An Island of Two

Posted on Thu Jun 27th, 2019 @ 8:35am by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Mona Gonadie

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: Kabul 5
Timeline: 2396

Dappled purple light streamed in softly through the translucent, sheer white bed curtains drifting in the cool, gentle breeze over the head of Lieutenant Mnei'sahe Dox. The moment felt like a dream as she woke slowly from the short nap she had floated into not too long after she and her bond-mate had successfully landed in their wingsuits to the 3.5 acre floating island that Mona had booked for the pair on the gaseous world of Kabul 5.

The journey in, dropping thirty kilometers from the stratosphere of the planet in wingsuits was beyond exhilarating and the experience was only enhanced by Mona's careful planning and timing as they entered the atmosphere during a brilliant sunrise. So it was no surprise that upon their surprisingly gentle touchdown to the tropical island, suspended in the swirling, colored glasses, that the two didn't take long to get out of their suits and into each other's arms. And after an hour and a half spent exploring each other and not so much the rented 1930's Earth-Americana styled bungalow that was their home for the next day, they had drifted to sleep in each other's arms.

It was a moment neither would forget as the empathic bond they shared that had been extremely weakened months ago, had been all but fully restored, making their lovemaking experience a deeply empathic sensation once again. And as they napped lightly, that bond let each rest more comfortably in each other's almost uncharacteristically serene dreams for a time. For the red-headed Romulan woman, it was akin to being reintroduced to air after not realizing you had been suffocating for months.

It was just after midday as the gentle sun woke the red-headed Romulan woman. Feeling the rhythmic thrumming of her Miradonian bond-mate, she sighed deeply, feeling Mona tighten the arm that was wrapped around Dox's chest as they both lay in the luxurious king-sized bed.

"So... that can't have been the worst wingsuit flying you've ever seen, Jhu Dhael?" Dox joked softly, stroking the impossibly soft feathers on the back of her lover's head. The joke at the expense of the few moments of clumsy flailing Dox had done upon extending her suits wings before getting the hang of flying without a starship.

Opening her eyes, Mona smiled up at her lover. "No, Minay. You did very well for your first time. Most would have to spend hundreds of hours in simulations before a jump but I knew you'd be fine." She then pulled her Moon Goddess in for a passionate kiss. "And you were more than fine. You took to it almost like a Miradonian chick."

Pulling deep into the kiss, Mnhei'sahe locked on to that rhythmic thrumming Mona did when the two were together that allowed her to slip into their empathic bond more easily. Doing so, she could feel her bond-mates love like a warmth flowing into her that was almost overwhelming in a good way. "Well, you're in here again..." Dox rubbed her forehead gently against Mona's. "It was less like I had to think about what to do and instead... almost remember because you knew, if that makes any sense."

"It makes perfect sense, Minay. Just wait until you meet my foster parents. We should get back just in time to meet them, in fact..." That was one set of memories Mona tried to keep out of the bond, for a number of reasons. The main one was that one needed to experience them first hand first. The second was that they were a bit on the religious fanatic side of things and it had made them... Odd... And she wanted to protect Dox from that side of Miradonian culture.

For her part, Mnhei'sahe had the slightest feeling through their bond that Mona had strong but conflicted feelings concerning her foster family. But emotional conflict with family was something that the embattled Romulan woman was all too familiar with, considering the still recovering relationship with her own mother. So she put any concerns out of her head. She would meet Mona's family in a couple of days and whatever questions she had would be answered then. In the meantime, the two were together in a literal paradise and had it all to themselves. No responsibilities. No crew asking questions. No Lieutenant or Ensign. And certainly no Baronesses. It was just the two of them. Mnhei'sahe and Mona.

"I'm looking forward to meeting them. I'm dying to see where all of this amazingness came from." She kissed Mona gently on her forehead. Having spent her teen years with a human family that she didn't know wasn't actually her grandparents, she knew that 'foster' was just a word where family was concerned. She may not have been related by blood, but they helped shape her into the woman she was and she still carried their name as a result. "So, what do you have planned for this little getaway of ours?"

The brightly plumed aviatrix grinned wider as she propped herself up. "Well, we have a small paradise here and nothing to do but enjoy each other and the scenery. We have ample supply of fresh fruits, veggies, and tea... And homemade rum for some reason... So how about we go enjoy the open-air bath and some of the honeyed fruits while we watch the skies for a while? The skyfish should be out and active soon."

