<USS Atlantis> Re: The Return of the Past
- From: "Ian Blackthorne" <ian.blackthorne@xxxxxxx>
- To: <ussatlantis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 18 May 2003 19:27:43 -0700
Great log! Go post it on the forums!
Vice Admiral Ian Blackthorne
-----Original Message-----
From: ussatlantis-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ussatlantis-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
CaptainSullivan@xxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2003 7:19 PM
To: ussatlantis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: <USS Atlantis> The Return of the Past
The Return of the Past
A Joint Log
Captain Sullivan Ruffian and Major Allen Zinthys
This wasn't how she had planned that it would happen. In her mind she
had pictured the scene all too clearly. She would be dressed in her
full Captain's garb with her new pips gleaming brightly in the
artificial light, he in his Marine uniform and his Major's pips shining
but not so brightly as hers. She would hold her head up high and
proudly, her ice grey eyes meeting his in a silent challenge. A gaze
so fierce that he would be the one to look away first. It was a
daydream that she would allow herself when her anger and resentment were
boiling beneath the surface of her pale, cool skin.
In the end, she did understand and understood all too clearly. He had
spoken of it before in vague terms, terms as nebulous and fuzzy as the
relationship that they had been alternately pursuing and avoiding.
However, she couldn't believe it when they had docked for the refit and
she had received the brief and impersonal message that he had left her,
letting her know as executive officer for the USS Atlantis that he had
been temporarily reassigned to the Marine contingent of StarFleet for
training and admission into their officer's program. She had been
expecting it actually. Maybe not this exact event, but one like it
that would allow him a graceful exit from her life.
It was the final statement that had gotten the better of her. "I'll be
back. Believe me. Believe in me."
Yes, she had heard it all before from the men who had walked out of her
life at various stages. From Klingons to Bajorans to Humans, from
fathers to lovers to husbands to captains, Sullivan had heard every form
of "kiss off" there was in the universe. Some had been intentional,
others were products of fate.... but the effect was the same. Feelings
of abandonment, trust issues, devaluation of self worth, she really was
a therapist's nightmare. However, somehow through the years, she had
managed to keep it all together. Sure, there had been some close calls.
Sure, there were nights that she didn't sleep and she knew that crawling
through the bowels of her beloved Atlantis probably wasn't the answer to
her troubles. But hey..... whatever works, right?
It always came down to the Atlantis. The one thing in the entire
universe that had never abandoned her. Even when she had witnessed its
destruction with her own eyes and had felt its beams and supports
crumble and disintegrate around her as it had died and taken the first
Captain she had ever really trusted with it, it never really left her.
Even when she had watched it explode in a bloom of light and color
against the velvet backdrop of space, it had returned to her like a
trusted lover and confidante. It was no wonder that her pulse
practically beat in rhythm with the warp engines and her very mood
seemed based on the ship's condition. The Atlantis was the only thing
that had ever left and returned for her.... until now..... until him.
The heat that reverberated between them was more intense than anything
than she had ever known. Something indefinable had shifted within her
and it seemed within him as well. Maybe the time away had been good for
them. It had given them time to miss each other, to find out what it
was like to know that they would not encounter each other either
intentionally or not. There had been no fumbled requests for quiet
meetings, no stumbling over her feet or the spilling or dropping of
whatever was in her hands whenever he happened to be around. Weeks had
gone by without the two of them sitting together in long silences,
neither speaking, neither trusting themselves to say anything. It had
given them time to come to the same conclusion or so it seemed. Suli
had come to the realization that it wasn't that she couldn't live and
function without him, but that she didn't want to. She was feeling
something, maybe it was passion, maybe it was love, but whatever it was
she was still in control of herself.
She allowed herself to stay tucked between his thighs with his arms
around her and just enjoy the contact that once they had been so afraid
of. His body had changed slightly from the last time she had seen him.
Zinthys had always been fit, but the Marine training seemed to have
added a bit more muscle and bulk to him and not in an unpleasant way.
There was more to it than that. He had gained a confidence and
assurance to his always trustworthy demeanor. She felt.... safe which
for the dark and brooding executive officer was indeed a luxury.
She felt him shift around her to take a more standing than sitting
position as his hands moved up over the bare skin of her arms, warming
them with his gentle yet firm touch. They journeyed upwards, lingering
for a moment on her shoulders while giving them a gentle squeeze. She
tilted her chin slightly upwards as they stroked the pale column of her
neck and sent a slight tremor of pleasure through her body. Her eyes
closed in a sign of trust. Soon, his broad hands cupped her face gently
between his slightly calloused palms and he pulled her towards him. She
could feel his warm breath against her cheeks as his lips brushed one
closed eyelid and then the other in an intimate caress.
