Fire and Ice

Posted on Tue Jan 31, 2017 @ 5:26am by Commodore Michael Aravan & Captain Madelina Weisz

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 4 || 0700 Hours

Maddy was still feeling a bit annoyed after their new CAG dropped in on her without much of a head up. She should have been contacted ahead of time... by combadge if nothing else. It would have taken a few seconds, and showed a little courtesy. Sadly, though, that wasn't all that was bothering her, but it would be what was addressed first.

She walked into the Ready Room and locked eyes on the man with the icy blue eyes. Fire and ice. This was bound to get interesting. "What the hell, Michael? Was it not worth the few seconds it would have taken to alert me there was a new fighter squadron on board? I found out when Lieutenant Cheshire contacted me herself. Here I thought we had each others backs. You know... a united front. I didn't even have a personnel file to look at."

Michael looked up and met the angry looking blue eyes of the redheaded Executive Officer that he had gone head to head and toe to toe with on several occasions. "Good morning to you, too, Commander," he said as he glanced towards the flow of information on the table. "And we do and you do. You have almost the same access to the same information that I do. I regret not informing you personally of it, but you know how thoughtless we Captain's can be. Coffee?"

"I sense so much regret," the redhead snapped as she closed the distance between them. Instead of sitting down, though, she gripped the chair back and dug her fingernails in. "And you expect me to be able to read an entire file in less than five minutes? I'm good, but not that good."

"Dear me," Michael said drolly before he went to pour himself a cup. "Imagine how I felt at getting this dumped on me and not having a CAG before we left Utopia Planitia. I saw an opportunity and took it. I was in the middle of the aftermath of two battles and trying to keep everything in order."

"We've been in worse situations, Michael, so don't give me that crap," Maddy stated. She watched him pour himself a cup of coffee, which infuriated her further. How dare he focus on something else that wasn't her!? She moved over to him and snatched the cup from his hand, tossing it away. "Damnit! Pay attention to me when I'm talking!"

The fire inside of her burned like a raging inferno, causing her blue eyes to darken and her accent to thicken. She stared at him, her chest heaving. Before she realized what she was doing, she slipped her hands around the back of his neck and crushed her lips to his in a manner that left no question as to what she wanted.

Rage at the insubordination filled him but was quickly replaced by lust and it shocked him and pleased him at the same time. Her eyes, her accent, her chest; everything that he had noticed time and again and now the feel of her lips on his drove him over the edge. He turned, grabbed her hips and put her on the conference table before he went for her uniform. "Maddy," he groaned as he broke the kiss.

Maddy placed a finger against his lips and shushed him before her lips claimed his once more. Her hands started working at getting his own uniform off. Why had they waited so long to do this?

"Michael! Are you listening to me?" She demanded.

Michael blinked and then flinched as he jostled the coffee cup in his hands and some of the liquid splashed onto his hand. "What?" he asked as his blue eyes focused and realized he had been daydreaming about something that would most likely get him in serious trouble.

The redhead blinked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Michael said a bit more harshly than he intended as he set the cup down and wiped his hand on his pants leg and hoped no one would notice the stain. "I have a lot on my mind, Maddy and this isn't making things easier." It was a lie and the truth at the same time. "Look, I apologize for not informing you immediately about Lieutenant Cheshire."

Maddy winced when his tone went harsh. Considering the way she was talking to him prior, she really couldn't expect anything less. "I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to come in here the way I did. It was completely uncalled for."

He sighed and sat down tiredly, motioning for her to have a seat. "We're in a real shitstorm here, Maddy and all I see is enemies everywhere I look. Please tell me you have some good news."

"I wish that was the case, but it's not," she replied, moving to take a seat across from him. "We're surrounded by enemies and have a HUGE target on our backs. As a matter of fact, I think we're going to be bent over in ways none of us are going to like."

"Then tell me that you have something that we can use for lube," Michael said as he shook his head. "There has to be something. We got Raimus. Has he given up anything yet?"

Maddy shook her head. "Of course not. Other than the fact we're all going to die, and the name Melanie D'ian... also known as the Emerald Empress," she answered. "However... our new CAG has given us some useful information. We've been given other names of slaver Captains and their seconds. It's all in the report I forwarded you last night. I spared no detail when I compiled it. I'm of the mind that our Orion... guest... has something to do with all of this. I don't trust her, and I don't think I ever will. I can't prove it, but it's my belief she's part of the Syndicate in some way."

"Report? What report?" he asked as he waved away others on the table and entered a search before it came up. "I'm so swamped in reports that I didn't even see it." He grunted as it came up and he began to review it before he looked back up at her. "A hub and frequencies, huh? Get her brought up here. She did give us accurate information which led us to getting Raimus. Maybe she can give us more. It may be time to grant her request for asylum. Otherwise, we're holding her prisoner for no valid reason and the governments don't like that."

"You're the Captain, but I think she's right where she needs to be. All signs point to her being behind this, and you all want to let her roam free," she sneered. "When this bites us in our asses, I don't want to hear a damn thing about it. I'll have Lieutenant Lischka bring her in."

"Where's your proof, Commander?" Michael asked. "So far, she's done nothing more than prevent us from being boarded and given us one of the Federation's Ten Most Wanted criminals."

"Are all of you deaf, blind and dumb?" The Commander asked in a snapping tone, then shook her head. "Forget it." She tapped her combadge. =^=Weisz to Lischka... bring our guest to the Captain's Ready Room.=^= She tapped it a second time to end the link, then rose to her feet. "You have everything you need. Lieutenant Lischka will help with the questioning. I don't plan to stick around for this train wreck."

"You're out of line, Commander," Michael said in a low voice. "I asked you a question and it wasn't rhetorical. I expect an answer and I expect one right now."

"So, I'm out of line, Captain," Maddy said, putting more emphasis on his rank than should have been necessary. "I have no proof, just a gut feeling. It was a mistake to even mention any of this to you. I should have gone with my gut on that and kept my damn mouth shut." She reached onto her collar and removed her pips, then placed them on his desk. "Since I can't seem to get through any of this without causing more problems, you should hang on to those."

Turning on her heel, she moved for the door, leaving Commander Weisz on his desk.

Michael grabbed the empty coffee cup that sat on the table and threw it, just missing the redhead where it smashed into the door. "Are you serious?!" he bellowed. "You call me deaf, dumb and blind when I asked you for a reason, then turn in your resignation when I remind you of the fact that I'm the one in charge of this ship?"

He stood up. "Computer, lock ready room." The computer complied a moment later as he came around the edge of the desk, walking towards her. "You're right not to trust Vashkele, but Federation law dictates that we cannot hold people based on that and especially not to someone who has officially requested asylum. Put a team of watchdogs on her, but do not do this to me."

Maddy blinked when the coffee cup just missed hitting her head. She spun on her heel and narrowed her eyes at the man moving toward her. "Have you lost your goddamn mind, Captain?" She asked with such venom in her voice a lesser being might have soiled their uniform. Her eyes blazed, her accent thickened... it was clear she was beyond pissed. "Unlock. The. Door." As angry as she was, she felt as though she could strike him.

"You're in no position to give me orders, Weisz," Michael said as he stepped up to her. "Especially since you turned your resignation in. Talk to me, Maddy. I cannot disobey the laws of the Federation based on a gut feeling. They'd have my head mounted at the Academy as an example of what a Captain shouldn't do and I happen to like my head right where it is."

"Since you seem to think I turned my resignation in, you figure it out," she said, turning back toward the door and pulling the panel off that was settled off the side of the door. Maddy was getting out come hell or high water. "Have a wonderful day, Captain." She manually unlocked the door, then pulled it open and walked out.