Lunch Break

Posted on 13 Jun 2024 @ 9:50pm by Commodore (Brevet) Harvey Geisler & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler

3,095 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Shattered Unity
Location: Captain's Mess
Timeline: June 19, 2390 || 1100 hours

On a normal day, Harvey would have done one of two things. Either he'd have lunch in the ready room in the form of a half sandwich and a bowl of soup, or he'd drop by home and spend some time with the twins and dogs. It went without saying that this was no ordinary day. Four starships had been destroyed, along with a starbase, and not a single actionable clue had been left behind.

Until search and rescue efforts were complete, Harvey was duty-bound to remain in an active role. In times like these, not going home to see the kids made such actions easier.

Alas, he didn't want to eat in the Ready Room. He'd already been at it for more than eight hours and he needed a change of scenery. The Captain's Mess, something he rarely used outside of breakfast, was the perfect location.

That didn't stop him from standing next to the window with a glass of Bolian tea. The damage outside was mesmerizing in all of the wrong ways...

"Penny for your thoughts?" Joey asked as she made her way into the Captain's Mess after using the computer to locate him only a few minutes ago. Like him, she usually spent time with the twins and dogs when she had a moment, but their present situation required her to be a bit more active and available.

"Hmm?" Harvey turned, surprised to see that Joey had snuck inside the room. A smile brightened his face as Harvey was delighted to see his bride join him. As unexpected as this simple act was, he still didn't move far from the window. "We've seen so much in these last couple of years. The Dolmoqour and the Finnean Convergence Zone. The Consortium. But I haven't seen anything like this since the Dominion War. And that doesn't even come close."

Joey didn't approach him. At least, not yet. She could see he was troubled, but they all were to a certain degree. "It certainly is a mess. I've been spending the last few hours scouring reports, sensor readings and more trying to find... anything," she said with a frown.

He leaned against the window brace and sighed. He felt it, and he knew that Joey felt it too. This feeling of helplessness and confusion. And boy did he hate every second of it. "And did you? Find anything that is?"

"Nothing that hasn't already been brought to our attention," she admitted, moving to the coffee pot to pour herself a fresh cup. "Have you learned anything new?"

Harvey paused for a moment, noticing that Joey was heading for the Wilkins. He'd never known Joey to touch his favored hot bean elixir, but this week had been rough for everyone. Harvey always figured it was a matter of time before she finally picked it up. "Not a thing. I even had a meeting with Gamma Command earlier. They weren't much help either."

"Did you really expect them to be?" She found herself asking as she added a little sugar to her coffee and stirred it.

He shook his head as he pushed off the bulkhead. "Not really. In fact, they were just as thrilled that we had so little to share." He approached the coffee cart, picked up a mug, and paused in front of the coffee pot, as if he was actually considering whether or not it was worth getting a fresh cup.

Now Joey shook her head. "What did they expect? This didn't happen all that long ago, and it's going to take a little time before we know who was behind it. Of course, they're sitting in their cushy offices while we're out here doing the hard stuff and demanding answers yesterday," she said unable to keep from rolling her eyes as she took a sip of her coffee.

Harvey made his decision and traded his empty mug for a simple clear glass which he filled with water. "I think I've gone through two pots today. Any more, and I doubt I'll be any good this afternoon." He took a sip and sighed. "You've had your ear to the ground for a while. No way you heard any inkling of this when you were at Razmena?"

"No, but with your permission, I would like send a couple away teams to at least two of the disabled ships to retrieve their databases and bio-neural gel packs. I think those might offer up a bit more than we know now," she said. "Sokamin and Tetnel will go, and I would like it if we couldn't pull from the ships survivors to accompany them. I can go to a third just to be safe if need be."

Harvey, putting his heavy new rank on for a moment, considered the proposal. They needed information, and badly at that. He also knew that they could not stay here too much longer exposed and undefended. "Start with two. If we can gather enough evidence from at least one, that'd be preferable. I don't want to send teams to the other ships unless absolutely necessary."

"Consider it done," she said as she studied him for a moment. The whirlwind of emotions and feelings still ran rampant within her. "Are you hungry?"

He chuckled. "The body says no, but the mind knows I need to have some sort of solid fuel. Perhaps a panini. You?"

Joey raised her coffee, then took a sip of the hot liquid. "This is good enough for me for now. My current... appetite... isn't for food."

Harvey raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked, his tone a bit too tired and his mind a little oblivious. "I'm sure we could get finger snacks or something."

"Maybe afterwards," she said with a smile and a certain twinkle in her eye. Joey set her coffee cup aside and moved toward him. "Computer... lock the door."