She breathed deeply, pulling the spicy tang of his scent into her and
opened her eyes. His face was barely two inches away from hers and she
moistened her lips reflexively. Without thought, her hands slipped
between them, exploring the newly reformed terrain of his chest. Sparks
of pleasure and excitement popped and bubbled in her blood as his right
hand moved slightly to tilt her chin up.
As his mouth covered hers, her blood flooded with the deep, penetrating
warmth reminiscent of the effect of a good Irish whiskey and it was just
as intoxicating. They took their time tasting, feeling, exploring.
rediscovering each other unaware and uncaring as to who in the lounge
was watching. "Let them stare," Suli thought to herself. "I've waited
a long time for this and no one is going to take it from me now." She
waved a hand dismissively at Solitaire as her aide and personal
assistant cleared her throat gently.
"Captain," she spoke insistently. "Ma'am.... I hate to interrupt, but
the Vice Admiral called for all hands to duty stations 10 minutes ago."
Holding up a garment bag she continued, "I have your things here, but
you should still start making your way up there. You haven't even met
the man yet and I'd hate to see you make a bad impression on him from
the start."
Suli could feel, rather than hear the chuckle that had crept its way
into Allen's chest. "It's not funny," she groaned against his mouth as
they disengaged their lips. "There's so much that we have to catch up
on." She was surprised as Zinthys placed a finger against her lips,
silencing her.
"And we have all the time in the world for that," he whispered against
her ear reassuringly. "But right now, I'm on duty and you should be in a
captain's uniform if I'm not mistaken." He pulled back slightly and
looked down at her. "Should I escort you to your quarters?"
"No need," Suli said breezily as she smiled saucily. "We've got this
down to an art. Going to the bridge?" As Zinthys nodded with
bemusement and a tad bit of curiosity, she headed toward the corridor
and the turbolift with Solitaire scurrying in her wake. "Come on," she
called over her shoulder. "You can catch a ride with us."
The turbolift was empty as its doors hissed open and the three stepped
inside. "You might want to stand back, sir," Solitaire advised as the
doors started to close and she had already begun unzipping the bag she
carried.
"Bridge. No stops," Sullivan ordered the lift and was already slipping
her arms into the sleeves of the tunic that Solitaire had slipped from
the hanger and was in the process of stepping out of her sensible,
civilian boots. Without pausing to fasten it, her hands moved to the
waistband of her pants and she quickly unzipped them. "Damn... why did
I choose leather today," she muttered as she peeled them down over her
hips and over legs. "The last thing I need at this moment is clingy."
"I don't know," Zinthys said with a lopsided smile as he admired the
view of her firm, yet well rounded derriere and the length of her pale
legs as they were slowly revealed from their leather sheath. His hands
clenched reflexively as he wondered how it would feel to slide those
sensible, cotton, StarFleet standard briefs off her and feel the smooth
skin that lay hidden beneath them as he pulled her closer to him and....
he shook his head and smiled more broadly. "Clingy is good." A deep
chuckle reverberated in his chest as Solitaire looked up from her half
kneeling position and shot him a dirty look.
Finally free from her civilian wear, Sullivan stepped into her uniform
pants as Solitaire held them open, pointing each foot to slide it
directly into the waiting StarFleet regulation boot. She straightened
to fasten her tunic as Solitaire pulled her pants up and fastened them
snugly around her waist. Suli reached up to make sure the hair going
into her braid was smoothly in place as Solitaire ran her hands over the
uniform, smoothing the creases and coaxing it back into its pristine
lines.
The turbolift stopped and as the doors began to hiss gently open,
Solitaire gathered the discarded clothes and shoved them into the bag
that had once held the uniform and faded to the back. Suli straightened
and smiled at Zinthys as she gave her tunic a reassuring tug.
"Efficient as always, Captain Sullivan," Zinthys intoned solemnly as he
gestured for her to precede him from the lift.
Sullivan nodded with a professional air and stepped from the lift onto
the bridge. "Thank you, Major," she returned with cool, even tones. As
pleasant and welcome as the past was in the form of Allen Zinthys, it
was going to take all her self-control to confront the man who was
waiting for her to arrive. A man linked to perhaps one of the most
traumatic events of Suli's career. Vice Admiral Ian Blackthorne wasn't
just another high ranking official with the ability to make or break
Sullivan's career, he was the son of the Captain that Suli had left to
die on the bridge of the Atlantis so many years ago. It was his
father's ghost that played hide and seek in her subconscious and psyche.
She was aware of Zinthys as he stepped to the tactical position and
looked over the readouts but refocused her attention on the man who sat
in the center seat of the Atlantis' bridge. With fluidity and grace,
she snapped to attention and saluted the Vice Admiral sharply. "Captain
Sullivan Ruffian, at your service, sir."
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