Waiting Up

Posted on Fri May 13th, 2022 @ 9:13pm by Fleet Admiral Sturnack & Commander Marlena Glenn & Captain Jocelyn Blake

Mission: Episode 2: 18th and Constitution
Location: Starfleet Command Complex
Timeline: Mission Day 29 at 1700

[SFC Complex]
[MD 29: 1700 Hours]

Sturnack led the way into the building, lowering the umbrella he'd been carrying and tying it off with its velcro strap. As the Vulcan moved into the lobby proper, he saw that Lieutenant Robert Rendra -- the seemingly ever-present security officer known to all as "Just Bob" -- was waiting at the security station. With it being Christmas Day, foot traffic was almost non-existent and the man looked quite happy for company as Sturnack -- followed closely by Jocelyn Blake -- approached, nodding to the man even as the Fleet Admiral stepped through the security scanning suite.

"You're good, sir," Bob said. Watching Jocelyn pass through, he nodded to her as well. "You too, ma'am. Happy holidays," he said warmly, offering a wave as the pair slid past him.

"And you," Sturnack intoned, moving to the bank of turbolifts inset into the lobby's far wall. Depressing the call button, he waited in silence for the lift to arrive and open, not looking at Jocelyn at all. It was as if a wall had sprung up between them since leaving The Fortress and beaming directly to the Starfleet Command Complex. When the lift opened, however, Sturnack stepped inside and gently took Jocelyn's hand as the doors slid closed, providing visual cover. Through the telepathic touch, the woman would no doubt be able to feel his concern that others might spy their closeness before they were ready to announce their new relationship. "CinC's office," he intoned, feeling the lift begin to move beneath them.

Jocelyn's relief as she took his hand was palpable. She knew it would be different... difficult even... to function as though nothing had changed between them, and yet a part of her wanted to shout about the whole thing. The concern flowing through his touch tamped down the desire, though, and she sighed. "I know..." she said quietly, answering his unspoken concern. "This is why I think we need to go see Admiral Andolini first."

"Your instincts are, no doubt, correct," the Vulcan nodded slowly. "However, we both agreed that checking into the office first was necessary. While it may be Christmas Day, the business of Starfleet Command doesn't come to a halt. We will be...in and out," he promised, "before you know it. And then we will head directly to Admiral Andolini's residence, as you've suggested."

It was then that the lift came to a halt, the doors swishing open and revealing a mostly darkened anteroom, devoid of life. Though hands had dropped as the door opened, Sturnack took the opportunity of a deserted lobby to again take Jocelyn's hand, leading her out of the lift. Ahead -- with Marlena off for the holiday -- there was no one to greet them at the aide-de-camp's desk as they passed by, the Vulcan extending his other hand to open the glass door into his office. As the pair entered, the rainy skyline of San Francisco effused light into the room. And there, sitting in a stuffed chintz arm chair, was Commander Marlena Glenn, smiling wide.

"Hey Sturn," she beamed, eyes meeting his. "Welcome back! Heard you were coming to check in and figured I'd surprise ya." But then -- as something looked visually discordant -- the Commander's eyes traced down the Vulcan's shoulder and arm, spying clasped hands and the form of Jocelyn Blake behind the Admiral. "Uh..." Marlena's eyes went wide, her mouth forming something between an O shape and the lopsided facade of a stroke victim. "What the...I mean..." Clearly, her mind had just broken a little. "Are you two? Uh..." It was as if the gears in her brain had gotten stuck.

The absolute flare of alarm that shot through Jocelyn must have been felt across their link, but even as it was she slipped her hand out of Sturnack's, cheeks flushing a dark pink. This was exactly the sort of thing she was worried about, though thankfully they were being caught by someone they could trust. Her eyes went form Marlena to Sturnack and back again, clearly not sure if she should answer or if he meant to do so. As the moment stretched, though, she found herself itching to fix the confusion and finally, stepping up next to him and slipping her hand back into his she made herself meet the other woman's gaze and nodded. "Yeah..." she said, quietly. "We are."

