Posted by Lieutenant Duncan Rhodes (Chief Science Officer) in Rhodes quarters. How to lose a fiancé in ten days.

Posted by Ensign Lily Locksley ((A) Chief Medical Officer) in Rhodes quarters. How to lose a fiancé in ten days.

Posted by Ensign Lily Locksley ((A) Chief Medical Officer) in Rhodes quarters. How to lose a fiancé in ten days.
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Lily flopped on the couch looking at the room. It was spacious for being a department head’s quarters but it was much smaller than his rooms on the outpost. At least Lily would have the chance to decorate it right. Petting Trico she glanced around imagining the space. The walls were definitely going to need some color.

“What do you think Trico,” she looked at the kitchen. “Should we go red? Like spicy pepper red,” she began to imagine the walls a vibrant red with dark cherry cabinet overlays and natural stone countertops. “There was no reason we can’t personalize the space. I mean Starfleet gave us a blank canvas. If they wanted it to stay the same color they would have made everything neutral.”

Trico’s head popped up and her ears followed suit, from her space on the couch she blinked a few times at the two legged thing Duncan had bought home one night that hadn’t left since, and was pretty sure she had said the magic word, ‘pepperoni’. It sounded different, but was close enough. She wagged her tail and blew a buff of smoke through her nose, something she had learned to do since Lily had started sneaking her the spicy meat that Duncan wouldn’t let her have. She was glad this two legged thing had stayed, she liked her.

Decorating was going to be fun. She had never been in a place where she actually planned on staying long enough to hang a picture or paint the walls. Well there was that time she took up with Raul who used latex balloons filled with paint to create art but she was looking for something more stylish and applied with a real paint roller.

Taking a deep breath she exhaled slowly. Decorating was going to be fun but there was something else that could be more fun today. “Duncan,” she called out, “wanna go to the beach? There is no reason we should worry about moving in when Risa is below us. I know a guy we can bunk with. He and his wife are real cool. They have a tent so they should be easy to find. All we need is a tooth brush and a change of clothes,” she said in a sing song voice.

Lily Locksley soon to be Rhodes

Coming out of the bathroom, Duncan had a towel wrapped around his waist and his face was half covered in shaving foam. There were easier ways to shave in this day and age but he still preferred to do it this way, a slight hangover from his traditional family and military upbringing.

“I would love to, but you remember that we start work tomorrow, right?” He asked her, then paused and looked at her a moment.

“Yeah and that is tomorrow. I am taking about today. Me you and a beach with drinks and sun,” she sat up on her knees with steepled hands like she was praying. She was praying in fact that Duncan would say yes. She could go by herself but going alone wasn’t fun. Sure she could meet interesting people but the person she wanted to be with was across the room, draped in a towel looking hot enough to turn any head in a room. She paused her moment of begging to stare at his chest. For a science guy he was remarkably fit. As her eyes trailed up she stopped to stare in his blue eyes. They were his best feature if she had to pick one. The color was so deep they almost looked fake.

“Okay, Sunshine, I have a couple of things here,” he took a cloth from beside the table and wiped his hands on it as he walked over to the couch she was sitting on, “first, you’re in Starfleet now, and you can book a room to your account when you are on leave.”

“And they just pay for it,” she looked at him. “Dude this Starfleet thing was a great idea. “I mean if I knew you got room and board for free I would have joined up way before you proposed,” she picked up a PaDD. If it was going to be in Starfleet’s bill she would get a suite. She had heard they gave you quarters and meals but thought there had to be a catch somewhere yet wherever that was, Lily wasn’t going to look for it.

He paused, and leaned on the arm of the couch looking at her, “Second, who is this guy and his wife that you know that live in a tent on Risa?” He smiled slightly, expecting another of Lily’s stories, she was resourceful, friendly and had a way to end up on the right side of any situation no matter how badly things went off-plan, it was part of what had made Duncan take notice of her, well, that and her making him give her a foot massage as she took his order at a cafe the day he met her.