Having decided a few months ago to stop drinking, Dox chuckled slightly. "I'll save the rum for the next folks here, I think." Then she scooched up on her elbows, the thin satin sheet that had been half covering the pair floated down off of them. "So... you did all the packing for this. Did you pack anything to wear, or is this a really natural vacation?"

"There are a few togas in the closet, but other than what we wore here..." Mona pulled the covers back, revealing herself in her birthday suit. "Who needs clothes when there's no one else for at least a thousand kilometers or until tomorrow at sunset?"

Smiling, chuckled slightly. "I suspected as much." In spite of the efforts that the thickly built Romulan woman had made over the last few months in training for the Captain's tribunal, she was still decidedly more than a little pudgy and a bit self-conscious about her body, even with Mona. But she was working to get over herself and wasn't going to let her own insecurities color this vacation. "Okay. Naked it is."

Getting up, Dox stretched out by the side of the bed, unintentionally showing off her every freckle to her Miradonian partner. "You said we have Tea? Tea sounds magnificent."

Mona got up and stretched as well, showing off her beautiful plumage across her booty. "Yeah, they use honey in everything as a preservative instead of refrigeration though, so fair warning. The tea jugs are on the front porch." Finishing her decidedly pudger stretches, she headed off to get them some tea, collecting a couple of cups and filling them from the spigot of the large glass jug on the front porch.

"You know, if I weren't so skinny for a Miradonian, I don't think I'd ever pass my physical or medical evals," Mona declared as she sipped her tea with a twinkle in her eye.

Taking the offered glass, Mnhei'sahe stepped lightly onto the porch. She was still pushing past her nerves and half expected to see a group of crewmembers walking by to stare at her naked body. But instead, she looked longingly at Mona's impossible body and cricked an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not doing the medical exams. If I were, I would take longer."

Taking a sip, Dox let the slightly suggestive comment hand for a moment. By human or even Romulan standards, the curvaceous Miradonian was hardly skinny, though not nearly as rotund as Dox herself. But Dox didn't want to dwell on the comment and risk making her bond-mate self-conscious.

Not having a single self-conscious thought in her body at the moment, Mona enjoyed her tea and the view of both her mate and the gas seas around them for a few moments before taking a deep breath and stretching again. "This is the kind of relaxation we've been needing. No screens, no meetings, no schedules, no deck plates. Just us and nature. In fact, if we need to write something down, we'd have to use a stick and write it in the dirt."

"If I end up getting PaDD withdrawal, you might need to take away all the sticks, just in case." The red-headed Romulan joked as she stepped off the porch, putting her bare feet into the light dirt. As she did, she closed her eyes and listened to the winds swirling through the deeply colored gasses in the skies above.

It was a serene sound that was almost alien to the young pilot. "It's... strange to not hear the hum of the warp core or feel that light rumble under my feet. I mean, I've spent most of my life on ships, after all. But you're right, we needed this."

"This reminds me of when I was young," Mona began, stepping out onto the dirt with Dox. "Our home was built out of part of the colony ship on the edge of one of the world's seas and as chicks we would play most of the day. Our parents had built a dock and swings in the trees for us. for several years, everything seemed perfect. Just like this."

"Just then, a low pitched whine softly filtered through the air, only to be repeated shortly after it. A few more were heard before a six meter long, winged, rainbow-scaled fish flew up and through the sky less than a kilometer away, being chased by several smaller fish just like it.

"And there are the sky fish, right on time," Mona declared with confidence.

Taken aback, Mnhei'sahe gasped as she reached out with her free hand, blindly grabbing Mona's hand and squeezing tight. As she did, the vision of the flying fish was momentarily blended with an image from Mona's own mind's eye. A swing in a tree by the edge of a beautiful sea and the sound of a young Mona laughing. The sound of children laughing. It was an exhilarating experience as the moment before her became blended with such a beautiful memory.

It was as it once was. Through their renewed bond, Mona's memory simply became a part of the tapestry of Mnhei'sahe's own memories. She could feel the grass and sand of another world under Mona's young feet as if it had been her own. But it was the laughter that continued to ring through her head. That joyous, melodious laughter of Mona and her family lost in a moment of bliss many long years ago before tragedy would strike them. The laughter of Miradonian children at play. It was suddenly a sound the young Romulan realized she longed to hear again.

It was the briefest of flashes, shared through their bond, but it combined with the sight of the sky fish brought a tear to the young Romulan's eye. They were together and they were whole again. And in a few days, that bond would be sealed, and Mnhei'sahe squeezed her love's hand that much tighter and held her that much closer. This was what she wanted. This was what she had, and it was good.