Posted by Major General Charles Tenkiller (Vice-Commander, Colonial Customs and Defense Agency) in Three Isn’t A Crowd If You Don’t Want It To Be

Posted by Civilian Yavia Crockett (Nurse - Sacred Heart Hospital) in Three Isn’t A Crowd If You Don’t Want It To Be

Posted by Major General Charles Tenkiller (Vice-Commander, Colonial Customs and Defense Agency) in Three Isn’t A Crowd If You Don’t Want It To Be
Posted by… suppressed (15) by the Post Ghost! 👻

<snip>
It was only a few minutes until the shuttle settled gracefully in the clearing behind the house. The chauffeur opened the door and offered a hand to each woman. Charles said “Go on in. I’ll be there in a minute.” and he began speaking to the chauffeur in a low voice. He knew the women could hear his thoughts if they chose (Sharah regardless) but he refused to give up the pretext that he had secrets and surprises.

Tenkiller

Sharah hurried away, into the house and grabbed Hope and sat down with her. Letting her consciousness drop some. She was aware but it was easier to ignore what he didn’t want heard. Sharah was happy to allow him his secrets. She stayed there until he came in and then disappeared into her room.

Yavia walked in behind her and laughed quietly. Sharah was happy and the effort was cute. She wondered about the tree though. Sharah was extremely attached to it. It made her wonder what happened to make her that way.

Sharah

Tenkiller walked in a few moments later and looked at Sharah and then at V. “Everybody good? There’s some business I think we should go over a bit now, too. Nothing too serious, but some things you two should know about the house and stuff.”

Tenkiller

Sharah was humming softly, lost in her own little world for the moment. Much like at the park, just not as deeply focused. She blinked and looked up when she felt him come on. She stood and put the pot back on the table.

She looked sheepish. “Yeah like not setting off the alarm if I go for a walk.”

Sharah

“Well, I would certainly appreciate it. Especially during the winter.” Charles said with a wink.

Yavia sat in a chair opposite the couch and stretched like a content cat. That had not been a walk. That had been Sharah struggling, and maybe it was a conscious decision to go outside, it was still not something so mundane as a walk. However…”Oh come on Sharah, you know you would that again to get that view. I would.” And she laughed and winked at them both as Sharah turned bright red.

“All ya gotta do is ask.” Charles said with a grin.

“So what traps and surprises do we need to remember to avoid?”

Yavia

“Well…” he said and stood up from where he was leaning against the wall, “… follow me.” He led them both down the stairs and into the main bedroom and walked up to the waterfall behind the bed.

“So… no one knows about this besides me and General Harris. And now you two, because you live here. I trust you with my life, so I can trust you with this.” He reached through the water to a stone that stuck out just far enough to cause the water to flow slightly around it, creating a distortion in the flow that couldn’t be seen unless you were specifically looking for and at it. He grasped the stone with just the tips of his fingers and thumb and it lit softly for half a second…

Sharah had half a moment to realize this was the sound of water in the room she kept hearing, and that she was obviously more exhausted than she realized to have missed it so completely.

And then the entire wall sank into the floor.

Behind it was a brightly lit room lined with shelves and long, low drawers surrounding three cases enclosed in transparent aluminum. The whole room was filled with weapons of all kinds. Energy and projectile, lethal and non, Federation and… well… every other government, species, culture, and organization. He looked at V and Sharah and said “This is our ‘Shit has hit the fan’ room. Weapons are priority, but there is also enough water and food to last ten people a year. Follow me.” and he walked inside.

Yavia’s mouth made a little ‘O’ as she tried to take it all in. The number of weapons and types and it was hidden behind a miniature waterfall. Accessed through his their bedroom. Enough to survive for a year? What did he think was going to happen?

He went up the center display case and pressed a rivet on the side. The display rotated ninety degrees and revealed a staircase going down into a dark corridor.

“At the end of that is a transporter station. Can move four people at a time. It only goes one of two places. First-” and he looked at V, “- is the Observation Tower on the Orbital Platform. If that station is non-responsive, it goes to an offline CCDA satellite station way off in the wastelands in the middle of nowhere.” He shut the passage and looked at them and said “The only people that can open this place are me and Harris… and now you two. This isn’t a CCDA thing. This is a contingency plan so he and I can get our loved ones outta the line of fire if the need arises. We paid for it, we maintain it. Its completely off the books and no one on Oed knows its here except us… and probably Molly Holloway, since she is to him what you two are to me.”

