JL Beta Quadrant Security Advisor & Director of Internal Affairs | RAdm MacLaren & Commo MacCafferey | "Breathless"

Posted on 241708.13 @ 3:35am by Commodore Stephen MacCafferey & Rear Admiral Sidra MacLaren

Mission: Hush [BQ Plot]
Location: En Route to CST
Timeline: 241708.12

Sidra had showered after her talk with her son. She wasn’t really worried about his problem at school and knew this was something he needed to figure out how to handle, giving him a few pointers, but the responsibility of the solution was on him. She came out of the master bedroom of the VIP suite in uniform. Stephen had been in the office when she had got home from her run and this was where she found him now.

She smiled as she came in and moved behind the desk chair he was at, slipping a hand to the back of his neck, kneading the tense muscles there, knowing he’d probably been here far too long today, she had been busy reading up on the precarious security situation in Beta Quadrant. “You’ve been at this all day luv, what are you working on?”

Stephen pulled away from the desk and leaned back into her ministrations. He closed his eyes and relaxed, allowing her to knead the tension from his muscles.
“I’m trying to catch upon the operational reports in the sectors surrounding Cold Station Theta.,” Stephen said, “It’s quite a mess. I cannot understand how Starfleet Command allowed things to get so out of order.”

Part cop and part lawyer, Stephen always had mind to law and order. It was something of a pet-peeve of his to see chaos operating in any area of space that is influenced by the Federation and Starfleet. When he accepted the position of Director of Internal Affairs, he wanted to come with an open mind and access things without prejudice. From what he was reading, it was pretty hard not to make presumptions. Moaning as Sidra hit a soft tender spot, he let that thought go and allow her to take his mind to a better place.

She smirked at his reaction, but his neck and shoulders were unusually tense, for him at least. She smirked, moving both her hands to his shoulders, working out some of the tension, "Aren't I usually the one all knotted up and ready to spring?" Her long, strong fingers continued to find knots in his muscles and worked them out as she considered what he said about the sector. "Well I think the civil war had a bit to do with the state of that sector. It's so far out, hard to get resources to, and I'm sure it was a low priority while the war raged."

"That's why they moved Red there and she started to clean the place up. Out of all the Beta Quadrant sectors I looked at, that one is the most concern...." Her thoughts and voice were cut off by her commbadge going off informing her of a priority transmission from Cold Station Theta. "Patch it through to my quarters." Sidra took over console that Stephen had been on, turning the angle to capture her standing next to where he was seated. A Telerite that Sidra recognized as Blyx's yeoman was on screen. Sidra listened to the woman not have many details, but just enough to tell her that the Fleet Admiral was in no way out of the woods. "Thank you, please keep me informed of any updates. MacLaren out."

She sighed, turning back to Stephen, concern and frustration clearly written across her face. Sidra knew she couldn't do anything about the situation for the moment, they were traveling there, but not physically there yet. With the actual attacker dead at his own hand, there didn't seem to be an immediate threat. This attack seemed very personal to her. She shook her head, knowing what she would start to dig into while they were still en route. She pushed a strand of red hair behind her ear and muttered wryly, "As I was saying..."


Stephen sighed and frowned. “Yes, I see.”

He crossed his arms and shook his head. Red had done a her bit to get things in order, and perhaps this was a reaction to her ability and her success to bring order to the chaotic region. In his deep concentration he wanted to pull out his pipe and smoke. He did so more to help him think than for the enjoyment of synthesized tobacco. He did add flavoring to it to give the smoke a pleasant fragrance and taste, but when he had some hard thinking to do, it was usually in a favor thinking spot under a cloud of smoke.

“There is much to do here, Sidra,” Stephen finally said, “We cannot allow this to go unanswered nor allow something like this to happen again.”

"We'll be busy, that is for sure. I'll be curious to see how this plays out and not even sure who is going to temporarily take over charge of Beta Quadrant." Sidra said temporarily because in her mind, the Fleet Admiral was going to pull through. "I guess I have some more research to do. Even though we haven't had the chance to report in, I'd like us to stay in the loop. I'll contact the Captain too and see if this ship can push a little faster than we're going now."

Sidra sat at the edge of the desk in front of him, grabbing his hands with a smile. "In other news, our poor boy is not making any friends. His parents have too much rank and he has no good Starfleet family stories to share."

Stephen turned and move, presenting his lap for her to sit. He smoothed his hand down her back and pondered the problem. He started to hum as he stroked Sidra’s back. He thought giving their son a steady upbringing in one place as they did in Scotland was a good thing. In the day and age of space travel and humans taking their families into space on starships, Stephen was sort of a throwback to an earlier age of humanity. He was fortunate that Sidra agreed to raise their son this way. In part, Stephen felt the time spent on Earth was best not only for his son, but for the boy’s mother.

“The boy is worried a that he has no good stories to tell, eh?” Stephen asked “And no friends?”

Stephen shook his head and looked up at his mate as she gave him a wry expression. “And what did you tell him?

"Well first of all, we're only here for a quick trip and so I'm not too worried about this." Sidra reflected on what she had said, "I told him to be a leader, have the boys come play with him instead of him waiting to be invited." The face Will made when she teased him about the girls made her laugh again. "And he was very clear that girls were not welcome in this invite."

Sidra picked a piece of small lint off of Stephen's shoulder, kissing his forehead softly. The news of the attack on Blyx was still there, disturbing her thoughts, concerning her about the safety of her family. She wondered for a moment about the lion's den she was taking them into, but her resolve and confidence quickly returned and Sidra sighed in relief. "He'll be fine. We've done well with him and he'll figure out his place on Cold Station Theta."

Stephen followed her eyes and then drew her attention back to him as he ran a hand up he spin. He smiled as she shivered and looked at him. “Aye, lass, we done good by the boy,” Stephen smiled, “You’ve been a good mother, and I hope to have done my duty as a father.” He paused to shake his head as he brought her face down for a kiss. “That’s all we can do. Aye, he’ll find his place on Cold Station Theta, and like all boys his age, will be a holy terror.”

He followed the kiss with another in quick succession. “We’ll be alright, Sidra…we’ll be alright.”

Sidra smiled at him with a contented sigh, her hand slipping to the back of his neck, rubbing the hairline of his salt and peppered hair. He was getting better looking every year she thought with a slight pang of jealously. “You are the best father, that boy adores you Mac.” Her lips twitched into a smirk, “We should record this conversation so in handful of years when he’s a disagreeable teen, we can remember how much we both adored him.”

She leaned forward and kissed him again, savoring the moment, the tickle of his whiskers against her, and the way her heart soared and he left her breathless every single time they could be together like this. With regret she kissed him once more quickly and slid off his lap, “mo ghràdh… going to the bridge to speak to the Captain.”

Commodore Stephen MacCafferey
Director of Internal Affairs
Beta Quadrant

&

Read Admiral Sidra MacLaren
Commander
Beta Quadrant Security