Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in Side sim: Faced Fears and… Wrecked Quarters

Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Navigation Officer) in Side sim: Faced Fears and… Wrecked Quarters

Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in Side sim: Faced Fears and… Wrecked Quarters
Posted by… suppressed (34) by the Post Ghost! 👻
After things had calmed down, Marceau excused himself from the bridge and left the Commander in charge. He stepped off the bridge and onto the lift with shaky legs. He looked as though he’d been on a rollercoaster far too intense for him. He stepped off the lift and went to his own quarters.

The door opened, and… His things were a mess. Strewn about the room. The room was no longer decompressed, but it clearly had been. Parts of the room, and his belongings, were charred and burnt, including the bed.

He stood in the doorway for several moments, and then leaned on the wall nearby.

~ Capt Renault

Helena had left the bridge long before, but she had been piloting shuttle’s back and forth from the criminal cargo ships and the planet. After docking the and securing the shuttle, she had stopped in the galley for tea and a meal bar.

She stepped off the lift on C deck and noticed the light from an open cabin door, further down the corridor. She turned to see who it might be. It had been a rough go, and they needed to look out for each other.

It was Marceau’s door. She walked down the corridor and stepped just in the door. She blew out a breath. “You know what my mom would say. Chamomile and lavender tea. Then toss us rubber gloves and cleaning solution.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau turned and looked relieved to see it was Helena. “There was a fire, Helena, what is cleaning solution going to fix?” He asked, shaking his head. He looked shaky and pale and upset. “I think some of my things were sucked out while it was decompressed.”

~ Capt Renault

Helena shrugged, “Not sure, but you know my mom. When in doubt, tea and cleaning. Come on, I’ll help you collect your things, take inventory. I can send a message ahead to mom for anything you lost, okay?” Helena moved further into the room and began picking up things from the floor. Items what were not damaged were put back in place. Those that were she set on his desk to be looked at later.

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau wanted to help. It wasn’t her job to clean up his quarters. But he’d come down here needing to relax and rest and… this was not a restful place to be right now. Instead he paced around, then ended up sitting on the floor, knees to his chest, face tucked down against himself.

~ Capt Renault

Helena paused and looked at him. She stopped and closed the door and sat down across from him and took his hands. “You did good, Captain. You saved people from torment and slavery. But I think you need sleep. Come on, you can bed down in my Quarters until they get yours repaired.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau squeezed her hands and took a shaky breath. “But Helena, the flying! And the loops, and the shooting and the ship…” He shuddered. “I want off but I can’t get off and I can’t be a captain if I can’t…” He looked up at her desperately.

~ Capt Renault

Helena stood and pulled him up with her. She grabbed a bag and tossed in a change of clothes and his shower things. “Come on, put on your poker face Renault.” She put the bag over his shoulder and then they left and went to the opposite end of the deck to her quarters. When the door closed, she pulled him to her and kissed him. He needed a distraction.

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Helena dragged the Captain down the hall, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. The door closed as they entered her quarters and then he was pulled against her. Then she kissed him. He put his arms around her. She could tell he was nervous and panicky by his jolty movements and he was sweaty. When it ended, he leaned against her and smiled. “Est-ce que c’est ainsi que vous allez toujours gérer la situation à partir de maintenant ?”

~ Capt Renault

Helen’s gaze was soft and slightly flushed. “If that was ‘Thank you, Helena. That helped very much, I feel better,’ then you are very welcome. If that was, ‘I still feel stressed out,’ then…” she leaned in and kissed him again.

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

He kissed back, still stressed but he felt floaty and distracted. When that kiss ended, he looked at her and smiled. “I said, are you going to kiss me until I forget my own name?” That wasn’t exactly what he said, but it was close enough.

~ Capt Renault

Helena flushed, but she managed to move closer, “I wasn’t aiming for that, but I certainly can try if you like.” She kissed him again, leaving no doubt she was attempting to do just that.

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau’s body relaxed a little and he leaned against her. The kiss ended and he sighed deeply. Then he said something under his breath in French, “Mon dieu, Helena.” Then he looked up at Helena, looking exhausted and drained. “At this rate, I won’t have time to breathe.”

~ Capt Renault

“Ah, no. Now you can breathe. Go take a shower, wash off the day, then you can have my bunk to sleep.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her nose against his. “Unless you would rather keep kissing me.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau pressed up against her. “Let’s do both at the same time. I think that will help me forget the day.” He said, looking at her with one of his looks.

