A Prank On Rank

Posted on 04 Jul 2016 @ 5:10am by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Commodore Harvey Geisler & Master Chief Petty Officer Mila Rasputin

5,710 words; about a 29 minute read

Mission: Risky Business
Location: Admin/Various
Timeline: MD 3 Lunch Time

Mila finished putting in the order with Talon's to have a Pozharsky cutlet served with mashed potatoes, mushroom sauce and sliced cucumber readied for the Captain at lunch time since he had expressed a desire to get out of his ready room and talk to more people. It was going to be dicey since he didn't want to be in his ready room for lunch and she was taking the risk that he might go back to his quarters to eat, but she doubted it. She debated leaving her combadge behind, but knew she might get in trouble if her response was needed since she was his Yeoman, so she took it with her as she left for lunch.

=^=Rasputin to Corwin=^= she tapped it to open a channel to the Security woman who she was becoming friends with. =^=Are you available for lunch?=^=

=^=I'm on my way.=^= Joey replied, tapping her combadge to end the link. It was time, and after the way things ended the night before, she wanted to do this now more than ever. Harvey deserved to smile, and with harmless balloons, it was very likely that was going to happen. Sadly, she didn't plan on sticking around long enough to see it. She felt horrible, and while she still wanted to help him get through everything, she felt it would be best if she gave him some time to grieve for Alison properly. It was clear that he hadn't allowed himself the chance to before now.

She brought Rico to his kennel and quickly changed her clothes, opting for jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes. For some reason, it just didn't seem right for her to be in uniform while she was doing what she and Mila planned. Once she was set, she made her way to the rendezvous point to wait for her partner in crime after grabbing a bag.

Mila quickly took the turbolift up to deck two with a PADD in her hand; being the Captain's Yeoman, she was often seen all over the ship and had access to areas which other enlisted didn't, so she was rarely questioned. The PADD contained a duplicate itinerary which she had given the Captain earlier if anyone did question her.

She stepped off the turbolift, knowing that his quarters were Zero Two Zero One and waited for Joey to show up as she made a show of reviewing the items on the PADD as if preparing herself to deliver it to Harvey when he answered his chime.

Moments later, Joey was approaching Mila from the other end of the hall. Since she was new, and if anyone stopped to question her, she planned to tell them she was still trying to familiarize herself with the ship. Thankfully for them, this part of the deck was relatively empty courtesy of most senior staff being on alpha shift. "Mila, it's good to see you."

Mila smiled while she used the reflection of the PADD's surface to surreptitiously see if anyone where approaching from behind her. "Is good to see you, too, Joey," she said as she stepped to the Captain's door and quickly entered his code to give them access. She knew that it was technically illegal for her to do so, but she also knew...hoped...that it would help Harvey laugh and enjoy himself more. Besides, Joey was with her and Security, even though she was in civilian clothes which made Mila arch an eyebrow even though she didn't say anything about it. She slipped inside the Captain's quarters before the doors were all the way open and motioned for her new tall friend to join her.

Joey followed behind her quickly, then stepped out of the way so the door would close behind her. "The hardest part is over. Now to get this done as quickly as possible in case he decided to show up for some reason."

"Da," Mila said, then looked at her. "Where is monkey with surfboard with balloons?" she asked as she headed to the replicator and quickly switched it to her account so the credits would come out of her for the balloons.

"In here," The taller woman said lifting the bag in her hand. She brought it over to the couch and opened it to pull the monkey and balloons out, setting them where they could be seen over the mass of balloons that would soon fill the room. "Blue is his favorite color, by the way. They should definitely be blue."

Mila looked at it and smiled. "Is perfect," she agreed before she programmed the replicator to make one hundred and fifty nine inch blue balloons and stepped back. "Soon, we will have balloons everywhere. We will have to start moving them back away from here so we are having a way out."

"That's easily done." As the balloons started to make their way out of the replicator, Joey began moving them toward the other side of the room. A case of nerves was beginning to set in, but there was no backing out now. They were well on their way to making this a reality. "When she first half is done, I'll do the second half, then you can reprogram it back."

"Da," she said as she began to bat balloons to the other side of the room as quickly as they came out, working in tandem with Joey. "When he is seeing these, I am paying to see look on his face."

