Hour 49

Posted on Wed Jan 23, 2019 @ 7:18pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Major Victor Crowe

2,517 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: Crowe's quarters

OFFICER'S LOUNGE

Every year! Every fucking year! It never gets any easier. Vic Crowe thought as he took a seat near the port-side bulkhead. A waiter came to his table and took his order, a full bottle of Romulan ale. The civilian freighter had been blown to hell because of the killer virus aboard, but there was very little Vic or his Marines could do about it. To top it all off, the ship's doctor had given him a serious case of blue balls, annoying him to no end.

But, today was a day he had reserved for himself to mourn the passing of Stacy Roberts, his former XO when he had 4th Platoon. She had been his everything, friend, right hand, confidante, lover. Vic smiled as he remembered how she looked at him, the way her hair fell across her eyes....

"Your ale, major," the waiter said, setting a bottle full of blue liquid and a single tumbler in front of him. Vic nodded his thanks and the waiter simply poured him a glass of the potent alcohol, beginning Vic's trip down memory lane.....

6 YEARS AGO
EVACUATION OF BETAZED

The runabout transport hit the ground hard, then the back end opened, letting armored Starfleet Marines run out into the middle of a smoking hot firefight The leader, a tall, muscular man with a dark ponytail led the mn through the heavy disruptor barrage to a crumbled wall that was once the perimeter fence for the Vulcan Embassy. Captain Vic Crowe snapped his visor up, looking for the officer in charge. A youngish, Tired-looking Bolian Starfleet ensign nodded at him. "I'm Zar, XO of the embassy security detail."he said between coughs.

Vic looked the young Bolian over and saw two grievous disruptor woulds. "What's your status, ensign?" Vic asked over the roar of the firefight.

"Ambassador Selkon was killed in the first wave of the assault on the embassy, his aides are in an office complex panic room sixteen stories below ground. The Jem'Hadar have blocked access to the only access shaft, but dont have the passcodes to get past the reinforced duranium doors." the ensign handed Vic a pass card. "Take 'em out for me?" The Bolian suddenly coughed up blue blood, then died.

Vic pocketed the pass card, then looked at the entrance. Two squads of burly Jem'Hadar were blasting away at the heavy duranium doors guarding the access tunnel. Crowe turned to his right, where 1LT Stacy Roberts was waiting. "I need to get those ugly bastards away from that door, lieutenant. Take 2nd Platoon and try to draw them off towards that utility building!"

roberts nodded, mouthing the words "I love you" to Crowe before heading out. "Bravo Company, cover them!" Vic shouted and began blasting away at the Dominion gun emplacements and Jem'Hadar attackers. Crowe watched with pride as Stacy shot and hacked her way through enemy troops, then his eyes went wide in horror as a photon grenade dropped next to her. Roberts looked at Vic seconds before the grenade exploded, tearing her into a billion microscopic pieces.

Vic stared in shock at the red stain on the ground that used to be his fiance, then a loud animal-like cry escaped from his lips as he vauled over the wall and charged the Jem'Hadar. Vic gave no quarter as he blasted, chopped, stabbed, hit, and otherwise brutalized the enemies at the gates. A disruptor blast to his shoulder and groin finally took him down. Crowe hit the blood soaked ground, certain he was going to die.....

THE PRESENT

Vic shook his head, clearing his mind. It was long ago, and it's far away.

Nicole wasn't quite in the mood for the crowd of the crew's mess, but didn't want to be confined in her quarters, so she opted instead for the officer's lounge. She walked in and headed towards the replicator, when she noticed someone watching her move. "Major," she said by way of greeting.

Vic looked up and saw it was Dr. Dickteaser. He didn't want to deal with her at the moment, so he gunned down his liquor and poured himself another glass, ignoring her completely.

"All right, then," Nicole said, ordering her drink and heading towards the sofa at his table.

"Why, hello there, Doc! Nice to see you again! It's been a while!" Vic replied in a loud voice, hoping that she would get the hint.

"Hitting the sauce a bit hard again, are we, Major?" Nicole said, her mood darkening.