Lt Rhodes, CSO

“His name is Paola and his wife Marina,” she explained. “I met them once when I was in Oceania Prime. I decided to try fishing for a while. I was totally stressed out and someone told me fishing relaxed you. It didn’t. It was incredibly boring but Paola was a fisherman. I signed on with him to learn the trade. Two months in a storm hit. Totally destroyed his boat. For the next two months after that he and I got a job at some fish and chips shop. He told me all about his and Marina’s dream to own a jet ski store on Risa. A few years later I caught up with him in a space port. Turns out after I left him and Marina there was some kind of grease fire. The store burned to the ground but they got a fat insurance check and invested the money into his jet ski business. They only had enough money to buy the business so they sleep in a tent for now. Can we go see them. Please,” she wiggled in the couch full of excitement.

“A jet ski store huh, and sleeps in a tent.” Duncan didn’t sound quite as enthusiastic as Lily did on this one. “Did you hear the part about how we start work in the morning?” Duncan asked her, knowing full well that that detail was information that Lily simply chose to ignore because it didn’t match what she wanted at that moment.

“Yes and did you hear the part about paid vacations. Starfleet really has a lot of benefits to joining. Every time I turn around I am hearing about something else they are giving you. It really is a wonder more people just don’t sign on up,” she shrugged.

Remembering his friend Evie’s fascination with plants and Duncan being a scientist, Lily decided to sweeten the deal. “They have pitcher plants big enough to eat a man. I can show you where to find them,” she bit her lip smiling at him. “So are we going,” she asked again.

Lily Locksley

“On Risa?” Duncan raised an eyebrow.

“Yes on Risa. Duncan not everything is as it seems,” Lily crossed her arms looking at him.

“Love, I… you know what? Show me.” Duncan grinned but held up a finger and made sure her eyes were firmly on his, “Two hours, okay? We have two hours and then we are back on the ship and ready for bed, deal?”

Lt Rhodes, CSO

“Done,” she nodded with a smile.

Ten minutes later the transporter placed them on a stretch of beach that seemed deserted. For a planet that was known for its beaches it was rather shocking a stretch of it was abandoned with lush vegetation lining the beach instead of fancy walkways and hotels. Reaching down, Lily remove her flip flop and began crossing the sand towards a shack in the distance. “So are you going to lose the shoes,” Lily looked at Duncan? “There is no reason to wear shoes at the beach. I mean people pay an insane amount of credits to hang out at beaches. This trip is free. Enjoy it,” she linked her arm into his. “You are not going to be this uptight on our honeymoon are you?”

“You know that is entirely going to depend on where we go for the Honeymoon, who you know there, why, how, and how many laws we have to break to get there.” Duncan smirked as he spoke quietly, his eyes looking around the beach and resting on the shack. His mind worked quickly. One hour and fifty eight minutes.

“Speaking of that what do you want to do for a honeymoon? We should do something neither of us have ever done before to make it special What have you always wanted to do but never did?”

Lily Locksley

“Well, I heard there is a fantastic holiday resort planet that is far more stunning than Risa, called Erewhon,” Duncan said and glanced at Lily. “From what I hear, you would love it there and every need is taken care of by the attendants. Shopping, horse treks and sailing, coffee shops and anything you might want. We could do that any time though, not just a honeymoon. We could always check out the frozen sunken cities on Andoria, or take a tour of Delta IV.” Duncan slipped his arm around Lily, paused their walk and then slipped off his own jandals so he could walk barefoot in the sand next to her, his face not giving away what he actually thought about a honeymoon on frozen Andoria.

“Tell me, I mean I may not be the most savvy businessman around but wouldn’t setting up a jet ski shop on a deserted beach on a tourist world, kind of be an obvious reason a business might not do so well?”

Lt Rhodes, CSO

Bump