The taller woman smiled. "You can hang out around the corner and wait for him to show up. I'm going to need to get back to work. Maybe you can tell me how it went next time I see you?" She asked as she continued to move balloons to the other side of the room.

"I am having to get back to Administration as soon as this is done," Mila said as she playfully tossed a balloon at Joey. "But as soon as shift is done, we can both get here as soon as poss....wait. You are Security Investigation Officer, da?"

"Yes, why?" Joey asked.

"You are having access to cameras," she pointed out. "It can be recorded and we are to be watching it at any time."

"That's an invasion of privacy and a line that I just won't cross. Yes, security footage is reviewed daily, but this is something entirely different," Corwin said, hoping Mila would understand. "Your idea of coming back here after our shifts is a good one. We can wait around a corner."

"Is what we are doing not an invasion of privacy?" Milas asked as she shunted more balloons aside and looked at her tall friend.

"We aren't touching anything, though," The taller woman pointed out. She continued to move balloons around until the last of them were done, then moved over to the replicator to program it to finish up with the other half. When those started coming out, she began pushing them to the other side. The kid in her wanted to dive into the mountain of blue balloons and make a latex version of a snow angel. "We'll be done with this in no time, then we'll be able to get out of here."

"Cameras are not having hands, either," she countered. "Ones in corridor are recording people coming and going daily. Is not invasion of privacy, so camera recording balloons coming out of quarters and showing surprised Captain is not invasion of privacy." To Mila, it was a matter of logic and it wasn't like she wanted a camera in Harvey's quarters.

"You've got a point," Joey said. "Hiding around the corner will be funnier, because we'd get to see it in person as it unfolds."

"We will be here," Mila said as she continued to shoved balloons around and watched them stack up and tumble over each other in the now-cramped quarters. "Look on his face will be hilarious."

"It will be, and I'm glad we're going to be here to see it." Joey continued moving balloons around so they'd be able to get out. There would likely be just enough time for that to happen before they all shifted toward the door, though. "Don't forget to reprogram the replicator once it's finished. We should be just about done in here."

"Da," Mila said. "I am going to get holo imager for posterity when I come back. Will capture moment forever."

"Perfect. I'll meet you back here as soon as I'm able to get away from Security," She said, finishing up with the last of the balloons. "Once you're finished with the replicator, I'd guess we have about twenty seconds to get out of here before they start shifting then the door opens."

When the balloons finished, Mila changed the code back to Harvey's and started to wade through the balloons towards the door, shoving them behind her as she did so. "Da. Replicator is changed back to his account and I will be meeting you back here. This has been very much, but will be much more fun later."

"It has been," Joey agreed, pushing a mountain of balloons back. "Okay... make a break for the door. I'll be right behind you."

"Get ready in three," Mila said as she touched the door opener. "Three...two..." The door began to slide open. "One!" She darted out with the hope that no one would be around to see her unseemly exit and was pleased no one had came back to the deck for lunch.

The taller woman was hot on her heels after she'd cleared the door, and just as it started to close, a wall of blue latex began to make its way toward them. A smile formed on her lips knowing when he went to go inside said wall would be waiting to greet him. "I'll see you soon," With that, she winked at Mila and made her way down the hallway in the direction she'd originally come from.

With a grin, Mila headed off the opposite way with images in her head of what Harvey would say when he was confronted by all the balloons.

---

When the end of the duty shift, Mila checked a holo-imager out of Operations and quickly made her way to the turbolift. =^=Rasputin to Corwin. I am meeting you in five.=^=

Joey felt quite a bit more nervous this time when Mila called to her, but she didn't want to miss this. =^=On my way.=^= Once again, she ended tapped her combadge to end the link, then made her way out of Security. She wanted to bring Rico with her, but had little doubt he'd give her and Mila away, so he was back in his kennel for a short while. Soon, he'd be busted out, then the two of them would make their way to the holodeck where they'd get a little rest and relaxation in.

Like before, she took the turbolift to deck two and looked around for Mila. Hopefully, the two of them would end up on the same side of the hallway, which wouldn't be the one Harvey decided to use. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, wishing she'd have changed out of her uniform again, but there just wasn't time.