"It's none of your fucking business what I do, Doctor!" Vic poured another glass of ale and gunned it down. "This is not a good time to play your fucking mind games with me, so say what you have to say and then leave me alone!"

"Wrong Doctor," Nicole said, folding her arms. "I don't do mind games. I don't like them. So kindly hal-tor wufkau ish-veh shal."

Crowe looked at her with an amused smile. "You think you're all that and a bag of potato chips, don't you? Someone, somewhere did you wrong and you gotta be a bitch to everyone. Let me tell you something, Doc: you are a healer, and I respect you for that, but, as a person, you suck! Same ol' shit, Fleet does the flying, we do the dying!"

Nicole snarled, her eyes blazing red. "You know nothing about me, so watch yourself," she said. "And you don't exactly have sunshine shooting out of your orifices either, Major," she said. "So do not preach to me about being a bitch."

"I know all I need to know about you!" Vic swallowed the last ale in his glass then pushed the bottle towards Nicole. "Have some ale! Might help soften that chip on your shoulder! As for my sunshine orifices, you'll never know one way or the other! Oh, one more thing, after you drink this, do the quadrant a favor and test an airlock for leaks, okay? Ciao, bitch!" Vic left the table and the lounge, swaying a bit as he walked along the passageway to the turbolift.

Halfway to the turbolift a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around and a fist connected with his nose. Nicole grabbed him by the throat, lifted him off the ground and threw him against the doors to the lounge. She snarled like an animal, eyes red, hair curled, fangs out and stalked towards him.

"Get up," she snarled as he lay out on the deck. "C'mon, man! On your feet and--" she stopped as he didn't move. She walked up and nudged him with her boot, then jumped back. When he didn't move, she felt his pulse and then opened and eyelid. "Shit," she said, reigning herself in.

She picked him up, hauling him on her back, and dragged him to his quarters, his feet dragging behind her. She hit the medical override and pulled him inside, putting him onto his bed. She searched until she found an emergency medkit in a storage closet and pulled it out.

She flipped open the tricorder and scanned him quickly, then grabbed a hypospray, programming it and neutralizing the alcohol in his system. She fixed his head wound and sighed. "Healer, indeed," she muttered. She programmed the hypo again and pressed it to his neck, then got off the bed and stood back, closing the medkit and putting it away.

Vic opened his eyes, unsure of what had happened. He focused his eyes and saw Dr. Anderson standing over him, then realized he wasn't drunk anymore, but his nose seemed to be a bit tender. "What the hell are you doing in my quarters, doctor?" Vic demanded. This little bitch is getting on my last fucking nerve! he silently raged as he slowly rose to his feet. "You know what, I don't care. I have more important things on my mind to deal with, and a dickteasing bitch with anger management issues is not one of them." Vic swayed for a moment, then caught his balance. "Please leave. Now"

Nicole glowered and her eyes blazed red again. She grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. "If you call me that one more time, so help me..." She dropped him, disgusted. "I cannot believe I actually was flirting with you. I don't know what is getting to you but I have done nothing but treat you civilly. You and your filthy mouth can hardly say the same. You want me out? I'm gone. Good day, Major."

This time Vic was ready for her, the moment she dropped him, Crowe savagely swept her legs out from under her and pushed her onto the deck with both hands. "That's twice you have assaulted me, lady! Did it ever occur to you to ask why I am in such a foul mood, or does your self-centered arrogance prevent it?" Vic stood in ready position, determined not to let Dr. Dementress pick him up by the throat again.

Nicole looked up momentarily shocked. Her fangs started to extend and her stomach growled, ready for meal as her instincts kicked in. She looked up into his eyes, prepared to subdue him, and then stopped short. She saw it. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it the first time she looked at him. It was so clearly showing, she couldn't not see it now. She recognized it for what it was: pain. She'd seen it in her own eyes in the mirror dozens of times. Hers looked a bit different, carried itself differently, but its grip on him was unmistakable.

She shivered as she realized how in danger she was and for the first time in a while, she felt scared. She backed up slowly almost in a crab walk, scrambling to put some distance between them while she was on the floor. "What...happened," she said, quietly.