Being the Captain's -- Commodore's -- wife certainly had its advantages as various areas of the ship could have additional permissions set. Normally, only the CO or the Head Chef could lock the Captain's Mess. Joey's privileges extended to additional locations, including the Ready Room. So, when the door locked, Harvey did not find himself surprised. What did surprise him, however, was that while he had clued into what she was up to, they were both normally so focused on duty that the thought of being intimate didn't often cross his mind. "This is new..." he remarked, a smile forming on his face.

Joey grinned as she came to stand directly in front of him and placed a hand against his chest. “Yes, and I’m feeling a bit… tense,” she said. “What better way to help get rid of it?”

Several cylinders were now firing, and the reality of the whole situation was starting to sink in. Harvey wasn't about to refuse. "Really? Just a bit tense?" he teased, reaching to wrap his arms around her. "This is like Bora Bora all over again."

"Bora Bora was definitely a lot of fun, and I would love to go back one day, but I think this has the potential to be even better," she said, pressing a kiss to his lips. Joey was pleasantly surprised he was so willing to embrace her lunch choice given they were both on duty, but if anything came up, they could be reached. And, she found herself hoping like hell no one needed anything. "It's working already."

Harvey had no doubt that it was working already, especially since the both of them could feel it. Just as soon as she placed the kiss on his lips, he tightened his embrace and pulled her as close as he physically could. "Indeed it is, my love."

That was all she needed, and while she didn't want him to let her go, she did pull back from him as gently as she could. How else was she getting her uniform off? Or his for that matter? There was no need for her to say much else, either. Actions spoke louder than words, and that had her kissing him again while she worked on his uniform.

Any other time, Harvey might have held himself back. After all, not only was he the commanding officer, but he was also supervising some hefty investigative and recovery efforts. But surely rank had its privileges, especially now as a acting member of the admiralty? Right? He started working her uniform as well, starting with unzipping her jacket and brushing it away from her torso.

Joey shouldered her jacket off, and once her arms were free, she unzipped his and slid her hands over his chest before she pushed the fabric away. It wasn't easy as far as her patience went, but she kept reminding herself that it was all going to be worth it soon enough.

Harvey was now all in. One hand left her waist and cupped the back of her head while his lips reunited with hers. The other hand and arm were shaken, shimmying the jacket off his body.

The outside world was forgotten for Joey even if briefly, and in that moment, there was only him and her. She returned the kiss with a need she'd never quite felt before, only breaking it long enough when the time came for her shirt and other garments to be removed. Her lips found his again as she began to toe a boot off, stepping on the sole to release one foot, then doing the same with the other before kicking them aside.

His boots followed closely behind, each flinging to another part of the room. Next to be removed was Harvey's shirt, the last of the upper garments to still be on a person. His lips did not leave hers except to draw in fresh air in order to continue the moment of passion. "Computer," he also managed to whisper, finally breaking away from her lips and move down her neck. "Deploy... blast... shield."

Behind them, a bulkhead sealed the window closed, blocking any passing shuttle or lifeboat from seeing anything they shouldn't.

She shivered as her hands found his chest, his name leaving her lips in a whisper. This had great potential to be over fairly quickly for her, but would she mind that? Not in the least. Joey's hands moved from his chest and traveled down to his pants where she was a bit frantic in her need to get them out of the way.

Harvey, by contrast, was not in a rush. His right hand had returned to the base of her head, collecting most of her hair and keeping it clear of the action. This left his other hand free to move to her pants and locate the clasp. Hearing her whisper his name made him smile, especially now that his lips were on her shoulder. "Joelle," he whispered in return.

Whoever penned the phrase patience is a virtue wasn't in her current situation, but still, Joey was willing to try. She slowed her hands as she got the clasp undone, then lowered the zipper, but stopped there for the moment. Her hands traveled from his waist and back to his chest as her eyes drifted closed. His lips against her skin sent a shiver up her spine in the best way possible and that only increased her desire for him.

He surrendered to his passion, turning them to the left and taking a couple of steps forward. Harvey then removed his hand from the back of her neck, and in a quick motion reached down with both hands and lifted her onto the beverage cart. There was plenty of room for their passion without touching the coffee carafe, even though it was very much close by and not nearly as hot as the steam emanating between husband and wife.

Once settled, Joey brought her lips to his, but she didn't kiss him. At least, not yet. Instead, she practically whimpered a single word against them. "Please." With that said, her lips finally met his as her hands explored his exposed skin, leaving not a single inch within reach untouched.

Harvey gave her what she asked for. Both hands firmly held onto her waist, keeping her as still on the cart as he could while his lips moved from her mouth to her chin and then to her ear.