Mila cautiously looked around the edge of an alcove and smiled when she saw it was Joey. "Over here!" she whispered as loud as she dared. "Room Zero Two Zero Two is not in use. We can hide in here until he is coming."

As quickly as she could, Joey made her way over to Mila. "Now, we wait." Hopefully, they wouldn't be waiting too long. "Hopefully, he doesn't get mad."

Mila tapped the generic code in to open the room she said was empty and quickly went inside, motioning for Joey to follow her. "Quickly!"

Without knocking Mila over, the taller woman slipped inside and breathed a sigh of relief. They'd come so far, and it would be horrible to get caught now. "My blood pressure is through the roof right now," She muttered.

Harvey exited the turbolift, PADD in hand, and began to walk down the corridor. Normally, his quarters were relatively close to the bridge, so the walk would have been short, but as he came up from the lower decks, he was deposited on the other side of the deck. Harvey remained focused as he continued his trek down the corridor, his eyes focused on the report in his hand.

"Computer... locate Captain Geisler," Joey said, pressing her ear against the door. It wasn't as if she'd be able to hear anything on the other side, but it made her feel better.

"Captain Geisler is currently mobile on deck two."

The taller woman looked to Mila. "There's no turning back now, but at least we went with balloons and not something else."

Harvey stopped in the corridor, surprised by something he thought he heard through a nearby door. There wasn't such a thing on the Black Hawk as a completely sound proof door. But, whatever it was fell silent, so Harvey continued on his way.

His face was still downturned in the PADD, and he would have nearly walked into the door of his quarters had the proximity sensors not performed their job. He did, however find himself running into something else. Lots of somethings. Harvey looked up in surprise to find that he was surrounded with blue balloons. There weren't enough to fill the cabin from floor to ceiling, but enough to come up to his waist. Several spilled out into the corridor behind him.

And, it didn't take much to notice that elevated in front of him was a monkey on a surfboard. He did not need to see the two balloons with screen printed faces to know who his culprits were.

"Let us take a chance," Mila said as she readied the holo imager and activated the door before she stepped out and aimed in the direction of the Captain's quarters with a smile on her face a quadrant wide.

Joey peeked her head out of the room next to Harvey's and took a deep breath. The way things had been left the night before were still eating away at her, but she wanted to do something that'd get him to smile again, even if it meant a world of trouble for her. She stepped out from behind Mila as to not block her shot, then held her breath. Now there was definitely no turning back.

Harvey remained still for a moment, absolutely dumbfounded that this had happened. Then, as he looked at the faces on the balloon, Harvey couldn't help but smile. He shook his head and chuckled. His fear about Joey from the other night had been relieved, and both she and Mila just demonstrated that they would continue to surprise him.

He was about to "rescue" the monkey from the balloon pit, but he knew there had to be more to this. Finally lowering his PADD, Harvey turned around and spotted two familiar faces nearby in the corridor.

Realizing she was still holding her breath, Joey finally let it out. He didn't look like he was going to toss her or Mila into the brig, and that was a good thing. As a matter of fact, Harvey seemed as though he'd been smiling. That was her goal. She wanted to see him smile again after he looked so unhappy the evening before. With that mission accomplished, she offered him a smile of her own even though she still felt pretty bad, but she couldn't dwell on it. It was all about moving forward, and not taking any steps back. For now, she planned to let him enjoy himself. Maybe even bring out the inner child she'd mentioned to him before. With that last thought, she smiled again and began to make her way down the corridor.

Seeing Harvey's smile, Mila raised the holo imager and took a few pictures for posterity. "I am thinking that someone is to be having big party with so many balloons. I was not knowing you had planned for such, Harvey," she teased.

Chuckling, he looked back to the pile of balloons whose fellowship were indeed trying to escape. "A surprise party it seems." He then looked down the corridor at Joey who seemed to disappear around the bend. This wasn't the time to pursue her, but he appreciated what they'd done all the same. Looking back to Mila, he added, "The first of many, I suspect."

Mila looked over her shoulder at the retreating form of Joey and frowned; friendship conflicted with duty which conflicted with friendship. Confidance tore at trust and a great desire to mend something which had been broken for far too long waged war within her mind. For Joey to have retreated at this crucial juncture and leave Mila holding the bag made her confused when she remembered the previous nights plotting and confession session.