Sturnack had, indeed, felt the tsunami of emotion coming off of Jocelyn. An unexpected consequence of the telepathic touch link was that, like his own emotions, the Vulcan had to compartmentalize what he felt from Jocelyn and will it away, so as not to break his own emotional impasse. The intense wash of feelings were in the process of being filed away until the touch ceased, only to be resumed a few moments later, the link this time flavored with Jocelyn's resilience and a desire to be bold. The Vulcan found he appreciated Jocelyn's attitude and nodded himself. "We have coupled, yes," he added on.

"Well it's about good and damn time," Marlena's brain finally unfroze, a blazing smile popping across her face. "I guess that answers the whole 'Will they? Won't they?' thing," she smirked, nimbly crossing one leg over another. "I'm glad I was waiting up for you, Sturn. Or I'm guessing you wouldn't have told me quite yet," Marlena laughed lightly. "So first things first, I'm intensely happy for you both. As much fun as it's been watching you dance around each other -- some of which was at my doing, by the way," she grinned, "it's nice to see you both finally acknowledge things. Second, who made the first move? I have to know."

"He did," Jocelyn said quickly. It hadn't even been 24 hours yet and the memory of his finger tracing hers as he accepted a cup of cocoa from her flared to the forefront of her mind making her flush again, this time with a more physical awareness than alarm. She squeezed his hand for a moment then let it go. "I should poke my head into my office, though... before we can go... but, Marlena, coffee date? Soon?" she asked, knowing the woman was going to want to know more and not knowing if the openness that could easily take place between the two women would be as easy if Sturnack was in the room. "I'm sure Sturnack can catch you up on the important details." Eyes quickly darting from Sturnack to Marlena and then back again she popped up onto her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "I'll be back in 15 minutes," she said quietly, and then turned and made her way out of the office leaving the two alone.

Sturnack allowed the pressing of lips to his cheek and nodded softly. "I will see you then, Jocelyn," he said, knowing they'd only planned a short stopover at the office: time was of the essence and, thusly, he moved across the room to sit at his desk even as Marlena held eye contact with Jocelyn. It seemed a coffee meetup was a forgone conclusion and he knew, based on years of experience with Marlena, that he and Jocelyn would be the big topic of conversation when it happened.

"That's really all you're going to give me?" Marlena mock-chided as Jocelyn made to leave. "This one," she jutted a thumb to Sturnack, "isn't going to tell me anything. But alright, it can wait," she smiled as Jocelyn exited the room, leaving her alone with the Vulcan. Rising from her chair, she shook her head and said, "You? Making the first move? I'm proud of you, tiger," Marlena smirked heavily, picking up a stack of PADDs that'd been sitting on the coffee table in front of her chair.

"Marlena..." Sturnack lightly implored.

"Shut up?" she beamed back.

"I would never say such a thing. However," the Vulcan intoned, "I have very limited time to catch up before Jocelyn and I must visit Admiral Andolini at his home. He will need to be made aware of this new...development," he chose the word with precision.

"Yeah I bet," Marlena nodded. "They already thought she slept her way to her position. This is going to seal that particular deal, I imagine," she sighed softly, handing the stack of PADDs over.

"I do not understand why the galaxy at large thrives on such speculation," Sturnack said, taking the PADDs and beginning to sort through them one-by-one. "She was appointed to her position long before any inklings of this new coupling were evident."

"Sharks, Sturnack. They smell blood for miles away. And right now?" Marlena huffed, arms crossed. "You're both gushing blood in the water. But I'm sure Admiral Andolini and his press contacts will be able to help. Maybe leak it to the right outlet to soften the blow? Then give an interview to one of the big headliner news sources: 'Sturnack and Blake: Starcrossed Lovers.' That sort of thing. Get ahead of it, you know?"