~ Capt Renault

Helena felt warm and her heart raced when he looked like. If that would help (she knew how much he hated crazy flight maneuvers), then they could take… her face turned bright red and she looked around the room and then back at him. “Yeah. Okay.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau smiled and gave her a soft look. “Does it make you that nervous?” He grinned playfully, “I thought nakedness was no big deal to Icelandic people?”

~ Capt Renault

Helena turned even redder. “It’s not.” She spluttered for a moment. “It’s not the same thing.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

“No?” Marceau went on, grin widening. “You have seen me that way before. The only difference is, now you are allowed to touch what you see.”

~ Capt Renault

Helena could melt through the floor. “Yes, exactly, totally different.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau laughed. “Well, we could not do that if you are so uncomfortable with it. Perhaps we have not reached that stage of this relationship yet?”

~ Capt Renault

“I’m not uncomfortable. Just surprised.” Helena gave him one of her looks. “No, not there yet, but we’re about to be.” She walked backwards, slowly, toward the door to the shower.

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau followed her into the bathroom. Some time later, he emerged wrapped in a towel and grinning. “I think I do feel a little better.” He said, sitting on the bed.

~ Capt Renault

Helena tossed the towel she was drying her hair with at him, “Rake,” she teased. She walked over, wrapped in her own towel and hugged him before looking at him. She looked guilty. “I’m sorry, Marceau. I’m so sorry. I hated doing it. I know how you feel about flying.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau caught it and set it aside. He hugged her back. “You might have saved the crew doing that. My stupid fear isn’t worth more than that.” He said, looking at her. He shuddered though, “It was terrifying.”

~ Capt Renault

“It’s not stupid.” She sighed heavily, “I know I had to, but I hate knowing how scared you are.” She had hoped for his sake that it would get easier for him as time went on.

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

It never did. He shook his head and closed his eyes. “All I can see is crashing, crashing into an asteroid somewhere…” Marceau hugged her tightly.

~ Capt Renault

They had crashed that one horrible time. Helena still lived with the guilt. The crash hadn’t been her fault. She had even been given a commendation for her skill that saved their lives. She looked at him. “Sojourner is a lot bigger and stronger than that shuttle. I won’t let anything happen, I promise. I can’t prevent any damage to the ship, but we will be okay.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau shook his head. “You can’t promise that.” He pulled away and hugged himself and sighed. “I’m a pathetic captain, aren’t I?”

~ Capt Renault

She gave him that look that made Cadets wince. “You are not. You didn’t run from the bridge, you didn’t start screaming, and you didn’t lose your last meal. You continued to give orders and remained calm. Admiral Stokes throws up during combat maneuvers. They keep bags on the bridge stored under his chair.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau smiled a little. “He’s an Admiral though, I’m a new Captain.” He looked at her, “You helped me calm down some but I still feel like throwing up or panicking.” He raised a hand to show her how shaky it was.

~ Capt Renault

“He is, but he was a commodore before that, a captain before that, a commander, all the way back to cadet. And he made it despite that. And so have you.” She took his hand and held it over her heart. “Why don’t you try to sleep? I will run to the mess and get some ginger tea… oh wait.” She turned for her desk and opened a drawer. “Here,” it was one of his ginger candies. “I can still get you tea. Chamomile might help you sleep. Or do you want to ask Grey for something?”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau let his hand rest against her, then slipped it around her. He took the candy when offered it, unwrapped it, and popped it in his mouth. Then shook his head. “Let’s try the tea. I don’t want Grey to think I can’t handle the job.”

~ Capt Renault

“You lay down. I’ll go get something and bring it back. Or would a trip to the galley help? Distract you? It would let the crew see you.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

“I’ll go. I want the crew to see me.” He felt lightheaded from panic and sick. He didn’t want to go. But he did want to seem normal and okay for the sake of the crew. “Allons-y.” He said, getting up from the edge of the bed. “Well, let’s finish getting dressed first.”

~ Capt Renault

Helena dressed in a tank and cargo pants. She slipped into her shoes. She hung the damp towels up to dry and tossed the dirty clothes into a hamper. “Alright,” she kissed him for a long moment. “Needed something to hold me over.”

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer

Marceau put on a regular shirt and a pair of pants out of the bag from his quarters. He laughed as she kissed him. “Helena!” He said, smiling. “Okay, let’s go before you get any more ideas.”

~ Capt Renault

“Me?” she asked innocently, “come up with ideas? Why Captain, I’m just a pilot.” She winked at him and then opened the door and left. He was laughing, even just a bit, that was all she cared about.

Lt. Laursen, Helm/Navigation Officer