 2 1230
2012 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Sansa noticed that it was getting on for lunchtime and she was beginning to get hungry. Then she remembered something Hayley had said about forgetting to eat. She checked the replicator log in their quarters and she had not replicated any breakfast either.

Sansa shook her head and looked down at the little pup who was sat by her feet, trying to howl in a quite adorable way. "It looks like we're going out for lunch Sweetie. We're going to have to make sure that Hayley gets some propper food today."

She replicated a picnic for two and made sure there was some food for Belle as well. She then packed it all into an old fashion wicker basket which was divided into two compartments. One side she filled with their picnic, the other she popped Belle in with her favorite stuffed toy and set out from their quarters. Boarding the turbolift, she spoke to the computer. "Bridge!"

The door opened and Sansa first spotted that her mom was not in her chair. "Must be in her ready room." she muttered to herself, but it was not her mom she was looking for. She made a beeline for the tactical station. She came up next to Hayley and pinched her bum cheekily "Hey there Sweetie."

Hayley squeaked loudly at the pinch, then covered her mouth with her hand when the XO turned to look at her due to her outburst. She smiled and then turned to Sansa; "Sansa!" She hissed. "Don't do that!" She turned to the tactical officer standing at the auxiliary Tactical station. "Take over for me, will you, Ekhart?"

"Aye Commander." Ekhart replied and took over the main console as Hayley led Sansa off into the conference room.

"Sansa! I don't know whether to kiss you or kick you!" Hayley said, in an exasperated tone once the doors had closed. "What do you think your mother would've said if you'd done that whilst she was on the bridge? Hmm?" Somehow, she just couldn't stay mad at that cute face. "So, what brings the terrible two up to the bridge today?"

Sansa brushed off the rebuttal and wagged a finger at her with a look of love and concern "I'll take that kiss please but first.... Someone has a nasty habit of skipping meals and that isn't good for you Sweetie. By my calculations, you haven't had any breakfast or lunch so far so I've replicated a nice picnic for us both and I think you should have a break and come to the arboretum with us and relax and have lunch, because we won't take 'no' for an answer."

As if on cue, the flap of the basket Sansa was carrying that was facing Hayley popped open, and Belle stuck her head out just above the rim, letting out a tiny 'woof' of agreement.

Hayley let out a laugh and hunched down and gave Belle a peck on the end of his nose. "How can I say no to this face?" She asked the little dog, who yapped and licked Hayley's nose. She giggled and stood up. "...or this one..." She sighed, leaned in, and kissed Sansa tenderly on the lips. "Alright, fine, you win. You get forty-five minutes, but then I have to go back to work, alright?"

Sansa shivered slightly at the kiss. "It's normally me who can't say no to you, especially when you do that," she replied dreamily for a moment, before she took Hayley by her hand "Come on." And she led the way to the turbolift.

They arrived in the arboretum and Sansa set up underneath the shade of her favorite tree. She had brought a blanket which she spread out then proceeded to get Belle out of the basket first. "You go for a run and come back for some food..." The little pup had bounded off before Sansa finished speaking.

"She'll be back soon, she hasn't had any lunch either," Sansa explained as she set out a bowl with some food in for Belle. She then pulled out some sandwiches and a bottle of traditional lemonade and two glasses.

Sure enough, the smell of food was too enticing and the little pup shot back almost immediately and started eating.

Sansa handed Hayley a plate as she got comfortable on the blanket. "So how's your day going so far?"

Hayley accepted the plate and picked up a sandwich. "Usual fare really. Dealt with overnight disciplinary issues first thing, had a meeting with the other senior officers, caught up on the status of things in security and tactical, did a patrol of the upper decks... same old routine really." She said, taking a bite of the tuna sandwich. "How about you? Begun looking at your education options yet?"

The sandwich paused halfway to Sansa's mouth. She hadn't really expected this line of questioning. "Errrm, yeah. I've been looking at Marine science and biology. It looks really interesting and there's quite an extensive course run onboard ship. Oh, that reminds me," She took a quick bite of her sandwich before continuing. "I got a message from Fay yesterday. She says she got home ok and that she would like to meet up again and that we're welcome to visit her anytime."

"In her own body this time, I hope?" Hayley smirked. "I'm not all that big on the whole 'sharing' thing. Kind of rules out swinging and threesomes, doesn't it?" She gave Sansa a playful smirk before taking a sip of her lemonade. "How'd Fay enjoy her time on Earth anyway?"

Sansa almost choked on her sandwich, and it took her a moment to recover. "I'm not sure how she would leave her planet again, she didn't say." she managed to get out before she took a drink. "She said she really enjoyed her time on Earth and she told everyone in detail about her experiences." Despite herself, she blushed "I'm not sure how much detail she passed on about us but she did get rather graphic about what she and Tann got up when she got back. Apparently, they made some changed to the Etheria so they could...." She lent over and whispered in Hayley's ear.

