[USS Tempest] Friends? Don't Make Me Laugh!

[Ian Hewins <hewman100@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Friends? Don't Make Me Laugh!


by Ensigns "Pimlico" Van der Pol and "Icebreaker" O'Donnell 



Entering the Crew Room Moira noticed how it suddenly went deathly quiet. News 
is out then. She scanned the crowd fixing everybody with Gorgon-like glare, 
daring someone to say something more. Many shied away or couldn't meet her 
eyes. 

Satisfied, she made her way to the coffee machine and poured herself a mug. 
Taking a long swig she remained with her back to the room as the doors opened 
behind her. "Hey you guys hear about what happened to 'Breaker? Robinson chewed 
her ass good for daring to ask if she could shack up with that rug-munching 
doctor we got on board."

Moira's eyes flashed with deep gold fire, their emerald hue turning irridescent 
with her rage.

"To top it all off she completely broke down, and good ole 'Squeak went along 
to Robinson as well. Tried to resign his Flight Status."

The poor unsuspecting pilot never knew what hit him. One moment he was 
standing, the next he had been pinned to the wall by his throat, feet barely 
touching the deck. "Say that again," she hissed, "or this time they won't just 
be painted blue, I'll rip the bastards off with my bare hands!" To illustrate 
the point Moira placed her other hand on the man's crotch and applied just 
enough pressure so her nails dug in.

"I wouldn't bother," a South African accent drawled. "From what I remember, 
they weren't bigger than my little finger." Pim peered up at the angry red head 
from her seat near the fray. "He's probably just jealous that PK can satisfy 
better with tongue and fingers than he ever will using what God gave him 
between his legs."

Ignoring the bane of her existance, Moira increased the pressure. "What did you 
mean about Edward trying to resign his Flight Status?"

The man tried to gasp an answer but the grip on his neck made that impossible. 

"He means," Pim said in an over-emphasised voice, "that the squeaker tried to 
resign his Flight Status. Did you not hear him? Or does anger make you deaf?" 
Pushing to her feet, she gripped Moira's wrist and tried to pry her off the 
prick. "This is not the place to be discussing this," she said significantly. 
"Stop being a drama queen and I'll buy you breakfast somewhere quieter, okay?" 
Fuck me, are all Irish this melodramatic?

She looked at the South African in disbelief, but loosened her grip just enough 
to allow her hand to be removed. "And what the fuck makes you think I'd want to 
do that?" Her emerald eyes narrowed, "You know more than everyone else put 
together. How?" 

"Stubborn, aren't you?" Pim dragged Moira from the room, heading as fast as she 
could to an empty office. "Look," she said once the door was closed behind 
them, "I was there. Squeak asked me to stay as a witness so I stayed. He threw 
his wings down on Kip's desk and asked to be removed from duty until you were 
allowed to move in with the Doc." 

"He...he what? Stupid little bastard. I'll box his ears when I get hold of 
him." She took a deep breath, "Tell what went on, and don't you dare leave 
anything out. We clear on that?"

"Oh do fuck off and get off your almighty high horse." Rolling her eyes, Pim 
retold the whole exchange between Flight Boss and Squeak. "But Kip took off his 
own wings and handed them to your little man. So when you see him, it's not his 
own pin he's wearing, it's Kip's."

Moira nodded at this and knew she hadn't misjudged their Boss. "And he said all 
that about the marriage and stuff?" She thought back the moment PK had slapped 
her arm. I know we're supposed to have a bond but.... NO, the idea's 
ridiculous. "You do realise Edward doesn't use hypothetical situations."

"Well then I guess the little man's intending on marrying someone," Pim said 
with a smirk. "Good show, too. Maybe she can prise your talons out of him for 
five minutes."

Moira shot her a dirty look, "If it's who I think it is she's going to be even 
more fiercely protective of him than you and I put together. You met her 
briefly at DS9."

"Protective's not a problem," Pim told her airily. "It's when that protection 
stops him having a life that it becomes a problem." Her smirk became a grin and 
she started to laugh. "And this coming from the woman who hates her nav's 
boyfriend purely on the basis of he's not good enough for Rey. Oy, talk about 
do as I say and not as I do."

The redhead's eyes flashed in warning. "Stopped him having a life? Where did 
that nugget spring from Roberta Van der Pol? And why on Earth do you believe 
Logan's not good enough? If both Rey and Tren have no problem why the hell 
should you?" 

"Maybe because, unlike you and PK, Logan is making Rey late and disrespectful 
to Kip. He actually walked out of a briefing yesterday without a word just 
because that man called him. No," Pim shook her head, "I don't like what he's 
doing to Rey one bit." 

"You are aware of what happened yesterday? Granted leaving the briefing was bad 
form, but has Rey got the strength to put things in perspective at present? 
It's not just his feelings, it's those of the symbiont as well you know. Could 
you stand up to a couple of hundred years of life if it wants to comfort the 
person it loved?"

"So he's older, nine times out of ten that makes someone wiser too. He's acting 
like a silly school boy with a crush." Pim narrowed her eyes and huffed. "He 
dragged me back when I was failing but now I try to do the same and I'm the one 
in the wrong. That about the size of it, Icebreaker?"

Noticing the use of her callsign, Moira eased back. "All I'm saying Pim, is 
that you have to let him make the mistakes. I'm sure if you look back at the 
last four years, you're going to find there are plenty of times when Rey could 
have stepped in but didn't for the simple reason he knew you would have 
resented the interference."

"So I let him make the mistakes and we both end up in front of Robinson because 
of it?" Pim folded her arms and glared at nothing. "I give up, I don't know 
what's best. If I try to help, he tells me I'm interfering. If I leave it 
alone, he'll end up in serious trouble. So I'll leave it but I bet you three 
bottles of scotch we're up before Robinson by the end of the week," she huffed.

Moira smiled. "In that case if you'll take some advice, I'd talk to Logan. I'm 
damned sure he wouldn't want to get Rey in trouble any more than PK would want 
to land me in it."

"Advice from the Icebreaker," Pim smirked but it didn't quite reach her eyes. 
"You think that'll work?"

"Pim I don't have all the answers, but if he won't listen to you I seriously 
think Logan is your only option."

Pim nodded as she folded her arms under her breasts. "I'll do that after work. 
Gotta see Kip this morning about flight schedules." Rolling her eyes, she 
started for the door. "I love my work, but paper pushing is not my idea of a 
fun day at school."

She couldn't believe she was actually about to say this. "Do you want any help?"

In an equally shocked voice, Pim said, "Yeah, actually, that'd be good."

"This is only for the good of the team, you understand. Nothing personal."

"Hell yeah, just for the good of the team." Pim fluffed her feathers and 
glared. "No getting ideas about being friends or anything," she warned.

Moira gave the South African a sidelong look. "Although if that happened, I 
understand Edward would win a sizeable amount of credits."

Smirking at Moira, Pim let out a low chuckle. "Can't have the little man do 
that, he might get ideas about being right all the time. Get himself an ego 
about the size of mine and that would just be a bad thing." 

Smiling Moira laughed too. "Edward, an ego? Never happen. As it is this ship 
can barely handle yours."


                
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