BEST RAND/f STORY
Title: While the Captain's Away, the Cat Will Play
Author: T'Lin ( LinkyS@aol.com )
Series: TOS (TAS)
Rating: R
Code: M'Ress/Rand, humor
Summary: While the Captain and the department heads are away, a skeleton crew is manning the bridge.
Archiving: ASC*, and my own web page -- http://www.oocities.org/tlin_s/ -- all others, please ask first.
Disclaimer: Paramount/Viacom own the TREK universe, I just play there. No copyright infringement is intended, nor any money made. This original work of fanfiction is the property of T'Lin, © 29 December, 2003.
by T'Lin -- 0312.29
M'Ress was restless ... her natural instincts cried out for activity, but she forced herself to sit still, and monitor her communications board. It's not as if anything were actually happening ... in fact, it was the complete lack of activity, both on the planet and aboard ship, that had her so restive.
She looked over to Arex, who was manning both navigation and helm. She knew they were in a stable orbit, with no unexpected gravitational forces to deal with, yet all three of his hands were in constant motion, making minute adjustments. She didn't say a word, but smiled ever so slightly, seeing that she wasn't alone in her restlessness.
It felt as if they had been the sole occupants of the bridge for days, but in reality, it had been only a few hours since the Captain, and all the department heads, went planetside for a farewell banquet. This first contact had gone quite well; the Federation would most likely be adding a new member to their rosters quite soon.
In the meantime, a skeleton crew was at their stations, while the rest of the crew took advantage of the lack of activity to enjoy a movie. M'Ress and Arex had been more than happy to remain on duty, having no interest in the 'classic' that had been chosen -- a sprawling epic called "Giant". M'Ress had seen similar movies aboard ship, and found them completely without any familiar reference points -- virtually impossible to comprehend or follow -- and at over 4 hours long, well, that would be it's own unique form of torture, as far as she was concerned.
She was beginning to think that it would have been preferable to sitting here on the bridge, with nothing to do. She watched Arex fiddle with the adjustments again, and was about to say something when the lift door opened. They both turned to see who was joining them. M'Ress smiled, as Janice Rand stepped out. She held two cups, and looked unapologetically towards Arex as she said, "Why don't you set the helm to automatic, and take a break," and with a wink, added, "we can take care of things for a little while."
"If you're sure, Ma'am," Arex squeaked, unsure of the proper protocol in this situation. He was new aboard ship, and although the Yeoman didn't outrank him, her years of service on ENTERPRISE gave her a certain amount of seniority. Of course, M'Ress did outrank him, so he looked to her for guidance.
"Yes, Arex, by all means, take a break," M'Ress said, adding with a toothy smile, "your constant fiddling with the controls was getting on my nerves."
"Sorry, Ma'am," he said nervously, "I didn't realize you were aware of it. You see, the controls are already on automatic, and I was running simulations to pass the time."
Although a highly resourceful move on his part, he should have told her what he was doing. After all, she was the one 'in command' and should have been aware of the status of his board. She said as much to Arex, then added, "Next time, tell me first ... and by all means, never take that kind of initiative when the Captain or Spock are in command."
"Of course, Ma'am," Arex agreed, head bowed slightly, adding, as he stood and left the bridge. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes, unless you need me sooner."
"Take twenty ... we'll call if anything needs your attention," M'Ress replied, then turned her full attention to Janice, who had taken a seat at Spock's science station. As the turbolift door closed on Arex, Janice stood and walked toward M'Ress, who was also standing by now.
She handed the Caitian one of the cups, saying, "I thought you could use a bit of a diversion by now. I wish this could be something a bit more ... stimulating," she winked, as she took a sip of the fruit juice, "but I guess that will have to wait for later, if you feel up to it."
M'Ress sipped the fruity concoction Janice handed her, then purred as she stepped closer to Janice, saying, "Ah, lovely ... I'll just have to imagine the missing ingredient, for now." She set her cup on the console, then slid her silky paw up Janice's arm. A shiver went through Janice, and she closed her eyes. M'Ress smiled, pulling the gorgeous blonde into a loving embrace while licking and nipping at the sensitive spot just below her ear.
M'Ress could feel Janice's fingers scritching her behind the ears; a low purring began to build within her, as her legs grew weak. She lifted one leg, wrapping it around Janice, pulling them even closer together. A moan escaped Janice's lips, as she lost her balance, and sat back on the console.
The sound of the 'red alert' siren going off brought them both to their senses, and quickly to their feet ... only to discover that Janice had sat on the panic button. Quickly, M'Ress and Janice hid all evidence of their liaison, as off-duty personnel arrived to man the bridge stations.
When all stations had reported in, M'Ress nodded to Janice, who stood at the Captain's chair, and announced, "Well done, everyone. Your reaction time was superb. I'll make note of it in my report to the Captain. This concludes the drill, you may all resume what you were doing. Thank you." and M'Ress closed the ship-wide comm channel.
The off-duty personnel left the bridge, leaving M'Ress, Rand and Arex alone once again. Arex turned to M'Ress, saying, "If you don't mind, Ma'am, I'd like to continue with the practice simulations for a while."
"Of course, Ensign ... carry on." She then looked at Janice, and whispered, "That was close, but how are we going to account for it to the Captain?"
"Yes, it was," Janice agreed in a soft voice, then added, "and luckily for us, the Captain *had* been talking about having some unexpected emergency drills. He hadn't planned any yet, but I can say that I took the initiative, thinking that this would be a prime example of a time when complacency could lead to sloppiness." Janice looked over her shoulder to make sure Arex was well occupied, then stepped close enough to M'Ress to kiss her lightly on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."
M'Ress purred, then looked to her chronometer, saying, "I'll hold you to that ... I'm off duty in one hour, seventeen minutes."
"Then I'll plan on seeing you in my quarters in one hour, twenty minutes ... don't be late," Janice whispered with a smile.
"I won't," M'Ress replied, as she ran her silky paw down Janice's arm, then lifted the delicate hand to her lips, and gave it a lick. "Until later," and M'Ress turned and gave her full attention to her silent communications board until she heard the turbolift door close.
She turned, and noticed Arex staring at her. She stared back, until he finally spoke. "Just for the record, Ma'am, I thought you'd like to know that my hearing is far more exceptional than my dexterity," and as he noticed the color drain from her face, he hastily added, "but I am also very discreet."
"Glad to hear it, Ensign. Carry on," she said, as she returned her attention to communications, and thoughts of the night ahead, with Janice.
~the end~