"Jesus!" Hayley exclaimed, her ears turning red. "I doubt anyone could call me a prude, but damn..." She took a sip of her drink. "I do hope however that you took some pointers... I like the sound of that... second thing..." She looked down at the blanket. "...I could see me enjoying you doing that..."

Sansa battered her gently on the arm as she blushed an even brighter shade of red. "Hayley!" she yelled out before descending into a fit of giggles. Her outburst even caught Belle off guard, who had just finished her meal and was eyeing something fluttering not far away. With a little woof, the tiny pup was off.

Hayley grinned and looked at Belle, who was now chasing a butterfly around the place.

When she had stopped laughing, Sansa went on. "Also, I did notice one side effect. I seem to be able to sense and understand and communicate on some level with humpback whales now." She added casually, almost as an afterthought.

"Well, that's quite unusual." Hayley responded carefully. "Perhaps you could ask to specialize in looking after the humpback whale community back on Earth? Being able to communicate and understand them would be a considerable advantage to their research there."

"That's a possibility but..." She paused and looked at Hayley "I wouldn't want to leave the Merlin. I wouldn't want to be parted from you... Or mom or dad." She added quickly. "Do you think they would let me liaise with them from here? I've lost so much of my time, growing up so fast. I don't want to miss another moment that I could be with you."

That gave her a moment to pause; "Hun, I somehow doubt you could commune with the whales from the Merlin." She sighed, then took Sansa's hand in her own. "We've never really talked about... well... lets call in the elephant in the room shall we? Your phenomenal growth spurt. I know that for all intents and purposes, you are the super sexy and intelligent nineteen year old girl sitting before me. But we cannot ignore that in reality, you're only five years old. Can you tell me how it happened? I only got the jist from your mother at that dinner oh so long ago, and I never wanted to pry..."

"It's ok Sweetie, I don't want to keep anything from you." She took a sip of her drink, then took a deep breath. "So Mom tells me she was put in a Borg maturation chamber when she was just a baby and she aged about 12 years in three months. Then apparently she went from an eight year-old to an 18 year-old before they stabilized her aging. That's almost the same as what happened to me. Mom tells me she was pregnant with me for only out 2 months. There was something left in her bloodstream from her time in the maturation chamber that caused it. Anyway, I spent about another 2 months at Starfleet medical and when I left they thought they had fixed my aging, although I now was a 13 year-old. All my documents and papers were altered to reflect that. One thing that they were unsure about was puberty which hit me like a ton of bricks. One day I ate enough food for 10 people and aged about 6 years in as many minutes and" She gestured to her body "This is the result. The doctors on the Merlin and at Starfleet have confirmed that I'm at the mental and physical level of a 19 year-old and they detect no evidence that it won't happen again." She cast her eyes down, almost afraid of the next answer. " Do you... still... love me?"

"Why would I think any less of you for that?" Hayley asked, flatly. "You're still the same Sansa I met on Risa. You're the same Sansa I fell in love with back then. No matter what happens to you, we will go through it together." She turned and looked Sansa firmly in the eyes, holding her hands together in her own against her chest. "You are the most important thing in my life. I would never abandon you for something like that."

Sansa looked back up at Hayley for a moment, before moving closer to her and wrapping her arms around her in a loving embrace.

"Now... when you lose control of your bladder and bowels when you're old and frail, then we might need to negotiate..." Hayley teased.

Sansa laughed but did not let go of her, and just sighed. "How did I managed to find someone as wonderful and loving and as funny as you." As if sensing she was missing out, Belle had come over and was trying to nuzzle her way in between them to get in on the action.

"Look's like someone is feeling left out." She gently stroked the puppy's back. A sudden thought hit her. "Computer, what is the time?"

The computer replied "The time is 13:27 Hours. (Hayley's a bit late.....)

Sansa's eyes went wide "You better get back. If mom gives you any grief, I'll tell her we were walking, lost track of time and it won't happen again." She kissed her quickly and passionately "I'll clear up here and, I'll have some dinner waiting for you when you get home this evening. How about we cuddle up and watch another one of those old movies you love so much?"

"Sounds like a plan." Hayley said, leaning in to plant a quick kiss on Sansa's cheek before darting for the exit. "See you later babe!"

Sansa called after her "See you later Sweetie." She then looked down at Belle "Come on you, let's get our stuff and go home."

OFF

○●● Lieutenant Commander Hayley Godding
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Merlin


Sansa Draxx-Jones
Civilian
NPC Jones