Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Rovan Moor (Engineer/Pilot) in Runabout to Athena

Posted by Ensign Allison Fleet (Scientist) in Runabout to Athena

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Rovan Moor (Engineer/Pilot) in Runabout to Athena
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Snip

Rovan reached over and took her hand when she closed her eyes, and gave it a squeeze to let her know he was right there. He didn’t let it go either, as the descent was more than straightforward and he could have set the ships auto-pilot to handle it without concern. With his free hand, he set about piloting the Runabout to the surface in the area he had shown to Allie while his other hand held hers, his fingers intertwined with her fingers and his thumb lightly rubbing along the side of hers. “I like the name Arda,” he told her by way of conversation. “Remember that book you showed me? Lord of the Rings I think it was? Arda was the name of the land that middle-earth was in, wasn’t it? I liked that when I saw it.”

Allison squeezed his hand gently, grateful for the contact, and opened her eyes, absorbing the visual spectacle of the land they were passing over. “They probably named this place after that Arda. And probably on purpose. Us humans are funny like that.” She chuckled lightly, idly running her thumb over his knuckle.

The Runabout shook slightly with turbulence as they entered the planets atmosphere, but after seconds it had passed and they were through. Looking out over the horizon, they could see the sun setting as they descended and the large sandy yellow of the Desert that was not yet transformed slipping under the ship. As they got lower, the land transformed into grassland and forest until below them lay trees, lakes and rivers stretching as far as they could see.

“Here, this is the spot.” Rovan said to her as he brought the Runabout to a halt over whatever place he had chosen. Because it was right below them, Allie couldn’t see anything out of the window except trees and hills away in the distance and what was possibly a river or lake nearby. What she could see, was the sun getting lower in the sky. It wouldn’t be long until night time was upon them.

Allie leaned forward to try to get a better look at their destination, eyes wide in curiosity and excitement at the situation. She hadn’t expected to end up going to a different planet and not directly to the Athena, and quietly wondered how much work Rovan must have had to do in order to arrange all this in such a short time.

Rovan activated the ships landing gear and, with a soft bump that announced they were down, he turned off the ships engines. Silence met them, and he gave Allison’s hand a squeeze. He hadn’t let it go at all the entire way down. “Ok love, lets go and see shall we?” He said to her and stood, her hand in his and waited for her to walk with him.

She stood with him, holding tightly to his hand. She didn’t speak, letting her facial expressions do the speaking for her. She smiled peacefully as he called her ‘love,’ blushing a bit in fact. She took a moment to watch him walking in front of her and leading her, and was struck, not for the first time, by how… everything he was. He had a wonderful personality, phenomenal good looks, and his heartbeat and voice were always so soothing.

They moved out to the door and Rovan picked up the photo frame he had met her with earlier, giving her a grin as he did so. Pressing the button on the panel, the Runabouts door opened to let Allison see what he wanted to show her. The door let in the air and wind of Arda, the breeze was cool but not cold and carried on it the scent of water and the forest, flowers among them. Arda had few life forms but birds could be heard in the trees and the faint sound of what might be the planet’s version of crickets was present.

Allie’s shorter hair didn’t blow in her face as much as her former haircut would have, but it still did get mussed a little by the sudden gust of wind blowing into the runabout. She brushed it back, or at least tried to, with her unoccupied hand.

Ahead of them was a natural clearing in the forest, it was big enough for a Runabout obviously, but from what they could see a small village would fit in the clearing. Away in the distance a lake glimmered as the setting sun lowered over it, and that light led directly to a small rise at the end of the clearing while on that rise, stood a single tree with wide branches. Notably from here, there was something under the tree. At this distance it wasn’t easy to tell, but the clear light of the setting sun could pick it out. It was a bench, the very same that they had spent so much time together on while on the Genesis. On the ground in front of it, was what looked to be a large basket.

Allison let out a small breath, simply enjoying the scenery. She noticed the tree which was rather far away, but seeing the dim outline of a bench and basket, she realized it was probably their destination. She continued to be silent, however, simply listening to whatever he said, whatever the world around them spoke from the mouths of deer, rabbits, and squirrels.