Tenkiller

A look passed over Sharah’s face. Memories, (her own and that of others, memories that were hers, but not of her life) of the necessity of such contingencies. It brought a determined, resolved look to her face. She might be a medical officer but she was and officer. She slipped an arm around Yavia. Sharah knew if it came to that, Yavia would be here alone. Charles and she would both be gone. She had a good sense of Molly Holloway and if it came to that she seriously doubted Molly would take an escape route unless there was zero options, even thin ones, left. She hugged Yavia, “He tells you to come here, you don’t wait. And you don’t leave.” In her minds eyes she saw it, the door of another such room shutting and sealing those on the other side, in a very similar room. To be trapped there…Sharah let the memory go. It wasn’t her life. To be replaced with memories of the Viking.

Sharah

Yavia had never wanted to serve in any military organization. She knew TK served, she wasn’t unaware, she wasn’t blind about it. She understood what that meant. The room made reality crash in on her hard. Sharah’s statement made it worse as she realized why Sharah said it. She wouldn’t be going with Yavia. If she was ordered to report, she would be in the middle of it too. Whatever it ended up being. Yavia was suddenly quite terrified of the unknown and had the unrealistic desire to tell them both to quit their jobs. Her emotions and thoughts swirled and crashed devastatingly into Sharah. The other woman just held onto her.

Yavia

Charles took them both in his arms. “Now listen, you two… this is the last option. We set this up for all of us. If we are using this, then we are so far in the crap that Sharah and I aren’t obligated to anyone except those we choose.” The effects of Sharah’s release were fading, but the strength of both women’s response was more than enough to get through. “If this is being used, then we will all be together… or it won’t be used because none of us are left to use it. Harris and I talked about this one night… and yes, we were quite drunk. But we both agreed: There comes a point where we could potentially be facing an enemy that we simply know is gonna walk right through us. And there won’t be a damn thing we do that’ll stop it. He and I both have seen first hand what happens then. Lives wasted for nothing. And neither one of us wants to see that again. So if that’s the point we are at, we are saving those we can… the ones that matter the most.” He took a breath. “Don’t get me wrong… he and I’ll fight to our last breath for this colony… if we have even a the slightest chance it’ll matter. But if not? People are valuable… and the ones we care for are at the top of that list. We may sacrifice our lives… but we won’t do it for nothing.”

Tenkiller

Sharah understood that, completely. She slipped her other arm around Charles and pulled Yavia in closer. If it came to that, Sharah would be with them. She didn’t even have to think about it. But she also knew that if something did happen and she couldn’t reach them, she didn’t want them waiting for her. Or worse, try and come save her. She wanted them to go. It was a decision that would weigh heavily and couldn’t be made until they were in the thick of it. Sharah was not scared of the possibility, not like Yavia was. The universe was a large and dangerous place. Conflicts happened and sometimes you were the biggest on the playground and sometimes you weren’t. But those things seemed very far away and distant to Yavia, until just then.

TK had asked her if she was okay with his job. If she could handle the level of danger inherent in it. She had said yes, that she would worry, but she knew that it was dangerous. Her mind hadn’t quite gone that far down the line of what he might encounter. Her job was dangerous. Upset patients, violent ones even, their families or people after them. The protests, that had nothing to do with the staff directly. The shuttle attack that took down Harris and Holloway, but what TK was suggesting was on a far different scale. Sharah was a doctor. Yavia had never considered that she might be in the thick of things. Though she admitted if someone was hurt and needed help, then she would go and she knew Sharah would as well. She just…she hadn’t considered it. Did it change her mind? No. Not one bit. She loved both of them, all the parts of them. She was just going to worry, a lot.

Sharah kissed Yavia’s cheek. “He won’t have to sacrifice his life, he has his own personal medical team. He’ll save the colony and we’ll save him. It all works out just fine.” There was a soft humor to her voice but a seriousness too. Sharah breathed in slowly and then out, and with it was an incredible sense of calm that permeated them and evoked memories of peace and contentment. Strong enough to stop Yavia’s fear and prevent her from panicking. Although Charles was quite calm and matter of fact about it, the effect was quite similar for him as well.

Sharah

Yavia laughed softly, “There is that.” Then there was this incredible sensation of peace and content. It reminded Yavia of the park. The smell of the food and the trees, the feel of TK’s arm around her, Sharah on his other side, the warmth of the filtered sunlight. Just breathing together and the sense of belonging and connection. Everything was okay, they were together and scary things might happen, but that didn’t have any bearing on them. Her head rested against his shoulder for a long moment. She hadn’t meant to freak out, but it was okay because she could do that here, and now she didn’t have to be worried. Yavia stared at Sharah…the feeling was from her, and it was…potent. She leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “You really are amazing.”

