Getting to know you

Posted on Wed Aug 31st, 2022 @ 1:54am by Lieutenant Rosaleen O'Donnell & Lieutenant Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok

Mission: When on Risa...
Location: Gym
Timeline: Prior to arriving on Risa

Luna stretched her arms above her head, braced her legs shoulder width apart, then still keeping her hands stretched out with her fingers interlocked, bent double as she waited for Lieutenant O'Donnell to arrive. "I guess this is as good a place as any to meet someone. You can ascertain whether or not they're..." Luna didn't get to finish her thought as the gym doors slid open and the Lieutenant walked in. "Good afternoon, Lieutenant O'Donnell. I'm Lieutenant JG Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok," Luna extended her hand, grateful she was still warming up and not covered in sweat yet.


Rosaleen had been a bit lost in her thoughts as she entered the gym, so she had not sensed that another was there until the woman had addressed her. 'Luna...was that what she had said?' Rosaleen wondered to herself as she automatically reached for the offered hand. Rosaleen's touch was a combination of cold and what could only be described as an extremely mild electric current. Not painful...just the opposite in fact.

"I'm sorry...Luna, was it?" Rosaleen asked as she held the woman's hand, all the while keeping solid eye contact with her.

Luna almost jerked as an unexpected electric shock occurred the moment her hand touched Rosaleen's. It wasn't a BAD thing, but still, it was definitely nerve-racking when it wasn't something she was expecting. "No worries, Rosaleen...er...Lt., I mean...oh boy," Luna gulped, wanting a rewind button to when the Lt. had walked into the room. "I'm so sorry, I'm not sure what to call you when we're not on duty," Luna rubbed her neck sheepishly.

Crystal blue eyes and an impish smile accompanied the response. "Rosaleen is just fine. I'm not one to be much on formalities." The air around them seemed to warm a bit as Rosaleen spoke. "And besides...this is not exactly a duty post, and when not working I much prefer to be less...formal." The way Rosaleen emphasized the last word was almost as electric as her initial touch had been.

'What are you doing Rosa?' Her inner voice asked. True that she had not been resting well for...well, since she had arrived on the Wayfarer. But she had always retained the strictest control over herself during that time.

"Rosaleen, it suits you. Not that your other name doesn't! I mean...(yeesh, Luna! You have REALLY got to stop sticking your foot in your mouth!) Ahem, let's try this again. It's nice to finally get to meet you. I skimmed your file and saw that you liked dancing, so I decided to invite you for some fun!" Luna grinned, hoping that she could keep her foot out of her mouth. "Um, please forgive me, but I was unable to keep from feeling your uneasiness. Am I um...that is...sigh. I don't know if you've read my file, but I'm half Betazoid, and sometimes, I can't control that half of me," Luna dropped her head, wishing she'd started off with what she was.

"Tis quite ok." Rosaleen replied. "I could feel you reaching out to me. And as for my level of discomfort...well, it's not been easy on me taking this tour of duty. I am used to being with those that know what I am, and are comfortable with it. Here I just feel like...like and outcast." The air chilled around the two women as Rosaleen spoke. "Even in Starfleet, people tend to fear that which they do not understand."

Luna nodded. "I understand completely. LOTS of beings don't get that if all we did was interact with those of our own kind...lots of people would be dead, and ENTIRE species would be EXTINCT now if we hadn't interacted with them! And look at me! I wouldn't be here if there was no interspecies connections! There I go again. Sorry. That seems to be my biggest soapbox. Enough shop talk for now, let's dance!" Luna briefly placed her hand on Rosaleen's shoulder, smiled, and walked over to a twenty-first century Cassette/CD player, and pressed play. A song that was a cross between a salsa and tango filled the room.

Rosaleen nodded at Luna and walked over to a cluster of chairs, then proceeded to remover first her shoes, then her jacket and exercise pants, revealing the form fitting and very translucent leotard that she wore underneath. It was the purest of white, although it seemed to have some pigmentation to it compared to Rosaleen skin. The lack of color made both her red hair and crystal blue eyes seem even more vibrant than ever. In fact, when she turned to face Luna once again, Rosaleen's eyes seemed to cut right through to her soul.

