Save the Last Dance - Part Two

Posted on Mon Mar 2nd, 2020 @ 1:51am by Commander John 'Nuke Em' Sheridan & Commander Telios Wintersnow & Commander Luhanna Wintersnow

Mission: Mission 38: Last One Out, Get the Lights
Location: Various Locations - USS Roanoke / Tarod IX
Timeline: 1100Hrs - July 28th 2391

Lt Commander Luhanna Wintersnow waited patiently before the door opened and in walked Commander Telios Wintersnow, one could see steam coming out of her ears. "How do you stand this woman!"

"You mean Zara Tane... she's an .... acquired taste."

"How do you know... have you had her?"

"Nope.... not for lack of trying though." Luhanna responded. "I know she has bedded women... she just.."

"She doesn't like our species mom." the other Draenei responded. "She especially does not like me... but then, I don't really care... I'm here to do a job and thats the end of it."

"I know." Luhanna smiled at her daughter. "Its good to serve with you again."

"Indeed." Telios smiled as she heard the door opening, her smile vanished. "You good?" she said to Zara Tane.

"Any new developments I should be apprised of with the colony, Luhanna?" Zara asked as she deliberately ignored Telios.

Luhanna blinked as she regarded the shorter Trill woman. "Mostly they want to give you a parade, a party and the keys to the city, I keep telling the governor that you are not interested... but he won't let it go. he also wants you to marry his son." the elder Wintersnow sighed softly. "This human is the singularly most stubborn man I have ever encountered."

"Not like you." the younger Wintersnow chipped in evenly. "We should go, time's a-wasting."

"Right... Luhanna, with me. Teval, you got the bridge," Zara spoke with loathing in Telios' direction before she headed to the lift.

Luhanna stepped up to the pad in silence as she regarded Zara with a measure of trepidation. Telios growled softly as she likewise walked up to the transporter pad on the other side of her mother.

"Oh no... You are staying here, Ponytail," Zara protested vigorously. "She who does not respect me does not get to play."

"I do not care," Telios responded. "You're not leaving this ship without a decent escort and one officer doesn't qualify," she growled. "You're stuck with me... so get your little ass up here and we can get this over with... so I won't need to deal with you any longer then I must.."

"Very well..." Zara looked around and pointed to Sheridan. "Come along. I don't want Ponytail as my second escort."

Sheridan stepped onto the pad as he sighed. "Would you two just get on with it and fuck already." as Telios sighed softly. "I prefer the company of men.," she growled as she stood on the transporter pad.

"Commander Telios Wintersnow, you're ordered back to the bridge. Now. Disobeying my direct order will result in brig time," Zara warned sternly.

Telios was having none of it as she growled angrily. "You assigned Commander Vakar to command the ship.... while I do... what, take a day off?" there was nothing but cold derision in her tone.

Teval walked by the transporter room with Rykar, having heard a good bit of the conversation from around the corner. He mentioned to both of them, "I am not taking part in this conflict, the way I see it your both acting like children."

"Not a conflict. A fact. You are second in command. So you will be second in command, under Teval. And you will do that, or go in the brig. Either way, you are not replacing Torilla," Zara spoke vehemently.

Teval looked at Zara going," Huh, what." Even Rykar looked a bit surprised.

"You're in charge... I don't want this woman running my ship with her attitude," Zara spoke angrily as she stared at Telios. "She wants to sit in the center chair on this ship, she earns it like the rest."

Luhanna finally snapped. "That is enough!." she growled. "You two can't even try to get along.. all you ever do is fight... now either sort this out like grown adults... or I will get angry.."

Telios sighed. "Why.. she's worthless... How the fuck Torilla got anything done is simply beyond me."

"How Dare YOU!" Luhanna finally got angry. "You are both acting like children." she growled. "Fuck off then, both of you... and I'll go finish this VeQ of a mission myself.." as she indicated the door. "get up and get OUT!"

The younger Wintersnow sighed. "Idiots." and with that she turned and walked out the door. "I got no time for this petty bullshit..." as she stalked out.

Luhanna's skin changed from purple to black, her eyes went from cyan to a deep red, her fingernails elongated as her weir form activated as she snarled angrily at Zara. "Beam me and the Lieutenant down to the planet Chief...

