Posted by Lieutenant Logan Kelleher (Chief Engineer) in One Bunk is as Good as Another

Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Nagivation Officer) in One Bunk is as Good as Another

Posted by Lieutenant Logan Kelleher (Chief Engineer) in One Bunk is as Good as Another
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Just over two days straight being up. Helena had been in her quarters long enough to change into a clean clothes a couple times and that first night to toss her bag inside. She and Marceau had just finished their card game and she stepped in and smacked the button to close the door. She leaned against the frame and closed her eyes. What was she thinking?! With a sigh she pushed away from the door and stared around the sparse space. It was smaller than her room in officers’ barracks back in San Fran, but star ships had limited space.

Her bunk was to the right of the door, the mattress still bare and the linens and pillow still in a stack on top. Helena didn’t even bother to take her boots off first. If she sat down she would fall asleep. She shrugged her bomber jacket off and hung it from a hook in the locker by the refresher door. Then she lifted her duffel and backpack to the work space - out of the way. She made quick and sloppy work of the bed linens, she could fix it later.

She opened her duffel and pulled out her uniforms - suits, undershirts, shirts, pants, etc and hung them up so they wouldn’t wrinkle. The rest she could launder and iron and make presentable after her next shift if needed. Her backpack contained the personal items she brought with her. She could decorate later. She sat unlaced her boots and toed them off and hiting the lights she rolled into her bunk. She pulled the blanket up over her shoulder, tucking and curling into it and closed her eyes.

Half an hour later she sat up with a huff and flipped on the light. There was no need to lay in bed tossing and turning and staring wide eyed at the dark. She started by making her bunk properly.

Laursen

A warm relaxing shower later followed by a trip to the galley for lavender vanilla tea found Helena sitting in the chair at her work station, head back on the bulkhead by the window, eyes closed, listening to music. She had a finished unpacking her clothes and then sat down, relaxing, drinking her tea while listening to the music.

Ooh.. Ooh..

Another night another dream but always you
It’s like a vision of love that seems to be true
Another night another dream but always you
In the night I dream of love so true

Just another night, another vision of love
You feel joy, you feel pain
‘cause nothing will be the same
Just another night is all that it takes
To understand the difference between lovers and fakes

Helena reached into her backpack and pulled out a few things. A couple of real books. Her favorites, the rest were saved on a PaDD. She flipped open the first one. A first edition copy of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. A gift from Marceau for her birthday one year. The other was a copy of East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhartby Susan Butler. Her parents had bought that for her when they realized that her fascination with flying was serious. Both were carefully taken care of, but read many times. She thumbed through the pages, glancing at favorite passages before putting them up on the shelf of the work space.

So baby, I talk talk, I talk to you
In the night, in your dream of love so true
I talk talk, I talk to you
In the night, in your dream of love so true

In the night, in my dreams I’m in love with you
‘cause you talk to me like lovers do
I feel joy, I feel pain ‘cause it’s still the same
When the night is gone I’ll be alone

Another night another dream but always you
It’s like a vision of love that seems to be true
Another night another dream but always you
In the night I dream of love so true

Just another night, another dream, another vision
Of love with me, I’m here to set you free
I am your lover, your brother
Hey sister let me cover
Your body with my love is with my love and just another
Vision of love that seems to be true
And we’ll do all the things that only lovers do
A vision of love of love that seems to be true
And we’ll do all the things that only lovers do

Helena pulled out several frames. Some were pictures of her and her family, others of The Blackjacks all together. One of her and Billy when they got their certifications for flying star ships and not just shuttles. One of Akela, Alvida, Yvette, and Helena the night of the senior formal. There was one of Helena that Akela took when she won the Titan Run. And of course, there were several of her and Marceau. She was too tired to hang them tonight so she left them on the desk in a stack.

In the night, in my dreams I’m in love with you
‘cause you talk to me like lovers do
I feel joy, I feel pain ‘cause it’s still the same
When the night is gone I’ll be alone

Another night another dream but always you
It’s like a vision of love that seems to be true
Another night another dream but always you
In the night I dream of love so true

The song was just too much. Helena liked good music and this was, but as soon as it was over, it was time for bed. There were several plane models still in her bag. She left most of them in there except one. This one was a Cessna 150. With a smile she adjusted it on the stand and then secured it to the shelf, dead center.

I talk talk, I talk to you
In the night, in your dream of love so true
I talk talk, I talk to you
In the night, in your dream of love so true

In the night, in my dreams I’m in love with you
‘cause you talk to me like lovers do
I feel joy, I feel pain ‘cause it’s still the same
When the night is gone I’ll be alone

Another night another dream but always you
It’s like a vision of love that seems to be true
Another night another dream but always you
In the night I dream of love so true

The song didn’t end though, it started repeating. Helena thought at first she had hit the wrong button, but pressing stop didn’t fix it. It just kept playing over and over…she wanted to go to bed but the stupid sound system wouldn’t turn off. She hit the ship’s comm button intending to call down to engineering, explain the problem, but with not a lot of hope that anyone would be able to get to the problem any time soon. Then she remembered she’d seen Logan in the corridor. So she called him instead. =O=Laursen to Kelleher. I’ve got an engineering glitch I could use help with, please.=O=

It only took moments for Logans voice to come back through the comm. =O= Ah, Helena? Sure, I’m guessing you’re in your quarters this time of night? I’ll be right there. =O=

Helena snorted. Of course she was in her quarters. Where else would she be? Space walking the hull?