The impish smile returned as Rosaleen walked back over to where Luna stood, never losing eye contact. "So...what exactly did you have in mind?"

Luna's jaw almost hit the floor. She'd heard that Rosaleen was beautiful, but the reports were NOTHING compared to the real thing! "Ah...er...that is...ahem, did the climate control break in here? Give me a second," Luna walked to where she had dropped her gear, and took off her shoes and pants, revealing that the bottom of her turquoise leotard was dark purple like her highlights. As she walked back to Rosaleen, she put her hair in a loose braid. "Ok, much better. Since the song's a mixer, would you like to lead, or shall I?" Luna stopped just within a normal comfort zone for most people, not sure what Rosaleen's boundaries were.

Rosaleen closed the gap by several inches, holding her arms out to her side. "You may do with me as you choose " She replied. The air around the two became perceptively warmer.

Luna shivered slightly despite the warmth of the room. "(Dang! What's going on here? Get a grip, Luna!) Okay then. Hold on, Rosaleen, it's gonna get interesting!" Luna took Rosaleen's right hand in hers, and put her left arm around Rosaleen's waist, closing the distance between the two of them as the room's temperature changed AGAIN! Luna led off slowly, then started twirling and spinning to the music, actually losing herself in the music as she relaxed and fully immersed herself in the flow. "Is is just me, or did your eyes get bluer? (Luna!? What the stardust!?)" Luna was feeling weird, like a million galaxies were spinning through her head. She glanced at a clock, and her jaw dropped. They had been dancing for AN HOUR!!!

Rosaleen relaxed her concentration as she let time slip back into it's normal flow. The Ka'bu and Ba'ku and both shared the trait of being able to hold moments in time locally, but it was something that Rosaleen rarely ever practiced, mainly due the the fact that she had held no moments worthy of exploring to such a degree. Even now, Rosaleen was confused as to why she had chosen to do so during her time together with Luna. It had just seemed...

"I...apologize." Rosaleen simply stated as she moved away from Luna, the room turning noticeably colder. "I did not mean to...I'm sorry." She walked over to where her clothing was and started to dress.

Luna swiftly crossed the room, gently catching Rosaleen's arm as she picked up her jacket. "No, Rosaleen! I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I wasn't enjoying myself or that you were doing something wrong! Please, don't leave upset!" Without realizing it, Luna had moved her hands to either side of Rosaleen's face.

It was if her hands were holding cold metal that contained a static charge. the moment Luna's hands touched her, Rosaleen's eyes immediately locked on Luna's. They were swirling like a storm again, but...well, the only way to describe it was angrier. But the anger Rosaleen felt was not toward Luna, but herself. She had allowed herself to lose the tight control she had maintained over herself since her arrival. She had revealed a bit of her true nature.

"It is not you." Rosaleen's voice was steely, with a bit of harmonics resonating with her words. "It is I who have overstepped. I sincerely apologize for my actions." The words were very formal...strangely so. It wasn't how people spoke anymore. "I would ask your forgiveness for my presumption."

"There's nothing to apologies for! I was having a BLAST! If I had felt uncomfortable at any point, believe me, I would have pulled away! In fact, I think I'm in love!" Luna froze as the words left her mouth. "Is that really how I feel? Have I really fallen for her this quickly?" Luna locked eyes with Rosaleen again...and smiled. "Yes. I love you, Rosaleen. I wanted to get to know you better the moment you walked through that door, and dancing with you only made that feeling grow stronger," Before Luna could talk herself out of it, she kissed Rosaleen smack on the mouth. Sparks raced to every nerve ending in Luna's body, causing every hair on her body to stand at attention.

Although Luna's kiss caught Rosaleen by surprise, which can sometimes be a bad thing with the Ka'Bu, she found herself returning the kiss with passion...at first. 'What are you doing Rosa?' she thought as a moment of panic surged through her, causing her body to turn ice cold. She extricated herself from Luna's embrace and took a couple of steps back.