Joey wrapped her legs around his waist and gasped his name. Nothing else mattered to her in that moment but him. Reality would soon return whether she wanted it to or not, but for now, he was all that she needed.

As the moment of passion came to an end, reality still kept its distance. Harvey stood still, clinging to their embrace. A smile slowly appeared on his face, followed by a playful laugh. He had never experienced anything like that before, at least not while on a duty shift. "My love..." he whispered. "We will have to do that again."

"I couldn't agree more," Joey whispered in return as a smile of her own formed. She still couldn't believe that that happened, but one thing was for sure, and that was she had zero regrets. He was her husband after all, and as she suspected, it did do a bit to help her relax even if it wasn't likely to last.

His arms tightened around her for a moment, and then he relaxed. His gaze met hers, and he allowed himself to stare into her brown eyes for moment or two, marveling in the sparkle behind them. "When this is all over... we are taking a vacation."

Joey smiled, her own arms going around him. She was content and wished they could stay where they were and shirk their duties, but a few more minutes couldn't hurt. "I hear Bora Bora is nice," she said, holding his gaze.

Harvey chuckled, finding Joey's comment to be an odd thing to say. "It is for sure, but the next time we go there, we better not wind up pregnant." Though Harvey wouldn't mind seeing Joey glowing once more. The pregnancy had been harsh, especially with twins and fighting off a bunch of lifeforms that were hell bent on being puppet masters.

Her first pregnancy had been uneventful up until the Dolmoqour, and even now, things were chaotic as another threat presented itself. One thing was certain. Life in space wasn't for the weak. "Who knows? Maybe we will be before the next time."

He froze, and the smile disappeared from his face. "Wait. Before... Joey... are you...?" he stammered, thinking that there was something she was trying to tell him.

"What?" Joey asked, then blinked when she realized what he was asking her. She shook her head. "No, no. I'm not pregnant."

In a single moment, Harvey found himself to be both relieved and disappointed. He wasn't sure which emotion was valid... or if both were. "Oh," he said, trying to collect himself. He also realized that they hadn't discussed having additional children, but this didn't seem like the time and place to have that. "Well, if you were, we wouldn't be able to do things like this."

"Maybe when the timing is a bit better, we can circle back and really talk about maybe expanding our family," she said before she leaned forward to kiss him.

Whenever the hell that will be. "Yes," Harvey agreed, leaning in to meet for the kiss. After the first one, he added, "After we catch the boogeyman."

Joey frowned as reality sank back in. It was definitely nice while it lasted. "Which isn't going to happen if I don't put my uniform back on and do my part to track down said Boogeyman," she said before hopping off of the beverage cart to start gathering up her discarded clothes. "And, don't think I didn't notice, Commodore."

Harvey began to collect his clothes and started to get dressed. "Thanks," he said almost sheepishly. "Zach thought that because we lost our only flag officer on this side of the quadrant that I should take up the mantle. I'm not too thrilled about it."

"Why? You deserve it, and it won't come with a desk job any time soon. You're more than deserving of this promotion, so allow yourself to accept it and be happy," she told him as she began getting dressed. "I'm happy for you, and I am incredibly proud of you."

He chuckled, if one could call the dejected laugh a chuckle. "Thanks," he said, reaching for his shirt. "If they even try to push me into a desk, I think I'll retire and follow you around the galaxy."

Joey smiled as she pulled her shirt over her head. "I don't see that happening for a while, but I think I would be content with resigning and seeing things through the eyes of a civilian."

Harvey raised an eyebrow at that as he picked up his jacket and prepared to put it on. He found himself a bit surprised at her declaration, but having kids and a life did cause priorities to change. "You're right. That's not happening for a while."

"You've earned it," she said as she tucked her shirt in, then pulled her jacket on. "I might be late this evening. Once the teams get back from the Irvine and Bamaass, there's going to be a lot to sort through."

"Just make sure to have time to rest here and there," Harvey remarked. It was not uncommon for either of them to pull long hours, especially in these times where every minute could potentially count. "Neither of us have slept much lately. I'm amazed either of us hasn't started to hallucinate."

"That makes two of us, but surprisingly the coffee has been helping. We'll tuck the kids in and go to bed together tonight. In the meantime, try to follow your own advice a bit," Joey said with a smile before planting one last kiss on his lips. "I'll see you later. I love you. Computer, unlock the door." And once it was, she was moving through it to get back to reality.

Harvey, left alone in the Mess, finished putting his jacket back on. He adjusted his new pip and his badge as he surveyed the once-tidy beverage cart. For a moment, he considered ordering lunch, and then he decided that perhaps he didn't need that panini after all. He straightened his jacket once more, then exited the room, a smile firmly affixed to his face.

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