She looked back at Harvey and despite his chuckles, he wasn't going after Joey or ordering them to the Brig. "You are just to be letting her go?" she asked, her Russian accent getting thicker as her internal conflict battled for dominance on a battlefield that was far too confusing for her to sort out, which allowed her mouth free reign. "She is liking you and you are seeming to like her, yet we do this and you chuckle and just let her walk away as if no big deal?"

Mila shook her head and held up one hand as if to forestall him from making any sort of reply, a dangerous move for a Yeoman to do to a Captain or for a person building a new friendship with another person. "Nyet. Is to be none of my business. If you are coming back in fifteen minutes, I will have balloons gone." She pulled a pin from a fold in her uniform that she had put there just for the occasion and knelt with the intent of popping them all.

"Coming back?" Harvey asked. The shift was over and he actually planned to remain in his quarters for a while. Nor would he consider walking away while Mila removed all of the balloons. He tossed the PADD aside and looked for a sharp object in his quarters.

There was no need for Harvey to go after her, nor was Mila left holding the bag. Joey was only gone around the bend a few moments before she was making her way back toward them. In her hand, she was holding something, and the closer she got with it the item revealed itself to be a hula hoop. She still wore a smile on her face as she came to stand next to her slightly shorter partner in crime. "This is for you." She held the multi-color ring out to him. "I couldn't give all my surprises away at the same time."

Harvey hadn't gone far when he spotted Joey returning towards them. He smiled, recognizing the item in her hand. The smile was quickly followed with a chuckle, thinking that she certainly was still full of surprises. "I have a feeling that you will continue to surprise me, Joey," he said, accepting the hula hoop. Harvey tossed it in the air with a spin so that the colors turned into a small spinning rainbow until it fell low enough to catch. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Joey said, giving him another smile. "I have one, too, just not with me. We're still going to work on that inner child thing we talked about." She pulled a pin from her utility belt so she could help pop the balloons.

Keeping his smile on his face, he took the hula hoop and retreated into his quarters. He tossed it into the bedroom so it would be free from the swarm of balloons and found a rat tail comb in the restroom. As he retrieved it to help pop the balloons, he considered what an inner child would do. It felt such a shame to pop all of these balloons, especially since their purpose was shortlived.

That's when an idea struck him. He picked up two of the balloons, rubbed them quickly over his uniform and stood over Mila and Joey, holding the balloons just an inch or two away from their heads.

Joey laughed when the static from the balloon pulled her hair toward it. She stuck the pin back into her belt and crouched down to pick up one of the errant blue balloons, then rubbed it against her own uniform. When she was sure there was enough of a static charge built up in it, she placed the balloon on top of his head. "I think you're getting the hang of this."

Mila felt like she had egg on her face when Joey returned with the hula hoop and laughed when he spun it in the air. A part of her mind immediately began to plot a revenge prank on her new friend, which was side tracked when Harvey rubbed a balloon on his uniform and used it to make strands of her hair stand up with a crackle of static electricity. Now she laughed and grabbed some balloons to rub on her own uniform and held to the taller brunette's hair and one to Harvey's. "You are to be getting it," she whispered to Joey aside. "For now...we are to be having fun, da?"

Joey grinned over at Mila and found herself hoping said prank wasn't going to come in the form of tiny simian hands. She'd suffered enough as far as those were concerned. "Looking forward to it, Mila," She whispered back before looking toward Harvey again. "You have no idea what I went through to make this happen." She grabbed a second balloon and batted it in his direction.

Harvey tossed a few balloons in the direction of both women. Of course, they were only filled with air, so they would only go so far. One of his knocked off the balloon from Mila's head, leaving behind quite a hilarious sight. He was left to wonder what Cadet Crehan would have said if he saw her.

"We are to be under attack!" Mila cried and grabbed some balloons to launch back at her. "Return fire, Joey! Is Harvey class assault ship! Evasive maneuvers!"

The taller of the two women laughed. This was sure to make anyone who wished to pass by do a double take... or run away in fear. She grabbed a few balloons and started to rub them over her uniform, then proceeded to stick them to Harvey's head. Even if they didn't stick, they would successfully achieve the dreaded bedhead look. She grabbed an arm load and tossed them in Mila's direction, but only a select few met their mark. It seemed that lately, she'd been having more fun than she could remember having a long time.