"Since you finally aren't on the attack, I'll tell you!" he shouted.

Vic began telling Nicole about the death of Lt Roberts, and her eyes got wide. When he got to the part where she died, he stopped and swallowed, not caring at all that there were tears on his face. She couldn't help but tear up as well. The details were different, but she knew the story.

"She looked at me before she died! She knew she was going to die and kept looking at me, then she was vaporized, just like that." The sad, angry edge in his voice was more pronounced. "You want to pick me up by the throat again? GO FOR IT! ONLY THIS TIME DO IT RIGHT! DO IT!!!!"

She was sitting against the wall now, her knees up and her arms hugging them like she did when she was a child. "I'm sorry, Victor," she said, meeting his eyes.

Vic heard her apology, and it cut through his white hot rage. His arms relaxed, and he sank to the floor, tears now freely flowing. "Doc...Nicole, you didn't know, and I don't generally share that with folks. She was my world. We were due to get married three days after she died. Instead, we buried an empty coffin in South Dakota. I was give a six-month furlough, and took three weeks of it." Vic slid over to sit by Nicole, who was still looking at him.

"Mine was named Gerald," she said, quietly. "He died during an attempted takeover of my ship. Legs broken, knees shattered, drained of every ounce of life in him," she said.

Vic looked at his own hands. "I'm sorry, Nicole. For everything."

"Don't be. We're in balance," she said. "I'm a bit too reactionary when I feel I'm under attack. That whole 'fight or flight' thing doesn't really work with me. I forget flight every time."

Vic regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "You've got some good moves, Doc....dammit, I'm sorry...Nicole. Why didn't you sign up for the Marines? We could always use good physicians with your skills."

"I was afraid of showing you all up," she said, straightfaced. "Some marines can't handle a girl kicking their ass." She smirked slightly.

"It's not about who can kick who's ass, it's about training yourself to defend the Federation with every last ounce of your strength, endurance, and heart. It's a brotherhood fighting to keep those who can't defend themselves safe. We go in when no one else can." and after witnessing your physical prowess, I think you'd make a hell of a Marine. I would be proud to lead you into battle." Vic returned her smile.

She snorted a laugh and briefly contemplated pulling back the curtain for him, but instead took it as the compliment it was intended to be. "Thank you, Major," she said. "And may I say, if it were reversed, you'd make a lousy doctor." She smiled at him and bumped him with her shoulder, then frowned as he winced. "Sorry," she said, then gestured to the bed. "Sit down and I'll set it back in order."

Vic smiled at her raised an eyebrow, but kept his comment to himself and obediently sat down on his bed, stripping off his fatigue shirt and undershirt, revealing fresh new bruises and several small cuts on his front torso and his already sore shoulder. "Damn, you know how to hit!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "Before you ask, the cuts came from a holo-training session. I generally disengage the safety algorithms for a more realistic training regimen." Vic looked at a still-bleeding cut and frowned, "Damn, I don't want a shard of steel this close to my wedding tackle!"

"'Wedding tackle'?" Nicole said, laughing. "I haven't heard it called that in ages." She reopened her tricorder, scanning him quickly, then grabbed a dermal regenerator, running it over his injuries. She moved behind him, working it around his shoulder blade and shook her head. "You are going to be a frequent patient, I can tell."

Vic nodded, feeling her closeness to him. "That's not a bad thing is it?"

"Would you be happy with an adversary who doesn't kindly stay defeated?" she said, shifting position behind him.

"Naw, I think this is better," Vic said simply, wincing as the doctor manipulated his shoulder again.

Nicole finished rejuvenating the tissue and healed the cuts. She sat back on his bed and surveyed her work. "I'd agree. A biobed is not where I need you right now."

A look of surprise cross Vic's face and he turned to face Nicole. As he turned around, she sat back against the headboard, her clothes folded neatly beside her. She looked him in the eyes, her hands clasped in front of her and her legs crossed at the ankle modestly. "I hope your shoulder holds out," she said.

Vic simply nodded and removed the rest of his clothing seemingly in a flash. "Me too," he said softly then lay down next to her and took her in his arms, feeling her press against him as he kissed her.

 

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