Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Operation Rikalla (A Happy Surprise)

Posted by Civilian Cort Belanger (Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.) in Operation Rikalla (A Happy Surprise)
Cort leaned over the reception desk and whispered, despite there being no one else around, aside from their new ‘protection’, “What our status?”

Elema looked up and smirked. “Sherri is there and his ETA is ten minutes,” she whispered back. Elema leaned in towards him. “Why are we whispering?”

“Because it’s a surprise, silly.”

She burst into laughter and shook her head. “You’re impossible.”

Cort stood upright and, with a hand on the end of the counter spun himself around it. “Nah, just injecting some levity.”

“Well, you do it well,” she said. “Sherri’s going to update us when they have cleared through special customs.”

“Perfect.” He took a step backwards towards his office and then paused, before grinning. “I know she’s in on the surprise, as it were, but it’s still good, no?”

Elema beamed. “It’s great. She needs this. Though the one that I’m super curious about is Jourin. that’s going to be something else.”

“That it is. And you know, we needed this too. Something fun and a little less stressful, even if the logistics have been…”

“Increasingly complicated and slightly hilarious?” Elema suggested.

It was Cort’s turn to laugh. “Yes, both of those. Alright, back to the tasks while we have time. Let me know when Sherri updates.”

Elema gave him a salute with two fingers as Cor t backed towards his office. He just shook his head and carried on.

Cort Belanger, Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.

Lieutenant Sherri Watts stood on the other side of customs awaiting their VIP guest. Everything had been planned to a T, in part because of Cort’s meticulous organizational skills. She had them too, but he seemed to operate on multiple levels at the same time. It was pretty impressive, all told.

She waited with her hands behind her back, her abdomen still not quite pushing against her uniform. That would change soon enough and she’d have to swap it for a maternity uniform, but for now she was fine. That being said, her uniform was impeccable, including her boots. Kellen might be a reportedly relaxed person and here on personal business, but there was no way in hell she was showing up to escort an Admiral through the colony and not have her appearance beyond reproach.

Soon enough, she spied him being pulled to the side and screened separately. Her watchful gaze noted that his bearing screamed confidence and ease. His interactions with the CCDA agents was calm and deferential. There was no big brass ego there, thank goodness. Though somehow Sherri doubted Dasca would maintain a friendship for so long with someone who was full of themselves.

Here on the Orbital Platform, the cooperation between Starfleet and the CCDA was most apparent, especially as they had had to make joint arrangements to handle the Admiral’s security. Normally, it would have been Starfleet Security that took care of the Admiral, but given recent events, Dasca was taking no chances with the safety of those closest to her and, not surprisingly to Sherri, now that she was (partly) in the loop on Kellen’s surprise visit, she was insisting he stay with her. That meant the CCDA also needed to be involved.

Kellen moved forward and spotted Sherri, giving a smile. At his side was a petite Lieutenant in a red uniform- a stark contrast to Kellen’s civilian clothes.

Watts snapped off a crisp salute. “Admiral, Welcome to Oed Five.”

His smile widened and was filled with warmth as he gave a salute back. “At ease, Lieutenant.” He offered his hand and Sherri shook it. “It is so good to finally meet you. Eela has nothing but wonderful things to say about you.”

“Likewise, Admiral,” Sheri said with her own grin.

“And this is my Yeoman, Lieutenant Elise Sandoval.”

Elise also offered her hand, a mischievous smirk traipsing across her face. “Hello, partner-in-crime.”

Watts laughed openly and shook her counterpart. “We have worked very well together. And there’s nothing like a good surprise, though I will say that I’ve met my match with Captain Dasca.”

Roger chuckled. “Oh, Lieutenant, that we made it as far as we did in this surprise astonishes me. Now, what’s the plan from here?”

Sherri gestured with her head. “This way. We have a private shuttle waiting and we’ll go to the Tower to get your security clearance sorted so you’ll have less trouble getting around. I’ve already set you up at the Starfleet Complex”-she looked at Elise-“and you as well, so you both can do as you need to without having to request permission constantly.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be on R&R here, but I’m reachable if needed,” Sandoval said, giving Watts a knowing look.

Kellen gave his yeoman the sideeye. “Listen you… I barely take time off. Enjoy it while you can.”

Sandoval snapped off a cheeky salute and the trio laughed.

“Come on…” Sherri said with a laugh, leading them through a secure area to where the shuttle awaited.

~Lt. Sherri Watts, Rear Admiral Roger Kellen & Lt. Elise Sandoval

After getting Kellen’s security clearance sorted out, and dropping off Elise at her hotel, Sherri and the Admiral waited for the next person they needed in this scheme. While the fullness of the surprise had to be cut due to circumstances, there was something still fun about the attempt.

The tall dark-haired EA appeared and grinned as he reached out a hand. “Admiral, it’s really great to finally meet you in person.”

“Please, it’s Roger. I’m here on personal business. No ranks unless necessary,” he said with warm smile.

“Fair enough,” Cort said with a nod. “Now, shall we go surprise her? She’s still expecting you tomorrow morning.”

“How did you manage that?” Roger asked as they moved to the Tower exit.

Cort turned and walked backwards for a couple steps, spreading his hands wide across the air. “Magic!” Spinning on the ball of his foot, he stepped out and held the door for the other two. Sherri bid them good luck and headed back upstairs to help out Elema. Things were still chaos, after all. At least they could have some brief moments of fun.

A few minutes, after getting Kellen registered and cleared at Eela’s building, Cort had the ensign on duty tell Eela that he (just him) was there. Eela said to come on up and come right on it. Cort grinned and led Kellen up to the twelfth floor.

They stepped out of the lift and Cort knocked on the door, opened it, and stepped on through, as per their usual arrangement. “Eela?”

“Two seconds,” she called out from the bedroom. She wandered down the hallway to the foyer and they could hear the swish of the soft soled slippers she wore suddenly stop. “No way…” she said quietly, though the two men could hear her.

Roger grinned at Cort and when Eela appeared and stopped a couple metres away, he watched her plant her hands on her hips and give them both an admonishing look. “You didn’t think I wasn’t going to at least try to surprise you, right?”

Eels shook her head and dropped her arms. Her expression shifted and then she took quick steps, closing the distance. Roger enveloped her in his arms, embracing as tightly as he dared knowing her back was bothering her more this week after everything. “El…” he whispered. Then he felt her body heave and he knew she was sobbing in that quiet way of hers. “Shhhhh, it’s okay. I’m here now. We’ve all got you, I promise.”

After a couple minutes, she let go and gathered herself. He met Cort’s gaze as she stepped back from Roger and broke into a smirk. “Do I even want to know what you’ve been up to?”

Cort chuckled. “Nope. Better that way. But it was a true team effort.”

“That I believe,” Eela said as she moved over to her assistant and dear friend. It had become that somewhere along the way and she knew Cort was as glad for it as she was. She gave him a brief hug. “Thank you.”

“It’s been my pleasure, truly. Now, I’m going to get back to the Tower. If either of you need anything, just holler.”

“Much appreciated, Cort,” Roger said as the man headed out.

Standing in the foyer, Eela gazed deeply at a man whose presence in her life was so ubiquitous even if they rarely got to be physically in the same place. The two just gazed at each other, so much said and unsaid at the same time.

~Cort, Sherri, Roger and Eela