Yavia

Charles smiled and said “You both are amazing.” He then kissed each one in turn. “Now… there is one other room you have to see.” and he led them out and sealed the armory. He looked at them and said “And this one isn’t nearly so serious.” He led them into the hallway outside the bedroom and to the wall between Sharah’s room and the unoccupied room next to it. Here he put his hamd on the wall next the door frame and the wall scanned his hand and then slid open. Lights came on and stairs led down. He led them down and they stepped into a fully equipped gym. “Doubles as a panic room, too. But you can exercise, do yoga, spar, dance… whatever. Full library of holo-trainers. Anything you wanna do, just activate the trainer and tell ‘em what you want.” The room had free weights, gravity-resistance equipment, cardio and rowing machines, bags for punching and kicking… all of it.

Sharah had wondered why she hadn’t seen a gym, but then assumed he must use a gym on the orbital station or something. Like the fleet complex had a gym. It reminded Sharah she had not practiced Mok’bara in far too long. She wasn’t good enough to use it to fight or defend herself. She had learned purely for meditative purposes. It had helped. She should start practicing again. The mention of dance made her eyes sparkle a moment in curiosity.

Yavia looked around and grinned. She would be spending a lot of time down here. She could come here to perform Vuu-chola, after her morning Cha-uud. Ine of the few traditions Yavia actually kept. Yavia enjoyed the experience of exercising and was eager to explore the training programs.

He looked at V and Sharah and said “And if you want to learn any kind of fighting I know, I’m happy to teach you. Same for the weapons. You want to learn, I’ll show you.” He looked at Sharah and grinned. “I’ll warn ya, though… there’s a reason I got my nickname ‘Skip’ in the Academy.” and he winked at her.

Tenkiller

Yavia perked up at that. The fighting simply for the fitness and experience. The weapons she wasn’t so sure about. She would have to give it some thought.

Sharah was not the best student at such things. She tried but she was easily distracted and co fused by the noise. Of course that had been years ago, she might do better now.

She looked at him a long moment and then grinned. He wasn’t thinking about it, only that he wanted her to look - clever man. The understanding inherent in hus effort made her suddenly hug him, squeezing the stuffing right out of him.

He let out a soft Oof! as she squeezed him, but he smiled and hugged her back. “Good thing yer a doctor. Think ya just cracked a rib… or four.” and he snickered.

Just as suddenly as she hugged him, she bent slightly and kissed him right over his ribs, once, twice, thrice, and once more. Grinning she stepped back. “All better now?”

“Well I certainly won’t be using it tonight. I have a fancy date to get ready for. And Yavia may not need to wash her hair, but I do.”

Sharah

Yavia smiled at him as Sharah hugged him. She didn’t know exactly what prompted it, but it made her happy to see. “Oh don’t worry. I will just play with your hair instead,” and laughed as Sharah groaned. She enjoyed teasing her.

Yavia

He smiled at the two and then said “Okay, one last thing. At the top right of every door, on either side, is a panic pad. You slap your hand up there and the house locks down. Every door locks and every window goes opaque. There is also vid monitoring going on around the property 25 hours a day. Nothing inside… unless the panic pad is activated. Then vid cameras open and become active. We also have bioscanners in all the doorways that lead inside the house. It scans everyone coming in. If it detects a weapon on anyone who doesn’t have permission to have one here? Well… suffice to say I hope they don’t have any metal in ‘em.” and he grinned wickedly. “Any questions or concerns, my loves?”

Tenkiller

Yavia could only think if one. “How do we turn it off?”

“We don’t. Only a React Team Leader from the CCDA can turn it off. And then only after they have evacuated us and swept the entire house, one room at a time.” Tenkiller said.

Sharah shook her head, “Nope. Well one…if you ever get to meet my brother, don’t tell him about any of this. And knowing him, he will ask. Especially the panic pads. He’ll slap them just to make sure they work.” Andrew would do it too. Not being childish but out of concern for her and those important to her, and out if complete professional curiosity to observe the systems.

Yavia chuckled at the thought of a short male version of Sharah trying to run and jump to hit the door frame like so many teenage boys. “Is your brother still a teenager?”

Sharah shook her head, “Chief of Security at SB 52.” Then she dashed up the stairs and the door to her room closed, and water was heard running shortly after.