"Assault ship!?" Harvey remarked. If only these were water balloons... Still, he pulled off the staticky balloons and placed them on Joey's head, which quickly clung to her hair. He was certain his own hair was standing on end, but there was not a mirror around to verify.

"Oh... that's how it is," Joey said, sure her hair was in a wild mess on top of her head, but she didn't seem to care even a little bit. There was an ever present smile on her lips as she undid the belt around her waist and placed it off to the side so it would stay safe. There was too much in there that could potentially get damaged during their antics. Wading through the balloons, she went inside and to the replicator with a grin a mile wide before returning with a water pistol in each hand. She looked between her two companions. "It's on now." She dove beneath the balloons, popping a few as she did, then army crawled her way through them before rising from them and unleashing water havoc on them.

"Der'mo!" Mila exclaimed as Joey surfaced with water guns and promptly dove behind Harvey. "I am engaging meat shield! You shall never be taking me!"

Harvey held up a hand, hoping it would do something to block the water streams but knew it would be pointless. Before his uniform could get even more soaked, he dove to the left and swatted a few balloons towards Joey. He had to get to the replicator to get back on the offensive.

Joey laughed, and since she was armed with two water pistols, one was aimed at Harvey while the other was on Mila, who was now open to the fire. However, it didn't last long since she needed to prevent him from getting to the replicator. There was going to be a huge mess to clean up afterward, she feared, but it would all be worth it. She grinned and began to wade through the balloons toward him, silently willing Mila to help her out.

Mila acked when her meat shield dove out of the way and she threw herself down and started to combat crawl through the balloons as the Harvey class assault ship veered off. A string of Russian invectives escaped her lips as she ran into something in his quarters and she popped up beside the couch. "You will never be winning!" she exclaimed as she scampered over the back of it like Chow and made a run for the replicator.

"No!" Harvey shouted, seeing that Mila was going to beat him to the replicator. He was clearly cornered, unable to do anything. Between the balloons, the furniture, and the women in his way... Harvey was effectively screwed. In his own quarters no less.

Before she rammed into him, the taller of the two women slid to a stop about a foot away from him and grinned. "You know surrender isn't an option, right?" This was Joey... she'd never let him quit, and to prove she wouldn't, she put one of her water guns into his hand.

Mila quickly replicated a water gun in the form of a Squad Assault Weapon and turned just in time to see Joey arm Harvey. "You are to be punished for treachery!" she declared before she opened up on both of them, the water spraying from the gun all over the place in their direction.

Instinct kicked in when the blast of water came their way, and Joey moved in front of Harvey to take the brunt of it. Years of training was hard to forget, and even though it was water, protection was what she did best. She raised her water gun to return fire on Mila, but it was pretty useless considering the weapon she'd chosen to use against them. Still, though, as long as Harvey stayed relatively dry, then it was a job well done.

Harvey was and wasn't surprised that Joey stood in front of him. What surprised him was how quickly she did it. He did have to resist the urge to shoot him in the back, she did after all fire the first shots at a defenseless Captain. Alas, Mila has turned the tables well into her favor. Harvey, therefore, raised his partially filled pistol and opened fire, aiming well above the belt.

Mila laughed and fired one last burst at the two of them before she dropped the water gun and fell over laughing on top of a pile of balloons, popping some in the process. "This is to be glorious!" she exclaimed as she giggled and rolled around in the balloons.

Now drenched, Joey laughed and turned toward Harvey when the blast of water was finally over. "Welcome to embracing your inner child, Harvey. I'm proud of you." Her smile broke into a grin and she wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug that transferred water.

"Oh, so wet," Harvey lamented as his soaked chest pressed into hers. Still, he laughed as he embraced her. "Surfing, hula, balloons, and now a water gun fight. I don't know what to expect with you." Looking down to Mila, who seemed to be enjoying herself, "I don't think I've ever seen a Senior Chief laugh so hard."

Mila looked up at the two of them hugging and smiled as she fought to regain her breath. "I am having amazing time and seeing you like this, it is good for heart and soul," she said. "I am very pleased that you are to be having fun and am looking forward to seeing new Harvey step forward at least once a day if not more."