'These people will never accept you for who you are!' The old familiar feelings of isolation came flowing back. The fear and hatred people had exhibited towards her, Kathleen, their families...People were supposed to be enlightened in this age. But while alien species from other planets could be explained scientifically, those species with extra abilities could not. And most species best defense against that which they could not readily explain was to keep it as far away as possible. And that was her experience anywhere else except on New Frontier Station. She had been treated like she had the plague. Most feared her, some were envious of her, but none wanted to be around her. That was the reason that she stayed to herself except when duty required interaction.

But yet she did not sense neither fear nor envy from Luna. Her actions seemed genuine, but so had others who had approached her. Rosaleen was confused, a million scenarios already running through her mind. She had managed to keep her true defenses at bay, and for that she was truly thankful. It would not have been a favorable outcome to have hurt a shipmate. That, and she genuinely liked Luna. She was just...well, confused as hell at the moment. She needed time to process everything. Time to...

It was at that moment she realized what Luna's reaction had been to hers. She could see it in her eyes. The sadness...the fear of rejection. Luna had taken a huge chance with her actions, only to have her pull away. In that moment, Rosaleen let her defenses down just a bit, and reached out to touch Luna's cheek. Rosaleen's hand was still ice cold though, and that was something that she could not hide.

"I'm...I'm so sorry. I just...well...you kinda caught me of guard is all." Rosaleen dropped her hand back to her side, breaking eye contact with Luna to stare at the floor.

Luna felt all the emotions running through Rosaleen, and wasn't surprised that some were reflections of her own emotions. "As I said, there's no need to apologize. I know I was a little...well, a LOT, more forward than I've ever been with anyone before. It's just that when you walked in, I just felt a connection that I've never experienced before. And as far as that meaney voice saying no one will accept you..." Luna took Rosaleen's face in her hands again, and gave her a second, more gentle yet at the same time more passionate kiss, even going so far as to carefully slip her tongue so far into Rosaleen's mouth that it touched the back of her throat, pouring as much emotion as she could muster into her every action. "This is what I want, but only when you're ready. I was a bit forward today because I didn't want any misunderstanding between us about what I'm offering," Luna whispered when she came up for air. Luna had unconsciously lowered both women to the ground in her administration of the kiss.

Rosaleen wasn't sure what to think at that moment. Undeniably she felt a connection with Luna. But she had just met he, ergo she knew nothing about her. Instinct told her that Luna was acceptable to let her guard down with, but she had learned a long time ago not to trust instinct alone. Rosaleen stood and quietly walked over to where her clothing was piled onto a chair and quickly dressed. She then turned to Luna, keeping her distance.

"I will consider what you have said." Rosaleen spoke in a very formal tone. "I need time to process this. I need time to..." She briefly struggled for the right words before continuing. "I need to be able to give myself permission. It has been a long time since I have allowed anyone in...since I have given trust to anyone. I hope you understand." Her demeanor softened a bit, and a hint of a smile appeared. "I did enjoy our day today, though. All of it."

Luna nodded, standing as a smile twitched the corners of her mouth. "I understand, Rosaleen. As I said, this relationship will be on your terms...but that doesn't mean I won't stop dropping hints," Luna winked as she walked to her clothes and started dressing.

A shy smile on her face, Rosaleen simply nodded to Luna, then turned to the Gym's main door and swiftly exited. Upon her departure the room's atmosphere returned to normal, yet another sign that any relationship with Rosaleen, platonic or otherwise, would be vastly different than any Luna had ever experienced.

Luna couldn't stop smiling as she finished dressing, stowed the CD/Cassette Player, walked to the door, and put the lights down to Night Mode. "That girl's gonna keep me walking on air for a good long while. I can just tell," Luna chuckled to herself as she left the Gym.

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Lieutenant Rosaleen O'Donnell
Operations Chief
USS Wayfarer

&

Lieutenant JG Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok
Flight Control Officer
USS Wayfarer