Sharah

Yavia watched her leave and heard the door shut. She slipped over next to him, “She’s gorgeous when she’s happy.” Then kissed him in a wholly incompassing way before pulling back with regret. “I think we both had better go get ready too.”

Yavia

He looked at her and said “I think yer right. ‘Cause if we don’t, we ain’t making it ta dinner.” and he grinned and then kissed her, his hands going places that they should go after date night. He then pulled away and ran out the door and to the main bedroom, making a quick move to the bathroom and closing the door.

Tenkiller

Yavia grinned as he left the gym. There would be a time and place for skipping dinner in favor of other things. That was not tonight. She made her way up the stairs, across the hall to her room. She had already picked out what she was wearing. She slipped into her own shower.

While the water warmed Sharah pulled out her PaDD and made a quick inquiry looking for Tenkiller’s record. She was curious, but didn’t have time to read the file. She showered, and the longest part was getting all the pins out of her hair that Yavia had put in there. Then of course styling it after washing it. She did not let Yavia do it. She was dressing up for her as much as she was for Charles. It gave her a warm giddy feeling in her stomach.

Her curls on the sides of her face had been woven into a soft looped braid on either side, moving back where the tails met and swayed into the rest of her locks.

Her dress was wine colored, floral lace over satin, with wide straps and a moderate V-neck. The bodice hugged her curves and then fell gently to an asymmetrical skit that went from her knees to the back of her calves. The outfit was finished by a pair of strappy black sandles with a heel that gave her a bit of height, but not enough to be awkward or overly noticeable.

When she was ready she made her way upstairs, laughing quietly to herself over the butterflies in her stomach.

Sharah

Yavia was wearing a sexy black and gold sequined flapper dress. Playful peek-a-boo shoulders ending in fringe, a modest sweet heart neckline until one realized the material was sheer making the neckline deeper. The skirt ended midthigh with long black fringe that ended just past the knee. Yavia wore a gold metal head bande wrapped through with black satin ribbon and a black feather attached with a small amber jewel. And just a hint of eyeshadow to accentuate the color of her eyes. She seemed to float up the steps into the living area.

Yavia

Tenkiller showered and made sure to get the lingering stink of the Naussican ship off him from earlier in the day. Actually not ‘off’, but out of his nostrils. After drying his body and his hair, he combed it straight down and then dressed in deep blue rough silk suit with matching vest and white shirt. A bolo tie made of silver and obsidian with silver tips completed the outfit… except for the finishing touch he was saving until right before they left.

He walked up the stairs and found his significant others in the living room. He looked from one to the other and said “Ladies… y’all… uh… y’all look amazin’.” He was obviously more than impressed.

Tenkiller

The women had been sharing a rather tender and loving moment, when they heard him crest the stairs and turned towards him. Yavia’s gaze traveled over him taking in all the details. That was a really good color on him. She nudged Sharah gently, “Are you sure it’s worn off?”

Sharah’s breath rushed quietly out of her lungs. She drank him in for a long still moment. The telepathic conversation that went between them went something like, Charles in uniform makes my heart race. TK’s breathtaking dressed for date night. But him in that suit made both their brains stop working for a minute.

Sharah’s eyes slid off of him and looked at Yavia, “Huh? Oh..how would I know? Why?”

Yavia grinned, “Because we are both going to look really good next to him.” A small crease formed on Sharah’s forehead until she looked back at him and realized what Yavia meant, and she smiled. His suit perfectly complemented both of their outfits. She hurried over to him, Yavia behind her, and they both kissed him, one after the other. “You look…wow.”

Charles grinned and said “Back at ya, hun.” and he winked at her.

Yavia chuckled, “I think the word Sharah has forgotten is, handsome. You look handsome.”

Yavia

He looked at V and said “And you look absolutely gorgeous.” with a grin. He then looked at each woman and said “So… y’all ready? Let’s do this.” and he offered an arm to both women and then said “Oh hell! Hang on a sec…” and he went to the den and opened a closet and pulled down his hat; a black felt cowboy hat with a wood-beaded on black leather band with a single piece of turquoise set on the front. He slid it on, adjusted it to the perfect angle, and then walked back to the ladies and offered them arms and said “Now we can skidadle…”

Tenkiller

Sharah did not grow up in a society that believed in sin, it was a foreign concept, but sinful was the only term that could accurately describe her thoughts when he came back out of the den. If Yavia had had a tricorder the thing would have alarmed quite impressively the way Sharah’s heart rate went up. A very very small part of her mind said she was being shallow, but no man should look that good. Her hand slipped onto his arm and she tried to remember why they had to go out to dinner.

Sharah