"I am sure," Sturnack reviewed a PADD as he spoke, "that such a plan is already on Jocelyn's mind. Though I wish such acrobatics were not necessary," the Vulcan lamented.

"Welcome to the Milky Way Galaxy, Admiral," Marlena chuckled. "Alright, give me that. You're going too slow and you have places to be," she said, stealing the PADD he was reading. "And I'll take these, too," she said, grabbing the rest of the stack back.

Over the next fifteen minutes, Marlena reviewed the contents of each PADD with the Fleet Admiral, talking through salient points and taking down the necessary action items that would be needed from the various Directors within Starfleet Command. She had a list of her own follow up actions, though none of those items were expressly needed today given the holiday. Sturnack had suggested she return home and enjoy the time with her family, which Marlena wholeheartedly agreed to do. Before she left, though, the aide-de-camp had one last joke for Sturnack.

"Did you want a kiss on the cheek, sir? You know, just before I go..." she narrowed her eyes in a mock glare.

"Marlena..." Sturnack implored again.

"Shut up, got it," she laughed musically. "Alright, you two love birds have a good meeting. Hope you have a good gift to bring the Admiral. Dropping a bomb like this on Christmas? Ooof," Marlena sighed. "Anyway, if you need anything, I'm only a comm call away. See you tomorrow, sir," she nodded. And with that, she slipped out into the anteroom beyond and called the turbolift.

As Marlena left, Sturnack looked up at the slowly closing glass doors. Through their opening, he spied the woman entering the lift and disappearing behind the swishing double doors. The Vulcan reflected for a few moments on her reaction, deciding that it had, indeed, been favorable. However, he knew that not all would be happy about this news when it broke wide. While Andolini would be the first of the Admiralty to tell, Sturnack knew the second stop had to be his Deputy Commander in Chief. As such, he picked up a PADD and added a meeting to the calendar they both shared. Tomorrow's meeting would be most uncomfortable, Sturnack was sure, but it had to happen.

The doors to his office swung open again, Jocelyn having returned from checking into her own office. "Greetings," he offered, lowering the PADD and standing. "I was just scheduling a meeting with Admiral Whitford. I do not relish the idea of bringing him up to speed tomorrow. However, it is unavoidable, I believe."

Jocelyn blanched visibly. No physical contact was necessary, even for a Vulcan, to see the intensity of discomfort that rolled off of the woman. Whitford had disliked her from the start and now... now he'd be downright volatile. Still, he was right, he was going to need to be next. "How... do you want to handle things... after we visit Admiral Andolini," she asked, coming around his desk to stand next to him. She'd been thinking about this for a sizeable chunk of the day. It seemed like such a simple thing. If they were a normal couple they'd both go home. But they weren't. They'd spent the last week in the same cabin, and before that Jocelyn had been sleeping at Jordan's most nights. She wasn't sure what to think, so she did the only thing that seemed natural. "You're welcome to come back to my place... if you want... I mean."

Sturnack gave this some thought. He'd not expressly imagined that they would be returning to one of their homes or the other: in fact, he'd envisioned both of them returning to their domiciles separately. But it was clear that Jocelyn intended them to remain together -- perhaps the tenuous nature of their very new coupling was pulling at her anxieties? The Vulcan drew on logic to attempt to understand the desire and its meaning became clear: Jocelyn was caught up in a lot of emotions -- especially around how all of this impacted their work -- and would feel more comfortable if they stayed together for the evening.

"It is good that my pajamas are already packed," Sturnack nodded. "Your place will be sufficient...assuming there is room enough for me?" Moving forward then, the Vulcan took her hand once again and said, "We should be getting the the Admiral's. It is time to begin the process we have been strategizing around." And with that, he led the woman back into the outer office and into the turbolift, knowing they would need to go back to being covert...at least until they were out of the public eye.

=/\= A joint post by... =/\=

Fleet Admiral Sturnack
Commander in Chief
Starfleet Command

and

Captain Jocelyn Blake
Press Secretary
Starfleet Command