"Stand by for transport."

Teval just shook his head, and went up to the bridge with Rykar.

The transporter chief beamed Lt Commander Wintersnow and Lieutenant Sheridan along with a couple of security officers to the planet, leaving Zara Tane there.

"My turn," Zara indicated to the chief. Then looked to Telios. "You're rude, nasty, and disrespectful. Sort it out. Now Chief? Beam me down."

"And you are cruel, cold and heartless... sort your own issues out." Telios growled. "Energize now Chief."

The transporter Chief energized the beam as Telios turned and stomped off.

Meanwhile down on the planet, Luhanna Wintersnow was taking a moment to calm down, her skin was slowly reverting back to purple but her eyes still blazed an unholy red. "You okay Commander?"

"I will live." Wintersnow answered quietly.

"Alright... we're still a few minutes early... nobody around.. just us."

"Very well. spread out, watch the approaches." Wintersnow responded before she heard a second transporter beam, she deliberately did not turn to face the person. "We are early.... or they are late."

"Any particular subjects you want me to mention in the acceptance speech?" Zara asked to Luhanna, as if nothing had happened.

Luhanna turned as she took a deep cleansing breathe, her eyes faded from the deep red they had been back to the usual color of cyan.

"I'm sorry," Zara spoke genuinely to Luhanna. "She just... Feels like she's trying to force herself in Tory's spot and she just pushed too hard this morning."

"She's just trying to do the Exec's job. She doesn't mean anything personal about it." she sighed. "as for the speech, make sure you thank the good people of Tarod Nine for their tremendous support, also mention that we stand united in common cause."

"She's not a bad XO," Zara tried to assure Luhanna. "But she's not my personal style of XO -"

Before she could articulate that, government hover cars were closing in.

"Off we go," Zara told her people as they piled into the cars of their hosts.

The ride was only about five minutes. And the stage was small, but the crowd around it huge. Happy people, by the cheers. And as Zara waited in the car for the all clear from her own people, she felt nervous.

Sheridan nodded. "Understood One Eleven." he commented. "All clear skipper."

"Zara... she might not be your style... then you should try showing her something other then cold hatred. Give her something to work with... she didn't get to be an Exec on her looks alone....no she worked to get there." Luhanna commented as she handed Zara a PADD with the revised speech notes on it. "Here you go.."

"And I worked to get where I am... Though few ever acknowledge it," Zara pointed out civilly as she got out of the car and was immediately take up the stairs, at the back of the stage.

"...I know we didn't want to change our peaceful way of life," Zara heard the planet's governor tell his people, "But allowing Captain Tane and her task force to defend and train us, we are a much stronger colony. Tarod Nine flourishes once more."

This got a big roar of approval from the gathered people. And only when the cheers dialed down, did the governor continue with, "That is why it is my pleasure to present Captain Zara Tane with the key to our planet. So that if ever she needs us, we will be there."

Zara, uneasily, walked across the stage to accept the key and forced a smile. She did not like hero worship much at all.

Luhanna settled in to watch Zara Tane make her speech, she knew that the smaller Trill woman didn't want to be here but sometimes one did what one had to do, regardless.

"I'm not worthy of admiration," Zara spoke as she looked down at her PADD with heavy guilt in her eyes. "I rarely salute. My uniform is almost always wrinkled... Because I always feared being the hero everyone expects of a Starfleet officer in uniform."

Luhanna looked at Zara thinking. 'What are you doing?' as she wanted to rush out there as she began fretting.

Sheridan raised an eyebrow. "What are you worried about?"

"That's not on her speech... She's deviating from the speech.." Luhanna whispered back.

Zara looked up from her PADD and looked around at the stunned audience. "I'm here to do the right thing. To give you the things our government and military failed to do for so long... And I feel I have done this. But it is not me, that deserves the key. I believe it is you, the people, who wanted change."

Zara tossed the key into the crowd, which got a massive roar of acceptance.

"Thank you for having us," Zara spoke in closing and motioned for her people to take her back to the ship.

Luhanna and Sheridan both walked beside Zara as the three of them departed by beaming up to the ship.