Rovan turned Allie to face him, letting her hand go for the first time since they arrived here so he could put his hands on her shoulders and gently face her to him. Raising one hand, he gently ran his thumb over her cheek as his yellow eyes looked into hers and he smiled slightly.

She leaned into the gentle touch, her eyes drooping shut for a moment. She opened her eyes again and gazed into his yellow eyes. She still was mildly fascinated by the strange Irises at first, but had by now become accustomed to them enough to not get lost staring into his eyes to study them, but to get lost in his eyes because she just wanted to spend more time with him.

“Happy Birthday for the one I missed, and Merry Christmas. I couldn’t find any snow at short notice for the Christmas part, but I think I like this better.” He told her, almost in a whisper. “I promise no more apart, I never want to lose you again Allie.” Gently, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead before placing his forehead against hers and letting the setting sun bathe them both in it’s golden yellow glow.

Lt j.g. Rovan Moor
Engineer/Pilot

When he kissed her on the forehead, Allie flushed once more. “I never want to lose you either,” she said softly, reaching her hand up to cup his cheek in her palm, gently pressing her thumb against his cheekbone. She reached up her other hand and slipped it among the hairs on the back of his head, letting her hand be buried in his soft hair. Time seemed to freeze as their eyes met, and Allison wasn’t sure how many moments passed between them.

He stood there with her, letting the breeze and scent of this place wash over them, the setting sun bathing them in its golden light. So long had he been apart from her that every moment now was special, every second an hour with every sound and touch etching itself into his memory. He closed his eyes and did nothing except be with her in that moment. They were not just two people together, they were everything. Every blade of grass, every leaf. Every bird and every speck of dust everywhere was them. Rovans hand was on her cheek, like hers was on his. His free hand now had slid around her waist, holding her body tight to his as she held their heads, their lips, close. Letting his breath go slightly, he couldn’t help shift his head on a slight angle and move it down ever so gently.

She closed her eyes again, pressing her forehead against his. She look a deep breath inwards, and slowly let it release a few moments later. Her hand was still in his hair, and a compulsion filled her suddenly. Before she could stop her little burst of energy, she had pushed herself up on her toes and gently tilted her face upwards. Their lips collided briefly before she let herself relax and fall back down to her regular posture. “I love you, Rovan Moor,” she murmured softly, putting her hand over where his heart was.

Allison Fleet

Rovan hadn’t been ready for the kiss to end so quickly, and he couldn’t help but follow her lips with his just slightly as she withdrew, opening his eyes as he did so to see her settling back down and looking up at him, and he grinned a little. I love you, Rovan Moor. He didn’t so much as hear the words, as feel them in his heart, in his soul and in everything. The world around them seemed to echo her words, and more than that, his reply was already there among everything. Covering the hand she laid over his heart with the one he had laid against her cheek, he worked his fingers in between hers once more, his catlike yellow eyes staring into hers deeply and his grin softened. He lowered his head once more so that their faces were close again, not to kiss her but so that his words could be lowered to a more intimate whisper that only she would ever catch. “I love you, Allison Fleet,” he said to her while his words barely rose above the sound of the crickets and the birds, the breeze around them, but was there in everything they were.

Allison was blushing lightly, cheeks warmed by the emotion of the situation. She grinned lightly, almost glancing away. She didn’t know what had come over her in that brief moment, but… she felt as though it had been the right moment. This moment could last forever, as far as Allison was concerned… she wouldn’t mind it.

The moment lasted, he didn’t know how long. After a time which could have been seconds or minutes Rovan raised his head and looked to the sunset. It was lower now over the lake, and the shadows from the trees were growing longer as the sound of the nesting birds grew.

He looked back down to Allie and his smile returned, wider now and with intent. “Come with me, lets go and see our tree before the sun sets. There is more I want to show you.” He took the picture once again and turned, leading her down the ramp from the Runabout. The distance to the small rise wasn’t far at all, only minutes in fact but the sun was dropping more even as they walked together. Around them the birds flitted from tree to tree, settling in for the night. Crickets made their sounds and the breeze grew softer, the smell of flowers in the forest around them growing stronger as the wind dropped.