Helena tried turning the volume down, but with a sigh that didn’t work either. She flopped onto her bed and held a pillow over her head trying to muffle the sound. Sleep…why couldn’t she have just fallen asleep earlier.

(Thanks to La Bouche – Another Night Another Dream)
Laursen, pilot

True to his word, it took about two minutes before the sound of the chime at Laursens door came through. Outside in the corridor, Logan stood and waited. Loose pajama trousers and a crew issued tank replaced the uniform coveralls, and he had his tool belt casually slung over his shoulder. In the quiet, he thought he heard a sound coming through the door so he leaned in closer, trying to make out what it was he was hearing.

Lt Kelleher, CE

He clearly could make out a bass beat, but as Logan had told Renault a couple hours ago, the bulkheads were thick and reinforced. Helena could be having a knock down drag out for all he knew.

The door slid open and the music was like a ohysical force as it escaped the room. Helena waved him in. She was wearing a light blue tank and pajama pants that started in the same color but faded into a beach sceen. Over her right hip were the words ‘Life’s a beach. Enjoy the waves.’ Helena looked tired and irritated. “Stupid thing is stuck on repeat. Won’t turn off and the volume control won’t work either. I’m gonna start ripping speakers out of the wall.”

Helena

Logan laughed, openly and genuinely. Despite the hour, the loud music and their matching style of attire simply made him break down into a fit of laughter.
“You know if you told me you were having a party to this classic I would have brought my pillow and we could have had a pillow fight. We’re dressed right.”

Helena shook her head but smiled. “If I wasn’t so tired I might take you up on that. I just wanna sleep. If I’m yawning and fighting to stay awake at the helm tomorrow, Marceau is going to freak out.” Not to mention her muscles felt off, she was hoping sleep would help and she wouldn’t have to report to Grey so soon after the start of their mission.

“Don’t touch the speakers, that’ll just keep me here longer, I’ll take care of it.” He moved to the playback control near her bunk and lay his belt down, then took out a small tool and began opening the panel. While he worked, he began shaking his hips in tune to the music and sang along with it.

Lt Kelleher

Helena held up her hands and moved over to her desk and sat. “Okay okay, I don’t want to keep you any longer than necessary.” She busied herself with setting out a couple more of her model planes, but stopped when Logan really started singing and swaying his hips. He was a bit outrageous. She was going to get along just fine with him.

She snatched her pillow from the floor, where she had tossed it in frustration, before Logan’s dancing hips made him step on it. He had a decent voice too. There was a satisfying thwak as her pillow beaned him in the back, and she laughed. “Fix now, party after.”

Helena

“Nope, no can do.” Logan looked over his shoulder at her and the pillow that had been a missile moments earlier. “Rules for midnight panel surgery exist you know. Business in the front, party in the back. Like the mullet, only done by engineers.” To emphasize his point, he began swinging his hips again and sang along with the tune, louder than before but not over the top.

Helena laughed, “I’ll remember that. Next time I will be sure to have snacks and drinks and party games.”

In the night, in my dreams I’m in love with you
‘cause you talk to me like lovers do
I feel joy, I feel pain ‘cause it’s still the same
When the night is gone I’ll be alone

The moment the word alone ended, so did the sound. All of it. It was replaced by dead silence as the music was shut off leaving Logan and Helena in the dead quiet of a tin can floating in the vacuum of space.

The silence was loud at the first instance and then was so welcoming. “Ah Logan you are my hero. How can I thank you?” She wiggled her brows at him, but the comical effect was lost on him because he was still digging around in the wall.

Logan’s hips didn’t stop however, they kept going to an imaginary tune as he kept working on the machinery inside the wall.

Another night another dream but always you
It’s like a vision of love that seems to be true
Another night another dream but always you
In the night I dream of love so true

And, he was still singing. No music, just him. As Helena found, he didn’t have a bad voice at all, but it was also untrained and without the music that became much more apparent.

If you couldn’t beat ‘em, join ‘em as the saying went, so Helena did, picking up the next verse. Helena was an excellent dancer, she was an okay singer, but she didn’t care, it was about having fun. Her skill level was right in par with Logan.

I talk talk, I talk to you in the night
In your dream, of love so true
I talk talk, I talk to you, in the night,
in your dream, of love so true
In the night, in my dreams
I’m in love with you,
‘cause you talk to me like lovers do
I feel joy, I feel pain, ‘cause it’s still the same
When the night is gone, I’ll be alone

Clipping the panel back in place, Logan slid the last tool back into his belt and turned around. Stooping low, he picked up the pillow and then flung it one handed back at Helena. “I think you lost this earlier, you might need it after your adventures tonight. Sound system is fixed by the way, it’ll work right now. Looks like there was a flake of metal from when they put this ship together loose in there. Kind of expected now we’re operational for something like that to happen now and then.”

Kelleher

Helena barely caught the pillow, deflecting it as her hands came up, palms out and the pillow thwaked her palms and thudded to the floor. Laughing, Helena mock glared at him, “Hey!” Then she shook her head, “You call a sound system malfunction an adventure? You need to get out more, Logan.” She stood up and snatched up the pillow and tossed it at him again. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Helena