"I'm always going to keep you on your toes," Joey promised as she finally let him go, then she looked toward Mila. "I agree with Mila, too, and I know you can do it. You've been proving it to me, and now there's another witness." She was quite happy they'd all had a good time, and even now, she wished it wouldn't end. "Why don't you go change into some dry clothes, and we'll work on cleaning this up? You shouldn't have to."

"Nonsense," Harvey said, looking down again at the mess of balloons. "These are my quarters, and I'll be damned if I let you both do this alone. Besides..." Harvey aimed at Joey and fired once at her. He could not fire more as that shot contained the last bit of water from his reservoir. He then tossed the empty pistol into the middle of the throng. "Part of this mess is mine."

"I can't argue with that," Joey said, moving over to her forgotten utility belt, which was thankfully dry. She had no intentions of putting it on, but instead waded through the balloons to set it on the couch, then pulled the pin from it once again. "I've had more fun the past few days than I've had in the last couple of years." With a smile, she started popping balloons farthest away from her two companions.

"And I haven't laughed like that in years." Harvey knelt on the ground, popping balloons with his comb. With each successful pop, he tossed the fragments towards Mila's damp and frizzled mess of hair.

"You are being brat, but is good kind of brat," Mila said as she worked on popping balloons and shook the pieces of balloon out of her hair. "I am pleased to see you laugh so much, Harvey."

Harvey shook his head. "Have I really been so bad that for me to have fun is such a shocking sight?"

"Harvey," Mila said. "If you were any more uptight, you would explode if you were prick with pin, like so." She demonstrated by popping a balloon with the pin in her hand.

Joey popped another balloon, picking up the little pieces as she went to be tossed away. "I met Captain Geisler at Talon's my first night here, and without that little shove, Harvey may not have joined me in the holodeck." She stopped what she was doing and looked over at him. "Honest answer. Had I not done it, would you be doing any of the things you have been lately?"

He didn't even have to consider the answer. "No," he confirmed. "I'd probably be sitting here staring off into space or a screen of a PADD." And his trunk will still be collecting dust in the cargo bay.

"You needed a little Joey in your life," She commented with a smile, then proceeded to pop a few more balloons. "I was groped by a Capuchin... twice... to make this happen. Your reaction to it all was worth it. Though... I'm going to start carrying mini-handcuffs when I know I'm going to be around Chow."

Harvey raised an eyebrow before looking at Mila. "Well," he said very nonchalantly, "Capuchins certainly have a mind of their own, now don't they?"

Mila blushed and ducked her head. "I am not knowing what came over him," she said. "He was like drunken Academy cadet when Joey came to my quarters."

He only chuckled. "The only thing I know is that for both of you, you certainly set the bar high. I would count on revenge." Harvey looked at Joey with a coy smile. "Both of you."

Joey stood upright with a grin and fixed her gaze on Harvey. "Oh, I'm counting on it. In fact, I want to see what you've got up your sleeve." She grabbed a balloon, gripped the knotted end and pulled it back before letting it go to sail in his direction.

Mila laughed as she continued to pop balloons. "Just remember that I am being your Yeoman and I may be forgetting order of importance." She hesitated and looked at the two of them and smiled. "But I am thinking you will not be doing much revenge."

Mila was correct. They would arrive at the nebula tomorrow and there likely wouldn't be any fun until the Chimera and Cochrane were found and dealt with. "We'll see," he simply replied, popping another balloon and tossing the remains on Joey in front of him. "We'll see."

"Once I'm back from the Chimera, and everything else has been dealt with, then it will be game on. Who knows? I might get you again before you can get me," The taller woman said, watching the remnants of the balloon fall onto her soaked uniform. It was definitely a challenge, and hopefully, he'd take her up on it.

Meanwhile, Mila had finished popping a bunch of balloons and leaned down to scoop up the remains. With a smile, she flung them up in the air around Harvey and Joey and moved in to hug them both, one arm around each of them. "Whoever is to be pranking who, I am thinking we all all have fun."

Harvey gratefully returned the embrace, allowing his soaked uniform to press against him tightly once more. He smiled, proud to have a few friends at last.

 

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