Holding her hand tight as they came to the rise, Allie would see that at the top was indeed a bench seat that looked just like the one on the Genesis, and a picnic basket sat beside it. Rovan said nothing as they walked, there was nothing he needed to say until they walked the short distance up the rise and came to the basket. Not only was there a basket, but a blanket had been spread out on the ground under the tree for them. A few dropped leaves showing evidence that Rovan had made the trip here before meeting her en-route to the Athena. “Something light for supper,” Rovan said to her. “I know it’s only early on our time, only just going on lunch for us, but I think we have time to have something before we arrive at the Athena. But not just yet, now it’s my turn to give you your present.” Turning his head, Rovan looked to the setting sun. It was moments away from dropping below the horizon and from this point, looking back towards the runabout the sight was something you could only dream of. The rings of the planet were visible as sparkling silver streams in the sky stretching across the cosmos, and high above them were the planets twin moons, large and bright as they reflected the disappearing sunlight onto the lands around them. The entire vista was reflected before them on the glass smooth lake as the blazing gold of the sun finally began it’s last glow and slipped below the horizon.

Allison’s eyes were wide as she stared out at the sky, gazing at the rings, the moons, and the stars. She didn’t speak as much as she verbalized her emotions, a light gasp of wonder coming from her. It was beautiful. She could feel the dampness of tears building up in her eyes as she nearly cried with joy, and had to wipe her face to get rid of the dampness. They sat down on the bench, and she held onto his hand while she stared at the sky, entranced.

Rovan looked back to Allison, and felt her fingers entwined with his. His smile was shy as he brought up the picture of the two of them, together under the tree on the Genesis. Not only the picture was there, but the closed moon-blossom he had with the picture was now in evidence as he held it up for her.

He pulled out the photo, and something else was in his hand, which made Allison tilt her head in curiosity. She reached out with her free hand to touch the closed flower as it began to slowly crack open.

The light from the planets twin moons bathed them in a different kind of glow, this one had more than enough light to see by and had another effect that Rovan had hoped for. In the moonlight, the flower bloomed , shedding it’s soft glow upon them both. Right there between the two of them, under their tree once more and together, the moon-blossom bathed them in the same glow that they had walked together in when they met. Now, they were meeting again but in a different way. Once, they had been two strangers meeting, lost and lonely. Now, they were two hearts and souls joined by love and everything that they were. Rovan said nothing, but his sharp eyes blazed in the glow of the moon-blossom as he gazed at Allie. His heart was hers.

Lt j.g. Rovan Moor
Engineer/Pilot

The silvery glow of the moon blossom flower seemed to make everything glow, and Allison felt her cheeks warm despite the cool evening breeze. You sure timed this perfectly, she quietly thought, smiling. Everything was so perfect. She relaxed against him, happy to remain there as long as he would allow her to. If he had planned to impress her with this sight, and this scene, well, it was a smashing success. She reached out to take the moon blossom from his hands and hold it in her lap, looking back and forth between the flower, the basket, the photo, and his beautiful smile.

She let the silence stand for what felt like several minutes before she finally spoke. “It’s beautiful… Thank you.” She sat up slightly, not leaning against him anymore, but still cradling the flower in her hands, careful not to get any of the oils on her skin. The Moon-blossom was an odd plant. It was a perennial plant which, each spring, first grew leaves and shoots, gathering energy. As the spring melted into summer, the leaves would wither and die, the plant storing all the extra energy in its small root bundle until mid summer, when the flower would appear from the dirt and glow in the night. It was fertilized mainly by a strange species of insect that her grandfather had discovered, which seemed to spread the glowing oil on itself as well as gathering the flower’s nectar to use for food.

But the bulb remained even after the flower died. Even when the beauty was gone from sight, it was the hidden bulb that held the magic, causing the flower to return the next year, and the next, and the next… She smiled, able to feel the rough texture of a small burlap bag in her hands underneath the blossom, just large enough to hold the bulb and enough dirt to keep it alive. He hadn’t killed the root to show off the beauty of the flower.

She smiled, standing up and turning to look out over the water. “So, what’s for dinner?” she asked, looking back at him with a soft smile.

Ens. Allison Fleet, Science